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Earl

Earl

Get a feeling that once he scores his first for us we might start to see a few goals from Josh as well.

There were a couple of times in the first half on Tuesday where he was clear in behind their full back but Riis couldn’t quite get the pass to him.
 
Mancunian White said:
Hughes is so underrated on this forum I swear. Our best defender this season (wingbacks excluded).
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Been fantastic this season. I think any previous criticism was fair, especially from last season. His first season at LB he was brilliant, then he went off the boil completely.

He looks a player reborn in that LCB role, solid as a rock. I'd still like to address another centre back coming through the door in January though just to sure things up.

But yeah, back onto Earl, him and Sepp in those wing back roles are a joy to watch. Tall, quick, brave young footballers and you often quite fancy Sepp to have a dig from distance.

Olosunde and Greg have got some work to do to get into that side, what a turnaround from forcing Browne out there and having to play Rafferty.
 
Earl as a Left Back is pants.

As a Wingback though, he has been an absolute revelation and star. Helps that he has the experienced Hughes behind him so he can maraud forward safe in the knowledge that he has protection behind him. One of the 1st names on the team sheet now in this 352 system.

I always saw him though as a DM in the Gregan mould given his height and build.
 
Earl is vey strong on the ball and late last season I thought he turned in some good performances, he's taken that further this season. I bet he's the subject of much comment when other teams are discussing their game plan against us. I would imagine that Sepp is discussed along on the same lines.
 
raefil said:
Josh Earl, like many of our players now, is playing without the fear of making a mistake. AN was very unforgiving and one mistake and you were out.
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For all McAvoys inexperience and flaws, his man management appears to be exceptional. Players like Earl, Riis, Sepp, Maguire to an extent, Hughes, Storey to an extent, DJ all players who looked to be struggling at times under Neil playing really well under McAvoy. Whether that’s a purple patch or not remains to be seen, but the players are making the point of praising it in the press too
 
Jack Daniels said:
Earl as a Left Back is pants.

As a Wingback though, he has been an absolute revelation and star. Helps that he has the experienced Hughes behind him so he can maraud forward safe in the knowledge that he has protection behind him. One of the 1st names on the team sheet now in this 352 system.

I always saw him though as a DM in the Gregan mould given his height and build.
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Agree, Hughes as a left back is also pants. LCB in a three suits Hughes much better, he can just focus on defending.
 
jamesOB said:
For all McAvoys inexperience and flaws, his man management appears to be exceptional. Players like Earl, Riis, Sepp, Maguire to an extent, Hughes, Storey to an extent, DJ all players who looked to be struggling at times under Neil playing really well under McAvoy. Whether that’s a purple patch or not remains to be seen, but the players are making the point of praising it in the press too
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Too many to be a coincidence surely?
 
raefil said:
Josh Earl, like many of our players now, is playing without the fear of making a mistake. AN was very unforgiving and one mistake and you were out.
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Who would have thought playing with that fear in the back of your mind or being told by the manager what you couldn't do would impact performances eh?
 
Very glad that Earl has been given a proper chance as there was no point keeping him otherwise. And even more pleased to see him gaining in confidence and improving by the game.

Contracted to 2023 - another couple of months of this and we need to be thinking about tying him down for a couple of years more.
 
Anyone who looked at Earl when he first got into the side could see he had immense potential. Those who subsequently wrote him off were fools. He is getting better by the game - heaven knows what he could be like even before the end of this season.

Yes he is obviously better as a wing-back than a fullback and having a solid, experienced player like Hughes behind him provides him with a platform from which he can maraud forward. That left side of the back three is also the ideal position for Hughes since he does not quite have the pace to play as a left-back.

A concern is that we don't really have any back-up for Earl. Cunningham seems to have lost the attacking sharpness required the wing-back role - or at least he seemed that way in pre-season - and really needs to be seen now as the alternative to Hughes in that more defensive position. For the odd game or two Cunningham could fill in if necessary but Earl is young and there is no reason why he shouldn't be able to play game after game.

When you look at our side now then Iversen and van den Berg are obviously real quality which as loanees from the Premiership is what you ought to expect. Of our own players then while the likes of Hughes and Bauer provide a basis of solidity and experience then at the moment Johnson, Earl and Riis look to be showing that extra edge of class and invention that is needed for the team as whole to progress. Ledson has the potential for that as well and is I think starting to show that with a frequency that is becoming consistency. The other player who is perhaps under the radar at the moment but is becoming increasingly dependable is Storey. He lacks a bit of pace but is beginning to develop the confidence and positional sense that can compensate for that. His calmness in hooking the ball back for Riis to score our second on Tuesday was crucial to us getting the point we deserved.
 
jamesOB said:
For all McAvoys inexperience and flaws, his man management appears to be exceptional. Players like Earl, Riis, Sepp, Maguire to an extent, Hughes, Storey to an extent, DJ all players who looked to be struggling at times under Neil playing really well under McAvoy. Whether that’s a purple patch or not remains to be seen, but the players are making the point of praising it in the press too
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The difference in atmosphere without AN's dour depressive influence is manifest.
 
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