Sam Gallagher Returns

[Wheelton Blue]

Both Gallagher and Brereton are poor at holding the ball up. Neither of them have sufficient control to do this effectively, and it's something we've missed since Graham.

It's a big reason why we invite pressure IMO

[Bigdoggsteel]

On 29/10/2021 at 12:39, Wheelton Blue said:

Both Gallagher and Brereton are poor at holding the ball up. Neither of them have sufficient control to do this effectively, and it's something we've missed since Graham.

It's a big reason why we invite pressure IMO

Ya, it's not really their thing. They both want to turn and run with the ball. Graham was an absolute master at it though. That's a major part of how he had the career he had whilst being pretty slow. It's a skill. 

Edited October 30, 2021 by Bigdoggsteel

[Exiled in Toronto]

Gallagher showed one of his main weaknesses today, a lack of anticipation. He never attacks the space where the ball will be most scorable from, both his chances with better movement to the point of maximum opportunity would’ve been simple - Dack is brilliant at that. Sam just reacts.

[Wheelton Blue]

23 minutes ago, El Tombro said:

Brereton has a lanky build but is improving game upon game at hold-up play. He did it a number of times today, particularly in the first half. At 22 he's not half bad at it. He's intelligent at winning free kicks when we're on the ropes. He's of the Graham ilk and it's starting to show. It's concerning that we haven't been able to tie him down to another contract.

Brereton and Graham are like chalk and cheese IMO.

Graham had limited pace, and was at his best when playing centrally with the ball played into him.

Brereton is at his best running with the ball at pace from wide positions. 

[Bigdoggsteel]

Gallagher is probably a nightmare for full backs. They are used to small nimble guys and up rocks this 6 foot 4 galloper who will win headers all day and run and run. He is still learning the position and it does at time amplify his weaknesses ,but at least it does look like there is hope for him there as last season it just looked like a fish out of water. The possession style didn't suit him, he wants to run into space 

[Wood26]

I like Gallagher. Should of scored 2 in first half but at least he is getting in the positions now. We really missed him defensively at the end when he went off and they were throwing balls in.

[roversfan99]

He played centrally today, and he was certainly a nuisance in the first half. That being said, like v Coventry (when he also helped to create their first goal) and I think it was the Luton game when he was also central, his main weaknesses are a big factor in the pressure that we then faced and often cannot sustain. 

There are natural comparisons to Graham yet I dont expect a striker as good as him at holding the ball up but Gallagher is right at the other end of the spectrum. His first touch is so poor and he simply cannot bring others into play, I am not massively data focused but I do wonder how many % of times he gives the ball away.

He is such a strange player, because in front of goal he is wasteful yet he does seem to chip in with goals to be fair to him. He also is as I said a nuisance especially with his powerful running, but there are so many parts of his game which are lacking. I dont think hes particularly good in the air either.

[booth]

1 hour ago, roversfan99 said:

He is such a strange player, because in front of goal he is wasteful yet he does seem to chip in with goals to be fair to him. He also is as I said a nuisance especially with his powerful running, but there are so many parts of his game which are lacking. I dont think hes particularly good in the air either.

He reminds me of Ashley Ward. A big lad, wasteful, doesn't seem to contribute much generally and chips in with a goal now and again. And we spent an obscene amount of money for them.

[47er]

6 hours ago, El Tombro said:

He's of the Graham ilk

Or Djoef?

[Beanie01289]

Credit where its due he should have scored yesterday but he ran himself into the ground for us yesterday.

[Bigdoggsteel]

1 hour ago, Beanie01289 said:

Credit where its due he should have scored yesterday but he ran himself into the ground for us yesterday.

He always does. I don't think I have seen a game where he could be accused of giving his all. He's honest

[simongarnerisgod]

14 hours ago, booth said:

He reminds me of Ashley Ward. A big lad, wasteful, doesn't seem to contribute much generally and chips in with a goal now and again. And we spent an obscene amount of money for them.

i don`t think he`s that bad,imo ward is up there with chris brown,darren peacock and tony finnegan as being terminally useless at everything,for a big lad though his heading  and hold up play are terrible,deffo needs time on the training ground,he was bloody expensive though,we could have a got a centre back and a striker for what we spent on him

[booth]

11 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

i don`t think he`s that bad,imo ward is up there with chris brown,darren peacock and tony finnegan as being terminally useless at everything,for a big lad though his heading  and hold up play are terrible,deffo needs time on the training ground,he was bloody expensive though,we could have a got a centre back and a striker for what we spent on him

I don't think I'll ever "get" either of those signings.

And I remember Nathan Blake being up front with Ward. Another one I'd rather forget.

[Mattyblue]

About £22 million (and this was the late 90s, not the 2020s) on Ward, Blake, Dailly and Davies.

We didn’t half throw Jack’s cash down the toilet in that debacle of a year that inevitably ended in a calamitous relegation.

[oldjamfan1]

8 hours ago, booth said:

I don't think I'll ever "get" either of those signings.

And I remember Nathan Blake being up front with Ward. Another one I'd rather forget.

Although at least Blake gave us a memorable night at Anfield in the FA Cup. 

[booth]

1 hour ago, Mattyblue said:

About £22 million (and this was the late 90s, not the 2020s) on Ward, Blake, Dailly and Davies.

We didn’t half throw Jack’s cash down the toilet in that debacle of a year that inevitably ended in a calamitous relegation.

Ugh, otherwise known as the Callum Davidson years. No wonder we went down.

[LeftWinger]

22 hours ago, simongarnerisgod said:

i don`t think he`s that bad,imo ward is up there with chris brown

Ward was bad - but he was no Chris Brown.

Ward scored 5 goals in 17 Premier League appearances in that relegation season.

Brown made 41 appearances in the tier below (including cup games) and didn't score a single goal.

Brown was on a different level of useless. He's better at doing podcasts.

[JacknOry]

4 hours ago, LeftWinger said:

Ward was bad - but he was no Chris Brown.

Ward scored 5 goals in 17 Premier League appearances in that relegation season.

Brown made 41 appearances in the tier below (including cup games) and didn't score a single goal.

Brown was on a different level of useless. He's better at doing podcasts.

and sextapes

[JBiz]

8 hours ago, Mattyblue said:

About £22 million (and this was the late 90s, not the 2020s) on Ward, Blake, Dailly and Davies.

We didn’t half throw Jack’s cash down the toilet in that debacle of a year that inevitably ended in a calamitous relegation.

Thing is 22m in 1998/99…

What’s that the equivalence of now?

100m?

[Mattyblue]

Probably, panic buying from a club with plenty of cash… enter NUFC January 2022.

[riverholmes]

Just reviving this thread to comment on the situation with Gallagher, after his winning goal against Middlesbrough and a hard-working performance that caught the eye of the media covering the games, and, perhaps, some fans too. Though, his performance must be considered in a team context, with Buckley and Khadra, in the first half, creating a lot of space and disarray with their powerful running.

He was playing on the left, which may have been a contributing factor to the improved performance, compared to, for example, Hull, as he had more of the pitch to turn to with his preferred right foot. Moreover, Rovers were quite dominant initially and were getting balls into the box, which he was challenging for. There was at least one suggestion that I saw in the media coverage that he was marking Crooks, the tall Boro midfielder/forward, off the ball, but not sure how accurate that was.

However, I remain in disagreement with Mowbray that Gallagher can be used interchangeably with Khadra and Brereton when he is clearly a different type of player to both. He does try to run with the ball and has some pace but it's clearly a weakness in his game. I think Rovers saw the best of him against Boro in the box, including his goal, aside from his closing down.

Long-term, I think the team will suffer from carrying Gallagher out wide. In the current 5-2-3, there is no room for Gallagher, except, as a central striker, and this current football trend, beyond Rovers, of pretending that attackers are generic and can fit in anywhere is counter to reality. We might get away with it for a while in the Championship, where the overall quality seems relatively  poor, but it will prove a failure, eventually - as it did last season, albeit, in a less effective formation and line-up.

 

Edited January 27, 2022 by riverholmes

[DE.]

Needs to play in the middle. Has a decent header on him and can hit the target given the opportunity. He doesn't often naturally drift into dangerous positions from out wide in the same way BBD does, and he doesn't really possess any attributes which make him useful in a wider position. When he's having a bad day, like at Hull, it is literally like having ten men on the pitch - as the stats showed.

I don't think he'll ever have been worth what we paid for him, but he can be useful in the centre and that's where he needs to play if he's in the team.

[roversfan99]

If he was to play as a central striker though, that would require us changing a very successful system for the benefit of an average player.

I actually think that his current position somewhat suits him. He obviously isn't an out and out winger but as a central striker, his main weaknesses are highlighted; his poor hold up, his inability to bring others into play, his poor touch, his lack of strength considering his size etc. It is a compromise that works as much as having Gallagher in the team could. 

[Tyrone Shoelaces]

2 hours ago, riverholmes said:

Just reviving this thread to comment on the situation with Gallagher, after his winning goal against Middlesbrough and a hard-working performance that caught the eye of the media covering the games, and, perhaps, some fans too. Though, his performance must be considered in a team context, with Buckley and Khadra, in the first half, creating a lot of space and disarray with their powerful running.

He was playing on the left, which may have been a contributing factor to the improved performance, compared to, for example, Hull, as he had more of the pitch to turn to with his preferred right foot. Moreover, Rovers were quite dominant initially and were getting balls into the box, which he was challenging for. There was at least one suggestion that I saw in the media coverage that he was marking Crooks, the tall Boro midfielder/forward, off the ball, but not sure how accurate that was.

However, I remain in disagreement with Mowbray that Gallagher can be used interchangeably with Khadra and Brereton when he is clearly a different type of player to both. He does try to run with the ball and has some pace but it's clearly a weakness in his game. I think Rovers saw the best of him against Boro in the box, including his goal, aside from his closing down.

Long-term, I think the team will suffer from carrying Gallagher out wide. In the current 5-2-3, there is no room for Gallagher, except, as a central striker, and this current football trend, beyond Rovers, of pretending that attackers are generic and can fit in anywhere is counter to reality. We might get away with it for a while in the Championship, where the overall quality seems relatively  poor, but it will prove a failure, eventually - as it did last season, albeit, in a less effective formation and line-up.

 

He doesn’t run with the ball, he runs after the ball.

[BRFC4EVA]

Couldn't find another Sam Gally thread..

I think today shows that if you play him in the right position and give him some service he can do a job at this level. 

Yes he is inconsistent and yes he misses plenty of good chances, but stop all this wide forward bollox and you've got a guy who can get many 15 goals a season..

Works hard, good in the air and a powerful strike on him

 

Edited October 15, 2022 by BRFC4EVA