Scrap Adebola

[Bris Red]

Right, i have been thinking long and hard and have come to the conclusion if we drop Adebola things become a LOT easier. Ok Adebola is great in the air but that is were it ends he has poor touch poor movement but the main thing that concerns me is are eagerness to play hoof ball.

Last night watching the first half was like watching the dying minutes of a world cup final at 0-0, every time the centre halfs got the ball they hoofed it, no thought was gone into Carey Fontaine Orr and Macca just thought blow it I'm going to hit Adebola with a long aimless ball and hope for the best.

Unfortunatley the longer we keep playing Dele the more often this will happen, not only does this make us look like a Pulis team it completely starves Maynard of any involment in the game, basically we have 2.25 million worth of talent fighting to get on the end of one of deles flick ons which is quite frankly a waste of talent and money.

They foward IMO is to drop Adebola, we can kid are selfs all we wont about Carey Fonatine etc stopping the long ball but unfortunatly they wont and the longer adebola plays the more we will play like we did under Puilis. Brooker/ Maynard Trundle/ Maynard any of those combinations would increase the chnaces of Maynard playing like we all know he can.

I'm simply saying Adebola I'm afraid is useless not only is he 33 but he is dragging us down ( i know this is not adebolas personal fault and I'm not blaming him) but he is a magnet for hoof ball and unles we wont to start scoring and playing atractive football like birmingham did last night Adebola needs to be dropped.

[Lack of Action Man]

Agree with you I'm glad someone else saw this problem. I thought that Adebola was exposed last night against a quality side as being too slow, too clumsy and just not top of the league quality. I'm sure he's a nice guy but we need to be looking at the best team who can aspire the level of play like West brum last season and brum this season.

When I saw trundle's face after his goal I can't say I have ever been more happy for the guy. He needed that goal and boy did he get it.

[bcfc_agar]

well i do agree in a way, last nite was in the early stages of becoming root one (stoke) we do play very attractive football, great passing ect. which would suit maynard and trundle, but i don't agree wit dropping adebola because he is great holder of the ball, and a valuable aspect to the team, but as i said before i do agree wit u on the lump and hope 4 the best senario

[BITW]

I think people under-estimate what Adebola actally does for the team. More often than not he batters the 5hit out of the CB's for 90 mins. A horrible player to play against with a great physical presence.

[Bris Red]

I think people under-estimate what Adebola actally does for the team. More often than not he batters the 5hit out of the CB's for 90 mins. A horrible player to play against with a great physical presence.

I deffinetly see your point, but this is were opinions are split personally i would think Ridgewell and Taylor would much have preffered to have battled with Adebola than to have dealt with Maynard and brooker running them ragged.

I have to take back what i said earlier in the post i don't think we should scarp Adebola all together i think on a tuesady night up in barnsley he would be great, but to get the best out of Maynard you need to be playing the Arsenal way on the floor, not the puils way in the air.

[Guest DR DICKNOSE]

Agree with you I'm glad someone else saw this problem. I thought that Adebola was exposed last night against a quality side as being too slow, too clumsy and just not top of the league quality. I'm sure he's a nice guy but we need to be looking at the best team who can aspire the level of play like West brum last season and brum this season.

When I saw trundle's face after his goal I can't say I have ever been more happy for the guy. He needed that goal and boy did he get it.

I agree I'm starting to think that weve been sussed out by teams now with adebola in the starting line up,especially at home.

I'm not knocking a solid start to the season but we need to show more at home if were going to challenge again,

for anyone whose ever played the game you would know that adebola can be a defenders nightmare when on song,

but when you put him up against a quality(leg breaker!) like taylor he cant cut it,think we need to rethink the forward line for donny on saturday,

I'm going to go for trundle/maynard or brooks if fit and dele on the bench to come on and put some presence in last 15/20mins.

[collier]

I agree I'm starting to think that weve been sussed out by teams now with adebola in the starting line up,especially at home.

I'm not knocking a solid start to the season but we need to show more at home if were going to challenge again,

for anyone whose ever played the game you would know that adebola can be a defenders nightmare when on song,

but when you put him up against a quality(leg breaker!) like taylor he cant cut it,think we need to rethink the forward line for donny on saturday,

I'm going to go for trundle/maynard or brooks if fit and dele on the bench to come on and put some presence in last 15/20mins.

If Adebola couldnt cut it how come he won every free kick around their box, sometimes having 2 or 3 defenders marking him? He imo won us a penalty that the ref bottled giving us as well. People seem to forget all that he does in favour of moaning about the long ball. We played long ball before adebola was playing as last season people were moaning that Trundle was never going to do anything with long balls pumped up to him. We cant have it both ways, either we played the ball on the floor adebola adn the strikers didnt do there jobs by scoring many goals or we are forgetting that we still played the long ball and thats the reason we didnt score many goals. Which is it???

[Red Zeppelin]

Adebola is currently our most valuable player and shouldn't be dropped in my opinion. When we don't score it obviously reflects badly on our strikeforce but if we get the midfield sorted then I think our current pairing up front has the ability to succeed. We just need Elliott back plus two wingers and roll on from there.

[Bris Red]

Adebola is currently our most valuable player and shouldn't be dropped in my opinion. When we don't score it obviously reflects badly on our strikeforce but if we get the midfield sorted then I think our current pairing up front has the ability to succeed. We just need Elliott back plus two wingers and roll on from there.

Give me a break Adebola is a magnet for league 2 hoof ball he is 33 and has no pace so all you can do is hoof a long ball down hes throat and hope that Maynard gambles to get on the end of a flick on.

This is not the way football should be played and prior to us bringing in dele we dint play like this so why change just to accomadate a striker that is passed hes best.

Drop Dele and bring in brooker simple.

[Lack of Action Man]

Well said

[Guest wheres your caravan??]

Right, i have been thinking long and hard and have come to the conclusion if we drop Adebola things become a LOT easier. Ok Adebola is great in the air but that is were it ends he has poor touch poor movement but the main thing that concerns me is are eagerness to play hoof ball.

Last night watching the first half was like watching the dying minutes of a world cup final at 0-0, every time the centre halfs got the ball they hoofed it, no thought was gone into Carey Fontaine Orr and Macca just thought blow it I'm going to hit Adebola with a long aimless ball and hope for the best.

Unfortunatley the longer we keep playing Dele the more often this will happen, not only does this make us look like a Pulis team it completely starves Maynard of any involment in the game, basically we have 2.25 million worth of talent fighting to get on the end of one of deles flick ons which is quite frankly a waste of talent and money.

They foward IMO is to drop Adebola, we can kid are selfs all we wont about Carey Fonatine etc stopping the long ball but unfortunatly they wont and the longer adebola plays the more we will play like we did under Puilis. Brooker/ Maynard Trundle/ Maynard any of those combinations would increase the chnaces of Maynard playing like we all know he can.

I'm simply saying Adebola I'm afraid is useless not only is he 33 but he is dragging us down ( i know this is not adebolas personal fault and I'm not blaming him) but he is a magnet for hoof ball and unles we wont to start scoring and playing atractive football like birmingham did last night Adebola needs to be dropped.

i totally agree with you mate. was starting to wonder whether or not i was alone in my thinking!

[Andrew_V1]

Good thread, Now I personally like Dele Adebola- The bloke, but for me..just as a paying fans perspective..He is NOT entertaining to watch in the slightest, and ever since we bought him our playing style has declined quite drastically (and no this isn't big Dele's fault)

[Red Zeppelin]

Give me a break Adebola is a magnet for league 2 hoof ball he is 33 and has no pace so all you can do is hoof a long ball down hes throat and hope that Maynard gambles to get on the end of a flick on.

This is not the way football should be played and prior to us bringing in dele we dint play like this so why change just to accomadate a striker that is passed hes best.

Drop Dele and bring in brooker simple.

You misunderstood me. I meant all our attacks have come through him, so it's not like he's not doing his job. I agree entirely, I'd prefer us to play like Birmingham yesterday, keeping the ball on the ground and playing good football. BUT the facts show that all of our good attacking play has primarily come through Adebola like it or not, which I don't.

Much as I dislike the fact he attracts the long-ball, I still believe we can keep him in the team playing good football without resorting to hoofing it as we did last night.

[Guest ashtonyate]

Right, i have been thinking long and hard and have come to the conclusion if we drop Adebola things become a LOT easier. Ok Adebola is great in the air but that is were it ends he has poor touch poor movement but the main thing that concerns me is are eagerness to play hoof ball.

Last night watching the first half was like watching the dying minutes of a world cup final at 0-0, every time the centre halfs got the ball they hoofed it, no thought was gone into Carey Fontaine Orr and Macca just thought blow it I'm going to hit Adebola with a long aimless ball and hope for the best.

Unfortunatley the longer we keep playing Dele the more often this will happen, not only does this make us look like a Pulis team it completely starves Maynard of any involment in the game, basically we have 2.25 million worth of talent fighting to get on the end of one of deles flick ons which is quite frankly a waste of talent and money.

They foward IMO is to drop Adebola, we can kid are selfs all we wont about Carey Fonatine etc stopping the long ball but unfortunatly they wont and the longer adebola plays the more we will play like we did under Puilis. Brooker/ Maynard Trundle/ Maynard any of those combinations would increase the chnaces of Maynard playing like we all know he can.

I'm simply saying Adebola I'm afraid is useless not only is he 33 but he is dragging us down ( i know this is not adebolas personal fault and I'm not blaming him) but he is a magnet for hoof ball and unles we wont to start scoring and playing atractive football like birmingham did last night Adebola needs to be dropped.

I can not agree with leaving Adebola out if we done that we would have no attack at all The problem is we do not have anyone in midfield that has any vision we need a play maker.

A Tinnion type player who can play the ball along the ground that is why to many balls are hoofed into the forwards because no one in midfield accept for prehaps Lee Johnson can play that type of ball.

You need to have tall forwards in the team to win and hold up play the reason Adebola keeped losing the ball on tuesday was he was being marked by 2/3 defenders all the game.

[WARWICK RED]

agree with the original post 100 % adebola is a easy target for the defence when we are playing.

like tuesday when we face good quality (like birmingham) the defence seemed to want to by pass the midfiled and get it up top to adebola i.e an easy option rather than try and play the ball up.

i have never liked adebola since we tried to sign him a few years ago. he is never going to be prolific and as for being a taget man well the balls that he does win and flick on who is getting on the end of them?(not his fault may i add)

maynard doesnt play this way(flick ons) so why try to change his game? we should stick to playing to our strengths and that is to pass the ball around and make the oposition work for the ball and not look to the sky.

adebola as a sub to come on in games or as was stated a tuesday night in barnsley etc i would agree with but to be our 1st choice stiker?? give me a break

i would like to see tundle and maynard/brooker given a go as i think we would get a lot more chances and goals.

[Andy082005]

You misunderstood me. I meant all our attacks have come through him, so it's not like he's not doing his job.

Exactly! All our attacks go through him....and the only way he knows how to play is in the air. We should be building our attacks around a player we just splashed £2.2m on....unfortunately, Dele does not have the ability to bring Maynard into the game

We will get more if we play to Maynards strengths..then if we played to Deles

[Guest DanC]

When we signed him I predicted this would be how we would end up playing and unfortunately it seems I may have been right. Dele is good in certain situations without a doubt. However we need to play to teams weaknesses. If were playing a side with a 6 foot 6 defender who likes to head balls all day long but is as fast as a turtle and useless with his feet then we are playing to there strengths by playing Dele. Give them something to worry about by playing players like Maynard, Brooker and Trundle against them who are dangerous with there feet.

[PhatWill]

unfortunately, Dele does not have the ability to bring Maynard into the game

What a load of rubbish. I saw on the opening day at Blackpool Dele set up two absolutely golden chances for Maynard who inexplicably missed both.

Michael Mifsud didn't seem to have too many problems scoring alongside Dele either.

He's a very good Championship target man and contrary to what some have said has a very good touch and understanding of the game.

The problem on Tuesday night was that Maynard wasn't playing close enough to him, in fact in the first half he was playing on the left wing! They need to play closer together and develop their understanding with each other.

Absolutely no reason to drop Dele and I'd persist with his pairing with Maynard for Saturday's game.

[Seend Red]

Blame Gary Johnson not Adebola.

Our recent formations have been the reason we have been more long ball, if you have no width you can not spread the ball and knock it around as there simply is no space as every one is congested in the middle of the pitch, so more times than not there is little option but to knock it long .

Dele has done well since arriving so making him the scapegoat for Maynard's failure to get going and Johnson dodgy tactics isn't on.

[Andy082005]

What a load of rubbish. I saw on the opening day at Blackpool Dele set up two absolutely golden chances for Maynard who inexplicably missed both.

Michael Mifsud didn't seem to have too many problems scoring alongside Dele either.

He's a very good Championship target man and contrary to what some have said has a very good touch and understanding of the game.

The problem on Tuesday night was that Maynard wasn't playing close enough to him, in fact in the first half he was playing on the left wing! They need to play closer together and develop their understanding with each other.

Absolutely no reason to drop Dele and I'd persist with his pairing with Maynard for Saturday's game.

Ok, maybe I was a bit rash in saying "he does not have the ability to bring Maynard into the game..."

What I should have said was, I think we have better options then Dele, better options that will bring the best out of Maynard.

At the minute were playing Adebola's game.....when we should be playing to Maynards strengths

[Andy082005]

Dele has done well since arriving so making him the scapegoat for Maynard's failure to get going and Johnson dodgy tactics isn't on.

Again, just in case this was aimed at me, I'm not making Dele a "scape goat" or anything...I think he has been a quality signing for us, but if you want to progress...unfortunately, some people have to be left behind

Dele isnt our future...Maynard is, we should be building our attacks around him

[albert2]

What an absolute joke, Adebola was battered black and blue on Tuesday night, kept not only 2 centre halfs busy but also Lee Carsley who was front screening him from receiving the ball. Dele is exactly the type of player we have been asking/begging for for 4/5 years, but any striker is only as good as the service he gets, and if we had him all last season then I think we would have seen the best of LEe Trundle .

Trundle was not brought as a target man but had to play as one for most of the season , not his game

The issue here is wide men not playing wide, wide men therefore not getting crosses into the box and the midfield not making the box to help Dele and Maynard, because of this the defenders can double up on the 2 strikers and full backs tuck inside. We do not get to the by line often enough to give the forwards something to attack , with Johnson and Skuse in midfield (both players are playing well at the moment) , we do not make numbers in the box.

It was noticeable that one Birmingham attacked they did so with purpose and pace, men making the penalty area not just backing up play and overloading our defence . It is harsh to judge on Tuesday as in my opinion Birmingham played the perfect away game, were strong and quickall over the pitch and defended their box well.

[Robbored]

The problem with having a target man is that it can make the rest of the team lazy. Its easy just to lump the ball up the pitch in the hope that the big man will hold it up, lay it off or flick it on. It restricts imagination and creativity. You don't see many target men in the PL.

There is certainly some weight to the arguement that Adebola should be rested. Perhaps without a big bloke up front the other City players would be forced to adopt a more creative approach. Creating chances has been a problem as Johnson pointed out after Tuesday night.

Johnson also said after the Brum defeat that City lacked movement and big Dele isn't the most mobile of players so perhaps a change up front on Saturday would provide the team with more options.

I doubt that Johnson will change things though.

[Red Zeppelin]

Very good point about the wide men contributing to long ball. I rememember many occasions where McAllister looked for a pass down the wing, re-adjusted and then pumped it towards Adebola. Get our width back and all these problems, long ball, no creativity etc should be solved.

[BITW]

I can not agree with leaving Adebola out if we done that we would have no attack at all The problem is we do not have anyone in midfield that has any vision we need a play maker.

A Tinnion type player who can play the ball along the ground that is why to many balls are hoofed into the forwards because no one in midfield accept for prehaps Lee Johnson can play that type of ball.

You need to have tall forwards in the team to win and hold up play the reason Adebola keeped losing the ball on tuesday was he was being marked by 2/3 defenders all the game.

Well said.

[Andy082005]

The problem with having a target man is that it can make the rest of the team lazy. Its easy just to lump the ball up the pitch in the hope that the big man will hold it up, lay it off or flick it on. It restricts imagination and creativity. You don't see many target men in the PL.

There is certainly some weight to the arguement that Adebola should be rested. Perhaps without a big bloke up front the other City players would be forced to adopt a more creative approach. Creating chances has been a problem as Johnson pointed out after Tuesday night.

Johnson also said after the Brum defeat that City lacked movement and big Dele isn't the most mobile of players so perhaps a change up front on Saturday would provide the team with more options.

I doubt that Johnson will change things though.

Thank you! what you just said then...is the point I'm trying to get across

good post!

[Seend Red]

Again, just in case this was aimed at me, I'm not making Dele a "scape goat" or anything...I think he has been a quality signing for us, but if you want to progress...unfortunately, some people have to be left behind

Dele isnt our future...Maynard is, we should be building our attacks around him

Just judging on what I've seen down the gate of the two Dele is 10 times the striker Maynard currently is. Leave Adebola out the side and we're considerably weaker for it.

Johnson needs to return to basics and start 4-4-2 and get some good ball out wide so the back 4 of the opposition back four are more spread across the pitch hence more space for Maynard to run in to. Johnson recent tactics have made the game very narrow and congested.

Where's all this heat on Adebola come from, he's been one our better players this season! I'd dropped Maynard before I drop Adebola on current form.

The problem with having a target man is that it can make the rest of the team lazy. Its easy just to lump the ball up the pitch in the hope that the big man will hold it up, lay it off or flick it on. It restricts imagination and creativity. You don't see many target men in the PL.

Again Johnson fault. If he instructing his player to lump it long then we need to be looking at tactics and not hanging Adebola out to dry! Dele is more than good enough to play football on the deck so Johnson just needs to get them to mix it up a bit and stop lumping it all the time.

Dele's done **** all wrong and is taking the shite for Johnson stupid recent tactics! Just discuss the cause rather than the effect!

[Robbored]

Dele's done **** all wrong and is taking the shite for Johnson stupid recent tactics! Just discuss the cause rather than the effect!

I'm certainly not being critical of Adebola at all - just pointing out that using a target man per say can have a negative influence on the team mates around him. It does stiffle imagination and encourages the long ball far too often. Its not a stratagy that I like but clearly Johnson does.

[Elton red]

I think most fans on this forum agree on one thing. City play best when employing wide men to attack with pace.Why play the ball up to a 'big target man' for him to then try and hold off/up play until others arrive? Get the ball wide well before the final 3rd and you have so many more options.How often have we seen City lining up on the 18 yard line with Lj looking for that final 'killer' ball? ' We have some of the quickest, fittest players in this league and last season all we were missing was someone who could keep up with Sproule and McIndoe in full flight. Maynard will do this, a cross from either side does not have to be 10 feet off the ground so height is not an issue but speed of thought and feet is. Trundle would provide guile through the middle as an alternative to this tactic. I hope that once our destroyer in chief, Marv, is fit to win the ball in the middle and then get it wide we will see the above style used and we will win the league at a canter!!!

[Red]

I'm certainly not being critical of Adebola at all - just pointing out that using a target man per say can have a negative influence on the team mates around him. It does stiffle imagination and encourages the long ball far too often. Its not a stratagy that I like but clearly Johnson does.

The negative side is down to the manager, yes we have done well since GJ has become manager, but it seems what ever we pay for a forward the goals are still not coming.

you could pay 1mill, 2 mill, or 30m for a good stiker, but if the ball is not getting in the box from all angles and not just the hump the ball forward, we wont score many, as has been proved the past couple of season. GJ seems to have that defence first attitude, thats why the wide men seemed happy to come inside and not take the ball up the wing then cross.

It seems that the manager knows we are light weight in midfield so he gets the wingers in for extra cover, thats why teams find it hard to score past us and the reason we do not create more scoring chances.

So it's about time we got off the forwards back and have a look at the managers tactis and not blame the players.