GrahamC Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 Not seen anyone mention this but thought he was absolutely outstanding on Saturday. The idea (first used at Boro) to play him in the middle of the back 3 looks inspired. Firstly because he is an organiser, if you look at how we set up to defend any sort of set piece he is invariably the one who is telling players where to go. Secondly he reads the game well, a number of his last ditch challenges or goal line clearances show this. Finally it means that Kalas is available to support Towler when we use this formation. As one of very few players with previous experience of working under Pearson it will be interesting to see if he remains a regular for the rest of the season & then how NP sees him beyond that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lrrr Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 Weird how playing him in his best position he plays better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leveller Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 He’s a central defender, so filling in at full back was only an act of desperation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WECANDO Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 11 minutes ago, Lrrr said: Weird how playing him in his best position he plays better Same with Wells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon79 Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 16 minutes ago, GrahamC said: Not seen anyone mention this but thought he was absolutely outstanding on Saturday. The idea (first used at Boro) to play him in the middle of the back 3 looks inspired. Firstly because he is an organiser, if you look at how we set up to defend any sort of set piece he is invariably the one who is telling players where to go. Secondly he reads the game well, a number of his last ditch challenges or goal line clearances show this. Finally it means that Kalas is available to support Towler when we use this formation. As one of very few players with previous experience of working under Pearson it will be interesting to see if he remains a regular for the rest of the season & then how NP sees him beyond that. Agree with everything above, especially your point about him playing centrally & moving Kalas left to help out Towler. We kept placing another young lad there (Moore) before, which never made no sense to me. I’ve seen an old video the other day of Mariappa & Pearson, basically during which they said hello, just from the body language you could see they get on. If Pearson stays, wouldn’t be surprised to see Mariappa sign for another year. Seems to be a leader & organiser & would know more than most what Pearson wants. COYR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCFCGav Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 I think he's been good for us since we brought him in. Can't blame him for struggling out of position at LB. I wouldn't mind seeing him kept on as CB cover next year, assuming his wages aren't silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Red Hat Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 27 minutes ago, BCFCGav said: I think he's been good for us since we brought him in. Can't blame him for struggling out of position at LB. I wouldn't mind seeing him kept on as CB cover next year, assuming his wages aren't silly. I think he justifies his place when played in his correct position. Doesn't need to be signed 'as cover'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tin Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 52 minutes ago, GrahamC said: Not seen anyone mention this but thought he was absolutely outstanding on Saturday. The idea (first used at Boro) to play him in the middle of the back 3 looks inspired. Firstly because he is an organiser, if you look at how we set up to defend any sort of set piece he is invariably the one who is telling players where to go. Secondly he reads the game well, a number of his last ditch challenges or goal line clearances show this. Finally it means that Kalas is available to support Towler when we use this formation. As one of very few players with previous experience of working under Pearson it will be interesting to see if he remains a regular for the rest of the season & then how NP sees him beyond that. Inspired? More like common sense to play him in his best position, especially when he's 34 going on 35 and his legs are clearly going. Holden's decision to play him LB was lunacy, IMO. I agree though that we're seeing him at his best in the centre, but that's no real surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Son of Fred Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 6 minutes ago, Roger Red Hat said: I think he justifies his place when played in his correct position. Doesn't need to be signed 'as cover'. Honestly,,with the likelihood of NP signing a contract to stay on then we will not be dealing in 34 year olds.... We shall be cutting back the deadwood & 'upgrading throughout the squad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptr6 Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 A better acquisition than Ash Williams ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Red Hat Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 4 minutes ago, Son of Fred said: We shall be cutting back the deadwood So you think Mariappa is deadwood? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bard Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 8 minutes ago, Son of Fred said: Honestly,,with the likelihood of NP signing a contract to stay on then we will not be dealing in 34 year olds.... We shall be cutting back the deadwood & 'upgrading throughout the squad... That's all a bit lazy. The age isn't the key thing. It's the player's contribution. Mariappa and Rowe have actually contributed something positive whereas others have not. We need 2 or 3 old heads in the squad not necessarily as 1st choices but certainly as settling influences which we are seeing now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unan Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 Didn't Ashton say we only got Mapps as he thought he'd get a better team but, with the current climate, nobody took him.... Or is that just more spin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyClapper Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 I think Ashton did say something like that. My impression at the time was that it was more about the level of contract rather than level of team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nogbad the Bad Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 1 hour ago, Simon79 said: Agree with everything above, especially your point about him playing centrally & moving Kalas left to help out Towler. We kept placing another young lad there (Moore) before, which never made no sense to me. Towler is very much a young player. Taylor Moore is not, he's fully 5 years older than Towler and made his City debut in 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davefevs Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 Thought he was outstanding v Boro....decent (in a good way) v Swansea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon79 Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 21 minutes ago, Nogbad the Bad said: Towler is very much a young player. Taylor Moore is not, he's fully 5 years older than Towler and made his City debut in 2016. Depends on your definition of young I suppose. 23 years old & less than 50 appearances in the Championship is fairly young I would say, especially for a defender. He certainly isn’t experienced. Do you agree with it being a better choice having Kalas just inside Towler though? COYR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Red Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 1 hour ago, ptr6 said: A better acquisition than Ash Williams ? Until a couple of games ago I'd have said not. I think he is a better player though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Top Robin Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 Just wish he was a bit taller for a centre back.....suppose he could try high heels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 1 hour ago, tin said: Inspired? More like common sense to play him in his best position, especially when he's 34 going on 35 and his legs are clearly going. Holden's decision to play him LB was lunacy, IMO. I agree though that we're seeing him at his best in the centre, but that's no real surprise. I think you are missing my point, I wasn’t referring at all to his spell at LB, I meant switching him to the central one of the 3. Prior to this we lined up with Kalas central & either Vyner or Mariappa asked to play on the left, this isn’t happening now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tin Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 16 minutes ago, GrahamC said: I think you are missing my point, I wasn’t referring at all to his spell at LB, I meant switching him to the central one of the 3. Prior to this we lined up with Kalas central & either Vyner or Mariappa asked to play on the left, this isn’t happening now. I got your point, Graham. All I was saying it that playing 'Maps' in the centre of the three and Kalas on the left of the three (where he plays for his country) wasn't rocket science. It just shows Pearson knows what he's doing, IMO, which is no surprise as Mariappa's one of three players he knew before coming here. And I agree with all of your positive observations on Mariappa's form since going more central. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted March 1, 2021 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 42 minutes ago, tin said: I got your point, Graham. All I was saying it that playing 'Maps' in the centre of the three and Kalas on the left of the three (where he plays for his country) wasn't rocket science. It just shows Pearson knows what he's doing, IMO, which is no surprise as Mariappa's one of three players he knew before coming here. And I agree with all of your positive observations on Mariappa's form since going more central. Cheers, the Mariappa at left back stuff by Holden was ridiculous, even with minimal options it was obvious for instance that Hunt say, was a better option & he actually did ok there in the Reading defeat, which understandably then got completely lost in the aftermath of such a poor team effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KegCity Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 2 hours ago, ptr6 said: A better acquisition than Ash Williams ? If he stays at centre back for the rest of the season then yes. I must admit I thought Mariappa was going to be a repeat of Williams after he seemed to struggle at full back, but has turned it round now. Will turn out to be a very good signing if recent performances become the standard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocking Red Cyril Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 Mind it's not surpriseing really NP is an experienced championship manager DH was not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lew-T Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 He’s surprisingly very good in the air for a little fella. Well, he’s a CB after all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bpexile Posted March 1, 2021 Report Share Posted March 1, 2021 8 hours ago, Son of Fred said: Honestly,,with the likelihood of NP signing a contract to stay on then we will not be dealing in 34 year olds.... We shall be cutting back the deadwood & 'upgrading throughout the squad... Not so sure on that one as NP has said he likes to improve all players at all ages, so I guess it will be a case by case situation. Either way I do believe we are in excellent hands & hope that SL & Co can keep NP after this short period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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