Alf

[weybridgewanderer]

lefondre and church are different types of players

lefondre is a much more natural goalscorer

church is much more a worker

[Snowball]

lefondre and church are different types of players

lefondre is a much more natural goalscorer

church is much more a worker

Yes, and I'm guessing that McD figures we don't do so well "overall" with
Alf starting, that perhaps his goals don't make up enough for what we
otherwise lack.


Don't get me wrong, MY instincts would be to play Alf over Churchy any day
but then I'm not the manager

[Wax Jacket]

tbh I'd feel happier with a bench that included at least one defensively-minded player, and with Church not on it altogether (not that I'm picking on Church as such but ALF has the goals and found the gaps on Fri)

[Snowball]

Duh, BECAUSE IT HAD ONLY JUST HAPPENED, AND THAT WAS THE POINT

The point being what? "Prior to Leeds" is just a worthless array. Doesn't matter how you try and excuse it.

Remember when Church went "top-scorer" after the West Ham game?

Was he or was he not the top scorer at the time?

Was he ("therefore") our best goal-scorer?

Answers, yes, followed by no.

At the time his stats were suddenly very good because he had JUST scored 2 goals for a few minutes on the pitch.

And THAT is what has JUST happened with Le Fondre.

As it happens, I would expect Le Fondre to improve his figures at Church's expense
in the last 5 games because he's the more-likely-goal-scorer, likely to be brought
on in the hope of a goal when we are 1-down or drawing and needing the win.

But part of the above paragraph is about the way the team is playing, ie: GOING FOR GOALS
as opposed to seeing a game out. If a player is brought on to see a game out, harass the opposition
and run them down, that player is far less likely to score a goal, whatever his base ability

[Ian Royal]

lefondre and church are different types of players

lefondre is a much more natural goalscorer

church is much more a worker

Yes, and I'm guessing that McD figures we don't do so well "overall" with
Alf starting, that perhaps his goals don't make up enough for what we
otherwise lack.


Don't get me wrong, MY instincts would be to play Alf over Churchy any day
but then I'm not the manager

Not sure how you come to that conclusion seeing as Church has started only 2 more games having been here for more of the season.

Strikers are more about picking the right partnership as picking the best players. We're pretty work-man-like and have only really started playing nicer deck based football since we've hit great form with Hunt and Roberts upfront.

The way we were doing called for someone who could play around Roberts and do a lot of donkey work chasing things down. That's not ALF's game, he's not really got the pace or energy for it. Church is better suited.

For whatever reason the combinations upfront this season shows that McDermott isn't keen on ALF and Hunt together. He tried ALF and Church and it didn't really work - long periods without a goal from either. Hunt and Church didn't really work either. Hunt got first dibs with Roberts because he's got goals in him and runs around like a mad thing, sort of combining the qualities of Church and ALF. He's taken his chance so ALF hasn't had one since Roberts arrived.

[Cape Town Royal]

For me I can see why Alf does not start given the way we are set up. We play it tight early on and do not go looking to chase games, so we tend not to create lots of chances early in games.

However, the longer the games go on and the more the game opens up then we create more chances, and that is where Alf becomes of more use to us.

That said, Alf has something about him which says to me that he has all the assets to be a potent goal scorer at this level and that really its a case of just letting him gain Championship experience, develop his all round game and at some point he will get on a roll and become the no1 feed off striker at the club.

He's the closest thing to Curo I have seen at Reading since Curo left.. Not saying he's there yet, but he has similarities (particularly a clear hunger to get goals) that says to me he has a bright future here..
...........

Also agree with an earlier comment that before Roberts we had 3 very similar strikers in stature, which for me did not work, they were too similar and none were natural line leaders. Fine if you're Holland with lots of slide rule passes down the side of centre halfs but thats not how we play, we tend to go wider so we needed that presence.. Roberts has given us that and I think he allows any of the other 3 to play there more natural games..

[West Stand Man]

We don't all have to like him mate. If he was any good he wouldn't be getting all of this sh1t.
To contridict myself, when Long was getting stick, i was one of the few who stuck up for him, like you are with church, so hopefully you'll be right and he'll come good.

1. I am not and am unlikely ever to be your mate.
2. No-one says you have to like him. What I am pointing out is that you are talking absolute rubbish about his ability. One is an opinion the other is a fact.
3. Your command of written English says enough about your intellect.
4. Long got a load of stick as you rightly say. That proves that your assertion that 'if he was any good he wouldn't be getting all of this shit' is simply untrue. Criticism on this board has little relationship to actual ability.

[marcusopp]

We don't all have to like him mate. If he was any good he wouldn't be getting all of this sh1t.
To contridict myself, when Long was getting stick, i was one of the few who stuck up for him, like you are with church, so hopefully you'll be right and he'll come good.

1. I am not and am unlikely ever to be your mate.
2. No-one says you have to like him. What I am pointing out is that you are talking absolute rubbish about his ability. One is an opinion the other is a fact.
3. Your command of written English says enough about your intellect.
4. Long got a load of stick as you rightly say. That proves that your assertion that 'if he was any good he wouldn't be getting all of this shit' is simply untrue. Criticism on this board has little relationship to actual ability.

Ha ha, you pathetic loser.
Genuinely trying to pick a fight over a conflict of opinions.
1. I don't socialise with morons
2. We all have the right to 'like' or 'dislike' players, it's a figure of speech
3. I can assure you my intellect is more than adequate, using the odd profanity doesn't make you stupid.
4. I admitted i contradicted myself, so there!

Anyway, back to RFC, what a season