Mad Dog
Well-known member
- Joined
- 18 Jul 2019
- Messages
- 3,209
At the risk of a barrage of abuse, I think a reality check, and a bit of perspective is needed.
Atkinson is GOOD, potentially VERY GOOD. He passes the ball out of defence very well, and although he's still got a lot of improvement to make with his defending and positioning at times, he's progressing nicely in his first season as a professional footballer, and has formed a good partnership with Moore, and I'm very happy he's with us.
But he's still VERY naive and raw, which is evident every time he goes on one of his kamikaze runs, as he just bombs off, leaving a gaping hole behind him, and on a number of occasions, has very nearly been tackled, just about managing to dump the ball to the nearest teammate, who then is put under pressure not to lose it while Atkinson is so far out of position, which is exactly what happened when Henry lost the ball, and it cost us a goal, but it was just as much Atkinson's fault for putting Henry under such pressure, whilst leaving a gaping hole behind him.
LeftSideBoy say's he's never seen any CB play like him, at any level, well that's because a CB cannot play like that at professional level, and keep getting away with.
It looks good when it works, but it's fraught with risk, it's too gung ho, and might've been ok at non league level, where he could get away with it, but the more he plays at this level, let alone higher, teams will suss him out, and start laying traps.
For me, he's got a long way to go to be considered as good as Dickie, who times his runs a lot better, knows when to bring the ball out of defence, and when not to, and to pass it out instead, is a lot more intelligent and composed, reads the game brilliantly, and is quicker, and for me, is already better than most of the CB in the premiership.
For Atkinson to even be considered as good as the likes of Dickie or Elliott, he needs to stay here for another couple of seasons, in order to develop, where he can learn from the defensive mistakes that he WILL make, and learn to time and control his runs forward better, with more intelligence.
But like I say, he's developing very nicely, and has already made big improvements since the start of the season, and if he can continue improving at that rate, then we've got an excellent prospect on our hands!
Atkinson is GOOD, potentially VERY GOOD. He passes the ball out of defence very well, and although he's still got a lot of improvement to make with his defending and positioning at times, he's progressing nicely in his first season as a professional footballer, and has formed a good partnership with Moore, and I'm very happy he's with us.
But he's still VERY naive and raw, which is evident every time he goes on one of his kamikaze runs, as he just bombs off, leaving a gaping hole behind him, and on a number of occasions, has very nearly been tackled, just about managing to dump the ball to the nearest teammate, who then is put under pressure not to lose it while Atkinson is so far out of position, which is exactly what happened when Henry lost the ball, and it cost us a goal, but it was just as much Atkinson's fault for putting Henry under such pressure, whilst leaving a gaping hole behind him.
LeftSideBoy say's he's never seen any CB play like him, at any level, well that's because a CB cannot play like that at professional level, and keep getting away with.
It looks good when it works, but it's fraught with risk, it's too gung ho, and might've been ok at non league level, where he could get away with it, but the more he plays at this level, let alone higher, teams will suss him out, and start laying traps.
For me, he's got a long way to go to be considered as good as Dickie, who times his runs a lot better, knows when to bring the ball out of defence, and when not to, and to pass it out instead, is a lot more intelligent and composed, reads the game brilliantly, and is quicker, and for me, is already better than most of the CB in the premiership.
For Atkinson to even be considered as good as the likes of Dickie or Elliott, he needs to stay here for another couple of seasons, in order to develop, where he can learn from the defensive mistakes that he WILL make, and learn to time and control his runs forward better, with more intelligence.
But like I say, he's developing very nicely, and has already made big improvements since the start of the season, and if he can continue improving at that rate, then we've got an excellent prospect on our hands!