Kayal/Stephens

[BensGrandad]

I think that Murphy has not looked so good recently because both Liam and Inigo pass the ball with their right foot mostly and consequently it goes inside the full back rather than outside where he can attack them wide. A naturally left footed left back would overcome this problem. So that is a must bring in a left back.

 

[1066familyman]

Anyone got a clip of that neat little turn by Stephens that took two 'Boro players out of the game in an instant? It was around the halfway line and in front of the West stand, 28 minutes into the game ( I know because I made a point of looking).

Wonderful moment that I can still see in my mind now.

I don't think either Stephens or Kayal had a bad game. The game wasn't lost in central midfield that's for sure. 'Boro defended superbly with impeccable shape, let us play keep ball and we just couldn't break them down. They we also experts at hitting us on the break and exploiting our exposed wide positions. We were simply beaten by a better team on the day and none of that had much to do with Stephens and Kayal as far as I saw it.

 

[London Irish]

Seems like I'm in a minority then. But I'll stick to my guns, Stephens for me had his poorest game of the season and while Kayal was brighter (is a classier player) I was surprised how little he tried came off. So much of our best play this season has been about how they've driven our team forward, moved the opposition around and created gaps but Boro had their number today. But of course they weren't primarily to blame for the defeat, that was down to the poor aerial defending in the box. Clayton is a very good player and looks like a big miss when we didnt quite snare him - I think he will finish in the Championship team of the season, hopefully alongside Kayal.

 

[Easy 10]

Kayal, as ever, was involved in everything. Sometimes I think there's 2 of him on the pitch, I doubt there is another player in the team who covers the ground Kayal does. He breaks up play, he makes himself available for the pass, he dribbles, he harries, he tackles, he uses the ball so well, and he has a tremendous physical presence on the ball. He truly is the COMPLETE midfielder, and if we'd had him slotted into the sides that had made the Playoffs, then we might not even had NEEDED the playoffs. He's that good.

Stephens isn't quite as consistently good as Kayal, but he is a crucial cog in that midfield and provides that bit of guile that every team needs, he's a lovely player.

I actually thought they were much poorer at QPR than they were yesterday (despite Stephens goal). Stephens was overly ponderous at QPR and got caught several times in possession, and Kayals passing radar seemed to be a little off. But yesterday, I can't see that they did a lot wrong. They're more than a match for for MOST teams in this division, but Leadbitter and Clayton are a class act and had a full strength team around them. We just came up against a side at the top of their game, while we are pretty much decimated. I thought Kayal and Stephens were as good as usual, but its not going to be enough on their own when you come up against a team of that calibre.

 

[Sheebo]

I actually thought the one positive was they were still bossing some authority on 3 very good CMs from Boro Agree both looked tired much like the whole team. VLP & Murphy had poor games and I believe our lack of depth solely due to bad luck on the injury front cost us a lot Sat - he didn't have anyone to swap on really, as clearly doesn't fancy Elvis yet..

 

[GT49er]

They were not outplayed whatsoever! Like so many fans, the big picture is too much for some people to understand. We were not good enough in areas other than central midfield. I would rather have Kayal and Stephens over Clayton and Leadbitter.

That might be arguable ........... but a long way from being a reasonable excuse,

 

[darkwolf666]

Thought they were a bit outgunned yesterday although for me it was more tactical than anything. I was a little surprised that we went 4-4-2 rather than playing 3 in midfield, given that Murphy has been off the pace lately and Boro are very strong in that area. That said Crofts wasn't fit and Ince didn't exactly make a big case for inclusion at Derby. It highlights the need for reinforcements in January...

Eh, Boro were playing 5 in midfield and over running us, and you wanted us to play 3 in midfield?

 

[Seasidesage]

Eh, Boro were playing 5 in midfield and over running us, and you wanted us to play 3 in midfield?

3 in central midfield. Wingers are allowed to track back too

 

[Biscuit]

Kayal and Stephens were not our problems on Saturday.

 

[Machiavelli]

Kayal, as ever, was involved in everything. Sometimes I think there's 2 of him on the pitch, I doubt there is another player in the team who covers the ground Kayal does. He breaks up play, he makes himself available for the pass, he dribbles, he harries, he tackles, he uses the ball so well, and he has a tremendous physical presence on the ball. He truly is the COMPLETE midfielder, and if we'd had him slotted into the sides that had made the Playoffs, then we might not even had NEEDED the playoffs. He's that good.

Stephens isn't quite as consistently good as Kayal, but he is a crucial cog in that midfield and provides that bit of guile that every team needs, he's a lovely player.

I actually thought they were much poorer at QPR than they were yesterday (despite Stephens goal). Stephens was overly ponderous at QPR and got caught several times in possession, and Kayals passing radar seemed to be a little off. But yesterday, I can't see that they did a lot wrong. They're more than a match for for MOST teams in this division, but Leadbitter and Clayton are a class act and had a full strength team around them. We just came up against a side at the top of their game, while we are pretty much decimated. I thought Kayal and Stephens were as good as usual, but its not going to be enough on their own when you come up against a team of that calibre.

This is as good a post as you'll get about our brilliant CM pairing.

 

[Codner's Wallop]

Seems to be a bit of criticism out there for Murphy at the moment. My take on it is that he is having to provide more cover for Calde than he did with Bong or Rosenior which is affecting his game.

Nothing against Calde, but we don't look as balanced as we have before the injuries which makes it harder for the midfield pairing. Yesterday I thought we ignored too many chances to play the ball left which made it much easier for Boro to defend as they only had to worry about 3/4s of the pitch.

This is spot on. Murphy's role has changed considerably since the injuries to Bong and Rosenior, both of whom have pace, mobility and a free-flowing style to their game. Calderon is very mindful of his lack of speed and so he tends to retreat quicker than his peers. He also struggles to close down opposition breaks in the same effective way in which Bong or Rosenior can. Again, this is down to speed and the ability to suffocate possession. Calderon compensates by dropping off players to avoid any embarrassing nutmegs/flicks followed by the inevitable sprint (with a winger who can burn him over 50m). The upshot of all this is Murphy is playing deeper and helping out more with the spade work of snuffling out attacks. This leaves him in a more defensive position and this gives opposition plenty of time to sort cover and shut him down. No disrespect to Calderon because he's been a fantastic understudy for some time, but to start blaming Murphy for a lack of potency in recent games is missing the bigger picture.

 

[MattBackHome]

Add me to the 'they weren't outplayed' list.

They were well matched by a superb midfield performance from Leadbitter and Clayton.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

They were not outplayed at all - just outNUMBERED.

OP clueless.

 

[darkwolf666]

3 in central midfield. Wingers are allowed to track back too

Sorry, I must have missed the word "central" in your original statement - could have sworn it said 3 in midfield as Murphy was off the pace, which appeared to indicate you weren't going to be playing with wingers!

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

They were outplayed because partly because they were outnumbered and partly because Boro piushed them deeper than normal. Their quality on the ball was still there to be seen when they had it, but it wasn't as often and it was generally deeper than usual.

I think both QPR and Boro were the first top half teams to really set their tactics out to stifle our strength, and this had to have been coming. I can understand why CH stuck to 4-4-2, but an extra bod in midfield instead of Hemed would have helped us yesterday. I was impressed by JFC in the middle against Burnley and I wish he'd been deployed there at 2-0 v QPR.

 

[Marshy]

I thought Kayal and Stephens did exceptionally well considering they were outnumbered.

In hindsight 3 in the middle was the way to go, but with 442 working like a dream all season and us being at home I would not have changed either.

 

[BensGrandad]

Not a case of just outnumbered as we did no better when CH tried to balance it up bringing on Crofts. It was more a case of outnumbered by better options. Other than Kayal and Stephens we do not have sufficient strength in central midfield with our strength being wide men. Remains to be seen if Ritchie Towell will prove to be the answer, I hope so.

 

[Kevlar]

Understandable going with the same formation which has been successful.
Although 2 -0 down at half time without a shot on target in the first half was the
time to switch to 4 3 3, but I doubt if it would made a difference to the result.
Missed Dunk in the air and lacked creativity out wide.

 

[nwgull]

Not a case of just outnumbered as we did no better when CH tried to balance it up bringing on Crofts. It was more a case of outnumbered by better options. Other than Kayal and Stephens we do not have sufficient strength in central midfield with our strength being wide men. Remains to be seen if Ritchie Towell will prove to be the answer, I hope so.

He (Towell) certainly has a lot of motivation and confidence in his abilities, if his ambitions to break into the RoI's Euros squad are anything to go by - which I like.

 

[London Irish]

Not a case of just outnumbered as we did no better when CH tried to balance it up bringing on Crofts. It was more a case of outnumbered by better options. Other than Kayal and Stephens we do not have sufficient strength in central midfield with our strength being wide men. Remains to be seen if Ritchie Towell will prove to be the answer, I hope so.

Lot of comments on here about us "being outnumbered". Boro often play with a 3 in midfield but in fact on Saturday they matched us with a 4-4-1-1 - two banks of four and Downing just behind Kike, not that dissimilar to our formation as usually Wilson will also drop deeper off Hemed. It was an even battle in midfield which they edged I'm afraid but that was down to a combination of physical/mental fatigue with Boro able to bring in Leadbitter, whereas we have no such potent reserve in our ranks at the moment. Our two star midfielders will be back to their true potency against Brentford I'm sure.

Whereas Murphy and van La Parra also had average games, just think of the amount of times they got the ball and were immediately double-banked. Hardly any space was created for them by our play, which is a rarity for our wingers this season.