Kuipers - a great game

[wallington seagull]

At the risk of fixtures (I have looked as far as page 4) I thought Michel was outstanding on Saturday. his kicking was better, his throwing accurate, his command of his area excellent and his punching was spot on. His reflex save when we were 2-0 up was very important, could (doubtful) have changed the game. I was alaways a Henderson man before Saturday but if he can keep up this distrubtion and command of the area, I will change my mind.

 

[bhaexpress]

When you win 8-0 its quite easy to overlook the defence's contribution but Kuipers performed a couple of blinders. I have a feeling that Henderson will be back in goal in the hope that we can get some cash for him in January, just a theory.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

He had a very good game, and would be happy for him to keep his place. Henderson is still a better keeper overall, and I would be equally happy to see him back in.

Glad to have them both.

 

[Lankyseagull]

He also made a "one for the camera's" save from their free-kick in the first half.

What a poser!

 

[Man of Harveys]

Contrary to popular belief, his distribution is not THAT much worse than Henderson's.

Agreed - I don't think it's worse than most other keepers' at all - every keeper slices or hoofs one out from time to time, I don't think the FDM does it often enough for it to be a problem. The man's a proper legend.

 

[Zesh Rehman]

he was dodgy, at one point he actually fell over when the ball came at him, but everyone thought he had dived to save it

 

[jonny.rainbow]

I was surprised to hear Harty talking about his testimonial game.

Correct me if I'm wrong but, he's only been here just over 6 years and he's out of contract at the end of the season?

 

[Scotty Mac]

His kicking off the ground is fine, it's just his kicking out his hands that is poor

id say his kicking off the ground is the main problem. when you watch it, he tends to get under the ball, and 'float' it upwards, resulting in it dropping suddenly, usually straight onto the defenders heads. compare this to henderson, whose kicks from the ground are a lot more flat, mainly as he drives threw it, therefore getting more distance and making it harder for the defence to gobble up

out of his hands is not a problem if he is alert enough to give a quick roll, as happened when he set whoever it was away to score the first goal. generally though, he played bloody well on saturday, and deserves to keep his place if wilkins goes with the 'keep the shirt' policy

 

[Scotty Mac]

But, Scott, would you say that length really is everything? Personally, I enjoy seeing Michel getting it well up.

while i do enjoy seeing michel getting it up as high as he possible can, it annoys me when it tends to just end up down the throats of the opposition defenders. take wayne, no he may not be able to get it up as much, but his length is something special, as it allows him to fire it and penetrate deep into the other half

 

[Scotty Mac]

That's a good point. While Michel can unquestionably reach heights I have never seen before, he does tend to fall back down within seconds. I think he needs this coached out of him, as it must be disappointing for any defender to look behind them and see that the kick is all over before he's really begun. Henderson is more penetrative as you point out, I have seen him reach a length that explodes into the opposition's backline time and time again. However, can that really satisfy us in the long-term? For brute strength and inspiring size, Michel takes the prize for me.

i think it is all down to a matter of opinion. while michels ability to get it up is unrivaled in anyone i have seen, speaking from past experience i know that getting it up that high can make up for a lack of length - as in order to ensure that it is the best kick possible, you fire it upwards to make it look good, making up for a lack pf length

one day, it will be exposed, and opposition will realise michel is only good at getting it up, meaning they will push for a higher line and put michel back under pressure by taking it down there throats again. with wayne, the distance he gets can relieve the pressure, as he can ejaculate into far flung corners of the opposition, meaning we have more time to recover and reorganise - meaning i would chose wayne everytime, simply for his length

 

[Scotty Mac]

How sad - another one in the "length is everything" camp. I am not disputing Wayne's length, he is blatantly holding a good 50 yards down there. With Michel, ok you might not get the full quota, but can anything really beat the buzz of seeing him shoot upwards in a frenzied manner?

the other godo thing about wayne is it it not just his length - many times you see hi mgive a good toss to a team mate. now, i am aware kuipers proved to be a good tosser on saturday when he tossed towards fraser, but that was a short distance one. wayne has the ability to toss, again at length, and again it is accurate and penetrates the opposition

so it is not just waynes length that does it for me, but also what he can give to the team with his all round tossing ability

 

[London Irish]

Contrary to popular belief, his distribution is not THAT much worse than Henderson's. Also, didn't McGhee used to whinge on about how Henderson would set up goals with his distribution (not that I ever saw any evidence of it)?

You didn't see the epic 3-3 at Leeds? Bit of a miss for the flair dictator!