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Luke Freeman


Tim Bartlett

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Luke Freemans confidence looks shot to pieces at the moment with another poor showing last night.

i know our squad is threadbare but wonder if for the good player we allow him to go out on loan for a month or 2 to league 1. Hopefully then come March/April we have the Luke Freeman of last season back for the run in.

just feel he needs to be out the firing line for a spell and scoring some goals in league 1. 

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It's odd one, as to what the answer is im not sure.  Freeman and Alli were the stand out players in L1 last year imo.  One has progressed to the highest level the other has gone backwards.  

IMO BG has been brought in to add some steel to our attacking midfield position and some height at set pieces as it looks like AW will no longer be a regular starter and we will miss his defensive work.  Hopefully this will take the pressure off of LF, he will be able to come on for the last 30mins, get at defenders and make some of his magic that we all remember so well happen.:fingerscrossed:

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Are you absolutely deluded, he was one of our better players last night and this was noted by the BT Comentary team who were surprised he came off.

This forum makes me laugh as the likes of Flint and Ayling fly under the radar despite being culpable for a defence which has leaked nearly 50 goals!

Hopefully he gets better coaching and guidance under the new manager. Give the young lad a chance! 

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9 minutes ago, Fishponds_Red said:

It's odd one, as to what the answer is im not sure.  Freeman and Alli were the stand out players in L1 last year imo.  One has progressed to the highest level the other has gone backwards.  

IMO BG has been brought in to add some steel to our attacking midfield position and some height at set pieces as it looks like AW will no longer be a regular starter and we will miss his defensive work.  Hopefully this will take the pressure off of LF, he will be able to come on for the last 30mins, get at defenders and make some of his magic that we all remember so well happen.:fingerscrossed:

Who is aw may I ask.did u mean af.

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28 minutes ago, Bristol_Badger said:

Are you absolutely deluded, he was one of our better players last night and this was noted by the BT Comentary team who were surprised he came off.

This forum makes me laugh as the likes of Flint and Ayling fly under the radar despite being culpable for a defence which has leaked nearly 50 goals!

Hopefully he gets better coaching and guidance under the new manager. Give the young lad a chance! 

Well if Robbie Savage said he was playing well then he must have. 

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30 minutes ago, Bristol_Badger said:

Are you absolutely deluded, he was one of our better players last night and this was noted by the BT Comentary team who were surprised he came off.

agreed. I thought he looked good last night.

This forum makes me laugh as the likes of Flint and Ayling fly under the radar despite being culpable for a defence which has leaked nearly 50 goals!

Ayling? Steady on. That's our best player (I'd accept Smith as a counter) you're talking about. 

Hopefully he gets better coaching and guidance under the new manager. Give the young lad a chance! 

 

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I thought Freeman was one of our better players in the first half, and assumed he was taken off because he wasn't fully fit.  Bobby Reid, on the other hand, with the best will in the world, was dreadful.  I really don't understand why he is still at the club.  League Two or perhaps One is his level, but until he develops some physical strength I doubt that he has any realistic future in the game.  The way he was muscled off the ball constantly last night was embarrassing.

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56 minutes ago, Bristol_Badger said:

Are you absolutely deluded, he was one of our better players last night and this was noted by the BT Comentary team who were surprised he came off.

 

No they didn't.  They said he was disappointed to come off.

They said he had started brightly and then become very quiet and not affecting the game at all. I can't argue with that.

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2 hours ago, Super said:

League one is his level no doubt.

Given he created 18 goals in League One last season - two more than Paul Gallagher in second, and five more than the next best - is there really definitely no doubt that's his level and he's not capable of playing higher?

I think, as the original poster suggests, he's just shot of confidence and not playing well. It happens.

I've always felt when a player's confidence goes the first thing that disappears with it is their decision making, and that's where Luke Freeman is at the moment. His brain is scrambled, the fans are groaning at the first sniff of him giving the ball away and he's then struggling to pick decisively from the options in front of him when he's back in possession. Isn't that just human nature?

I don't think a bit of time out of the side will do him any harm, but the lack of alternatives is still a bit of an issue - especially now we're playing five across there.

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I watched him closely last night and assomeone who believes in LF to establish himself as a influential player at this level there is no doubt he had a very mixed game to be polite last night.

I echo @The Journalists comments above

I commented last year how it was so noticeable how LF never looked at the ball as he moved around with it at his feet , looking for his options

Have a look at him at the moment and the amount of times he's head down looking at the ball at his feet

I would hazard a guess that this is a result of

a) Lack Of Confindence predominantly as @The Journalistpoints out

b) Allowed less time on the ball by Championship defenders / midfielders - gets closed down quickly , and often by pairs and is more concerned at his control of the ball due to the pressure than his options

 

b) Is not helped by , at times , certainly with Wilbs in the side, his limited passing options - there were numerous occasions last night when he looked up , apart from Wes , normally few options, certainly forward wise, hesitation from LF - caught in possession

I think LF would be helped with a JK/Wes combination in front of him giving him options for forward in passing

Having said that watching him closely there were a few occasions, one in the second half in particular when he looked right where Wes was in space screaming for the ball and for some bizarre reason checked back and ended up playing a short pass to BR - his decision making was poor last night and I do believe, and hope an improvement in confidence will help him 

 

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1 hour ago, Gilts said:

I thought he was poor, couldn't control the ball, outmuscled easily and a lot of misplaced passes. A few neutrals I know that went said the same. 

Not sure what's changed from the player we saw last year. 

The quality of the opposition has changed from last year, and the impact of this can be seen on many of our players, not only Luke Freeman

 

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Thought he had a good first half hour, but reverted to his usual Championship form after.  Which is a shame as for the opening exchanges I thought there was hope that last year's Freeman was back.

I thought Jamo hit the nail on the head when asked afterwards if he was surprised that he was taken off and he said No, as he started well, but then started giving away a lot of fouls and losing possession, which was spot on.  DJ is an intelligent lad, and I was glad that it was his assessment that agreed with mine rather than Robbie Savage who only seemed taken with him because he had a ponytail!

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The problem is that Luke needs to add goals to his game given the position he plays in.  That would give him confidence as well fir the rest of his game.   Actally that applies to all our midfield but especially for LF.   We also need someone who can occasionly score from free-kicks.  Marlon Pack can strike the ball well but if (as with LF) shots are never converted into goals then someone else needs to be given a chance as no goals are awarded for near misses or artistic merit.  Last year all the team contrinuted with goals except FF but this year we have relied almost completely on the front two.

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26 minutes ago, Welcome To The Jungle said:

He has no killer pass ability. He is an excellent dribbler and crosser and should be put back out wide for me.

I think this is the key. He's great at running around a lot, but when it comes to delivering a good pass, it just doesn't happen. He manages the odd shot but rarely scores. An attacking midfield player can't justify being in the team by just running around and dribbling.  There should be an end product but,with Freeman, there isn't. If he was played as a wide midfield player his ability to beat a player a cross would be more productive 

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2 hours ago, Tim Bartlett said:

This thread didn't start as a dig at freeman but a question as to whether a loan move to League 1 might rebuild his confidence and allow him to regain some form.

I wouldn't think that is his best move. Getting someone in to play in his spot and putting him on the bench would be my suggestion, to take some pressure off him, and leave him with 15/20 minute cameos as a sub. Don't know if Gladwin is here for this?

Or put him back on the left wing/midfield, if we are not playing 352. But he'll need a good leftback there for support, which we don't seem to have.

Some top coaching would help, too. Maybe SC was under too much pressure (and/or too loyal) to see this or provide it. Couldn't see the wood for the trees?

A good rest in the summer and a stronger team around him next season, who knows?

But does Luke think he's playing well or does he acknowledge he needs to improve in certain areas? Is he open to constructive criticism (from coaching staff, not us) and prepared to work hard at improving where he needs to? Can he learn, and learn quickly?

I hope he can still be a very good Championship player. For us!

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1 hour ago, The Journalist said:

Given he created 18 goals in League One last season - two more than Paul Gallagher in second, and five more than the next best - is there really definitely no doubt that's his level and he's not capable of playing higher?

I think, as the original poster suggests, he's just shot of confidence and not playing well. It happens.

I've always felt when a player's confidence goes the first thing that disappears with it is their decision making, and that's where Luke Freeman is at the moment. His brain is scrambled, the fans are groaning at the first sniff of him giving the ball away and he's then struggling to pick decisively from the options in front of him when he's back in possession. Isn't that just human nature?

I don't think a bit of time out of the side will do him any harm, but the lack of alternatives is still a bit of an issue - especially now we're playing five across there.

At least 2 thirds were from set pieces. The guy has NEVER scored at Ashton gate and has zero assists from open play this year which quite honestly is embarrassing. We need to buy someone like Dack but whilst we haven't despite him being weak and often losing the ball Reid has to be the one playing. He's the only player who can occasionally see a killer pass and has got assists not from set pieces. Freeman might be better suited out wide, but certainly wouldn't be in my team in the middle. Dack or Roofe in and it's a whole different ball game. 

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