Strikers and Britt.

Heam44

Heam44

Well-known member
Is Britt’s problem that the midfielders don’t know what he wants? What is his bread and butter?

I think the reason some strikers excel without being top class / hugely talented (to varying extents) is because the midfielders know exactly what they want.

Giroud (Crouch & Carrol etc) want crosses, all game, they want the ball as soon as possible.

Vardy / Werner / Owen etc want the the ball in behind the defence.

The likes of Kane / Aguero just want the ball to feet in and around the box.

Obviously all of the above have other strengths and some players seem like they can do it all, Shearer, Drogba, Suarez and Henry etc but even they had their “bread and butter” ways to get goals I.e Henry wanting the ball in the left channel etc.

And of course some strikers change their game as the years go by, Shearer did it, Kane looks to be doing it this season.

But what exactly does Britt want? What is his “bread and butter goal”, personally I think he used to want the ball in behind, but since he got injured at Forrest he’s lost a lot of pace and therefore that no longer works for him! Which of course is and has been a problem for us!

But as stated above some strikers do change their game slightly and I wonder if he lost a few pounds if he could gain an extra yard of pace and grab a few extra goals. Not by outpacing everyone like he did in the Peterborough days as he almosy certainly wouldn’t be as fast as he used to be but still may allow him to get the better of the slower defenders and allow him to get onto a couple of extra crosses / help him gain a yard in and around the box to get a shot off.

Basically become more of a poacher. It’s not like if he lost a bit of weight he’d lose his ability to hold the ball up etc coz he can’t do that anyway.

Thoughts?
 
Britt's control is fairly poor, same his ability to hold the ball and fend off defenders. He can strike the ball well when he has no challenges say for pens and free kicks.

None of this as anything to do with our midfielders?

Britt has scored a number of goals when coming on as a sub that would be how I would use him. I always get the impression he is trying to reserve his energies somewhat.
 
Redwurzel said:
Britt's control is fairly poor, same his ability to hold the ball and fend off defenders. He can strike the ball well when he has no challenges say for pens and free kicks.

None of this as anything to do with our midfielders?

Britt has scored a number of goals when coming on as a sub that would be how I would use him. I always get the impression he is trying to reserve his energies somewhat.
Click to expand...

Yeah it’s not a criticism of the midfielders, the point I am making is - I don’t think they know what Britt wants from them I.e the ball in behind, to feet, crosses (high or low) etc.

Other than him having a preference for the inside left channel.

Interesting point about energy and substitute etc.
 
Personally speaking, Britt’s injury was career changing. For me and I am going by memory, which may be skewed. I felt when we signed him he was a player that liked to play off the shoulder of the last defender, especially where teams played a high back line, springing an offside trap and caressing the ball past keepers once he burst through following a defence splitting pass from a quick thinking midfielder. (No, not been drinking) 😂

Boro have never had the manager that played to his perceived strengths, nor the midfield or support striker to get the best from him. I think his injury lost him some pace for sure. However, he is not a battler, lacks height, pace and guile to play the role most managers asked of him. We did not do due diligence on him imho. We bought his record, assuming like we have with others, that they will offer the same output as in their team at that time when bought. Saville was another that fits that feeling I have.

Britt seems a nice lad, but has proved terrible business. He needs to play with a front 2 for me, with pace out wide and from midfield. He is incapable of creating for himself, but then I think in our squad from 2017 onwards nobody would be, I think players like Viduka, JFH or Yakubu in their heyday would have struggled in the squads Britt played in (not that he is in their class)

I would let him walk for free in January just to shift his salary and create space for someone. I pray we can somehow bring in Bolasie and Grosicki in January, were that to happen then maybe Britt might look a bit more interested if he stayed. I think he looks better than Akpom mind 😬
 
coluka said:
Personally speaking, Britt’s injury was career changing. For me and I am going by memory, which may be skewed. I felt when we signed him he was a player that liked to play off the shoulder of the last defender, especially where teams played a high back line, springing an offside trap and caressing the ball past keepers once he burst through following a defence splitting pass from a quick thinking midfielder. (No, not been drinking) 😂

Boro have never had the manager that played to his perceived strengths, nor the midfield or support striker to get the best from him. I think his injury lost him some pace for sure. However, he is not a battler, lacks height, pace and guile to play the role most managers asked of him. We did not do due diligence on him imho. We bought his record, assuming like we have with others, that they will offer the same output as in their team at that time when bought. Saville was another that fits that feeling I have.

Britt seems a nice lad, but has proved terrible business. He needs to play with a front 2 for me, with pace out wide and from midfield. He is incapable of creating for himself, but then I think in our squad from 2017 onwards nobody would be, I think players like Viduka, JFH or Yakubu in their heyday would have struggled in the squads Britt played in (not that he is in their class)

I would let him walk for free in January just to shift his salary and create space for someone. I pray we can somehow bring in Bolasie and Grosicki in January, were that to happen then maybe Britt might look a bit more interested if he stayed. I think he looks better than Akpom mind 😬
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree, very good point regarding the due diligence and previous record.

I would like to see him lose a couple pounds to see if he could regain some of that pace, maybe it wouldn’t make a great deal of difference over 20/30/40+ yards but even if it allowed him to be that big sharper in and around the box to score a few one touch finishes (Calvert Lewinb style) or allow him to shift the ball to create a yard and shoot (Jermaine Defoe) style then it could be an improvement for him.

Ultimately he has lost a few yards of pace and his problem is that he hasn’t been able to successfully change him game, what I’ve mentioned above seems his only option because as you say, it’s not like he has the ability or physical attributes to turn change into a target man or number 10 etc
 
Heam44 said:
Is Britt’s problem that the midfielders don’t know what he wants? What is his bread and butter?

I think the reason some strikers excel without being top class / hugely talented (to varying extents) is because the midfielders know exactly what they want.

Giroud (Crouch & Carrol etc) want crosses, all game, they want the ball as soon as possible.

Vardy / Werner / Owen etc want the the ball in behind the defence.

The likes of Kane / Aguero just want the ball to feet in and around the box.

Obviously all of the above have other strengths and some players seem like they can do it all, Shearer, Drogba, Suarez and Henry etc but even they had their “bread and butter” ways to get goals I.e Henry wanting the ball in the left channel etc.

And of course some strikers change their game as the years go by, Shearer did it, Kane looks to be doing it this season.

But what exactly does Britt want? What is his “bread and butter goal”, personally I think he used to want the ball in behind, but since he got injured at Forrest he’s lost a lot of pace and therefore that no longer works for him! Which of course is and has been a problem for us!

But as stated above some strikers do change their game slightly and I wonder if he lost a few pounds if he could gain an extra yard of pace and grab a few extra goals. Not by outpacing everyone like he did in the Peterborough days as he almosy certainly wouldn’t be as fast as he used to be but still may allow him to get the better of the slower defenders and allow him to get onto a couple of extra crosses / help him gain a yard in and around the box to get a shot off.

Basically become more of a poacher. It’s not like if he lost a bit of weight he’d lose his ability to hold the ball up etc coz he can’t do that anyway.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
I think you make a great point, I'm no longer sure what his game is either. However, v Preston on Wednesday he did make a good run in the right hand side channel in behind which Saville decided against playing him in.
 
I’d certainly strip the captaincy , not so much a punishment but let him concentrate on his own game and not having the burden of reading the team during a game and determining necessary adjustments like captains ( should ) do , as the manager can’t do much once the halves begin .
NW has the presence of mind and guile to relieve him of it without kicking his confidence .

Other reason is he’s not a very good captain !
 
Last edited:
"Is Britt’s problem that the midfielders don’t know what he wants? What is his bread and butter?"

If they don't know by now, we've no hope.
 
Play to his feet--poor touch and loses it. Play it in the air--makes no attempt to actually head the ball, possession lost. Play the ball in behind-- done for pace. Crosses into the box--never anywhere near. There was a few really good balls played into the box on Wednesday.
Is there another option that would take advantage of his strengths?
.
 
Heam44 said:
Is Britt’s problem that the midfielders don’t know what he wants? What is his bread and butter?

I think the reason some strikers excel without being top class / hugely talented (to varying extents) is because the midfielders know exactly what they want.

Giroud (Crouch & Carrol etc) want crosses, all game, they want the ball as soon as possible.

Vardy / Werner / Owen etc want the the ball in behind the defence.

The likes of Kane / Aguero just want the ball to feet in and around the box.

Obviously all of the above have other strengths and some players seem like they can do it all, Shearer, Drogba, Suarez and Henry etc but even they had their “bread and butter” ways to get goals I.e Henry wanting the ball in the left channel etc.

And of course some strikers change their game as the years go by, Shearer did it, Kane looks to be doing it this season.

But what exactly does Britt want? What is his “bread and butter goal”, personally I think he used to want the ball in behind, but since he got injured at Forrest he’s lost a lot of pace and therefore that no longer works for him! Which of course is and has been a problem for us!

But as stated above some strikers do change their game slightly and I wonder if he lost a few pounds if he could gain an extra yard of pace and grab a few extra goals. Not by outpacing everyone like he did in the Peterborough days as he almosy certainly wouldn’t be as fast as he used to be but still may allow him to get the better of the slower defenders and allow him to get onto a couple of extra crosses / help him gain a yard in and around the box to get a shot off.

Basically become more of a poacher. It’s not like if he lost a bit of weight he’d lose his ability to hold the ball up etc coz he can’t do that anyway.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Britt wants three or four identical chances played to his feet.
 
I don't think we're going to resolve the situation with Britt now. Hes had several boro managers and a couple of years and the problems have been the same throughout.

Doesn't score from outside the box.
Doesn't create chances for others.
Hit and miss with one on ones and tap ins inside the box.

Dreadful for us, cause we don't really create enough to have someone who wastes the good chances we create.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top