Jason Knight

[FNQ]

This will no doubt go against the grain, but in my opinion he ain’t up to it.

In such a critical position we need better. JK has a great engine, never stops running or trying, but he’s lacking the quality that we desperately need in such a critical midfield position. If we are to move on then so does JK.  He’s the weak link when compared to Matty James, TGH, Sykesy, or Joe Williams, and even Scott Twine..

There I’ve said it..

[Shuffle]

2 minutes ago, FNQ said:

This will no doubt go against the grain, but in my opinion he ain’t up to it.

In such a critical position we need better. JK has a great engine, never stops running or trying, but he’s lacking the quality that we desperately need in such a critical midfield position. If we are to move on then so does JK.  He’s the weak link when compared to Matty James, TGH, Sykesy, or Joe Williams, and even Scott Twine..

There I’ve said it..

A number 10 he ain’t but play him in his best position which is deeper & you’ll get even more out of him.  That said he’s done ok but imo we’ve wasted him through sheer lack of options.  

[steveybadger]

I’m not convinced he’s some sort of number 10; he’s not super creative or a regular scorer. But a bit deeper and he’s a monster.

[cidercity1987]

He played deeper against QPR and we were largely crap as he is not good at passing through the lines. Maybe alongside TGH would be OK but that seems ever so lightweight for a midfield pairing.

I can see he's good at pressing and winning the ball back but as we transition to a more possession heavy team and particularly in trying to break down poor teams then I really don't know where he fits in

Said all along he wasn't what we needed in the summer and even more so now

[Silvio Dante]

Pegs. Holes.

Jason Knight was signed to play in a side that pressed hard and won the ball high up the pitch. Hes excellent at that. The board made a decision (and had probably decided before Knight signed) to move away from the manager who was playing that way and to appoint a manager who plays a different style that doesn’t suit the player.

In hindsight, it may have been a poor signing for that reason. But only because the board made it so, and knew of their intent at the time of the signing.

[Fuber]

Think it comes down to squad balance.

As a whole we don't have a creative enough squad - that applies to all of Williams, James, Mehmet, Bell, among others.

Namely because we, under NP, were more interested in focusing transitions and counter attacks. Don't need creativity if the opposition are over committed.

None of them consistently have the vision or ability to thread thirty yard through ball or beat a man.

We have five players out of contract out of season allowing some changing of the guard. It's then that Tinns will need to earn his keep.

Based on the evidence this window - that's not something I have any faith is going to happen. Yet.

[bexhill reds]

I see him more of a direct replacement for Williams who up to about 6 weeks ago was seen as not worth a contract renewal at the end of the season. Good engine, a very good presser who can link up play (him and Sykes seem to be able to read each other).

he can play the more forward role, but I think that’s because he can and there are fewer current options. I’d like to Sykes in that role when his fit.

[Shuffle]

16 minutes ago, cidercity1987 said:

He played deeper against QPR and we were largely crap as he is not good at passing through the lines. Maybe alongside TGH would be OK but that seems ever so lightweight for a midfield pairing.

I can see he's good at pressing and winning the ball back but as we transition to a more possession heavy team and particularly in trying to break down poor teams then I really don't know where he fits in

Said all along he wasn't what we needed in the summer and even more so now

He also played deeper at Cardiff and was excellent with TGH as his partner.

[Dr Balls]

5 minutes ago, Fuber said:

Think it comes down to squad balance.

As a whole we don't have a creative enough squad - that applies to all of Williams, James, Mehmet, Bell, among others.

Namely because we, under NP, were more interested in focusing transitions and counter attacks. Don't need creativity if the opposition are over committed.

None of them consistently have the vision or ability to thread thirty yard through ball or beat a man.

We have five players out of contract out of season allowing some changing of the guard. It's then that Tinns will need to earn his keep.

Based on the evidence this window - that's not something I have any faith is going to happen. Yet.

I don’t disagree, but this comes back to the rubbish from Tinnion of we have a consistent style of play throughout the club. Pearson goes and Manning wants to play a different way I.e. possession rather than counter-attack.

The one other thing is that the former tactic tends to need far more skilful players than the latter, and they are generally more expensive both to buy and keep. Pearson had success at Leicester with no a counter-attacking side, plus his hands were tied financially. The question is whether Manning can get the team playing the way he wants on the budget he is allowed.

Which brings us back to Jason Knight. He is great at pressing high up the pitch as he runs and runs. What he doesn’t do as well is the final ball or scoring, although he has got a few goals this season and considering he’s not the tallest, he’s also good with his head. I do think that he has lots of good attributes and has been one of our best players this season, but it’s how he fits in if we have 2 proper strikers (Wells and Conway) up front  that I am a lot less sure about and is more difficult to work out. That said, we have so many midfielders out of contract this summer, he is not someone that I would be looking to sell either.

[Dredd]

Was excellent under Pearson, was in with a shout for player of the year had he kept it up, but doesn't fit the style Manning wants to play. He might have to tweak his game a bit more or Manning might need to find new ways to use him. I'm confident he will come good

[cidercity1987]

8 minutes ago, Shuffle said:

He also played deeper at Cardiff and was excellent with TGH as his partner.

Ah so in a game we lost 2-0 which largely proves my point if anything 

[Galley is our king]

11 minutes ago, cidercity1987 said:

Ah so in a game we lost 2-0 which largely proves my point if anything 

We didn't lose at Cardiff because of that, we lost because of the injury situation!

Just look at the team selected for that game and that should tell you why we lost. Check the bench as well...

[bcfc01]

He gives 100% every game and gets in some good positions, always getting a couple of shots off per game, but his control and passing is generally poor, lots of underhit passes. He's young so may improve in that regard. 

LM obviously rates him which is more important, but if Twine is fit I don't see where he fits in.

[1960maaan]

26 minutes ago, Shuffle said:

He also played deeper at Cardiff and was excellent with TGH as his partner.

I've been saying that for a while.

17 minutes ago, cidercity1987 said:

Ah so in a game we lost 2-0 which largely proves my point if anything 

The game we had 12 first team players out and played an academy left back at right back ? 

If your point was we lost a game with a patched up side and some players still played well , good job.

 

Now McCrorie is fit and we have options in midfield , I wonder if LM will take the chance with 2 strikers.
We have 2 genuine WB's , a decent centre 3 & options to rotate a MF 3 . That could give us the opportunity to play Wells and Conway together and Knight in the role he played when he first came here. 
Time will tell I guess.

Edited January 31 by 1960maaan

[BCFCGav]

Think he's worth playing in the deeper midfield 2. With Conway now a candidate to play in one of the 'behind the striker' roles especially. However until Twine or Sykes are fit I think he may well continue in the higher up. I agree it doesn't seem to be his best position, not enough output to be a forward.

[Fordy62]

Peak otib to suggest knight isn’t up to it. 

[Jose]

Just now, Fordy62 said:

Peak otib to suggest knight isn’t up to it. 

I felt dirty being even the little negative yesterday about him. I think he is brilliant and would want him in my team every week but do feel his current position is not bringing the best out of him. 
 

@Silvio Dante above put it perfectly. 

[Merrick's Marvels]

14 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

Peak otib to suggest knight isn’t up to it. 

If he was still at Derby, do you think Manning would be after him this summer? 

I'm not so sure. 

Looks far more a Pearson player in a Pearson team, to me. 

[FNQ]

14 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

Peak otib to suggest knight isn’t up to it. 

Go on then.. what do you consider his main strengths and attributes are apart from trying hard and giving 100%?

[DirtySanchez]

Good player

[Silvio Dante]

8 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

If he was still at Derby, do you think Manning would be after him this summer? 

I'm not so sure. 

Looks far more a Pearson player in a Pearson team, to me. 

And to reiterate the point, if that is the case it speaks again to how poorly managed we are at upper levels. If he’s not an LM player that’s not LMs fault. It’s the fault of Tinnion and Lansdown for buying the player knowing full well they wanted rid of Pearson.

All roads once more lead us back to them.

[INCRED]

He’s a destroyer of other teams and his press triggers others 

Being made captain and also being an international for me speaks volumes as to his standing within the squad/team

sometimes it’s about the sum of all the parts and not individuals that make winning teams  

For me, he is one of the first on the team sheet along with Dickie & Pring 

[Mr Hankey]

I must be watching a completely different season……the bloke will end up playing for a team better than us within a couple of years.

[1960maaan]

14 minutes ago, Merrick's Marvels said:

If he was still at Derby, do you think Manning would be after him this summer? 

I'm not so sure. 

Looks far more a Pearson player in a Pearson team, to me. 

I'll start by saying we will never know , but when we have both Sykes and Twine available it might give us a hint.

That said...

He's 22 and a full international , getting on for 200 hundred appearances and most at Championship level . 
I would suggest it is exactly the sort of player we would be looking at. 
Now whether Manning has played him in that '10' role because he rates the other MF's higher, or because he see Knight as the best bet available , we shall see. I think he could be very good and I think we saw signs when he first came, before he moved forward. 
For me him in a MF 2/3 is , or could , be his best role. 

[Tony Tootle]

Certainly we are not getting the best out of him in his current position as others have said. But we should also consider the quantity of games he has played for us and also Ireland so far this season and his age. He's still only 22 and has pretty much been an ever present in the side this season, even playing through illness. He's not going to be able to consistently perform at the high level he was every game.

[harrymoorman]

51 minutes ago, Mr Hankey said:

I must be watching a completely different season……the bloke will end up playing for a team better than us within a couple of years.

exactly this. he is a good player, just being played in the wrong position at the moment because of injuries to Twine and Sykes. imo he works as one of a deeper two, could be with Williams, James or TGH (but the latter would be a very young CM pairing). He needs a creative player (i.e. Twine) infront of him as that isn't his role. Will be interesting to see how we'd line up if the full squad was fit, would struggle to see Mehmeti getting a sniff personally.

[bearded_red]

2 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

Pegs. Holes.

Jason Knight was signed to play in a side that pressed hard and won the ball high up the pitch. Hes excellent at that. The board made a decision (and had probably decided before Knight signed) to move away from the manager who was playing that way and to appoint a manager who plays a different style that doesn’t suit the player.

In hindsight, it may have been a poor signing for that reason. But only because the board made it so, and knew of their intent at the time of the signing.

This is absolutely spot on in my opinion, he was an absolutely perfect signing for the way we played under Pearson, not so much under Manning.

He’s still a decent player and still more than worth his place in the team, but we do now seem to rather expose his weaknesses and don’t necessarily get the best out of his strengths.

[CityCiderEd]

Everyone has opinions on different players. I think JK is currently playing in the wrong position and would be far more effective playing just in front of the defence. 

A while ago Vyner shouldn't have got a new contract. Tanner wasn't good enough (currently 2 of best players) For me the 2 players that recently have been consistently poor are Mehmeti and Bell......but that is my opinion, we all have them.

[mightyreds89]

3 hours ago, FNQ said:

This will no doubt go against the grain, but in my opinion he ain’t up to it.

In such a critical position we need better. JK has a great engine, never stops running or trying, but he’s lacking the quality that we desperately need in such a critical midfield position. If we are to move on then so does JK.  He’s the weak link when compared to Matty James, TGH, Sykesy, or Joe Williams, and even Scott Twine..

There I’ve said it..

I am in agreement with you, no doubt he is full of running like no other and often sets the tempo and is a real positive but for me end product/final ball is really missing (it's no better than Mehmeti's who gets pelters). For me when everyone is fit he may not start, if he does I'd play him deeper where that final ball isn't as important. Can see him being a regular bench player when Twine and Skyes are fit, really miss Sykes his ball is better and also has a goal in him which is so important when playing Tommy as the lone striker.

 

[mozo]

3 hours ago, Silvio Dante said:

Pegs. Holes.

Jason Knight was signed to play in a side that pressed hard and won the ball high up the pitch. Hes excellent at that. The board made a decision (and had probably decided before Knight signed) to move away from the manager who was playing that way and to appoint a manager who plays a different style that doesn’t suit the player.

In hindsight, it may have been a poor signing for that reason. But only because the board made it so, and knew of their intent at the time of the signing.

I don't think I agree with that. He's plugging a gap at the moment but there's definitely a place for him in the heart of our midfield imo.