Yeh tired of people saying start him up front. They have only heard he scores goals and clearly not seen one minute of the lad play.
Yeh tired of people saying start him up front. They have only heard he scores goals and clearly not seen one minute of the lad play.
….i also think the fact he’s not yet been selected for NI U21s should help manage expectations a bit and measure where club and country think he’s currently at.
Presumably haven't watched Everton play either, given that we regularly use our big striker as an out ball, the same striker we also use as the front post defender on corners, and we also have one of the shortest midfields in the league. Swapping a 6ft4 player for a 5ft9 one in this league, recipe for disaster.
If he ever does make his debut, hopefully last game of this season, it'll be on the wing and we all know it.
Yeh if he started up front for the men’s team he’d never see the ball and our whole team would never see the ball. Just constant ping-pong back at us.
I would have thought his position would have been the KDH one, as he doesn't seem to have the traditional winger skills but does have good vision and football intelligence (as well as a knack for scoring). But that's a tough position to challenge for.
At u21 level I believe we’ve managed him very well,playing him at 11 but basically given him the opportunity to roam a bit , playing in the centre , switch about , develop his game thinking of where he should be on the pitch. People mostly only watch the goal clips , if that , they don’t consider the other aspects.
Your ” front post defender on corners” reminded me sharply of Olayiwola the other day , 1st match of PDL competition. I really rate Olayiwola, a fine prospect who made a superbly weighted through ball that Graham tucked away nicely. Minutes later he completely messed up defending a corner at the front post and they equalised. Not a big issue , he’s 17 he’ll learn , but it highlights your point, youngsters need to be able to fulfil multi roles if they’re playing in the first team. I’d still give him minutes in the PL this season though
Yeah not a traditional winger, not a traditional No9 , if he picks up the ball wide he’s doesn’t head wider seeking to cross the ball he’s going to drive inside into the box and either shoot or hit a low ball back into the box. A bit of a conundrum of how we use him , but the down side is we use him or lose him.
He's still only 18, he's incredibly young still, while physicality in senior football is going to be an issue for him unless he has more filling out to do.
Its also a great point in terms of future position and where do you develop him for - i think that's going to be an issue for him, he wont be a 9, so that leaves him coming in on the left or right - which im not sure is his game. For me he has to be central maybe something like a Cahill or Naismith role, but no one really plays like that these days and you need a serious work rate when you don't have the ball.
Plenty of small strikers have been successful in the premier league, also the training pictures when he was chatting to Coleman he looks same size and Coleman is 5:10
…..the KDH position is such a particularly unique one it’s difficult to see an untried youngster doing that at this point. He can come deep and spun (like Rooney did) but it isn’t a conventional no10 like it used to be, just watch the areas of the pitch KDH operates in.
Graham won’t be a conventional winger but he’ll be a real goal threat coming in from wide positions, in much the same way Richarlison did when operating out there.
I guarantee if he was at Utd or Liverpool he’d be in their 21’s it’s always been,
Who you play for at that level
EFC_FRANCIS
Player Valuation: £40m
Trust me, if you've seen him irl you'd know he's not 5"10. He's visibly small and slight. Plenty of small strikers, but they're always filled out. Rooney, Aguero, Tevez, Maupay etc.
I still think there's game states where he could be useful to the first team unlike others. He's hard, tenacious, quick and knows where the goal is. He wouldn't get bullied like a child but we do play 6 foot plus strikers and have a manager that refuses to play teenagers, so we might as well just enjoy him at this level.
Will be very interesting to see if he follows the Gordon/Armstrong method of going away this summer and getting absolutely hench.
….lots of clips with him in first team training this season.
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