Edge1981 Posted August 15, 2009 Report Share Posted August 15, 2009 I thought Sproule was a shower today. The only decent thing I remember him doing was beating two men at the by-line in the 2nd half and then laying it off. He seems clueless to me when he is operating as a winger and certainly isn't a striker. Akinde definitely gave Palace something to think about. Should have been Maynar and Akinde upfront from the start! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomerRed Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 Have to agree with the general thrust here on Akinde, Maynard and Sproule. Akinde took a 40-yard ball down on his thigh and kept it under control, that single act was eyebrow-raising. He used his strength and made himself a handful. Before the game I was concerned about Haynes not being available, because it seems GJ wants to give the 3-5-2 system (or whatever you want to call it) a real go and that would mean playing Sproule up front. Yes, great pace but very little evidence of a football brain. I have praised Sproule in the past but he has not improved. I know Brad misplaced many of his passes but Ivan did not give him much of an outlet to aim for. Hartley's all-round play was again excellent, but these set pieces need a bit of work don't they?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinapig Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 Sproule was awful. No composure and certainly not an option as a striker. I like the guy's attitude, he never hides and works his socks off but after 2 years here he has not improved his decision making at all. He invariably panics when in a good position.Give him one option and he'll still choose the wrong one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chinapig Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 I thought Akinde looked very good. All his headers were directed at other players and on several occassions he brought long balls down and played in Maynard or others around him. he did wander out to the wings a little too often but I think he should be given a run in the side because that will improve his positional play. He forced Palace into some rough tactics winning free kicks on the edge of the box and looked a threat all the time he was on. Maynard took his goal well. I thought he was too raw before today but I was very impressed with his contribution. Gave Palace problems they didn't have in the first half. As to "wandering" to the wing, Dele did that all the time and caused defences big problems when powering past defenders on the left especially. Credit btw to Gary for changing the team and the system at half time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red badger Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 Maynard looks class at the moment...Akinde couldn't have done any better. They're players on the up. One or two of our other players are clearly playing at the limit of their ability. Good for them to be holding a place in a Championship squad... ...for me Sproule doesn't use his football brain often enough to shine at this level. Seems a great guy and has his moments but needs to concentrate for 90 minutes and make the right first decision to take men on, pass or move to hold his own this season. McCombe needs to work on his distribution. Big season for both of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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