Jazz Richards

[Julius Geezer]

Don't mean to be harsh but I really don't rate Richards as a full-back. In fact, that's not even harsh, he really isn't very good!

Defensively he just doesn't have the positioning, tackling, decision making or concentration levels to even contain the average Championship winger.

But, going forwards he's a threat. Good crosser, decent pace, can beat a player and creates chances.

Anyone else think Richards would be best used as a winger/wing back if the formation was altered and we had 2 wide men?

That way with Fredericks/Grimmer in right-back, we wouldn't have the clumsy challenges and poor positoning (we hope!) - and instead we have options to change the system during matches and a way to utilise Jazz.

[fulhamben]

No

[Whitesideup]

Strange how perceptions differ. Generally I think Richards is ok ... agree there have been one or two occasions when he has been caught out of position, (but out of our defence who hasn't?) have also seen him make timely interventions. Also think he is strong in the air, and offensively he offers us a good option. So I am quite happy with him where he is and trust we are working on our defensive formation to get stronger overall.

[ffc73]

Kit brought him on loan last year, saw what he liked, bought Jazz in the summer & gave him the number 2 shirt

Jazz is our right back

Fredericks has been brought in as cover

Grimmer, when fit, is going out on loan

Many may not like it but that's the way I see it

[Carborundum]

Quite like Jazz and see the good qualities referred to above.  What needs to happen now is to develop a proper partnership with the player immediately ahead of him, probably Cairney.  Reither and Dejagah worked as a double act when attacking and defending and we need that back.  For too long our right backs have been isolated and its that weakness that the opponents home in on.  Very fixable and I sense that Jazz has the right attitude about him.

[Julius Geezer]

Strange how perceptions differ. Generally I think Richards is ok ... agree there have been one or two occasions when he has been caught out of position, (but out of our defence who hasn't?) have also seen him make timely interventions. Also think he is strong in the air, and offensively he offers us a good option. So I am quite happy with him where he is and trust we are working on our defensive formation to get stronger overall.

I agree, the back 4 hasn't been stable since Richards has been here which can't of helped.

Still think he should be an option higher up the pitch though.

You have to understand, opposition teams are actually targeting Jazz now! I.E. Brighton game.

Everytime they came forward it was down their left, with an overlap and everytime the cross would come in!

And with 2 penalties conceded so far... The guy can't be called an out & out defender.

[bill taylors apprentice]

Richards has disappointed me generally but I think that's possibly down to the players around him.

With a stronger more organised back four along side him and a better player who will provide cover in front we should see a more dominant  player.

It shouldn't make a difference to his personal performance but sometimes the character needs some inspiration from those around him.
Otherwise Fredericks steps in.

Watch this space!

[fulhamben]

Richards has disappointed me generally but I think that's possibly down to the players around him.

With a stronger more organised back four along side him and a better player who will provide cover in front we should see a more dominant  player.

It shouldn't make a difference to his personal performance but sometimes the character needs some inspiration from those around him.
Otherwise Fredericks steps in.

Watch this space!

better than Cairney? Gonna have a long wait. And quite frankly I'm tired of being told players will be better if the player in front of them does more of their job for them. Good players shine no matter what. Got to give Fredericks a chance to show what he can do

[FPT]

I think Jazz is suspect to a mistake or a dodgy piece of judgement, but I think he's looked a lot more comfortable this season in the Fulham side. I can't talk for Ryan Fredericks, I can't say that I've seen him play.

Jazz is still a young player and he's pretty much going into his first full season as a player (which is insane). He's striking up a decent looking partnership with Tom Cairney down the right already.

Lets see how it plays out with Jazz vs Fredericks for that no.2 position.

[Jonaldiniho 88]

I don't think they can both play unless it's just Ross up front. Cairney can't be dropped on performances so far. If we are being targeted on our right Fredericks could be a perfect weapon if we go 451. Just think, they have planned all week to exploit our rb position, then we realise early, whip off a striker then put Fredericks pace on the right. An area they were looking to take advantage of may now be an area where they are struggling. I can't imagine kit would do this but I think a more expansive tactician may.

[valdeingruo]

Richards has disappointed me generally but I think that's possibly down to the players around him.

With a stronger more organised back four along side him and a better player who will provide cover in front we should see a more dominant  player.

It shouldn't make a difference to his personal performance but sometimes the character needs some inspiration from those around him.
Otherwise Fredericks steps in.

Watch this space!

better than Cairney? Gonna have a long wait. And quite frankly I'm tired of being told players will be better if the player in front of them does more of their job for them. Good players shine no matter what. Got to give Fredericks a chance to show what he can do

Ben, you are correct in both assessments regarding good players and giving Fredricks a chance. I agree whole heartedly. Look at O'Hara hes looked a class above every time he is on the pitch and a lot of people rate Fredricks, he should be given a chance. However, the player in front of them really does matter. I honestly think you or I could slot in at central midfield at Barcelona and would do well just because of the players around us. If Jazz knows he can attack a little more and knows the man infront of him is willing to do a little bit of dirty work for him the team can only benefit.

To the original post I hope everyone in the squad gets there on merit. Too many times it seemed like a player got a start just because they were in the managers favor. Remember how happy everyone was at Fofana's first few matches?

We seem to have fully stocked the squad with a variety of players that will allow us to change our game plan for the match at hand. Yes we aren't as pacey as some of us would like, but we have height, passing and small players who can beat a man.

[westcliff white]

Strange how perceptions differ. Generally I think Richards is ok ... agree there have been one or two occasions when he has been caught out of position, (but out of our defence who hasn't?) have also seen him make timely interventions. Also think he is strong in the air, and offensively he offers us a good option. So I am quite happy with him where he is and trust we are working on our defensive formation to get stronger overall.

I agree, the back 4 hasn't been stable since Richards has been here which can't of helped.

Still think he should be an option higher up the pitch though.

You have to understand, opposition teams are actually targeting Jazz now! I.E. Brighton game.

Everytime they came forward it was down their left, with an overlap and everytime the cross would come in!

And with 2 penalties conceded so far... The guy can't be called an out & out defender.

I think Brighton came down the left more because Lua Lua was there inform and best player and he played that side. personally I think Jazz is an upgrade from what we started last season with and to be fair to him he does a good job for Wales. Once they all get playing together I think we will see some steady improvement at the back, it isn't just about players in front of them it s about playing as a unit and defenders covering each other as well, in time this will come.

[Bassey the warrior]

He's no worse than Grimmer,  slightly better going forwards too. Grimmer is a promising player but he does need to improve his passing and crossing and he will in time.

[fulhamben]

Strange how perceptions differ. Generally I think Richards is ok ... agree there have been one or two occasions when he has been caught out of position, (but out of our defence who hasn't?) have also seen him make timely interventions. Also think he is strong in the air, and offensively he offers us a good option. So I am quite happy with him where he is and trust we are working on our defensive formation to get stronger overall.

I agree, the back 4 hasn't been stable since Richards has been here which can't of helped.

Still think he should be an option higher up the pitch though.

You have to understand, opposition teams are actually targeting Jazz now! I.E. Brighton game.

Everytime they came forward it was down their left, with an overlap and everytime the cross would come in!

And with 2 penalties conceded so far... The guy can't be called an out & out defender.

I think Brighton came down the left more because Lua Lua was there inform and best player and he played that side. personally I think Jazz is an upgrade from what we started last season with and to be fair to him he does a good job for Wales. Once they all get playing together I think we will see some steady improvement at the back, it isn't just about players in front of them it s about playing as a unit and defenders covering each other as well, in time this will come.

Does a good job for wales? He has played 5 times in 3 years for them, and their fans couldn't understand his inclusion for the Belgium game. Although he did have a blinder in that game

[Chutney]

Richards was awful last year and I was shocked when we re signed him, he's just not good at football. Glad we signed fredericks.

[os5889 mkII]

Richards was awful last year and I was shocked when we re signed him, he's just not good at football. Glad we signed fredericks.

Everyone was awful last season! The fact he came back given the toxicity of the fans and the low morale to me speaks volumes about his character.

Strange how perceptions differ. Generally I think Richards is ok ... agree there have been one or two occasions when he has been caught out of position, (but out of our defence who hasn't?) have also seen him make timely interventions. Also think he is strong in the air, and offensively he offers us a good option. So I am quite happy with him where he is and trust we are working on our defensive formation to get stronger overall.

I agree, the back 4 hasn't been stable since Richards has been here which can't of helped.

Still think he should be an option higher up the pitch though.

You have to understand, opposition teams are actually targeting Jazz now! I.E. Brighton game.

Everytime they came forward it was down their left, with an overlap and everytime the cross would come in!

And with 2 penalties conceded so far... The guy can't be called an out & out defender.

I think Brighton came down the left more because Lua Lua was there inform and best player and he played that side. personally I think Jazz is an upgrade from what we started last season with and to be fair to him he does a good job for Wales. Once they all get playing together I think we will see some steady improvement at the back, it isn't just about players in front of them it s about playing as a unit and defenders covering each other as well, in time this will come.

Does a good job for wales? He has played 5 times in 3 years for them, and their fans couldn't understand his inclusion for the Belgium game. Although he did have a blinder in that game

To be fair when called upon by Wales he has delivered, look forward to seeing him get another 2 caps this week as we qualify for Euro 2016.

[westcliff white]

Richards was awful last year and I was shocked when we re signed him, he's just not good at football. Glad we signed fredericks.

Everyone was awful last season! The fact he came back given the toxicity of the fans and the low morale to me speaks volumes about his character.

Strange how perceptions differ. Generally I think Richards is ok ... agree there have been one or two occasions when he has been caught out of position, (but out of our defence who hasn't?) have also seen him make timely interventions. Also think he is strong in the air, and offensively he offers us a good option. So I am quite happy with him where he is and trust we are working on our defensive formation to get stronger overall.

I agree, the back 4 hasn't been stable since Richards has been here which can't of helped.

Still think he should be an option higher up the pitch though.

You have to understand, opposition teams are actually targeting Jazz now! I.E. Brighton game.

Everytime they came forward it was down their left, with an overlap and everytime the cross would come in!

And with 2 penalties conceded so far... The guy can't be called an out & out defender.

I think Brighton came down the left more because Lua Lua was there inform and best player and he played that side. personally I think Jazz is an upgrade from what we started last season with and to be fair to him he does a good job for Wales. Once they all get playing together I think we will see some steady improvement at the back, it isn't just about players in front of them it s about playing as a unit and defenders covering each other as well, in time this will come.

Does a good job for wales? He has played 5 times in 3 years for them, and their fans couldn't understand his inclusion for the Belgium game. Although he did have a blinder in that game

To be fair when called upon by Wales he has delivered, look forward to seeing him get another 2 caps this week as we qualify for Euro 2016.

Which is was my point OS when called upon he has done well, that's all he can do. And yes his last game was very good

[filham]

Over the summer we have just about bought a whole new team and Kit now has a few selection options and has a lot of work to do on bonding and understanding among players. Right back is  position that Kit must think hard about and us fans must be patient for a few matches to see how things develop.

I hve thought for a long while that teams were targeting our left flank but that has now been strengthened and I suppose the right flank will now come under pressure.

We should not expect instant results from this new team of ours it will take a while for the best players and formation to show results.

[Max Headroom]

Let's not judge any players in the defence individually just yet. We were awful defensively last season but we now have the players who should be able to perform including the players around them so time will tell

[snarks]

He is clearly an upgrade over the start of last season. I thought the penalty against Rotherham, was unlucky (a penalty none the less) he was trying to get alongside and as he did thier player leaned in to him as he tried to tackle, which meant he ended up playing the player before the ball.

He has looked better this season than last with a better MF in front of him, also a GK that shouts at the back 4, if I had one critisism of Betts it would be that he is not vocal enough.  I'm prepared to give him a break this year.