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+----- Thread: Matt Phillips (/showthread.php?tid=6522)
Matt Phillips - BaggieSteve - 27-03-2018
As pleased as I am that Matt Phillips has just scored for Scotland in Hungary, it's hard to resist a sarcastic comment on his contribution to date for the Albion
RE: Matt Phillips - talkSAFT - 28-03-2018
He was one player we thought might get us out of the mess, but he's been rubbish for months. That free kick he took late in the last game summed up his form.
RE: Matt Phillips - Baggievicar - 28-03-2018
Just read that Scotland played him as a central striker. Had a decent game. Scored. Hmmm.
RE: Matt Phillips - hibeejim21 - 28-03-2018
Big strong lad, I thought he did well for us leading the line. Hungary are pretty awful though, they made Scotland look like brazil at times.
RE: Matt Phillips - Blue Baggie - 28-03-2018
I wish he scored 4 or 5 goals - he needs a confidence booster - or rocket.
All is good = either his form picks up for us or his shop window value goes up
win win
RE: Matt Phillips - WBA-Josh - 28-03-2018
Apart from a very good 3/4 month spell in the middle of last season, Matt Phillips has been a disappointment in his time at the club in my opinion. In that purple patch he looked like a world beater cutting inside from the left wing onto his right foot to link up with Brunt/Chadli and Morrison. Since then however he just hasn’t re-found that form. He’s had his moments of good but nothing consistent for more than a match or two. Add to this his mental block where he doesn’t play if he “doesn’t feel up to it” and his bottling of some 50-50 tackles this season and it just adds to the disappointment.
Next season in the Championship he could be a big player for us if he stays and works out his issues because the Championship is really his level. I think if he is put back on the left wing with the freedom to cut inside onto his right foot then he will be like a new signing. Put Burke on the right and we could have two quick, direct wingers on either wing.
RE: Matt Phillips - BaggieSteve - 28-03-2018
(28-03-2018, 16:50)WBA-Josh Wrote: Apart from a very good 3/4 month spell in the middle of last season, Matt Phillips has been a disappointment in his time at the club in my opinion. In that purple patch he looked like a world beater cutting inside from the left wing onto his right foot to link up with Brunt/Chadli and Morrison. Since then however he just hasn’t re-found that form. He’s had his moments of good but nothing consistent for more than a match or two. Add to this his mental block where he doesn’t play if he “doesn’t feel up to it” and his bottling of some 50-50 tackles this season and it just adds to the disappointment.
Next season in the Championship he could be a big player for us if he stays and works out his issues because the Championship is really his level. I think if he is put back on the left wing with the freedom to cut inside onto his right foot then he will be like a new signing. Put Burke on the right and we could have two quick, direct wingers on either wing.
Depending on who stays or goes at the end of the season, Josh, playing him upfront in the middle, as Scotland did last night, might be worth a look, as it's something he clearly enjoys and he played pretty OK, admittedly, as Jim said, against a poor Hungary team
RE: Matt Phillips - WBA-Josh - 28-03-2018
If I remember correctly Phillips came off the bench in the FA Cup against Liverpool and played as a striker alongside Rodriguez. His impact was good and it could be considered one of his better performances this season.
I quite like the idea of playing him as a central winger in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Mesut Özil made it popular back in 2009 and 2010 when he was at Werder Bremen. He came through Schalke’s ranks as a left winger but never made the grade so moved to Werder Bremen. Werder Bremen’s Head Coach Thomas Schaaf played him centrally at the tip of a midfield diamond behind two strikers or as a number 10 in a 4-2-3-1. Whilst he defended centrally, when Bremen had possession he would drift to the right or left wing to get away from his marker and have space to run with the ball. If in a 4-2-3-1 he would double up with the winger on whichever side he’d move to.
Matt Phillips as a central winger could work because he’d have a free role to move outwide or stay centrally and he’d be tough to mark. It would be a good tactic if playing a counter-attacking game reliant on quick transitions from back to front similar to 2010 Germany with Burke and McLean either side of him and Rodriguez ahead of him.
RE: Matt Phillips - Slick_Footwork - 01-04-2018
I think Phillips has the ability to be a good player; he's passes well, can shoot and he can beat a man. However, he's very much a confidence player. This year his confidence has been battered and he's looked useless at times.
That said, I don't think he's been helped by circumstance. Last season, when he was playing well, there was more to his game than just whipping crosses in. He was coming inside, shooting and laying balls through. He was really coming into his own when playing with Chadli, this season he hasn't had anyone to 'play' with.
Like Josh, I feel he would flourish in a free role because he can travel with the ball at pace and play a bit. Against Liverpool he played just off the top, centrally and looked good. We broke at pace in that game and when he was one on one, he took the defenders on and got shots in. I feel rather than playing with Rondon and Rodriguez up top, we'd be far more balanced with either of these and Phillips, but Pardew can't seem to see that.
If we get a footballing manager next season and Phillips stays, he will do well in the Championship. He scored plenty from midfield for a very average QPR team at that level. At the moment, he's almost in that mould where he's too good for the Championship but not consistent enough for the Premiership. I don't think his style really suits a 'grafting' side though.
RE: Matt Phillips - Blue Baggie - 05-04-2018
Matt Phillips for me has let himself the fans and the club down with his performances.
He has basically refused to tackle any opposition player, resulting goals being conceded on several occasions.
This has been worse then anything anyone else has done because its been deliberate. Not trying is one thing - running away and hiding is something else. He can now simply never be trusted again.
Because of his repeated pathetic performances he should NEVER wear the shirt ever again.
He should immediately be dropped and suspended and start looking for a new club. He may not care, but neither do I. He is the worst of the worst.