Is McGree the difference?

MichaelDebeve

MichaelDebeve

Well-known member
We seem like a much more balanced side since he has come back into the 11.

Borges less exposed, and we now seem to have that extra body in the midfield when he drifts inside (see the goal last night, edge of their box but on the right).

I know Doak is rightly getting rave reviews for his raw and exciting impact in the last 2 games, but I think a huge amount of credit goes to Riley too (2 assists in 2 games .... I wont mention his balloon miss last night - the wally).

....... cue a d*cking by Watford at the weekend.
 
I think it's just the two of them coming in is giving us a lot more quality in the final third.
The 7 behind them have been playing well all season. We've just been struggling to move the ball quickly enough and produce the quality in the final third.

It is still concerning that we don't have any goals from our no9 or no10 (penalty aside) in 8 matches.
 
McGree is 100% the difference.

LB issues seem to have totally vanished since he's came back - West Brom even switched to attacking down the right (which is the first in 9 games inc. the cup).

Hackney seems to have the freedom to be anywhere he wants due to McGree's covering - It showed his touch map on sky and he was everywhere.

Azaz seems like a better player with McGree in the team too - I'm confident he'll score close to double figures this season.

The only issue is he's made of glass. Hopefully we get 3-4 wins from the next 3-4 games before he's inevitably out again :ROFLMAO:
 
He is a difference, certainly.
However Doak has made a big difference, the defence is stepping up, and Morris has made a difference too.

I don't think any of them are magic bullets
 
MichaelDebeve said:
We seem like a much more balanced side since he has come back into the 11.

Borges less exposed, and we now seem to have that extra body in the midfield when he drifts inside (see the goal last night, edge of their box but on the right).

I know Doak is rightly getting rave reviews for his raw and exciting impact in the last 2 games, but I think a huge amount of credit goes to Riley too (2 assists in 2 games .... I wont mention his balloon miss last night - the wally).

....... cue a d*cking by Watford at the weekend.
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Yes he is so good.
 
100% this for me. He's probably the best technical player at the club and is absolutely vital to the way we want to play. His movement really disrupts defences and he can play comfortably in tight spaces. Great vision too.

WBA fell for it last night too, McGree and Azaz doubling up positionally which meant a load of space for Doak on the right.

Teams will get wise to that too, which is why it's so important we have a LB bombing into the space vacated by McGree.
 
I'm still in the McGree is good rather than top class team. We're definitely more balanced with him in the team. Him playing means Azaz has gone inside and I don't think he's effective out wide so that suits us more. Doak, Azaz and McGree supported by the two behind means we have more options for link up play. Conway or Burgzorg or whoever else has been in there play differently and it doesn't work as well. He's definitely better than the players he has replaced in the team which makes the team much better. Saying that we created less last night than we have done in games he hasn't played.

Defensively I'm not convinced he offers more either because he roams the pitch. We haven't been caught out yet but him moving to the right and a quick break will give Borges no cover. When we were defending after taking the lead though he was better at that than the alternatives have been
 
I think McGree has been wonderful for us ever since he came, oft unappreciated how good he really is. It is not just what he does on the ball, it is the work and the distraction element off the ball too. He provides our left side with a unique strength as he has a licence to drift when appropriate and takes men with him leaving space for the full back. I love the way out of possession he covers defensively.

People will point at his chance last night, and yes, it was a bad miss, but he is still a little rusty having only played 14 games last season and 3 this. He will score goals from nothing too. He does need to stay fit for a while though but all players go through injury phases, its the modern game and goes with the territory.
 
McGree returning and Doak starting has lifted us no doubt.
McGree would always be in the team from this squad if everyone is fit.
McGree is a very good Championship player.

Hackney and Morris working better and better together.
Hackney probing forward constantly (carrying and passing) is always going to land better with players who have better technique further forward, which is McGree and Doak.
 
I think Ravshoutsatbeck got it right on this thread...
fmttmboro.com

Doak is the difference

Tonight, two men went towards Doak every time he got the ball which freed up another player. We nearly scored from this when Ayling found acres of space to cross for LL header, only for the keeper to pull off a brilliant save. Also the McGree chance during the 1st half. Doak is dribbling with...
fmttmboro.com fmttmboro.com

Plus two clean sheets.
 
t4tomo said:
or playing devils advocate, is it playing two teams who didn't set up uber defensively and actually tried to play their own game against us, leaving us a bit more room to play thru them?
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This does seem to help our natural game but Mcgree and Doak make us much more dangerous in an attacking sense. Plus Hackney being back on form helps massively.
 
I think he'll be very useful when teams sit deep against us. He's good in tight spaces and at the quick interplay. Very good football brain.

Especially now Hackney is firing it hopefully won't be quite so easy to sit in and frustrate us as McGree, Hackney and Azaz are all very capable of playing those little triangles etc to open teams up.
 
AytonMews said:
Not sure he gives Borges that much more protection than Azaz really, I think Borges is just getting better, as you would expect from a lad who has only been here a few weeks
Click to expand...

I agree Borges is getting better, and I do think he's better than Engel overall - but the heatmap vs heatmap doesn't tell the full story.
You could see how much Engel was isolated in games vs. how much cover Borges was getting yesterday.

The left side did so well yesterday that West Brom switched to attacking down the right - the first time I've seen the right side specifically targeted all season.

If you're looking at heatmaps, a good one would be Edmundson yesterday against Clarke vs. Sunderland, or Hackney in both games.
 
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