MelvinBragg Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 Interested to see yesterday that when Fitzpatrick got injured that the choice was made to bring on Saunders and move Hateley to midfield. Now I appreciate we were trying to see the game out and Hateley is a more defensive midfielder than Forbes but it just struck me that a bit of an odd choice to shuffle the team about so late in the game when there was a straight swap available. Â Which got me thinking about Forbes. Do we have a place for him? It sounds ridiculous to say this about a midfielder who has more goals this season than our entire midfield managed last season. But does he bring much to the table other than goals? Â Set Pieces I keep hearing he is a dead ball expert, but I actually rate Hateley's set pieces better. Other than a couple of free kicks vs Flamurtari and some penalties, I haven't seen much in his set pieces to impress me. Â Range of Passing This is an area where he is excellent. Â Work Rate Again can't be faulted, he does try and work for the team. I say try because... Â Stamina/Pace For me, this seems to be an area where he struggles for whatever reason. he fades 60 minutes into games and doesn't seem to get about the park as well as even those older than him (Lasley being the obvious example). Â The last point is where I think the question lies. We all know that in the SPL, stamina and pace in the midfield is a big part of winning the battle. But we all like to see good passers of a football. Can we afford to carry Forbes lack of pace and stamina due to the goals and passiong ability? Gannon seemed to think so. Brown seems less sure. Â Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary_411 Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 He's a talented player, just lackin stamina as you say and also confidence. Once he gets that back we'll see more of what we did at the start of the season Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brazilian Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 He's still young and has shown great potential and will continue to develop over the next few seasons  Craig loves a defensive player , especially when we have a lead to protect, so it didn't really surprise me on the choice of Fitzpatrick then Saunders.  Besides Ross rattled himself on the nose with the ball during the warm up, could see from his reaction that it was a sore one , tried to act all cool about it, scanning round about to see if anyone had seen it He was still was checking his nose a few minutes later when he was knocking the ball about with Murphy and co. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mon_da_well Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 Work Rate Again can't be faulted, he does try and work for the team. I say try because... Â I disagree with that, a lot of the time he wont track back and just takes his time jogging back. That pisses me off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cakes Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 I agree with MDW. I think he's often guilty of fannying about, waiting for the ball to come to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mon_da_well Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 Aye, I'm actually annoyed at him just thinking about it  Especially when we have Coke, Lasley etc who will give it there all to get back, get the ball etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airfinz Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Rightly or wrongly, I took it as an example of our younger players having to wait another 18 months before they can think of developing again. Â Probably due to my negativity towards Mr Brown and Knox. Â One thing is for sure, I cannot dispute their effectiveness to date! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wellfan1984 Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Rightly or wrongly, I took it as an example of our younger players having to wait another 18 months before they can think of developing again. Probably due to my negativity towards Mr Brown and Knox.  One thing is for sure, I cannot dispute their effectiveness to date!  Aye it must be all those Auld Pro's that Brown is bringing in - like McGlinchey and possible Spence. Seasoned Veterans the lot of them....  Brown is picking the team to suit the game, and not to stroke his ego.  Forbes will get his shot, no doubt in the coming weeks but it depends on how Brown wants to play it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxi Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 We were defending a lead and with the lack of height in the team to defend set peices thats why Saunders was more than likely prefered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuwell Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 His lack of pace doesn't worry me at the moment. As others have said he's still young and should build up both his pace and stamina over the next year or so. Â As for can we afford to play him at the moment? Yes, but I think we have to be careful when we play him. Wed. night might be a good game for him to start (although I don't see him lasting the full game. We will struggle to get many chances in the box, so his ability to strike the ball from a distance could be valuable - especially if we play with a 5 man midfield and one up front. Next Sat. wont be a game for him to start but he could be brought on for the second half if we go a goal down. This is the way that I think CB will use him for the rest of this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelvinBragg Posted February 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 I disagree with that, a lot of the time he wont track back and just takes his time jogging back. That pisses me off. See, I've watched him closely. It might look like he's jogging back. But he seems to be putting everything into it. It looks to me like a fitness or pace issue rather than an effort issue. Unless he puts no effort in in training to improve his fitness. But nothing I've heard suggests that. Could it be that despite his clear ability with the ball at his feet, he's just not naturally athletic...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mon_da_well Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Nah, I can't agree with that mate. Sometimes aye, looks like he's giving it his all but far too often he'll just seem to stand and move slowly then when we get the ball back, he's sharp as a tack again. He might not be naturally athletic, but he's no excuse for being lazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfc Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 id love to see ross playing further forward in between the strikers.i think that would suite his game cause hes a good passer of the ball and he could slide neat passes through especially with duke making the runs he does.im sure a criticism that we have as that we dont shoot enough but theres no doubt that if forbes was 25-30 yards out he wouldny be afraid to have a go.for me hes no suited to playing as a 2 in the centre of midfield hes no got the legs for it or even at left mid for the same reason.he seems low in confidence right now but weve seen enough from him earlier in the season to know that hell be a important player for us again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motherwell Football Club Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 I agree, He came on in that position against Rangers at Ibrox and played well. Â Although, I think he needs to be in the centre. Â I think he tries his best but has very slow overall pace. He makes great use of the ball. Often when tracking back he is filling another players postion, due to other players compensating for his lack of pace. Think he is one of the best team players we have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadywellToi Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 I think we are all guilty of doing what Celtic fans did with Simon Donnelly and countless others (being the next Dalglish/Johnstone) before really seeing what this emerging talent can deliver. I thought he looked like a world beater by the time he would get to 28 after his start to the season. Â At least he is going to get first team football unlike Slane. Even Chris McCart said at the fans forum that he would advise him to stay at Motherwell if he was wearing a neutral hat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finlay Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Like a few others, I was quick to state to my non Motherwell supporting mates, to watch out for Ross Forbes as he is going to be a future star. I felt more sure after he scored our goal of the season against St Johnstone and some vital ones against Kilmarnock, Dun Utd, Inverness, St Mirren, and Hearts. Even if three of those were from the spot. They still need to be put away. Not been the same player after he missed that penalty at NDP. Â His two problems are confidence and stamina. The second should be easily rectified at his age. The first imo would then slip into place as he buzzed around that midfield area, as he has the skill and a fantastic left foot. Â He has scored a lot of goals for this season and for that I am very thankful. Including our Euro campaign he must be on about 10. Think we will see a better player next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mon_da_well Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Like a few others, I was quick to state to my non Motherwell supporting mates, to watch out for Ross Forbes as he is going to be a future star. Â I've no doubt he will get better with time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lobey_Dosser Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Forbes looked like a class act in the early part of the season. His eye for a pass and a strike at goal are rare assets in Scottish football these days. Â While I'm disappointed at how his season has faded, I think we just need to be patient with him and we will see him regain his confidence. Â With regards fitness, I'd like to think that will come with time as he physically develops. I remember when Gerrard was starting out at Liverpool, everyone could see he was a class act but there were major doubts over his stamina. Furthermore, it seems likely that he suffers from asthma. His body will adjust in time to deal with the demands of playing week in week out. Â I have every confidence that Craig Brown will get the best out of him next season and I wouldn't be surprised if we end up building our team around him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy_P Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Interested to see yesterday that when Fitzpatrick got injured that the choice was made to bring on Saunders and move Hateley to midfield. Now I appreciate we were trying to see the game out and Hateley is a more defensive midfielder than Forbes but it just struck me that a bit of an odd choice to shuffle the team about so late in the game when there was a straight swap available. Which got me thinking about Forbes. Do we have a place for him?.....  I think Saturday was no more sinister than us trying to be a bit more solid and difficult to breakthrough at that stage of the game. Fizzy's introduction in itself was an attempt to do the same and I think Hateley offers for strength and bite than Forbes would have in that role.  I still think he will have a role to play under Brown though personally I'm not so sure on the left hand side of midfield is the best place for him. We seem to have tried two or three there since Brown took over in attempt to best fill that role.  As has been said already played centrally and pushing forward offers us the best opportunity of taking advantage of his shooting abilities and if and when he does lose the ball there's more "hauners" about in the middle of the park to regain it quickly. Defensively he isn't the greatest and I think stuck out on the wing leaves him that bit more exposed.  He's at that delicate stage now after bursting on to the scene where he has to take the next stage in his game and prove he can do it consistantly and it wasn't just a flash in the pan. Improved fitness and stamina, more match experience and encouragement from the stands and the bench will hopefuly help him do that.  Its a bit of shame that he has faded somewhat from the form at the beginning of the season as it was a fantastic success story. I mean Robbie Keane scores a penalty - whoop de fucking do that's not a story - a young player who hadn't played any SPL or first team football outwith Division Three in Scotland rattling in nearly 10 goals from midfield, a couple of goal of the season canidates among them - that's a story! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnymfc Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 I think, he'll be fine but i think he will need to work on his fitness and stamina about 7 weeks before the start of next season, not much fun for Forbes in the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ya Bezzer! Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Range of Passing This is an area where he is excellent. Â Did you see the pitch? Â As you mentioned Forbes best attribute is he tries passes that no other player in the squad would see or attempt but you need to give him a decent surface to do it on. Â Under the current conditions it wouldn't surprise me if Forbes plays in more away matches where there is the possibility of a decent surface than at Fir Park. Â Even though his performances have tailed off a little lately I still think we miss him a little because he gives us something different from the other midfielders who are all of a type (Jennings, Lasley, Coke even Hateley). Â Forbes gives us an offensive dimension from midfield that we lack when he's not there - he's got 9 goals this season (OK, I think 4 were penalties but still), Jennings, Lasley, Coke and Hateley have 1 between them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
numpty Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 As you mentioned Forbes best attribute is he tries passes that no other player in the squad would see Well, hopefully the player he's passing it to has seen it as well, otherwise he's not going to be anticipating it and it's likely a bit of a wasted pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special aka Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 from what I've seen ......... a wee tad over-rated imho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motherwell Football Club Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 All you have to remember is, the guy had Scott Brown chasing his own tail at Parkhead earlier this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yabba's Turd Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 You get the best from Forbes when it's dry, decent playing surface and not freezing i.e.- summer fitba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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