Not saying Gass has been good but I can't remember one decent cross into him. Hes a target man... Our crossing needs some serious work too. Neither Ramsey or Small have shown they can cross the ball as yet.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
I am not so worried about the goals. We can see how many goals he can get at this level from how he did at Cambridge. What concerns me is in our build up, losing 50/50s and not holding the ball up well which affects our overall effectiveness. He does work but I think we need a player who beats centre halves to headers and puts himself about a bit. I haven't seen that in him.....yet.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
To be fair to him the cross was hit extremely hard.
Judging by pic 2, if he’d got himself much further forward in anticipation then he would’ve been offside
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
To be fair to him the cross was hit extremely hard.
Judging by pic 2, if he’d got himself much further forward in anticipation then he would’ve been offside
Going by photo 1 it looks like he's potentially got the run on the centre back, so surely from there he should've been looking to get across the defender so when the cross comes he's ahead of him (not in offside terms, but in terms of being nearest).
Also worth noting that this season so far we've been absolutely obsessed with cut backs. Normally we play the ball back in to the edge of the box to advancing midfielders instead of trying to put it on our strikers' heads or at their feet. Campbell has absolutely blasted that across the face of goal and Ahadme can't get there in time. If we were doing that all the time then maybe he would have read it better and angled his run differently or set off earlier in anticipation but to be honest I was pretty surprised to see us put in a ball across the face of goal like that. Ahadme doesn't strike me as the kind of striker to score 1 from 1 either, he looks like he needs a few chances across a game as most strikers at this level do and we're not going to get much change out of him if we provide him with one chance a game
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
To be fair to him the cross was hit extremely hard.
Judging by pic 2, if he’d got himself much further forward in anticipation then he would’ve been offside
Going by photo 1 it looks like he's potentially got the run on the centre back, so surely from there he should've been looking to get across the defender so when the cross comes he's ahead of him (not in offside terms, but in terms of being nearest).
No need to get across him as he can trust that TC's ball will be good enough (and it was), it was a great chance but not too much more Ahadme could do IMO. Maybe he could've slid in a bit earlier but still no guarantee he gets there
I don't think he's the best thing since sliced bread and he's clearly not an experienced or impactful target man but he's come into a new club and having to get used to a certain way of playing, in a role he's not suited to. His young colleagues (TC) is learning how to play in a front 2, while 2 others are having their minutes managed (Chuks and Matty)....... one of the others isn't currently available at all (ML) and the other (DK) is relatively inexperienced and raw. On top of that, Gass likes to score with his head, which relies on decent, consistent wing (back) service...... and that's been inconsistent and shaky at best. He also feeds off the scraps from a proper target man and the only one who might offer him that so far is Chuks and they haven't had a ton of minutes together for the reasons we all know. I think we will get assists and goals from him.......... not loads but a decent amount........ in particular, when Matty and Miles feature more........ so it will take time.......... but not too long I hope
My concern is not with Ahadme, or Campbell, it is with the middle third. Jason Euell got off to a slow start, as did Andy Hunt and Alfie May. For a striker, a goal or two can change everything. But we as a team, have to be posing more of a threat going forward.
My concern is not with Ahadme, or Campbell, it is with the middle third. Jason Euell got off to a slow start, as did Andy Hunt and Alfie May. For a striker, a goal or two can change everything. But we as a team, have to be posing more of a threat going forward.
Hunt’s all round game was excellent though when he was scoring .
i agree though - we don’t yet pose enough threat - Nathan has alluded to that himself
I think there is a tidyness to our attacking play but it falls away the higher we get up the pitch. There is a logic to this as opponents will defend the danger areas more tightly. That is why you need to break through the lines and the hold up play of the forwards has a part to play in this. That is the part of Ahadme's game that has disapointed me most. Ball comes to him, win a 50/50 or even a 60/40 and lay off to a wing back and get into the box with one or two defenders out of position. That is what should be happening with the way we are set up IMO.
A player who can do that would make a massive difference and that player isn't May but it also isn't Ahadme, although it could change of course. I have to give that caviat as we are only four league games into the season.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
He has failed to show any strikers instinct and the same happened in the game against Orient where Small did put a good cross in but Ahadme is lingering at the back post again where the space and the danger was in the middle or the front post. He’s not got in front of his defender when in the box once, his had a header where the defender was a yard or two away from him, and that’s about it.
We can’t judge him on transfer fee etc, but we can judge him on his ability as a footballer and so far, I’ve not seen enough to say he’s going to be any good for us.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
He has failed to show any strikers instinct and the same happened in the game against Orient where Small did put a good cross in but Ahadme is lingering at the back post again where the space and the danger was in the middle or the front post. He’s not got in front of his defender when in the box once, his had a header where the defender was a yard or two away from him, and that’s about it.
We can’t judge him on transfer fee etc, but we can judge him on his ability as a footballer and so far, I’ve not seen enough to say he’s going to be any good for us.
However the fact that we can pick out specific chances he’s had shows how poor the service has been.
Go back to our successful teams and the top goalscorers would have had plenty of chances and missed some good ones within that.
BWP went on a long run without scoring for example in our title winning season, and May didn’t score in his first four(?) games - some even doubted it would work out as he had missed a few decent chances.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
He has failed to show any strikers instinct and the same happened in the game against Orient where Small did put a good cross in but Ahadme is lingering at the back post again where the space and the danger was in the middle or the front post. He’s not got in front of his defender when in the box once, his had a header where the defender was a yard or two away from him, and that’s about it.
We can’t judge him on transfer fee etc, but we can judge him on his ability as a footballer and so far, I’ve not seen enough to say he’s going to be any good for us.
However the fact that we can pick out specific chances he’s had shows how poor the service has been.
Go back to our successful teams and the top goalscorers would have had plenty of chances and missed some good ones within that.
BWP went on a long run without scoring for example in our title winning season, and May didn’t score in his first four(?) games - some even doubted it would work out as he had missed a few decent chances.
Ahadme isn’t really getting into positions to score though and that’s half the issue. BWP and May went on runs without scoring but still was getting into the position to score. We have also played only 4 league games, it’s easy to pick out specific chances.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
He has failed to show any strikers instinct and the same happened in the game against Orient where Small did put a good cross in but Ahadme is lingering at the back post again where the space and the danger was in the middle or the front post. He’s not got in front of his defender when in the box once, his had a header where the defender was a yard or two away from him, and that’s about it.
We can’t judge him on transfer fee etc, but we can judge him on his ability as a footballer and so far, I’ve not seen enough to say he’s going to be any good for us.
However the fact that we can pick out specific chances he’s had shows how poor the service has been.
Go back to our successful teams and the top goalscorers would have had plenty of chances and missed some good ones within that.
BWP went on a long run without scoring for example in our title winning season, and May didn’t score in his first four(?) games - some even doubted it would work out as he had missed a few decent chances.
Ahadme isn’t really getting into positions to score though and that’s half the issue. BWP and May went on runs without scoring but still was getting into the position to score. We have also played only 4 league games, it’s easy to pick out specific chances.
Of course it’s partly on him, but I think everyone would agree our crossing and set piece delivery needs to improve in quality and increase in volume. That’s how he scored most of his goals at Cambridge.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
He has failed to show any strikers instinct and the same happened in the game against Orient where Small did put a good cross in but Ahadme is lingering at the back post again where the space and the danger was in the middle or the front post. He’s not got in front of his defender when in the box once, his had a header where the defender was a yard or two away from him, and that’s about it.
We can’t judge him on transfer fee etc, but we can judge him on his ability as a footballer and so far, I’ve not seen enough to say he’s going to be any good for us.
However the fact that we can pick out specific chances he’s had shows how poor the service has been.
Go back to our successful teams and the top goalscorers would have had plenty of chances and missed some good ones within that.
BWP went on a long run without scoring for example in our title winning season, and May didn’t score in his first four(?) games - some even doubted it would work out as he had missed a few decent chances.
Ahadme isn’t really getting into positions to score though and that’s half the issue. BWP and May went on runs without scoring but still was getting into the position to score. We have also played only 4 league games, it’s easy to pick out specific chances.
Of course it’s partly on him, but I think everyone would agree our crossing and set piece delivery needs to improve in quality and increase in volume. That’s how he scored most of his goals at Cambridge.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
He has failed to show any strikers instinct and the same happened in the game against Orient where Small did put a good cross in but Ahadme is lingering at the back post again where the space and the danger was in the middle or the front post. He’s not got in front of his defender when in the box once, his had a header where the defender was a yard or two away from him, and that’s about it.
We can’t judge him on transfer fee etc, but we can judge him on his ability as a footballer and so far, I’ve not seen enough to say he’s going to be any good for us.
However the fact that we can pick out specific chances he’s had shows how poor the service has been.
Go back to our successful teams and the top goalscorers would have had plenty of chances and missed some good ones within that.
BWP went on a long run without scoring for example in our title winning season, and May didn’t score in his first four(?) games - some even doubted it would work out as he had missed a few decent chances.
Ahadme isn’t really getting into positions to score though and that’s half the issue. BWP and May went on runs without scoring but still was getting into the position to score. We have also played only 4 league games, it’s easy to pick out specific chances.
Of course it’s partly on him, but I think everyone would agree our crossing and set piece delivery needs to improve in quality and increase in volume. That’s how he scored most of his goals at Cambridge.
I kind of agree but as Sage alludes, you can usually see the striker make a good run or lose their man and think, if only the right cross or ball was put in, he'd have had an excellent chance. Not been many of those.
I'm kind of holding on to the idea that he's been playing through an injury because I can't imagine he's actually this bad.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
To be fair to him the cross was hit extremely hard.
Judging by pic 2, if he’d got himself much further forward in anticipation then he would’ve been offside
He's behind TC and the ball throughout so offside not possible He didn't get in there cos he's not quick enough between the ears
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
He has failed to show any strikers instinct and the same happened in the game against Orient where Small did put a good cross in but Ahadme is lingering at the back post again where the space and the danger was in the middle or the front post. He’s not got in front of his defender when in the box once, his had a header where the defender was a yard or two away from him, and that’s about it.
We can’t judge him on transfer fee etc, but we can judge him on his ability as a footballer and so far, I’ve not seen enough to say he’s going to be any good for us.
However the fact that we can pick out specific chances he’s had shows how poor the service has been.
Go back to our successful teams and the top goalscorers would have had plenty of chances and missed some good ones within that.
BWP went on a long run without scoring for example in our title winning season, and May didn’t score in his first four(?) games - some even doubted it would work out as he had missed a few decent chances.
Ahadme isn’t really getting into positions to score though and that’s half the issue. BWP and May went on runs without scoring but still was getting into the position to score. We have also played only 4 league games, it’s easy to pick out specific chances.
Of course it’s partly on him, but I think everyone would agree our crossing and set piece delivery needs to improve in quality and increase in volume. That’s how he scored most of his goals at Cambridge.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
He has failed to show any strikers instinct and the same happened in the game against Orient where Small did put a good cross in but Ahadme is lingering at the back post again where the space and the danger was in the middle or the front post. He’s not got in front of his defender when in the box once, his had a header where the defender was a yard or two away from him, and that’s about it.
We can’t judge him on transfer fee etc, but we can judge him on his ability as a footballer and so far, I’ve not seen enough to say he’s going to be any good for us.
However the fact that we can pick out specific chances he’s had shows how poor the service has been.
Go back to our successful teams and the top goalscorers would have had plenty of chances and missed some good ones within that.
BWP went on a long run without scoring for example in our title winning season, and May didn’t score in his first four(?) games - some even doubted it would work out as he had missed a few decent chances.
Ahadme isn’t really getting into positions to score though and that’s half the issue. BWP and May went on runs without scoring but still was getting into the position to score. We have also played only 4 league games, it’s easy to pick out specific chances.
Of course it’s partly on him, but I think everyone would agree our crossing and set piece delivery needs to improve in quality and increase in volume. That’s how he scored most of his goals at Cambridge.
I kind of agree but as Sage alludes, you can usually see the striker make a good run or lose their man and think, if only the right cross or ball was put in, he'd have had an excellent chance. Not been many of those.
I'm kind of holding on to the idea that he's been playing through an injury because I can't imagine he's actually this bad.
That’s fair but he scored around 1 in 3 for Cambridge last season. We have to be asking why doesn’t he look anywhere near that for us so far.
For me we need to improve our attacking play across the team, just putting better strikers in won’t solve it all.
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
To be fair to him the cross was hit extremely hard.
Judging by pic 2, if he’d got himself much further forward in anticipation then he would’ve been offside
He's behind TC and the ball throughout so offside not possible He didn't get in there cos he's not quick enough between the ears
Ridiculous comment he did not get there because it was a poor over hit cross by Campbell … who hard unselfish work got us the first goal v Bolton , who created great opening for Campbell on Saturday ….
I thought this chance when TC went forward and squared across thet yard box showed he didn’t have that poachers instinct when he should have been hammering it to get in there and get on the end of that cross , instead it’s a couple of yards in front of him .
To be fair to him the cross was hit extremely hard.
Judging by pic 2, if he’d got himself much further forward in anticipation then he would’ve been offside
He's behind TC and the ball throughout so offside not possible He didn't get in there cos he's not quick enough between the ears
That’s what I’m saying, if he’s further forward then he’s ahead of TC and would be offside
I see about people saying TC’s over hit the cross but if you put yourself in his position, you look up and see Ahadme behind his defender and at the back post, you’ve got to put enough on it to beat the keeper and the defender just to reach him.
If TC can see Ahadme has run into the space to attack it, he might not have put as much on the cross. Just pointing out a different view from what would likely be TC’s thoughts.
I highly doubt he scores any goals this season from low drilled crosses, that’s not his game.
For him to have any chance from TC’s cross there, he needed the ball floated across so he could attack it with his head.
Just a bit of miscommunication / partnership building that’s going to take time to get right.
It’s admitting that he’s limited but again, the club will have known these things about him before they bought him and they’ll also know he’s not getting the service he thrives on. Either we work to give him that service or pull him from the starting XI.
The one time the ball has been floated into the box in his vicinity from wide areas, he got his head on the end of it and directed the ball back across the goalkeeper. That was a glimpse of what he offers and that’s what he needs to start scoring some goals.
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Judging by pic 2, if he’d got himself much further forward in anticipation then he would’ve been offside
On top of that, Gass likes to score with his head, which relies on decent, consistent wing (back) service...... and that's been inconsistent and shaky at best.
He also feeds off the scraps from a proper target man and the only one who might offer him that so far is Chuks and they haven't had a ton of minutes together for the reasons we all know.
I think we will get assists and goals from him.......... not loads but a decent amount........ in particular, when Matty and Miles feature more........ so it will take time.......... but not too long I hope
Jason Euell got off to a slow start, as did Andy Hunt and Alfie May.
For a striker, a goal or two can change everything.
But we as a team, have to be posing more of a threat going forward.
i agree though - we don’t yet pose enough threat - Nathan has alluded to that himself
A player who can do that would make a massive difference and that player isn't May but it also isn't Ahadme, although it could change of course. I have to give that caviat as we are only four league games into the season.
We can’t judge him on transfer fee etc, but we can judge him on his ability as a footballer and so far, I’ve not seen enough to say he’s going to be any good for us.
Go back to our successful teams and the top goalscorers would have had plenty of chances and missed some good ones within that.
BWP went on a long run without scoring for example in our title winning season, and May didn’t score in his first four(?) games - some even doubted it would work out as he had missed a few decent chances.
I'm kind of holding on to the idea that he's been playing through an injury because I can't imagine he's actually this bad.
Reading: bottom
Bolton: bottom
Orient: bottom
Wigan: 2nd from bottom
That's a lot of bottoms
He didn't get in there cos he's not quick enough between the ears
For me we need to improve our attacking play across the team, just putting better strikers in won’t solve it all.
If TC can see Ahadme has run into the space to attack it, he might not have put as much on the cross. Just pointing out a different view from what would likely be TC’s thoughts.
For him to have any chance from TC’s cross there, he needed the ball floated across so he could attack it with his head.
Just a bit of miscommunication / partnership building that’s going to take time to get right.
The one time the ball has been floated into the box in his vicinity from wide areas, he got his head on the end of it and directed the ball back across the goalkeeper. That was a glimpse of what he offers and that’s what he needs to start scoring some goals.
Ahadme wins a lot of headers which is something we haven’t possessed for quite a while.