Marek... a debate

[brendywendy]

think trhe lad suffers from fans higher expectations of him

he gives it away no less or more than anyone else in th eteam

and harps was the best midfielder playing yesterday, hth

[bcubed]

You seem to forget he was playing out of position for the majority of the match yesterday. And he didn't give the bal away that much.

HTH.

I think you need to remove your Marek tinted glasses next time you watch a game

This may help

[Ian Royal]

think trhe lad suffers from fans higher expectations of him

he gives it away no less or more than anyone else in th eteam

and harps was the best midfielder playing yesterday, hth

W_R wouldn't agree with that if Matejovsky spent the entire game laying down in the centre circle and Harper got a hat-trick.

[bcubed]

think trhe lad suffers from fans higher expectations of him

he gives it away no less or more than anyone else in th eteam

and harps was the best midfielder playing yesterday, hth

I generally support your views bw, in your capacity as the leader of the glass half full brigade, but I'm sorry, he has (in the last two games) been guilty of giving the ball away much more than most

[brendywendy]

it could be true

but i think its just a case of you noticing it more


if not its down to him trying to be more adventurous than the others

[winchester_royal]

think trhe lad suffers from fans higher expectations of him

he gives it away no less or more than anyone else in th eteam

and harps was the best midfielder playing yesterday, hth

W_R wouldn't agree with that if Matejovsky spent the entire game laying down in the centre circle and Harper got a hat-trick.

I guess it is all about what kind of football you appreciate. I prefer the passing, creative side....whereas others prefer the high-tempo, high-energy though slightly less quality football that players such as Hunt and Harper offer.

Oh and by the way IR I am not biased against Harper, and I actually believe him to be the best midfielder in the champ when on form, however he clearly isn't at the moment.

Oh and if Harper was our best midfielder on Saturday why did Coppell take him off when we were chasing a winner?

[AthleticoSpizz]

I think you will find that he (JH) was fooked

One of his most committed performances to date .



However good usage of subs by Copps

[kwik-silva]

Harper did have his best game yesterday, but he's still not great... sorry bout that harps fans. MM can definately deliver a killer blow, but alot of the time he needlessly gives the ball away and looks tired.. However, this could also be classed as coppells fault, on the other hand again, his fitness isn't great after his injury

[kwik-silva]

I was trying to be kind! But Reading normally push up fitness.. I hope they'll do the same with MM

[Arch]

I was trying to be kind! But Reading normally push up fitness.. I hope they'll do the same with MM

Those not up to it fall by the wayside, naming no names (*ahemMurray*)

[Hoop Blah]

Oh and if Harper was our best midfielder on Saturday why did Coppell take him off when we were chasing a winner?

Because, as Coppell says, we ask a hell of a lot of our central midfielders who get through a hell of a lot of work. That's why he liked the double substitution earlier in the season to replace both.

He said on Saturday that when he took Harper off he had it in his mind that he'd already been booked and on that surface it was not ideal to leave him on when we were chasing the game and leaving more room for the midfielders to cover.

[rabidbee]

Added to that, I think Coppell wanted to a) see if Marek could go a whole 90 minutes, and b) try out Marek and Boris as a combination again.

[Great Knolly]

think trhe lad suffers from fans higher expectations of him

he gives it away no less or more than anyone else in th eteam

and harps was the best midfielder playing yesterday, hth

I generally support your views bw, in your capacity as the leader of the glass half full brigade, but I'm sorry, he has (in the last two games) been guilty of giving the ball away much more than most

Marek will always give the ball away more than most because he is in the team to make defense splitting passes. These are difficult to make and don't always come off. If he passed the ball sideways all the time, he'd give the ball away less, but there'd be no point in having him on the pitch.

[rabidbee]

If that was the only time he was giving away the ball, that would be OK, but he is actually just quite sloppy.

[Archie's penalty]

If that was the only time he was giving away the ball, that would be OK, but he is actually just quite sloppy.

No he's the best player in the world ever (c) winchester_Royal.

[Dirk Gently]

He may be, but he still can't tackle his way out of a paper bag, and looks like he's about to injure himself every time he tries.

[Archie's penalty]

He may be, but he still can't tackle his way out of a paper bag, and looks like he's about to injure himself every time he tries.

To be fair I'm a bit embarrassed with myself for being so harsh on the guy. I'm just not sure if he fits in here.

His tackling is just abysmal though. I'm sure Osborn was more tidy with his passes. Correct me if I'm wrong?

[Ian Royal]

I'm not sure his tackling is the cause of his problems, at least it hasn't been when I've watched, mor ethe fact that he's so sluggish he can't get close enough and stay close enough to be able to make the challenge. He just goes ahead with it anyway.

No one is upset that he's trying attacking passes and that they don't always come off. That is perfectly acceptable. But he is also very guilty, as others have said of very loose simple passes.

He's a good player who needs a run in the team, but he doesn't fit into our current system. He may be good enough to be worth changing the system to fit him in. But he isn't showing that at the moment.

[Dirk Gently]

He may be, but he still can't tackle his way out of a paper bag, and looks like he's about to injure himself every time he tries.

To be fair I'm a bit embarrassed with myself for being so harsh on the guy. I'm just not sure if he fits in here.

His tackling is just abysmal though. I'm sure Osborn was more tidy with his passes. Correct me if I'm wrong?

You're not wrong, and I do hope that people don't think I'm slagging him off or that I have an irrational dislike for him as so many seem to suddenly have about James Harper.

I think Marek is potentialy a great player - and certainly the most skilled one we have. He's a player who could prosper in the right team in the PL. I just don't think that where we are at the moment with the mix of players we have and the style of play we have is the right place for him.

[brendywendy]

our run of slightly misfiring football games began before marek was in the team didnt it?
if so itll be a bit harsh to blame him for the problems in fluency we have been having since he came in