Is Lennon actually making a difference ?

[cblantfanclub]

Does he flatter to deceive?

Gets good comments and ratings from the "experts" on here. Today he wriggled past players got on the edge of the box and cut a very sharp ball back to a Watford defender with no Claret shirt near not once but at least 4 times. All the good work pointless.
He also did 3, shall we say "showboat passes", and gave the ball away each time.

As I said above I'm beginning to think there is little end product for all the huff and puff and that's not just because we lost I have been seeing this for a while.

[Stayingup]

Does he flatter to deceive?

Gets good comments and ratings from the "experts" on here. Today he wriggled past players got on the edge of the box and cut a very sharp ball back to a Watford defender with no Claret shirt near not once but at least 4 times. All the good work pointless.
He also did 3, shall we say "showboat passes", and gave the ball away each time.

As I said above I'm beginning to think there is little end product for all the huff and puff and that's not just because we lost I have been seeing this for a while.

He shines early on in match and then fades. Sadly today he wasn't the only one.

When is a forward going to score? And Taylor will now have to replace Ward on Thursday at left back. As we didn't sign Clucas that means the young lad in front of Taylor.

[Murger]

No. Since signing he started off well, but hasn't done owt since.

[Cleveleys_claret]

Does he flatter to deceive?

Gets good comments and ratings from the "experts" on here. Today he wriggled past players got on the edge of the box and cut a very sharp ball back to a Watford defender with no Claret shirt near not once but at least 4 times. All the good work pointless.
He also did 3, shall we say "showboat passes", and gave the ball away each time.

As I said above I'm beginning to think there is little end product for all the huff and puff and that's not just because we lost I have been seeing this for a while.

Well luckily we brought in different options in the transfer window.....oh wait

[KRBFC]

In his prime he was very much the type to dribble past 5 players and smack it into the stands more often than not.

[Barry_Chuckle]

No but I don't think it's entirely his fault, Lennon and JBG are instructed to have defence at the forefront of their minds, this has a negative effect on their natural style of play

[IAmAClaret]

A negative difference so far.

[beddie]

I think it's simply down to the whole team not starting well in the second half. Watford out muscled us in midfield and they wanted it more. All our 3 forwards (Wood, Barnes and Vokes) were nowhere near good enough today.

[theroyaldyche]

Hes a good player. He will come good

[Wo Didi]

Desperate for Brady to come back on the left then JBG can go back to the right, Lennon can come on as an impact sub. I realise I'm probably dreaming.

[MACCA]

Has pulled 2 balls back to the penalty spot/edge of the box recently, and at Aberdeen too, only for our sole atracker to have made the near post/6 yard line run.

You're asking a hell of a lot from any player, to pick out 1 player in a box of around 5.
He might get in behind twice in a game, the odds on him picking out 1 man in 5 perfectly to score is very slim.

The pull back today was perfect for a midfield runner or 2nd striker to run onto, sadly that player wasn't there, otherwise we are waxing lyrical about his run and assist

[bodge]

The balls put in by Lennon were in the right area. He had a decent enough afternoon today along with Cork and Hendrick.

[elwaclaret]

If we're not getting bodies into the box for him to find Lennon can hardly be blamed for that. Hopefully that performance will lead to SD being a little less formulaic, and give our forward thinking players a little more freedom.

[Juan Tanamera]

The balls he put in the box were all in the right place for players running in.
Unfortunately, no player was there to capitalise and it's only fair that Lennon takes the blame for this ffs.

[Silkyskills1]

Thought he had a decent first half but then 'disappeared' in the second half. Again,however, I don't think he and Gudmundsson can operate together. Both are right wingers and for me JBG is being compromised by playing down the left side.

[ClaretJimmy]

Yes he is. Got past his man and got the ball in the box. Not his fault Wood or Hendrick weren't in the picture due to them being down the pitch linking up the play. Second striker required!

[Top Claret]

Lennon was one of our best players 1st half but did nowt 2nd

[MACCA]

Lennon was one of our best players 1st half but did nowt 2nd

Did anyone?
It's the singular worst half performance I've seen on the turf for a very long time.

[MRG]

He beat him man time after time today. One of his better performances

[1968claret]

Well luckily we brought in different options in the transfer window.....oh wait

Ok. We get it CC! We understand that you weren’t happy with the transfer window. Can you now give it a rest, at least until the January window!

[SkiptonClaret]

Hes a good player. He will come good

Maybe or he might infact be another poor signing the wrong side of 30.

[PaintYorkClaretnBlue]

Thought he had a decent first half but then 'disappeared' in the second half. Again,however, I don't think he and Gudmundsson can operate together. Both are right wingers and for me JBG is being compromised by playing down the left side.

Agreed, you have to play our best attacking player in his best position.

[agreenwood]

Thought he did well first half. Disappointed second half.

It’d be nice to get a few more goals from him and JBG tho.

[claretspice]

He was excellent first half. He's played enough football at Premier League level to know good defenders cut off the ball straight across the 6 yard box and force a cut back towards the penalty area which gives the defender and keeper a chance to get in a block, so that's the ball he played. If we've only one player in the box, then he should be looking for the cut back, not fondly imagining the defenders will allow the ball to roll along the goal-line unhindered. But it would help if we could get one or two more players into the box to give a couple of better options.

Second half, Watford were able to sit much deeper because they were protecting a 2 goal lead, and that meant there was a lot less space for Lennon to exploit. Had we moved the ball quicker and read his runs down the sides of the centre back and full back earlier (this is a particular comment on Westwood really) then he'd have had more of a chance to make a penetrating contribution, but we've not quite attuned to Lennon's game there yet. Easy to imagine Defour would have seen the runs quicker and got the ball there quicker and we'd have seen more from Lennon as a result.

[cblantfanclub]

I have to disagree with you Spice. There is absolutely no purpose in cutting back to space occupied by a Watford defender with no Claret shirt in sight. If he finds himself in that position with no outlet don't gift it to opposition either hold the ball and try to get a corner off whichever defender comes to close you down or hit it long so it might get re circulated by whoever's on the the opposite wing. Neither is a great choice but better than passing to the opposition which definitely only has one outcome. Also cut out the fancy Dan passing that never comes off.

[ebby]

Not a patch on Trips performance for Spurs on Saturday.

[claretspice]

I have to disagree with you Spice. There is absolutely no purpose in cutting back to space occupied by a Watford defender with no Claret shirt in sight. If he finds himself in that position with no outlet don't gift it to opposition either hold the ball and try to get a corner off whichever defender comes to close you down or hit it long so it might get re circulated by whoever's on the the opposite wing. Neither is a great choice but better than passing to the opposition which definitely only has one outcome. Also cut out the fancy Dan passing that never comes off.

Absolutely no point in a striker getting himself into a position where he can't plausibly receive a pass either, so I don't know why you're heaping your criticism on Lennon, rather than Wood, or indeed criticising (as Dyche did, interestingly) those teammates who failed to get into goalscoring positions.

You might have a point if Lennon had found himself by the by-line with time and space to look up and pick a pass (as Barnes did last week against Istanbul, when he criminally tried to shoot from an impossible angle rather than cutting it back to 2 well placed teammates - interestingly, I don't recall that warranting a critical thread on here), but he didn't. He found himself taking on a full back at a sprint, with little space to the dead-ball line. All he had time to do - both times - was to catch up with the ball, cut the ball back into an area and hope his teammates read the play.

As for the fancy dan passing - he tried one, in the second half. Bit unfair to criticise him too much for trying something, even if it didn't come off, during a half when the general consensus is we were a bit predictable and lacked creativity.

[TVC15]

Lennon has been a little more inconsistent than I expected since he joined the club but I do think that is very much the life of a winger. Very few are brilliant week in week out and unfortunately because they can be so exciting to watch when they are good when they are having an ineffective game it tends to get highlighted more by fans.

Personally I think JBG is also going through one of these spells and has not played well this season - it is why it is so important to have more competition from quality players like Brady. It`s a shame we did not buy a 4th wide man - I was highlighting the quality of the young lad Brooks at Sheff United at the start of last season. He went to Bournemouth for £12m and think he should have been the type of good young player we should have been in for.

As for Lennon getting to the bi-line and cutting this back I cannot believe people think this is a bad thing. He is our only player with real pace and the rest of the team know exactly how he plays and going on the outside of his fullback and cutting it back is what he has been doing for years. Pulling a ball back from this position is one of the most effective plays in football...a defenders nightmare. 100% the fault of the rest of our team to be not somewhere in the box ready to pounce....its the play that you break your neck to get in the box to get on the end of these balls. Look at the great sides like United and how many times they scored goals from these positions. We cannot do this several times a game like United as we do not have Giggs, Kanchelskis, Sharpe etc and we are also playing against very good full backs a lot of the time - but when we do its frankly a bit criminal at this level of football if we do not have players in the box anticipating these chances.

[BabylonClaret]

Spot on TVC.

[boatshed bill]

Perhaps he'd do better to try dribbling in the box and draw some fouls?

[Dark Cloud]

I've hopefully given him a fair crack, but I have to say I'm increasingly fed up with him. He definitely flatters to deceive, he regularly has decent first halves and yet he always fades away after half time and is totally AWOL. Yesterday he was NEVER on the wing/touchline in the second half, but constantly lurking inside meaning Lowton was effectively the winger. I'm not even sure he actually touched the ball in the second half and how he wasn't hooked when Hendrick was subbed was beyond belief!

[TVC15]

In the second half Watford very successfully cut off the supply to both our wingers - a massive factor in why we created virtually nothing in the second half but a hell of a lot easier to do when you are 2 up.

[whiffa]

When Brady is fit, JBG and Brady will both start and rightly so.

[Colburn_Claret]

A bit like George Boyd, he doesn't deliver at the top end of the pitch the way we want or expect, but he runs his socks off and does a great job helping out defensively. Because of that he will always be divisive. Those that only see the lack of a final ball, and those that see a real grafter.

[boatshed bill]

George Boyd worked harder....

than anyone else.