Haydon Roberts - Press Interview

[hinsleburg]

Without wishing to go back to this shape immediately, I think he'd look brilliant as the LCB of a back 3!

Can see him transitioning to CB longer term as seems to have the right physical attributes to do it. I also get the feeling if we keep getting him minutes he'll get better and better with more match fitness.

A back 4 of McCrorie, Vyner, Dickie, Roberts on Saturday certainly looks solid and seem to compliment each others attributes quite well. 

Tough problem to have as subject to a good game Saturday could argue deserves to keep his place ahead of Pring. Competition is well and good but need to manage it correctly, felt Cornick was harsh to be dropped for Tuesday but came on and made a good impact. But then do either Bell or Mehmeti deserve to get dropped after Tuesday's showing...? Somebody's going to be unhappy especially if Twine then comes back in as well (which I wouldn't agree with unless resting or dropping Knight deeper and playing him in the 10...)

Starting to feel like a top half Championship squad but means nothing if it's not one at the start of next season

[steviestevieneville]

15 hours ago, Scrumpty said:

I’m not sold on his attitude. He’s not been here long, but wants out.

Ambition? Maybe.

But as others have suggested, he played, was very poor, got pulled, then mysteriously injured.

For me, there’s something not quite right. But then, he was excellent on Tuesday.

I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt - he’s confident in his ability and felt he was good enough to play. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But…

So , a lad that believes in himself & wants to play consistently , has possibly a questionable attitude according to you & there’s possibly a conspiracy theory in there as well .  

Would you be happier if he’s not bothered if he’s not starting ? 

[Lavington Robin]

23 minutes ago, hinsleburg said:

felt Cornick was harsh to be dropped for Tuesday but came on and made a good impact.

I thought so as well but Liam said he had a sickness bug so didn’t start him.

Regarding Haydon I think he is an excellent technician & looked good in pre-season. Didn’t take any messing with the more physical players at Fratton Park.

Even with dead ball kicks he was a step up for us until TGH arrived. Subject to a good game tomorrow I really hope he doesn’t get dropped immediately & Cam was my favourite player last season !

As for attitude I would MUCH rather have a player who is not happy at being a sub & did extra training than someone who just took the money. I really like the guy & hope he continues todevelops well.

[Scrumpty]

9 minutes ago, steviestevieneville said:

So , a lad that believes in himself & wants to play consistently , has possibly a questionable attitude according to you & there’s possibly a conspiracy theory in there as well .  

Would you be happier if he’s not bothered if he’s not starting ? 

I answered your question in my original post - there's absolutely nothing wrong with having confidence in one's ability and wanting to play. In fact, its commendable.

I don't have a conspiracy theory, other than its apparent that something wasn't quite right back in October when he was pulled off after 38 minutes for 'tactical' reasons - Pearson confirmed, at the time, that he wasn't injured. I imagine that he wasn't happy with that decision - and I don't blame him. 

The issue I have is with him wanting away in January. I accept that he wants to play games, but he's been here less than 6 months, so it feels premature to me, hence my doubts. I'd rather he stay and fight for his place which, to be fair, he has done.

[Crimson Crayola]

2 hours ago, Port Said Red said:

I thought that before Tuesday night, but there was that one run where he shrugged off the defenders challenge in the 2nd half that got me thinking he's stronger than he looks.

You see his calves? The lad's stacked. Conversely Mebude's are like pencils.

[Scrumpty]

As a manager, you don't want anyone who's not first pick to be happy about it. The key though is how they channel their frustrations. In ideal world, they fight for their place, putting 100% into every training session, even if they know they won't be picked. Then, when their chance comes along, they grasp it, as Haydon has done. But he's potentially got a bigger (mental) challenge ahead - I suspect that, when fit, Pring starts. How will Haydon react to that? Hopefully, it will be 'positive frustration'. 

What you don't want as a manager is someone who's not happy and bangs on about it all the time, without doing what they can to resolve it, whilst undermining the team. Then looking for the easy way out. For reference, I'm not saying this is Haydon.

[TDarwall]

2 minutes ago, Scrumpty said:

 But he's potentially got a bigger (mental) challenge ahead - I suspect that, when fit, Pring starts. How will Haydon react to that? 

This may be an area where LM/NP have different approaches. Under Nige, if you got in & played well, you tended to hold the shirt irrespective of a)your age/experience & b) who you replaced. 

Pring has played loads of minutes so it would make sense to me, even if he's fit, to have him on the bench tomorrow & see how HR does against a different type of opponent.

[Scrumpty]

5 minutes ago, TDarwall said:

This may be an area where LM/NP have different approaches. Under Nige, if you got in & played well, you tended to hold the shirt irrespective of a)your age/experience & b) who you replaced. 

Pring has played loads of minutes so it would make sense to me, even if he's fit, to have him on the bench tomorrow & see how HR does against a different type of opponent.

Manning was questioned about this in his presser (how to encourage competition, then manage it). He confessed that its tricky.

If Haydon continues to do well, then perhaps it'll be Pring that has to fight for his place. Its a nice problem to have - certainly better than not having competition.

In a way, I hope that Pring doesn't get back in, as that's likely to mean that Haydon is doing very well and the team is winning. That said, it would be harsh on Pring who's probably been player of the season so far.

[Port Said Red]

7 minutes ago, Scrumpty said:

Manning was questioned about this in his presser (how to encourage competition, then manage it). He confessed that its tricky.

If Haydon continues to do well, then perhaps it'll be Pring that has to fight for his place. Its a nice problem to have - certainly better than not having competition.

In a way, I hope that Pring doesn't get back in, as that's likely to mean that Haydon is doing very well and the team is winning. That said, it would be harsh on Pring who's probably been player of the season so far.

Or it's another position that can be rotated and players kept fresh?

[Davefevs]

16 hours ago, Scrumpty said:

I’m not sold on his attitude. He’s not been here long, but wants out.

Ambition? Maybe.

But as others have suggested, he played, was very poor, got pulled, then mysteriously injured.

For me, there’s something not quite right. But then, he was excellent on Tuesday.

I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt - he’s confident in his ability and felt he was good enough to play. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. But…

Negative perception 

Edited February 16 by Davefevs

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, hinsleburg said:

felt Cornick was harsh to be dropped for Tuesday but came on and made a good impact.

According to LM he had been sick in the build-up to the game.

[INCRED]

3 hours ago, spudski said:

Controversial I know...but I actually think he offers better distribution on the left, into the box and link up, than Pring. 

Both defensively good, but Roberts edges it offensively for me in our system. 

I agree, had it not been for his injury I think he may have been a better option at LB than Pring. I like Pring and he’s a real athlete but Roberts is in my opinion a better technical player 

[INCRED]

1 hour ago, Lavington Robin said:

I thought so as well but Liam said he had a sickness bug so didn’t start him.

Regarding Haydon I think he is an excellent technician & looked good in pre-season. Didn’t take any messing with the more physical players at Fratton Park.

Even with dead ball kicks he was a step up for us until TGH arrived. Subject to a good game tomorrow I really hope he doesn’t get dropped immediately & Cam was my favourite player last season !

As for attitude I would MUCH rather have a player who is not happy at being a sub & did extra training than someone who just took the money. I really like the guy & hope he continues todevelops well.

If Roberts has another good game then he keeps the shirt. This is how it should be if you have a decent size squad. Yes, there are variables that may determine an element of rotation at times but we have rarely had that option due to the unfortunate amount of injuries 

I would like to think LM will let him start even if Pring is fit to make the squad aware that if you play well then you deserve your place in the starting line up in the next game 

Should the club receive an offer too good to ignore for Pring in the summer then at least we know we won’t be weakened by having Roberts still at the club 

[Ashtongreight]

1 hour ago, Scrumpty said:

Manning was questioned about this in his presser (how to encourage competition, then manage it). He confessed that its tricky.

If Haydon continues to do well, then perhaps it'll be Pring that has to fight for his place. Its a nice problem to have - certainly better than not having competition.

In a way, I hope that Pring doesn't get back in, as that's likely to mean that Haydon is doing very well and the team is winning. That said, it would be harsh on Pring who's probably been player of the season so far.

It’s a squad game these days, rotation is the name of the game. Pring has played so much because until recently he was really the only player available, it maybe contributed to his injury. Having both of them fit and available, will allow Liam to ensure fitness levels for them both, are maintained, plus competition will keep them both on their toes.