The Other Dean
Slack Motherf*cker
While DE% has some well-documented flaws as a stat, with all this talk about Froggy's disposal it's interesting to note that his DE% for this season is currently tracking marginally ahead of his career average. He's actually pretty consistent on that front (always around the late 60's), and this season he is at exactly the same mark as his DE% average for last year - a season where his efforts were lauded and that saw him finish equal 5th in the Syd.
Which leads me to conclude that maybe the quality of his disposal has been slightly over-exaggerated in the past, OR for whatever reason (possibly a bit of confirmation bias at play driven by a few of the forum's more vocal or repetitious posters) the errors that he's making are currently being a tad over-stated. I'd say a little from column A and a decent chunk from column B.
Personally, I find the knocks on him a little baffling. He can be a little fumbly at times, and duffs the odd kick. He certainly isn't Robinson ****ing Crusoe on the latter note. (Or the former note either for that matter.) Admittedly, I have a bias towards Mids who bust a gut to two-way run and fill holes/space in defensive 50, so I'm a fan of his work on that level. Go back and track him in any replay this year and you'll see a guy who does it in spades. I see him as an important, albeit largely unheralded (around here anyway) part of the Midfield make-up. Would be very surprised if he was currently under any kind of threat of a stint in the 2's.
Which leads me to conclude that maybe the quality of his disposal has been slightly over-exaggerated in the past, OR for whatever reason (possibly a bit of confirmation bias at play driven by a few of the forum's more vocal or repetitious posters) the errors that he's making are currently being a tad over-stated. I'd say a little from column A and a decent chunk from column B.
Personally, I find the knocks on him a little baffling. He can be a little fumbly at times, and duffs the odd kick. He certainly isn't Robinson ****ing Crusoe on the latter note. (Or the former note either for that matter.) Admittedly, I have a bias towards Mids who bust a gut to two-way run and fill holes/space in defensive 50, so I'm a fan of his work on that level. Go back and track him in any replay this year and you'll see a guy who does it in spades. I see him as an important, albeit largely unheralded (around here anyway) part of the Midfield make-up. Would be very surprised if he was currently under any kind of threat of a stint in the 2's.