Ben Brereton Diaz

[chaddyrovers]

15 minutes ago, JBiz said:

Really is starting to reach his potential.

How many goals do we think he will finish with? He’s no Mitrovic, clever, devastating and a guarantee for goals… where does his limit lie?

27

Edited October 31, 2021 by chaddyrovers

[Bigdoggsteel]

24

[SuperBrfc]

There was something delightful about that second goal from Diaz yesterday. The build up play, the slide rule pass and the assured finish at the end of it. Such moves have been rare from us in recent times. That goal definitely had a 'Fifa 2000' feel about it.

I thought it was interesting to hear Kevin Gallacher yesterday, on Co commentary duty, point out a couple of things that he felt Diaz had picked up from the Chile coaching staff in relation to movement and positioning.

His exploits with Chile have got him relishing being 'the main man' for Rovers and it shows with how much better he looks now compared to previous seasons. There's a realistic chance of him scoring 20+ league goals this season and that would be remarkable considering he was struggling to hit a ball cleanly 18 months ago.

[Darrenbot]

44 minutes ago, SuperBrfc said:

There was something delightful about that second goal from Diaz yesterday. The build up play, the slide rule pass and the assured finish at the end of it. Such moves have been rare from us in recent times. That goal definitely had a 'Fifa 2000' feel about it.

I thought it was interesting to hear Kevin Gallacher yesterday, on Co commentary duty, point out a couple of things that he felt Diaz had picked up from the Chile coaching staff in relation to movement and positioning.

His exploits with Chile have got him relishing being 'the main man' for Rovers and it shows with how much better he looks now compared to previous seasons. There's a realistic chance of him scoring 20+ league goals this season and that would be remarkable considering he was struggling to hit a ball cleanly 18 months ago.

He doesn't improve at all under Mowbray and his coaching team for years yet a couple of times joined up with Chile and he's like a new player,you wonder how better some of our other players could be with better coaching.

[only2garners]

There’s a certain amount of selective memory going on here. Whilst I am quite happy to believe that he has learnt from his exploits with Chile he was clearly improving his game with Rovers last season well before his international days.

[roversfan99]

6 minutes ago, only2garners said:

There’s a certain amount of selective memory going on here. Whilst I am quite happy to believe that he has learnt from his exploits with Chile he was clearly improving his game with Rovers last season well before his international days.

100%. He has spent probably less than 2 months with Chile so whilst he may well have learnt, there is no way that he could have transformed from the player we saw in the first 2 years to what we see today, the main thing thay he will have got from playing for Chile and the fanfare he has received is extra confidence.

He was much improved last season and noticeably had grown physically and learnt how to use his body much better. The easy narrative is that it is all down to Chile as a further stick to beat Mowbray with but it is simply not the case that the transformation has come solely from there.

[Darrenbot]

3 minutes ago, only2garners said:

There’s a certain amount of selective memory going on here. Whilst I am quite happy to believe that he has learnt from his exploits with Chile he was clearly improving his game with Rovers last season well before his international days.

Not really selective memory,how about some facts.7 goals in 40 league games last season to 12 in 15 so far this season is a huge improvement in my eyes.He's gone from  looking like a waste of money to probably our most important player this season.

[Oldgregg86]

i genuinely think 80% of his transformation is purely confidence

Playing with and against some of the worlds top players and being selected for the national side has probably given him the belief in himself that was clearly lacking and was evident with his first touch every time he pulled on the shirt for us in the first 18 months

Edited October 31, 2021 by Oldgregg86

[LordBaltimore]

I think BBD benefitted from going to train with Chile.  That said, I think that benefit derives mostly from Ben himself.  He took the chance to go down there.  He managed to win a spot on the team.  He managed to be an undisputed started and goal-scorer now with the team.  And most of that is due to Ben, his drive, and his ambition.

Let it be known that Chile's Uruguayan coach, Martín Lasarte, is ADEQUATE.  He and his coaching staff are not bad, nor are they good.  They are adequate.  He was hired to replace the previous coach, Reilando Rueda, who impressed few and seeing the writing on the wall he decided to step down to go coach his native Colombia which had better chances of qualifying to Qatar anyway.  Lasarte has come under heavy criticism and not just for his poor results.  The team doesn't really looked "worked" (unlike the teams under Bielsa or Sampaoli) and the coach has failed to make much of a positive imprint on Chile's play.  He has made many poor decisions.  

So I would not give too much credit to the Chilean national team's coaching staff for improving Ben.  I think Ben being exposed to even a mediocre South American coach is still beneficial to him as a young player as he is learning a different football culture and style of play.  Playing and practicing with South Americans (even mediocre ones) can only benefit a player with Ben's football pedigree as it's just more stuff to put in your toolkit. 

So I would credit his whole South American adventure with improving him (though not necessarily due to the coaching per se) another 20% but i have to agree that 80% of his improvement is confidence, which his play with Chile has helped fuel.

[only2garners]

11 hours ago, Darrenbot said:

Not really selective memory,how about some facts.7 goals in 40 league games last season to 12 in 15 so far this season is a huge improvement in my eyes.He's gone from  looking like a waste of money to probably our most important player this season.

There's one important fact you have missed out there - last season he was playing alongside Adam Armstrong who was scoring for fun. Who knows how many he would have scored last year if Armstrong had not been there. 

My view is that Ben has been showing gradual but continuous improvement for 18 months now. Last year his improvement was masked a bit by playing second fiddle to armstrong, hence it looks like there has been a great leap forward this season.

I can't be bothered to look back 12 months on this thread but there was a growing consensus that he was improving then.

[47er]

1 hour ago, only2garners said:

There's one important fact you have missed out there - last season he was playing alongside Adam Armstrong who was scoring for fun. Who knows how many he would have scored last year if Armstrong had not been there. 

My view is that Ben has been showing gradual but continuous improvement for 18 months now. Last year his improvement was masked a bit by playing second fiddle to armstrong, hence it looks like there has been a great leap forward this season.

I can't be bothered to look back 12 months on this thread but there was a growing consensus that he was improving then.

Yeah I agree with that. He went from WTF to "there is something in there". He's taken off like a rocket since the Chile thing started though.

[JBiz]

7 hours ago, only2garners said:

 

I can't be bothered to look back 12 months on this thread but there was a growing consensus that he was improving then.

Whatever you do - DON’T LOOK 😂 

[LeftWinger]

On 25/09/2020 at 11:07, LeftWinger said:

Jason Roberts:

2011/12 - 7 goals

2010/11 - 5 goals

2009/10 - 5 goals

2008/09 - 7 goals

2007/08 - 5 goals

2006/07 - 5 goals

Numbers that Brereton can only dream of ??

 

On 25/09/2020 at 17:34, USABlue said:

Brereton is definately improving, but was it so hard not to?

 

On 26/09/2020 at 17:49, simongarnerisgod said:

fair play to big ben,im`e happy he`s begining to prove me wrong

 

On 26/09/2020 at 17:54, darrenrover said:

On today's performance, when I thought he ran himself into the ground, was the conduit for several chances and his all round play was excellent, we may have a player.

There'll be nobody more pleased than me, if my thoughts and opinion on Ben over the previous 2 years are rammed well and truly down my throat.

Here's hoping.....

 

On 26/09/2020 at 18:15, S8 & Blue said:

Delighted to read this.

The lad was immense from start to finish today, looked a top Championship player.

 

If he keeps it up I think even the most optimistic of us will be eating a little humble pie.

 

On 26/09/2020 at 18:35, Ossydave said:

Think its well known on here I've tried to big this boy up relentlessly based on the performances I saw from him in the England u19. Its an absolute joy to see him brimming with confidence and hopefully, eventually winning a few people round. Well done Ben.

 

On 24/10/2020 at 17:00, S8 & Blue said:

Has anyone checked if he actually has a hole in his arse?

Cos he’s certainly a player

 

 

On 24/10/2020 at 17:11, JacknOry said:

Best player on pitch today and that's saying something considering the performances of Holtby and Elliot. Hope this is the start of us getting the player we hoped for. Seems confident and this will only increase after today. Chuffed for the boy.

 

On 24/10/2020 at 17:51, S8 & Blue said:

..never doubted him for a second.

 

On 24/10/2020 at 18:08, tomphil said:

Been a long time coming but he's now looking worth the punt, needs a season of being like that though rather than a few games. Confidence is a massive thing though and now he's got a bit stronger and is involved you can see the difference.

Still think he was badly handled for a lot of his time here that more than anything got his head hanging you could tell.  Anyway it doesn't really matter if he's finally found his feet.

 

On 24/10/2020 at 18:15, Giant said:

To be honest, it’s very good to see a player who was bereft of confidence start to show what a good player he is. 

 

On 25/10/2020 at 08:58, magicalmortensleftpeg said:

I don’t think anyone expected to see BB play this well 12 months ago. Let’s enjoy this run of form for what it is. The transfer fee will always hang around his neck but right now he’s one of our best players and that is not a sentence I expected to be writing after the first 18 months of his time here. Fair play to him.

 

On 25/10/2020 at 16:04, Vilesinner said:

His tracking back was incredible. BB was everywhere. He is the epitome of a team player.

 

People did think he was looking a player 12 months ago. Apart from me of course 🙂

[arbitro]

4 minutes ago, LeftWinger said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People did think he was looking a player 12 months ago. Apart from me of course 🙂

I'm with you. I never saw a player in there apart from rare flashes but he has (I'm happy to say) proved me wrong. And to support our opinion I heard at weekend that he has scored more goals as Brereton-Diaz than he did as plain old Brereton.

What's in a name eh?

[LeftWinger]

44 minutes ago, arbitro said:

I'm with you. I never saw a player in there apart from rare flashes but he has (I'm happy to say) proved me wrong. And to support our opinion I heard at weekend that he has scored more goals as Brereton-Diaz than he did as plain old Brereton.

What's in a name eh?

We should do this with all misfiring strikers.

Who knows how many goals the following could have scored:

Ashley Ward-Romario

Kevin Davies-Batistusta

David Goodwillie-Rooney

Chris Brown-Kuntz

[Ulrich]

I agree with most here that BBs transformation is down to believe, confidence, whatever term you want to use. But I would also state that it is our managers job to evoke this in our players. A bit of faith, self belief and he is playing like on a different level and all after a couple of months with another team. Says a lot about man management within our club.

[riverholmes]

I would need to see more of Brereton's career to be sure of this but my impression was that he couldn't strike a ball very well. I always thought of the same about Emile Heskey, who had a lot to his game but, I suspect barely scored a goal in his career from outside of the box (would need to check the records about that). I wonder if something has clicked with his kicking technique - as well as his confidence, to enable this improvement. 

Edit: Quick search shows that Heskey did score some spectacular goals from the edge of the box or outside, so maybe, not the best comparison.

I say it again, however, that Brereton has been immensely fortunate with the opportunities that he's got. Other players might get a handful of games to make the grade before losing their place.

Edited November 2, 2021 by riverholmes

[LeftWinger]

38 minutes ago, riverholmes said:

Edit: Quick search shows that Heskey did score some spectacular goals from the edge of the box or outside, so maybe, not the best comparison.

Heskey always seemed to score against Rovers as well. I'd be interested to see if he scored more against anyone else than us - I very much doubt it.

EDIT: 

In fact, according to transfermarket, these were his favoured opponents (number of times he scored against them in brackets):

ROVERS (13)

Chelsea, Middlesboro, West Ham (7)

Spurs, Southampton (6)

Sunderland, Leeds, Derby, Coventry (5)

Edited November 2, 2021 by LeftWinger

[Exiled in Toronto]

1 hour ago, Ulrich said:

I agree with most here that BBs transformation is down to believe, confidence, whatever term you want to use. But I would also state that it is our managers job to evoke this in our players. A bit of faith, self belief and he is playing like on a different level and all after a couple of months with another team. Says a lot about man management within our club.

I think you are selling Ben short. For a young lad to take himself off to a different continent, not knowing the language or any of the other players or staff, risking ridicule, ostracism, loneliness etc takes terrific confidence and self-belief. If he didn’t have those within him before going, he wouldn’t have gone.

[windymiller7]

1 hour ago, LeftWinger said:

Heskey always seemed to score against Rovers as well. I'd be interested to see if he scored more against anyone else than us - I very much doubt it.

EDIT: 

In fact, according to transfermarket, these were his favoured opponents (number of times he scored against them in brackets):

ROVERS (13)

Chelsea, Middlesboro, West Ham (7)

Spurs, Southampton (6)

Sunderland, Leeds, Derby, Coventry (5)

Blimey! At the risk of going slightly off thread, I've alway said "Bloody Crouch! He's always scores against us", so I've just checked:

9 Goals in 17 Games! (Most goals he has scored against a single club)

He also has 9 goals against Arsenal, however he needed 27 Games to get those!

[LeftWinger]

34 minutes ago, windymiller7 said:

Blimey! At the risk of going slightly off thread, I've alway said "Bloody Crouch! He's always scores against us", so I've just checked:

9 Goals in 17 Games! (Most goals he has scored against a single club)

He also has 9 goals against Arsenal, however he needed 27 Games to get those!

Didn't realise he had that many against Rovers as well. 

[JacknOry]

Emile Heskey could strike a ball cleanly - for me it was decision making with him. Similar to AA - if he has time to think he fluffs it. Heskey scored some crackers from outside of the box.

[oldjamfan1]

8 minutes ago, JacknOry said:

Emile Heskey could strike a ball cleanly - for me it was decision making with him. Similar to AA - if he has time to think he fluffs it. Heskey scored some crackers from outside of the box.

Heskey was also a good strike partner for Michael Owen. It was starting to become quite an old fashioned tactic even back then but it certainly would be considered so now. 
Though I think a big guy/little guy combination would still be a terrific weapon in our division.

[Ulrich]

4 hours ago, Exiled in Toronto said:

I think you are selling Ben short. For a young lad to take himself off to a different continent, not knowing the language or any of the other players or staff, risking ridicule, ostracism, loneliness etc takes terrific confidence and self-belief. If he didn’t have those within him before going, he wouldn’t have gone.

What a crock, I moved abroad on my own at 17. Kids of today aren't what they used to be.

[JacknOry]

18 minutes ago, Ulrich said:

What a crock, I moved abroad on my own at 17. Kids of today aren't what they used to be.

Its not the norm though. I had my first flat at 16, moved to another country by 19 but that isn't to say that everyone is the same. I know mates from my childhood that still live with their parents - at 40+.