Misconception about our midfield

[Smyth94]

After having to endure that sickening performance last night there are a few things that I took away from the game:

Runners - It seems as though a lot of people are calling for more runners into our team but I tend to disagree on this one. We played Winda, Lovett and Dempsey last night - Do we really need any more runners? They dished up absolute rubbish to Lloyd and co all night, having said that we have the runners they just need to work on their kicking. We absolutely got smashed in the clearances last night and it was so obvious the hole that Watson and Pev (especially Watson) makes when they're not in the team.

Our pace - Its not our midfield that lacks pace its the bloody ease in which the ball is taken from our foward line and turned into attack which makes us look slow. What is it with our crumbers time and time again being no where in sight when the ball hits the deck in our forward line? How hard is it to station yourself (as a small foward) around the feet of Lloyd and Lucas/Gumbleton

 

[Mudflap]

After having to endure that sickening performance last night there are a few things that I took away from the game:

Runners - It seems as though a lot of people are calling for more runners into our team but I tend to disagree on this one. We played Winda, Lovett and Dempsey last night - Do we really need any more runners? They dished up absolute rubbish to Lloyd and co all night, having said that we have the runners they just need to work on their kicking. We absolutely got smashed in the clearances last night and it was so obvious the hole that Watson and Pev (especially Watson) makes when they're not in the team.

Our pace - Its not our midfield that lacks pace its the bloody ease in which the ball is taken from our foward line and turned into attack which makes us look slow. What is it with our crumbers time and time again being no where in sight when the ball hits the deck in our forward line? How hard is it to station yourself (as a small foward) around the feet of Lloyd and Lucas/Gumbleton

That's where Davey was such a great loss in applying defensive forward pressure just making the opposition hurry.

 

[BomberAce7]

I have quoted this before about our midfield which has pace but hasnt the know how in the middle & stoppages. Our centre line & followers could look like this
centre - Jetta Lovett Dempsey
Foll - Ryder Winderlich Davey!

Now that isnt a slow midfield but we odviously need a couple more to boost our depth. We still do have Reimers, Houli, Hocking, Hislop who can come in to cover injuries. Our new coach will no doubt instruct these guys how to play midfield roles(Clearances,Stoppages, Being accountacle e.t.c)

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

After having to endure that sickening performance last night there are a few things that I took away from the game:

Runners - It seems as though a lot of people are calling for more runners into our team but I tend to disagree on this one. We played Winda, Lovett and Dempsey last night - Do we really need any more runners? They dished up absolute rubbish to Lloyd and co all night, having said that we have the runners they just need to work on their kicking. We absolutely got smashed in the clearances last night and it was so obvious the hole that Watson and Pev (especially Watson) makes when they're not in the team.

Our pace - Its not our midfield that lacks pace its the bloody ease in which the ball is taken from our foward line and turned into attack which makes us look slow. What is it with our crumbers time and time again being no where in sight when the ball hits the deck in our forward line? How hard is it to station yourself (as a small foward) around the feet of Lloyd and Lucas/Gumbleton

Completely agree.

 

[d-mac3276]

I have quoted this before about our midfield which has pace but hasnt the know how in the middle & stoppages. Our centre line & followers could look like this
centre - Jetta Lovett Dempsey
Foll - Ryder Winderlich Davey!

Now that isnt a slow midfield but we odviously need a couple more to boost our depth. We still do have Reimers, Houli, Hocking, Hislop who can come in to cover injuries. Our new coach will no doubt instruct these guys how to play midfield roles(Clearances,Stoppages, Being accountacle e.t.c)

Thats the skinniest midfield ever assembled and would get smashed physically. Need stronger body types.
Have a look at all the top sides and their midfielders and there r always 2 or 3 strong bodied and hard at it. We have none.
We have too many of the same player type with the ones u have mentioned. Its easy when these players get the ball to use their pace but we need a couple tough in and under types to get the ball to these blokes.
We have a long long way to go in all areas in my opinion, just hope its not too long as this is really giving me the s h i t s the way we are going.

 

[Ari]

We must pay cash. Simple as that. Our midfield needs a star and we need to pay for one. Otherwise our backline and especially forward line will continue to suffer.

We're wasting one of the most damaging forward lines in the league at the moment because we're too stupid and stubborn to build an appropriate midfield.

 

[TheMagicRat]

The biggest misconception about our midfield is that we actually have one!!!!! Did anyone else see the number of our players standing around ball watching on sunday? It was abysmal, they just stood there while richmond ran past!!!

 

[AJ_2000]

We have plenty of pace and runners in the midfield. Where the problem actually lies is that our style of long kicking and lack of running the football means that our pace is rarely utilised.

We tend to move the ball to stationary targets by foot and don't run it all that often.

We have pace, but no idea how to use it.

 

[Don Envy]

We must pay cash. Simple as that. Our midfield needs a star and we need to pay for one. Otherwise our backline and especially forward line will continue to suffer.

We're wasting one of the most damaging forward lines in the league at the moment because we're too stupid and stubborn to build an appropriate midfield.

Couldn't agree more. The amount of times the ball comes into the forward line and Lloyd has to double back because the ball's been kicked over his head, or the amount of times the ball lands 10 metres in front of him. We need midfielders who can get the ball, run fast with it, know what to do with it, then have the skill to execute the disposal.

 

[bomberstomake8]

Thats the skinniest midfield ever assembled and would get smashed physically. Need stronger body types.
Have a look at all the top sides and their midfielders and there r always 2 or 3 strong bodied and hard at it. We have none.
We have too many of the same player type with the ones u have mentioned. Its easy when these players get the ball to use their pace but we need a couple tough in and under types to get the ball to these blokes.
We have a long long way to go in all areas in my opinion, just hope its not too long as this is really giving me the s h i t s the way we are going.

thats where mcveigh and welsh come into it and to a lesser extent Mark Johnson i think, what we need imo the most is a small running defender who creates play (the lindsy gilbee role), we dont have one, we have an excess of tall defenders. mal ryder fletch mcphee NLM, and mroe often then not the small forwards areb eing manned up by MJ or slattery... we had mcphee on deledio on the weekend and although mcphee did really well that was certainly a miss match and won that wasnt really exploited by the tigers..

heres hoping hislop houli jetta etc can fill the void and lift our midfeild...
there are quite a few thigns which have annoyed me this year, we have been playing players in positions where imo they should never be played
for example MJ taking the small quick defenders (bad decision), i dont think MJ should be traded or delisted he should be in the foward line with stints in the midfeild. he is a great contested mark has a great leap and has the muscle to be a real worry in the forward line, also he applies great pressure, there was a game last year i think it was against adelaide or fremantle.. where he ahd i think 3 touches in the first half in the forward line but the commentators were saying he is near best of ground because of his forward 50 pressure.. thats what we need..
also lucas shouldnt play back we all know that now. mal shouldnt always go to the best forward, he should go on a player that suits him... hille is a tradeable option however its a huge risk as if laycock goes down we are officially screwed in the ruck, ryder would be to sole ruckmen and i dont think he is ready for that.

 

[bomberstomake8]

Couldn't agree more. The amount of times the ball comes into the forward line and Lloyd has to double back because the ball's been kicked over his head, or the amount of times the ball lands 10 metres in front of him. We need midfielders who can get the ball, run fast with it, know what to do with it, then have the skill to execute the disposal.

so pretty much we need an elite midfeilder...
the judd type??

 

[Don Envy]

so pretty much we need an elite midfeilder...
the judd type??

I think so, but where do we get one from? I doubt Judd or any other elite midfielder will leave their club for us, so we need to use EARLY draft picks on one. Not late 1st round or 2nd or 3rd round, but top 5.

This will need to come from either;
1 - Finishing low enough to get one of these
2 - Trading a Lloyd or Lucas (see Lockett and N.Thompson trades)

 

[W. Smithers]

We must pay cash. Simple as that. Our midfield needs a star and we need to pay for one. Otherwise our backline and especially forward line will continue to suffer.

We're wasting one of the most damaging forward lines in the league at the moment because we're too stupid and stubborn to build an appropriate midfield.

What do you think would get you Judd?

 

[Bombers 4 premiership]

We must pay cash. Simple as that. Our midfield needs a star and we need to pay for one. Otherwise our backline and especially forward line will continue to suffer.

We're wasting one of the most damaging forward lines in the league at the moment because we're too stupid and stubborn to build an appropriate midfield.

This is exactly right. We need one big gun who can lead the midfield and give the other guys confidence.

Doesn't matter how much it costs, one gun midfielder would make a huge difference as our backline is looking all right and our forward line has the potential to be one of the best in the league if the midfield can deliver well.

 

[RED AND BLACK SOLDIER]

What do you think would get you Judd?

Stuff Judd, im sure you guys wouldn't mind if we took Foley, would you?

 

[JIM BEAM]

This is exactly right. We need one big gun who can lead the midfield and give the other guys confidence.

Doesn't matter how much it costs, one gun midfielder would make a huge difference as our backline is looking all right and our forward line has the potential to be one of the best in the league if the midfield can deliver well.

I agree fully

 

[ant555]

The problem with our midfield is we have allowed Hird to get the job done for too long.
Now we are stuck with a midfield that
Is not overly skillfull.
Is very unacountable.
Cant tackle consistantly well.
Dont always shepherd.
Coral players rather than attack them.
Dont play for each other.
Is deviod of options at the clearances.
Hasnt got enough endurance runners in it.
Has been sadly lacking a decent ruckman.
Has a very poor work rate.

Offering heaps of cash wont fix the problem as trading is in decline. There wont be any big names crossing to clubs in the middle of the ladder.
We simply have to keep drafting young mids until we get the right mix.

 

[ant555]

This is exactly right. We need one big gun who can lead the midfield and give the other guys confidence.

Doesn't matter how much it costs, one gun midfielder would make a huge difference as our backline is looking all right and our forward line has the potential to be one of the best in the league if the midfield can deliver well.

And how are we getting him ? The days of just offereing cash are gone. Clubs dont want to trade away good players so unless you finish last and have first shot at the PSD it wont be happening.
Until they bring Free Agency in there wont be big name players traded .
When are people going to get it into their heads that the cash solution wont work. Unless you are prepared to give up say Ryder and a first round draft pick you wont come close to getting a deal on the table.

 

[bomberrob]

our biggest fault is our fitness........i dont care how good john quinn and co have been we need a change,we were in so many games this year and faded out to lose by 6 or more goals not good enough.....maybe a new coach with fresh ideas and a clean out is and will be good for the club.......i love essendon to death but im sick of the crap we have been dishing up .....if our fitness is better then we can be more accountable something that we are not,we have no problems kicking goals but let them in way to easy thats coz players dont work hard enough the other way.....thats why west coast and sydney are so good..

 

[ManWithNoName]

We need someone who can kick properly. We need someone with the polished, refined skills that we lack at the moment.

 

[Daytripper]

And how are we getting him ? The days of just offereing cash are gone. Clubs dont want to trade away good players so unless you finish last and have first shot at the PSD it wont be happening.
Until they bring Free Agency in there wont be big name players traded .
When are people going to get it into their heads that the cash solution wont work. Unless you are prepared to give up say Ryder and a first round draft pick you wont come close to getting a deal on the table.

Well said ant.

There will be 3 retirements at seasons end and possibly up to 4 delistings. Then we may do one mid to lower-level player trade.

That is all that will happen and that is all that will happen at probably every other club as well.

For better or worse we are stuck with the list we have got for the moment. If young Hislop or Jetta can develop into the quality ball using midfielder that we need we may not be talking about the issue this time next year.

But then again if we had drafted Selwood..............

 

[SOT4]

our biggest fault is our fitness........i dont care how good john quinn and co have been we need a change,we were in so many games this year and faded out to lose by 6 or more goals not good enough.....maybe a new coach with fresh ideas and a clean out is and will be good for the club.......i love essendon to death but im sick of the crap we have been dishing up .....if our fitness is better then we can be more accountable something that we are not,we have no problems kicking goals but let them in way to easy thats coz players dont work hard enough the other way.....thats why west coast and sydney are so good..

How can you not care how good Quinn is? If Quinn is the best then how is someone who is worse than him going to do better? It doesn't make sense. Quinn cant make the players utilise the fitness base he has given them.

 

[northcote_cowboy]

We should aggressively trade for a good 20 - 23 yo midfielder; maybe Schammer, Rischitelli or Sylvia.

 

[saladin]

sherman has had a poor year. i wonder if he could be on the move? certainly more likely than rischitelli.

 

[SOT4]

We chased rischitelli very hard last year. He thought about coming to essendon but in the end stayed loyal to the lions.