CMS - The biggest waste of money?

[One Teddy Maybank]

CMS is way above Barnes in ability would any manager offer £2m for Barnes never ever.

Absolute rubbish. I would take Barnes over CMS ability wise every time.

However, I don't think either CMS or Barnes is worth £2m now.

We basically paid (albeit correctly at the time IMO) for a prolific League 1 striker. We now know that he doesn't fit with the style we play particularly well, as he needs someone to feed off. We also know he struggles at this level in many other respects.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing etc, but it would clearly have been better to save the money and keep Murray, by paying him more.

 

[spring hall convert]

CMS gets far too much criticism on this board. If we EVER played a high tempo game his running and energy would cause huge problems for defenders and create space for the other attacking players and the midfielders joining in. It is no coincidence that some of his most telling performances (Leeds at home, his brief appearance at Forest for example) came when we had to loosen the shackles and have a proper go. I think we could be far more adventurous this season with the likes of Toko and Ince as the safety net but I'll not hold my breath.

I guess the point here is that we KNEW we weren't going to play that type of game so why did we sign him?

 

[Insel affe]

All for free

At the end of the season he is.

 

[Mellotron]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing etc, but it would clearly have been better to save the money and keep Murray, by paying him more.

To be fair quite a few people did say that at the time.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

There were a couple of longer balls pinged to him last night, one of which he controlled very well indeed before being forced out by the Saints defender.

He wants to get behind defenders and have stuff to run onto. Give him that and he'll thrive.

And that's the trouble, at League 1 level, that type of ball works as the defenders are slow and of a lesser ability.

CMS is found out at this level, because whilst his touch is there, defenders show him where they want him to go, and he is forced out wide.

 

[Betfair Bozo]

I guess the point here is that we KNEW we weren't going to play that type of game so why did we sign him?

I think that Gus had it in mind but ultimately either bottled it or felt that we didn't have the defensive cover to make it work at the higher level (we often rampaged with three up in L1.) Which is bizarre really as Bridcutt was the best in the league to make it work!

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

To be fair quite a few people did say that at the time.

Ok, then I'm the wally who was pleased with CMS based on his league 1 exploits......

Wish we'd kept Murray.

 

[Seagull1989]

We never played to his strengths for him to run in behind. He always had to come deep with his back to goal and wasn't effective from that.
The only time we were forced to play to his strengths was against Burnley at home when we were down to 9 men and he had an excellent game then

 

[Betfair Bozo]

To be fair quite a few people did say that at the time.

I remember a thread on here when we had GM and CMS was at Posh discussing who was the better all round player and it was pretty close. In all fairness though, as has been said, if you are signing a player like CMS to replace a player like Glenn Murray you HAVE to adapt the formation. Absolute lunacy not to and a major failing in the manager who paid £2.5m+ and moaned about budgets.

 

[spring hall convert]

I think that Gus had it in mind but ultimately either bottled it or felt that we didn't have the defensive cover to make it work at the higher level (we often rampaged with three up in L1.) Which is bizarre really as Bridcutt was the best in the league to make it work!

Fair point.

 

[knocky1]

We should kick him out now and replace him with that player who delivered a cross field inch perfect ball onto Albion reject Ulloa's head in the dying seconds at Forest. What was his name ?

 

[Stumpy Tim]

He needs someone to play alongside him and others to give him 'good' crosses. I am sure he can have a good season, we just need the other players and tactics developed.

Right. So we need to completely change the system, and basically put chances on a plate for him. I think all strikers would like that, and most of them would be able to control a football 95% of the time. I've been shocked at how poor his control is for a £2.5m player

 

[spring hall convert]

We should kick him out now and replace him with that player who delivered a cross field inch perfect ball onto Albion reject Ulloa's head in the dying seconds at Forest. What was his name ?

We have a 2nd quality moment in 2 years. Any advances on 2?

 

[Rookie]

Would be interested to know his record against the better teams in his league 1 before we signed him (ie us, Soton and Huddersfield (scored in play off final I think)).
Good against lower league defenders but struggles big time on the step up, as his season with posh in the championship showed.

 

[knocky1]

We have a 2nd quality moment in 2 years. Any advances on 2?

Come on I am one of the biggest whingers about how this club is run. That goal took us into the play offs and gave us a fair bit of money. Up to a million?

My sentiments are more based upon my anti Cook as England Captain thoughts. I now have to give him more time and am highly impressed from what I saw down in Southampton this week. So on that basis I give CMS until October before a judgement.

 

[brightonrock]

There was a piece by Hansen on MOTD last season which (for once!) offered some tactical insight when Torres was out of form. He was trying so hard out of desperation that he was running wide, dropping deep into midfield to link up, anything he could to get a touch. Hansen was saying he should be patient, stay on the shoulder of the centre halves and demand his midfield play through balls, to use his pace in behind. Hansen said he wouldn't want to see his striker fronting up like Torres was - he would want to see the back of his shirt all the time, always looking to play to his strengths and get in defenders' blind spots. It's easy to defend against a striker in the hole because he's ahead of you. This is CMS's problem - he should be raging at the midfield that he isn't getting the through balls, rather than trying too hard, going back to goal and trying to link up, which isn't his game. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, his pace forces defenders to drop deeper, which creates space and time for the midfield. Even if he's not playing well, the threat he offers in behind makes defenders compensate. It is VITAL that we try and thread him through as often as possible - we have no use for him out wide or in the hole. That is the manager's responsibility and the midfielders' responsibility - not his.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

CMS might prove us all wrong this season and put some effort in to be a decent goalscorer.

 

[Betfair Bozo]

Would be interested to know his record against the better teams in his league 1 before we signed him (ie us, Soton and Huddersfield (scored in play off final I think)).
Good against lower league defenders but struggles big time on the step up, as his season with posh in the championship showed.

You mean his scoring record presumably? There is more to his game though isn't there. And if you want to see if he can be effective against better defenders I'd say his performance against Pique for Scotland against Spain would be a good starting point.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

We should kick him out now and replace him with that player who delivered a cross field inch perfect ball onto Albion reject Ulloa's head in the dying seconds at Forest. What was his name ?

That bloke out by the corner flag you mean? We were all obviously grateful for the cross, but what the f*ck was he doing out there in the first place? In the dying seconds, you'd like to think he'd have been in the box, looking for a knock-down or something. Barnes would have been. Sort of says it all about his positional sense. Or lack of same.

 

[knocky1]

That bloke out by the corner flag you mean? We were all obviously grateful for the cross, but what the f*ck was he doing out there in the first place? In the dying seconds, you'd like to think he'd have been in the box.

Maybe he had lost his bone?