Comments on players
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I was actually deliberating whether to proceed with this posting for hours. I really needed to get this out of my head before I can sit down and concentrate on my studies. Furthermore, with the break, we will have time to assess ourselves and the team and look forward to better performance when we the team regroup again. I have over the months made some observations of our team and players. I have also gathered opinions from others in the team and even from Yean, the shaggy looking guy whom we played against twice. Please do not begrudge me for the comments and hopefully everyone can take them in the right spirit. I may not be the best person to be doing it, as I am definitely not one of the more outstanding players in the team. In fact after writing the following comments, I have come to the conclusion that I am in fact, the weakest player in the team.
The following comments are made with the understanding that we are playing 4 - 4 - 2 with wingers.
Russell - There is really not much you can say when the guy is our most dependable striker, scoring 14 goals in 19 games. Lately, he has started to play from a deeper position and that has somehow reduced his scoring rate. Excellent during one-on-one situations and beats the off - side trap well. Still lacks the ability to take shots earlier.
Personal view: He can be good in midfield with his aerial strength plus ball winning abilities but we really need him up front. Should remain as the target man.
Robin Goh - Mostly as the anchor man in Midfield and recently as a back -up for central back. Not winning enough headers in the midfield (mostly due to his eye injury) and can be too eager to go for the ball at times. Has a commanding presence on the field and is one of our better free-kick and corner takers.
Personal view: Feel that he may be better playing as a defender or right - winger. Would be good as a stopper if we were to explore that option in the future. His naturally long strides and crossing abilities will make him a good winger.
Jimmy - Hard working midfielder and has the ability and presence of mind to take shots from outside the penalty box. Tends to play the ball too long and is not a good passer in midfield.
Personal view: Should remain in central mid but must work on his distribution and refrain from over - dribbling.
Damien - One of our best central mids with good distribution and passes. Has the ability to dribble past opponents when its is needed. Can be a bit too laid - back at times. It is a wonder why he has not scored so far.
Personal view: Should stay at his current position.
Khairul - Was quite frustrated with him when he was playing in midfield. However, he seems to have fit right into his new position as a striker. May not be effective at times due to his lack of stature.
Personal view: Too similar to Russell in terms of playing style. Should separate the two when we are playing 4 - 4 - 2. Must curb his tantrums and learn to be a better loser.
Jeremy - Dependable defender with good last ditch tackles. Has improved in his defensive headers but can work on his clearance. Still likes to play the ball in his penalty box. Anyone will tell you it is suicide to do that.
Personal view: Should remain as central back. Has a good head, should come up for corners more often if the situation permits.
Charles - Excellent marshall in defence and is always missed when he is not around. Has the ability to jump start the offence with his passes. Slow at times but overall solid.
Personal view: Can be a good stopper if we do decide to play one.
Ian - Very fit left back and can be a back - up for left mid. Incredible pace but lack close control and not a good passer of balls. Good tackler but sometimes commits too early.
Personal view: It would be good if he can improve on his passes down the flanks. Should improve on his crosses as it will come in handy when he does on of his runs down the flanks.
Patrick - Similar to Ian but not as fast. Used to have the tendency to commit too early but has improved tremendously. Likes to have the occasional foray up front.
Personal view: Can be bit soft, should learn to use his body more.
Alfred - How should I place him? Crunching tackles from the back is his forte. Need I say more?
Personal view: We should put him on any opponent we don?t like.
Kelvin - A very pleasant surprise. Able to switch from left to right with ease. Efficient player who does his primary job well.
Personal view: Has a very good attitude apart from his tardiness.
Lawrence - One of the few who knows how to play as a winger. Skillful player but hindered by his fitness. Often missing due to injury and work commitments.
Personal view: Can be a fox in the box kind of striker.
Alvin Chia - Good striker with some good skills. Poor reading of the off-side trap and should learn to position himself better to meet crosses. Not very good when under pressure. One of our better takers of free - kicks and corners.
Personal view: Would like to see him fulfill his potential.
Alvin Ang - Uses his size to great effect. Has good skills. Lack pace and fitness.
Personal view: Out and out striker.
Derrick - An enigma. Definitely has the skills and possesses a powerful shot but all these are seldom seen during the game. Lacks fitness and determination. Not a natural winger.
Personal view: Not effective as a winger, should explore other positions.
Boon - Another enigma. Very skill-full player but seems to have taken a back seat when playing for our team. Tends to over dribble the balls at times.
Personal view: Seems to be comfortable playing in center mid.
Bernard - A welcomed inclusion to the team but sadly, another short central mid. Utility player who can cover up defensive positions too.
Personal view: Full potential may only show after a while as laid off for quite long.
Colin - Honestly, his reputation precedes him but has yet to live up to it. An excellent shot-stopper. Not very good when cutting out crossers and corners. Lack confidence in one - on - one situations. Slow in moving off his line. Marshalls his defence well and with much authority.
Personal view: Perhaps he is not yet giving his all to the team. Definitely, can do much better.
Robin Yap - Gaining in confidence everyday as a striker. Rather soft at times and gives people the impression that he is not trying his best.
Personal view: Due to his willingness to accept comments and the occasional scolding from the manager, I am sure he will continue to improve.
I left myself out as I am not about to screw myself in public. However, I would like you guys to screw me (this doesn't sounds right). Please do give me your comments. -
Brother, excellent posting from you once and again!!
I juz printed out your reviews, working on mine right now. Will post mine up soon. Appreciate your effort in taking time to collate and posting up things that you heard and observed (from players and even our opponents). 
In the meantime, I would like to take this opportunity to hear from all of you. We are all adults so please take the comments constructively. It's ok if you feel otherwise about the comments, everyone thinks and feels differently. You are entitled to your own opinions.
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Hmmm... very objective comments... I have to say that I agree with most if not all of them... Will try to come up with my own assessment after my exams, In the meantime, will try to add on for Alvin's portion (I'll take a pass on the screw) ...
Alvin Chua - Has generally played as a winger, so has not been fully utilised due to the team's apparent lack of wide play. Appear to slack at times during games when he does not display the aggression we all know he possesses. As a winger, the consistency of his crosses can be better.
Personal view: Should stay as a winger, as he has shown to perform better in that role. Should adapt his game at times when the team is does not play wide.
Guys, since this thread has been started, it would be good to post your objective comments on each other. I believe such simple and objective comments from each other will benefit our game. For those at the receiving end, please do not attempt to "defend" yourself as the comments are only personal suggestions meant to improve your game. Hopefully there will be continuous comments in this thread... -
Wah Bara, what a long essay. Too long already, just manage to read the comment on me
will spend other time to read. Anyway, good comment. I know I'm guilty for not putting in enough effort during the game. That's way you see no action from me in the wing. Fittnes is my problem but not the major, Worst is my attitude toward the game. Can't give 100% to the game.
Opss, really have to run for app now, adios. -
Bara's comments are pretty spot on i must say.I have something else i would like to touch on.Since i miss the last 2 matches, my comments are based mainly on the previous matches..
My observation is that in all our matches, we have never been able to have a larger share of the game, at most on par with the opp even when we win.Even if the opp is weaker , we still find it hard to control the game. This has put our defence and keeper under much pressure for large duration of the game.Anyone noticed tat? We won most of our matches when our defence play well and our strikers catching the opps on the break.
After thinking through, i have come out with some reasons..
1) Our midfielders are not passing around enough, often pumping the ball only upfront.Neither diagonal balls nor backpasses.We should try to pass it back to the backline if no one upfront is available.We should try to keep possession.If long balls are used, a 3 man strike would be more effective.
2) Goals kicks are kick into the middle all the time and obviously our midfielders are losing out in the tussle..Due to our weakness, maybe we should try to play up from the defence and try to hit balls down the flanks.
3) Our defence has a tendency to stay too far back.This make is easier for the opps to come at us.As our back 4 is rather stagnant. all the more our midfielders should push up.We cant have 1 or even 2 midfielders to stay back and decide to provide cover.6 defenders staying back would cause the attack to lack punch.During attack all mid should push up.Our midfielders are too defensive minded.
A scenario of having only khai, russel , derrick pushing up doesnt speak much of our willingness to push up isnt it?
Therefore i encourage the team to push up more when we are in attack.When we push up, the opps fall back to pick up man too.This would really allow some time for the defence to rest.
Touching on this i must say this is one of the reason why i cant do well in the wing role.I tend to remain too much in the defense.I will try to push up more whenever i given the wing role again.
Can'tt think of any more atm, would add on if i remember
btw if we cant control the game in our 4-4-2, maybe a 4-3-3 would be more effective to catch our opp on the break...
Good luck to all in the exams
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Yo bara... gotta agree with u with most the postings man. For mysf, i shall be brushing up my skills and fittness after the long lay-off for the exams. The desire to be a more complete players niches up every time i watch the EPL. Really got the adrenaline flowing all over.... With the urge to touch the soccerball again. (been trying hard to refrain).
Fittness.... thanks bara for nice words, however i tink upper body strength and ability to stay on the feet are very impt areas of fittness and where i still need lots of improvement. I also urge fellow team-mates to keep up their fittness in their own time to maximise their abilities in this phyiscal game. Being fitter, a player can hit their form more easily and thus helps growth in confidence. Player will also be able to produce more off the ball running to make options for passes and thus creating fluency in our game.
Hope u guys continue to enjoy the game.
Seriously looking forward to playing wif u guys again. -
Wow......well done Bara for the effort taken to write those comments....very accurate and honest as well.....
With regards to what Boon has said,i feel that it makes perfect sense.....i realise that i am guilty of being too stagnant at the back,and therefore the midfielders have to do more defensive work than actually needed......point taken.....will try to work on that.
Just wanted to add on to the comments for Alvin Chua as well:Being a manager himself previously for his airforce team,he has a clear idea on how the game should be played,fully aware in the tactical aspects of the game.On the field,he has shown that he knows his role as a winger,and has proven that he can serve up crosses from the right if he wanted to.His performance and participation in the game really depends on the support and supply he gets from the rest of the team as he is not a natural ball winner and at times tend to give up chasing very easily.Probably enjoys playing with his old team more because of better understanding and style of play that suits him,but has to try to adapt and then we shall see the real Alvin. -
Jem, thanks for your comments. I have indeed struggled to fit into the team and in the past have always let my own frustration with the lack of supply affect my game. However, I've come to realise that it is definitely easier for me to try to play to the team's style as compared to the alternative.Originally posted by hav0line:Wow......well done Bara for the effort taken to write those comments....very accurate and honest as well.....
With regards to what Boon has said,i feel that it makes perfect sense.....i realise that i am guilty of being too stagnant at the back,and therefore the midfielders have to do more defensive work than actually needed......point taken.....will try to work on that.
Just wanted to add on to the comments for Alvin Chua as well:Being a manager himself previously for his airforce team,he has a clear idea on how the game should be played,fully aware in the tactical aspects of the game.On the field,he has shown that he knows his role as a winger,and has proven that he can serve up crosses from the right if he wanted to.His performance and participation in the game really depends on the support and supply he gets from the rest of the team as he is not a natural ball winner and at times tend to give up chasing very easily.Probably enjoys playing with his old team more because of better understanding and style of play that suits him,but has to try to adapt and then we shall see the real Alvin.
I've since tried to play deeper and have been seeing more action in the last few games. The extra games during the weekdays have helped too. -
Here are my views:
Colin - Can improve on 1-on-1 situations. Indecisive and hesitant at times in going for the balls. Fail to pick up the ball in certain proximity that belongs to him. Should learn to take constructive comments. Good kicker and excellent ball stopper.
Charles - Solid most of the time, mashalling the defence. Can improve in utilising the off-side trap which is seldom seen from him. Need to be more vocal as the one controlling the back line. Can be slow at times but reliable.
Jem - Fast and sharp. Good combo with Charles. Hang on to ball too long sometimes. Must remember not to "play" in the danger box.
Pat - Improved quite abit in his game. Not so good in aerial balls cos of specs. Fast and hardworking. Can play centre back if need be.
Ian - Reliable. Disadvantage in physique but makes up with speed and determination. Can try to be more aggressive. Should improve in the kicking of the ball. Tend to drift too far from position sometimes. Must try to play to the team's style.
Kevin - Excellent in adapting to positions. Plays to instructions. Too soft at times. Lacks aggression as a defender. Can be slow at times.
Alfred - Must improve in discipline on/off the field and learn to play to instructions. Tends to lay back too much in some occasions. Can be a superb defender if he wants to. Hope to see better commitment.
Damien - Good reader of the game. Hard tackler. Slightly laid back at times but reliable. Good advisor on strategies and tactics. Hope to see more of his involvement in improving the team's play.
Bernard - Excellent ball skills and fit. Makes up with aggression despite disadvantage in physique. Can adapt in defence. Well rounded player.
Boon - Hangs on to ball too long at times, should release earlier. Soft player, lacks aggression. Can be a good crosser. Fast.
Jimmy - Excellent ball skills but attempts to dribble all the opponents 99.9% of the time. Learn to RELEASE early!! Passes and crosses are too soft. Lack aggression. Fit. Must learn to play to instruction and team's style. Very offensive player and tends to leave his position.
Derrick - Started promisingly when first joined us. Performance has dipped tremendously. Lacks determination and fitness. Must learn to pace himself for the game. Should learn to take shots early with his powerful kick. Tends to over dribble and lose the ball after all his hardwork. Can work on his crosses. Must definitely improve on his fitness. Contemplating to ban his mahjong sessions.
Alvin Chua - Improved alot in recent games (crosses, runs etc). Lacks aggression. Can improve in his kicking. Fitness is much better but can be further improved.
Alvin Ang - Good kicker of the ball. Shields the ball excellently. Slow in his runs. Fitness and pace have improved. Hope to see more shots from him. Poor in aerial balls cos of specs.
Alvin Chia - Can be good if he wants to. Lacks determination, confidence and fitness. Must be more focus in playing to instructions and the team's style. Soft player. With his size, he can definitely show much more aggression. Always caught offside despite numerous reminders. Sincerely hope to see improvement in his game. Must learn and remember to correct repeated mistakes.
Khairul - Fast and excellent ball skills. Can improve in reading the off-side traps. Also hope to see more aggression from him. Try to shoot more often. I believe more goals will come with his accuracy.
Russ - Excellent ball winner. Can improve in 1-on-1 situations. Slow at times.
Robin Yap - My personal favourite. Have seen tremendous improvement from him in his discipline, responsibility and game. Adapted well to different positions. Have seen more aggression from him but it can still get better. Plays to instruction. Ball touches are excellent, kicks have also improved. Good back-up keeper.
Lawrence - Hope to see more of him.
Myself - Lacking in ball skills. Not confident of aerial balls cos of eye injury. Hope to improve in controlling and switching play in midfield. Am I slow? -
And here are my comments:
Colin:Having played with him before,i know his true capabilities,but so far hasn't shown his true potential.Although not as sharp as before,he still possesses great agility,reflexes and good handling.Has to improve on 1-on-1 situations and not remain strictly on his line during corners,crosses etc
Charles:A reliable and steady figure at the back.Makes sure every tackle counts,putting 100% in every challenge.One of the more consistent player in the team and always puts up a sound performance.Being the leader in defence,has to be more vocal and take a firm control of his back-line.
Ian:A speedy full-back that possesses prodigious stamina and high work-rate.Very lively and determined in defence.Often seen joining the attack with his little spurts upfront,but shows too much of the ball to the opponent at times.Sometimes goes out of position but never fails to chase back.Lacks height and physique but makes up for it in other areas.Has to work on his passing and kicking power.
Pat:Ever since switching to defence and scoring a goal as well,he has gained much confidence and has proved to be as good a defender as any.Has improved on his positioning and gels with the centre-backs well.Guilty of forgoing simple passing to the midfield and trying to dribble in the past but does less of that nowadays.
Kelvin:A fit and versatile full-back who can play on the left and right as well.A rounded player who sticks to his task but at times too friendly and hence lacks aggression and ferocity that a defender should display.
Alfred:Being the first and only one sent off in the team,it is quite evident that he is one of the most aggressive in the team.Likes to commit crunching tackles and hurt opposing strikers.Erratic at times.Having been out due to injury for some time,and playing much less matches than the rest,he has not comfortably fit in yet but that can be worked on.
Damien:A skillful and intelligent midfielder.Orchestrates the attacks with his good reading of the game and clever passes.A ball winner as well.Although quite relaxed at times,nevertheless still a valuable asset to the team.
Bernard:Also another player that i have played with since JC days.Although he is the smallest player on the field,he makes up for it with his vision,close control,confidence and enthusiasm.Is capable of coming out with moments of brilliance with his creativity and passing.Can switch to defence if needed.Very flamboyant player.
Boon:Fast and skillful.Capable of releasing those dangerous through-balls.Likes to take on players at every opportunity,but at times too predictable and is guilty of overdribbling.
Jimmy:Motivated and hard-working.Good stamina and makes an effort to challenge for every ball.Is guilty of being too extravagant at times and fails to release his passes early.More of an attacking midfielder.Has to work on his passes.
Lawrence:Haven't seen much of him lately,but based on the few games that he has played,can be seen that he plays like a true winger.Has the speed and skill to run down the flanks.
Derrick:Has one of the most powerful kicks in the team but lacks accuracy during the match.Starts every match at full steam but burns out very fast due to lack of stamina.Has to work on weak areas in order to improve.Hope to see one of his thunder shots beat the keeper soon.
Alvin Ang:Has shown great touches and is one of the best crosser of the ball.Good shielding and holding up of the ball.Can be a good target man upfront.Although the tallest but not the best in the air because of specs.Lacks speed but stamina is improving.
Alvin Chua:As stated above.
Robin Goh: Does well as a defending midfielder working in tandem with another attacking midfielder in the centre.Makes his presence felt with constant motivation and yelling at the team.Is a hard and determined player and takes the workload off the defenders by often falling back to help out.I personally vouch that he is one of the best set-piece takers in the team after being at the recieving end of a number of his corners and seeing him score from two free-kicks.Phobia of high balls because of injury but understandable.
Khairul:Ambitious striker with an eye for goal.Great ball skills and uses his speed to full advantage when running on for those throughballs.Knows when to release a pass or shoot when the need arises.Lacks aggression and is temperamental at times.On his good days,he can be a handful for opposing defenders and deliver the goods.
Russell:Leading the pack in terms of top scorers which says alot for the robust striker who is strong on the ball and has good positional sense.Although not the fastest,but can be counted on to finish off the majority of opportunities that come his way.Often assists in the goals scored by others as well.A ball winner in the air and on the ground as well.
Alvin Chia:Has the potential to perform on his good days but can be quiet on off days.Lacks confidence and is hesistent in his challenges at times.Has to work on aggression,positional sense and off the ball running.Good when it comes to dead balls.
Robin Yap:Has lifted his game after some words from the manager and has shown great improvement in which he can be proud.Makes an effort to challenge for the ball and also fall deeper to recieve passes.His touches and passing have improved and has managed to shine on certain days.Very open to constructive criticism and can be a joker to boost team morale.Besides his goalkicks,he can be an excellent keeper as well.
Myself:Nobody writes about themselves,and i'm not about to reveal my secret weakpoints too. -
Nice posts!
Actually, I was sent off because I was wearing red. Maybe time for a new set of jerseys -
Excuses, excuses. But I really miss the days when both of us are sent of together.Originally posted by Alfred75:Nice posts!
Actually, I was sent off because I was wearing red. Maybe time for a new set of jerseys