Sawyer Vs Grant

[Bromley Blue]

Ok so with Anthony Grant doubtful for the Barnet game tomorrow night it seems Lee Sawyer is finally going to get a chance to impress from the offset. I was in Torquay on Saturday and thought Sawyer changed the game in our favour after coming on. For me he has to work his way into the side as his touch of class and the way he reads the game is far and beyond anything else we or most other sides in this league have at their disposal.

Grant has scored some crucial goals this season and looked far too good for this league at times. However with rumours flying around that he isn't too popular in the dressing room and also a dip in form what are the chances that should LS perform tomorrow night he keeps his place at Grant's expense?

Thoughts?

 

[superblue24]

From what I've seen this year of Grant, he has been by far our best and most consistent player also chipping in with goals where our "strikers" have failed.

I would say that Grant will be straight back in the side as soon as he is fit enough to do so. I feel the only way in for LS is if PS plays 5 in midfield or if Kane suffers injury or a (severe) dip in form.

 

[TravellingBlue]

Ok so with Anthony Grant doubtful for the Barnet game tomorrow night it seems Lee Sawyer is finally going to get a chance to impress from the offset. I was in Torquay on Saturday and thought Sawyer changed the game in our favour after coming on. For me he has to work his way into the side as his touch of class and the way he reads the game is far and beyond anything else we or most other sides in this league have at their disposal.

Grant has scored some crucial goals this season and looked far too good for this league at times. However with rumours flying around that he isn't too popular in the dressing room and also a dip in form what are the chances that should LS perform tomorrow night he keeps his place at Grant's expense?

Thoughts?

Sorry, but based on what? We haven't seen the lad play a game yet. A few minutes here and there are nothing - for me it's Grant by a country mile, we just cannot do without him.

 

[dashman]

Matches I have seen - I've seen Bilel & Granty getting on well, rising above any issues on/off the field. When BM was out out his defensive duty in a few matches he always looked up & picked out the player on the move (Grant mostly) with a good pass (see Barnet away league goal).

I think we need these players (pivotal), including Hall, even Coughlan as motivators for good football etc, thus for me, if Sawyer can change a game for the better when he comes on then its all good, I hope it follows in a full 90mins footy match.

 

[Bromley Blue]

Sorry, but based on what? We haven't seen the lad play a game yet. A few minutes here and there are nothing - for me it's Grant by a country mile, we just cannot do without him.

I agree that Sawyer has not had much pitch time but IMO you can see his touch of class a mile off and we have had him on loan twice before so have a basic understanding of what he brings to the table. I went to the game with 2 friends who hadn't seen us this season and they both commented on how good Sawyer looked after coming on.

In an ideal world you'd play Grant and Sawyer as they offer different things to the side. However Kane Ferdinand is quickly emerging as a real star and with Easton as captain is unlikely to lose his place. With both of those players in the side you need someone forward thinking in the side in order to break down teams which stick a lot of men behind the ball.

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

Sorry, but based on what? We haven't seen the lad play a game yet. A few minutes here and there are nothing - for me it's Grant by a country mile, we just cannot do without him.

Going forward Sawyer is a class above anything else we've got. You can tell that from his brief sub appearances just by looking at his touch, movement and passing. Admittedly it's a limited sample size, but if we look back to his previous loan spells we can see that it's not an one-off.

The introduction of Ferdinand into the team has made Grant a peripheral figure when we play 4-4-2. Sawyer was far more influential in his half an hour on the left of midfield than Grant has been played wide in a 4-4-2 and we created more in that half hour than we did in the previous 60 minutes. Grant's best performances this season have tended to be when we've had 3 in the middle which frees him up to find space. I actually think he was more influential last year in a defensive role in a bad team, than he's been as an attacking player this season in a good team, it's just the goals are more eye-catching than tracking runners.

Oh and for balance Torquay's goal came from Sawyer losing it and us then only half clearing it.

 

[top shirmper]

Kane Ferdinand for player of the season?

Could happen...

 

[wiggy]

Sawyer will end up at least Championship if he keeps his head right, Granty League 1 at best, enough said!

 

[superblue24]

You would have to ask yourself what have any of the current midfield done to warrant losing their place to Sawyer?

I think he should be given his chance to show that he can be as effective as Grant tomorrow night and give PS some selection headaches when Grant returns to fitness.

 

[mattytheshrimper]

I think sawyer hasn't made much of an impact since being here simply because I don't think he has had more than 10 mins on the pitch since arriving (excluding torquay). For me I think its very tough to get involved in a game with barely any time left. personally if he does start tomorrow night it will certainly be interesting to see how he gets on from the start as I've always been a big fan of his. I think its safe to say he's going to need to take his chance if he wants to stay in the starting 11 when grants back. Not meaning grant will be dropped because he has to play IMO but possibly forcing Kane out of the side. That will not be an easy task as our boy Kane has done better than anyone would have expected. I knew he was good after seeing for the first time really in the youth cup before the season started but I never thought he would do as well as he has done.

 

[Bromley Blue]

Going forward Sawyer is a class above anything else we've got. You can tell that from his brief sub appearances just by looking at his touch, movement and passing. Admittedly it's a limited sample size, but if we look back to his previous loan spells we can see that it's not an one-off.

The introduction of Ferdinand into the team has made Grant a peripheral figure when we play 4-4-2. Sawyer was far more influential in his half an hour on the left of midfield than Grant has been played wide in a 4-4-2 and we created more in that half hour than we did in the previous 60 minutes. Grant's best performances this season have tended to be when we've had 3 in the middle which frees him up to find space. I actually think he was more influential last year in a defensive role in a bad team, than he's been as an attacking player this season in a good team, it's just the goals are more eye-catching than tracking runners.

Oh and for balance Torquay's goal came from Sawyer losing it and us then only half clearing it.

Fully agree with all of this.

 

[TravellingBlue]

I hope that Sawyer does show us what he's got and is given plenty of pitch time to do this.

I also have a horrible feeling that everyone is bigging the lad up so much, that the pressure on him to perform as this 'class above' player when he's barely played 'ten' minutes of League Football is going to be too much to live up to. He's a young lad just making his way in the game - again - he needs time and perseverence, not legend status before he starts!

 

[superblue24]

I hope that Sawyer does show us what he's got and is given plenty of pitch time to do this.

I also have a horrible feeling that everyone is bigging the lad up so much, that the pressure on him to perform as this 'class above' player when he's barely played 'ten' minutes of League Football is going to be too much to live up to. He's a young lad just making his way in the game - again - he needs time and perseverence, not legend status before he starts!

Mostly agree with this. Not sure it will affect him in the same way it would affect Torres' move to Chelsea as there is less pressure from the media in League Two.

PS is either not playing him because his confidence after freefalling into the conference is showing through in his game, or he is very much a believer in not changing a winning side, nor making "panic changes" when we lose the odd game. Probably a bit of both.

 

[wiggy]

I hope that Sawyer does show us what he's got and is given plenty of pitch time to do this.

I also have a horrible feeling that everyone is bigging the lad up so much, that the pressure on him to perform as this 'class above' player when he's barely played 'ten' minutes of League Football is going to be too much to live up to. He's a young lad just making his way in the game - again - he needs time and perseverence, not legend status before he starts!

.....i don't think that he needs bigging up, anyone that can recognise a good footballer will have seen it even with his 10 minute cameo performances!

 

[TravellingBlue]

.....i don't think that he needs bigging up, anyone that can recognise a good footballer will have seen it even with his 10 minute cameo performances!

Wiggy you are the one most guilty of doing the bigging up!

Give the lad a chance before the 'cult status' sets in please!

 

[Yorkshire Blue]

I hope that Sawyer does show us what he's got and is given plenty of pitch time to do this.

I also have a horrible feeling that everyone is bigging the lad up so much, that the pressure on him to perform as this 'class above' player when he's barely played 'ten' minutes of League Football is going to be too much to live up to. He's a young lad just making his way in the game - again - he needs time and perseverence, not legend status before he starts!

It shouldn't be about Sawyer, it should be about the team and I think the team looked better balanced once he came on. The worse thing that can happen is that everyone starts leaving it all to Sawyer, as happened to Freddy at times. As long as we play as a team we'll be OK. He might be our most talented player, but both he and his team-mates need to play together. Even at this level you can't win it all by yourself, you need your team-mates making runs, occupying defenders etc. Sturrock hinted at that the other day when he talked about we haven't got match winners.

And it's not just about Sawyer not believing the hype, it's about his team-mates not believing it as well and leaving it all to him.

 

[* ORM *]

It shouldn't be about Sawyer, it should be about the team and I think the team looked better balanced once he came on. The worse thing that can happen is that everyone starts leaving it all to Sawyer, as happened to Maher at times. Fortunately unlike Freddy Maher was a cut above anything else we've seen down here for years.

Agreed. I see a formation where any 2 from 3 can play alongside Easton. I'm guessing Ferdinand will play defensive tonight allowing Sawyer the freedom Grant has been given. This excites me a lot though against stronger opps I'd have Grant over Sawyer week in week out. Grant invites the tackle, wins the free-kick, spends a bit of time on the deck making it look good while regaining his composure. This is one element of the game where it will be interesting to see how Sawyer reacts to the verbal and physical battering he is likely to get tonight. Don't get me wrong, he is good but has much to prove, not least to himself.

 

[superblue24]

From what I saw of him last night, I find this thread bordering on the laughable. Grant all day long and every other day after that!

 

[danburyshrimper]

agreed . Sawyer was probably the least impressive of all our players today. i thought Miguel Commigues was immense + his versatilty shows what an excellent player he is & should definitely start on saturday. I would only pick Sawyer to start if non of our injured players are fit .

 

[DTS]

I think its a bit harsh to judge Sawyer on one performance. All players need a run in the side and he is no different. For what its worth I thought he did a decent job and overall looked crisp with his passing.