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Hemed and Murray...



Luke93

STAND OR FALL
Jun 23, 2013
5,028
Shoreham
This has been said a thousand times now, but can you really see these two forming a partnership?

Both players in their own right are excellent championship players. Hemed did okay last season on his first championship season. Murray is proven at this level too, and already has 3 goals. The issue appears to be playing them together, as they're just too similar. Playing both also means sacrificing pace upfront.

What solutions are there? Baldock? Obviously we can't turn back the clock and get a 4th (a different type of) striker, so let's make the best of the situation. What about playing 4-2-3-1 with Murray OR Hemed as a lone striker. The starting midfield could be Kayal, Stephens, Skalak, Knockaert & Murphy. That's got plenty of attacking options, and moves our best player centrally. They'd still be options on the beach with LuaLua, March, Hamed, Baldock and Manu options to mix things up. I also believe this formation will help Norwood when he's in the team.
 
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Pavilionaire

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
30,521
Our best option is 4-4-2 with Murray up top and Baldock buzzing round him but the attempted signing of Pritchard does indicate he's thinking about playing with a No.10 in a 4-5-1.
 


Hemed was awful today. Can see Baldock back on Tuesday

If Hemed was awful today (not necessarily disagreeing), Murray was shocking. Worst player on the pitch - I regret.

The club for whatever reason are totally oblivious when it comes to strikers. 6th season at The Amex, & we have had Ulloa, Ashley Barnes & last season Tomer's 17 goals. As for the rest - meh at best.
 




Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Patreon
Jul 11, 2003
73,363
West west west Sussex




Tom Hark Preston Park

Will Post For Cash
Jul 6, 2003
69,871
The club for whatever reason are totally oblivious when it comes to strikers. 6th season at The Amex, & we have had Ulloa, Ashley Barnes & last season Tomer's 17 goals. As for the rest - meh at best.

Apart from Hemed being a mate who you probably have round for dinner parties, any particular reason why you're placing him in the non-meh category? In case you hadn't noticed, he has severe difficulty scoring goals from open play, particularly with his feet. Those 17 goals included, if memory (and the stats site I looked at) serves, 5 penalties, and 5 with his head. He contributes a lot to the side in other ways, but like Baldock, he's really not much cop as a striker at this level.
 






Apart from Hemed being a mate who you probably have round for dinner parties, any particular reason why you're placing him in the non-meh category? In case you hadn't noticed, he has severe difficulty scoring goals from open play, particularly with his feet. Those 17 goals included, if memory (and the stats site I looked at) serves, 5 penalties, and 5 with his head. He contributes a lot to the side in other ways, but like Baldock, he's really not much cop as a striker at this level.

In my opinion anyone who scores 17 goals in a season for us, whether, tap ins, penalties, open play screamers - deserves to be in the side & in The Amex hall of fame. Regrettably IMO we have a miserable 3 centre forwards of any note since being at The Amex. Quite incredible that we have done as well as we have with such limited talent up front
 






Cowfold Seagull

Fan of the 17 bus
Apr 22, 2009
21,578
Cowfold
This has been said a thousand times now, but can you really see these two forming a partnership?

Both players in their own right are excellent championship players. Hemed did okay last season on his first championship season. Murray is proven at this level too, and already has 3 goals. The issue appears to be playing them together, as they're just too similar. Playing both also means sacrificing pace upfront.

What solutions are there? Baldock? Obviously we can't turn back the clock and get a 4th (a different type of) striker, so let's make the best of the situation. What about playing 4-2-3-1 with Murray OR Hemed as a lone striker. The starting midfield could be Kayal, Stephens, Skalak, Knockaert & Murphy. That's got plenty of attacking options, and moves our best player centrally. They'd still be options on the beach with LuaLua, March, Hamed, Baldock and Manu options to mix things up. I also believe this formation will help Norwood when he's in the team.

I completely agree, (said much the same thing myself in another thread). My worry though, that Chris Hughton, notoriously conservative in many ways in football management, is reluctant to change what has been, in his eyes, a successful starting eleven.

Taking the bull by the horns and maybe moving Knockaert inside, and playing him off of one of the big two, may seem a tad too drastic a change to him.

Baldock is certain to return to the starting line up on Tuesday though, with either Murray, or more probably Hemed rested. Stephens for Norwood in midfield I hope, and a change on the left wing is badly needed as well. Will he reinstate Skalak?, and what is the injury diagnosis on LuaLua?
 


Cowfold Seagull

Fan of the 17 bus
Apr 22, 2009
21,578
Cowfold
In my opinion anyone who scores 17 goals in a season for us, whether, tap ins, penalties, open play screamers - deserves to be in the side & in The Amex hall of fame. Regrettably IMO we have a miserable 3 centre forwards of any note since being at The Amex. Quite incredible that we have done as well as we have with such limited talent up front

Absolutely!
 


amexer

Well-known member
Aug 8, 2011
6,152
They both reminded me of my last season playing football when team mates correctly called me a goal hanger. Just waiting for loose ball in box but not putting in work trying to pull centre halves out of position etc. Have never seen 2 forwards apart from defending corners do so little work outside of box. That must have been the easiest afternnon there centre halves have ever had. Hemeds seems incapable of holding on to long balls so just looks for foul all the time.
 








Bigtomfu

New member
Jul 25, 2003
4,416
Harrow
Hamed and Murray...

If Hemed was awful today (not necessarily disagreeing), Murray was shocking. Worst player on the pitch - I regret.

The club for whatever reason are totally oblivious when it comes to strikers. 6th season at The Amex, & we have had Ulloa, Ashley Barnes & last season Tomer's 17 goals. As for the rest - meh at best.

The difference between Murray being deserving of a 6/10 and Hemed a 4/10 was that at least Murray went looking for the ball, out wide, actually at one point crossed for Knockaert to get a header on target in the second half, and he fracked back and defended loads.

Hemed did nowt. Looked shattered from the first minute to the last and out of place. (I do like him he just had a shocker yesterday)


No pace and one-dimensional. Not brilliant.

For me the biggest crying shame was that we played with two orthodox wingers and two strikers who would love to be on the end of CROSSES and we put so few in. If that was the one dimension we aimed at playing we failed miserably!
 








Danny-Boy

Banned
Apr 21, 2009
5,579
The Coast
They both reminded me of my last season playing football when team mates correctly called me a goal hanger. Just waiting for loose ball in box but not putting in work trying to pull centre halves out of position etc. Have never seen 2 forwards apart from defending corners do so little work outside of box. That must have been the easiest afternnon there centre halves have ever had. Hemeds seems incapable of holding on to long balls so just looks for foul all the time.

Murray seems to play a completely different role again for Albion that he did at Palace, and I hardly saw him throughout the 90 minutes go above a canter.I seriously wonder you could convert him to a "Greer-type" centre-half alongside Dunk. He'd be a menace at corners.
 



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