coolhandfox Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 Let be honest his been well short of the standard most of the season. Often fails to track back of help defensively, top players work hard going both ways. If his not going to do that, you have to be a consistent match winner, which he has been all season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Royston. Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 Overrated but falls into that perfect Leicester City player category because he can be useful sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moore_94 Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 Be interesting to see how much his form changes when JJ is back playing behind him, those 2 together before the injuries were unreal He benefits a lot more from someone like JJ being behind who will run up and down all game compared to Thomas who is a bit more conservative Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Flair Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 1 hour ago, moore_94 said: Be interesting to see how much his form changes when JJ is back playing behind him, those 2 together before the injuries were unreal He benefits a lot more from someone like JJ being behind who will run up and down all game compared to Thomas who is a bit more conservative I always thought Thomas and Barnes together were unreal, but recently they've been anything but. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LcFc_Smiv Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 19 hours ago, coolhandfox said: To be fair Lookman was doing the same to Justin Could it not be that our manager has told the pair of them to stay high and wide to hit Forest on the counter? We looked to work the ball wide as soon as we won possession back in that first 20. Would understand it was lapse of judgement/laziness if they weren't getting back a couple of times but every time to me suggests it was tactical and we simply under estimated the quality Forest possessed when getting 2v1 against our defenders, especially Johnson and Spence combining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moore_94 Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 I don’t think Thomas actually got to play with Barnes that much until this season, last season he only played about 10 games worth of football before JJ got injured in February, quite a few of which were in a 5 at the back/rotated sides, and then Barnes was out very soon after At times they have looked good together this season, but in others (like yesterday) they have been poor together Not going to help with Thomas being part of a shambolic defence and Barnes looking bereft of confidence after his injury, so hopefully we get to see them together on form at some point I just think for now it might be worth giving JJ a run at left back, Riccy P right back, and let Thomas have a break (I get the feeling yesterday could’ve destroyed the kids confidence a bit, which is a shame after how good he was against Liverpool) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sacreblueits442 Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 7 hours ago, Red Squirrel said: The issue I see with Barnes is his powder puff defending. Rarely see him going into a tackle with intent, if there is a contested header then he comes off second best On his day he is a fabulous player, but needs to contribute much more in the defensive aspect of the game. ....send him upfront and leave him there, defending is not something that he does or should be concentrating on doing!!! What he should be doing is putting pressure on the opponents back line and looking to get defenders sent off. Mahrez was not too good at the defensive part of things either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldeagle Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 Barnes ability to get stuck in makes Ryad look like Roy Keane I can’t remember him ever winning a challenge I’m sure he must have done at some point though . I know it’s not deployed to make crunches challenges but an attempt at making a challenge of sorts or tracking back to help the defence would be a plus . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reynard Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 He's absolutely underperforming this season. He isn't capable of defending at all and his decision making going forwards has always been a bit suspect and this season is even worse than normal. On his day he's great but when was his last "day"? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanSP Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 Expecting a winger to defend alot is like expecting Vestergaard to be our main goalscoring threat. It's not his role. It would help if he did his bit, but expecting him to be the main support for Thomas isn't his role and it won't be his strength. Similar to those who expect Ndidi or Mendy to be scoring as well. It's not their role. Be a bonus if they did it but I'd rather they focus on being the best at what they're good at...? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pliskin Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 He’s honked the place out this season, and if what I have been told is true about his off field conduct then it’s no surprise he’s been crap. The lads got to buck his ideas up, he’s an incredible talent, but he needs to start adding some more work to his game if he is to reach those levels again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinowe Soorie Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 25 minutes ago, Pliskin said: He’s honked the place out this season, and if what I have been told is true about his off field conduct then it’s no surprise he’s been crap. The lads got to buck his ideas up, he’s an incredible talent, but he needs to start adding some more work to his game if he is to reach those levels again. Spill the beans then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinowe Soorie Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 I think Harvey Barnes has fantastic ability, but he’s been woeful this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Sionnach Posted 7 February 2022 Share Posted 7 February 2022 37 minutes ago, StanSP said: Expecting a winger to defend alot is like expecting Vestergaard to be our main goalscoring threat. It's not his role. It would help if he did his bit, but expecting him to be the main support for Thomas isn't his role and it won't be his strength. Similar to those who expect Ndidi or Mendy to be scoring as well. It's not their role. Be a bonus if they did it but I'd rather they focus on being the best at what they're good at...? Rodgers obviously disagrees with that and I expect him to push Barnes into the middle. Everybody is required to defend except the front men and they need to help out at set pieces. Harvey has great attacking skills but for Rodgers that is not enough. A few goals from the defenders is also very important and we have been short of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiv Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 11 hours ago, StanSP said: Expecting a winger to defend alot is like expecting Vestergaard to be our main goalscoring threat. It's not his role. It would help if he did his bit, but expecting him to be the main support for Thomas isn't his role and it won't be his strength. Similar to those who expect Ndidi or Mendy to be scoring as well. It's not their role. Be a bonus if they did it but I'd rather they focus on being the best at what they're good at...? Work rate is everything unless you’re a striker. Not sure if you’ve noticed the drastic improvement in Madders’ off the ball work rate but clearly Rodgers expects a standard from our players. If you look at the likes of Man City and Liverpool, their entire starting XI work their socks off to win the ball back including Salah and Mane. That’s what’s expected when you’re not in possession and has been one of our biggest downfalls this season. Frankly, Barnes has been lazy, unfit and let’s be honest even going forward his end product has been poor this year. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevosevic Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 11 hours ago, Pliskin said: He’s honked the place out this season, and if what I have been told is true about his off field conduct then it’s no surprise he’s been crap. The lads got to buck his ideas up, he’s an incredible talent, but he needs to start adding some more work to his game if he is to reach those levels again. I've also heard he's not been particularly focused. I don't think he's going to reach the heights that we had all hoped. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majaco Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 Teams target our left side. Starting with Lookman, Barnes, Maddison and a centre forward over exposes us. Maddison has to start. Barnes should. If he doesn't, Lookman should with the other as an option off the bench. Barnes defensively is questionable. He can look to improve but the strengths and weaknesses of our players need taking o to account when a team is selected. Barnes is a player who terrifies opposition defences. The opposition will be aware of his defensive limitations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolhandfox Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 11 hours ago, StanSP said: Expecting a winger to defend alot is like expecting Vestergaard to be our main goalscoring threat. It's not his role. It would help if he did his bit, but expecting him to be the main support for Thomas isn't his role and it won't be his strength. Similar to those who expect Ndidi or Mendy to be scoring as well. It's not their role. Be a bonus if they did it but I'd rather they focus on being the best at what they're good at...? So did you think the same when we won the League with Vardy and Okazaki running the bollocks off to defend from the front? Hard work is not a optional extra. Expecting Thomas and Justin to cope with 2 on 1 leads to the sort of result we had on Sunday. No one is expecting him to turn into Maldini, just to track his fullback. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martyn Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 (edited) 11 hours ago, StanSP said: Expecting a winger to defend alot is like expecting Vestergaard to be our main goalscoring threat. It's not his role. It would help if he did his bit, but expecting him to be the main support for Thomas isn't his role and it won't be his strength. Similar to those who expect Ndidi or Mendy to be scoring as well. It's not their role. Be a bonus if they did it but I'd rather they focus on being the best at what they're good at...? The trouble is with Barnes is he doesn't defend at all. And any time he is forced into situations where there is a danger of a physical challenge, he backs out or makes an apology of an attempt. There was a small passage of play on Sunday where Forest cleared it, Barnes was about 2 yards in from the touchline with a fairly unpressured header to make. He watched it bounce over his head, then lost out feebly in the subsequent challenge. It was absolutely powder puff stuff, and it's something that has become more evident with him this year. Edited 8 February 2022 by martyn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Sionnach Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 4 minutes ago, majaco said: Teams target our left side. Starting with Lookman, Barnes, Maddison and a centre forward over exposes us. Maddison has to start. Barnes should. If he doesn't, Lookman should with the other as an option off the bench. Barnes defensively is questionable. He can look to improve but the strengths and weaknesses of our players need taking o to account when a team is selected. Barnes is a player who terrifies opposition defences. The opposition will be aware of his defensive limitations. Once Forest saw Barnes on the left , they knew they could attack our left side. Luke is a fine prospect but faced with a double teamed threat it was always going to be tough for him. Really Rodgers should have known that . Albrighton on the left would have been better but playing the diamond with KDH on the left side of midfield was the obvious tactic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st albans fox Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 Perhaps the stuff about liverpool being interested is actually true and his head is turned …… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filbertway Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 4 minutes ago, st albans fox said: Perhaps the stuff about liverpool being interested is actually true and his head is turned …… I never understand why people use this as an explanation for performance levels dropping, surely if anything the player will be motivated to keep playing well so that the "interested" club stays interested. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlueBrett Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 11 hours ago, Pliskin said: He’s honked the place out this season, and if what I have been told is true about his off field conduct then it’s no surprise he’s been crap. The lads got to buck his ideas up, he’s an incredible talent, but he needs to start adding some more work to his game if he is to reach those levels again. Is he though? Maybe one for the unpopular opinions thread but I just don't see it. He's direct and fairly athletic but where is the actual talent/skill? He's pretty much a kick it and run after it merchant. Either has the beating of his man for pace or he doesn't in which case he's essentially useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fox92 Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 (edited) 26 minutes ago, Stevosevic said: I've also heard he's not been particularly focused. I don't think he's going to reach the heights that we had all hoped. He'll be nothing more than an okay/decent winger. I said it before but his decision making is poor. Edited 8 February 2022 by Fox92 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
st albans fox Posted 8 February 2022 Share Posted 8 February 2022 7 minutes ago, filbertway said: I never understand why people use this as an explanation for performance levels dropping, surely if anything the player will be motivated to keep playing well so that the "interested" club stays interested. it is if the club tell you that any enquiry simply won’t be entertained ……. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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