John Buckley

[Sparks Rover]

29 minutes ago, Colt Seavers said:

 

Put him deep and central, give him lots of the ball and allow him to be creative.

Deep and central in midfield means you need to be able to defend and help the defence...

Bucko couldn't tackle a fish supper.

[Colt Seavers]

8 minutes ago, Sparks Rover said:

Deep and central in midfield means you need to be able to defend and help the defence...

Bucko couldn't tackle a fish supper.

Isn't it funny how we watch the same games but see things so differently.

I see Buckley making interceptions due to his ability to read the game. I also see him win the ball from his opponent with his habit of sliding on his left knee and gaining possession with the right foot. I am too lazy to put any effort into researching this but I'm sure my eyes aren't deceiving me. 

[Sparks Rover]

13 minutes ago, Colt Seavers said:

Isn't it funny how we watch the same games but see things so differently.

You're right  I see someone who gets bundled off the ball too easily and has no real influence in any games he's played. For a central midfielder that's not what we want.  Nice 10 yard passes like a la Jason Lowe.

[K-Hod]

1 hour ago, Sparks Rover said:

Deep and central in midfield means you need to be able to defend and help the defence...

Bucko couldn't tackle a fish supper.

And yet he made a cracking tackle the other night against Barnsley which resulted in us going on the attack….

[roverblue]

Certainly in the games at Ewood Buckley has shown an ability to nick the ball off the opposition with a high press and quickly turn it into an attack. He didn't show it as much on Tuesday as he was playing out of position wide right but when in the Dack type role looks really good at it. 

 

Watching him at Ewood the guy is clearly another level of class on the ball than the rest of our midfield but drifts out of games for periods. His forward passes generally always lead to an attacking move rather than playing it sideways (Travis/Davenport/Johnson) or running into blind alleys (Rothwell).

 

Hopefully with more game time and experience he will become a regular 1st teamer for us. We don't really have another player like him until Dack comes back in

[Guest]

"no influence on the game" - Sparks.

Here's a compilation of just his interceptions & closing down from this season. Ignoring the lovely passing & other aspects of his game.

 

 

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, roverblue said:

Hopefully with more game time and experience he will become a regular 1st teamer for us. We don't really have another player like him until Dack comes back in

I'd say Dan Butterworth is more like Dack than anyone. The way they both receive the ball on the half turn is very similar.

[roverblue]

51 minutes ago, JoeH said:

I'd say Dan Butterworth is more like Dack than anyone. The way they both receive the ball on the half turn is very similar.

Yeah may well be, I have only seen 10 mins here and there of him to work him out yet. Looked decent on Tuesday night if a little greedy when he cut in from the corner and should have passed. Also looked knackered after about 10mins of coming on!

[RV Blue]

2 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

You're right  I see someone who gets bundled off the ball too easily and has no real influence in any games he's played. For a central midfielder that's not what we want.  Nice 10 yard passes like a la Jason Lowe.

A la Jason Lowe 🤣

[rigger]

1 hour ago, K-Hod said:

And yet he made a cracking tackle the other night against Barnsley which resulted in us going on the attack….

Shows how quick he is, we don't play Barnsley till Saturday.

[K-Hod]

40 minutes ago, rigger said:

Shows how quick he is, we don't play Barnsley till Saturday.

Touché! We played Hull the other night, same region (ish)….

[Colt Seavers]

2 hours ago, JoeH said:

"no influence on the game" - Sparks.

Here's a compilation of just his interceptions & closing down from this season. Ignoring the lovely passing & other aspects of his game.

 

 

Thanks for posting this JoeH. I'm glad my eyes aren't deceiving me. I suspect Buckley's tackling and interceptions compare favourably with his teammates this season. 

I'd like to think he could turn into an influential, Simon Barker type in time to come.

[islander200]

2 hours ago, JoeH said:

"no influence on the game" - Sparks.

Here's a compilation of just his interceptions & closing down from this season. Ignoring the lovely passing & other aspects of his game.

 

 

Thanks Joe .One for BigBar to look at also 

[1864roverite]

4 hours ago, Sparks Rover said:

Deep and central in midfield means you need to be able to defend and help the defence...

Bucko couldn't tackle a fish supper.

He is not afraid to put his boots in to tackles

[roversfan99]

I don't need youtube compilations to know that so far, I still personally have huge question marks over his attacking play, he is categorised as an elegant passing midfielder but as has been touched on, too much of his passing is safe passes, and he isn't doing enough for me in the final third or with his final ball in general to guarantee himself as a regular part of the starting 11. He can pass so perhaps he just needs to be a bit braver, and he also does need to start offering a goal threat which is unfortunately not part of his game at the moment and never really has been.

The videos focus on his pressing which for me is possibly the best part of his game, of course particularly evident against a team like Swansea who played into our hands. There seems to be debate over his best position but for me having him in front of the back 4 would somewhat nullify his main strength. One area that I do feel he needs to work on is his fitness, perhaps it is just his style that causes this but he often seems to tire noticeably in the second half.

I don't think that it necessarily suits either him or Rothwell in fact to be in front of the back 4 with the latter at his best driving at defences, and I am not quite sure that a midfield of Travis, Rothwell and Buckley as it has been played has that correct balance, too often teams find space in front of our back 4 and whilst that three has energy, I am not sure that it has the discipline and control. Perhaps Johnson should come back in when fit and if so, it would perhaps leave that one advanced spot to be between Rothwell and Buckley, both of whom need to do more in terms of scoring and assisting to stand out.

[LDRover]

4 hours ago, Colt Seavers said:

Buckley plays best in a deep role. He receives the ball from his defenders much better than Travis is able to. He can play on the half turn and dictate the game from deep. My worry about his performances this season are that he seems to be turning into a stats man. He plays the short, unadventurous ball too often rather than the risk/reward style that I prefer to see from gifted players such as him.

This easy option, short ball stats builder is something that Jason Lowe used to do. I find it cynical and unhelpful to the team effort. It slows play down and irritates spectators. Buckley is one of the very few really good passers of the ball in the squad. Our style this season seems to be wanting to get the ball forward quickly which is great. I would much rather see Buckley doing the 40 yard diagonals than Lenihan. Moving him about isn't helping him. He can be a timid lad and can play within himself if feeling anxious.

Yep I'm having that.

Problem is, the mental side isn't easily changed. I like the lad and think he has something about him but I'm not sure he has the bottle to succeed. 

 

[bluebruce]

3 hours ago, roversfan99 said:

I don't need youtube compilations to know that so far, I still personally have huge question marks over his attacking play, he is categorised as an elegant passing midfielder but as has been touched on, too much of his passing is safe passes, and he isn't doing enough for me in the final third or with his final ball in general to guarantee himself as a regular part of the starting 11. He can pass so perhaps he just needs to be a bit braver, and he also does need to start offering a goal threat which is unfortunately not part of his game at the moment and never really has been.

The videos focus on his pressing which for me is possibly the best part of his game, of course particularly evident against a team like Swansea who played into our hands. There seems to be debate over his best position but for me having him in front of the back 4 would somewhat nullify his main strength. One area that I do feel he needs to work on is his fitness, perhaps it is just his style that causes this but he often seems to tire noticeably in the second half.

I don't think that it necessarily suits either him or Rothwell in fact to be in front of the back 4 with the latter at his best driving at defences, and I am not quite sure that a midfield of Travis, Rothwell and Buckley as it has been played has that correct balance, too often teams find space in front of our back 4 and whilst that three has energy, I am not sure that it has the discipline and control. Perhaps Johnson should come back in when fit and if so, it would perhaps leave that one advanced spot to be between Rothwell and Buckley, both of whom need to do more in terms of scoring and assisting to stand out.

I don't agree that Johnson should come in when fit. I consider him a bit of a liability. He can be fantastic when he is on it, but it's not often enough. The only thing he really brings to the table over the others is muscle, and occasionally a belting shot - again, when he is on it. He's clumsy and slow and I would use him sparingly. Shouldn't have even been signed on again.

[roversfan99]

27 minutes ago, bluebruce said:

I don't agree that Johnson should come in when fit. I consider him a bit of a liability. He can be fantastic when he is on it, but it's not often enough. The only thing he really brings to the table over the others is muscle, and occasionally a belting shot - again, when he is on it. He's clumsy and slow and I would use him sparingly. Shouldn't have even been signed on again.

To be honest, I wouldn't have personally wanted his contract extended myself.

That being said, I actually think now that he is an important player for us. The midfield balance so far has not been right, Rothwell does not suit playing so deep whereby his strength of running at players can leave us with little protection for the defence, especially as Travis is not the most disciplined and Buckley offers little protection too. Johnson can give us some much needed protection, physicality, discipline and experience in the middle.

His tendency to get caught in possession near his own box may also be reduced without the passing style that we tried and failed to play last season.

[TheRoversReturn]

Excellent performance today from Buckley. Well done, lad!

[BlueBro]

Buckley was outstanding today and will continue to get better as long as he's not messed about to make way for promised game time for loanees

[dallydally]

I agree. Not been a fan to date but what a game this afternoon

[lraC]

Probably his best game in a Rovers shirt today. I’ve seen glimpses, but saw it constantly today.

Edited September 25, 2021 by lraC

[Paul Mani]

Buckley absolutely ran the show today…👀🤣🤣🤣✌🏽

[J*B]

37 minutes ago, Paul Mani said:

Buckley absolutely ran the show today…👀🤣🤣🤣✌🏽

Yep, I’ve given him criticism so I’ll give him credit, superb today. Looked a top Championship player. Although I’ve no idea what the emojis mean. 

[Paul Mani]

40 minutes ago, J*B said:

Yep, I’ve given him criticism so I’ll give him credit, superb today. Looked a top Championship player. Although I’ve no idea what the emojis mean. 

Don’t worry about the emoji’s pal…that’s what they’ve been talking about for years. It’s the first time I’ve seen him run a championship game…if he plays like that consistently then we have some player. I think he looked two or three steps ahead of anyone in the pitch!