Is Flint a liability?

[MarkRed!]

I must be one of the few who thinks that Flint is overrated and bar a majestic League 1 season, has been a total liability at centre back. He does not lead and command as he should and is caught out time and time again.... He is not a premier league defender and I think we would have been better off had he gone in the window. 

Looking back at the games this season, he was at fault for Wigan's goal (did not stop the cross), Newcastle goal (caught out by Gayle's movement over the top), woeful performance against Rotherham for both goals and then turned inside out against Wednesday for the 3rd goal. He just shows lapses in concentration at key times for me, but for some reason he gets lauded...

I know lots of fans like Flint but, I think he is the weak link in the back 4 and I would like to see either Moore or Exstrand given an opportunity. 

 

[BCFC Grim]

No.....simple! Over-rated by some? maybe but a liability? Definitely not. Does annoy me that after a couple of iffy mistakes or bad games people will jump straight on the back ( not necessary you) of players and asking for changes. 

We have the makings of a very good squad, dropping players will not help that. Give them chance to make up for it. Same again against Derby, then think about it.

[Ivorguy]

Same again advice is what kept us in relegation zone last year.

Act before it is too late

Every confidence that Lee will be bold re team selection unlike SC who kept referring to the players as though they were his own children

Trust in Lee and watch what he will do for Saturday.  I confidently expect changes and judging by what Lee has said if Ekstrand is fit he will play with Flint on the bench.

[BCFC Grim]

Um we were in the relegation positions due the poor tactics of our previous manager. Were we not a top 8 team points wise since LJ has come in? Which Flint was part off? Just a thought.

[Lorenzos Only Goal]

23 minutes ago, MarkRed! said:

I must be one of the few who thinks that Flint is overrated and bar a majestic League 1 season, has been a total liability at centre back. He does not lead and command as he should and is caught out time and time again.... He is not a premier league defender and I think we would have been better off had he gone in the window. 

Looking back at the games this season, he was at fault for Wigan's goal (did not stop the cross), Newcastle goal (caught out by Gayle's movement over the top), woeful performance against Rotherham for both goals and then turned inside out against Wednesday for the 3rd goal. He just shows lapses in concentration at key times for me, but for some reason he gets lauded...

I know lots of fans like Flint but, I think he is the weak link in the back 4 and I would like to see either Moore or Exstrand given an opportunity. 

 

I think you might be on your own, or in a very small minority.

[exAtyeoMax]

Flinty has made mistakes but I'd never say he was a liability…and it's not because he is Flinty…

 

[Bar BS3]

Where were all these wise, all knowing posts before last Saturday..?

Pathetic! 

[Alessandro]

Pretty much exactly this time last year I started a thread along the lines of is Flint 'undroppable' because in the early games he seemed prone to too many errors but being a fans favourite he wasn't getting much criticism. 

Perhaps he starts a season slowly, no doubt he will improve this season as he did last season.

As with Tomlin, lots of knee jerk reactions, looking to lay blame somewhere, let's not through he baby out with the bath water.

[Red white and red]

Unbelievable. The guy has 2 shaky games and people are questioning his competence... Well done on the great support! 

[Super]

Not sure any of the goals were his fault the other night, ok maybe the third but if you are given space to run at him in the box every chance you will beat him.

[Malago]

Aden Flint is a warrior who deserves our unflinching support.

[Charlie BCFC]

Oh dear just replied on the Tomlin thread now we've got this . He may be overrated by  us City fans but there's no way he's a liability! Last season he maybe didn't get over ten goals but what do you expect? If it wasn't for him our defensive record would probably be the worst in the league.

 

[RedRoss]

1 hour ago, MarkRed! said:

I must be one of the few who thinks that Flint is overrated and bar a majestic League 1 season, has been a total liability at centre back. He does not lead and command as he should and is caught out time and time again.... He is not a premier league defender and I think we would have been better off had he gone in the window. 

Looking back at the games this season, he was at fault for Wigan's goal (did not stop the cross), Newcastle goal (caught out by Gayle's movement over the top), woeful performance against Rotherham for both goals and then turned inside out against Wednesday for the 3rd goal. He just shows lapses in concentration at key times for me, but for some reason he gets lauded...

I know lots of fans like Flint but, I think he is the weak link in the back 4 and I would like to see either Moore or Exstrand given an opportunity. 

 

We don't play in the premier league? He's a solid championship player - Just what we need. 

He's had a couple of dodgy games. So what? Just bin him? 

[JoeAman08]

Is he a liability? Maybe in certain situations. 1 on 1 defending against quick players is an example. With the way we play with fullbacks getting forward, Flint will be prone to embarrassment here and there. He gets twisted up quite a bit but often doesn't result in things so gets forgotten. His goals endear him to the fans. When man marking he's very very good. In the air he's very very good. When the ball is played on the floor and ball in behind with runners, he gets caught out a lot. I think it's part of championship defenders however. There are plenty who are better than Flint but there are plenty that are worse. Ekstrand I think is an upgrade if he gets back to pre injury form but that's a huge if. 

All in all, no one is immune to being dropped. Flint is still probably our best option at this moment. He's a good solid CB but if isolated can look foolish but again, many would in similar scenarios. I think it's fair to criticise at times but you have to look at the bigger picture. He's here, he is the best option and he's a threat on set pieces. There won't be many games where he'll be under as much pressure so he'll look good again soon. As for his long term future at city? I don't think he'll be here as a starter for too much longer. Either Ekstrand overtakes him this year(unlikely IMO) or Moore comes on strong(more likely but still not likely) or another CB is brought in next summer and Flint looks at his options. He's just not the LJ type I don't think. Not good enough on the ball or athletic enough. Good defender but not great. I could see us accepting a move in early January if it came up from a premier league squad(they have money and may take the chance on a goal scoring CB). 

[MarkRed!]

I am not having a go for the sake of it.... perhaps liability was the wrong word to use TBF.  No player is immune from criticism particularly when they are one of the better paid players. But having watched all of our games this season, he is not stepping up and he is not developing into the leader at the back that we need.  In fact, as I was highlighting, he has been at fault for most of the goals we have conceded this season because of his positional play. I personally think he is on the verge of being dropped... if I were LJ I would drop him on the basis of his last 2 performances. This may be a harsh appraisal but we have a good squad now and all should be looking over their shoulders.....I dont care if we lose if we have been beaten by the better side.... but individual mistakes (consistently from the same player) should not be tolerated.... 

[cidered abroad]

No he is not. What he is not is an international class defender but at this level he does a reasonable job for us. The goal which started these threads about him and RO'D at Rotherham was imo the fault of RO'D.

I always understood that if a defender was chasing a ball toward his own goal and was within playing distance of the ball, the goalkeeper  should stay as close to his line as possible to give the defender the largest area possible to allow defender to either pass it back to keeper or thump it out of play. The only time a keeper should rush toward the ball, defender and attacker is when he clearly believes that the attacker will get there before defender.

I'm not trying to crucify RO'D as split second decisions have to be made and I have always believed that if one never makes a decision, one never gets anything wrong.

[Major Isewater]

1 hour ago, Red white and red said:

Unbelievable. The guy has 2 shaky games and people are questioning his competence... Well done on the great support! 

Yeah but when was the last time he dribbled the length of the pitch and beat the goalie on a one on one or saved a penalty ? 

[Red white and red]

18 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Yeah but when was the last time he dribbled the length of the pitch and beat the goalie on a one on one or saved a penalty ? 

Yeah, you've got me there mate... 

[iamalagerdrinker]

ROD for me. 

[iamalagerdrinker]

7 minutes ago, JonDolman said:

I heard flint played well against Wednesday?

Thought everyone did at the back till around the 65th minute or whenever. Thought Mark Little had a fantastic first half. 

[TrowVegasCidered]

2 hours ago, MarkRed! said:

I must be one of the few who thinks that Flint is overrated and bar a majestic League 1 season, has been a total liability at centre back. He does not lead and command as he should and is caught out time and time again.... He is not a premier league defender and I think we would have been better off had he gone in the window. 

Looking back at the games this season, he was at fault for Wigan's goal (did not stop the cross), Newcastle goal (caught out by Gayle's movement over the top), woeful performance against Rotherham for both goals and then turned inside out against Wednesday for the 3rd goal. He just shows lapses in concentration at key times for me, but for some reason he gets lauded...

I know lots of fans like Flint but, I think he is the weak link in the back 4 and I would like to see either Moore or Exstrand given an opportunity. 

 

The Newcastle goal was Matthews in my view. Not Flint.  

[Northern Red]

Job done Mark Little. You can stand down now son, it appears it's Flint's turn.

Although judging by the other thread, Lee Tomlin is fighting him all the way to be the man in possession of the title 'Official Bristol City Scapegoat'

 

[Cowshed]

CA the keeper did not rush towards the ball. He provided a good angle, depth and the option for Flint to "go home".

[ZiderEyed]

Getting rid of a player after 2 poor games is a surefire way to destroy their confidence. Flint must be desperate to make up for it, play him against Derby imo.

[Offside]

Absolutely not a liability in my opinion. Flint is a good Championship centre back and an important player for us.

[TrowVegasCidered]

Flinty has just had a bad week at the office. Mine hasn't been much better. Good weeks bad weeks. 

[Bobfish]

Competition for places means competition. No player gets a free pass onto the teamsheet. We now have a squad of players, not a best 11. Our transfer market success was no doubt based on this. Did Moore join us to never play? Is our academy just for show? Every player needs to know that if his form dips then he will not be on the teamsheet; every player need to know that good form will earn him a place on the teamsheet. Indeed, the knowledge that Flint now has real competition may even be the reason why his form has dipped. Does he deserve to be sent to the glue factory? Of course not. But some people on here have the attitude that dropping him for a game and giving someone else a chance means selling/shooting/burying him. We have a squad of players, not just a team. Flint’s current form has dipped so give one of the new guys a chance then Flint can breathe down their necks for their or Magnus’s place, working hard to improve the areas of his game where he lacks. This is the whole point of competition for places. I find this attitude of “where is your loyalty to flint?” ridiculous. This isn’t Roy Hodgson’s England, players need to earn their place EVERY GAME, not get a free pass. I hope Flint, Tomlin, ROD, or whoever is dropped for a dip in form, on the pitch or even in training, and they fight to win their place back, improve their game, become better players, even through a rocky-esc montage scene if necessary. And this happens each week, each game. Players need to know that when they train they are not just “going through the motions” because they stand no chance of getting picked because they are not “a favourite,” but that if they work hard, improve, they will be given a chance on the pitch. That is how our players, our team, and our club will improve.

[Donkeeebles]

I could have sworn he's been our player of the year for 2 seasons running

 

liability

[Marina's Rolls Royce]

4 hours ago, TrowVegasCidered said:

The Newcastle goal was Matthews in my view. Not Flint.  

Neither, it was Gayle.

[Red-Robbo]

16 hours ago, Bobfish said:

 

Competition for places means competition. No player gets a free pass onto the teamsheet. We now have a squad of players, not a best 11. Our transfer market success was no doubt based on this. Did Moore join us to never play? Is our academy just for show? Every player needs to know that if his form dips then he will not be on the teamsheet; every player need to know that good form will earn him a place on the teamsheet. Indeed, the knowledge that Flint now has real competition may even be the reason why his form has dipped. Does he deserve to be sent to the glue factory? Of course not. But some people on here have the attitude that dropping him for a game and giving someone else a chance means selling/shooting/burying him. We have a squad of players, not just a team. Flint’s current form has dipped so give one of the new guys a chance then Flint can breathe down their necks for their or Magnus’s place, working hard to improve the areas of his game where he lacks. This is the whole point of competition for places. I find this attitude of “where is your loyalty to flint?” ridiculous. This isn’t Roy Hodgson’s England, players need to earn their place EVERY GAME, not get a free pass. I hope Flint, Tomlin, ROD, or whoever is dropped for a dip in form, on the pitch or even in training, and they fight to win their place back, improve their game, become better players, even through a rocky-esc montage scene if necessary. And this happens each week, each game. Players need to know that when they train they are not just “going through the motions” because they stand no chance of getting picked because they are not “a favourite,” but that if they work hard, improve, they will be given a chance on the pitch. That is how our players, our team, and our club will improve.

Well said.

Some of the stick Flint has come in for recently is outrageous, and defenders will always be exposed if attackers are allowed free passage to the danger zone: goals aren't always the fault of the last man.

That said, it's only right that LJ will be considering Ekstrand to give Flinty a rest as much as anything. The number of games the big fella has featured in since coming here is phenomenal. Whether he makes this change depends on Ekstrand's fitness and other factors that Johnson will be assessing. 

Despite agreeing with Noggers that the manager got it wrong with his subs at the Wednesday games, I still have lots of faith in Lee's judgement and his ability to shake things up when the occasion demands it.