Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: Ryaldinhio on January 01, 2026, 05:58:51 pm
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Was Hanlan at last night?
Can you have a look around I think he left his first touch there and his short pass aswell
:headbang:
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I thought he put in a solid shift. I'm not saying he didn't make mistakes, but he worked hard
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It wasn’t his best day, but he’s becoming a solid signing, he works hard and has shown some great quality in front of goal.
Sharp on the other hand has completely gone, he’s been an incredible pro and a legend of our club, but his time is unfortunately up.
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Hanlan did a good job today.
Yes his first touch wasn’t particularly great but he put himself about and was a handful for the Bolton defence.
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Accepted football is all about opinions, mine today was Hanlan was simply awful, never got near winning any headers, when the ball was played into him it either bounced off or he mis controlled it, as a result we found it difficult to get out of our half and exert any pressure. That total miskick in the first half when in a great area was laughable.
An old boy near us asked " Is Hanlan one of them false 9's??"
In second half he managed to get even worse and it was obvious he needed to come off but the change never came and their goal came from him again failing to hold ono the ball.
As for Billy being "gone" well he won the first aerial ball and generally created mayhem when he came on 20 minutes too late.
Sorry but for me Grant cost us the win today persisting for far too long with Hanlan
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His 1st tough is never brilliant anyway no worse really today than any other game but definitely put a shift in again today with his work rate
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Accepted football is all about opinions, mine today was Hanlan was simply awful, never got near winning any headers, when the ball was played into him it either bounced off or he mis controlled it, as a result we found it difficult to get out of our half and exert any pressure. That total miskick in the first half when in a great area was laughable.
An old boy near us asked " Is Hanlan one of them false 9's??"
In second half he managed to get even worse and it was obvious he needed to come off but the change never came and their goal came from him again failing to hold ono the ball.
As for Billy being "gone" well he won the first aerial ball and generally created mayhem when he came on 20 minutes too late.
Sorry but for me Grant cost us the win today persisting for far too long with Hanlan
I’m in this camp too. Did a few fancy moves but added nothing really.
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He’s decent, would have scored more than Ironside if we’d have had him in league 2. Don’t think he was fit at the start of the season.
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I also agree today, he’s been great for 5-6 games but today he wasn’t at his best.
I have to say when he’s not being fouled he controls and lays the ball of superbly well! Thought he should have had a penalty as his shirt was nearly ripped clean off in the second half. Identical to Wootens.
He got nothing out of the ref or the big number 5 who won everything in the air - point being if you can see someone who is that dominant in the air why play it high? Surely we had them watched?
Have to repeat, lumping it up and expecting Hanlan to control or head it is not his game - look at his goals
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He wasn’t at his best today but he’s been ok of late. Playing every 3 days isn’t easy, bound to be some players that are leggy and injuries picked up (Broadbent).
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Sorry, but not for me. Hanlan is an average player. Ball bounces off him like a goat on a trampoline. Doesn't have that strikers' instinct - had the ball right in front of him in the first half - looked down at it and didn't know what to do.
He'll get 5/7 goals by virtue of being in the position but otherwise a disaster signing.
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Fot mob no shots on or off target by hanlan and. Brandon Hanlan lost the most duels (13) in the match
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Let's not kid ourselves he's been an awful signing - not good enough.
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Downgrade on Ironside
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He’s alright imo. Would prefer it if he was a squad player and we had better but he’s not awful. We’ve weaker players across the 11 that should be addressed first imo.
He did a lovely touch for Bailey running into the box in the 1st half which produced a chance that normally should be a goal (think is was Middleton who missed in the end)
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He has improved last 5/6 games but today was absolutely awful.
Every ball that went to him he either didnt win or it was like bouncing off a wall, first touch was terrible.
2nd half GM was pulling his hair out with him.
Billy came on for 20mins, should have been 45, and gave a lot more IMO with his control and bringing others into play.
As above, he has been improving, but today was really bad......hence the tongue in cheek reference to a NYE party!!!!
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He’s just a different type of player. He’s probably an upgrade and is far more mobile than Joe who was on the decline.
I just don’t think Hanlan is a target man but he’s being tasked with being that.
Looking at data, Hanlan has won around 30% of his aerial duels this season. A true target man like Ironside routinely averages around 50% for example.
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He’s clearly a player who wants to run on to the ball. We make him try and hold it up or receive it with his back to goal. Keep doing that and of course he’s not going to look good. You can’t make him something he is not. Try adjusting the play to accommodate his strengths rather than hoping he’s going to become Drogba c.2008.
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I thought he put in a solid shift. I'm not saying he didn't make mistakes, but he worked hard
How is jogging around half-heartedly “working hard”? My expectations of a half decent 9 are a good deal higher than anything Hanlan has ever produced. He gives central defenders an easy ride, timing his arrival to be just too late to seriously challenge for the ball.
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He’s clearly a player who wants to run on to the ball. We make him try and hold it up or receive it with his back to goal. Keep doing that and of course he’s not going to look good. You can’t make him something he is not. Try adjusting the play to accommodate his strengths rather than hoping he’s going to become Drogba c.2008.
This.
We have to get him running AT defenders (like that excellent run down the right flank) or in the channels between them.
It's all very well saying "He's shit at the stuff he's shit at" but then why do we spend 90% of the game feeding him that ball?
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I thought he put in a solid shift. I'm not saying he didn't make mistakes, but he worked hard
How is jogging around half-heartedly “working hard”? My expectations of a half decent 9 are a good deal higher than anything Hanlan has ever produced. He gives central defenders an easy ride, timing his arrival to be just too late to seriously challenge for the ball.
I thought he did that shift very intelligently today.
A couple of bell ends behind me were screaming from the first minute "f**king WORK Hanley" (sic) when they had the ball at the back. Without realising that he had a keeper and 2 centre backs to cover. Run flat out at one and you simply use all your energy up while they roll it to the free man at their side.
I thought Hanlon actually kept good positions in those circumstances, and by not selling himself, forced them frequently into unproductive long balls. Those who think he should be clattering centre backs or keepers when they are making those long balls have a strange understanding of how the game works. If you go through a player like that, you'll not last 20 mins. What Hanlon was doing was waiting until they'd decided which centre back was going to launch an attack, then pressing him into lumping it forward.
As a tactic I thought it worked spectacularly well and was a major part of what I think was our most solid defensive performance of the season.
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I thought he put in a solid shift. I'm not saying he didn't make mistakes, but he worked hard
How is jogging around half-heartedly “working hard”? My expectations of a half decent 9 are a good deal higher than anything Hanlan has ever produced. He gives central defenders an easy ride, timing his arrival to be just too late to seriously challenge for the ball.
I thought he did that shift very intelligently today.
A couple of bell ends behind me were screaming from the first minute "f**king WORK Hanley" (sic) when they had the ball at the back. Without realising that he had a keeper and 2 centre backs to cover. Run flat out at one and you simply use all your energy up while they roll it to the free man at their side.
I thought Hanlon actually kept good positions in those circumstances, and by not selling himself, forced them frequently into unproductive long balls. Those who think he should be clattering centre backs or keepers when they are making those long balls have a strange understanding of how the game works. If you go through a player like that, you'll not last 20 mins. What Hanlon was doing was waiting until they'd decided which centre back was going to launch an attack, then pressing him into lumping it forward.
As a tactic I thought it worked spectacularly well and was a major part of what I think was our most solid defensive performance of the season.
No point chasing players on your own is there. Hanlan issue is that he should be one of three functioning strikers in the squad. That would mean less of a spotlight on him. He’s currently one of one.
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I just can’t see anything in Hanlan at all, and can’t see where he will improve.
He is not a young lad, he’s 28 and prior to joining us scored 42 goals in 279 appearances.
There seems to be a huge difference of opinion on here about his capabilities, but time will tell!
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The funniest bit was when he fell in a tackle in front of us in the West stand, ran down the wing, couldn't get past his man and passed it straight out backwards to give Bolton a throw in. Absolute garbage, the only headers he won (2 0r 3 times) were with the back of his head when their player headed it straight into him, when he jumps for a header his head tends to be down for some reason, no chance of connecting.
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Yes, even a lady who doesn’t really say anything during games, was laughing loudly at that incident.
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Just seen that incident on Twitter and it’s nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be based on what I’d read on here. It’s a poor pass over less than 10 yards but we’ve seen all of our other players do it without that level of criticism. I think that people have made their mind up and nothing he does will make them change it.
https://x.com/nocontextrovers/status/2007000938528256187?s=46
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He had a bad day yesterday, a shame after his recent performances. Did he not know he had man on when Bails slipped him in?
Still the best option we have at number 9 as it stands, he's not the best but not as bad as some are making out.
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I know I'm shouting at a brick wall, but the two best pieces of intelligent play in and around their box both came from Hanlan yesterday.
1) The touch that sent Bailey down the line for the cross that Clifton and Middleton both missed was sumptuous.
2) For our goal, he made an intelligent run to the near post, drew a defender across then stepped over the ball, knowing we had better options at the back post.
Is he the best we've ever had? Nope.
Is he the best option we currently have? By miles.
I get that we are in an era where most folk will never change their minds once made up. But equally, I will never, ever understand what someone gets out of going to watch THEIR team and doing f**k all but moan vociferously about one player for 90 minutes.
You have to wonder what psychological baggage they are carrying around. Although I preferred yesterday just to kindly suggest that they shut the f**k up moaning.
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I know I'm shouting at a brick wall, but the two best pieces of intelligent play in and around their box both came from Hanlan yesterday.
1) The touch that sent Bailey down the line for the cross that Clifton and Middleton both missed was sumptuous.
2) For our goal, he made an intelligent run to the near post, drew a defender across then stepped over the ball, knowing we had better options at the back post.
Is he the best we've ever had? Nope.
Is he the best option we currently have? By miles.
I get that we are in an era where most folk will never change their minds once made up. But equally, I will never, ever understand what someone gets out of going to watch THEIR team and doing f**k all but moan vociferously about one player for 90 minutes.
You have to wonder what psychological baggage they are carrying around. Although I preferred yesterday just to kindly suggest that they shut the f**k up moaning.
People feel the need to trot out extremes.
Hanlan's clearly not a bad player and caught unnecessary flak early in the season when he started 2 games and then wasn't given another proper chance for ages.
We're clearly better with him in the team than without atm, but need more options around him, that's the issue. I think we'd probably have more points in the bag than we have now if he'd played more between mid-August and the end of November.
Here are the minutes he played in L1 between the start of the season and Stevenage (a) on 22nd November (his first start since the second game of the season)...
64 (from start)
62 (from start)
13
14
0 (unused sub)
6
0 (unused sub)
0 (not in squad)
0 (not in squad)
22
15
45
0 (not in squad)
0 (not in squad)
12
32
Criminally underused (IMO) given he's the only striker that seems to somewhat fit our style of play, and very harshly written off having been given very limited opportunities to prove himself and get used to playing in a new team.
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We’d have a few more points if he’d been played earlier in the season imo. Was a bit like the Bogle situation with Grant sticking with Billy to the detriment of the team at that time.
No slight on Billy he just shouldn’t be leading the line on his own. Never really did that for the Blades so he’s not going to do it now
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Watching that chance of Hanlan's in the first half again on the highlights. The criticism of him for that is way over the top.
As Bailey came forward, Hanlan took up a good position between the defenders.
He started one run, anticipating a through ball, but it didn't come.
He then, quickly, checked, stayed just onside, but in doing so, had to stop dead.
He then anticipated the ball being played and started a second run.
But the ball didn't come and so he had to check again to stay onside.
When the ball finally came from Bailey, it was well placed, into space, but 3-4 yards to the left of Hanlan and relatively slow.
Hanlan had to accelerate from a standing start to get onto the ball, while simultaneously having to time his approach so that he'd meet the ball with his left foot ready to shoot.
That meant he had to chop his stride rather than go flat out.
Meanwhile the full back, already starting at a sprint, could simply go flat out for the block, which he timed well.
The scale of criticism Hanlan is getting for that is deranged. He demonstrated intelligent positioning, and he's hardly to blame for twice anticipating balls that didn't come. It was sheer bad luck that when the ball did come, he was having to start from standing, and the position and speed of the ball gave the defender time to make up the ground. It would have been impossible for Hanlan to get a shot off any quicker than he was about to do before the ball was nicked away.
To hear and read some of the vitriol he's getting, you'd think our "fans" were all Jimmy Greaveses and Hanlan was a raffle winner.
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Let’s hope we get a ‘proper striker’ in the next day or two then we can stop all this nonsense about Hanlan’s sumptuous (sumptuous!) play & ‘He just needs a run of games’.
He’s a Lg2 player at best & it’s a disgrace we didn’t sign better in the summer.
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Let’s hope we get a ‘proper striker’ in the next day or two then we can stop all this nonsense about Hanlan’s sumptuous (sumptuous!) play & ‘He just needs a run of games’.
He’s a Lg2 player at best & it’s a disgrace we didn’t sign better in the summer.
Lord, you are fun.
Object example of how internet conversations go. Idiot misquoting someone so that he can confirm what he wants to be the case.
I DIDN'T say Hanlan's general play was sumptuous. I said the specific layoff to Bailey was.
It's not hard if you try a little bit.
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I know I'm shouting at a brick wall, but the two best pieces of intelligent play in and around their box both came from Hanlan yesterday.
1) The touch that sent Bailey down the line for the cross that Clifton and Middleton both missed was sumptuous.
2) For our goal, he made an intelligent run to the near post, drew a defender across then stepped over the ball, knowing we had better options at the back post.
Is he the best we've ever had? Nope.
Is he the best option we currently have? By miles.
I get that we are in an era where most folk will never change their minds once made up. But equally, I will never, ever understand what someone gets out of going to watch THEIR team and doing f**k all but moan vociferously about one player for 90 minutes.
You have to wonder what psychological baggage they are carrying around. Although I preferred yesterday just to kindly suggest that they shut the f**k up moaning.
People feel the need to trot out extremes.
Hanlan's clearly not a bad player and caught unnecessary flak early in the season when he started 2 games and then wasn't given another proper chance for ages.
We're clearly better with him in the team than without atm, but need more options around him, that's the issue. I think we'd probably have more points in the bag than we have now if he'd played more between mid-August and the end of November.
Here are the minutes he played in L1 between the start of the season and Stevenage (a) on 22nd November (his first start since the second game of the season)...
64 (from start)
62 (from start)
13
14
0 (unused sub)
6
0 (unused sub)
0 (not in squad)
0 (not in squad)
22
15
45
0 (not in squad)
0 (not in squad)
12
32
Criminally underused (IMO) given he's the only striker that seems to somewhat fit our style of play, and very harshly written off having been given very limited opportunities to prove himself and get used to playing in a new team.
I said it at the time when people were vilifying him. He occupies defenders and if used correctly can be a threat. The one time we routinely played balls in behind to him in an orchestrated manor was Cardiff and he caused them all sorts of trouble.
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Hanlan would be good as part of a functioning team, he’s quick and strong, he’s direct and his goals this year have been good quality finishes most of which he’s had to do alone. Played in the right formation, with a partner and with decent service, and with chance to rest up as a sub, I think he’d be good. He’s not as good as Rob Street but he’s done nothing to deserve some of the grief he’s getting.
Our bad recruitment and retention unfortunately means we need to strengthen in every single position, which will probably mean choosing to accept weakness somewhere as we won’t be able to bring that number of good players in.
Luckily we’ll have the managers bang average son on the books, which will turn our season around I’m sure.
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The vitriol Hanlan's getting is clearly unfair, even though he was very poor yesterday.
However, the main reason for it is pretty obvious. If we don't sign a striker who can be as prolific as Rob Street, we're going down.
That's the situation, and it's no good trying to sugar coat it.
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As a slight aside of TS interesting ( to me anyway) how people watch football. I just like the game itself , but never the subtleties of it and would never in a million years have picked up on the runs , space , movement off the ball others have identified here. Ive watched far less cricket then football, yet do enjoy learning that side of it , how space is created , wickets earned by giving runs away etc . For some reason football has never got me like that yet still.my favourite sport
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There is no wonder that Brandon was not quite with it against Bolton.
I’m just watching Corrie with the wife and it’s clear to me that his mind was elsewhere.
He is getting married.
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There is no wonder that Brandon was not quite with it against Bolton.
I’m just watching Corrie with the wife and it’s clear to me that his mind was elsewhere.
He is getting married.
Ah bless.
I take it all back then because marriage becomes more important than anything.
It didn’t stop Billy Sharp playing & scoring in the first game after he ‘lost’ Louis.
It’s very easy on forums such as these to call someone ‘an idiot’. I don’t have to misquote anyone as some would call it to give my opinion of what I see with my own eyes.
In essence you were implying that Hanlan was being ‘poorly judged’ & that he actually offered more than those who don’t have your ‘vision’ gives to the team.
I happen to disagree.
He can’t hold a ball up with his back to goal then lay it off to a player making an attacking movement (as Joe Ironside did time after time & as Billy did with his first touch of the ball when he came on).
His control when he receives the ball is non existent.
He has yet to show me he can win & direct a header to a teammate when it comes to him as Brown did for us.
He has one thing & one thing only going for him in my opinion. A burst of pace.
No good having that if that ‘trait’ brings you one goal in a dozen appearances.
My thoughts, my conjecture of the player. He doesn’t & will never ‘cut it’ in this division.
Crack on with your personal derogatory remarks Billy Stubbs Tears.
Water off a ducks back.
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There is no wonder that Brandon was not quite with it against Bolton.
I’m just watching Corrie with the wife and it’s clear to me that his mind was elsewhere.
He is getting married.
Ah bless.
I take it all back then because marriage becomes more important than anything.
It didn’t stop Billy Sharp playing & scoring in the first game after he ‘lost’ Louis.
It’s very easy on forums such as these to call someone ‘an idiot’. I don’t have to misquote anyone as some would call it to give my opinion of what I see with my own eyes.
In essence you were implying that Hanlan was being ‘poorly judged’ & that he actually offered more than those who don’t have your ‘vision’ gives to the team.
I happen to disagree.
He can’t hold a ball up with his back to goal then lay it off to a player making an attacking movement (as Joe Ironside did time after time & as Billy did with his first touch of the ball when he came on).
His control when he receives the ball is non existent.
He has yet to show me he can win & direct a header to a teammate when it comes to him as Brown did for us.
He has one thing & one thing only going for him in my opinion. A burst of pace.
No good having that if that ‘trait’ brings you one goal in a dozen appearances.
My thoughts, my conjecture of the player. He doesn’t & will never ‘cut it’ in this division.
Crack on with your personal derogatory remarks Billy Stubbs Tears.
Water off a ducks back.
Did you quote the right post before making your comment mate?
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The funniest bit was when he fell in a tackle in front of us in the West stand, ran down the wing, couldn't get past his man and passed it straight out backwards to give Bolton a throw in. Absolute garbage, the only headers he won (2 0r 3 times) were with the back of his head when their player headed it straight into him, when he jumps for a header his head tends to be down for some reason, no chance of connecting.
No resemblance at all to what really happened
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Usher.
You were being an idiot in your deliberate misquoting of me.
You were looking for an argument and I gave you one.
For the record, I agree that Hanlan isn't good at holding up the ball with his back to goal. No argument there.
My grouse is with so called Rovers fans who delight in abusing our own players, and buttress that approach by utterly ignoring the positive attributes of a player that contradict what they want to believe.
Hanlan clearly doesn't have "a burst of pace" as his sole attribute.
Go watch the video of that chance in the first half yesterday and watch his intelligent positioning, pre-empting of when the pass should have come. Twice. And patience to go for it a third time, all while staying inches onside.
All I've heard from our "fans" is abuse of him for not scoring there. In truth, it says far more about them than it does if him.
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Usher.
You were being an idiot in your deliberate misquoting of me.
You were looking for an argument and I gave you one.
For the record, I agree that Hanlan isn't good at holding up the ball with his back to goal. No argument there.
My grouse is with so called Rovers fans who delight in abusing our own players, and buttress that approach by utterly ignoring the positive attributes of a player that contradict what they want to believe.
Hanlan clearly doesn't have "a burst of pace" as his sole attribute.
Go watch the video of that chance in the first half yesterday and watch his intelligent positioning, pre-empting of when the pass should have come. Twice. And patience to go for it a third time, all while staying inches onside.
All I've heard from our "fans" is abuse of him for not scoring there. In truth, it says far more about them than it does if him.
I don’t ‘delight’ in abusing Rovers players & have never shouted negative comments at them while they’re playing & never would.
I also don’t use social media.
This forum is where you’re supposed to be able to ‘vent your spleen’ if you so wish.
You give him far, far too much credit for his positioning when that chance was put on a plate for him in the first half. Everyone around me were exasperated because he didn’t hit it first time as any decent striker would have done.
He doesn’t chase & press defenders like Billy does. He has no physicality about him despite being a ‘big unit’ certainly a damn sight bigger than Joe Ironside who could probably still teach him how to shield a ball with his back to goal before laying it off.
The run he went on in the second half when he found the ball had gone through the defenders legs & suddenly he had a yard on two of them what does he do? He doesn’t run at goal (with his electrifying pace) he goes into the corner, stops & turns back then lays the ball off…..into touch.
In 274 league appearances he’s scored 62 goals. You like your stats, suck on those.
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Usher.
You were being an idiot in your deliberate misquoting of me.
You were looking for an argument and I gave you one.
For the record, I agree that Hanlan isn't good at holding up the ball with his back to goal. No argument there.
My grouse is with so called Rovers fans who delight in abusing our own players, and buttress that approach by utterly ignoring the positive attributes of a player that contradict what they want to believe.
Hanlan clearly doesn't have "a burst of pace" as his sole attribute.
Go watch the video of that chance in the first half yesterday and watch his intelligent positioning, pre-empting of when the pass should have come. Twice. And patience to go for it a third time, all while staying inches onside.
All I've heard from our "fans" is abuse of him for not scoring there. In truth, it says far more about them than it does if him.
I don’t ‘delight’ in abusing Rovers players & have never shouted negative comments at them while they’re playing & never would.
I also don’t use social media.
This forum is where you’re supposed to be able to ‘vent your spleen’ if you so wish.
You give him far, far too much credit for his positioning when that chance was put on a plate for him in the first half. Everyone around me were exasperated because he didn’t hit it first time as any decent striker would have done.
He doesn’t chase & press defenders like Billy does. He has no physicality about him despite being a ‘big unit’ certainly a damn sight bigger than Joe Ironside who could probably still teach him how to shield a ball with his back to goal before laying it off.
The run he went on in the second half when he found the ball had gone through the defenders legs & suddenly he had a yard on two of them what does he do? He doesn’t run at goal (with his electrifying pace) he goes into the corner, stops & turns back then lays the ball off…..into touch.
In 274 league appearances he’s scored 62 goals. You like your stats, suck on those.
Exactly and well said. Simply offering an alternative opinion and viewpoint on a player isn't delighting in negativity or the other rubbish that certain posters say. Certain posters just want to divide and cause arguments and they're happy now they've achieved that as that's how they put a smile on their face
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Usher.
You were being an idiot in your deliberate misquoting of me.
You were looking for an argument and I gave you one.
For the record, I agree that Hanlan isn't good at holding up the ball with his back to goal. No argument there.
My grouse is with so called Rovers fans who delight in abusing our own players, and buttress that approach by utterly ignoring the positive attributes of a player that contradict what they want to believe.
Hanlan clearly doesn't have "a burst of pace" as his sole attribute.
Go watch the video of that chance in the first half yesterday and watch his intelligent positioning, pre-empting of when the pass should have come. Twice. And patience to go for it a third time, all while staying inches onside.
All I've heard from our "fans" is abuse of him for not scoring there. In truth, it says far more about them than it does if him.
I don’t ‘delight’ in abusing Rovers players & have never shouted negative comments at them while they’re playing & never would.
I also don’t use social media.
This forum is where you’re supposed to be able to ‘vent your spleen’ if you so wish.
You give him far, far too much credit for his positioning when that chance was put on a plate for him in the first half. Everyone around me were exasperated because he didn’t hit it first time as any decent striker would have done.
He doesn’t chase & press defenders like Billy does. He has no physicality about him despite being a ‘big unit’ certainly a damn sight bigger than Joe Ironside who could probably still teach him how to shield a ball with his back to goal before laying it off.
The run he went on in the second half when he found the ball had gone through the defenders legs & suddenly he had a yard on two of them what does he do? He doesn’t run at goal (with his electrifying pace) he goes into the corner, stops & turns back then lays the ball off…..into touch.
In 274 league appearances he’s scored 62 goals. You like your stats, suck on those.
Hanlan wins the ball back in the final third slightly more often than Sharp. Very similar in that area.
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Usher.
You were being an idiot in your deliberate misquoting of me.
You were looking for an argument and I gave you one.
For the record, I agree that Hanlan isn't good at holding up the ball with his back to goal. No argument there.
My grouse is with so called Rovers fans who delight in abusing our own players, and buttress that approach by utterly ignoring the positive attributes of a player that contradict what they want to believe.
Hanlan clearly doesn't have "a burst of pace" as his sole attribute.
Go watch the video of that chance in the first half yesterday and watch his intelligent positioning, pre-empting of when the pass should have come. Twice. And patience to go for it a third time, all while staying inches onside.
All I've heard from our "fans" is abuse of him for not scoring there. In truth, it says far more about them than it does if him.
I don’t ‘delight’ in abusing Rovers players & have never shouted negative comments at them while they’re playing & never would.
I also don’t use social media.
This forum is where you’re supposed to be able to ‘vent your spleen’ if you so wish.
You give him far, far too much credit for his positioning when that chance was put on a plate for him in the first half. Everyone around me were exasperated because he didn’t hit it first time as any decent striker would have done.
He doesn’t chase & press defenders like Billy does. He has no physicality about him despite being a ‘big unit’ certainly a damn sight bigger than Joe Ironside who could probably still teach him how to shield a ball with his back to goal before laying it off.
The run he went on in the second half when he found the ball had gone through the defenders legs & suddenly he had a yard on two of them what does he do? He doesn’t run at goal (with his electrifying pace) he goes into the corner, stops & turns back then lays the ball off…..into touch.
In 274 league appearances he’s scored 62 goals. You like your stats, suck on those.
Go watch the highlights. Carefully. Tell me how Hanlan was supposed to have hit the ball earlier than he was about to.
I get that this place is about venting spleen. It works both ways. If someone's criticism doesn't mean with the facts, they should expect to be told so.
I appreciate that you don't shout abuse at matches. Unfortunately, many do, and I have the misfortune to sit near a couple of prime examples of such gobshites. So when I see the same uninformed criticisms of Hanlan in here, dressed up in deliberate, argumentative misquoting of me, I'm going to explain what I think of your opinion in blunt terms.
I'm the first to see Hanlan's limitations. What I don't understand is people rushing in to scream about errors he didn't make, and belittle the good stuff he did.
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I don’t scream.
You’re a striker, the ball comes to you around the penalty spot, you have a keeper in the centre of the goal & a defender right on your shoulder. Those were the circumstances as I saw them more or less in a straight line of sight on the day. You have to hit the ball first time (which he absolutely had the opportunity to do) because you don’t have the space or time to take a touch.
You can tell me all day long (you having mulled over the the lead up to his missed opportunity for hours on end….frame by frame?) about his stupendous movement before the opportunity arrived at his feet bur arrived it did & he fluffed his lines….again.
Please feel free to come back to me once you’ve watched it over again.
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I don’t scream.
You’re a striker, the ball comes to you around the penalty spot, you have a keeper in the centre of the goal & a defender right on your shoulder. Those were the circumstances as I saw them more or less in a straight line of sight on the day. You have to hit the ball first time (which he absolutely had the opportunity to do) because you don’t have the space or time to take a touch.
You can tell me all day long (you having mulled over the the lead up to his missed opportunity for hours on end….frame by frame?) about his stupendous movement before the opportunity arrived at his feet bur arrived it did & he fluffed his lines….again.
Please feel free to come back to me once you’ve watched it over again.
He was going to hit the ball first time. He got to the ball as quickly as he could, from a standing start. He didn't "take a touch". He didn't have a chance to shoot earlier and pass it up. The issue was that, with Hanlan starting from a stationary position because he'd twice checked runs anticipating earlier balls from Bailey, the defender was just able to get to the ball quicker than he could.
Go watch the video. If you are relying on your memory of the day, your memory is wrong.
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A striker in form and confident hits that first time with his left foot into the far corner.
He dithered but what was obvious to me was he thought he was clean through so there was obviously no communication from bailey or anyone else telling him about the defender
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He didn't either. He approached the ball in a way that his intended shot was the first time he could have shot. The previous step when his left leg went forward, the ball was a yard to his left and he would have had to be Inspector Gadget to fashion a shot from there.
The through ball was also very slow. So if Hanlan had sprinted full on, he'd have over run it. He had to take a half check stride to make sure he approached the ball such that he'd get a clean left foot strike. That looked like a "dither" but there was literally no option if he was going to hit it with his left.
The only option would have been to toe end it with his right foot, a stride earlier. And I can imagine the reaction if he'd done that and not scored...
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My God, some people. Imagine what this forum would be like if our strike force was Prince Moncrieff and Adie Mike. Short memories.
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As always on this and other social media outlets, it’s all about balance.
Hanlan wasn’t at his best, is he as poor as some make out - nowhere near! Is he the best in the league, nope. Is he good enough for the level, absolutely.
It’s always so black and white on here.
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Hanlan is a decent rotation option who is having to play more than he should because we offered Billy Sharp a sentimental contract. But yeah everyone get riled up at Brandon.
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He didn't either. He approached the ball in a way that his intended shot was the first time he could have shot. The previous step when his left leg went forward, the ball was a yard to his left and he would have had to be Inspector Gadget to fashion a shot from there.
The through ball was also very slow. So if Hanlan had sprinted full on, he'd have over run it. He had to take a half check stride to make sure he approached the ball such that he'd get a clean left foot strike. That looked like a "dither" but there was literally no option if he was going to hit it with his left.
The only option would have been to toe end it with his right foot, a stride earlier. And I can imagine the reaction if he'd done that and not scored...
I like hanlan, but for sure he should’ve done better with that chance.
He let the ball run acrosss his body trying to get it on his right foot, if he’d moved towards the ball and struck it with his left the defender would’ve got nowhere near him.
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This obsession BST has with hanlan is becoming very strange, hes not gonna kiss you pal!
Let's be honest, hes absolute shite and nowhere near the level we need.
We need a player as good as Tolaj, Wooton, Ballard or keillor-dunn.
Hanlan looks a competition winner next to those.
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This obsession BST has with hanlan is becoming very strange, hes not gonna kiss you pal!
Let's be honest, hes absolute shite and nowhere near the level we need.
We need a player as good as Tolaj, Wooton, Ballard or keillor-dunn.
Hanlan looks a competition winner next to those.
Absolute shite? You don't half talk some.
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All about opinions but, I have to agree I think he’s really poor. Not a strikers instinctive bone in his arsenal, the chance in question being a prime example. His first touch for a professional footballer is appalling and on the rare occasion when he does control it he has no idea how to use his body and strength to hold it up and bring others into play. Not easy when we rarely get players close to him admittedly.
He’s miles better at running towards goal and the goals he has scored he has taken very well but, that doesn’t make him a good striker. We wouldn’t be looking in the market if he was.
He’s very much another Theo Robinson type player and I guarantee we either move him on before or we don’t renew his contract when it’s up. He will then drop down the leagues. His record at 28 and with a bad injury also on his CV it’s beggars belief that we recruited him to be our main striker.
To me and again only my opinion but this is what’s really got on my nerves in recent years, you hear representatives of the club come out and say a lot of positive things about how we are run and that we go through an extensive recruitment process yet we continue to waste wages on those not good enough to operate at where we as a club want to get to. To date Hanlans record and performances with us have been everything we expected it to be when he first signed. The recruitment team are just doing their job very badly let’s face it.
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All about opinions but, I have to agree I think he’s really poor. Not a strikers instinctive bone in his arsenal, the chance in question being a prime example. His first touch for a professional footballer is appalling and on the rare occasion when he does control it he has no idea how to use his body and strength to hold it up and bring others into play. Not easy when we rarely get players close to him admittedly.
He’s miles better at running towards goal and the goals he has scored he has taken very well but, that doesn’t make him a good striker. We wouldn’t be looking in the market if he was.
He’s very much another Theo Robinson type player and I guarantee we either move him on before or we don’t renew his contract when it’s up. He will then drop down the leagues. His record at 28 and with a bad injury also on his CV it’s beggars belief that we recruited him to be our main striker.
To me and again only my opinion but this is what’s really got on my nerves in recent years, you hear representatives of the club come out and say a lot of positive things about how we are run and that we go through an extensive recruitment process yet we continue to waste wages on those not good enough to operate at where we as a club want to get to. To date Hanlans record and performances with us have been everything we expected it to be when he first signed. The recruitment team are just doing their job very badly let’s face it.
Under McCann we’ve made some poor signings granted, as do every club!
But we’ve made some very good ones too
Bailey,
Craig,
Adelakun,
Street,
Bailey,
Sterry,
Nixon,
Broadbent,
Senior,
McGrath,
Ironside,
Sharman Lowe,
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All about opinions but, I have to agree I think he’s really poor. Not a strikers instinctive bone in his arsenal, the chance in question being a prime example. His first touch for a professional footballer is appalling and on the rare occasion when he does control it he has no idea how to use his body and strength to hold it up and bring others into play. Not easy when we rarely get players close to him admittedly.
He’s miles better at running towards goal and the goals he has scored he has taken very well but, that doesn’t make him a good striker. We wouldn’t be looking in the market if he was.
He’s very much another Theo Robinson type player and I guarantee we either move him on before or we don’t renew his contract when it’s up. He will then drop down the leagues. His record at 28 and with a bad injury also on his CV it’s beggars belief that we recruited him to be our main striker.
To me and again only my opinion but this is what’s really got on my nerves in recent years, you hear representatives of the club come out and say a lot of positive things about how we are run and that we go through an extensive recruitment process yet we continue to waste wages on those not good enough to operate at where we as a club want to get to. To date Hanlans record and performances with us have been everything we expected it to be when he first signed. The recruitment team are just doing their job very badly let’s face it.
Under McCann we’ve made some poor signings granted, as do every club!
But we’ve made some very good ones too
Bailey,
Craig,
Adelakun,
Street,
Bailey,
Sterry,
Nixon,
Broadbent,
Senior,
McGrath,
Ironside,
Sharman Lo
Depends what you class as good signings in my opinion. Good enough for promotion last season or good enough to be comfortable in League One which remains to be seen. I don’t agree or disagree with you. My post was more based on another poor striker on a decent contract.
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He didn't either. He approached the ball in a way that his intended shot was the first time he could have shot. The previous step when his left leg went forward, the ball was a yard to his left and he would have had to be Inspector Gadget to fashion a shot from there.
The through ball was also very slow. So if Hanlan had sprinted full on, he'd have over run it. He had to take a half check stride to make sure he approached the ball such that he'd get a clean left foot strike. That looked like a "dither" but there was literally no option if he was going to hit it with his left.
The only option would have been to toe end it with his right foot, a stride earlier. And I can imagine the reaction if he'd done that and not scored...
I like hanlan, but for sure he should’ve done better with that chance.
He let the ball run acrosss his body trying to get it on his right foot, if he’d moved towards the ball and struck it with his left the defender would’ve got nowhere near him.
Have you watched the video? If you have, I'm totally at a loss as to how you can conclude that.
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Yes I have and I’m totally at a loss at how u can think otherwise.
He dithered and let the defender in, a proper in form striker doesn’t let the defender get back as easily as that,
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He didn't either. He approached the ball in a way that his intended shot was the first time he could have shot. The previous step when his left leg went forward, the ball was a yard to his left and he would have had to be Inspector Gadget to fashion a shot from there.
The through ball was also very slow. So if Hanlan had sprinted full on, he'd have over run it. He had to take a half check stride to make sure he approached the ball such that he'd get a clean left foot strike. That looked like a "dither" but there was literally no option if he was going to hit it with his left.
The only option would have been to toe end it with his right foot, a stride earlier. And I can imagine the reaction if he'd done that and not scored...
I like hanlan, but for sure he should’ve done better with that chance.
He let the ball run acrosss his body trying to get it on his right foot, if he’d moved towards the ball and struck it with his left the defender would’ve got nowhere near him.
Have you watched the video? If you have, I'm totally at a loss as to how you can conclude that.
I’m at a loss to what you’ve watched BST. I’ve just watched it 5 times and you cannot defend him. He’s favourite to get the shot off every day of the week. He even shapes slightly to hit it first time and then must think there’s no defender around him.
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BST who thinks matty Craig is better than pele :laugh:
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Yes I have and I’m totally at a loss at how u can think otherwise.
He dithered and let the defender in, a proper in form striker doesn’t let the defender get back as easily as that,
And you genuinely think he was trying to get a shot off with his right foot?
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BST who thinks matty Craig is better than pele :laugh:
Well given that Pele is dead he’s not wrong at this time is he?
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Yes I have and I’m totally at a loss at how u can think otherwise.
He dithered and let the defender in, a proper in form striker doesn’t let the defender get back as easily as that,
And you genuinely think he was trying to get a shot off with his right foot?
He was waiting for the ball to come so he could get it onto his right yes, rather than going to the ball and getting a shot off on his left.
He was acting like he was in acres of space which is not all the fault of his,
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Waiting for the ball to pass him to get it onto his right foot is the only possible explanation for him doing what he did.
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Yes I have and I’m totally at a loss at how u can think otherwise.
He dithered and let the defender in, a proper in form striker doesn’t let the defender get back as easily as that,
And you genuinely think he was trying to get a shot off with his right foot?
He was waiting for the ball to come so he could get it onto his right yes, rather than going to the ball and getting a shot off on his left.
He was acting like he was in acres of space which is not all the fault of his,
“…of his,” radar?
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This obsession BST has with hanlan is becoming very strange, hes not gonna kiss you pal!
Let's be honest, hes absolute shite and nowhere near the level we need.
We need a player as good as Tolaj, Wooton, Ballard or keillor-dunn.
Hanlan looks a competition winner next to those.
“Absolute Shitte” so you’ve not celebrated when he has scored, I think he has struggled a bit this season but to call him “Absolute Shitte “ is a disgrace
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I'm starting to see why they are getting rid of jury trials.
It's SO clear what happened. What people are calling "dithering" was him taking a half step precisely so he could shoot with his left foot. He had to take that half step because the through ball was quite a bit too slow for him to run onto without breaking stride. He was shaping to shoot with his left (the first chance he had to shoot with his left) when the defender nicked the ball away and Hanlan stopped his swing.
The ONLY chance he'd had to shoot before that moment was the previous step, when he could have awkwardly stabbed a right foot toe end at the ball.
The problem was that the through ball was a fraction late, giving the covering defender time to get up to full speed, while Hanlan couldn't because he'd have been offside. Then the lack of pace on the through ball meant Hanlan could not accelerate onto it at full pace and meet it naturally positioned to hit the ball with his left foot. So he took a half step to get his feet in the right places and that gave the defender the chance to nick the ball away. At no time did he ever look like he was shaping to get the ball onto his right foot. And the moment the defender nicked the ball was the very first chance Hanlan had had to shoot with his left.
If you just casually watch it at full speed, yes it looks awful. But step through the frames and it's clear what happened.
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I'm starting to see why they are getting rid of jury trials.
It's SO clear what happened. What people are calling "dithering" was him taking a half step precisely so he could shoot with his left foot. He had to take that half step because the through ball was quite a bit too slow for him to run onto without breaking stride. He was shaping to shoot with his left (the first chance he had to shoot with his left) when the defender nicked the ball away and Hanlan stopped his swing.
The ONLY chance he'd had to shoot before that moment was the previous step, when he could have awkwardly stabbed a right foot toe end at the ball.
The problem was that the through ball was a fraction late, giving the covering defender time to get up to full speed, while Hanlan couldn't because he'd have been offside. Then the lack of pace on the through ball meant Hanlan could not accelerate onto it at full pace and meet it naturally positioned to hit the ball with his left foot. So he took a half step to get his feet in the right places and that gave the defender the chance to nick the ball away. At no time did he ever look like he was shaping to get the ball onto his right foot. And the moment the defender nicked the ball was the very first chance Hanlan had had to shoot with his left.
If you just casually watch it at full speed, yes it looks awful. But step through the frames and it's clear what happened.
Mate, stop going on about it.
You think he did everything correct I think he could’ve done much better, what does it matter?
Paragraphs and paragraphs of why he did what he did, I played at a decent level and I can tell you now he could’ve done better by being more alive and aware of what’s around him.
That’s my opinion, you have yours.
No problem
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I'm starting to see why they are getting rid of jury trials.
It's SO clear what happened. What people are calling "dithering" was him taking a half step precisely so he could shoot with his left foot. He had to take that half step because the through ball was quite a bit too slow for him to run onto without breaking stride. He was shaping to shoot with his left (the first chance he had to shoot with his left) when the defender nicked the ball away and Hanlan stopped his swing.
The ONLY chance he'd had to shoot before that moment was the previous step, when he could have awkwardly stabbed a right foot toe end at the ball.
The problem was that the through ball was a fraction late, giving the covering defender time to get up to full speed, while Hanlan couldn't because he'd have been offside. Then the lack of pace on the through ball meant Hanlan could not accelerate onto it at full pace and meet it naturally positioned to hit the ball with his left foot. So he took a half step to get his feet in the right places and that gave the defender the chance to nick the ball away. At no time did he ever look like he was shaping to get the ball onto his right foot. And the moment the defender nicked the ball was the very first chance Hanlan had had to shoot with his left.
If you just casually watch it at full speed, yes it looks awful. But step through the frames and it's clear what happened.
Mate, stop going on about it.
You think he did everything correct I think he could’ve done much better, what does it matter?
Paragraphs and paragraphs of why he did what he did, I played at a decent level and I can tell you now he could’ve done better by being more alive and aware of what’s around him.
That’s my opinion, you have yours.
No problem
Nope. I DON'T "think he did everything right". That's your wrong interpretation of what I'm saying.
If he'd realised immediately that the through ball was going very slowly, he could have run at a different angle to intercept the ball. That was his mistake.
The point I'm making is that the mistake he made is not the utterly incompetent one that several people are suggesting. That he dithered and didn't take a shooting opportunity when he had it, and in doing so, looked like an absolute carthorse. That is simply incorrect.
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I love how much analysis is given to a moment where the player is literally just acting on instinct and not thinking for more than a second about what or why he’s doing it.
If you’ve played the game you know he was on his heels when he shouldn’t have been and didn’t expect the defender behind him when he should have. Even at basic level you are taught as a forward that unless you get a shout you’ve someone up your arse.
Is he a cart horse? No. Was that a cart horse moment? Imo yes and most see it that way.
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In that particular instance I was frustrated he didnt get a shot away with his left quicker but that didnt define the overall performance.
Also, try considering it from the defenders point of view. If that was the other way around we would be praising our defender for nipping in at the last second to take it off his toe, not saying the striker was poor.
I was more concerned about the lack of winning aerial duels and the ball bouncing off him 9 times out of 10.
Also to discuss the incident where he took two lads on then misplaced a pass. my issue with that was when he received/recovered the ball near halfway Bailey was bursting through the middle and he should have been aware and played a quick pass. I saw it in real time and GM was at the bottom of the screen pulling his hair out that Hanlan turned back. Im not sure if its on highlights, I haven't watched them yet.
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The game is really simple from the stands.
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I'm starting to see why they are getting rid of jury trials.
It's SO clear what happened. What people are calling "dithering" was him taking a half step precisely so he could shoot with his left foot. He had to take that half step because the through ball was quite a bit too slow for him to run onto without breaking stride. He was shaping to shoot with his left (the first chance he had to shoot with his left) when the defender nicked the ball away and Hanlan stopped his swing.
The ONLY chance he'd had to shoot before that moment was the previous step, when he could have awkwardly stabbed a right foot toe end at the ball.
The problem was that the through ball was a fraction late, giving the covering defender time to get up to full speed, while Hanlan couldn't because he'd have been offside. Then the lack of pace on the through ball meant Hanlan could not accelerate onto it at full pace and meet it naturally positioned to hit the ball with his left foot. So he took a half step to get his feet in the right places and that gave the defender the chance to nick the ball away. At no time did he ever look like he was shaping to get the ball onto his right foot. And the moment the defender nicked the ball was the very first chance Hanlan had had to shoot with his left.
If you just casually watch it at full speed, yes it looks awful. But step through the frames and it's clear what happened.
Mate, stop going on about it.
You think he did everything correct I think he could’ve done much better, what does it matter?
Paragraphs and paragraphs of why he did what he did, I played at a decent level and I can tell you now he could’ve done better by being more alive and aware of what’s around him.
That’s my opinion, you have yours.
No problem
Nope. I DON'T "think he did everything right". That's your wrong interpretation of what I'm saying.
If he'd realised immediately that the through ball was going very slowly, he could have run at a different angle to intercept the ball. That was his mistake.
The point I'm making is that the mistake he made is not the utterly incompetent one that several people are suggesting. That he dithered and didn't take a shooting opportunity when he had it, and in doing so, looked like an absolute carthorse. That is simply incorrect.
Man, put that bloody shovel down it must be playing havoc with your blood pressure!
Enough now. Life’s too short.
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If the rumours about Haks are true, we might be adding some much needed fire power up front.
We can only hope.
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If the rumours about Haks are true, we might be adding some much needed fire power up front.
We can only hope.
He will only (hopefully) be giving us what Gibson should be.
We will still sign another striker.
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Have only just opened and read this thread and I find it incredible and amusing in equal measure.
Only BST could write endless analytical paragraphs about one single moment in time during a footy match.
Hanlan missed a glorious opportunity to score, by being too slow in that instant and not having the instincts of a true striker.
That, to me, was blindingly obvious from the moment it happened in the game, and several views of the same incident haven’t changed my mind one bit.
How BST can sling personal insults at those who don’t agree with his analysis….. well, he has history for this so let’s just move on.
Hanlan’s failure to make the most of that goal scoring chance doesn’t make him the anti-Christ, but it does reinforce the view that he is not the quality of striker we need.
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Have only just opened and read this thread and I find it incredible and amusing in equal measure.
Only BST could write endless analytical paragraphs about one single moment in time during a footy match.
Hanlan missed a glorious opportunity to score, by being too slow in that instant and not having the instincts of a true striker.
That, to me, was blindingly obvious from the moment it happened in the game, and several views of the same incident haven’t changed my mind one bit.
How BST can sling personal insults at those who don’t agree with his analysis….. well, he has history for this so let’s just move on.
Hanlan’s failure to make the most of that goal scoring chance doesn’t make him the anti-Christ, but it does reinforce the view that he is not the quality of striker we need.
Agreed, it was a golden chance layed on a plate for him and he completely cocked it up. Any half decent footballer would have at least had a shot.