Poll
Question:
Who do we think should be our first-choice LB?
Option 1: Joe Bryan
Option 2: Antonee Robinson
Clearly the forum is awash with a rich tapestry of opinion on this one, as it should be. But who would you have in the starting XI? I realise these kind of polls could get very tedious very quickly if done too frequently, however am genuinely interested to see what the consensus of opinion is.......
If Bryan can stay fit I'd start him
You've got two very competent defenders at this level and Robinson pace I've yet to see beaten.. that said its quite clear that the more polished finished article is Bryan at this moment in time. He's got better delivery, sticks to his defensive duties better and can still attack the wing, not to forget he can score goals.
As an all rounder Bryan is a more complete player.
I think Robinson relies too heavily on his pace at time to get him out of trouble. It's OK when you have it, and there are few faster if any.. but he needs to work more on his tackling and defensive duties and when he does get forward improve his final ball. He has been gently improving but hopefully he'll get better as it could make a huge difference.
Our best back five with everyone fit in my mind is
Rodak
Tete tosin kongolo Bryan
that's strong at this level. Then add mawson, Hector, Robinson and christie/odoi you've got very good options.
Bryan for me, hope polls like this don't affect the loser too much! Both players are more than adequate for the Championship but if we get promoted again, we will need somebody better!
Not a lot in it. Bryan would probably be better in games we're expected to control & push the opposition back deep, where you often need a bit of technical quality or intricacy to unlock a defence. Whereas Robinson would probably be better in tougher games where we're put under more pressure and have more opportunities to counter attack.
On that basis Bryan would be preferred more often than not, though I would like to see more experimentation with them as a pair if too many of the attacking players are under-performing.
Bryan for the next three matches then review the decision.
Robinson has the pace, and the team needs pace, but has generally disappointed in attack.
I would say both Robinson and Bryan are one of our best XI players.
Robinson. Nothing wrong with Joe Bryan, nothing at all. Robinson is just better at winning, clearly winning, his personal battle with the opposition winger. Joe Bryan rarely loses his, but often a case of honours even. Going forwards they offer different things and are reasonably effective. Robinson will improve his decision making, Bryan won't get any quicker.
We are blessed to have two wonderful left backs but defensively Robinson is ahead of Bryan IMO. I've seen the criticism of him offensively but he's already scored two goals and I'd back him to score more. I think the focus should be on the other side of our defence where Odoi is currently deputising for Tete because that is currently the weakest area in the team.
I've been particularly unimpressed by Robinson thus far. However, when you read about him being linked to Man City and AC Milan and being described as a 'wonder kid', either he has the best agent in the world; or there's a huge amount of unlocked potential. Here's for hoping for the latter - though for me it's Joe Bryan all day long, for now at least......
Robinson is a left back version of Kamara i.e. blessed as an athlete but not as a footballer.
Bryan on the other hand is a gifted footballer and a decent athlete that just needs the confidence to flurrish.
I'd always favour the footballer and would play Bryan over Robinson whenever fit.
Quote from: MartyFFC on October 22, 2021, 07:46:07 PM
I've been particularly unimpressed by Robinson thus far. However, when you read about him being linked to Man City and AC Milan and being described as a 'wonder kid', either he has the best agent in the world; or there's a huge amount of unlocked potential. Here's for hoping for the latter - though for me it's Joe Bryan all day long, for now at least......
If the opposition have width and choose to use that as a weapon to get at us, I would have Robinson, in fact I think under those circumstances, with Tete AND Robinson starting we will just not get turned, and the ball behind us wide is simply not an option, so they have to play through the middle, where we are likely to rob them and transition quickly to put them under pressure. If we want creativeness and ingenuity on the front foot and a much better quality ball into the box, i.e. we are attcking them on the flanks then Joe Bryan is a no brainer. I don't think it's a black and white (nice pun) as which one should start.
I get that we can have different opinions and preferences. But in the space of a week I've watched a QPR fullback who was genuinely bad at defending and two Cardiff fullbacks who barely crossed the halfway line. Knocking Antonee Robinson for messing up a pass as he spearheaded a 6 on 2 breakaway whilst contributing to a clean sheet needs a bit of perspective. Yes he messed up a couple of other passes, but it's football and every missed shot by a forward is a mistake too. We had about 15 shots off target on Wednesday.
Quote from: Carborundum on October 22, 2021, 07:00:34 PM
Robinson. Nothing wrong with Joe Bryan, nothing at all. Robinson is just better at winning, clearly winning, his personal battle with the opposition winger. Joe Bryan rarely loses his, but often a case of honours even. Going forwards they offer different things and are reasonably effective. Robinson will improve his decision making, Bryan won't get any quicker.
0001.jpeg this for me sums it up exactly. Still love Joe though and want him to keep competing for the left back or possibly left wing or possibly holding defensive positions.
Could really see him sitting in front of a back four breaking up play.
Joe Bryan for me, a better footballer and his technique of crossing the ball is very important to our top scorer Mitro.
I also like Robinson and of course his pace does have an impact, but his decision making of late has been poor and his passing accuracy is even poorer.
Nevertheless we are most fortunate to have both of them, but Joe is the better option if he can stay fit.
Robinson is a decent option at this level, but a truly atrocious footballer imo.
Quote from: Hugh Gentry on October 22, 2021, 08:12:57 PM
Quote from: MartyFFC on October 22, 2021, 07:46:07 PM
I've been particularly unimpressed by Robinson thus far. However, when you read about him being linked to Man City and AC Milan and being described as a 'wonder kid', either he has the best agent in the world; or there's a huge amount of unlocked potential. Here's for hoping for the latter - though for me it's Joe Bryan all day long, for now at least......
If the opposition have width and choose to use that as a weapon to get at us, I would have Robinson, in fact I think under those circumstances, with Tete AND Robinson starting we will just not get turned, and the ball behind us wide is simply not an option, so they have to play through the middle, where we are likely to rob them and transition quickly to put them under pressure. If we want creativeness and ingenuity on the front foot and a much better quality ball into the box, i.e. we are attcking them on the flanks then Joe Bryan is a no brainer. I don't think it's a black and white (nice pun) as which one should start.
Like you say, horses for courses.
I like Robinson as he is the better defender. He is very good at breaking up attacks. I also like Bryan for his attacking and crossing ability. We are fortunate to have two left backs both good but contrasting
Voted for Robinson. IMO a much better defender and has pace to burn in defence and also going forward. Bryan a vulnerable defender like against QPR; for their goal he let the player run behind Ream and then tried to appeal for offside. He should either have followed Dykes or communicate with Ream to make him aware of the runner. In the previous Championship season he was also responsible for goals conceded as a consequence of ball watching and not knowing who was on his far post. I can't recall such errors being made by Robinson.
Think Robo has more scope for improvement and will improve most by regular game time
Quote from: filham on October 22, 2021, 06:52:12 PM
Bryan for the next three matches then review the decision.
Forest's right-wing, Johnson, is quick. To defend against him with Robinson's pace may be our better option.
Joe Bryan isn't strong enough defensively for the Premier League but I would rather have Bryan in the PL than Robinson in the Championship. I get a sinking feeling inside every time Robinson gets the ball because I know it will usually lead to absolutely nothing and we will probably lose possession.
Bryan is one of the best left backs in this division. Possibly THE best. Robinson is of the worst players in our first team squad IMO. I honestly don't understand what people see in him. He's good at running really fast in straight lines, sometimes even without losing the ball, but that's about it. There is no end product and his passing, crossing, decision making and technique is quite frankly League One standard. His pace makes him a "flatter to deceive" type of player IMO. Like Knockaert without the skills.
Neither Joe or Jedi are perfect but they are good full backs for this division. Lets give Jedi some slack as I suspect some of his less than perfect performances may have something to do with his travelling to and from the US. 092.gif
Your opinion that Robinson is one of the worst players in first team squad? Obviously your entitlement of such opinion but how come Premier clubs are monitoring him for future signing? He has areas to develop but pace is a vital attribute that he possesses and excites when we go forward. Recovers so well and can't recall where you could lay the blame directly on him of a goal conceded? I don't believe that you could say the same regarding Joe.
Bryan all day long, intelligent footballer opposed to Robinson who can run but has no brains to pick a pass
There must be a reason why two different managers chose Robinson over Bryan, but they are both very good, each with their own qualities.
Robinson
Quote from: Motspur on October 23, 2021, 08:13:19 PM
Your opinion that Robinson is one of the worst players in first team squad? Obviously your entitlement of such opinion but how come Premier clubs are monitoring him for future signing? He has areas to develop but pace is a vital attribute that he possesses and excites when we go forward. Recovers so well and can't recall where you could lay the blame directly on him of a goal conceded? I don't believe that you could say the same regarding Joe.
Premier League clubs "monitoring" Robinson is just rumors in the tabloid press. Of course he played for us in the Premier League (mostly when our first choice LB had to fill in for injuries in other positions) but he was completely out of his depth. He may even play for us in the PL again but I find it extremely unlikely that any other Premier League club will sign him. He's 24 now so more or less fully developed as a footballer. He may improve slightly in some areas but there are some things you just can't learn, like spatial awareness, vision, reading of the game, basically the stuff others have referred to as having a "footballing brain" and Robinson is lacking severely in these areas. His primitive kick and run style of football may work (to some extent) in the Championship but it's not much use against faster, better teams in the Premier League.
He always puts in a shift, I'll give him that. I suspect this must be the reason why managers keep selecting him. But Bryan is a far superior footballer.
Much prefer Bryan.
I feel whilst Bryan occasionally loses his man and doesn't track a runner defensively, he is far less likely to this kind of lapse in concentration than Antonee. Antonee's pace can get him out of trouble against the lesser sides, but better teams in the division will be able to exploit his mistakes.
Going forward Joe is technically a much more proficient and well-rounded player, and has excellent chemistry with Mitro.
Bryan +1
I've been singing Joe's praises on this Forum for as long as I can remember, even during the period when Robbo was seen as the Golden Boy by many on here. I don't see why he lost his place when we bought Robbo, as he hadn't done anything wrong. Obviously a top pro, cos he hasn't thrown his toys out of his pram and demanded a transfer. So, Joe all day long.
Quote from: Luka on October 22, 2021, 07:47:19 PM
Robinson is a left back version of Kamara i.e. blessed as an athlete but not as a footballer.
Bryan on the other hand is a gifted footballer and a decent athlete that just needs the confidence to flurrish.
I'd always favour the footballer and would play Bryan over Robinson whenever fit.
I agree with this breakdown...but I choose Antonee over Joe.
When we play Bournemouth...I want Robinson defending their attack. Joe, if Antonee gets hurt.
Plus...with TK BDR and Seri as our midfield pairing we need the better DEFENDER in the LB spot.
Quote from: Hugh Gentry on October 22, 2021, 08:12:57 PM
Quote from: MartyFFC on October 22, 2021, 07:46:07 PM
I've been particularly unimpressed by Robinson thus far. However, when you read about him being linked to Man City and AC Milan and being described as a 'wonder kid', either he has the best agent in the world; or there's a huge amount of unlocked potential. Here's for hoping for the latter - though for me it's Joe Bryan all day long, for now at least......
If the opposition have width and choose to use that as a weapon to get at us, I would have Robinson, in fact I think under those circumstances, with Tete AND Robinson starting we will just not get turned, and the ball behind us wide is simply not an option, so they have to play through the middle, where we are likely to rob them and transition quickly to put them under pressure. If we want creativeness and ingenuity on the front foot and a much better quality ball into the box, i.e. we are attcking them on the flanks then Joe Bryan is a no brainer. I don't think it's a black and white (nice pun) as which one should start.
Sums it up for me..
Just pleased we have two excellent but in their own ways different types of full backs who still have room to improve and become the final package. I would hope to see Silva improve them both helped by the competition.
Must admit I feel easier with Bryan's defensive qualities at the moment but you cannot coach out and out pace and it is one thing opposition teams hate to face up to. Robinson may well end up as the better player ultimately simply because he has genuine pace !
Yes I agree. I cannot remember a time when two players of their quality are dividing opinion
They are both good players and we are lucky to have them both as there is no obvious weakness should one get injured. It is that sort of thing that can mean success at the end of the season
I'm going Robinson.
He is improving every game. Learning a lot from Tosin. More physical too.
Not the finished article by any means but coming on leaps and bounds.
How people see Robinson as a better option than Bryan is beyond me. Robinson is poor beyond his pace. He can beat a player and then mess up the final ball, and he does that constantly. The only saving grace is his consistency at disappointing when he does play.
Robinson is the better defender & he's more athletic so I'd pick him over Bryan. If we've got Cairney & Seri fit with Fab coming back too, then added to Wilson & Kebano that's more than enough creativity to support Mitro and means you need your best 4 defenders on the pitch to take the strain of having less defensive midfielders in the starting XI.
Robinson, because of his pace.
He reminds me of the Man C left back, who made mistakes when he first got into the team, but Pep persevered and he's improved greatly.
You can coach a player to help him improve his positional sense, crossing and decision making, but you can't make him faster.
Bryan is the better defender. He edges it for me as he's a little bit better in more areas.
As a few have pointed out, both are very good players and it's incredible to have both as options at this level.
One other FB issue I would like to mention is that as an attack minded team the more thoughtful opposition coaches are creating 2v1 overloads on our wings which leaves our FBs (Bryan, Robinson or Odoi) isolated and exposed on a regular basis. Would feel more comfortable if we were better at 'double teaming' out wide when we are out of possession.
Quote from: simplyfulham on October 25, 2021, 12:40:25 PM
Bryan is the better defender. He edges it for me as he's a little bit better in more areas.
As a few have pointed out, both are very good players and it's incredible to have both as options at this level.
Bryan isn't the better defender. Joe's a good player, but his biggest weakness by a mile is winning duels 1 on 1, and the system we play leads to huge numbers of 1 on 1s.
Joe is consistently unable to get tight and stop crosses, and it is something that was a problem when he first joined us and continues today.
Quote from: itombomb on October 25, 2021, 03:33:03 PM
Quote from: simplyfulham on October 25, 2021, 12:40:25 PM
Bryan is the better defender. He edges it for me as he's a little bit better in more areas.
As a few have pointed out, both are very good players and it's incredible to have both as options at this level.
Bryan isn't the better defender. Joe's a good player, but his biggest weakness by a mile is winning duels 1 on 1, and the system we play leads to huge numbers of 1 on 1s.
Joe is consistently unable to get tight and stop crosses, and it is something that was a problem when he first joined us and continues today.
Robinson is no better. In fact he's worse.
He's constantly out of position and he's so slow to react to decide when to press and when to drop off. He'll win every foot race but his numbers for blocks and tackles were below JB's for last season.
If we go up I think a new LB would be a good idea. We have 2 good Championship LB's but neither really are PL quality.
joe is by far the better footballer,but Robinsson has the speed and strength. Depends who we are playing against.
The key for me is who plays ahead of the nominal left back. Robinson is not Bryan and so they cannot be easily switched in or out unless coaches know the best combinations for the completed flank partnership. We have seen that Odoi did a very reasonable job deputising for Tete, and no doubt he could do the same on the left provided the person ahead is a good wavelength match. My one grumble about Robinson is that he sometimes forces issues when it may be a lot better to keep passing the ball until a better opening appears. Bryan seems a more thoughtful player but they are a very different pair of left backs.
Quote from: General on October 22, 2021, 06:05:40 PM
You've got two very competent defenders at this level and Robinson pace I've yet to see beaten.. that said its quite clear that the more polished finished article is Bryan at this moment in time. He's got better delivery, sticks to his defensive duties better and can still attack the wing, not to forget he can score goals.
As an all rounder Bryan is a more complete player.
I think Robinson relies too heavily on his pace at time to get him out of trouble. It's OK when you have it, and there are few faster if any.. but he needs to work more on his tackling and defensive duties and when he does get forward improve his final ball. He has been gently improving but hopefully he'll get better as it could make a huge difference.
Our best back five with everyone fit in my mind is
Rodak
Tete tosin kongolo Bryan
that's strong at this level. Then add mawson, Hector, Robinson and christie/odoi you've got very good options.
Is kongolo any good? I thought he was just a legend not a real player.
I find our fans lack of appreciation to how good Robinson is very odd indeed. Bryan is a favourite of all of us for obvious reasons however Robinson is an exceptional player and that like everyone has faults but is a huge player for us. Makes so much happen with his running and speed, will only get better and we will do well to hang onto him.
Robinson immense today; was everywhere without putting a foot wrong. oh how I grateful our coach concurs that he's first choice. Joe a great replacement when to be called upon.
Quote from: RaySmith on October 24, 2021, 05:33:04 AM
There must be a reason why two different managers chose Robinson over Bryan, but they are both very good, each with their own qualities.
Agreed. I like Joe but there is a reason the club brought in a new left back after being promoted and why Silva has primarily selected Robinson. I'm willing to back whoever Silva selects.
I think confidence has improved Robinson and you cannot criticise our defence when the goals conceded is nil.
