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Liam McBean
- Thread starter puregreen
- Start date
Bill James said:
You know Carter will hate me for this but Beanie is actually better off at another club.
I went to see the game at Punt Road on Sunday and looked closely at Beanie and he was doing all the things that the coaches have asked of him. Defensive running, dropping back in defence, unrewarded running, covering loose men in attack as they moved forward.
It came to me that Beanie is being Richmondised He is being "high percentaged' in his football.. Beanie had two great gifts when he arrived. (1) The ability to read the play and anticipate where the ball will go and (2) great skills including the freakish (low percentage for mortals) goals.
I read that Richmond want Liam to simplify his game to defend , mark , kick (or WTTE).
Well Liam has already simplified the first part of his game in actually running to where everyone else is rather than where he expects the ball to be. This is a tick for Richmond and a halving of Liam's possessions in scoring spots.
Unfortunately his skill set is first class but I am sure we will have him chipping the ball sideways in no time and like Jack being castigated if he scores too many goals.
Yep, If I was Beanie I'd ask for a transfer to the Cats and be revered like Stevie J is rather than frowned upon for not playing the Richmond way!
Can't say as I agree, lambster.
Talent doesn't disappear - McBean's freaky-arse skillz have not deserted him, nor will they.
The real danger for him, would be settling down into being a one-trick pony - the 200cm tall who predominantly plays small. One-trick ponies (ponii?) get figured out pretty fast in the crucible of seniors footy.
He needs to develop a game for when the mercurial stuff just aint happening. He needs a way to be an effective player on the field when the conditions don't suit him, or when the opposition coach finds an anti-tall/small matchup, or for when a couple of crumbed goals just aren't enough.
If you're going to teach this, now's the time. Now. Not in 3 years when he's set in his ways and has cultivated a bunch of bad habits.
I'm impatient. I want him to be the total package immediately. But he's missing a Plan B to his game. The club would be remiss in not trying to help him build one.
We're getting this one right.
Talent doesn't disappear - McBean's freaky-arse skillz have not deserted him, nor will they.
The real danger for him, would be settling down into being a one-trick pony - the 200cm tall who predominantly plays small. One-trick ponies (ponii?) get figured out pretty fast in the crucible of seniors footy.
He needs to develop a game for when the mercurial stuff just aint happening. He needs a way to be an effective player on the field when the conditions don't suit him, or when the opposition coach finds an anti-tall/small matchup, or for when a couple of crumbed goals just aren't enough.
If you're going to teach this, now's the time. Now. Not in 3 years when he's set in his ways and has cultivated a bunch of bad habits.
I'm impatient. I want him to be the total package immediately. But he's missing a Plan B to his game. The club would be remiss in not trying to help him build one.
We're getting this one right.
BiddiscombeSkills said:
We agree to disagree.
Liam needs to build a tank and to build up his strength.
Liam needs to defend in his area and to know and play his part in our zone defence.
Other than that he needs the freedom and licence to operate effectively.
Whether "one size fits all" Hardwick knows or can accommodate this is another matter.
BiddiscombeSkills said:
Just on the above Beanie has had to make do with a sub par midfield for most of his games (bar when Miles and Foley were available) and still goes at 2.5 goals a game.
The beauty about Beanie is that he usually finds a way.
That's why watching a pedestrian defence first Beanie on Sunday was a bit disappointing.
lamb22 said:
Absolutely no argument from me that the Bean is a goalkicker, and will be more prolific with AFL-standard delivery. But I don't think it's a stretch to judge forwards on nett goals - if he kicks 4, but costs us 3 from chains started by his direct opponent running out of defence, is that an acceptable return? Maybe, maybe not. That's for the coaches to decide.
If we're in basic agreement that El Beano already knows how to attack, but is lacking in defensive efforts, where's the problem with getting him to spend a few games focussing on the things he needs to improve?
He's not getting crucified needlessly in games (couldn't resist the jesus analogy), he's just being taught some fundamentals. And frankly, he could do with a bunch less moping about it. A sense of entitlement, justified or otherwise, does bad things to footballers.
Also, footy's a team game. Individual brilliance is great, but the reality is one guy can't do it all, all the time. He needs to be able to work in a cohesive forward line (irony noted). That means learning to run patterns, get to the right contests, influence the ones he doesn't win, and working effectively with his team mates.
In some of the games I've been to this year, he's shown he can do this. More frequently, he plays in short (albeit dangerous) bursts. He gets a lot of his goals from party tricks.
I say, keep the tricks, but learn how to work for a living for all the time in between. Again, a lesson best learnt early in a player's career.
I love the Bean. It just irritates me when a 200cm player doesn't use his height to full advantage. Or when a quick player won't chase out of the forward line. Or when any player decides not to tackle/shepherd/or otherwise work for the big money they're getting to live the dream.
That's why teams have coaches, and I'm glad they're not giving him a free ride. He'll be a better player for it.
BiddiscombeSkills said:
Some nice points Bidds.
I think it all depends on your setup.
If you're looking to blast the opposition away, and believe you have the squad to do so, you provide leeway for McBean to do what he excels at. He kicks 4 and perhaps costs two.
If you're looking to hold the ball in and create offensive pressure, you hold him accountable to certain KPIs. He kicks two and costs none.
I know which I'd prefer but concede it's a huge balancing act.
Of course, it is possible to set up defensively to cover for mercurial forwards.
Franklin has got half his goals cheating (backing his judgement, pace and skills) out the back. Another quarter on handball receives and loose ball snaps.
Maybe he needs to be Richmondised too..... or here's a thought ' Set up a system that maximises his abilities" ' Naaahh it would never work!
Maybe he needs to be Richmondised too..... or here's a thought ' Set up a system that maximises his abilities" ' Naaahh it would never work!
Tigers of Old said:
Tricky questions. Spencer White got two goals out the back in the last quarter when he stayed back and let Chappy go his own way.
Was that bad play? Really a question of judgment of where the ball will end up, isn't it?
And if your judgment is better than the other bloke or blokes, its right isn't it?
Just on forwards putting defensive pressure, I like it, in fact I love it and our much maligned Jack is excellent at it MOST of the time.
Sometimes he switches off. Now Beanie may need to switch on a bit more but he also is equipped with smarts to be where the ball is before the other bloke realises it.
If he can effect pressure when he is in the play and cut the angles or the options of defenders clearing the ball he has done his job. He doesn't need to be running half marathons covering every half arsed meandering of a loose defender.
The thing about a Jack or Beanie is that their smarts in a play means you need less forward pressure because a tap to a teammate, shepherd, block, turn, dummy etc usually means we have our chances to win the ball increased and our need to chase tail decreased.
By all means Beanie should play his part, but he is a lead not an extra.
Sometimes he switches off. Now Beanie may need to switch on a bit more but he also is equipped with smarts to be where the ball is before the other bloke realises it.
If he can effect pressure when he is in the play and cut the angles or the options of defenders clearing the ball he has done his job. He doesn't need to be running half marathons covering every half arsed meandering of a loose defender.
The thing about a Jack or Beanie is that their smarts in a play means you need less forward pressure because a tap to a teammate, shepherd, block, turn, dummy etc usually means we have our chances to win the ball increased and our need to chase tail decreased.
By all means Beanie should play his part, but he is a lead not an extra.
lamb22 said:
I thought Chaplin was just about our best player and set up numerous attacks. So yes.
BTW when Chappy was getting all that ball in he first three quarters, White had folded back dutifully into the centre or CHF while Chappy was usually the last man and did what he liked.
Chappy thought the same rules applied in the last and got caught out when Spencer dropped out the back.
Chappy thought the same rules applied in the last and got caught out when Spencer dropped out the back.
lamb22 said:
We'll agree to disagree. White had 6 touches for the day and a couple of junk time goals are no case for an argument. Chaplin dominated him.
