Rhodes goals return

[September65]

4 hours ago, Holmowl said:

Recent form

 

740 minutes

6 goals

1 assist

 

We dropped him for Birmingham, Luton and Rotherham.

 

I’m just at a complete loss.

Awful managers

[Bluesteel]

There’s an element of improvement on Rhodes’ part too though i think. He seemed lost for a long time and had no aggression but it’s back now 

[Owl999]

5 hours ago, Holmowl said:

Watch his input into Borner’s goal too. 
 

Two of their big lads try to attack the ball but Rhodes holds them both back.

 

Hugely underrated striker.

Very intelligent player,  I think both you and myself have been in a very small minority who have recognised this and championed the merits over his time here as we did Gary Hooper  when the majority didn’t recognise his intelligence as a player or contribution to a winning result when he hadn’t scored himself 

 

 

 

 

[victorturner]

5 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

Yesterday Rhodes scored a good goal, kept the ball out of the net in a goalmouth scramble and headed the ball away as it was on its way to Keifer Moore’s head (taking a blow to the back of his head for his effort). 
He is a much improved player all round and miles better up top than any of our other choices. If I didn’t know who he was and was on loan from elsewhere I’d be saying sign him up. 
There is a bit of the way we are playing is better for him, and maybe he is also playing to get another Championship club interested but at least it’s to our benefit now. 
I do wonder if he’s realised he’s close to being the top championship scorer ever and just fancies getting a few more goals under his belt?

All in all he should have started more games this season. 

Many of us have been on this point ever since Fletcher and Nuhui left. As others have said, it was dreadful management to field a team which could not score goals without him. I was not in favour of acquiring him as we became overstocked with middle aged strikers and had to leave Winnall completely out of things although he had just been signed while hot at Barnsley.

 

However the guy can finish and once he was the only striker on the books,  he should have been selected. It is so obvious. How many times was he brought on for 10 minutes at best? Garry Monk ( after Rhodes' hat trick at Forest last season, Rhodes hardly lasted in the team for a fortnight) and Tony Pulis were foolish,  although Pulis was trying to make the case for extra recruitment in January before he was disabused of that idea.

 

Moore turns up, sings his praises then proceeds not to play him for his first couple of matches. More madness. Paterson was preferred. At last, now disaster is more or less confirmed, Moore realises that to get the points for a win,  you need to score goals (Pulis was just trying not to lose) and to do that you need the club's only true striker ( with an awesome record albeit mostly in the past)  on the field. Hope he also remembers that he needs to play players who can provide crosses, and not necessarily in the air.

 

With Fletcher you could boot the ball downfield onto his head and he would bring others into play. The managers tried to use Rhodes as a sole striker in the same way and of course it would never work. 

 

McCarthy said 1715 last evening "you cannot tell me that's a poor Championship team" . That means simply that the management this season has been unbelievably awful.

[victorturner]

8 hours ago, pat blondeau said:

The game against Stoke at home this season was the worst.

 

Pulis brought him on half time, had the ball punted up to him for 40 minutes with no support and then hauled him off on 85 minutes even though it was still 0-0.

 

I hated watching us under Pulis 

He must have been trying to prove he needed five new players in January. Very foolish.  Even if DC had allowed it, there was no guarantee he could have got them. Matches and points thrown away. Rhodes humiliated. 

[Shetland Owl]

happy for the lad. Borner has two goals tho, both against cardiff

[Bassetts Allsorts]

7 hours ago, trotter said:

 

Not even close for me....Jonk, De Bilde, Abdi, Jeffers, Bothroyd.....All massive earners in their time and Rhodes has scored more than all of them combined.  Still disappointing though.

 

I'd estimate Rhodes' transfer fee and wages over 4 years will eventually cost us circa £15 million. That sum is eye watering considering the return. Probably more than what we paid for Jonk, De Bilde, Abdi, Jeffers and Bothroyd combined.

 

But then again, if his goals keep us up this season then he'll help us avoid a loss of £8 million, the cost of relegation to League 1.

[OwlBiSeeinThi]

16 hours ago, 0742 said:

 

I know, crazy isn't it, all those managers, even the one's at Boro and Norwich and none of them bothered to play to his strengths...

 

Yep, that what happens when you play a system regardless of the players you have.

Before he came to wednesday nuihu scored most of his goals in and around the 6 yard box.

Only Wednesday expected him to score from the half way line.

Bizarre innit?

[fpowl]

Strikers needs chances to score goals 

goals give strikers confidence 

strikers need to be on pitch to convert chances 

 

myth or mystery? 

[Guest T Hardy]

17 hours ago, Holmowl said:

Regarding the managers, do you not think it possible that Monk, Pulis and Thompson were just plain wrong, and Moore is right?

I don’t know mate. I’m thinking before this season. Maybe you’re right. Or maybe a big part of it is he’s more determined and keen now his contract is nearly up. Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a player all of a sudden looking more interested. We’ll never know, can’t argue though that he’s obviously fitter from the game time. 

 

If it is that simple that Moore is right and everyone back to and including CC is wrong, then that’s shocking, on every manager we’ve had since 2017, and it’s strange no other team has thought to buy him if he just needs the right system. 

[Guest T Hardy]

1 hour ago, fpowl said:

Strikers needs chances to score goals 

goals give strikers confidence 

strikers need to be on pitch to convert chances 

 

myth or mystery? 

Mystery for sure what has happened with JR at Hillsborough. Everyone can see now he’s confident and looks like the player we thought we bought 4 years ago. It could be as straight forward as that, which is ridiculous if that’s the case that he’s been so neglected by so many managers. I think there’s more to it then what we’ll ever know, e.g. what happens in training and everything else we don’t see. For him in the past to score and then get dropped if he didn’t score in the next game. There must be something we haven’t seen, surely. 
 

Maybe one day someone will make a documentary and all the managers and coaches here who haven’t trusted him can help us understand...

 

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we somehow stay up, Rhodes gets a new contract and then scores 30 goals next season and leads us to the Prem? I’d start the funding for his statue..

[Owl999]

I think anyone that believes that Rhodes not being in the starting 11 for so many managers isn’t anything to do with a directive from above is deluded especially when a club is in trouble financially,  it’s just back fired on the owner,

[keepitsteel89]

22 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

Yesterday Rhodes scored a good goal, kept the ball out of the net in a goalmouth scramble and headed the ball away as it was on its way to Keifer Moore’s head (taking a blow to the back of his head for his effort). 
He is a much improved player all round and miles better up top than any of our other choices. If I didn’t know who he was and was on loan from elsewhere I’d be saying sign him up. 
There is a bit of the way we are playing is better for him, and maybe he is also playing to get another Championship club interested but at least it’s to our benefit now. 
I do wonder if he’s realised he’s close to being the top championship scorer ever and just fancies getting a few more goals under his belt?

All in all he should have started more games this season. 

He's not much improved he's just been respected 

[CircleSeven]

1 hour ago, keepitsteel89 said:

He's not much improved he's just been respected 

I honestly disagree. I think his strikers ability is as good as it always has been but I honestly think his overall game has improved. He looks like a hungry young player desperate to break into the team and running his sox of and contributing at both ends of the pitch. He either really wants to stay here or, more likely, get a new deal else where. 

[mozzy85]

20 hours ago, SiJ said:

He was a vanity purchase made by a club who had ideas above its station. 

 

We had a plethora of strikers at the time and there was no need to bring in Jordan when we did. 

 

We then persisted in not playing to his strengths and seemed to almost refuse accepting him for the player he was/is. He's a goalscorer, who comes alive in the 18 yard box. Don't expect the intricate hold up play of say a Hooper, the attacking spark of a Nando or the hustle and bustle of a Fletcher. That's not his game, but he was arguably the best finisher out of all of them. 

 

Finally, we have a manager who sees what he is good at and we are seeing what he is capable of. I think Jordan has really tried to work on aspects of his game and I think his link up play and work outside the box has come on a bit. 

 

He's a good lad is Jordan and it is nice to see him finally getting the goals. Shame he probably leaves in the summer on a free, but it is what it is. 

For me its not that he is arguably the best finisher, he just is the best finisher out of that lot. I really hope we can tie him down and actually use him properly. 

[Holmowl]

8 hours ago, T Hardy said:

I don’t know mate. I’m thinking before this season. Maybe you’re right. Or maybe a big part of it is he’s more determined and keen now his contract is nearly up. Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a player all of a sudden looking more interested. We’ll never know, can’t argue though that he’s obviously fitter from the game time. 

 

If it is that simple that Moore is right and everyone back to and including CC is wrong, then that’s shocking, on every manager we’ve had since 2017, and it’s strange no other team has thought to buy him if he just needs the right system. 

2016 and 17 are irrelevant.
 

We had an army of strikers. He did pretty well to get picked as much as he did.

 

The scandal is what Monk & Pulis did, given we had atrocious alternatives. 

[keepitsteel89]

8 hours ago, CircleSeven said:

I honestly disagree. I think his strikers ability is as good as it always has been but I honestly think his overall game has improved. He looks like a hungry young player desperate to break into the team and running his sox of and contributing at both ends of the pitch. He either really wants to stay here or, more likely, get a new deal else where. 

He's defiantly adapted his game to come deep more and add more work to his game but thats not what he's about he just gets in the right places and if you put enough in for him he'll convert them, it's frustrating to think thats what the club forced him to do its nice to see he's not lost that ability though, I can genuinely see him doing ok in the championship for a few years yet unfortunately not with us 

[CircleSeven]

7 minutes ago, keepitsteel89 said:

He's defiantly adapted his game to come deep more and add more work to his game but thats not what he's about he just gets in the right places and if you put enough in for him he'll convert them, it's frustrating to think thats what the club forced him to do its nice to see he's not lost that ability though, I can genuinely see him doing ok in the championship for a few years yet unfortunately not with us 

Yep. It’s crazy that despite having no other recognised striker at the club we have only recently started playing him from the start of games. The lad can finish that’s for sure. Leaving him on the bench month after month was like a bad joke!

[WL_Owl_JC]

On 06/04/2021 at 15:29, Indoor Owl said:

 

Rhodes is a classic poacher, like Owen or van Nistelrooy, and that is a disappearing type of player these days.

The problem with Rhodes, and with any of the poachers, is the amount of work that has to be done outside of the box to get them to be productive:  Rhodes hasn't even proved productive the handful of times he's played with two up top here, much less when he's left isolated on his own.

 

The last run of games has shown exactly what it takes for Rhodes to find success, and that is two partners up top filling in the gaps in his game - a taller, stronger forward dropping deeper and competing for the ball (Paterson), and a forward with exceptional pace that can get in behind and put the chase on, and then distribute the odd ball (Windass).  The problem with dedicating so many resources to getting your poacher going is that it leaves you vulnerable in the other areas of the pitch, which is why pretty much all of football has moved away from such one dimensional players. 

 

In short, from what we've learned Rhodes will find continued success, as long as:

• The ball is distributed forward deftly from midfield and the link play is good
• He's not expected to beat a man with pace or technical ability
• He has help up top in the form of a body man who can nudge and jump for the ball, and press a bit
• He has help up top in the form of a pace man who can get in behind and create some space in the middle
• He has service from the wings directly into the box and to him
• He's not generally expected to contribute from a free kick
• He's not expected to help much, if anything, in defence
• He's not expected to create opportunities
• He's not expected to take a penalty
• The service he does get is repeated, and he gets the odd free pass on skying the ball from 5 yards out on a clear chance as long as he buries at least one a game

... but that's an awful lot of things that have to go right to get the most out of a £10 million player in this day and age in my opinion.

 

Happy we get to finally wring something out of him in the last gasps of his contract and this stint in the Championship, and I hope we keep the current personnel and formation and ride it out as long as possible, but one has to feel pretty disappointed with how it's all worked out when it comes to Rhodes when you take a look at it without the recent rose coloured tint of the last few games.

 

 

Rhodes is taller than Paterson 

[CourteenerOwl]

Rhodes has looked okay most of this season. He has been especially good the past month. He is clearly more robust this season, looks sharper and is playing like a man not a boy.

 

It is utter nonsense it has anything to do with how we setup that has helped him.

 

How did Fletcher score all his goals for us?? They were still crosses into the box.

 

Jordan Rhodes was so, weak and ineffective for his first three seasons. Why that is I don't know. He has looked a footballer this season but I would argue it is more down to him then anything major we have changed like some strangely believe.

 

I repeat look at all of Fletcher goals.