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Leighton Baines

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ToffeeDoug said:
It is with great sadness, that I can report that one of my favourite ever Everton players has completely gone in the legs. Sometimes you just have to be up close to pick things up that mere TV watching wouldn't give you. In about the 10th minute of the first half, Baines creditably won out in a feisty tussle with their winger and poked the ball 7-8 yds away and ran after it, but even though Baines was in front of the Palace player, he lost out in the 'race' and even pulled up short knowing he wouldn't get there first. He simply couldn't sprint that short distance and he knew it. It was right in front of the Everton fans and there was something of a collective gasp as the penny dropped that Baines' body is chuffed.
And this now explains why Baines' style going forward has changed so much, stopping dead when he gets the ball and passing it tamely sideways infield. No surging forward runs. It had been assumed this change was down to the lack of a pivot in front or following new instructions from RM. But I think he has realised he hasn't got the pace to get up and down anymore so doesn't try.
Click to expand...
I actually thought that incident was one of the very few plus points from last night.

Earlier in the season he (or whoever was in his position) would have tried to get to the ball first to try and start a counter, risking getting the wrong side of his man and losing out in a very dangerous position. Instead he realised that he's actually a defender, and it would be better to concede possession and box the man in - it suggested that we're finally starting to take defending seriously.

Personally I didn't think he was worried about pace, it was more strength. I think he was concerned that id he was running full tilt after the ball and Bolasie leaned on him he'd lose out with no foul given. If we'd thought like that a bit more earlier in the season we might not be in this mess.
 
ToffeeDoug said:
It is with great sadness, that I can report that one of my favourite ever Everton players has completely gone in the legs. Sometimes you just have to be up close to pick things up that mere TV watching wouldn't give you. In about the 10th minute of the first half, Baines creditably won out in a feisty tussle with their winger and poked the ball 7-8 yds away and ran after it, but even though Baines was in front of the Palace player, he lost out in the 'race' and even pulled up short knowing he wouldn't get there first. He simply couldn't sprint that short distance and he knew it. It was right in front of the Everton fans and there was something of a collective gasp as the penny dropped that Baines' body is chuffed.
And this now explains why Baines' style going forward has changed so much, stopping dead when he gets the ball and passing it tamely sideways infield. No surging forward runs. It had been assumed this change was down to the lack of a pivot in front or following new instructions from RM. But I think he has realised he hasn't got the pace to get up and down anymore so doesn't try.
Click to expand...

Isn't it pretty common knowledge that he's been playing with an injury most of the season and he's having an op to sort it in the summer?
 
Lanolin said:
I actually thought that incident was one of the very few plus points from last night.

Earlier in the season he (or whoever was in his position) would have tried to get to the ball first to try and start a counter, risking getting the wrong side of his man and losing out in a very dangerous position. Instead he realised that he's actually a defender, and it would be better to concede possession and box the man in - it suggested that we're finally starting to take defending seriously.

Personally I didn't think he was worried about pace, it was more strength. I think he was concerned that id he was running full tilt after the ball and Bolasie leaned on him he'd lose out with no foul given. If we'd thought like that a bit more earlier in the season we might not be in this mess.
Click to expand...
This really, he seemed fine with a similar thing a bit later on and managed to do it as you'd expect?

I mean he probably has lost a yard like, he's getting a bit older obviously, and also what Ijjy said ^, but still - I don't really think that was down to him being that slow, more the actual defensive/cautious side of him...
 

ijjysmith said:
Isn't it pretty common knowledge that he's been playing with an injury most of the season and he's having an op to sort it in the summer?
Click to expand...
Tbh he's not looked the same for 2 years now, though I thought last night was one of his better games in quite a while
 

Lanolin said:
I actually thought that incident was one of the very few plus points from last night.

Earlier in the season he (or whoever was in his position) would have tried to get to the ball first to try and start a counter, risking getting the wrong side of his man and losing out in a very dangerous position. Instead he realised that he's actually a defender, and it would be better to concede possession and box the man in - it suggested that we're finally starting to take defending seriously.

Personally I didn't think he was worried about pace, it was more strength. I think he was concerned that id he was running full tilt after the ball and Bolasie leaned on him he'd lose out with no foul given. If we'd thought like that a bit more earlier in the season we might not be in this mess.
Click to expand...

Interesting, definitely a different angle on it and maybe it was tactical, it just didn't look that way to me. Why, if you have a head start to get there first, would you willingly allow the Palace player to regain possession of the ball deep in our half, surely you can get there first and not have to set off on a counter attack, just play the ball up the park to Lukaku (not that he was remotely capable last night of doing anything with it).
 
ToffeeDoug said:
It is with great sadness, that I can report that one of my favourite ever Everton players has completely gone in the legs. Sometimes you just have to be up close to pick things up that mere TV watching wouldn't give you. In about the 10th minute of the first half, Baines creditably won out in a feisty tussle with their winger and poked the ball 7-8 yds away and ran after it, but even though Baines was in front of the Palace player, he lost out in the 'race' and even pulled up short knowing he wouldn't get there first. He simply couldn't sprint that short distance and he knew it. It was right in front of the Everton fans and there was something of a collective gasp as the penny dropped that Baines' body is chuffed.
And this now explains why Baines' style going forward has changed so much, stopping dead when he gets the ball and passing it tamely sideways infield. No surging forward runs. It had been assumed this change was down to the lack of a pivot in front or following new instructions from RM. But I think he has realised he hasn't got the pace to get up and down anymore so doesn't try.
Click to expand...

I have noticed this for a couple of seasons now whereas he used to take it in his stride and burst forward.
 

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