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Nathaniel Phillips


Supremolad
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13 hours ago, Section_31 said:

 

Incredible stuff from these two young lads. I think he'll move on but I think he'll get a really decent side. He deserves to play regularly and I don't think he Will here.

Why? He’s done everything asked and alongside VVD he could be a colossus. I’m all in on him I think he’s great. 

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10 hours ago, Lee909 said:

Been at the club for 5 years and has played 123 games out of 266 the club has been involved in. 

Less than 50%. the lad is on a reported 100k a week. its crazy amount to play for player you cannot rely on to be fit when needed.

I'm genuinely surprised matip has played as much as 50% of our games during his time here. He is quality though when you get him on the pitch. 

 

As for Nat - I'm hoping the decision is with him. If he wants to chance his hand elsewhere to play every week, fair play to him. If he wants to stick it out here knowing how thin we run our squad and how long we keep fragile players, so he knows he'll get a chance, well I'm happy with that too. I just hope we don't force him out the door because we can probably get a good fee for him now. I think the lad has earnt the right to make his own choice. 

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1 minute ago, Barrington Womble said:

I'm genuinely surprised matip has played as much as 50% of our games during his time here. He is quality though when you get him on the pitch. 

 

As for Nat - I'm hoping the decision is with him. If he wants to chance his hand elsewhere to play every week, fair play to him. If he wants to stick it out here knowing how thin we run our squad and how long we keep fragile players, so he knows he'll get a chance, well I'm happy with that too. I just hope we don't force him out the door because we can probably get a good fee for him now. I think the lad has earnt the right to make his own choice. 

Matips first 3 seasons (league only) bumps up his average.

 

He has managed:

 

29

25

22

 

Followed by:

 

10

9

 

25% last two seasons.

 

 

 

 

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Williams and Phillips tend to get lumped together but Phillips is an order of magnitude more impressive than Williams. Nat is a very good defender, although his lack of pace means that when we get VVD back and can comfortably play that higher line, pushing the fullbacks on even more regularly, he will be under extreme pressure and will be targeted. Gomez, Matip, and if he joins then Konate all seem a more natural fit. I’d really like him to stay though. 

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Big Nat is one I'd want the club to retain for next season at least. He hasn't let anybody down whenever he has played and, despite his lack of pace, it looks like the players around him are reassured by his presence in the team. He might only be at best 4th choice next season, and may look to move on, but we have a player who fulfils the homegrown criteria and one who we need to see how he does when he has stronger options than Rhys Williams or one of Hendo or Fab filling in alongside him.

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15 minutes ago, Barrington Womble said:

A gradual decline through each season then. 

It is hard to see how he turns it around IMO.

 

Even in the first 3 season he is hardly what you would call reliable.

 

He is a very good defender of course, but for me he has to go (i appreciate finding a buyer my be very tricky) but we can't carry someone who offers so little, not in such a lean squad and not someone who eats up big wages.

 

We need 4 reliable centre halves.

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Just now, an tha said:

It is hard to see how he turns it around IMO.

 

Even in the first 3 season he is hardly what you would call reliable.

 

He is a very good defender of course, but for me he has to go (i appreciate finding a buyer my be very tricky) but we can't carry someone who offers so little, not in such a lean squad and not someone who eats up big wages.

 

We need 4 reliable centre halves.

Who would buy him? And pay him the money he gets here.

 

People don't generally buying broken things.

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18 minutes ago, an tha said:

It is hard to see how he turns it around IMO.

 

Even in the first 3 season he is hardly what you would call reliable.

 

He is a very good defender of course, but for me he has to go (i appreciate finding a buyer my be very tricky) but we can't carry someone who offers so little, not in such a lean squad and not someone who eats up big wages.

 

We need 4 reliable centre halves.

From what I recall, he came in with a niggle, struggled through around a dozen games and then broke down and has been pretty flakey since. I completely agree, we can't carry him with how lean we run the squad. 

16 minutes ago, Elite said:

Who would buy him? And pay him the money he gets here.

 

People don't generally buying broken things.

Surely if we give him a free it wouldn't be the end of the world. Perhaps someone in a less intense league or team might fancy their chances keeping him fit. If we keep him, it has to be in the context of having 5 centre backs in the squad. 

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1 hour ago, Bjornebye said:

Why? He’s done everything asked and alongside VVD he could be a colossus. I’m all in on him I think he’s great. 

This. All day long.

 

I think it’s mad that people are discarding him after how well he’s done. He has as much of a shout as any to partner Big Handsome next season

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8 minutes ago, Barrington Womble said:

From what I recall, he came in with a niggle, struggled through around a dozen games and then broke down and has been pretty flakey since. I completely agree, we can't carry him with how lean we run the squad. 

Surely if we give him a free it wouldn't be the end of the world. Perhaps someone in a less intense league or team might fancy their chances keeping him fit. If we keep him, it has to be in the context of having 5 centre backs in the squad. 

It is very tricky isn't it.

 

As Elite said people don't buy broken things....by same token though people don't keep broken things, they throw them out and replace them!

 

Not sure how it works exactly but i'd be inclined to look at (and i am talking about any player at any club here) inserting clauses into contracts that say if you aren't fit and available for x amount of games over x amount of time we will cancel your contract and you can leave on a free.

 

A player who is never fit is no use.

 

 

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6 minutes ago, belarus said:

This. All day long.

 

I think it’s mad that people are discarding him after how well he’s done. He has as much of a shout as any to partner Big Handsome next season

 

He hasn't done well at all.  People set the bar so low that apparently doing well is every long ball causing sheer panic. 

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4 minutes ago, an tha said:

It is very tricky isn't it.

 

As Elite saie people don't buy broken things....by same token though people don't keep broken things, they throw them out and replace them!

 

Not sure how it works exactly but i'd be inclined to look at (and i am talking about any player at any club here) inserting clauses into contracts that say if you aren't fit and available for x amount of games over x amount of time we will cancel your contract and you can leave on a free.

 

A player who is never fit is no use.

 

 

Yeah, it's deffo tricky. I don't know about cancelling players because they're injured as that would feel to me you're just asking them not to push their bodies. The other thing is, matip is on his 2nd contract here. So we went in with eyes wide open. The only people to blame really are us! 

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Just now, Barrington Womble said:

Yeah, it's deffo tricky. I don't know about cancelling players because they're injured as that would feel to me you're just asking them not to push their bodies. The other thing is, matip is on his 2nd contract here. So we went in with eyes wide open. The only people to blame really are us! 

Yeah....i think for me the clause would be when it is continual issues rather than a long term injury (of course anyone can get one of them)....once you are into a Sturridge type situation though or like we have now with Keita and Matip, when it is just one thing after another i just feel that the club should not have to suffer and pay these fellas top whack for adding nothing and ultimately not be stuck with a highly paid useless player.

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11 minutes ago, Captain Turdseye said:


£150m is the rumoured asking price for Harry Kane and his ankles have gone. He’s only gonna play fewer and fewer games from here on out. 

So Kane or young Haaland?

 

I know who'd I'd pick!

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20 minutes ago, an tha said:

Yeah....i think for me the clause would be when it is continual issues rather than a long term injury (of course anyone can get one of them)....once you are into a Sturridge type situation though or like we have now with Keita and Matip, when it is just one thing after another i just feel that the club should not have to suffer and pay these fellas top whack for adding nothing and ultimately not be stuck with a highly paid useless player.

well in conventional working life we have a solution for that and people leave their jobs on health grounds. but football is different, not least because they're kind of not people, but rather assets. I don't see how you can have it both ways where a player is under contract so you can demand a fee for him moving jobs, he can only move jobs in 2 short periods in a year, while at the same time saying we don't much like your fitness record, so we're not paying you any more. for me the club should resolve that risk by either just carrying it and accept injuries and these types of player as a cost of doing business, or they somehow wrap them in insurance so when they don't play we can claim. 

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I think it's really hard to predict what sort of performance we can expect from VVD and Gomez, especially in regards to pace and quickness. Gomez in particular as pace was by far his best quality and bailed him out more than once when he had trouble with the aerial part of his game. Not sure he can count on that anymore. 

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31 minutes ago, Captain Turdseye said:


£150m is the rumoured asking price for Harry Kane and his ankles have gone. He’s only gonna play fewer and fewer games from here on out. 

Matip isnt English and doesnt score many goals. He also hasnt got the English media rimming his hoop every day.

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Successful squads need lads like Phillips in them. Ferguson’s United had several of the great club servant type, who graduate from the youth squad and might only expect to start 10-20 games a year when everyone is fit, but step up to the plate whenever needed. We’d be mad to let him go if he was up for staying, when he’s performed as he has under intense pressure and our other defenders - plus the one we seem most likely to buy - are all going to be highly questionable coming into next season in terms of fitness. If this year doesn’t show us you’re only as strong as your squad players, we’ll never learn. On top of that, we’ve no idea if he’s hit his ceiling yet or how much he might be able to improve when he’s not in a patched up side firefighting it’s way through a nightmare season.

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17 minutes ago, Dr Nowt said:

Successful squads need lads like Phillips in them. Ferguson’s United had several of the great club servant type, who graduate from the youth squad and might only expect to start 10-20 games a year when everyone is fit, but step up to the plate whenever needed. We’d be mad to let him go if he was up for staying, when he’s performed as he has under intense pressure and our other defenders - plus the one we seem most likely to buy - are all going to be highly questionable coming into next season in terms of fitness. If this season doesn’t show us you’re only as strong as your squad players we’ll never learn. On top of that, we’ve no idea if he’s hit his ceiling yet or how much he might be able to improve when he’s not in a patched up side firefighting it’s way through a nightmare season.

Yes. John O Shea and Wes Brown are hardly Utd 'legends.'

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1 hour ago, Grinch said:

 

He hasn't done well at all.  People set the bar so low that apparently doing well is every long ball causing sheer panic. 

That was happening last season and the start of this when Virgil was playing. We were getting constantly criticised for the way we were set up.

 

He hasn’t done well? Agree to disagree.

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