Lavery far better than Gordon

I reckon you might be right, although I think Guthrie is an automatic selection when fit.

Itā€™s not about whoā€™s better itā€™s about who looks sharper at the moment and deserves to start on Saturday. That without shadow of a doubt is Lavery.

We havenā€™t seen enough of him yet to say heā€™s better. But we never will know if he doesnā€™t start.

Yeah so I think thereā€™s a difference between generally crticizing Gordon and picking a player thatā€™s in form.

If Lavery is match fit (big if) then he should start Saturday on current form. Although itā€™s only one game.

That said, I think Josh has played well - but he needs to work on his positioning and runs in the box. Iā€™d be more worried if he wasnā€™t getting any chances - the fact he is finding chances means heā€™s not far off. Letā€™s hope Stewart works his magic on him.

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I donā€™t see Lavery starting Saturday, DC has said on numerous occasions now that heā€™s not fit enough due to missing the majority of pre season.

I think Gordonā€™s work rate will save him from the boo boys .

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Lavery did look the better option, as everyone else has mentioned itā€™s all about match fitness. I do feel for Flash though, minutes after he came off we get a penalty, if he had the chance to take and score that his luck could have changed! You just canā€™t take away the passion Flash shows for the club. If every Walsall player over the past 24 months had the same attitude as flash we wouldnā€™t be in league 2!

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Still think Gordon will come good eventually, whether thatā€™s being effective after coming on from the bench or being a starter I donā€™t know

His work rate alone will get him in positions at this level to score and he gives everything every game so I hope he gets that goal soon and can crack on from there

His finishing definitely needs to improve but the good thing about Gordon is he doesnā€™t appear to be the sort who will be happy to warm the bench, he will push who ever the striker is at that time all the way, this can only be good for the club.

I never thought Gordon would score 20 goals this season, he just doesnā€™t have that scorerā€™s instinct of being in the right place at the right time. Gordonā€™s best position is on the right of a forward 3, supporting the main striker. If he gets 8-10 goals this season then I think that is all we can reasonably expect.

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I really feel for Josh, but heā€™s just like a professional pilot who could take off, navigate, but for the life of him couldnā€™t land. How old is he now? Iā€™m not sure this is a coaching or confidence thing (unless we could get hold of coach Smithy :grin:).

From what Iā€™ve seen of him, heā€™s just simply not wired as an instinctive predator as we saw with the likes of Grigg or Bradshaw. Good players make the game look easy and his perceived work rate might not be necessary if the striking role was more natural to him. As has already been said, his runs make it hard for him to be picked out (unless he runs away from goal) and the way he attacks spaces is always just the wrong side of the defender. His work rate will create him chances, but then he needs to a least hit the target? Maybe occasionally score?

Lavery needs to start if fit. Gordonā€™s had service and opportunities, heā€™s not taken the chances unfortunately.

Thinking of Joshā€™s good attributes (work rate, tackling, decent forward passing) would it be a mad thing to suggest he tried life playing as a central attacking midfielder?

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Not a bad call in my opinion.

The attackers role no longer is just pure goals, our three attacking options in the squad over the last few games plus Holden, Hardy and McDonald mean we have options to change up. In my opinion this is far better than having one player you rely on who could hit bad form or get injured and leave you badly short so I donā€™t think itā€™s who is better as such more a case of what suits us in the current match situation with changes available for once!

We had changes available last season, they were all rubbish but we had them.

Thatā€™s the point we actually have changes now, not bringing Norman on as a right winger when chasing a game. Been a few seasons where the players on the bench can actually change things in a positive way.

2 seasons of proper football means he is still learning.

If I remember, Troy Deeney wasnā€™t super prolific with us - some players are just late developers.

That being said - we donā€™t have the luxury of waiting 2 more seasons for Josh to become more prolific

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Sadly he will never be prolific, needs to be rested for a while, Lavery the perfect replacement for Crewe, we will need goals, Lavery may get them, Josh wonā€™t, simples.
Lovely lad who obviously wantā€™s to play for us and give his best, but regrettably heā€™s never going to be a prolific goalscorer.

Messiā€™s goal scoring record for Argentina is exactly 1 in 2, but for Barcelona itā€™s very close to 1 in 1 (especially if you discount his early years when he was still learning the ropes). Now Argentina arenā€™t too shabby (10th in the FIFA world rankings) but the obvious conclusion from these stats is that the way his club play to his strengths is better suited to him than the way his country does.

Not saying Flash is comparable to Lionel Messi (closer to Lionel Blair!) but being played to your best strength on a team and formation that supports you to do this will bring out the best in you. Thatā€™s why some apparently decent looking players bomb when then move to a new club that plays in a different way, and conversely some dead losses suddenly become superstars.

The question is, have we got a squad and a way of playing that he can flourish in, or is he always going to be a nearly man here and need to move on in search of somewhere where he can?

Iā€™d settle for 1 in 2 for Gordonā€¦:grinning:

Well so far heā€™s missed 1 in 2. Unfortunately heā€™s also missed the other one too. :rofl:

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