God this place is awful after a defeat. Fraser hasn’t been as good as we had hoped yet, and there are plenty of potential explanations for that.
Hope we win tonight so all this goes away for another few days at least.
We should just ignore all defeats.......
No, but we shouldn’t over react to them (especially ones where we were so clearly superior to the opposition on the back of three straight clean sheet wins)
Fraser at his best covers lots of the ground but also has a high energy team around him, like at MK Dons.
Out of all the signings in the last 12 months, I’m more sure he’ll come good than anyone else and was our number one target in the summer.
People need to see the simple things he does. His pass completion is excellent, it’s in the right area, it’s to feet. Just give him time to get fully settled before we see him at his absolute best.
His passes thus far have all been sideways and low risk. Dobson and JFC were attempting far more challenging passes on Saturday .
Anyway , I hope to be proven wrong and that he is outstanding next season .
Agreed. Of course it's still early days, but his passing and vision have so far been unexceptional.
How many creative players are we going to write off as 'shit' before we start to question the coaching, the manager and the tactics?
Charlie Kirk - good player at this level, a number of goals and assists for Crewe. Elliott Lee - good player at this level, won promotion with Luton out of this league, scored 6 in 18 with Oxford last year. Scott Fraser - good player at this level, did well at Burton and was superb for MK Dons.
Possibly you could also even add Oztumer who was great at this level for Walsall and now deemed good enough to be playing in the Turkish top flight.
If we're signing these players, then surely we sign them because they're good at playing a certain role and therefore we should know how to get the best out of them.
If they all suddenly become shit within a few weeks of signing for us, then the problem (in my opinion) is not with the players.
I think it's much more this than anything else. Creative players, especially at league 1 level, are all very different and generally crap at anything other than their specialty.
Oztumer, and Williams, are good examples of that. They are both 10s, signed to play at the top of the diamond. Both could do that but when we moved to different formations, partly down to the emergence of Doughty you had to ask them to do something else. They couldn't.
Lee isn't a 10, neither is Fraser, but that's where we have mainly played him.
You can't plug Kirk into a Millar shape hole and expect it to work.
Millar is probably the poster boy for this though. In his first 3 halves for us he played up front in a 2, left of a 3, left of a midfield 4 and as a 10. That says to me "we think he is good and will work out what to do with him later".
I am not sure it's limited to creative players either, I think there is/was a bit of this going on with Dobson and Clare as well.
I wouldn’t say Jackson using a 10, we have Dobson holding with two ahead of him. One might get forward more often but they’re equally expected to play as CMs and defend rather than sit higher up in the 10 role.
I’d also say Lee is a 10, he played at the tip of a diamond for Luton. Jackson’s played him deeper and it worked for a while but over time we’ve seen he’s not suited to it.
From what I have noticed, and I believe Callum might have a average map which backs this up, is that certainly when we are in possession of the ball both the CM's in front of Dobson are asked to peel to the left and right respectively.
Neither of them ever appear to take up an advanced position in the center of the pitch, which is why we never have options there to pass to, apart from when Stockley drops in deep.
I’ve noticed that too, it’s definitely tactical given Lee, Gilbey and Fraser all do it. When one moves wide the other is probably meant to move up the pitch centrally.
I think of the current squad, Lee is probably the only natural 10 we have.
Fraser, Morgan, Forster-Caskey all benefit from playing deeper where they can use their passing to greater effect. Gilbey doesn’t have the same passing ability but he’s a box to box stamina machine rather than a creative type.
There's a lot of talk here about individual attributes.
Fraser is a good technical player ... a good eye for a pass and he has the attribute that all decent footballers need ... the ability to see things quickly and execute an almost pre-planned pass instinctively.
What he lacks is physicality. So, he needs a 'minder' alongside him. Football is a team game and it's about partnerships all across the pitch.
You will see the best of Fraser ... and it's good ... when we play him in front of two solid and aggressive ball-winners. Dobson may be one. But we need another.
If we do that we will end up with 3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back (if we continue this set up) which is probably at least 1 too many.
There's a lot of talk here about individual attributes.
Fraser is a good technical player ... a good eye for a pass and he has the attribute that all decent footballers need ... the ability to see things quickly and execute an almost pre-planned pass instinctively.
What he lacks is physicality. So, he needs a 'minder' alongside him. Football is a team game and it's about partnerships all across the pitch.
You will see the best of Fraser ... and it's good ... when we play him in front of two solid and aggressive ball-winners. Dobson may be one. But we need another.
If we do that we will end up with 3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back (if we continue this set up) which is probably at least 1 too many.
If you say.
Don't you think so?
No.
You don't think six defensive players is a bit of over kill?
There's a lot of talk here about individual attributes.
Fraser is a good technical player ... a good eye for a pass and he has the attribute that all decent footballers need ... the ability to see things quickly and execute an almost pre-planned pass instinctively.
What he lacks is physicality. So, he needs a 'minder' alongside him. Football is a team game and it's about partnerships all across the pitch.
You will see the best of Fraser ... and it's good ... when we play him in front of two solid and aggressive ball-winners. Dobson may be one. But we need another.
If we do that we will end up with 3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back (if we continue this set up) which is probably at least 1 too many.
If you say.
Don't you think so?
No.
You don't think six defensive players is a bit of over kill?
I don't think that playing Fraser in a midfield with two defensively minded players inevitably leads to the "3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back" line-up that you describe.
There's a lot of talk here about individual attributes.
Fraser is a good technical player ... a good eye for a pass and he has the attribute that all decent footballers need ... the ability to see things quickly and execute an almost pre-planned pass instinctively.
What he lacks is physicality. So, he needs a 'minder' alongside him. Football is a team game and it's about partnerships all across the pitch.
You will see the best of Fraser ... and it's good ... when we play him in front of two solid and aggressive ball-winners. Dobson may be one. But we need another.
If we do that we will end up with 3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back (if we continue this set up) which is probably at least 1 too many.
If you say.
Don't you think so?
No.
You don't think six defensive players is a bit of over kill?
I don't think that playing Fraser in a midfield with two defensively minded players inevitably leads to the "3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back" line-up that you describe.
But that's what we are playing and what Jackson has said we will continue to play?
There's a lot of talk here about individual attributes.
Fraser is a good technical player ... a good eye for a pass and he has the attribute that all decent footballers need ... the ability to see things quickly and execute an almost pre-planned pass instinctively.
What he lacks is physicality. So, he needs a 'minder' alongside him. Football is a team game and it's about partnerships all across the pitch.
You will see the best of Fraser ... and it's good ... when we play him in front of two solid and aggressive ball-winners. Dobson may be one. But we need another.
If we do that we will end up with 3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back (if we continue this set up) which is probably at least 1 too many.
If you say.
Don't you think so?
No.
You don't think six defensive players is a bit of over kill?
I don't think that playing Fraser in a midfield with two defensively minded players inevitably leads to the "3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back" line-up that you describe.
But that's what we are playing and what Jackson has said we will continue to play?
If you say.
Where does your full back play when we have three center (sic) backs?
There's a lot of talk here about individual attributes.
Fraser is a good technical player ... a good eye for a pass and he has the attribute that all decent footballers need ... the ability to see things quickly and execute an almost pre-planned pass instinctively.
What he lacks is physicality. So, he needs a 'minder' alongside him. Football is a team game and it's about partnerships all across the pitch.
You will see the best of Fraser ... and it's good ... when we play him in front of two solid and aggressive ball-winners. Dobson may be one. But we need another.
If we do that we will end up with 3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back (if we continue this set up) which is probably at least 1 too many.
If you say.
Don't you think so?
No.
You don't think six defensive players is a bit of over kill?
I don't think that playing Fraser in a midfield with two defensively minded players inevitably leads to the "3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back" line-up that you describe.
But that's what we are playing and what Jackson has said we will continue to play?
If you say.
Where does your full back play when we have three center (sic) backs?
He has said "one full back, one winger" as the two wing backs. I am not just making it up.
There's a lot of talk here about individual attributes.
Fraser is a good technical player ... a good eye for a pass and he has the attribute that all decent footballers need ... the ability to see things quickly and execute an almost pre-planned pass instinctively.
What he lacks is physicality. So, he needs a 'minder' alongside him. Football is a team game and it's about partnerships all across the pitch.
You will see the best of Fraser ... and it's good ... when we play him in front of two solid and aggressive ball-winners. Dobson may be one. But we need another.
If we do that we will end up with 3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back (if we continue this set up) which is probably at least 1 too many.
If you say.
Don't you think so?
No.
You don't think six defensive players is a bit of over kill?
I don't think that playing Fraser in a midfield with two defensively minded players inevitably leads to the "3 center backs, 2 defensive midfielders and a full back" line-up that you describe.
But that's what we are playing and what Jackson has said we will continue to play?
If you say.
Where does your full back play when we have three center (sic) backs?
He has said "one full back, one winger" as the two wing backs. I am not just making it up.
Right.
So what that means is two wing backs, one of which is more defensively minded, the other more attack minded.
They are the two midfielders who supplement the three midfielders that I have mentioned (eg Fraser plus his two minders).
With two forwards (eg Washington and Stockley), that's your 3-5-2.
Don't forget that all these roles are 'general'. At any one time, it's perfectly reasonable for any player to do something out of the ordinary and beyond his general role. Note that Matthews tonight (your defensively minded wingback) provided the cross for our goal. But then the player reverts to his expected role.
If that sort of line-up equates to six defenders in your mind, so be it. I see it as three defenders and then three midfielders who will stray towards defence rather than attack on most (but not all) occasions.
Shame he has missed quite a few games now. At one point I thought we would see Fraser and JFC in the middle but have had the pleasure of seeing Gilbey instead close the season.
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
He obviously wasn't performing anything like his true self so that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing.
@sage - thanks for the reply. It sounds like we will be able to get a full pre season with him and then push on from there.
Let's hope we see a number of player of the season contenders next season, unlike this as its desperately needed to be on the fringes of the play offs.
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
I wish the club would communicate these injuries. Half the fan base criticising Fraser and the guy had 2 cysts ffs.
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
I wish the club would communicate these injuries. Half the fan base criticising Fraser and the guy had 2 cysts ffs.
I had one, God knows how he played at all with 2. Some days I couldn't walk!
Didn't the same thing happen with Gilbey last season? Not cysts but a undisclosed injury that only came out months later.
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
I wish the club would communicate these injuries. Half the fan base criticising Fraser and the guy had 2 cysts ffs.
I had one, God knows how he played at all with 2. Some days I couldn't walk!
Didn't the same thing happen with Gilbey last season? Not cysts but a undisclosed injury that only came out months later.
Yes, I think that was him having Covid, which they never disclosed. Gilbey did himself eventually.
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
I wish the club would communicate these injuries. Half the fan base criticising Fraser and the guy had 2 cysts ffs.
I had one, God knows how he played at all with 2. Some days I couldn't walk!
Didn't the same thing happen with Gilbey last season? Not cysts but a undisclosed injury that only came out months later.
Yes, I think that was him having Covid, which they never disclosed. Gilbey did himself eventually.
That was the start of this season which Adkins said, rightfully, that it was private. But about the time Bowyer went last year Gilbey came out and said he had been playing with an injury, I think it was his ankle?
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
I wish the club would communicate these injuries. Half the fan base criticising Fraser and the guy had 2 cysts ffs.
I had one, God knows how he played at all with 2. Some days I couldn't walk!
Didn't the same thing happen with Gilbey last season? Not cysts but a undisclosed injury that only came out months later.
Yes, I think that was him having Covid, which they never disclosed. Gilbey did himself eventually.
That was the start of this season which Adkins said, rightfully, that it was private. But about the time Bowyer went last year Gilbey came out and said he had been playing with an injury, I think it was his ankle?
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
I wish the club would communicate these injuries. Half the fan base criticising Fraser and the guy had 2 cysts ffs.
This was the same problem with Chuks Aneke last season. He was involved in the 18 man squad on 36 occasions out of the 46 game season; 4 of those was because of Covid. If I was Aneke's agent or Dad I would advise him to discuss the reason why he couldn't play more games or enough minutes over 3 seasons. It wasn't only the muscle injury that kept him out recently.
Both Jackson and Gallen get slagged off as well by the ignorant critics on Fraser since he joined us. I'm all about transparency and communication in life and sport. If Fraser talks openly about his health issues with Sage then it can't be a secret.
Fraser was an excellent buy in League 1 and the few times I saw him for cafc it was obvious his fitness wasn't great. At first I assumed it was because he lost his place at Ipswich and wasn't match fit. Cysts on the knee related to Covid sounds interesting but sounds like the doctors aren't really sure as Covid can cause no issue for a 90 year old fit man with no underlying problems yet can cause numerous problems for a professional sportsman in their 20's; or vice versa when a elderly person dies and a footballer has next to no symptoms.
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
I wish the club would communicate these injuries. Half the fan base criticising Fraser and the guy had 2 cysts ffs.
This was the same problem with Chuks Aneke last season. He was involved in the 18 man squad on 36 occasions out of the 46 game season; 4 of those was because of Covid. If I was Aneke's agent or Dad I would advise him to discuss the reason why he couldn't play more games or enough minutes over 3 seasons. It wasn't only the muscle injury that kept him out recently.
Both Jackson and Gallen get slagged off as well by the ignorant critics on Fraser since he joined us. I'm all about transparency and communication in life and sport. If Fraser talks openly about his health issues with Sage then it can't be a secret.
Fraser was an excellent buy in League 1 and the few times I saw him for cafc it was obvious his fitness wasn't great. At first I assumed it was because he lost his place at Ipswich and wasn't match fit. Cysts on the knee related to Covid sounds interesting but sounds like the doctors aren't really sure as Covid can cause no issue for a 90 year old fit man with no underlying problems yet can cause numerous problems for a professional sportsman in their 20's; or vice versa when a elderly person dies and a footballer has next to no symptoms.
Fraser is asthmatic and was really unwell with Covid. Everyone is different and he was just unfortunate that on top of fighting the illness his body developed cysts as well.
He’ll be back and ready for pre-season.
I agree that communication could be better but we are not entitled to know every bit of personal information about the players. I am just fortunate that Fraser was open and honest with me, not everyone would be.
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
I wish the club would communicate these injuries. Half the fan base criticising Fraser and the guy had 2 cysts ffs.
This was the same problem with Chuks Aneke last season. He was involved in the 18 man squad on 36 occasions out of the 46 game season; 4 of those was because of Covid. If I was Aneke's agent or Dad I would advise him to discuss the reason why he couldn't play more games or enough minutes over 3 seasons. It wasn't only the muscle injury that kept him out recently.
Both Jackson and Gallen get slagged off as well by the ignorant critics on Fraser since he joined us. I'm all about transparency and communication in life and sport. If Fraser talks openly about his health issues with Sage then it can't be a secret.
Fraser was an excellent buy in League 1 and the few times I saw him for cafc it was obvious his fitness wasn't great. At first I assumed it was because he lost his place at Ipswich and wasn't match fit. Cysts on the knee related to Covid sounds interesting but sounds like the doctors aren't really sure as Covid can cause no issue for a 90 year old fit man with no underlying problems yet can cause numerous problems for a professional sportsman in their 20's; or vice versa when a elderly person dies and a footballer has next to no symptoms.
Fraser is asthmatic and was really unwell with Covid. Everyone is different and he was just unfortunate that on top of fighting the illness his body developed cysts as well.
He’ll be back and ready for pre-season.
I agree that communication could be better but we are not entitled to know every bit of personal information about the players. I am just fortunate that Fraser was open and honest with me, not everyone would be.
I had a freak reaction to having Covid, got hives all over my torso since. Some of those are now becoming blistered.
I can only imagine how uncomfortable it would be to have this AND be struggling.to breathe.
Comments
Fraser, Morgan, Forster-Caskey all benefit from playing deeper where they can use their passing to greater effect. Gilbey doesn’t have the same passing ability but he’s a box to box stamina machine rather than a creative type.
Where does your full back play when we have three center (sic) backs?
Right.
So what that means is two wing backs, one of which is more defensively minded, the other more attack minded.
They are the two midfielders who supplement the three midfielders that I have mentioned (eg Fraser plus his two minders).
With two forwards (eg Washington and Stockley), that's your 3-5-2.
Don't forget that all these roles are 'general'. At any one time, it's perfectly reasonable for any player to do something out of the ordinary and beyond his general role. Note that Matthews tonight (your defensively minded wingback) provided the cross for our goal. But then the player reverts to his expected role.
If that sort of line-up equates to six defenders in your mind, so be it. I see it as three defenders and then three midfielders who will stray towards defence rather than attack on most (but not all) occasions.
Fraser was over the moon to join us and really is positive about next season. 6 days after signing he caught COVID. He was due to start the Bolton game but didn’t feel 100%, so was on the bench and came on and set up Aneke’s goal and thought ‘yes, I’ll kick on now’. But when he did his running after the game that the subs do, he couldn’t move - his chest was so tight and really struggled.
Fraser explained to me that he went to the doctor and was really quite worried, the following day he tested positive. It knocked him for six and he really struggled with it. Fraser has asthma too which would’ve added another factor into his health.
When he got back it obviously took him time to get back to some form of fitness. When he was playing after his return, he was getting a pain in his knee but it was settling down so he carried on. It got to the Accrington Stanley game where the pain was really bad and then the Lincoln game was just too much. They done the scans and found that he had developed 2 cysts in the side and back of his knee.
Doctors and specialists believe somehow as a result of COVID he had developed this injury. The cysts were drained and cleared but the specialist and doctors have said it’s too risky to play, especially in games that don’t mean anything, so he needed to recover fully. He is extremely frustrated for how this season has panned out but is excited for the return of pre-season where he’ll be able to finally kick on and show everyone what he’s really made of.
He was fantastic to talk to and made me feel welcome and comfortable chatting along so freely. I’m excited to see what he brings next season as I think next season’s player of the year is already at the club…
Let's hope we see a number of player of the season contenders next season, unlike this as its desperately needed to be on the fringes of the play offs.
Half the fan base criticising Fraser and the guy had 2 cysts ffs.
Didn't the same thing happen with Gilbey last season? Not cysts but a undisclosed injury that only came out months later.
Gilbey did himself eventually.
Trendy Vicar (left) and the former teenage tearaway (right) that he's helped straighten his life out after a spell in a juvenile delinquents centre.
Didn't take then long to get Charltonised.
This was the same problem with Chuks Aneke last season. He was involved in the 18 man squad on 36 occasions out of the 46 game season; 4 of those was because of Covid. If I was Aneke's agent or Dad I would advise him to discuss the reason why he couldn't play more games or enough minutes over 3 seasons. It wasn't only the muscle injury that kept him out recently.
Both Jackson and Gallen get slagged off as well by the ignorant critics on Fraser since he joined us. I'm all about transparency and communication in life and sport. If Fraser talks openly about his health issues with Sage then it can't be a secret.
Fraser was an excellent buy in League 1 and the few times I saw him for cafc it was obvious his fitness wasn't great. At first I assumed it was because he lost his place at Ipswich and wasn't match fit.
Cysts on the knee related to Covid sounds interesting but sounds like the doctors aren't really sure as Covid can cause no issue for a 90 year old fit man with no underlying problems yet can cause numerous problems for a professional sportsman in their 20's; or vice versa when a elderly person dies and a footballer has next to no symptoms.
He’ll be back and ready for pre-season.
I agree that communication could be better but we are not entitled to know every bit of personal information about the players. I am just fortunate that Fraser was open and honest with me, not everyone would be.
I can only imagine how uncomfortable it would be to have this AND be struggling.to breathe.