Naylor up front....Is it an option???

Post by **loudnproud** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:48 am

I'm not convinced...On all the games he has played up front he has looked a complete turkey,His commitment is their but from open play you never quite feel that he is going to score and we are found wanting at the back without him.
I would of liked to see BFJ start with Lee&Mini-mac then peters(half each) or perhaps inject further youth into the affray,Knights,Clarke.I accept that these are not 90 min players at this level,however they are players who will run at defenders and force free kicks in dangerous positions for the likes of Naylor to get a head on. Naylor up front for me is not an option,His strength is at the back and his threat is from free kicks won by tricky youthfull players having a kick-a-bout up front.
Our front line is now very thin if Lee is out also,If there was ever a time to come out and support your club it has to be now. We all want to share the glory,We all want the good times back at PR. Our next 3 games are huge if we have any hopes for this season.....enjoy it anyway. See ya awl at wolves!!

Walton Blue · Post by **Walton Blue** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 5:55 am

Royle said on the radio last night that he is looking to bring in a defender and forward on loan.

From That,i gather he probably has the intention of playing naylor as an emergency striker and get a defender to replace him at the back.

Himple · Post by **Himple** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 6:23 am

Yeah im worried when Naylor goes upfront because we miss his presence at the back. Interested to see who Joe can get his hands on.

the-mole · Post by **the-mole** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 6:29 am

I know we are short up front Mini Mac is proof of that (sorry) but I am not sure if we should risk bringing someone else in?? Stick with what we have got for now - Parkin is on the way back - proudlock is kicking about somewhere - give the likes of Mini Mac and Peters a go at things up front. Hopefully Lee will only be out for a game at the most. Danny Haynes could well be back in another couple of weeks too.

If we can survive the next couple of weeks then I hope we can come on strong again. Bringing in new players now could upset the balance of our squad - and leave us short of potential funds for next season.

Bluebird · Post by **Bluebird** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 6:35 am

Himple_ITFC wrote:Yeah im worried when Naylor goes upfront because we miss his presence at the back. Interested to see who Joe can get his hands on.

I agree, we lose far more at the back, than we gain from his limited abilities up front.
Play him at centre half please Joe.

Mork · Post by **Mork** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 7:39 am

I'm not so sure - bringing on Naylor up front with Lee against Burnely changed the game for us - the two together created a real problem for the Burnley defense, and I thought Naylor did himself proud.

It's not his natural position anymore, but we should be glad we have an option such as that. If you ask me, I'd prefer Naylor up front over Parkin pretty much every day of the week - still, there's no doubting he's best placed in defense.

toby · Post by **toby** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:03 am

Mork wrote:I'm not so sure - bringing on Naylor up front with Lee against Burnely changed the game for us - the two together created a real problem for the Burnley defense, and I thought Naylor did himself proud.

I totally agree, what I don't think people understand when they say that Naylor did nothing upfront on saturday, is that he took a lot of the pressure off of Lee which in turn allowed him to run the game up front for us.

Without Naylor's extra physically presence Burnley were able to put two and sometimes three men on Lee and no matter how good a player he is they were able to pretty much nullify his threat in and around the penalty area.

Contrast that with the 2nd half and you will see that while Naylor may not have had many chances himself, and to be fair wasted the one really good one he did have, I don't think it should be understated how much of an effect he had.

Having said all that, like Mork, I would much prefer to see him in his commanding role at the back, still if needs must at least we know he can do a job for us.

Dubai Blue · Post by **Dubai Blue** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 8:34 am

If all we need is a bit of physical presence up front to give Lee a chance to get some space then why is JR being so fussy about loanees ? Surely it would be easy to get someone in to do that job at least as well as Naylor ?

I think the fact is that while Naylor did put himself about a bit in the last 2 games, what JR is looking for as a partner is someone more along the Forster/Haynes model. So if this is true, why use Naylor ?

toby · Post by **toby** » Wed Feb 15, 2006 9:27 am

Dubai Blue wrote:If all we need is a bit of physical presence up front to give Lee a chance to get some space then why is JR being so fussy about loanees ? Surely it would be easy to get someone in to do that job at least as well as Naylor ?

I think the fact is that while Naylor did put himself about a bit in the last 2 games, what JR is looking for as a partner is someone more along the Forster/Haynes model. So if this is true, why use Naylor ?

I would guess it's because he is our only option at the moment!!!!

Dubai Blue · Post by **Dubai Blue** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:44 am

But its not Tobster. Mini Mac, Peters, possibly Knights.....

toby · Post by **toby** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 8:51 am

Dubai Blue wrote:But its not Tobster. Mini Mac, Peters, possibly Knights.....

Well as I see it (which could very well be completely arse about face!) we are short of TWO strikers at the moment.

Mini Mac is one option, as is Knights but Peters, as far as I'm aware, has never played upfront and to be honest Naylor is the only player we have fit at the moment who has any real experience of playing upfront at this level.

Naylor is also the only one of those names who has any kind of physical presence.

Personally I'd rather see Naylor at the back (as I still think he is our best defender at the moment) but I'll leave it up to Mr Royle as he seems to be doing a hell of a job in very trying circumstances at the moment!

Dubai Blue · Post by **Dubai Blue** » Thu Feb 16, 2006 4:13 pm

You're right Tobster, if you are thinking 4-4-2. But recently we've seen plenty of 4-5-1 with Currie & Haynes in particular linking the midfield with Lee.

If we play Fuller on Saturday as the 1 in 4-5-1 then we have options don't you think ? Perhaps Currie to start with Mini Mac ready to strip off and take advantage of tired legs.