Naismith tracks back much more than Barkley does.
Once Barkley comes back we can either drop McGeady and put Naismith out wide; drop Naismith directly or; do nothing.
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Naismith tracks back much more than Barkley does.
Once Barkley comes back we can either drop McGeady and put Naismith out wide; drop Naismith directly or; do nothing.
Barkley was one of the worst in the team at tracking back last season, he was the one in the background jogging behind players as they scored or had a great chance on many occasions. Not that I expect or want him to be amazing defensively. However no way he does more defensively just by being in the centre than Naismith does up front and tracking back.
@Pabbers ..no really sure how you work that one out. Not being smart, just don´t see your line of thinking. If he has two on him, it´s when we have the ball...no?
@Pabbers ..no really sure how you work that one out. Not being smart, just don´t see your line of thinking. If he has two on him, it´s when we have the ball...no?
Pabbers
Player Valuation: £60m
Well you mark dangerous players when they dont have the ball, to try and stop that player getting on the ball.
But how does that help defensively when we don´t have the ball, they attack and then also Ross can be slow getting back and not so great so far on winning the ball back?
Pabbers
Player Valuation: £60m
While I dont think Naisy does win the ball back anymore than Barkley, he does 'run-around' more.
Im thinking more that teams will be more likely to be defensive minded, just by having Ross on the pitch. They will work on shutting him out, which may take 1 or 2 players to do so.....limiting their attacking numbers. Thus leaving our defence with less players to watch.
gotcha. makes sense finally. bit of a zombie here in the office today, six nights out in a row and another one or two likely ahead..
I´d disagree on Ross v Nais in defensive terms though, I think Naisy wins hands down but again like I said I don´t expect Ross to be fantastic yet in that area and it appears Bobby is giving some players the permission to be a little less concerned with defense like McGeady said.
davek
Player Valuation: £150m
Stats suggest the defensive side of Ross is better:
2013/14
Barkley Total apps 34 Tackles 33 Interceptions 21
Naismith Total apps 31 Tackles 28 Interceptions 13
Barkley was a sub twice as less as Naismith (9 times compared to 18), so that probably evens it out a fair bit, but not to the extent it'd wipe out the interception figures.
Minutes played would settle it, but not readily available.
FTY
Player Valuation: £80m
How much did Barkley play up front last season mate?
Robertor
Has left the building
Naismith's definitely an industrious player, but he makes us more unbalanced than Barkley would. With Barkley: 4-3-3 however without Barkley: 4-2-1-3, this leaves us with a complete override in the middle where playing Barkley would beef up the midfield and help us to provide better protection for the defence.
IllinoisBlue
Player Valuation: £10m
From the Irish Times:
Everton manager Roberto Martinez took up today where Martin O’Neill had left off by hailing Aiden McGeady’s form and suggesting that the 28 year-old winger may well be about to have the best season of his career.
“I’ve said it before,” the Spaniard observed while looking ahead to this weekend’s Premier League trip to West Brom, “that we are going to see the best of Aiden McGeady this season and it’s probably going to be the best season of his career in the British game so it’s really, really exciting.”
“I think the quality that he has is quite unique and we have seen already that he is in very good form. He scored against Leicester in the first game, he had two assists against Chelsea and then the two goals that he scored against Georgia; it shows you that he is in great form.”
Martinez, who described the midfielder as “a magician,” said that he had sensed the player was going to deliver this year when he watched him in pre-season. “He was fully fit,” and “really focused”. McGeady is said to worked particularly hard his fitness, something that appears to have paid dividends over the last few weeks.
McGeady’s stunner earns Ireland full reward in Georgia
Captain Keane believes McGeady’s time to shine has arrived
Coleman thrilled as McGeady’s club form transfers to green jersey
Asked about the performances of the club’s other players - Séamus Coleman and James McCarthy - for Ireland last weekend, he was emphatic: “They are incredible ambassadors for our football club. And they represent a real example for our youngsters that are already here, chasing that dream of playing in the first team and representing their country, so obviously those stories are phenomenal examples for us.”
McGeady himself credits Martinez with having played a major role in getting the best out of him over the opening weeks of the new campaign.
“Last season I was coming on and getting five, 10, 15 minutes here and there,” said the player, who arrived at the club from Spartak Moscow in the January window some way short of fully fit, on Tuesday. He struggled to make anything like the impact he would have liked to over the remainder of the season but feels ready to play his part.
“This season I have felt more settled and part of the team. The more comfortable you become with your surroundings, the more you will play with freedom.The manager and coaching staff have been great in saying that to me. They have given me pointers here and there about expressing myself and that’s what I’ve tried to do when I’ve been on the pitch.
“When I am on the pitch I know I have a responsibility to create chances and score goals (but) there were times last season when I was probably more concerned about not giving the ball away.
“They have been very vocal and positive with me about that – they have been saying it doesn’t matter how many times I give the ball away, if I create a chance and we score from it then that’s the main thing. It’s about being more expressive and positive with my play.”
It's weird, but whenever I read comments by Martinez I hear a spanish accent in my head? Am I ill or does this happen to other people?
marty mcfly
Player Valuation: £40m
It's not really just defensively I'm talking about though, it's more the general area they play especially when having the ball.
The reason why we're less open is because when we loose the ball Naismith is normally ahead of the play while Barkley isn't.
Naismith is winning me over but I think it's generally one or the other although I would push Barkley wide before Naismith if I wanted to play them both.
However there's plenty of games and its good to have subs that can change games so its really not a problem.
I honestly think in the big games we should be playing Besic instead of Naismith and that's not because of Naismith I just hate playing 4-4-2 against good teams.
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