GrimsbyBoro 1,959 Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 Wilder’s first Boro signing. What grade do you give him? Link to post Share on other sites
wilsoncgp 9,230 Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 Solid player but nothing spectacular. He filled a gap and was better than I'd given him credit for in the past elsewhere. We can do better overall but in the free agent market, we did alright with this one. Link to post Share on other sites
Changing Times 12,219 Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 3/10 Had to give him a lower mark than the likes of Peltier, Balogun, and even Daniels, as I felt he contributed very little overall. Whilst as Wilson says above that he filled a gap, he didn't really fill it very well. We've all complained for months about not having a left hand side. Well for a decent chunk of the season he was that left hand side, so therefore we have to conclude that he wasn't contributing enough. A quick look says he made 6 key passes in 14 games, which is terrible really for a wingback. If the argument is that he's not that type of player then not only does it make it a poor signing but it begs the question, what was the point in signing him at all? We signed him under Wilder, not Warnock, and Wilder must have known the type of set up we were going to use, so why sign someone unsuited to it? If he was believed to be suited to it then the results suggest he underperformed in a big way, so again, it has to be scored as a poor signing. I think it was just adding a body for the sake of it, and that also shouldn't be getting particularly high marks as a signing either. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Redcar Rioja 5,872 Posted June 19, 2022 Share Posted June 19, 2022 What CT said above! Link to post Share on other sites
Tom 2,492 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 I gave him a 6. He got forward more than people give him credit for. I once showed a couple of average position graphs that showed that in those two games, he was playing almost as far up the pitch as Jones, although clearly was doing very different things with the ball when he was there. Has no pace at all, but still did a lot of running to at least create the illusion of an option on our left hand side. played during our best run of games, before Bola (who wasn't really any better) came in and our season fizzled out. Not bad at all for a free signing, but I'm glad for him and for us that we've now parted ways. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
TeaCider24 12,403 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 5. Wasn't awful, wasn't great, signed on a free and did a job. Link to post Share on other sites
Denzel Zanzibar 6,931 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 4. Did a job but when he played all our attacks were forced down the right hand side and poor Jones got overloaded as a result. We were less effective as an attacking unit with him in the side and unfortunately, he played more games than I would have liked him to. Link to post Share on other sites
Rob 4,465 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 decent squad filler that didn't let you down but was never gonna shine bright, just what we thought we were getting when we got him Link to post Share on other sites
Essuuaitch 330 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 4...... 3 seemed a bit harsh but i cant raise it to a 5 as that fals in average boundaries and on the whole i,d put him below average. i was expecting far more forward commitment and enthusiasm. he filled a gap and didnt have any nightmare games but didnt at any time offer any real offensive threat he looked like hes more comfortable as a full back rather than a wing back Link to post Share on other sites
Bruce 1,525 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 I suspect that when historians look back on this era they'll discover that Taylor offered more than we realised at the time. During our best run, he marshalled the left side well. Obviously more defensive than Jones but he still frequently showed up in the opponents' 6 yard box. With McNair not having a left foot, Taylor lacked options for attacking play and generally focused on triangles with Tav and whichever one of the striker mystery box selection turned up on his side of the pitch. I think this was a solid 5 or 6 of a signing. He always did a job under difficult circumstances. A bit prone to getting wound up and losing his discipline and he did lack confidence in the opponents' box. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Changing Times 12,219 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 The act of getting forward alone doesn't mean you're contributing to the attack. I can remember him getting the ball in advanced positions on a number of occasions, and then going backwards and the attack stalling completely. Anyway, 6 key passes in 14 games tell you that it isn't really correct to say that he added more than it first appears. The only people in the squad with fewer key passes per game, and either a comparable level of minutes or more minutes, are Fry, Bamba, and Peltier. Oh yeah, and everyone's favourite Aaron Connolly. Taylor produced 0.4 key passes every game, Bola and Jones were up at 1 each. It might not sound like much but it's a sizeable difference. He wasn't a left back here, he was a wing back. If he'd been a young lad coming through then I don't believe for a second he'd be regarded all that highly. It's weird how there always seems to be an inherent bias towards older players. Maybe it's something to do with expectations - if you don't expect much then you're happy enough when you don't get much? I bet it won't be acceptable for whoever we sign this summer to produce what Taylor did. I wouldn't mind but defensively he wasn't all that either - fewer attempted tackles per game than Bola and Jones, fewer successful tackles than either of them but more times dribbled past. Fewer interceptions than Bola, although more than Jones. Slightly fewer clearances than Jones but slightly more than Bola. For an experienced defender, one who is limited as an attacking threat, you'd expect the defensive side of his game to be his strong point but it wasn't. These are all just stats though of course. However, he never passed the eye test playing for us, he never looked suited to us, and as soon as Bola was back then Taylor was dropped. Even after Bola was then in turn dropped it was Tavernier being moved to left wing back rather than Taylor being back in the team. In fact, by the end of the season Taylor wasn't even making the bench. If that doesn't tell you how poor he was then I'm not sure what would. Link to post Share on other sites
chickenlunch 315 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 solid enough in a time of need Link to post Share on other sites
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