Snog, Marry, Avoid: Summer 2023 Transfer Window

[boltonboris]

Well, I'd argue that he's not great on the 2nd ball. It looks like one of his biggest weaknesses to me - And "first choice 2nd-ball mid" sounds like something you've made up

Evatt specifically said Thomason was included in the play-off semi to help us win 2nd-balls against Barnsley.

The manager picked him for the biggest game of the season for that role, so I'm not sure how I'm making it up.

If you don't like the phrase...what would you prefer?

And we barely won a second ball over 2 legs. One of Evatt's mistakes that I'm sure he'll own.

What Thomason is good at, is receiving the ball from one wing back on the half turn and switching it quickly to the other wing-back. He can also get a nice shape on his passes down the line, as evidenced against Lincoln. But he needs this pictured in his head before he does it and isn't very creative when it's not open for him.

For me though, right now, he leans over the ball too much and it narrows his vision and he can get the ball nicked off him. He needs to work on that. If he can play with his head up and advance the ball more, we're onto a winner.

[boltonboris]

And "ball-winner" would be absolutely fine

[Prufrock]

And also, whether sixth choice in a linear way or whatever, it's clear he's not first choice for Plan A.

At the moment he's only going to stay games in significant circumstances that suit his skill set. The aim for him now has to be to develop save perform so that he's in Plan A and it's one of the other three who is there for a specific job.

[GhostoftheBok]

And "ball-winner" would be absolutely fine

I specifically avoided the term.

[TANGODANCER]

And "ball-winner" would be absolutely fine

I specifically avoided the term.

I thought we had a team full of them. ?

[boltonboris]

It's about the most accurate!

Tackling is a rarity in matches now. Interceptions and coming away with the second ball are "ball-winning" qualities

[Spartan2]

And also, whether sixth choice in a linear way or whatever, it's clear he's not first choice for Plan A.

At the moment he's only going to stay games in significant circumstances that suit his skill set. The aim for him now has to be to develop save perform so that he's in Plan A and it's one of the other three who is there for a specific job.

I think he's probably 49/51 with Morley though atm, Morley hasn't been ripping up any trees lately, I think there's a decent chance of him edging Morley out. The other problem he's got is Paris and Gomez will likely also be fighting for starts soon. I think most of our midfielders will have to accept rotation at some point. Sheehan and Dempsey are in blistering form right now but if their levels drop there's good players waiting, It's all great for bwfc.

[irie Cee Bee]

" But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. " - The Bible. clearly others see Thomason's value and are prepared to pay for it. I am with Ghost and Insane on this one. I believe we would be weaker as a team without him. No one has what he brings to the midfield in our team. He is not a Kante for sure but he gives us options that our other midfielders don't.

[BWFC_Insane]

" But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. " - The Bible. clearly others see Thomason's value and are prepared to pay for it. I am with Ghost and Insane on this one. I believe we would be weaker as a team without him. No one has what he brings to the midfield in our team. He is not a Kante for sure but he gives us options that our other midfielders don't.

I don’t want to take any credit. I’ve felt Thomason is a good squad player but not more. But clearly Evatt thinks otherwise, other knowledgeable people in football think otherwise and to the tune of seven figures. He’s also this season clearly gone up a level. I would say that based on how far he’s progressed it’s likely he can go up some more too. Evatt obviously believes so and I suspect like on most things will be right.

[The_Gun]

Well, I'd argue that he's not great on the 2nd ball. It looks like one of his biggest weaknesses to me - And "first choice 2nd-ball mid" sounds like something you've made up

Evatt specifically said Thomason was included in the play-off semi to help us win 2nd-balls against Barnsley.

The manager picked him for the biggest game of the season for that role, so I'm not sure how I'm making it up.

If you don't like the phrase...what would you prefer?

And we barely won a second ball over 2 legs. One of Evatt's mistakes that I'm sure he'll own.

What Thomason is good at, is receiving the ball from one wing back on the half turn and switching it quickly to the other wing-back. He can also get a nice shape on his passes down the line, as evidenced against Lincoln. But he needs this pictured in his head before he does it and isn't very creative when it's not open for him.

For me though, right now, he leans over the ball too much and it narrows his vision and he can get the ball nicked off him. He needs to work on that. If he can play with his head up and advance the ball more, we're onto a winner.

Boris's assessment here tallies closely with my own, with the caveat that he does seem to have an excellent attitude and it's likely he will continue to improve.

Would I be confident that he ever becomes good enough to start in the Championship? Absolutely not. But regardless, we've already got more out of him than anyone could have reasonably hoped for when he joined as an 18 year old from the ninth tier.

[boltonboris]

I believe he has a high ceiling. As I believe Toal does for instance

I think Toal and Thomason will likely go on to have the most successful careers out of our current crop of players

[Prufrock]

Morley is the one for me, though agree they both have a lot of potential.

[GhostoftheBok]

Baxter, Toal, Johnston, Forrester, Thomason, Morley, CMG, Ashworth, Nlundulu...they all have potential to at least play Championship football. They won't all make it, but that's life. A couple may end up in the Premier League at some stage, with luck and the right attitude. There are plenty of players up there because they applied themselves, rather than having truly exceptional talent.

You've then got Jones, Santos, Iredale, Coleman, Sheehan, Charles, Cogley, Dempsey and Williams heading into their peak years.

Adeboyejo is sort is betwixt and between. There are a couple of veterans in there for good measure.

We are still a couple of players short, but it's a terrific squad. Even if it badly needed Maghoma's ball-carrying ability.

Hopefully we have enough depth at the minute to carry us through the August fixtures and can add what we need to get through the rest of the season before the window closes.

Maybe then in January we can do something special in the wider market beyond these little islands and really kick on.

[BWFC_Insane]

Morley is the one for me, though agree they both have a lot of potential.

The problem Morley has is pace and mobility. I’m not convinced he can fix that. But we will see.

[The_Gun]

Morley is the one for me, though agree they both have a lot of potential.

The problem Morley has is pace and mobility. I’m not convinced he can fix that. But we will see.

Thomason also has those issues, he just tries really hard.

[GhostoftheBok]

Bradley and Traf both at tonight's game. Lovely to see.

[Mar]

Morley is the one for me, though agree they both have a lot of potential.

The problem Morley has is pace and mobility. I’m not convinced he can fix that. But we will see.

Thomason also has those issues, he just tries really hard.

We should be using Thomason's off season as a showcase for potential talent at our club. The way he came back from off season last year was a notable change and he's just built from there. Great marker for youth application that we should hope our youth prospects aspire to.

I'm hoping Thomason's been working on his shooting. He's been snatching at shots over the years and that's the only part of his game that i've got any real concerns over. Applies himself well, decent passing range, decent work rate, decent tackling, decent levels of physicality now, but just needs to sort that shooting out. Should he sort that out, that'll be quite the progress. Some have suggested future captain material, i've never seen him be overly vocal, but there's always that possibility.

[Mar]

Bradley and Traf both at tonight's game. Lovely to see.

Yeah, a credit to both.

[nicholaldo]

Alex Neil's sat watching in the stands tonight.

[KeyserSoze]

Maybe he just wants to watch liquid football.