Dozzell and Counago
Posted: Sun Oct 16, 2022 9:18 pm
Some rambling thoughts about Saturday's game and a couple of ex-players.
On Saturday I watched the first half of Luton v QPR before venturing to Portman Road. I noticed that Andre Dozzell was on the bench for QPR. I think he came on later on, but as I say I only saw the first half. As I drove in, I was thinking how I used to rate him. But we have a squad now that is so much better that I'm fairly sure he wouldn't get in our starting eleven in league 1. I thought that was a great indication how much our squad has improved ou r the last couple of years.
And then at half time, Pablo Counago was being interviewed. Both players (Dozzell and Counago) divided opinion, but I couldn't help thinking how much we could do with someone of Pablo's ability. Not just for his goals, or his control, but his vision. You would see the the pass he should make, but he would often see a better one; a disguised ball that threw defences.
I mention it because of comments made following Saturday's defeat. I don't think it is a disaster, and it's good to see the comments have by and large remained calm without too much overreaction. But some of the comments are true. We do play too slowly at times. With the close marking and high line we faced on Saturday, we needed to move the ball more quickly. Not long balls, but quick short passing. We do need people to run at the opposition and take a player on - that's a good way to overcome man marking, as another defender needs to change position/marker once you've beaten someone. That's why the introduction of Edwards was a good idea. But I also mention it because of the comments about Ladapo. I'm afraid I still haven't seen anything that makes me think he will come good. And that's the comparison with Counago. Counago was relatively lazy, Ladapo runs his arse off. But Counago had a good first touch, Ladapo's is Sunday league by comparison. He can hold up play but has no vision. He's not a natural goal scorer either. I'm certainly not blaming hm for the defeat, I don't think had many of the 32 shots on Saturday, but I think his selection shows how short we are of a decent striker. He didn't get many shots because we didn't have anyone behind him who could bring him into the game either - the sort of pass that Counago could make. Chaplin had a quieter game. But, returning to Ladapo, we had 14 corners on Saturday. Most of them were decent corners. Did Ladapo get on the end of any of them? Equally as BlueMike said, the central defenders don't either. When we have scored from corners this season, it has often been a low ball to the edge of the box. If we can't win a header - and we clearly can't -why persist in the high balls?
On Saturday I watched the first half of Luton v QPR before venturing to Portman Road. I noticed that Andre Dozzell was on the bench for QPR. I think he came on later on, but as I say I only saw the first half. As I drove in, I was thinking how I used to rate him. But we have a squad now that is so much better that I'm fairly sure he wouldn't get in our starting eleven in league 1. I thought that was a great indication how much our squad has improved ou r the last couple of years.
And then at half time, Pablo Counago was being interviewed. Both players (Dozzell and Counago) divided opinion, but I couldn't help thinking how much we could do with someone of Pablo's ability. Not just for his goals, or his control, but his vision. You would see the the pass he should make, but he would often see a better one; a disguised ball that threw defences.
I mention it because of comments made following Saturday's defeat. I don't think it is a disaster, and it's good to see the comments have by and large remained calm without too much overreaction. But some of the comments are true. We do play too slowly at times. With the close marking and high line we faced on Saturday, we needed to move the ball more quickly. Not long balls, but quick short passing. We do need people to run at the opposition and take a player on - that's a good way to overcome man marking, as another defender needs to change position/marker once you've beaten someone. That's why the introduction of Edwards was a good idea. But I also mention it because of the comments about Ladapo. I'm afraid I still haven't seen anything that makes me think he will come good. And that's the comparison with Counago. Counago was relatively lazy, Ladapo runs his arse off. But Counago had a good first touch, Ladapo's is Sunday league by comparison. He can hold up play but has no vision. He's not a natural goal scorer either. I'm certainly not blaming hm for the defeat, I don't think had many of the 32 shots on Saturday, but I think his selection shows how short we are of a decent striker. He didn't get many shots because we didn't have anyone behind him who could bring him into the game either - the sort of pass that Counago could make. Chaplin had a quieter game. But, returning to Ladapo, we had 14 corners on Saturday. Most of them were decent corners. Did Ladapo get on the end of any of them? Equally as BlueMike said, the central defenders don't either. When we have scored from corners this season, it has often been a low ball to the edge of the box. If we can't win a header - and we clearly can't -why persist in the high balls?