Naismith? Thoughts?

[tsdoddy]

I think Naismith is perhaps somewhat of a Park Ji Sung, works his socks off and has performed well in the big games he has played in (Chelsea, this season and last, Liverpool last year to name a few)

I said hes a Dirk Kuyt/Park player the other day spot on sometimes u need the legs in midfield when you got Barkley up top

 

[Blue Cheese]

He worked hard on Saturday but he god awful, his touch and passing are really really poor for a professional footballer, some of the worst I have seen in the top flight.

He scored yes but i'd drop him instantly when players were available. He's not good enough.

 

[billycopper]

I'd like to see Martinez say to Naismith 'you've got a month to show me what you can do while Pienaar is out injured'. I think that knowing he's got a run of games will boost his confidence. I think he's got the most intelligent movement of anyone in the squad and he's definitely capable of scoring goals. If he can score a couple more before Peanuts returns it will do everyone a lot of good.

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

I really wish that he'd play as CF and not on the wing. I think he would be far more useful in that role than he is as a wide man

With Lukaku coming in though, I think that maybe he should be dropped, Mirallas moved to the right and Oviedo or Delicioustofu given a shot on the left

 

[steken1]

I'd like to see Martinez say to Naismith 'you've got a month to show me what you can do while Pienaar is out injured'. I think that knowing he's got a run of games will boost his confidence. I think he's got the most intelligent movement of anyone in the squad and he's definitely capable of scoring goals. If he can score a couple more before Peanuts returns it will do everyone a lot of good.

Even with a decent performance under his belt I'd find it hard to leave Barcelona's brightest young talent on the bench for Steven Naismith.

 

[billycopper]

Even with a decent performance under his belt I'd find it hard to leave Barcelona's brightest young talent on the bench for Steven Naismith.

Our next 4 games are West Ham away, Fulham away, Newcastle home and City away. They're going to be tough and tight matches. It would make sense to play someone like Naismith who will work hard, protect his full back and potentially pop up with a goal than someone who is only 19, finding his feet in a new country and is more attack-minded.

 

[billycopper]

I really wish that he'd play as CF and not on the wing. I think he would be far more useful in that role than he is as a wide man

With Lukaku coming in though, I think that maybe he should be dropped, Mirallas moved to the right and Oviedo or Delicioustofu given a shot on the left

I think he's only nominally a winger. He doesn't hold his position out wide. He links up with Jelavic as much as he can and only goes back to the flank when we're defending.

If we're not willing to give Naismith a run when Pienaar is injured and his other rivals aren't quite ready then he's never going to make it. I think people's opinion of him will slowly start to come round.

 

[Guest89]

Played really well Saturday. If he's an indication of what we have in reserve this season, ready to step up, then it's a promising sign. Has a great knack of arriving in the box at the right time and I can see him popping up with a few crucial winning/equalising goals this season.

Just hope he sorts his balance out, never known a player to slip over so many times so regularly in a football matches. It's like watching an honest Suarez.

 

[pfim]

I think he's only nominally a winger. He doesn't hold his position out wide. He links up with Jelavic as much as he can and only goes back to the flank when we're defending.

If we're not willing to give Naismith a run when Pienaar is injured and his other rivals aren't quite ready then he's never going to make it. I think people's opinion of him will slowly start to come round.

He's more of a wide forward (4-3-3) than a winger. It works in the 4-2-3-1 for him because he works his tail off to get back and defend, and our fullbacks create the width.

 

[steken1]

Our next 4 games are West Ham away, Fulham away, Newcastle home and City away. They're going to be tough and tight matches. It would make sense to play someone like Naismith who will work hard, protect his full back and potentially pop up with a goal than someone who is only 19, finding his feet in a new country and is more attack-minded.

I disagree.

Playing Naismith against West Ham plays right into their hands. They can handle hard work and industry. It's what their sides built on. Pace, trickery, skill and movement is what they can't deal with. Playing Naismith is akin to playing them at their own game.

Plus it's likely we'll attack more than we'll defend so we'd get more out of Delicioustofu than Naismith as he's more effective at that.

If the kids not ready then we need to look elsewhere but from what I've seen he's a very dangerous player and should get some time on the pitch.

 

[Allezfan]

Yeah, nothing against naismith, but I want either oviedo or the little spanish kid playing.

We've got plenty of hardworkers and tacklers in the team already, what we need is pace and creativity.

 

[steken1]

Yeah, nothing against naismith, but I want either oviedo or the little spanish kid playing.

We've got plenty of hardworkers and tacklers in the team already, what we need is pace and creativity.

I don't like to see a player dropped after a good performance and a goal as it crushes their confidence a bit. But in general I agree and he wouldn't play this weekend if it was up to me.

 

[SteKelly]

He worked hard on Saturday but he god awful, his touch and passing are really really poor for a professional footballer, some of the worst I have seen in the top flight.

He scored yes but i'd drop him instantly when players were available. He's not good enough.

his passing isn't that bad. most of his passes are with his first touch as he acts like he never wants the ball.

 

[billycopper]

I disagree.

Playing Naismith against West Ham plays right into their hands. They can handle hard work and industry. It's what their sides built on. Pace, trickery, skill and movement is what they can't deal with. Playing Naismith is akin to playing them at their own game.

Plus it's likely we'll attack more than we'll defend so we'd get more out of Delicioustofu than Naismith as he's more effective at that.

If the kids not ready then we need to look elsewhere but from what I've seen he's a very dangerous player and should get some time on the pitch.

At the weekend they played Diame on the right of midfield and he was a real handful. If we played Deulofeu on the left and he was physically overwhelmed or neglected the defensive side of the game we could be leaving Baines exposed.

Noble, Morrison, Diame, Nolan and Jarvis are going to get stuck in and it will be a physical contest. Can we afford to play two 19 year olds (Barkley and Deulofeu), a hot and cold winger (Mirallas) and two thirty-plus midfielders (Osman and Barry) against them?

Are we really more likely to be the dominant side at their place? They're likely to be in our face and not give us time on the ball. We're going to need to match them first and hope that our extra quality tells in the end.

 

[billycopper]

Yeah, nothing against naismith, but I want either oviedo or the little spanish kid playing.

We've got plenty of hardworkers and tacklers in the team already, what we need is pace and creativity.

West Ham have only scored in 1 league game so far this season and so 1-0 could be enough to secure the 3 points. I don't think we need to be too open and chase the game. I'd keep it tight and try to nick a goal.