Post by Colgate Red on Mar 13, 2018 8:59:56 GMT
I am interested to see what people think about Mark Randall.
He is certainly a player that divides opinion, players like him usually do.
When I saw him in the early part of the season, knowing little about him I couldn’t work out why we had signed him. He didn’t affect games enough, and didn’t seem to have a real USP as a midfielder. So I did a bit of reading and read about some of his history, and what others in the know have said about him. Wenger for example rated him incredibly highly, and he has played in the Champions League, so what on earth is he doing playing at Crawley in front of 2,000 people every week?
I think he is by a mile the most talented player at Crawley this or any of the past ten or so seasons that I have been watching the team. His passing is (usually) superb, and he creates many of the goal scoring chances with great vision and the ability to thread the needle in the final third.
BUT….he seems to be mentally quite weak, bruised perhaps by his experiences in the brutal world of football. When he gives the ball away, which will happen when players try harder passes, his shoulders slump and it takes a while for him to switch back on. Not helped probably with the crowd getting on his back. At the Accrington game at 2-0 he was outstanding, the best player on the pitch against a team likely to get promoted. But when they got a goal back he disappeared, and lost confidence in possession and I think (I may be incorrect) ended up getting subbed.
If someone from the club or a sports psychologist can get inside his head and make him more mentally strong and remind him how good he is I think he’d be playing in the Championship as an absolute minimum, probably higher. The way HK likes to play the game is perfect for him, and with the right players around him (and support from the stands) a team could be built around him.
I think we have a diamond on our hands, and on a two year contract. If you watch him carefully in the next home game, you will see what I mean.
I am sure some will disagree!
He is certainly a player that divides opinion, players like him usually do.
When I saw him in the early part of the season, knowing little about him I couldn’t work out why we had signed him. He didn’t affect games enough, and didn’t seem to have a real USP as a midfielder. So I did a bit of reading and read about some of his history, and what others in the know have said about him. Wenger for example rated him incredibly highly, and he has played in the Champions League, so what on earth is he doing playing at Crawley in front of 2,000 people every week?
I think he is by a mile the most talented player at Crawley this or any of the past ten or so seasons that I have been watching the team. His passing is (usually) superb, and he creates many of the goal scoring chances with great vision and the ability to thread the needle in the final third.
BUT….he seems to be mentally quite weak, bruised perhaps by his experiences in the brutal world of football. When he gives the ball away, which will happen when players try harder passes, his shoulders slump and it takes a while for him to switch back on. Not helped probably with the crowd getting on his back. At the Accrington game at 2-0 he was outstanding, the best player on the pitch against a team likely to get promoted. But when they got a goal back he disappeared, and lost confidence in possession and I think (I may be incorrect) ended up getting subbed.
If someone from the club or a sports psychologist can get inside his head and make him more mentally strong and remind him how good he is I think he’d be playing in the Championship as an absolute minimum, probably higher. The way HK likes to play the game is perfect for him, and with the right players around him (and support from the stands) a team could be built around him.
I think we have a diamond on our hands, and on a two year contract. If you watch him carefully in the next home game, you will see what I mean.
I am sure some will disagree!