Burns and Chaplin

[number 9]

In my opinion, Burns and Caplin can be explosive players scoring clutch goals when other forwards are misfiring. However, both players tend to run hot and cold. What can KM do to help Burns and Chaplin maintain consistency? Can KM adjust the game plan to suit them, or should they be substituted and rotated until they regain form? Personally I’m more confident when Burns and Chaplin start.

[Ricco]

Can't you put Broadhead in that little group too? Maybe it's just the way it is, form will come and go. If you score a few on the bouce then teams will single you out and double up marking on you. Sometimes you'll be up against a weak player, sometimes a strong player, and that will determine how well it appears that you play. Then there are niggles, fatigue, illness. Perhaps there's nothing in their games that are wrong or that can be improved on, perhaps its just life??

[Bluemike]

I really don't think Chaplin runs hot and cold, yes he has the odd quiet game but by and large he's very much on it, even in the quiet games he produces a moment of brilliance like the raking cross field ball against Coventry from which Burns ended up scoring the screamer.

[number 9]

I really don't think Chaplin runs hot and cold, yes he has the odd quiet game but by and large he's very much on it, even in the quiet games he produces a moment of brilliance like the raking cross field ball against Coventry from which Burns ended up scoring the screamer.

You and the other supporters who attend matches regularly will certainly have a more realistic assessment than me. It would be great to hear others opinions as I’m genuinely interested in what people think. I know, a legitimate topic for discussion from 9 for a change.

[lucy]

Hirst needs to join this little Group too

[hallamblue]

I really don't think Chaplin runs hot and cold, yes he has the odd quiet game but by and large he's very much on it, even in the quiet games he produces a moment of brilliance like the raking cross field ball against Coventry from which Burns ended up scoring the screamer.

Wadda ya mean? That was a sh*t pass.

[Bluemike]

Blues boss Kieran McKenna says forward Conor Chaplin is having a really strong season and plays a massive role for Town.

Chaplin, last season’s 29-goal top scorer, has so far netted seven times during this campaign, the joint-highest alongside Nathan Broadhead.

“He's having a really strong season, no doubt about it,” McKenna said of the 26-year-old.

“I’ve said many times before that he's a massive cultural leader for us here in the club in how he trains every day, his values as a person, how he looks after his teammates, but also pushes and challenges everyone to keep bettering themselves in the way that he keeps trying to better himself.

“So he has a massive role for us. Of course, on the pitch he's having a really strong season. It is certainly a big step-up.

“Like all the other players, he feels that the level of the opposition and the defenders against him is higher, but he keeps adapting.

“He keeps trying to find different solutions within his game to overcome each challenge that he's presented with. Certainly teams have tried different ways to defend against us and different ways to defend against our relationships on each side of the pitch.

“For example, how to defend against our relationships on the right-hand side of the pitch. But Conor is always thirsty to keep improving and keep trying to find different solutions that can help him effect the game on and off the ball.

“Then what he has carried up, we all know his finishing ability. Anything in the penalty area and, to be fair, this year he could have scored two goals from 45 yards out.

“But in general, anything in the penalty area we know that he's a really good finisher. In that aspect, no matter what level you go up to, the goal is the same size. Conor, certainly, is someone who is in the right position knows how to find certain parts of the net.”

Well that's what McKenna thinks on the subject of Chappers.

[arana peligrosa]

Why hasn't another club name come in or made an offer for Chaplin. They must have thought "there's a kid there scoring 30 goals a season and he's a midfield player" We know he's by right a forward player used out of position by the manager but others wouldn't be aware or incorrectly assume midfield is his natural position. All they see is a player racking up goals a number of actual forwards could only dream of. Point being, surely he's been approached by others or some offer's been discussed. Maybe his contact won't allow it, he's tied to us and no-one else. Not all up on certain elements within individual players. A player like that, can only draw attention.

Chaplin has been, and is, an indispensable asset for the team. Not only provides but can create, probably motivates those around him if truth be told. No player is consistently game for game effective, such a thing doesn't exist, but Chaplin's presence on the field alone would or could induce others to perform. He won't be the real deal each time we play but we got so many other names on the roster that can compensate for any poor performance from the player in question.

While skeptical at first, Burns has proved over time to be a valuable member of the squad, contributes key goals and can create from midfield also. These two without question are one of the most pivotal ingredients of the entire team. Without either the promotion just may not occurred, or the start made in a higher league since August. Suppose you got to take into account no club is a two-person team, there's nine other players out on the field but names such as those, sometimes they can go a long way in order to motivate an entire team.

[Mauswara]

"In that aspect, no matter what level you go up to, the goal is the same size."

I like that.

[hallamblue]

Think it’s fair to say, that in the main we have intelligent players in this squad. They are invested in the club, the fans and the area they live in . A far cry from so many players in my humble opinion who often can’t beyond their bank balance. Great recruitment by Ashton and McKenna I think.