I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY ?

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

I hate to go on about Smith, but we know this is a very physical league with lots of 'big players'

The 'qualities' we are missing are hustlers, muscle, height up front, heart and effort.
All of the qualities that Matt Smith has.
At the moment I don't care if he's not as quick as Dembele, but he does scare defenses s**tless

Very few people like watching long ball tactics, but with out pitty/patty slow build up tactics we can
see what is happening every week, their defense reinforces and 'closes down' and shuts us out.

I'm surprised that JK picks Smith on the bench every week and yet I'm amazed at how many
games are crying out for his 'skills' and what has he had, a couple of cameos ?
It takes a long time for a train to get rolling  !!

Let's skip the 'silky touches' :0) and try 'hoofy ball' for a while, get the ball up to Smith as quickly as possible,
have Cauley (another player who cares) and Ross feeding off him and carry the fight to the opposition.

What we're doing at the moments is ineffective and to use a pun 'pointless'
I would even drop Cairney for O'Hara (radical I know)

After reading all of the comments, a possible solution seems to be staring us in the face, it can't be any worse

[RaySmith]

Organised defence in depth and hoof the ball up to Smith, with Ross  waiting for the  knock downs!

Why not  - I don't care as long as it works.

But Joka doesn't seem to  fancy Smith, and likes a close passing style. Well, we have often looked great, but  we are obviously far too vulnerable at the back to any counter-attack, and set pieces. Though we were  previous to Joka too. When we concede we seem to fall apart. The players desperately need a few wins to give them self-belief.

I just hope we manage to sort things out. The problem is  keep being  beaten erodes confidence.

But onwards and upwards, we can do it. Fans need to keep behind the team in our hour of need.

COYW

[Jims Dentist]

Totally agree Roger & Woolly.

Clearly this possession stuff is not working.

Unfortunately, I can't see Joka going against his principals, swallowing his pride and playing Matt Smith,.

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

But why sit him on the bench every week.
Why not bring back Williams or give Redmond, Walker or Humphreys a 'sit'
Or play Amorbieta up front, he'll unsettle defences  :0)

[Snibbo]

Not sure how reliable it is, but I read a Facebook post that smith is off on loan to Wolves

[J]

But why sit him on the bench every week.
Why not bring back Williams or give Redmond, Walker or Humphreys a 'sit'
Or play Amorbieta up front, he'll unsettle defences  :0)

Not the first time I have said this but smith is on the bench becasue we have had no other fit strikers, simple as that.

Can smith do a job at this level? Yes. Does his style fit with the way we are trying to play? No.

And it is not just about changing to long ball tactics, that works a bit for hold up play but to really be effective with someone like smith you need wingers running down the outside and crossing with the ball coming back away from goal for the striker to attack. Which we don't have.

Oh and lonners has rubbish long range passing which also massively undermines the long ball tactics.

Hopefully cauley will get some chances now he is getting back to fitness. And betts back in goal too.

[filham]

Smith has been wasted at Fulham, a good old fashioned centre forward that can cause trouble in an opposing defence, but we choose not you use him because his style is out of date and not in keeping with the manager's style.

[epsomraver]

The style we are playing? what style? On Saturday you would think their box had an electric fence around it and nobody wanted to go in and get hurt, it was pathetic and Smith stays on the bench? Dembele should have been subbed at half time, it was obvious to all he was not up for the game

[nose]

The style we are playing? what style? On Saturday you would think their box had an electric fence around it and nobody wanted to go in and get hurt, it was pathetic and Smith stays on the bench? Dembele should have been subbed at half time, it was obvious to all he was not up for the game

we said the same, we had the ball in good positions and nobody wanted to get in the box, you have to gamble  but nobody was even willing to make a tentative run into the box... very strange. i will not comment on the 19 year old again but i think he could have left the pitch before half time and we could only have improved as a result

[MJG]

The style we are playing? what style? On Saturday you would think their box had an electric fence around it and nobody wanted to go in and get hurt, it was pathetic and Smith stays on the bench? Dembele should have been subbed at half time, it was obvious to all he was not up for the game

we said the same, we had the ball in good positions and nobody wanted to get in the box, you have to gamble  but nobody was even willing to make a tentative run into the box... very strange. i will not comment on the 19 year old again but i think he could have left the pitch before half time and we could only have improved as a result

you must be talking about the time in first half that Dembele won ball on left,  waited for support and then when I think it was Garbutt went to put ball in no one was there,  where was our other striker or midfielders?

[nose]

The style we are playing? what style? On Saturday you would think their box had an electric fence around it and nobody wanted to go in and get hurt, it was pathetic and Smith stays on the bench? Dembele should have been subbed at half time, it was obvious to all he was not up for the game

we said the same, we had the ball in good positions and nobody wanted to get in the box, you have to gamble  but nobody was even willing to make a tentative run into the box... very strange. i will not comment on the 19 year old again but i think he could have left the pitch before half time and we could only have improved as a result

you must be talking about the time in first half that Dembele won ball on left,  waited for support and then when I think it was Garbutt went to put ball in no one was there,  where was our other striker or midfielders?

exactly, where was anyone? it happened time after time that no body got in the box.
dembele was awful all game, not my fault, get over it.

[MJG]

The style we are playing? what style? On Saturday you would think their box had an electric fence around it and nobody wanted to go in and get hurt, it was pathetic and Smith stays on the bench? Dembele should have been subbed at half time, it was obvious to all he was not up for the game

we said the same, we had the ball in good positions and nobody wanted to get in the box, you have to gamble  but nobody was even willing to make a tentative run into the box... very strange. i will not comment on the 19 year old again but i think he could have left the pitch before half time and we could only have improved as a result

you must be talking about the time in first half that Dembele won ball on left,  waited for support and then when I think it was Garbutt went to put ball in no one was there,  where was our other striker or midfielders?

exactly, where was anyone? it happened time after time that no body got in the box.
dembele was awful all game, not my fault, get over it.

he was not awful all game but if anyone needs to get over something it's you. Once again you can't make a comment about an issue we have had without digging out one particular player. You keep doing that I'll keep coming back,  all the time in the world.

[Neil D]

I am tempted to argue that Smith has a style of play suited to a traditional 'British' style of play which has gradually been eroded from the game here because of the prevalence of foreign managers.  However, Symons is British and he didn't fancy Smith much either so I don't know what the issue is.  I would like to see him play a lot more in the remaining games.  It is not the time for tiki-taka.  After all, Ross' goal was the result of a great 50 metre punt by Madl.  Smith is not capable of finishing like that but he is capable of disrupting and unsettling defences.

[David I]

Whenever Smith plays he wins most balls in the air and knocks on... I don't understand why they bought him to reinstate the McCormick & Smith partnership and then not play him.

Smith not playing is an aside as it's not the goal scoring that's the main issue. It's the goals we leak!!

[colinwhite]

Excuse me for saying it but smith looks about a stone overweight . if he was playing evry game then we would be in an even worse state . get real !

[rogerpbackinMidEastUS]

Excuse me for saying it but smith looks about a stone overweight . if he was playing evry game then we would be in an even worse state . get real !

I'm not sure we could be in a much worse state.
Bobby Smith I seem to remember was very overweight and so was Budgie Byrne  :0)

[RaySmith]

Players used to be a lot heavier I think - some of them, anyway.

Bobbie Smith was a 'well built' centre forward in the brilliant Spurs Double winning side, famous for their push and run, as it was known, style of flowing play - but they relied on Smith though, up front, to bully the opposition, and  score goals through  sheer grit and  determination, while the likes of Blanchflower, Cliff Jones and John White applied their silky skills.

Spurs also had Dave Mackay - a built like a brick outhouse, take no prisoners, wing half, or defensive midfielder- ferocious in the tackle, who once stamped his leg hard on the ground to check if it was broken.

Fulham had big Maurice Cook up front to complement the likes of Haynes. Not the most elegant  or speedy of players, but put a high cross into the box, and he would  knock the opposing centre- back out of the way as he met it with his head, and scored.

In  recent years we've had Zamora - another big man, but with the  strength to hold the ball up.

I don't  even know if Smith is overweight for his build, he probably isn't, but he doesn't need to be fast in his role, and can use his weight and height to good effect, to win  balls in the box - and he has a scoring record,  especially as partner to Ross.

[nose]

The style we are playing? what style? On Saturday you would think their box had an electric fence around it and nobody wanted to go in and get hurt, it was pathetic and Smith stays on the bench? Dembele should have been subbed at half time, it was obvious to all he was not up for the game

we said the same, we had the ball in good positions and nobody wanted to get in the box, you have to gamble  but nobody was even willing to make a tentative run into the box... very strange. i will not comment on the 19 year old again but i think he could have left the pitch before half time and we could only have improved as a result

you must be talking about the time in first half that Dembele won ball on left,  waited for support and then when I think it was Garbutt went to put ball in no one was there,  where was our other striker or midfielders?

exactly, where was anyone? it happened time after time that no body got in the box.
dembele was awful all game, not my fault, get over it.

he was not awful all game but if anyone needs to get over something it's you. Once again you can't make a comment about an issue we have had without digging out one particular player. You keep doing that I'll keep coming back,  all the time in the world.

No, he was not awful all game, he made a few good runs, with pace and power, I agreed that, I saw that. But overal the contribution was not what it needed to be if we are to succeed.
My problem is not with him, it is about the fiction that is written about him. We need the ball to stick when we go forward, the man leading the line has to be able to hold it up and link up the play, that is not happening. We desparately need the de4fending to start by keeping quality possesion at the front, he doesn't do that.
I can see what he does well and happy to say so, and unlike others, if you check, I do say so. But I see the negative too and at the moment we need far better. I am not sure, in all seriousness, that you accept the young man is not performing and has not been performing for ages. On top of that, his work ethic really is questionable and at 19, he is old enough, should have known to get off the pitch quickly.

[jarv]

I dont disagree Roger but all football managers have an ego. To change style of play he is trying to implement would be an admission of failure (clearly not working) or perhaps he just doesn't know what to do next. I am with you, give it a shot, lump it up to the big man and have Ross and Cairney in for the knock downs.