Baldock

[BensGrandad]

True.
Needs more minutes on the pitch to help that though.

I am not writing off Elvis but he doesnt fill me with confidence, it would probably help if he could stay on his 2 feet and not keep going to ground.

 

[Withdean11]

Time to see if Harper or Hambo are ready to step up then

 

[Stat Brother]

Time to see if Harper or Hambo are ready to step up then

I'm not sure we should be pinning our hopes on 2 players signed to the development squad, albeit on senior contracts (I think I've got that right)

Had the team been where we all thought they'd be, currently scrapping it out with QPR, Fulham, Wolves and Leeds, then 'why not'.

But with the goal posts being moved (quite possibly literally, it could explain a lot) the squad needs to move accordingly.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Nailed it - he's not scoring goals which is ultimately what he will be judged on - we need to replace him in January if this drought continues

So if the next third of the season goes the same way, with Baldock spending more minutes on the pitch than any other attacking player but not scoring many goals and us still joint top, you think he should be replaced

 

[B.W.]

So if the next third of the season goes the same way, with Baldock spending more minutes on the pitch than any other attacking player but not scoring many goals and us still joint top, you think he should be replaced

(a) Massive assumption there.
(b) If the replacement is a better player, then 'Yes'.

 

[WATFORD zero]

(b) If the replacement is a better player, then 'Yes'.

Improves the team or scores more goals ?

 

[B.W.]

Improves the team or scores more goals ?

Hopefully, both... the two ARE linked, especially when you are a striker..

 

[durrington gull]

No we don't.
He's playing really well and creating lots of chances.
Most of which Hemed is missing.
Been exceptional this season so far.

I wouldn't call exceptional 2 goals and also missing a hatful of chances too!, if neither Hemed or Baldock are scoring then 1 or the other needs to be replaced in January

 

[durrington gull]

So if the next third of the season goes the same way, with Baldock spending more minutes on the pitch than any other attacking player but not scoring many goals and us still joint top, you think he should be replaced

Absolutely - i think we can do better than Baldock and would be expecting the club to line up a goalscorer in January if we're still in the top 6 - im personally not convinced Baldock is the striker to score enough goals based on this and last seasons performances so far - i really hope he proves me wrong of course - Jury very much out

 

[Simster]

So if the next third of the season goes the same way, with Baldock spending more minutes on the pitch than any other attacking player but not scoring many goals and us still joint top, you think he should be replaced

It's a very tough call. Most of us are agreed that his movement and control is largely excellent, but he lets himself down with his finishing. Personally I wouldn't replace him unless it was with a carbon copy striker who ALSO puts away his chances because I don't think you can underestimate how important to our attacking intent his movement is.

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

No we don't.
He's playing really well and creating lots of chances.
Most of which Hemed is missing.
Been exceptional this season so far.

This.

People seem to be conveniently forgetting that we are currently joint top of the league, and one of the reasons for that is Sam Baldocks's assists. Yes ok of course it would be handy if he weighed in with more goals of his own, but who is to say that they won't come? I thinkwe will miss his non stop running and probing this weekend.

More of a worry for me, is Tomer Hemed's complete loss of form.

 

[Sheebo]

It's a very tough call. Most of us are agreed that his movement and control is largely excellent, but he lets himself down with his finishing. Personally I wouldn't replace him unless it was with a carbon copy striker who ALSO puts away his chances because I don't think you can underestimate how important to our attacking intent his movement is.

Nail. Head.

Same with Hemed who has also been very good apart from the finishing. I think it will come. But both have been a large part of our success - just look at recent goals and both have played a large part in them...

 

[BensGrandad]

The old cherry, both Baldock and Hemed are playing well for the team but not scoring which is the problem. If a goalscorer us brought to push us on which one do you replace?

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

Haha. That's exactly the line people tried to defend his (non)scoring record with LAST season.

"Judge him when he gets to play as one of two up front" they said.

Well he has all season, and he's scored two goals (one of which was actually an own goal)...

2 things I have to say on this. 1) When he started last season up front for us I was away travelling so I didn't see him play in that position under Hyypia. What I did see on my return when CH took over was a player that predominantly played on the left wing as an left midfielder/inverted forward. Initially he looked like a player who lacked confidence who was learning a new position, but by the end (and prior to his injury) I thought he looked like he was adapting well and offering us good link up with Bennett and Tex at the time. Could he have scored more last season? Probably. But tactically, in the second half of the season, the set up wasn't there for him to do that (which must have been so frustrating for him considering CMS got games up front in the runner role, in a team that was set up to counter attack).

2) I'll offer you a little more to try and explain what I meant by the team not being set up to play to his strengths (this leads on from my last point - we're no longer set up to counter attack). Playing as a 2 up front is no guarantee of goals (any football fan worth their salt knows that) and I personally never argued he'd score more in that system. When I watch the side at home every week, we're often playing against low blocks where teams are compact i.e. Preston who had 3 at the back that day against our 2 strikers. In the Preston game, there was no space in behind their defence which meant that to try and score we had to work the wide positions effectively to create overloads (which we didn't do well on the day) to provide service to our strikers. Ultimately, if you're playing against such a team and you're a striker like Baldock, your pace is nullified and you're relying on excellent service into the box from wide areas to stand a chance of scoring. Consequently, you have to drop deeper to look for the ball and hope you can beat a man as you're unlikely to win a header against 3 CBs.

Which brings me back to my point. I don't think the system is set up to suit him as much of our play is about getting the ball out wide and then working it into the box for Hemed or Zamora. We aren't letting teams on to us so that there is space in behind their defence for Baldock to run into, meaning that he often has to play off of whoever the other striker is by coming deeper, collecting the ball and dribbling at the opposition defence. He is less likely to score in this set up. However, what he does offer us is options that the other strikers don't. His pace means that opposition defences are less inclined to play a higher line as they're scared of being caught too high up the pitch, which means we are often able to dominate more of the ball within games. The game at the weekend was an example of this - when Baldock went off, MK Dons moved their defensive line higher up the pitch which nullified Zamora (who looks to have no mobility anymore) and meant that we found it much harder to control the game with no outlet in behind for them to worry about.

I hope that helps to explain what I meant - basically, a striker like Baldock isn't likely to score a ton of goals in a team that dominates the ball and plays against opposition teams that sit back and defend deep. BUT, he does offer us that option in behind which stops teams moving their defensive line higher, his link up play is good when he drops deeper and he's a very willing runner even when he isn't getting chances regularly. Basically goals aren't everything. We're a worse team without him in it at the moment.