It’s all gone quiet on calling Phillips *****!.......some on here wrote him off before he hardly kicked a ball!!!....well done Phillips you’ve got us some crucial goals these last few weeks.....keep it up son
Mebe..... a great return this last month ...... those who slagged him will be praising him now and then they will go seeking their next victim lol
His goal ratio is 1 in 3 at the minute. Not many players have scored that regularly for us (particularly from midfield), albeit only after 15 games.
I said after his first handful of games that I couldn’t work out what kind of midfielder he was. The last month or so he’s certainly proved he’s a goal scoring one. Long may it continue.
He’s an odd player. He doesn’t seem to contribute that much but offers a real goal threat. If we can work on matching his overall game to his finishing he will be a very good player.
I am genuinely not arsed about his commitment. He may stroll around the pitch waving to his girlfriend for 89 minutes....but for the other minute he bags a goal in. Enough done, enough said. A very very competent attacking midfielder, youll miss him when a prem side signs him in 12 months time
A very random comment for a fair analysis. He will certainly do a good job for us. I don’t see a lack of effort just a lack of meaningful contribution other than his goals but given those goals who cares. At 24 he won’t go to a Prem side. He is miles off that level. He could perhaps compete in a mid table a championship team that was decent enough to shield his lack of contribution other than where it matters in terms of goals.
We never learn our lesson though, slag players off after 5 minutes. Even players like Hourihane. The amount of people moaning about Phillips, saying to get rid, was ridiculous, he had played less than 300 minutes of league football for us at the time. I love it when they prove us all wrong!
That’s all well and good if he scores. As soon as the goals dry up, people will be straight on his back again
Benefitting greatly, as the team is, from the change in shape to three in the middle and two up top. Not sure he’s good enough to play in a central two; but with cover around him he’s good at getting on the end of things. His height and physicality make him useful at the other end too. Though daft as it sounds, as and when the goals dry up he doesn’t contribute a lot else! Let’s hope they don’t.
It's fantastic that he's come good. I remember Herbie Kane saying he is much better than he had shown, pretty much immediately before this great run. To be fair to us supporters though, was there that many saying get rid? I remember loads saying they didn't know what he offered. And that was fair because they genuinely didn't. Let's just enjoy knowing now exactly what he offers.
I’ve never slagged him off but…….I rarely notice him in a game (unless it’s a misplaced pass) and then………he scores yet another goal. I can’t remember any other player who has done that while playing in the middle of the Park; plenty of Strikers but never a midfield player. Maybe he does loads and I just don’t know it’s him because he has that look that every bloke in their mid twenties seems to have! Maybe he just ‘blends in’. But as other posters have commented - his goals are a big part of where we are so if he carries on doing ‘not much’ and has 20 goals at the end of the season, that will do for me.
When we signed Redfearn for (I think) £190k, I remember a lot of people saying it was a massive mistake by the club, granted, it did take a while for Redder"s to find his feet, but, once he found confidence and momentum he became a juggernaut through midfield, not only scoring some cracking goals but also inspiring those around him too, perhaps it is a little early to draw parallels with regards Phillips, although it seems patience and perseverance do sometimes pay off.
I think we may owe Duff some credit for his ability to inspire and motivate players and getting them to play to their strengths. Cole and Benson, for example, were just a laughing stock under them previous two clowns of managers. I know we’ve had to drop a division to get the best out of them but they seem to be willing to run through a brick wall for this manager.