Jordan Rhodes..

[No 2 is r nilsson]

3 minutes ago, poite said:

Thought Brian laws made a good point when he said he was disappointed that Rhodes and joao didnt play as well together as they probably should. He said they need to play closer to each other, anticipating what each was going to do. As he also said, they looked like 2 individuals last night.

 

Genuinely think there's something to work with. If only we had a pacey winger who could get decent balls in the box. That's when we'd see the JR we all wanted here.

How often have they actually played together?  I’m also not sure I agree with the close together point.  Last night we were effective in the gaps left by their CHs (and they didn’t leave many) which Jaoa was able to exploit first half playing a more free role, and Wallace and Reach at the end of the 2nd. Rhodes was always going to be picking up crumbs.  CC certainly didn’t do Rhodes any favours but it’s a new start for him now. I know everyone's jumping on this but I really don’t think he’s fit or sharp enough, which means he’s not effective in the role he plays. Let’s see what he’s like after a few weeks of double sessions. 

[Magic Rat]

Last night it was very clear how much work Jos had done on defence and midfield. We saw players who looked dead and gone suddenly brought back to life.

 

It was less clear what the attacking plan is going to be. If Jos is going with Rhodes as his goal scoring kingpin long term then as many posters have already said he needs a very specific strategy geared to his game. For all our performance improved yesterday Rhodes still had little or no service.

 

Early days, but the likes of Jones, Pudil and Venancio were unrecognisable last night. Hopefully the same magic can be worked with Rhodes.

[poite]

1 minute ago, No 2 is r nilsson said:

How often have they actually played together?  I’m also not sure I agree with the close together point.  Last night we were effective in the gaps left by their CHs (and they didn’t leave many) which Jaoa was able to exploit first half playing a more free role, and Wallace and Reach at the end of the 2nd. Rhodes was always going to be picking up crumbs.  CC certainly didn’t do Rhodes any favours but it’s a new start for him now. I know everyone's jumping on this but I really don’t think he’s fit or sharp enough, which means he’s not effective in the role he plays. Let’s see what he’s like after a few weeks of double sessions. 

Well I wouldn't be surprised if that was almost the first time they've played together. Especially from the start. 

[daleblue]

15 hours ago, gurujuan said:

He’s had long enough, clearly not what we need We should be looking to get rid in Jan, perhaps a swap deal

 

Karanka didn't fancy him, Carlos couldn't get the best out of him, if Jos cant then its time for him to go.

[gurujuan]

For all those who are saying he will come good, I don’t believe that will be the case However, if we do manage to get everything in place, gearing our style to feeding Jordan Rhodes, he’ll be scoring goals for a relegation threatened side

You simply cannot have a player like Rhodes in a promotion chasing side

Edited January 13, 2018 by gurujuan

[No 2 is r nilsson]

13 minutes ago, Magic Rat said:

Last night it was very clear how much work Jos had done on defence and midfield. We saw players who looked dead and gone suddenly brought back to life.

 

It was less clear what the attacking plan is going to be. If Jos is going with Rhodes as his goal scoring kingpin long term then as many posters have already said he needs a very specific strategy geared to his game. For all our performance improved yesterday Rhodes still had little or no service.

 

Early days, but the likes of Jones, Pudil and Venancio were unrecognisable last night. Hopefully the same magic can be worked with Rhodes.

Agree with this. I think good strikers now have to be a lot more than just good finishers in the box. Obviously it helps, but  they have to be able to make things happen in the channels as well. This seems to have disappeared from Rhodes game. He’s never going to have power and pace but i’m sure I’m the past he did more in the final third.  When he first came I thought his movement was a feature of his game but this seems to have all but gone. 

[Walt]

Nobody uses the old "playing to his strenghts" excuse for any other payer we have. Jordan Rhodes has played as a no.9 for us since he arrived, he's not been played out wide, he's not been asked to come deep, he's not been asked to do anything different from any other no.9. There's always an excuse for Jordan it seems with our fans. We don't play with wingers, we don't get crosses in etc. but this doesn't seem to stop Hooper from scoring, it doesn't seem to stop people slagging Dave, Joao or Fletcher. Rhodes misses another sitter and there's another excuse as "it's the only chance he's had." Jordan falls down on the floor again after a half arsed challenge for a ball - "not playing to his strenghts", funny that as Hooper gets the same balls but makes himself stong generally by sticking his arse into some centre back. If we'd signed some kid from none league and he returned exactly the same performances as Rhodes has we'd have had him written off as crap, a lower league striker at best. No other player would get so much understanding given the horrendous performances, it's lke we are playing with ten men when we select him, the bloke is so limited.

I think back to when we signed Hooper, I made a point of watching him, he was always playing on the shoulder making runs in behind but none of our lot would pass to him. After a few games Hooper got bored of making those forward runs all the time and started to come short now and again, as if by magic our lot started passing to him, they then even passed it to him when he made the forward runs. See, one simple little change Hooper made had a massive effect on how he got the team playing to his tune, Rhodes it seems is incapable of doing similar. 

[Owlin' Wolf]

The problem with goal poaching type players such as Rhodes is they offer virtually nothing else if they aren’t been given the service or putting their chances away. Both have been the case with Rhodes at different times. I fear he’s just not that good tbh, nobody can fault his past scoring record but how long are we going to keep going back to that? Has the game changed in a way that it doesn’t really accomadate his type of player now? Can’t think of many other out and out poachers about these days compared to the past. I’m not wanting to slag the bloke off, he seems a good, honest pro who can undoubtedly finish but I’ve seen nothing since he came to make me think he’s actually very good. 

[Pale Rider]

2 hours ago, DJMortimer said:

 

SWFC : 27+19 appearances, 9 goals, in just short of 12 months.

 

Since mid October 2015 he's scored a grand total of 19 at three clubs.

 

I’ve made this exact point several times before. Unfortunately some of our fans can’t see past the 4-4 draw with Huddersfield, they think it was last week.

[gurujuan]

Believe it or not, there was a time when I’d have been ecstatic, were we to have signed Jordan Rhodes

That was 5 years ago though Since then, things have changed, football at this level has come on leaps and bounds Look around at the quality of player/coach that are now operating in the Championship

When Jordan Rhodes was “scoring for fun” things were a lot different, more akin to current League One football Worse than that, for Rhodes anyway, it the style of football that has left players like Rhodes behind. 

As I said, I was once a fan, and there is no doubt, back then, he’d have been a real game changer for us However, looking at the way things were going, it beggars belief that we paid that sort of money for him. Indeed, I was against his signing, when our interest was first mooted 18 months ago Needless to say, I was perturbed with the way our recruitment was going, long before we signed Rhodes

Signing him though, was the ultimate folly

[Walt]

Hopefully when FF and Hooper return these Rhodes threads can be a thing of the past. Not really a fan of playing FF up front but in that formation along side Joao last night I'd have been pretty confident of FF being the difference between a draw and a win.

[Guest RocketOwl]

1 hour ago, daleblue said:

 

Karanka didn't fancy him, Carlos couldn't get the best out of him, if Jos cant then its time for him to go.

Add Paul Lambert and Gordon Strachan to that list.

[theowlsman]

3 hours ago, OWLERTON GHOST said:

Spoken with the patience of a match angler ...................

 

I have a match tomorrow. Local venue out in the sticks near St Michael’s-on-Wyre, darkest Lancashire, Hudson Farm Fishery.

 

1st round of my club’s 2018 Winter League. Expecting a grueller. Had three nights of frost this week. Daytime temperature tomorrow not going to get above 5 degrees. Plus I’m at a party tonight. Can do without getting up early after a few beers.

 

Only bait I’m taking is micros and 4mm expanders, maggots, fluoro pinkies, plus a bit of Green F1 groundbait.

 

I’d be well happy with 10lbs with the conditions what they are.

[adifferentgame]

2 hours ago, Magic Rat said:

Last night it was very clear how much work Jos had done on defence and midfield. We saw players who looked dead and gone suddenly brought back to life.

 

It was less clear what the attacking plan is going to be. If Jos is going with Rhodes as his goal scoring kingpin long term then as many posters have already said he needs a very specific strategy geared to his game. For all our performance improved yesterday Rhodes still had little or no service.

 

Early days, but the likes of Jones, Pudil and Venancio were unrecognisable last night. Hopefully the same magic can be worked with Rhodes.

 

The attacking plan will be secondary to the structure, but that's not to say it'll be put on a shelf and forgotten about, and we actually saw glimpses of the philosophy Jos is likely to apply in patches last night.

 

We'll look to move the ball quickly to the forward players, either to the wings or to the strikers, using a combination of direct balls and swift, incisive counter-attacking passing. A couple of our counter-attacks last night were refreshing to see, especially in regards to how quickly the ball was moved forwards.

 

Don't expect to see too much in the way of tippy-tappy side-to-side possession under Jos.

[S36 OWL]

2 hours ago, daleblue said:

 

Karanka didn't fancy him, Carlos couldn't get the best out of him, if Jos cant then its time for him to go.

 

That can be said of many of our players under Carlos 

[adifferentgame]

Just now, S36 OWL said:

 

That can be said of many all of our players under Carlos 

 

[Guest RocketOwl]

In the second half yesterday Pudil wiped a wonderful ball into the box. Rhodes was in the box but got absolutely no where near it. For Soemone who we agree is only there to be in the box that's worrying.

[adifferentgame]

11 minutes ago, RocketOwl said:

In the second half yesterday Pudil wiped a wonderful ball into the box. Rhodes was in the box but got absolutely no where near it. For Soemone who we agree is only there to be in the box that's worrying.

 

You agree that Rhodes was in the box.

You accept that the delivery was nowhere near Rhodes.

You (hopefully) understand that a whipped ball needs to be more precise than a lofted one in order for a player to have a reasonable chance to move and intercept its trajectory.

 

Given the above, which of the following options is the more reasonable assessment?

 

- The ball from Pudil wasn't accurate enough and needed to be closer to Rhodes.

- Rhodes should be faster than Superman (ability to fly optional).

[Guest RocketOwl]

1 minute ago, adifferentgame said:

 

You agree that Rhodes was in the box.

You accept that the delivery was nowhere near Rhodes.

You (hopefully) understand that a whipped ball needs to be more precise than a lofted one in order for a player to have a reasonable chance to move and intercept its trajectory.

 

Given the above, which of the following options is the more reasonable assessment?

 

- The ball from Pudil wasn't accurate enough and needed to be closer to Rhodes.

- Rhodes should be faster than Superman (ability to fly optional).

Rhodes was to slow and showed no anticipation. 

[Earlsfieldowl]

32 minutes ago, RocketOwl said:

In the second half yesterday Pudil wiped a wonderful ball into the box. Rhodes was in the box but got absolutely no where near it. For Soemone who we agree is only there to be in the box that's worrying.

 

He was probably very suprised to see it...

 

Not too concerned about the strike force - the quality is there ..it’s just needs decent service, but JL has to make us hard to beat first so building from the back is the right course of action.

 

Get this sorted and the midfield right, the goals will come.