Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
AJ

Holty

Recommended Posts

A lot of critics of Steve Morison, who I think will come very good in time. He does a lot for the team, and playing as a lone striker put in a good shift. This in turn, creates space for Hoolahan, who, if he plays like he did tonight, definitely deserves his slot in the team too.

What disappointed me tonight as when Holt got his chance to come off the bench. He looked every bit slow, overweight and disillusioned. He looked nothing like the Holt of last year. Sure, I know it''s a different ball game in the PL, but surely you''d want to grab your chance with both hands, and not continually throw yourself to the floor every time you get the ball?

He had a few chances to run with it or do something worthwhile which he didn''t take. Albeit, maybe Lambert had told him to do this, but am I the only one who thought he looked completely off pace and off the boil? Hmm.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I think generally he didn''t chase the ball as much as he had in his first few games but overall his touch was a bit sloppy but not new to today .. the pace needed to be affective in the PL just isn''t there at the moment. Am sure he will improve tho as season goes on.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Holt is god and will always get goals but Morsion is edging him at the moment, Holts a decent enough professional to realise this and will take his chances when they arise....

Just waiting for all the Morsion critics to start on Holt now oh dear hear we go!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don''t think you should underestimate how difficult it is to come on with 15-20 minutes to go and immediately look sharp and up with the tempo of the game. It is especially difficult in the Premier League.

 

However, I was very disappointed with Holt''s contribution when he came on last night. His job was to continue the job that Morison had done so well and provide us with a reliable out ball to ease the pressure which was mounting at the end of the game. What he did instead was to give away needless fouls, thus gifting possession back to Sunderland, and try and con the referee (who was excellent all night by the way [Y]) into giving him a cheap free kick. I''ve said this before about Holt and been largely ignored but a lot of the eye catching stuff he does that fans love and associate with the ideal of a hard working centre forward actually contribute very little to the team. There is a fine line between roughing up an opposition defence and needlessley giving away free kicks and at the moment Grant Holt is the wrong side of that line.

 

It is interesting to me that Holt was lauded for his performance against Chelsea and I said so at the time. He took his goal extremely well in that game and people obviously remember that when appraising his perfomance. The other thing I kept hearing was that he had given John Terry ''a torrid time''. This seems to be based mainly on the fact that he pushed him over once. The week before against Stoke he was magnificent and was a real handful for a very physical defence. But no goal and no pushing over an England captain so nobody seemed to notice.

 

I also wonder whether this is also what is feeding the ridiculous notion that Morison is ''lazy''. He doesn''t chase as many lost causes as Holt or throw himself around as much so some posters think he is not trying so hard. People need to step back and think about just how difficult it is to play up front on your own at this level. It would be absolute madness to chase every lost cause just to convince the fans that you were giving your all. You need to preserve your energy for the important stuff and you also need to be tactically disciplined enough to make sure you are in the right position to receive the ball. Maybe that is also why Lambert does not trust Holty to play in that role and is why he also brought on Vaughan when Morison was withdrawn?

 

I hope Holty forces his way back into the side at some stage and proves that he can cut it in the Premier League. He has been inspirational for the last couple of seasons and a decent couple of years in the top flight would cement his status as a club legend. But right now I fully support Paul Lambert''s decision to leave him out of the side.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Good post Shack.I feel Holt has started this season in a higher league as he started last. ie concentrating on trying to win a free kick every occasion instead of simply playing the game. There are occasions when a defender "offers" a free kick and smart forwards accept it. But you can''t manufacture them when they are not there.When Grant starts to concentrate on the game and believe in himself then we will see the Holt who finished last season. He can cut it in this league but yes Morrison is the smarter act at present.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I actually thought that he looked quite sharp, when Vaughan had his shot he could have played Holt through. You have to remember that for a period we had 10 men and he was up front alone, Holt has never been effective as a loan striker which is probably why Lambert brought them both on at the same time. I watched the game back on Sky, and he found it very difficult once Vaughan went off. I think that''s the best thing about Morison, the ability to play up there on his own, I''ve never seen that in Holt -  a big part of Holts game is playing in his strike partner.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Holty always seem to struggle at the start of the season though! It''s not untill he''s had 8/10 games in the League that he really shows what he can do, so im sure in a few games we will see the holt we all know and love!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Holt is a much better footballer than people give him credit for, and I genuinely believe that. It just drives me mad that he''s constantly trying to throw himself to the floor when in good positions - especially as refs have got wise to his act.

 

Interestingly in Holt''s 12 minutes on the pitch, he conceded 3 of our 4 fouls in the whole game

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="Chunky Norwich"]

 It just drives me mad that he''s constantly trying to throw himself to the floor when in good positions - especially as refs have got wise to his act.

Interestingly in Holt''s 12 minutes on the pitch, he conceded 3 of our 4 fouls in the whole game

[/quote]

Yes it is annoying, mention Holt to friends and they will talk about him falling over all the time rather than what he''s achieved the past couple of seasons.

Also as you say the ref''s have got wise to him.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...