There are players who frustrate because they are not good enough and then those who are ok but frustrate because you believe they can and should be so much more. Racon firmly falls into the latter category or at least has done until recent games where he doesn't seem to be restricting his ability to tantalising glimpses but carries his good play from one game to the next. His personal ratings from us testify to this. So the question is- do we have the player we all suspected we might have or are we expecting things to return to normal soon? One thing's for sure, a midfield with Semedo and Racon at the top of their games in it isn't going to be bettered at this level, nor by many sides in the level above. Long may it continue.
0
Comments
Think they are both out of contract in the summer so we risk losing them for nothing then.
Thing is they are unlikely to get any where near the wages they are on now from another league one club so they either need to go up with us or impress enough to attract a Championship time.
He does, but as I've said before, bare stats don't tell the whole story - he had a major role to play in getting the ball to Fry who the crossed for Anyinsah to score vs Swindon; Fry will get the assist to his name, but without a fantastic piece of control by Racon, Fry would never have had the ball to cross.
Hopefully Racs will start to pull the trigger a bit more often now though. He's not one of those midfielders that regularly pops up in the opposition's box, like Bailey used to, but he does have a powerful and controlled shot on him and should be looking to score at least 5 goals a season from outside the box, imo. If he can start getting in the box a bit more too, no reason he can't score more than that. Hopefully last night's goal will give him a bit of encouragement.
I wonder how much of his new form is motivated by a summer move. Or indeed motivated by wanting a summer renewal.
I'm not convinced he'll start scoring, we were saying the same things after he scored in the 1st round v Dagenham. If the team keep getting results though that's the main thing, we have others who can score and/or assist.
I think that's going a bit too far, they're not a top end Championship partnership are they? If they ever are, it'll be because Racon has managed to be a lot more consistent and other midfielders offer what they both can't.
Hmm maybe. Although I would say the impact of the manager has been more along the lines of playing him in his prefered position rather than teling him 'play on the left of don't play at all'. And yes he did say this in an interview last year.
And he scored again last night - that's already double his total for the whole of last season. It's all relative, but you could argue he has started scoring by his standards. I'm not expecting double figures from him, but if starts to try a few more shots from distance (and it sounds like Parky is encouraging him to) he should be able to chip in with 3 or 4 more, at least, by the end of the season, which would be a respectable enough total for wny player other than a striker.
The key thing is he keeps getting on the ball a getting involved in games - even if he's not directly assisting or scoring, his ability to help us retain possession can be very important. Him and Semedo have definitely been helped by having Jackson or Ally Mack in there with them in the past few games, but I think those two being able to play to their best has been a major reason for our improved form.
At the moment it's not looking like Reidy has a way back into the team at the moment, and I'm not sure too many would have forseen that at the start of the season. It just goes to show, that a balanced side of players that complement each other is more important for success than a team full of stand-out indviduals.
A bit cynical there, DRF........ !
After a bright start at the beginning of last season when we played good possession football, Racon seemed to lose his way when tactics changed from 4-5-1 to a more direct 4-4-2.
Then as Parky juggled with the team during a bleak patch, Racon was shifted out wide left to accomodate him somehow - but it was revealed the player asked not to play there, and so subsequently was rarely a regular in the starting 11 for the remainder of the season.
But when he came on as sub in the Swindon playoff game at The Valley, he was a revelation playing in a central advanced midfield role. So again, we had a glimpse of what he's capable of.
I believe the recent effectiveness (rather that just improvement) of Racon's game this season initially began during the Carlisle game with Jackson moving wide left, which made a much tighter midfield unit which suited Racon's game far better.
Since then , his performances have been growing game on game and his confidence has returned. As anyone in the game will tell you, a player's self-confidence is a vital factor in his performance - and here we can see Racon is no exception.
A player without confidence would never even attempt a shot, like Racon's yesterday.
Last night, even without Jackson alongside him for most of the game, his belief levels were high enough for him to carry on with eye catching performances.
And of course, as someone pointed out above, less hoofball and a more passing game brings the best out of Racon anyway.
Not saying he didn't care before, but there's a much better attitude this season. Maybe thats done to Parky as well. Think he will score more goals if only he shot a lttle earlier, he always seems to run with the ball a little too much so when he doe eventually shoot he's off balance or the chance to score is from a harder angle.
Against Swindon I think by then it was 10 v 10 and space had opened up. Did play well but very different to a normal league game.
I kind of agree with BRE in that too often he just doesn't push himself as hard as he can. When he does he's good, sometimes very good. Not saying he's lazy, I've seen worse with the likes of JFH, but he seems to become a bit too laid back.
If he keeps pushing himself that bit more he can play a big part. If doesn't he won't get a good contract here or at many othe clubs and will fine it hard to get regular football above League One. He needs to push himself for his career and that'll benefit us if he does.
Or are they just playing to get in the shop window