craig 5,199 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Yes, I like the possession, which I feel Zelalem brings, but I then think it's wrong to blame him for the next stage, of scoring goals. Yes, he needs to make more assists, but I think he influences the team in other ways. Yes, in comparison to Messi, "terrific wee player" is superlative, but it's all relative. Perhaps promising? Can we agree on "wee"? For all his flaws, Law naturally drifts further forward. I agree that he 'should' score more being further forward, but I can also see that he has a goal-scoring knack, which very few in our side possess, and therefore could be beneficial. It's all about using what we have at the minute. Eventually, we will need to acquire better players. Shiels is too slow to play further forward IMO, and is better as a link-up player. I can agree on wee and I can agree on promising, but not terrific Law isn't the guy for me - I don't like the fact he hides in every game I have seen him. I'm not the "all is forgiven if you score" type - as a midfielder you should be exerting your influence on the game and Law doesn't do that. Indeed he does the polar opposite of it. That said, if our midfield isn't working well enough then change is needed. We have the option of Shiels or Law to replace Zelalem or, dare I say it, Tom Walsh. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
forlanssister 3,114 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Law spent his first two seasons mostly hiding and last season his biggest concern seemed to avoiding injury at all costs. He seemed to be under the impression that there were loads of English Championship clubs after his signature, a point McCall ridiculed in a press conference. The very few decent performances we've had from him have came when he was out wide, in the middle of the park he's the waste of a jersey. At the Hibs Petrofac Cup game he nonchalantly jogged back whilst Stanton ran with the ball a couple of yards in front of him Law stops just as Stanton strikes the ball, that sums up what contributes. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Law spent his first two seasons mostly hiding and last season his biggest concern seemed to avoiding injury at all costs. He seemed to be under the impression that there were loads of English Championship clubs after his signature, a point McCall ridiculed in a press conference. The very few decent performances we've had from him have came when he was out wide, in the middle of the park he's the waste of a jersey. At the Hibs Petrofac Cup game he nonchalantly jogged back whilst Stanton ran with the ball a couple of yards in front of him Law stops just as Stanton strikes the ball, that sums up what contributes. But he scores the odd goal from midfield FS 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 You can replace him with Law for sure but if we think Law is more reliable in terms of a consistent contribution then I think people were fast asleep last season. Law's numbers last season speak for themselves. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Law's numbers last season speak for themselves. That he played almost every game in a team that ultimately finished 3rd in the league ? Or do you wish to just focus on his goalscoring stat and ignore the other responsibilities that he abdicated all season long, such as putting in a proper shift, tracking back, taking leadership of the midfield as the experienced head ? Stats can prove whatever you want them to prove. But it was plain for all to see, those with eyes anyway, that Law shirked almost every responsibility he should have taken up last season. Oh aye, he did score a few goals right enough.... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 As for Law, I don't see BH's infatuation with the guy. Maybe I just like players who put the ball in the back of the net, like Vuckic and Law! 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Maybe I just like players who put the ball in the back of the net, like Vuckic and Law! Without any regard for their primary responsibility ? Last I checked Law wasn't being played as a striker, but as a midfielder. It is always nice to see a midfielder score but is that his primary responsibility ? I didn't think that was his primary responsibility last season. As a midfielder he has defensive duties as well as attacking ones (depending on whether he was being asked to play attacking midfield, which he wasn't). It is troublesome the number of times I watched him last season (and this season, to be fair) simply jogging back after play breaks down, watching his opponent burst into an area of the field he should be occupying. If we are to hang our hat on Law like you wish then we will be all the poorer for it. IMHO. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrahimHemdani 1 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 Without any regard for their primary responsibility ? Last I checked Law wasn't being played as a striker, but as a midfielder. It is always nice to see a midfielder score but is that his primary responsibility ? I didn't think that was his primary responsibility last season. As a midfielder he has defensive duties as well as attacking ones (depending on whether he was being asked to play attacking midfield, which he wasn't). It is troublesome the number of times I watched him last season (and this season, to be fair) simply jogging back after play breaks down, watching his opponent burst into an area of the field he should be occupying. If we are to hang our hat on Law like you wish then we will be all the poorer for it. IMHO. I find it hard to accept that Law "hides", whenever I've watched him he always seems to be looking for a ball out of defence. Neither he nor Vuckic may be the best at tracking back but they are both essentially attacking midfielders and without their combined 21 goals (a third of our total) last season I doubt we would even have reached the play-offs. That said I accept that neither made much of a contribution once we got there. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,744 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) Maybe I'm wrong, but I always understood Law as some sort of creative right-sided midfield player. We used him more often than not in central midfield, perhaps in the Stuart McCall role. What he did more often than not was chasing the game, the players and the ball, instead of doing something with it. Obviously, he did not have the best of the lot around him, but likewise he should have exerted himself more and took on more responsibility. Far too often he was chasing the game though, whereas a Black every now and then actually stamped his authority on a game ... well, an opposition player. But Black was at least visible. Same with Miller, who, deployed as a striker, was more often than not seen trying to get the ball from his own half, where Law was chasing shadows. The one thing he did last season that we lack right now is shooting from distance. But that alone does not want me seeing him back in a starting place. Foderingham Tavernier - Ball - Kiernan - Wallace Holt - Shiels - Halliday Waghorn - Hardie - McKay ... would be my starting 11 for Saturday, with Shiels and Halliday interchanging positions as needed. We'd have 8 attack-minded people on the park, which should keep the Saints busy in their own half. And one obviously expects that everyone knows when to cover the defenders. Edited November 23, 2015 by der Berliner 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,199 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 I find it hard to accept that Law "hides", whenever I've watched him he always seems to be looking for a ball out of defence. Neither he nor Vuckic may be the best at tracking back but they are both essentially attacking midfielders and without their combined 21 goals (a third of our total) last season I doubt we would even have reached the play-offs. That said I accept that neither made much of a contribution once we got there. We will agree to disagree BH. I have yet to watch a game in which Law doesn't go missing for extended periods of time. Vuckic is an enigma. But he has been done to death and is no longer with us so not a great deal of point in debating him. However..... What I will say is that from the games I watched last season it was abundantly clear that Vuckic was playing in a more advanced role than Law was, so there would have been less of an expectation for him to continue to track back. I haven't seen Law as this attacking midfielder that you say he was. When he looked for the ball he was taking it from the back four (when they weren't just lumping it forward, which wasn't that often unfortunately...) which means he isn't playing as an attacking midfielder but someone expected to take the ball and recycle possession - which is why I would expect him to be tracking back. Even this season I think he has been hiding too when he has had game time. That said, if things aren't working then we should indeed be looking to rotate the playing personnel. Giving Zelalem a rest if he has been poor (I haven't seen Saturdays game yet.... was too sunny here to watch it live on my iPhone whilst watching my own kid play..... ) would mean using either Law or Shield, although I would still be tempted to give Walsh a run in his preferred central position to see how he does with Holt & Halliday beside him. So, yes, probably best you and I just agree to disagree. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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