Jet A Luxury We Can't Afford?

[Bazooka Joe]

Dunno, maybe cos he's a luxury jet.

 

Are you saying he's excess baggage?

 

That's just plane crazy!

[red colin]

That is the issue,

Dropping jet may lead us to be more solid but I think chances would dry up, In the short term it would help result improve if we wanted to win ugly (and I mean uglier then Tuesday) but he would have to be brought back in,

The way SoD has the team set up means jet has to play as frustrating as he can be he simply is too important to the formation to leave out,

If we were going to change formation then the would be a good case in leaving him out but sod is a bit to stubbon to do that imo

Jet is our biggest problem.. He is like a cog with a tooth missing..on his own he is very talented but as a cog in a machine he throws everything out of sync. Sod has tried to fit a system around a loose canon and as a result no structure is there , we play well in bits and pieces when jet takes part but when he goes walk about the system fails..you have to have all working parts working as one but jet wanders and other players also then get pulled around to let him in possibly where they were going. He has been dropping down the leagues because other managers cant get him into a system. Yes he is very talented but also a disruption to a team.

[TV Tom]

A bit like another player who is still venerated at AG.......Shaun Goater!!!!! Would do nothing much for 89 minutes one chance one goal

Exactly, Jimmy Greaves & Gary Lineker were prime examples of players who would do nothing all game but they would be the first name on the team sheet, Jet is the biggest shining light we have had for years, who were the fools on here before the Carlisle game who said he should be dropped for the non-scoring centre-forwards Taylor & Harewood? the thought of dropping jet is unthinkable even when he is on a bad run.   

[spudski]

http://www.bristol247.com/2013/11/08/jay-emmanuel-thomas-luxury-bristol-city-cant-afford-40667/

2 things;

- I didn't write headline (tin hat), although did put it in title . .

- I suggested we could could/should explore a similar system to Liverpool with JET in hole which didn't make edit.

As always, thoughts and opinions welcome.

Excellent write up.

Some well thought out points. And I agree JET is a conundrum.

 

He's a player that has failed to fit in at other teams and you can understand why.

 

Unfortunately or fortunately for us, depends how you look at it, we've no other players in the squad that can come in and replace him, that would play in a 'normal' striking role that have quality and can score on a regular basis.

 

I do personally think, playing JET has been detrimental to Baldock this season... he appears desperate and rushed into doing well.

 

If JET gets injured well soon find out how well we can do without him.

 

Unfortunately the whole team as a unit revolves around him doing well... very similar to how we relied on Albert last season.

 

I do think it is the one gamble that SoD has made, that may come back to haunt him.

 

You are right to think it could go either way imho.

[Ian M]

JET is probably best described as a Trequartista, a player who has no real responsibility in the team other than to sit in between the midfield and the attack and do whatever they want. Normally if a player is good enough for a manager to play them in this role they will be expected to be the main source of creativity in the side, often returning high numbers of goals and assists. Famous trequartistas in the recent past include Maradona, Baggio and Zidane.

[Fiale]

I think of him as a forward Who can do almost bugger all most of the game for all I care, as long as he keeps scoring important point winning goals.

[Red Ferret]

I'm still baffled how a player who has scored almost all our goals and set up the majority of the others can be considered a "luxury" by some? Those sort of statistics prove anything but.

It's like Real Madrid fans saying that Cristiano Ronaldo is a luxury for fox sake. Insane thinking.

If JET was doing entertaining tricks in midfield but not scoring or setting up goals then he would be a luxury. Not when he is scoring goals every game

[CiderHider]

Yeah we can't afford all these goal scoring players, scoring goals and winning games, football is not about scoring goals and winning games.

 

Most ridiculous article i've ever read.

[BrizzleRed]

The fact this is still being discussed on this thread tells you all you need to know about why English and more relevantly to us, Bristol football is in the shit state it is atm.  

 

JET has genuine talent and when he's on the pitch, there's always a chance of the something unexpected happening.  One look at his scoring record this season in a struggling team will prove his value.

 

Does anyone honestly believe that if we replaced him with another 'grafter', all our problems would disappear and we'd suddenly start shooting up the league?  

 

Tbh, he's been about the only thing stopping me from dozing off in most of the games we've had to suffer this season.  

[GrahamC]

Sorry I've been out all day and so only just got to this.

To me the luxury players are the defenders who don't mark their men, the midfielders incapable of using the ball and failing to track their runners and the strikers who can't be relied upon to score when clean through with only the keeper to beat.

JET is none of those, he should be (and is) the player we build the team around. Someone mentioned Goater earlier, a brilliant finisher but someone who rarely assisted any other goals. At present those goals that JET doesn't score, he makes.

In our 20 games he has 12 goals and 9 assists, that is a bloody useful contribution.

[SJC]

Most ridiculous article i've ever read.

 

Which part(s) of the article did you find ridiculous?

[ciderbeans]

1. We can afford him as we have him on a 2 year contract.

2. He is a luxury any team would love to have but we have him and should do all we can to keep him.

3. Also a necessity due to his goals/assists. He isn't detrimental to the team, he simply has the ability to finish opportunities which other ayers fail to do. In all honesty, it is other team members that have been detrimental. Baldock's numerous fluffed chances that would have made such a difference for example

[spudski]

I think people are being unfair to the writer of the article.

 

He's made some very valid points... many of which have caused problems for the likes of Wenger to consider.

 

He was released by Ipswich for good reason.

 

Prior to joining us he had scored only 16 goals in 122 appearances.

 

He's certainly got off to a flyer here... 12 goals in 20.

 

There is no doubting his ability when on song.

 

And I don't think there is anything in the article that is saying he's a poor player.

 

He's purely a conundrum that other managers have found hard to play in their teams.

 

No one is saying don't play him... just how difficult it is to play him, in the role he plays.

[SJC]

To be honest as soon as I saw the title for the piece, which I didnt have a direct say in, I expected the response I have received. That isnt to say the response is unwelcome at all, anything that spurs conversation is welcome in my book.

 

When I started writing yesterday the first thing I wrote was 'what to do about a problem like JET?' which, in my opinion, would paint a far different picture than the negative implications that are held within the existing header. That isnt to say the header isnt a fair question to ask from what I have written, I think it is a very fair question and, as stated, one that many were asking pre-Carlisle. I go to lengths to highlight his contribution and even state, pretty clearly, that I wouldnt drop him.

 

HOWEVER;

 

I do genuinely believe that, from what I have seen this season, having him as one of a front two simply doesnt work. If we were passing the ball through midfield, finding him to feet 'in the hole', then its a different story. But, as it is, we are not. I like O'Driscoll and have defended him when others havent, but give or take brief spells the extent to our passing/possession game this season has been along the back four before an inevitable direct ball. Brentford was the prime example of this where Baldock spent the entire game chasing shadows. He either contested headers which, had he won, which he didnt, would have gone through to their keeper as he was furthest forward, or he was closing down the opposition. Playing him with JET, in the manner we have to date, isolates him and renders us relatively toothless. How many clear cut chances did we create against Oldham? Considering one goal was a defensive error and the other came as a result of what appeared a straight forward foul by Osborne at right back, how many genuine opportunities did we create vs Crawley? I remember Baldock missing a one on one.

 

Three games ago O'Driscoll was shit and Emmanuel-Thomas was lazy. I didnt believe either of those things then, and i certainly dont believe either of them now. But dont tell me that because we've started picking up points there arent questions to be answered. How we utilise JET, who is clearly an in form player who possesses our greatest threat, is one of those questions.

 

We're 20th in the league, something isnt working and Emmanuel-Thomas, however good he is, isnt good enough to keep us up single handed. The question 'does his individual ability warrant his inclusion, if that inclusion is to the detriment of the team as a unit' is, in my opinion, a fair one.

[SJC]

No one is saying don't play him... just how difficult it is to play him, in the role he plays.

 

Glad someone read it

 

And appreciate the defense but no worries, people are entitled to their opinion.

[BrizzleRed]

I think people are being unfair to the writer of the article.

 

He's made some very valid points... many of which have caused problems for the likes of Wenger to consider.

 

He was released by Ipswich for good reason.

 

Prior to joining us he had scored only 16 goals in 122 appearances.

 

He's certainly got off to a flyer here... 12 goals in 20.

 

There is no doubting his ability when on song.

 

And I don't think there is anything in the article that is saying he's a poor player.

 

He's purely a conundrum that other managers have found hard to play in their teams.

 

No one is saying don't play him... just how difficult it is to play him, in the role he plays.

 

I think you've just given the perfect answer to the OP's question there really.  JET may have been a luxury at some previous clubs, but the stats prove he certainly hasn't been a luxury player for us, either in terms of goals scored, or assists!

 

It's true it hasn't worked out for him at clubs like Ipswich, but that could very well be down to the manager, as Mick McCarthy doesn't seem to be the greatest fan of flair players.  JET has proved to be one of SO'D's few successes this season, as he's found a way to tap into his talents, rather than stifle them, so he deserves real credit for that. 

[spudski]

I think you've just given the perfect answer to the OP's question there really.  JET may have been a luxury at some previous clubs, but the stats prove he certainly hasn't been a luxury player for us, either in terms of goals scored, or assists!

 

It's true it hasn't worked out for him at clubs like Ipswich, but that could very well be down to the manager, as Mick McCarthy doesn't seem to be the greatest fan of flair players.  JET has proved to be one of SO'D's few successes this season, as he's found a way to tap into his talents, rather than stifle them, so he deserves real credit for that. 

There is no doubting the facts and his ability.

 

He's scored a load and provided assists.

 

I think you have to look at the bigger picture though... and that's what the article is trying to ask.

 

Everything is concentrated on one player. The team is built around him.

 

If he is ever injured...how will we cope?

 

If you have a team that plays as a unit and someone gets injured, then you can generally slot another player in to fill that void.

 

We can't do that if JET is ever injured.

 

We play in a way, where everything revolves around JET performing.

 

Yes it's working for him right now... but we've struggled this season regardless.

 

We also relied heavily on Albert last year...and struggled.

 

Both are great players... but can you see the problem?

 

It's a catch 22 to be honest.

 

All I hope is he stays injury free and that we as a team, can find a way to incorporate him fully without compromise to other players in the team...such as Baldock.

[TV Tom]

This is doing my head in, the reason we are 20th in the league is because of Jet, without him we would be 24th and cast adrift at the bottom, is it Jet's fault that we have a shyte defence (we score 4 & you can score 5) even if jet goes on a bad run he should be 1st name on the team sheet, i'm sure people on here are just itching for him to go on a bad run, they just can't appreciate talent when they see it, far too good for this team   

[BrizzleRed]

There is no doubting the facts and his ability.

 

He's scored a load and provided assists.

 

I think you have to look at the bigger picture though... and that's what the article is trying to ask.

 

Everything is concentrated on one player. The team is built around him.

 

If he is ever injured...how will we cope?

 

If you have a team that plays as a unit and someone gets injured, then you can generally slot another player in to fill that void.

 

We can't do that if JET is ever injured.

 

We play in a way, where everything revolves around JET performing.

 

Yes it's working for him right now... but we've struggled this season regardless.

 

We also relied heavily on Albert last year...and struggled.

 

Both are great players... but can you see the problem?

 

It's a catch 22 to be honest.

 

All I hope is he stays injury free and that we as a team, can find a way to incorporate him fully without compromise to other players in the team...such as Baldock.

I can see where you're coming from, but do you stop JET doing what he's doing so well at the moment, just so we don't have to build the team round him?  

 

In my book, we make the best of what we're getting from him atm, and if he does get injured, we then need to look at a plan B.  I think it would be total madness to change what he's currently doing, just on the off-chance he ends up injured at some point.  

 

I reckon we should be making hay while the sun shines, as the saying goes and worry about what we do IF he gets injured.

[EnclosureSurge]

There is no doubting the facts and his ability.

 

He's scored a load and provided assists.

 

I think you have to look at the bigger picture though... and that's what the article is trying to ask.

 

Everything is concentrated on one player. The team is built around him.

 

If he is ever injured...how will we cope?

 

If you have a team that plays as a unit and someone gets injured, then you can generally slot another player in to fill that void.

 

We can't do that if JET is ever injured.

 

We play in a way, where everything revolves around JET performing.

 

Yes it's working for him right now... but we've struggled this season regardless.

 

We also relied heavily on Albert last year...and struggled.

 

Both are great players... but can you see the problem?

 

It's a catch 22 to be honest.

 

All I hope is he stays injury free and that we as a team, can find a way to incorporate him fully without compromise to other players in the team...such as Baldock.

 

 

Excellent points, Spud.Esp linking this with the reliance on Albert. And Baldock needs to be the one we work most on incorporating as he's the next possibility in line to help us if JET ain't playing (Sam's current inability to trap a ball or even see it, seemingly, notwithstanding).

 

Mick McCarthy takes runaround, industrious, do-what-it-says, Yesman midfielder Skuse and plays him every game, swapping him for flair, hard-to-coach, elixir-seeking JET.

 

MMc certainly cannot work with players like JET!