My 2 cents re midfield

[mrtwister 652]

Our midfield was exposed against Carlton. From my observations, they seem to be dictated to by the opposition. Not really one proactive player amongst them. But, then again, who is expected to play an attacking role in our midfield anyway?

In all honesty, Moloney gets quite a few clearances on average, but how many of them are controlled deliveries to a team mate? Against Carlton, every clearance he got was a slam on the boot in the direction of our goals. He's great when he can get the ball at pace, avoid a tackler, get a step to compose himself onto his preferred foot and look upfield, but that never happens against quality opponents.

Then there's McKenzie. I love his work by the way, and he's a great in and under type, but his disposals are from under the pack, on the ground or a free kick from his passion and endeavour. I certainly wouldn't consider him an attacking midfielder, he's not really a tagger either (although he probably could be great at it), he's more like the kind of player who stops the opposition from clearing the ball by diving on it and keeping it in dispute.

Gysberts, although another fantastic ball getter at times, isn't really getting the numbers as far as clearances go either. He seems more like either an outside player caught inside or an inside player who can't get outside. I haven't seen him play as a tagger so he's another that seems rather neutral in our midfield.

Trengove has had a few stints in the middle but to me, doesn't seem comfortable, or natural around the stoppages. He seems a lot more prolific in transition, field positioning and general 'round the ground' playmaking.

I noticed Dunn in the middle for a bit as well, possibly following Judd. Don't get me started on my issues with that decision as I'm sure my opinions regarding Dunn's best value would certainly result in some jagged responses on Demonland.

The reason Carlton made our midfield look extremely poor is that they had a plethora of players in there that do what none of ours seem to be able to do. That is attack the footy and keep their opponent honest by getting the footy and surging it forward.

But it's not as easy as get, burst, kick. IMO, what makes Judd so good is his linking abilities. He's a fantastic inside player, he sees the ball, gets the ball, keeps his feet (unlike our current captain, but again, that's another rant I have up my sleeve), then provides a link from inside to outside. And most often, it's by hand. A 3-5 metre handpass to a player in space who then has time to measure up a kick, or run forward. If there's noone there, he digs in and either draws a player (or 3) and hands off to the tacklers' direct opponent OR he puts in a few hard strides and clears it (either foot mind you) himself.

Who are our link players? Who are the people getting the ball from in the stoppage to out the stoppage with precision and purpose? Watch our games again if you have the chance and you will notice there are plenty of MFC players around the stoppages, but they are all within 2 metres of the ball. Even if they receive the footy, they still are not in a position to clear it effectively. Our opposition gain possession and pass through or over these players to outsiders in space who deliver upfield or simply run off. Our players are effectively in 'no man's land'.

IMO, our most probable attacking midfielders are still unknown. It's easier to eliminate contenders than it is to select them but that unfortunately gives you a winner by default - which I hope isn't the kind of result we get from our search for a coach.

Anywho, that's my 2c and as I indicated, I don't know if it's even worth that much.

Let the angry replies begin.

Edited August 7, 2011 by mrtwister

[PeterJames 46]

The reason Moloney has to just jam it on his boot is team mates is they don't block for him. Watching Carlton and the way every player in the stoppage blocks for Judd was great to watch. We need to be more selfless.

[Akum 2,660]

The reason Moloney has to just jam it on his boot is team mates is they don't block for him. Watching Carlton and the way every player in the stoppage blocks for Judd was great to watch. We need to be more selfless.

Yep - Judd, Murphy et al run just to the side of a teammate with opponent in hot pursuit, teammate just has to lean sideways the moment they pass, opponent has to change direction just slightly to avoid them, loses that fraction of a second and voila ... quality clearance. So easy but so effective.

In other word, the midfield works as a UNIT, a combination. Ours is just however-many individuals each trying to get the ball out by themselves.

Bailey's coaching philosophy was to deliberately not coach for team plays, in the name of "development", and West (to my chagrin, one of my favourite non-Dees players) seemed to follow blindly. The most important on-field job of the next coach will be to get our midfield (with or without Scully, but hopefully with) to work as a unit, a team-within-a-team - would be well within the capability of most coaches.

[Harrisonrules 273]

Yep - Judd, Murphy et al run just to the side of a teammate with opponent in hot pursuit, teammate just has to lean sideways the moment they pass, opponent has to change direction just slightly to avoid them, loses that fraction of a second and voila ... quality clearance. So easy but so effective.

In other word, the midfield works as a UNIT, a combination. Ours is just however-many individuals each trying to get the ball out by themselves.

Bailey's coaching philosophy was to deliberately not coach for team plays, in the name of "development", and West (to my chagrin, one of my favourite non-Dees players) seemed to follow blindly. The most important on-field job of the next coach will be to get our midfield (with or without Scully, but hopefully with) to work as a unit, a team-within-a-team - would be well within the capability of most coaches.

Our mid-field was as good as we have had over recent years, when Ratten was with us.

McKenzie is valuable in a tight grinding game, as soon as it opens up he's found wanting, lack of speed and average kick, I don't think I've seen him kick a ball more than 30 mtrs.

[bush demon 1,989]

Our midfield was exposed against Carlton. From my observations, they seem to be dictated to by the opposition. Not really one proactive player amongst them. But, then again, who is expected to play an attacking role in our midfield anyway?

In all honesty, Moloney gets quite a few clearances on average, but how many of them are controlled deliveries to a team mate? Against Carlton, every clearance he got was a slam on the boot in the direction of our goals. He's great when he can get the ball at pace, avoid a tackler, get a step to compose himself onto his preferred foot and look upfield, but that never happens against quality opponents.

Then there's McKenzie. I love his work by the way, and he's a great in and under type, but his disposals are from under the pack, on the ground or a free kick from his passion and endeavour. I certainly wouldn't consider him an attacking midfielder, he's not really a tagger either (although he probably could be great at it), he's more like the kind of player who stops the opposition from clearing the ball by diving on it and keeping it in dispute.

Gysberts, although another fantastic ball getter at times, isn't really getting the numbers as far as clearances go either. He seems more like either an outside player caught inside or an inside player who can't get outside. I haven't seen him play as a tagger so he's another that seems rather neutral in our midfield.

Trengove has had a few stints in the middle but to me, doesn't seem comfortable, or natural around the stoppages. He seems a lot more prolific in transition, field positioning and general 'round the ground' playmaking.

I noticed Dunn in the middle for a bit as well, possibly following Judd. Don't get me started on my issues with that decision as I'm sure my opinions regarding Dunn's best value would certainly result in some jagged responses on Demonland.

The reason Carlton made our midfield look extremely poor is that they had a plethora of players in there that do what none of ours seem to be able to do. That is attack the footy and keep their opponent honest by getting the footy and surging it forward.

But it's not as easy as get, burst, kick. IMO, what makes Judd so good is his linking abilities. He's a fantastic inside player, he sees the ball, gets the ball, keeps his feet (unlike our current captain, but again, that's another rant I have up my sleeve), then provides a link from inside to outside. And most often, it's by hand. A 3-5 metre handpass to a player in space who then has time to measure up a kick, or run forward. If there's noone there, he digs in and either draws a player (or 3) and hands off to the tacklers' direct opponent OR he puts in a few hard strides and clears it (either foot mind you) himself.

Who are our link players? Who are the people getting the ball from in the stoppage to out the stoppage with precision and purpose? Watch our games again if you have the chance and you will notice there are plenty of MFC players around the stoppages, but they are all within 2 metres of the ball. Even if they receive the footy, they still are not in a position to clear it effectively. Our opposition gain possession and pass through or over these players to outsiders in space who deliver upfield or simply run off. Our players are effectively in 'no man's land'.

IMO, our most probable attacking midfielders are still unknown. It's easier to eliminate contenders than it is to select them but that unfortunately gives you a winner by default - which I hope isn't the kind of result we get from our search for a coach.

Anywho, that's my 2c and as I indicated, I don't know if it's even worth that much.

Let the angry replies begin.

I couldn't believe the number of contested possessions the Scullster was listed as having... i think it was 14 or thereaabouts. most of his possessions however result in nippy, short handballs to players also trapped in the vortex and which tend to go nowhere.

[old dee 23,466]

I couldn't believe the number of contested possessions the Scullster was listed as having... i think it was 14 or thereaabouts. most of his possessions however result in nippy, short handballs to players also trapped in the vortex and which tend to go nowhere.

agree with that 100%

His decision make was poor yesterday.

However I am prepared to cut him some slack.

He has played so little this year I think he is serious short of game time.

[Chicken Deelicious 0]

Yep - Judd, Murphy et al run just to the side of a teammate with opponent in hot pursuit, teammate just has to lean sideways the moment they pass, opponent has to change direction just slightly to avoid them, loses that fraction of a second and voila ... quality clearance. So easy but so effective.

In other word, the midfield works as a UNIT, a combination. Ours is just however-many individuals each trying to get the ball out by themselves.

Bailey's coaching philosophy was to deliberately not coach for team plays, in the name of "development", and West (to my chagrin, one of my favourite non-Dees players) seemed to follow blindly. The most important on-field job of the next coach will be to get our midfield (with or without Scully, but hopefully with) to work as a unit, a team-within-a-team - would be well within the capability of most coaches.

This is so true. The way they block for each other was starkly different from the way we played. Judd's goal from the forward pocket came as a direct result of a block from Walker. It is easy to look great when the team help you (and you are simply a sublime player!). Clearly part of their clearance set-up.

Why the hell dont we do that? Not only were we SMASHED in the clearances, but the quality of the clearance was also so different. When we have the bodies, and the clearance structures, we may not have to win games off the half backline, but out of the middle. Maybe that will be the difference.

[demons1964 3]

Bigger bodies for our mids will allow us to make space and give the ball carrier time to use it. At the moment we are working with a mid group who are low on experience and size. Moloney, jones and sylvia need scully, trenners, gysberts and macca to gain some size for our clearances and effective kicks to grow. Working against judd and others showed how much work has to be done for our midfield to click into action. Another pre-season in the gym should show some vast improvements in a hugely tallented group of players. Hopefully they'll all have their roles and play them to perfection in the near future, go dees!

[Guest lambtotheslaughter]

When Ratts was our midfield coach we had the best in the competition. It should be no surprise that Carltank now have one of the best. Ratts himself was one of the best I have ever seen play