Harley

[JonathanLivingstonSeagull]

I don't think anyone wants him to do well more than me.

Post in this thread if you are man enough to contend that with me.

I'm very pleased to see and hear reports on the lad improving even if it is 'albeit slowly' as one poster reported.

I think he is the kind of player that could prove to be excellent and cultured which is what we all hoped he would be immediately. Well maybe he will take a while to get to the standard we all hope to see but maybe he will get there. Some players take a while to 'level up' to their next level - observe Mr Bobby Z. OK a bit of a deadly comparison but he slowly got to the point of Premier League top striker and now has 2 england caps in his thirties... Just saying, sometimes that's how it works.

Of course Harley's slightly 'big fish from a small pond' body language doesn't endear us to be patient with him if he has a less than decent game (yes we know it has happened) and I myself was frustrated with the player dwelling on the ball when an incisive pass was obvious to all of us in the stands - the sort of passes we want him here for. We're all top drawer from up in the WSU of course...

So good on him if he was decent Saturday and tonight (as people seem to be saying) let's hope under Gus he continues to improve to standard. He can be a top player with a little coaching and effort.

Preaching mission over. In case you think I'm weird it's because I love clever central players and I think he has a chance to prove himself one.
:guitar:

 

[ferring seagull]

I don't think anyone wants him to do well more than me.

Post in this thread if you are man enough to contend that with me.

I'm very pleased to see and hear reports on the lad improving even if it is 'albeit slowly' as one poster reported.

I think he is the kind of player that could prove to be excellent and cultured which is what we all hoped he would be immediately. Well maybe he will take a while to get to the standard we all hope to see but maybe he will get there. Some players take a while to 'level up' to their next level - observe Mr Bobby Z. OK a bit of a deadly comparison but he slowly got to the point of Premier League top striker and now has 2 england caps in his thirties... Just saying, sometimes that's how it works!

Of course Harley's slightly 'big fish from a small pond' body language doesn't endear us to be patient with him if he has a less than decent game (yes we know it has happened) and I myself was frustrated with the player dwelling on the ball when an incisive pass was obvious to all of us in the stands - the sort of passes we want him here for!!

So good on him if he was decent Saturday and tonight (as people seem to be saying) let's hope under Gus he continues to improve to standard. He can be a top player with a little coaching, guidance, luck and effort.

Preaching mission over. In case you think I'm weird it's because I love clever central players and I think he has a chance to prove himself one!
:guitar:

I don't think that, for me personally, RH is a problem and I agree with your assertions that he has not been playing regularly over the past 12 months.

His performance has been improving game by game and to those who criticise I say stand back and watch this guy go !

 

[kevo]

Seems to me it could be a classic case of a player thinking he is much better than he actually is.

Time will tell tho - he certainly deserves a chance without the constant criticism he gets from some quarters...

 

[JonathanLivingstonSeagull]

FS - That's the spirit! Whisper it quietly but I will enjoy that 'suspect' body language of his once he has earned the right to it in this league. Pretty sure the problems it suggests will be coached out of him.

Still crying a bit over spilt benno but we'll improve in the middle and I think RH will be part of that. I remember saying to me bruv back in the pre-slade days... 'we don't have ANY f***ing players in the middle'... they were all lightweight. The step-up to the Championship has been a big test on that front especially regarding the loss of Crofts (ok a while ago now but it sticks to see him doing well for Norwich) and Bennett... oh and same brackets apply to him and all!

Midfield is always a tricky one to replace at a decent standard it seems... and a crucial one too. Ok they all are but the middle of the park is the middle of the park!

Next poster - yes his BL seemed that way Big Time... then he scored the best free kick i have ever witnessed live in my life... I think his on-field manner will be all good once he earns it, as i say. He was playing with big-topboyatexeter-signed-by-PLSwansea-potatoes is all... lol. just saying i hope he continues to get rated in games.

 

[kevo]

There was an interesting comment by him in the programme the other week when he said: "I've always played this way and don't know how to play any different".

 

[Springal]

He just takes too long on the ball. If he could play 'that' pass quicker he would be as good as Bennett but he gets disposed too easily. Potential but needs a run to prove himself

 

[bn1&bn3 Albion]

Last 2 games he has improved greatly, he just needs to work looking up when he runs with the ball.

 

[Stat Brother]

I am very much in the 'not good enough' camp.
But discussing him on here after Sat, did make me wonder if I'd missed the 'improvement' then, because I was being to quick to criticise.
So I will be on full, open minded, Harley watch this Saturday.

 

[Eggman]

In time he will be good. But as usual people have already made their judgments after a handful of appearances and judged him to be "shit"

 

[supaseagull]

Still reiterate that he was our best player v Cov. His work off the ball in stifling the opponents midfield from high up the pitch is now not going unnoticed which I'm pleased about.

Those same preaching how he isn't good enough are, I suspect, the same ones who wrote off El-Abd two years ago!


Sent from my iPhone using a goat

 

[Medwayseagull]

This is about the fourth yime I have posted on NSC supporting Harley. He hadn't played much ,then had a back injury and after a handful of games people were on his case. In following last night's thread one poster only commented to slag Harley off and had no other comments to make - this is the sort of ignorance and lack of support for our players that makes me annoyed.
This guy has a lot of ability in passing and dead ball situations - he is never going to be a midfield ball winner or a player of great pace!

 

[ArcticBlue]

RH seems to be finding his feet at this level after forgetting to put them on at Watford! He has improved since and seems to be getting to grips with a formation that is new to him. I actually though he played well on Saturday getting a few headed challenges in and made a crunching tackle last night. He is going in the right direction now.

 

[chucky1973]

Have said from day one that this guy will be a special player for us once settled and I think he is now settling, his vision and range of passing is very very good and players some time dont read it, so it looks like he has given it away. You watch him closley saturday and his passing.

 

[Rugrat]

Cov was his best game but still didn't make much of an impact for me, just didn't see any errors. I dunno about Derby .. Aspinall got at him a few times but posts on here suggest he wasn't too bad

I genuinely hope he does improve and turn out to be a top quality player but I don't have a crystal ball so the Jury's well and truly out for me. He's been too crap over several games to start giving him accolades imo. The example of BZ is a good one and there are many examples where a change of club, change of player around them, or (usually) stuff that we don't get to see really improves a player and hope that can be done with Harley. He's far from being the finished articles just yet but I hope he continues his improvement.

Not dissimilar to Paynter actually .. I've not made a comment on him but seen nothing good said. If he came on as 2nd half sub on Saturday and scored 2 or 3 what then? Does he suddenly become a decent player? Dunno

 

[Napper]

Not dissimilar to Paynter actually .. I've not made a comment on him but seen nothing good said. If he came on as 2nd half sub on Saturday and scored 2 or 3 what then? Does he suddenly become a decent player? Dunno

Cant agree with that, whilst Harley has been crap he has shown a few nice things and of course the 30 yard + free kick. Paynter on the flip side has done nothing.

Back to Harley and not convinced but he was decent against Coventry and sounded good last night. Long may it continue. Exeter fans love him so surely has a lot more to give

 

[Rugrat]

Just a different point of view Dougal ... pre Cov the free kick was about the only contribution I saw, and just as bad as Paynter. Cov better but still not much better than average for me.

Still I hope I'm wrong on this ... very rare of me to be critical of a Brighton player, but Harley has been woeful and it'll take more than 2 games to convince me

 

[Barrel of Fun]

He's not a robot. He missed pre-season with us, signing into the season. He is playing at a higher level than he ever has done before. I'd imagine he was a little disappointed to start off as a Premier League player and end up dropping down a division without making an appearance.

Fair enough criticise a player if you feel he has been poor, but some people take it too far.

I remember Nicky Forster having a very slow start to his career for us.

 

[Simster]

Cant agree with that, whilst Harley has been crap he has shown a few nice things and of course the 30 yard + free kick. Paynter on the flip side has done nothing.

Back to Harley and not convinced but he was decent against Coventry and sounded good last night. Long may it continue. Exeter fans love him so surely has a lot more to give

Agreed, how anyone can compare Paynter to Harley is beyond me. Didn't go to Derby but against Cov, the way he turned his game around in the middle of the game really impressed me. He started off all flicks and tricks that weren't coming off, and although he was trying to tackle he was fairly ineffective. By the end of the game he had made one or two decent tackles, was doing the simply stuff well and even showed one or two touches of a player who is clearly better than what we have seen from him. Not a world beating performance but about average compared to the rest of the team.

Paynter on the other hand is simply not good enough at this level and unfortunately I don't think that is going to change.

 

[Albion Dan]

After his shambolic couldnt give a toss attitude against Palace its going to take alot more than two averagely ok performances.to change my mind.

 

[Billy the Fish]

Cant agree with that, whilst Harley has been crap he has shown a few nice things and of course the 30 yard + free kick. Paynter on the flip side has done nothing.

I think the difference is that with Harley you can see that he has some decent attributes. He's very skilfull and can play a good pass - when his brain works quick enough. You can see with a few improvments that he could be a good player.

With Paynter it's very difficult to see where the improvments are going to come from. The worst thing about paynter is his speed, or lack of. He's not going to get any quicker, and that pretty much kills it for me straight away.