Barkhuizen

[SuffolknWhat]

We have a thread re Robinsons poor start so what are our thoughts on our other current underachiever based on what we have see previously?
You are only as good as your last game and he isn't playing well for whatever reason but if Stam sees our team sheet for Saturday and Barkys not starting, he and Reading will be very happy.
For me he is wasted out wide.If he plays its in a more central role but that probably wont happen.

 

[Tugg Speedman]

We have a thread re Robinsons poor start so what are our thoughts on our other current underachiever based on what we have see previously?
You are only as good as your last game and he isn't playing well for whatever reason but if Stam sees our team sheet for Saturday and Barkys not starting, he and Reading will be very happy.
For me he is wasted out wide.If he plays its in a more central role but that probably wont happen.

Why not have threads about players who have made a great start for us and focus on that instead??

e.g. Fisher, Johnson, Maguire looking good when he's played, Harrop and Horgan perhaps deserving a chance. Prefer to look at it this way, in terms of who has played well and who deserves a chance.

 

[SuffolknWhat]

Why not have threads about players who have made a great start for us and focus on that instead??

DJ - outstanding.

 

[Dirty Harry]

We have a thread re Robinsons poor start so what are our thoughts on our other current underachiever based on what we have see previously?
You are only as good as your last game and he isn't playing well for whatever reason but if Stam sees our team sheet for Saturday and Barkys not starting, he and Reading will be very happy.
For me he is wasted out wide.If he plays its in a more central role but that probably wont happen.

I remember saying in a thread about him a few weeks ago that he will find it very difficult indeed to repeat the form he showed briefly last season when he hit a real purple patch and scored what was it, six or seven goals in abut 12 games or something? He's OK, but I doubt he will be able to repeat that run again. I'd personally be surprised if he ends the season with more than about seven goals.

 

[Nishtar36]

Barkhuizen is either a wide attacker, or part of a partnership up front.

Hes being played out of position. He's being played way too narrow to make use of his pace and movement.

 

[Tugg Speedman]

DJ - outstanding.

Yep you're absolutely right, he has been brilliant so far.

 

[Benito]

Barkhuizen

I think he's just a very average player, especially out of position. In the right situations, his pace and finishing make him dangerous, but he offers nothing the majority of the time when he plays.

 

[haggy45]

I think he's just a very average player, especially out of position. In the right situations, his pace and finishing make him dangerous, but he offers nothing the mokority of the time when he plays.

+1

Sounds very very harsh - but he burst onto the scene, perhaps over-performing and now has a sense of expectation on his shoulders. Lets not forget where he has come from in such a short space of time. Similar to the Irish lads, they arent going to perform week in week out.

 

[sedgwick__7]

The fact that both him and Robinson have been quiet suggests we aren't getting the wide players into the game enough at all.

As I've said on other threads too, we have to remember the quality of team we've faced so far. They are solid teams with some excellent individual defenders. The goals were never going to be free-flowing in these first few games.

 

[Dreyfuss]

After the way he tore Reading apart last season I think he should keep his place on Saturday. He has started the season poorly but he's being asked to fulfill a role he doesn't seem very comfortable with (yet).

I would personally like to see Maguire and Barky support Hugill on Saturday. Maguire's pace and willingness to get in behind defences may allow Barky more room to impact games himself.

 

[JK]

After the way he tore Reading apart last season I think he should keep his place on Saturday. He has started the season poorly but he's being asked to fulfill a role he doesn't seem very comfortable with (yet).

I would personally like to see Maguire and Barky support Hugill on Saturday. Maguire's pace and willingness to get in behind defences may allow Barky more room to impact games himself.

Fully agree, folk writing him off for a couple of quiet games is daft!

 

[Sports Lawyer]

After the way he tore Reading apart last season I think he should keep his place on Saturday. He has started the season poorly but he's being asked to fulfill a role he doesn't seem very comfortable with (yet).

I would personally like to see Maguire and Barky support Hugill on Saturday. Maguire's pace and willingness to get in behind defences may allow Barky more room to impact games himself.

Last season he played right up top on the shoulders of the defenders.

 

[Wisemen say]

After the way he tore Reading apart last season I think he should keep his place on Saturday. He has started the season poorly but he's being asked to fulfill a role he doesn't seem very comfortable with (yet).

I would personally like to see Maguire and Barky support Hugill on Saturday. Maguire's pace and willingness to get in behind defences may allow Barky more room to impact games himself.

I would like to see Maguire & Hugill paired together as a front two and given a run of games to develop as a striking partnership, if Barky was to the right I would not mind seeing Harrop on the left, we would not just create more chances but find the onion bag as well.

 

[Dreyfuss]

I would like to see Maguire & Hugill paired together as a front two and given a run of games to develop as a striking partnership, if Barky was to the right I would not mind seeing Harrop on the left, we would not just create more chances but find the onion bag as well.

The issue is AN doesn't seem to like a classic 4-4-2 setup at all. He has nearly always adopted formations with a lone striker - the likes of 4-2-3-1 etc.

Against Derby we seemed so awfully narrow all game. It was a 3-4-3 but it played more like a 3-4-2-1 (admittedly I was only watching on ifollow) But both Robinson and Barky were picking balls up infield and being quickly closed down. The wingbacks were not marauding forward.

It just felt we weren't hurting Derby at all. And whilst we dominated Leeds (with 11 men) the two real quality chances created both fell to Browne who we just can't rely on to be our goalscoring midfielder. That's not his best attribute.

But a glance at articles from his Norwich days suggests this narrowness isn't a new issue for AN. Here is what was written in Nov 2016:

'Having shown great tactical flexibility when he first arrived he now seems unable to find any alternative to a narrow 4-2-3-1 formation which seems to be the only way that he feels able to accommodate Wes Hoolahan in a central role."

"The problem is that other teams have worked out how to combat it and then exploit the space behind full-backs who are encouraged to burst forward to provide much needed width. Having been tactically unpredictable in the exhilarating early stages of Neil’s tenure City are now in danger of becoming a one trick pony."

With Robinson and Barky both looking out of sorts of late, how much is this down to the players and how much is it down to them not understanding the roles they are being asked to do?

I assume we will switch back to 4-2-3-1 against Reading. I would like to see either Maguire or Barky play a lot closer to Hugill. But we need to get down the flanks (creating some one on one matchups) and have someone making runs in-between their full back and central defender.

With Pearson back maybe things will click again. But Derby should be a wake up call to AN. We might simply not have the players to suit his preferred formation & style of play. And if that's the case he needs to find a system that allows them to dominate the ball but also create proper chances in the box.

 

[Wisemen say]

The issue is AN doesn't seem to like a classic 4-4-2 setup at all. He has nearly always adopted formations with a lone striker - the likes of 4-2-3-1 etc.

Against Derby we seemed so awfully narrow all game. It was a 3-4-3 but it played more like a 3-4-2-1 (admittedly I was only watching on ifollow) But both Robinson and Barky were picking balls up infield and being quickly closed down. The wingbacks were not marauding forward.

It just felt we weren't hurting Derby at all. And whilst we dominated Leeds (with 11 men) the two real quality chances created both fell to Browne who we just can't rely on to be our goalscoring midfielder. That's not his best attribute.

But a glance at articles from his Norwich days suggests this narrowness isn't a new issue for AN. Here is what was written in Nov 2016:

'Having shown great tactical flexibility when he first arrived he now seems unable to find any alternative to a narrow 4-2-3-1 formation which seems to be the only way that he feels able to accommodate Wes Hoolahan in a central role."

"The problem is that other teams have worked out how to combat it and then exploit the space behind full-backs who are encouraged to burst forward to provide much needed width. Having been tactically unpredictable in the exhilarating early stages of Neil’s tenure City are now in danger of becoming a one trick pony."

With Robinson and Barky both looking out of sorts of late, how much is this down to the players and how much is it down to them not understanding the roles they are being asked to do?

I assume we will switch back to 4-2-3-1 against Reading. I would like to see either Maguire or Barky play a lot closer to Hugill. But we need to get down the flanks (creating some one on one matchups) and have someone making runs in-between their full back and central defender.

With Pearson back maybe things will click again. But Derby should be a wake up call to AN. We might simply not have the players to suit his preferred formation & style of play. And if that's the case he needs to find a system that allows them to dominate the ball but also create proper chances in the box.

I agree and mentioned this on another thread, I think Hugill with his Strength, power and his ability to hold up the ball and put Central defenders under serious pressure linked with the guile, skill and pace over a short distance of Maguire with the ball have the potential of a great strike force. They both can find the net and I think AN needs to think long and hard about his formation, it would be very stubborn and show a real lack tactical knowledge if he was to continue with his lone striker formation and not give the Hugill & Maguire combination a try.

 

[Dick Dastardly]

Hugill was never in the game at Derby because the service to him was abysmal. I'm a big fan of Cunningham but every cross went straight into the keeper s hands. The other wingback Fisher never got to the bye line once . Barky has played his football in the lower divisions and is least comfortable on the ball of all the players. He has got blistering pace and is tall so he gets his head to aerial challenges but we struggle to involve him in intricate passing and he can be out of the match for long periods. Maybe he would be better as the furthest forward ,beside Hugill but I think Maguire would be favourite there. He seems a bit low on confidence but it's early days and a goal might kickstart him on a good run.

 

[Wisemen say]

Hugill was never in the game at Derby because the service to him was abysmal. I'm a big fan of Cunningham but every cross went straight into the keeper s hands. The other wingback Fisher never got to the bye line once . Barky has played his football in the lower divisions and is least comfortable on the ball of all the players. He has got blistering pace and is tall so he gets his head to aerial challenges but we struggle to involve him in intricate passing and he can be out of the match for long periods. Maybe he would be better as the furthest forward ,beside Hugill but I think Maguire would be favourite there. He seems a bit low on confidence but it's early days and a goal might kickstart him on a good run.

IMO AN has to re-think his formation with our players ?

 

[kbd_pne]

IMO AN has to re-think his formation with our players ?

In the 2 games so far with his favoured 4-2-3-1 before the switch to 3 at the back vs Derby, Neil has picked up 3 points vs Sheff Wed, and 1 point away at Leeds, a game which we dominated for large spells.

So why does he need to re-think?

I think this county is a bit obsessed with 4-4-2/playing 2 up top. Some of the most attacking teams across the globe play 1 striker.

All our pre-season games/preparations were with 1 striker. Why, after a decent start, do we need to rip up all that work already and re-think the system we play?

If we'd played shite teams and struggled for goals fair enough, but we've faced top sides at this levels. The goals should come IMHO.

 

[Liberation]

Barkhuizen knows where the net is ...That's obvious to a blind man..... Play him where he can be affective rather than fitting him into a preferred line up..... I think that's where many Managers go wrong. They know that players are good enough to be on the pitch so play them out of position in order to accomodate others.... I reckon Managers over complicate matters ...............ie...Best player in their best position.............And I'm a bloody labourer so take my word for it.

 

[Wisemen say]

In the 2 games so far with his favoured 4-2-3-1 before the switch to 3 at the back vs Derby, Neil has picked up 3 points vs Sheff Wed, and 1 point away at Leeds, a game which we dominated for large spells.

So why does he need to re-think?

I think this county is a bit obsessed with 4-4-2/playing 2 up top. Some of the most attacking teams across the globe play 1 striker.

All our pre-season games/preparations were with 1 striker. Why, after a decent start, do we need to rip up all that work already and re-think the system we play?

If we'd played shite teams and struggled for goals fair enough, but we've faced top sides at this levels. The goals should come IMHO.

We have not scored from open play, created few chances and both Maguire and Hugill have not looked suited to the lone striker role, IMO that needs a re- think ?