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Summer Transfer Window 2018.


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constantly does the right things going forward?

 

The ball constantly goes out of play more like, countless moves break down on that left side because friend miss controls, passes out of play or straight to a defender.

 

That run against Villa when he beat 2 men, was clear in the box and just ran into the keeper and went flying was the most 'Friend' thing Ive ever seen. I wouldnt get rid of him but he definately needs replacing, preferably with Bryan from Bristol who genuinely is the best LB in the league.

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constantly does the right things going forward?

 

The ball constantly goes out of play more like, countless moves break down on that left side because friend miss controls, passes out of play or straight to a defender.

 

That run against Villa when he beat 2 men, was clear in the box and just  ran into the keeper and went flying was the most 'Friend' thing Ive ever seen. I wouldnt get rid of him but he definately needs replacing, preferably with Bryan from Bristol who genuinely is the best LB in the league.

 

so from your response i take it your still hung up on friend having a stinker at villa, which he did. but to say its the norm for him. well your plain wrong.

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constantly does the right things going forward?

 

The ball constantly goes out of play more like, countless moves break down on that left side because friend miss controls, passes out of play or straight to a defender.

 

That run against Villa when he beat 2 men, was clear in the box and just  ran into the keeper and went flying was the most 'Friend' thing Ive ever seen. I wouldnt get rid of him but he definately needs replacing, preferably with Bryan from Bristol who genuinely is the best LB in the league.

 

so from your response i take it your still hung up on friend having a stinker at villa, which he did. but to say its the norm for him. well your plain wrong.

 

Plain wrong really? Someone on here a while back said 'everytime the ball goes to friend no matter what position hes in I just expect nothing to happen'. Thats exactly how I think aswell because its just true, it didnt bother me a couple seasons back as he was good defensively, but this season he was getting turned a lot easier than he used to and wingers were getting more joy down our left.

 

I know hes a fans favourite but I just dont see the fuss tbh

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Certainly as an over lapping full back you would expect him to crop up with more assists than he has.

 

I rate him as a player, however we need to improve and not stick to sentiment and play him again this season. He showed last season he wasn't as good as he had been. Praise him for his fantastic work but we need to keep moving forward.

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Moving away from George for a second and with McNair in and interest in Besic still quite high I'm thinking that if we do get him in and have a midfield 3 of

Downing - Besic - McNair

Besic playing the anchor and have Howson and Clayton as your cover we would be sorted in midfield and much stronger than the start of last season there

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Based on Friend's form last season I think we ideally need to be looking at a new LB, to be honest we probably need a RB as well.

 

The question is do you get to a point where you are making too many changes and could we get by with Friend and Shotton if we strengthened well in other areas.

 

I remember saying all last summer that I was concerned we were potentially making too many changes. There needs to be a balance between trying to improve and keeping some continuity.

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constantly does the right things going forward?

 

The ball constantly goes out of play more like, countless moves break down on that left side because friend miss controls, passes out of play or straight to a defender.

 

That run against Villa when he beat 2 men, was clear in the box and just  ran into the keeper and went flying was the most 'Friend' thing Ive ever seen. I wouldnt get rid of him but he definately needs replacing, preferably with Bryan from Bristol who genuinely is the best LB in the league.

 

so from your response i take it your still hung up on friend having a stinker at villa, which he did. but to say its the norm for him. well your plain wrong.

 

Plain wrong really? Someone on here a while back said 'everytime the ball goes to friend no matter what position hes in I just expect nothing to happen'. Thats exactly how I think aswell because its just true, it didnt bother me a couple seasons back as he was good defensively, but this season he was getting turned a lot easier than he used to and wingers were getting more joy down our left.

 

I know hes a fans favourite but I just dont see the fuss tbh

 

i expect him when hes on his ramrodding bursts into opposition half to beat his man quite often and deliver a cross almost every time, he causes mayhem when he does this and like at qpr is capable of 'making something happen' . those who dont expect are well probably pretty depressing people. he is if anything unpredictable when attacking. gets a few assists a season and the odd goal, links up well, defends well, great personality and attitude. hes no roberto carlos but we could do a lot worse. appreciate what you got while you have it.

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Did anyone see the clip on Twitter of the players doing the bleep test in training? It looked like Friend won.

 

Not sure it means anything, just thought it was interesting!

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just comparing stats with j bryan at bristol city last season, they have similar stats for most things. bryan has most shots, more dribbles and hits more long balls seems be slightly more involved overall. but when you consider he played left midfield half the season you'd expect that. the telling stats are 5 goals 3 assists for a guy who played 30 games at left back and 10 games left mid. george got 2 goals and one assist from 30 games at left back.

bryan also is a regular set piece taker, so how many of these extra shots and assists were provided by set pieces? its my opinion that from normal play they are pretty similar.

 

but by the grass is greener lot we should sign a guy for 4 million say?? who is pretty similar to what we have already. looking into the future byran is a better long term option though and he is more versatile. but well hes not six foot is he :D :D

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I'm definitely of the opinion that we keep Friend, he's not that old and you don't just lose it after a season... I can't see a Championship Left Back that we could get that would be significantly better without breaking the bank.

 

He was bad under Monk, but redeemed himself under Pulis, he kept Snodgrass - one of the division's top wingers - under wraps during the play off games. You're not going to get many more Left Backs that suit Pulis' style as much as Friend so I can't see how he wont be first choice next season...

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I think it's been hugely influential on Friends game that we haven't had a proper winger in front of him for two years now. When he had Albert in front him in the play off final and promotion season he was brilliant. It's not easy when as a full back you have to do all the work on left hand side. People expect him to beat a man, get to the byline and make a cross into the box while at the same time make sure that he doesn't make room behind him for a counter attack. With a proper winger ahead of him he may be able to focus a bit more on defence and have less responsibility on his shoulders going forward. He can still make the occasional overlap that was his trademark but he needs quality help.

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I think it's been hugely influential on Friends game that we haven't had a proper winger in front of him for two years now. When he had Albert in front him in the play off final and promotion season he was brilliant. It's not easy when as a full back you have to do all the work on left hand side. People expect him to beat a man, get to the byline and make a cross into the box while at the same time make sure that he doesn't make room behind him for a counter attack. With a proper winger ahead of him he may be able to focus a bit more on defence and have less responsibility on his shoulders going forward. He can still make the occasional overlap that was his trademark but he needs quality help.

 

Agree with this 100%

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ANOTHER THING ABOUT FRIEND, when being slated for lack of creativity/attacking powers, you should consider hes a defender, i personally think fans hung up on Georges failings are doing so because we are so woeful down the left as a threat we rely on george to much and end up overlooking downing not being direct enough. he sits to deep and seems to prefer to be the one making the pass to someone that is making a run or in a dangerous area. when he should be the one getting into dangerous positions and causing problems. its why he never hardly scores but still gets assists. hes like a deep lying playmaker now.

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I think it's been hugely influential on Friends game that we haven't had a proper winger in front of him for two years now. When he had Albert in front him in the play off final and promotion season he was brilliant. It's not easy when as a full back you have to do all the work on left hand side. People expect him to beat a man, get to the byline and make a cross into the box while at the same time make sure that he doesn't make room behind him for a counter attack. With a proper winger ahead of him he may be able to focus a bit more on defence and have less responsibility on his shoulders going forward. He can still make the occasional overlap that was his trademark but he needs quality help.

 

Agree with this 100%

 

seems we have similar thoughts lol

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I think it's been hugely influential on Friends game that we haven't had a proper winger in front of him for two years now. When he had Albert in front him in the play off final and promotion season he was brilliant. It's not easy when as a full back you have to do all the work on left hand side. People expect him to beat a man, get to the byline and make a cross into the box while at the same time make sure that he doesn't make room behind him for a counter attack. With a proper winger ahead of him he may be able to focus a bit more on defence and have less responsibility on his shoulders going forward. He can still make the occasional overlap that was his trademark but he needs quality help.

 

Very good point, there's times where he's defending AND doing Downings job going forward.

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