Our worrying run of form with Iorfa in a back 3...

[Emerson Thome]

I'll address a couple of the points raised:

 

His injury - a lot of people have said this is down to his injury, but as far as I can tell he is just as fast as he was before? Physically he seems fine, and while he may be a little match-rusty his problems appear to be positioning and his decision making on the ball which seems to me to be bigger problems than ones that would be solved by improving match sharpness.

 

On 'he needs more coaching' - there was an interesting article on cricket by Ed Smith about an experienced batsman who kept losing concentration and getting out on 20-30 to a loose shot. Basically, it said it is harder to coach him to be able to concentrate than to coach a different player to change their batting technique. Iorfa is 27 and he's been training with this system for 6 months now, so I don't under-estimate how difficult it is to get him to know where to stand and what to know. Improving his decision-making ability is not going to be easy or happen overnight. It might just be easier to pick a different player.

[sheffield_dave]

Not convinced by 3 at the back and not sure I ever will be. 
 

Back 3 and keeper were all completely new (considering how much Iorfa was actually available last year) and yet the same issues persist. Fair enough players have to take responsibility as well but.. when our complaints today are almost exactly the same as after dropped points last year..

 

The most important signing we can make at this point is Wilks or Roofe or an alternative for that right hand side of a front 3, and switch to 4-3-3. Especially at home. Iorfa at right back or the right centre back, and I think we’re looking at a different player. 

[prowl]

4 hours ago, Manwë said:

I think his problem is primarily that he's far better than anyone we've got.

 

It's a bit like a Lamborghini stuck in traffic at Dover. Doesn't matter the horsepower when you're moving at the same speed as the Vauxhall Nova 1.2 in front, to both get the snotty French passport control, to board the same rusty ferry.

 

When the road opens however, the Lamborghini will be at le Mans before the Nova has had chance to disembark.

 

Iorfa is our Lamborghini.  

He was a moped with a wonky wheel yesterday. Dreadful, seriously dreadful.

 

I'd be delighted if he improved to awful next game and poor the one after, at least that would be progress.

 

There was definitely a player in there but I wonder if his time out with injuries has ruined his confidence.

[Shetland Owl]

That's fine before the beginning of this season, looks short on confidence to me 

[Emerson Thome]

On the Owlstalk Rating. Yes, it is a bit of fun, and not meant to be taken too seriously. But there is a (slightly) serious point underpinning this:

 

Lots of scientific studies often have biases and (deliberate or unforeseen) errors that lead them to make the wrong conclusion. So, academics usually rely on meta-analysis where they will group the results of 20-30 studies and aggregate their conclusions. Which leads me to add two further things.

 

The point the first guy seems to be making is "don't listen to the fans, they don't know anything". That may be true, but the people who always say this seem to spend an inordinate amount of time on this website reading fans opinions and giving their own view of the game as well. So this view often amounts to "don't listen to that group of fans, they don't know anything, except for me - who you should listen to at all times because I am always right".

[Emerson Thome]

The second criticism, is a different one, when a couple of posters always seem to invoke the name of a gambling website and try and promote said gambling website at all opportunities which has its own rating system for the players. The gambling website usually gives the highest score to the player who scored most goals and the lowest rating to the player who is sent off.

 

Is the aggregated views of 30 fans who watch the game (and every game) more accurate or the formula based on statistics? It depends what you are trying to measure. If you follow the formula, Iorfa had a much better game than Gregory yesterday, was also much better than Vaulks and Stockdale and the same as Smith. Comparing Iorfa to Portsmouth, he also played clearly better than Griffiths, Scarlett, Hackett-Fairchild and Mingi on the Portsmouth team and about the same as Tunnicliffe, Thompson, Curtis and Morrison.

 

To pick one of these out - the Pompey goalie, Griffiths, did he really have a worse game than Iorfa? Completely no chance at all with the first and third goals and the little with the second. He also made a number of excellent claims from crosses.

 

Personally, I don't think this formula is very good. While it may be possible to construct a better formula, it would be very difficult to take into account things like not picking up a man in the box or being on the wrong end of a bad decision.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Emerson Thome said:

On the Owlstalk Rating. Yes, it is a bit of fun, and not meant to be taken too seriously. But there is a (slightly) serious point underpinning this:

 

Lots of scientific studies often have biases and (deliberate or unforeseen) errors that lead them to make the wrong conclusion. So, academics usually rely on meta-analysis where they will group the results of 20-30 studies and aggregate their conclusions. Which leads me to add two further things.

 

The point the first guy seems to be making is "don't listen to the fans, they don't know anything". That may be true, but the people who always say this seem to spend an inordinate amount of time on this website reading fans opinions and giving their own view of the game as well. So this view often amounts to "don't listen to that group of fans, they don't know anything, except for me - who you should listen to at all times because I am always right".

That may be true for example when they have a bottle full of coins and ask people to guess how many there are, then aggregate the results. It’s uncanny how the group often picks the right answer.

 

But with this.. are the results independent, or do people tend to go ‘oh Bannan’s a good player here’s an 8, XYZ is the whipping boy so he can have a 4’? And do owlstalkers even watch the games? When there are polls on here sometimes you can see some really ridiculous opinions so I’m not sure I’d trust an owlstalk average poll

[sMacLean]

I keep thinking he'd make a much better defensive midfielder, tall, quick and can tackle but less heading needed. 

[sMacLean]

2 hours ago, sheffield_dave said:

Not convinced by 3 at the back and not sure I ever will be. 
 

Back 3 and keeper were all completely new (considering how much Iorfa was actually available last year) and yet the same issues persist. Fair enough players have to take responsibility as well but.. when our complaints today are almost exactly the same as after dropped points last year..

 

The most important signing we can make at this point is Wilks or Roofe or an alternative for that right hand side of a front 3, and switch to 4-3-3. Especially at home. Iorfa at right back or the right centre back, and I think we’re looking at a different player. 

Agreed, no need for 3 at the back especially in this league. Decent wing-backs far harder to get than wingers too. Iorfa at right-back with Ihiekwe and Heneghan at CB would be solid enough. Can see Iorfa getting sold or loaned if he can't fit the system by January.

[Emerson Thome]

7 minutes ago, Kevin Pressmans Pen said:

That may be true for example when they have a bottle full of coins and ask people to guess how many there are, then aggregate the results. It’s uncanny how the group often picks the right answer.

 

But with this.. are the results independent, or do people tend to go ‘oh Bannan’s a good player here’s an 8, XYZ is the whipping boy so he can have a 4’? And do owlstalkers even watch the games? When there are polls on here sometimes you can see some really ridiculous opinions so I’m not sure I’d trust an owlstalk average poll

 

There's an element of that for sure. But I think people do watch the games!

 

And if someone posts ratings that are a bit weird, usually people call it out and healthy debate ensues. Polls are harder to gauge because people can just click them without having to justify anything.

 

Bannan has got his reputation for being a good player by being consistently excellent. They're not wrong.

[OwlinOldham]

Iorfa seems to be someone who relies upon his pace to get himself out of trouble, rather than positional sense and defensive awareness. Not a dreadful player by any stretch, but  clearly also not one thats suited to playing it out from the back as part of a back 3.

 

Dunno if or where he fits in long term, but without some improvement and better form, hes might end up as backup and not much more. 

 

. 

[edwinowl]

Said before he’s not a CH. 

I would give him a go as the wing back though but he doesn’t head the ball well for his height and his distribution is generally poor. 

[Emerson Thome]

I really don't see him as a wing-back. Surely his weaknesses on the ball and crossing would be highlighted event more?

 

For me, he's fighting Heneghan for that central centre back role or he's not in the team.

 

Liam Palmer is better as a wide centre-back in a 3 than Iofra (and was ahead of him in the pecking order at the end of last season). Not sure why this has changed.

[briggowl]

Has he ever played as a right back or wing back? Seems his pace could be a real threat. I guess it's too much like square pegs in round holes and we can't afford too much tinkering and messing about with the team anyway. 

 

Perhaps give the defence time to gel and get used to playing together? 

 

[SiJ]

Iorfa isn't good enough on the ball to play wing back.

 

Yes, he's quick, but the ball bounces off him too much.

[Mick70]

Played right back when he first arrived, absolutely no chance he should play wing back , never looks comfortable on the ball? Like someone said relies on his pace to get himself out of trouble. Looked ok at the side of Tom lees and probably will be ok in a back four? But just doesn’t look comfortable in a back 3 and only needs one to feel out of the comfort zone it spreads because your team mates get to know and doesn’t let them concentrate on their jobs 

[Barnsleyowl1996]

Cheers OP for the stats , it just backs up what we thought really . Unfortunately right of a back 3 isn’t looking good for Iorfa . I do think Ihikiwe would be better suited there with famewo left side .probably henegan in the middle . That seems our best most balanced team on paper as it stands . We really do need another cb , probably a leader in the middle . 
 

iorfa does have a lot of good attributes. Back in the championship he had some really good games but think this was in a back 4…