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Had a long running ankle issue resolved.That may explain a lot.
Barky
Add to that, the viral problem that was affecting him and a broken wrist, while virtually ever present, tells us three things, the value the manager sees in him, the guts and detetmination he has shown and how short sighted the critics have been over the period !!
NORTHENDRTOPS
French scout
paddysr;n3398990 said:
Good answer sir Pad
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Why on earth force him to play when he was clearly not fully fit and struggling? Simple answer is, at least after Horgan was deemed surplus, we had no one to replace him. This needs addressing in January as I doubt we'll see much of Bodin before the end of the season.
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Explains a fair bit. Either way a half fit Barkhuizen was still better than Horgan and Bodin needed bedding in gradually.
Think the comment about the opposition targeting his injured ankle is a fair point, if I was a left back then i'd definitely boot him.
Back on form now though and looking like the player we first signed, despite the right back issues behind him, 4 goals in his last 6 games.
Good player, heavily relies on pace but he's strong, decent in the air and technically better than he is given credit for.
Think the comment about the opposition targeting his injured ankle is a fair point, if I was a left back then i'd definitely boot him.
Back on form now though and looking like the player we first signed, despite the right back issues behind him, 4 goals in his last 6 games.
Good player, heavily relies on pace but he's strong, decent in the air and technically better than he is given credit for.
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sf;n3399020 said:
Barkhuizen is not strong, weakest player in our team by a long way. Needed desperately to visit the gymnasium a few times over summer, one of the few of our smaller lads who hasnt bulked up recently
Lee Trundle;n3399175 said:
No he doesn't. He's like a whippet, if he put on too much muscle he might lose some of his speed which is his greatest asset.
Too many quick young players do this in my opinion. Will hayhurst was the same
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Mancunian White;n3399184 said:
Nah thats just nonsense. Look at any professional sprinter, they are all ripped. The whippet example is worthless, bio-mechanically our running styles are completely different.
There are plenty of Rugby/American football players who weigh above 230lbs and can run sub 11 second 100 metres
Im not suggesting he add 20kg, but a 4/5kg weight gain would be very beneficial to his speed, and he'd stop getting bullied off the ball
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Lee Trundle;n3399175 said:
He's not weak at all, certainly not the weakest at North End, you don't become a threat at set pieces by not being able to stand your ground and Barky wins his fair share.
Anyone who runs at pace will get knocked off the ball at times, you see Ronaldo knocked off it now and again and he's a beast.
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sf;n3399192 said:
Is there anyone weaker though? Maybe Burke and maybe Gally, but its pretty marginal.
His goals from set pieces are far more a product of quick thinking and good movement than they are his strength. Honestly when was the last time he outjumped someone at the back post to power home a header?
Lee Trundle;n3399230 said:
Resulting goals? Not many, but he wins his fair share in the box. He's no Antonio Valencia in the strength department but there's little between him and say Robinson or Maguire, plus the two you mention.
For a winger, he's got good physicality.
OP
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Lee Trundle;n3399230 said:
In the absence of a Hugill type CF he is a regular target for Maxwell and wins his fair share of headers out wide.
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sf;n3399246 said:
Robinson a year ago maybe, Maguire is strong he just happens to be 5’6’’ If you ever look at them side by side with Barky you notice the size difference in chest shoulders and quads, Barky is very skinny
Not debating he is good In the air for a winger, he does win his fair share against fullbacks.
But Has he ever put a shoulder into a fullback and beaten him like that? No. Has he ever knocked a man off the ball with his strength whilst pressing? No
Those are what I’d define as strength.
if we were putting money on bench, squat and deadlift numbers for the squad, Barky would be my guess for the weakest in all 3
Lee Trundle;n3399185 said:
Yeah in terms of top speed you're right, look at sprinters and they're all 6 foot odd and very muscley, which is interestingly why centre backs are sometimes some of the fastest players in the squad (I think Ben Davies is ours).
Football is all about acceleration though, players rarely run enough to top out and it's all about who can get going fastest. That's why players like Messi, Sanchez, even Maguire can beat so many people without having the build of a sprinter. Barky is the same, maybe not as extreme an example but he can beat a man because he's so fast off his mark and reaches that top speed so quickly, and that might be because he's lithe and light. Bulking up night not effect his top speed, it might even increase it, but being a bigger lad generally means you're less agile, and slower of your mark.
I'm 6'3 and was a sprinter through school and I play footy with some lads from work. There are a couple of lads, one about 5'8 and the other near 6' and a beanpole. They can both leave me for dead off the mark, but give me 30 or 40 yards and I've caught up and overtaken them every time.
barky is naturally quick, but his asset is his acceleration, which if he put too much on I'd worry about him losing. You're right though, he might be able to get away with a few pounds to make him less of a pushover.
diggerb;n3399273 said:
£150,000.
Lee Trundle;n3399270 said:
Does it really matter ? It's not a power lifting contest. Barkhuizen seems to cope physically with the league, it's not like he's regularly muscled off the ball and loses possession. If he gives it away it's usually due to a poor touch or something similar, as he's not the best technically. He's not in the team to be a big physical presence, he's there to stretch teams and get in behind them, track back and just run all day for the team. He's light, skinny, streamlined-type build allows him to do that and play to his strengths.
Physicality has to come from other areas of the team. One thing lightweight players like him do benefit from is a physical presence to play off, and to me it's no surprise he suddenly looks a lot better with Nmecha now putting himself about, physically battling defenders and creating space for others. Maguire said on iFollow the other week that he "loved" playing with Hugill and he sees some similar qualities in Nmecha which could lead to a similar thing.
I think Barkhuizen is one of the players who struggled the most as a result of Hugill leaving and not being replaced by a similar physical focal point, and as I said imho it's no conindence that he comes into form, and Robinson's form goes up another notch too, with Nmecha coming to the party and giving defenders a physical battle all game.