[Archived] Michael Gray

[DudeAbides]

agreed he has played well so far...

[ihateburnley]

Let's hope that we are moving more towards having a settled back four with which our team can build upon.

Gray Nelsen Todd/Kishnishvilli (sp?) Neill

I reckon this must be in the top 8 defences in the Prem. I honestly think that when all our players are fully fit, we have a team that has the potential to finish in the top 10 at least.

When Hughes comes to ponder his transfer options come the end of December, I don't think there will be any positions that stand out as obvious areas for improvement. A striker may be, but with our transfer budget presumably all but spent, we aint going to attract a proven Premiership goalscorer which is what we require to make us into a top 6 team.

I think Hughes will possibly look to make our squad stronger in depth with a couple of younger players brought in (maybe even a Steadesque signing that surprisingly pays off again) or maybe another loanee.

Would still like to see some younger talent given a go against some of the lesser teams and in the cup - but let's not count our chickens just yet!

[Blackpool_Rover]

Ive always said hes our best left back. He was excellent in every game until we played charlton away last seaosn, he looked off the pace, then he had nightmares against boro and chelsea which saw him lose his place. If he can stop that happening again he is first choice.

[joey_big_nose]

Lets not forget that he was farmed out to Leeds on loan and would of been sold if anyone who wanted to buy him could afford his wages. He did really well yesterday and he will start next game bu I get the impression that it will take a bit to impress Hughes in the long term.

[yorkblues]

he did play well but he as no pace but he did play well

[Sparky Marky]

he did play well but he as no pace but he did play well

349525[/snapback]

And Matteo has?............Grey is a breath of fresh air down the left....Ask MGP who he'd prefer to play with............

Edited September 26, 2005 by Sparky Marky

[punkdisasters.com]

that would be tugay, me thinks

[yorkblues]

And Matteo has?............Grey is a breath of fresh air down the left....Ask MGP who he'd prefer to play with............

349601[/snapback]

we need a left back he is not prem class .yes matteo should not be in the first 11

[chris]

And Matteo has?............Grey is a breath of fresh air down the left....Ask MGP who he'd prefer to play with............

349601[/snapback]

we need a left back he is not prem class .yes matteo should not be in the first 11

349678[/snapback]

though Gray did ok for pace, i mean he's a 31 year old left back, and got down the wings well. Always liked Gray thought he was a victim of the Amoruso era.

playing with players like Todd and Nelsen will aid any left back.

[ihateburnley]

I think the decision between Micky Gray and Dominic Matteo is a decision between how we want to play as a team. For ultimate solidarity against teams with a strong attacking force, Matteo is the best option. He offers disciplined positioning, strength and determination.

However, against teams that we fancy having a go at, or against teams with weakened full backs (like United on Saturday), I'd suggest using Michael Gray. That's not to say Gray is useless at defending - he certainly isn't. He is very calm and collected at the back, but going forward he offers something in the mould of Graeme Le Saux. He supports the winger and is excellent at moves such as one-twos and overlapping.

I would suggest that against most teams in this league we are capable of playing a full back such as Gray - there is only possibly Chelsea and a full-strength Manchester United and Arsenal to fear. Everybody else is simply there for the taking.

I am in full support of Gray holding on to the left-back spot for now. Gresko is unlucky to come back to full fitness with Gray firing on all cylinders. Hopefully Vratislav will wait for his chance, and I'd carry on using Matteo as our sub defender as he is pretty versatile.

We're looking good and I'm feeling very confident against West Brom on Saturday. Maybe that might just be our downfall....

[American]

Sums it up perfectly, IHB.

[Sparky Marky]

I would suggest that against most teams in this league we are capable of playing a full back such as Gray - there is only possibly Chelsea and a full-strength Manchester United and Arsenal to fear. Everybody else is simply there for the taking.

A full strength Utd side would still have had Ronaldo anyway.

Surely, playing Gray would be the better option against these 3 sides as they are so reliant on pace to beat sides. I.e Robben, Duff, Henry, Pires etc.....Our recent defensive problems have been about lack of pace......Le Saux was probably our best in recent history, and he's a very similar player to Gray

[Dr Rich]

Le Saux was probably our best in recent history, and he's a very similar player to Gray

349838[/snapback]

(Officially) best ever actually

Really not sure Matteo will be a defensive rock when faced with the likes of Duff and Robben. The reason he should play in certain games is down to the fact that he is a centre-back, good in the air, more determined than Gray, and won't be beaten by teams knocking egg-chasing style cross-field kicks over his head. When we're playing against teams with pace in the wide areas, Gray and Matteo are equally suspect to getting completely fleeced resulting in disastrous consequences. Personally I'd play Matteo against Chelsea, only so that Gray's confidence doesn't take a battering like last season.

[Sparky Marky]

Wouldn't not playing him have a more detrimental effect on his confidence?

[JFT]

Mark Hughes has stated today (LET) that he made a mistake in not having Michael Gray in his first team plans last season.

"I though Michael Gray was excellent on Saturday and I've probably done him a disservice.

He was in the side initially when I first came to the club and it was at a period when there wasn't enough time for him to reap the benefits of the work that we've done since."

Miachael himself is quoted as saying Mark Hughes was right to drop him last season after 2 consecutive 4-0 defeats. It seems he's been showing an excellent attitude in training.

Seems like bad news for Dominic Matteo who due to his unfortunate injury rather than poor form may now face a fight to retain his place. That is if Gray can produce on a consistent basis.

[American]

(Officially) best ever actually 

Really not sure Matteo will be a defensive rock when faced with the likes of Duff and Robben. The reason he should play in certain games is down to the fact that he is a centre-back, good in the air, more determined than Gray, and won't be beaten by teams knocking egg-chasing style cross-field kicks over his head. When we're playing against teams with pace in the wide areas, Gray and Matteo are equally suspect to getting completely fleeced resulting in disastrous consequences. Personally I'd play Matteo against Chelsea, only so that Gray's confidence doesn't take a battering like last season.

349853[/snapback]

Matteo did quite well against Ronaldo last season. Not the slowest of wingers.

[RoyRover]

Gray played very well on Saturday and deserves a run in the team because of it. He has gone through a rough patch at Rovers, and even though I wanted to get rid of him, that was because he didn't seem to be in the managers plans, so there was no need to keep him. However, he may well have turned his career around at Rovers and fair play to him.

[ihateburnley]

A full strength Utd side would still have had Ronaldo anyway.

Surely, playing Gray would be the better option against these 3 sides as they are so reliant on pace to beat sides.  I.e Robben, Duff, Henry, Pires etc.....Our recent defensive problems have been about lack of pace......Le Saux was probably our best in recent history, and he's a very similar player to Gray

349838[/snapback]

Well you are entitled to your opinion of course, but I would say that one of the qualities that Gray does not possess is that of pace. He isn't slow, but any player with a trick or two up their sleeves seems to give one the perception that that player is also pretty quick. I'm guilty of the same - Pedersen, Pires etc.

I would suggest that Gray is not that much faster than Matteo, and taking into account Matteo's overwhelming physical and defensive presence (compared to Gray), Gray would be the wrong choice at left back when playing against the likes of Chelsea.

I would also question the comment "our recent defensive problems...". I don't think these exist to be honest. OK, we conceded three against the Geordies (which doesn't exactly sound like the most successful of defensive performances), but I'd say that wasn't down to pace at the back. Shearer's goal was simply a player smashing the ball has hard as he could, Owen's goal was a header, and N'zogorogibiasdogobogia's goal was purely down to a uncharacteristic positional error from Ryan Nelsen.

I would agree, our defence DOES lack any significant pace but have yet to see it highlight itself as a problem. Most Premiership defences lack the pace of their attack, possibly because like us, they prefer to have some big, ugly bad-breathed neanderthol at the back.

[MIROVER]

What Gray does possess over Matteo is the knowledge and experience of playing at left back. He has played this position all is career and even gained an england cap if I not mistaken. Matteo seems to be square peg in a round hole at left back. We looked alot more balanced with a naturally left sided defender.

Although at least we are not trying to convert our centre forward to left back ala pedersen at Bolton !!

[Blue blood]

One thing we haven't seen much of is Matteo in a 4-4-2 formation at lb. In the 4-5-1 where the team is reliant on the other 9 outfield players to help attack and support the striker, Matteo's lack of offensive capabilities is certainly very pronounced. Whether this would be as apparent in a 4-4-2 is questionable. Savage is a similar case, in as much as his defensive qualities have looked better, and his weak offensive capablities have looked less pronounced, when in a 4-4-2.

Ultimately though I don't believe Matteo is the answer to the lb problem though may be the best at the moment. However due to player availability and budget it could be some time before we see a new lb in place.

[salothsar]

Ultimately though I don't believe Matteo is the answer to the lb problem though may be the best at the moment. However due to player availability and budget it could be some time before we see a new lb in place.

349965[/snapback]

In the long run I don't think either Matteo or Gray are the answer but in the short term ie this season Gray deserves a good run. He had a great game on Saturday and as others have said added something to the attack. If this is going to work he needs to be supported by MGP in defense. This, he did well on Saturday but has not been apparent previously this season. Could be due to playing 4-4-2 as well. Needing wingers to track back more. If so, another good reason to continue with 4-4-2

[philipl]

The club have opened talks with Gray about a new contract.

Looking more and more that Amo and Gresko will go and Matteo and McEveley (and Taylor?) will be all part of the back up.

[Exiled_Rover]

Hopefully this new contract results in a pay cut, he must be on a few bob under the circumstances he signed for us. I'm behind this move, assuming he's eventually going to be phased out as a squad player by an academy player/new signing.

[Presty On Tour]

mickey gray played well lastnight, one of his better games.

was allways bombing forward at every chance and thought he was going to score when he almost pulled the trigger when dancing though the middle before being body checked just outside the box.

done a fantastic block on our 6 yard line aswell just before half time.

ship amo and matteo out, keep gresko

[pick32]

not sure about gray thought he did ok last night but he lt us vunerable at the back when he went on his forward runs and didnt get back in time. pedersen did beter than most people think because he was covering for gray all the time when gray went forward he dropped back.