The Mail Bag
James Beattie
Comments (34)
Here's a thought. Was Beattie as shite as we all made him out to be? He has now bagged 6 goals in 6 games for a shit Sheff Utd side. Could it have been Moyes's tactics that turned him into the player we saw at the club? Is it that Sheff Utd play better football than us (not hoofball like us most of the time) and this now suits Beattie's game more? I know some people will say he has found his level, but I just don't know. He has gone from a player who couldn't buy a goal with us, to a player now banging them in. The reason why I ask this question is, is it just a coincidence that AJ has not found the back of the net since March?
Brian Waring, Posted 19/09/2007 at 09:00:50
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John Charles
1 Posted 19/09/2007 at 14:36:54
1 Posted 19/09/2007 at 14:36:54
He just needed a change.
Also, we dont play with natural width - Ossie and Miky are converted central players for me.... and he thrives on crosses?
I’d sooner have Yak and AJ 10 times out of 10 though. I’d take Faddy over BT too, at the end of the day, when he played for us he didnt score goals. When others played instead of them, they scored goals. Simple as.
Also, we dont play with natural width - Ossie and Miky are converted central players for me.... and he thrives on crosses?
I’d sooner have Yak and AJ 10 times out of 10 though. I’d take Faddy over BT too, at the end of the day, when he played for us he didnt score goals. When others played instead of them, they scored goals. Simple as.
Ben Howard
2 Posted 19/09/2007 at 11:38:30
2 Posted 19/09/2007 at 11:38:30
Biffa has just scored his 6th goal of the season for Sheffield Utd!
His first was a 35-yard strike (yes you read that right!) and the second came after 'a move of top-flight class' as the two forwards linked up and Beattie netted the header.
Do we think that this perfectly demonstrates the gulf between the Premiership and Championship or are United playing to his strengths in a way that Everton were never able to?
Or has Biffa finally got himself totally match fit and buzzing from the confidence of finally scoring from open play?
Nick Entwistle
3 Posted 19/09/2007 at 14:40:27
3 Posted 19/09/2007 at 14:40:27
BT was poor. Chance after chance - be it in appearences he didn’t deserve, be it goal scoring chances wasted.
How often in fron of goal did he just feck it up?!?!?!? Atleast once every game when it was harder to miss than score... and that’s being kind.
AJ... he’s turned the team around as an attacking threat, but never belived he would be a 20 per season man.
How often in fron of goal did he just feck it up?!?!?!? Atleast once every game when it was harder to miss than score... and that’s being kind.
AJ... he’s turned the team around as an attacking threat, but never belived he would be a 20 per season man.
Robin Byrne
4 Posted 19/09/2007 at 14:42:53
4 Posted 19/09/2007 at 14:42:53
I think it may be that Beatts is finding it easier to score against significantly weaker opposition than he faced while playing for us. He also is perhaps more motivated (he’s certainly looking fitter anyway!) to prove himself at Sheffield than he was with us for some reason. As for your point on Moyes, AJ etc. I hope you’re wrong but if AJ and Yak dont both get into double figures this season I think it’ll be a tough one to argue with.
Matt Willey
5 Posted 19/09/2007 at 14:41:03
5 Posted 19/09/2007 at 14:41:03
John, I agree to an extent ... Beattie certainly had problems whilst here .. his fitness was never up to the exacting standards that Moyes and Irvine promote. I also concede that Vaughan and Anichebe ended last season with a good goals to games ratio but I’m not sure that this tells the whole story; Beattie had scored goals for fun (as had AJ) before his arrival at Everton...
It is all to do with the aimless shit that we pump up to the strikers, I think Brian has got it right on that count... defend from the front for sure.. but I have never seen a striker score from the corner flag whilst harrying a fullback to win the ball back.
AJ runs the channels well, but far too often he gets shown outside ... our relatively pedestrian midfield without Cahill (Arteta excluded) means that once the rest of play has caught up the opposition defence has a good chance of getting back into position...
Basically a little more culture in midfield (a change in personnel - with one particular culprit) would do the team no end of good... threaded passes rather than hoofed ones !
It is all to do with the aimless shit that we pump up to the strikers, I think Brian has got it right on that count... defend from the front for sure.. but I have never seen a striker score from the corner flag whilst harrying a fullback to win the ball back.
AJ runs the channels well, but far too often he gets shown outside ... our relatively pedestrian midfield without Cahill (Arteta excluded) means that once the rest of play has caught up the opposition defence has a good chance of getting back into position...
Basically a little more culture in midfield (a change in personnel - with one particular culprit) would do the team no end of good... threaded passes rather than hoofed ones !
patty blue
6 Posted 19/09/2007 at 14:54:56
6 Posted 19/09/2007 at 14:54:56
Think about how many "sitters" Beattie missed and at the time you couldn’t believe he had. Even I, a grandma could have netted some of them.
We are all astounded that he has scored 6 goals for Sheffield United and good luck to him if he has found his niche. Of the six though, one was a penalty and one of the goals last night was courtes of a goal-keeper who made a stupid error.
We are all astounded that he has scored 6 goals for Sheffield United and good luck to him if he has found his niche. Of the six though, one was a penalty and one of the goals last night was courtes of a goal-keeper who made a stupid error.
James Elworthy
7 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:01:27
7 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:01:27
The gulf between the championship and the Premier League is now enormous with the money that is now in football. This is why the majority of clubs that go up go straight back down with the odd exception.
Beattie is up against defenders of a totally different class in the Championship, you get more time on the ball and that split second is often the difference between scoring and being tackled.
Something was wrong with Beattie at Everton it may of been his confidence it may of been the style of play didnt suit him, but there have been many prolific scorers in the lower leagues who never made it at the highest level, Ted McDougall Steve Bull, Brett Angell, Phil Jevons to name a few
Beattie is up against defenders of a totally different class in the Championship, you get more time on the ball and that split second is often the difference between scoring and being tackled.
Something was wrong with Beattie at Everton it may of been his confidence it may of been the style of play didnt suit him, but there have been many prolific scorers in the lower leagues who never made it at the highest level, Ted McDougall Steve Bull, Brett Angell, Phil Jevons to name a few
Mark Pendleton
8 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:13:48
8 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:13:48
I think it is fair to say that rather than blame Moyes’ tactics, when Vic or Vaughany came in instead of Beattie they both scored goals, are two different types of players and therefore thrive off different types of service. AJ runs the channels alot and does sterling work for the team when he’s not scoring. When BT played and didn’t score he almost always gave the ball away.
Matt Fearon
9 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:21:50
9 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:21:50
JB falls into that same class of player as Huckerby, Nugent(?), Earnshaw, Stead, Jeffers, Zamora (dare I say AJ) that exist in a twilight zone between premiership class and championship standard - which possibly helps explain why they all have such inconsistent scoring records.
It also just happens sometimes for whatever reason: style of play, culture of club, mentality of player, relationship with manager. On a more high-profile scale look at the likes of Forlan and Kanoute
It also just happens sometimes for whatever reason: style of play, culture of club, mentality of player, relationship with manager. On a more high-profile scale look at the likes of Forlan and Kanoute
Gareth Davies
10 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:22:56
10 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:22:56
Just a couple of comments on comments:
re: Ben Howard: 35 yard strike. It was hardly a rocket, it was a weak strike that squirmed under a poor goalkeeping effort. See Simon Davies’ goal vs Birmingham.
re: Michael Kenrick: away goals worth double. Lazy cliché often repeated, especially in the conmment that Everton will play twice as defensively. Surely then, we’ll play twice as offensively in the away leg?
I liked Beattie. He had honesty and work rate, but lacked quality. It is easier to score at Championship level, and numerous strikers have shown that. I think the fact that Beattie is scoring regularly has more to do with the quality of defending he’s facing rather than the quality of the tactics he’s playing to.
re: Ben Howard: 35 yard strike. It was hardly a rocket, it was a weak strike that squirmed under a poor goalkeeping effort. See Simon Davies’ goal vs Birmingham.
re: Michael Kenrick: away goals worth double. Lazy cliché often repeated, especially in the conmment that Everton will play twice as defensively. Surely then, we’ll play twice as offensively in the away leg?
I liked Beattie. He had honesty and work rate, but lacked quality. It is easier to score at Championship level, and numerous strikers have shown that. I think the fact that Beattie is scoring regularly has more to do with the quality of defending he’s facing rather than the quality of the tactics he’s playing to.
Ben Howard
11 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:33:11
11 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:33:11
Gareth. I agree, but I didn’t say it was a rocket. Could you imagine the Biffa of old getting one on target from that distance? Or even being able to control the ball that far out, find space and have the confidence to attempt a long shot?
Good on him. I hope he has a successful time with Utd.
Good on him. I hope he has a successful time with Utd.
Franny Porter
12 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:40:04
12 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:40:04
Can I just point out that two of James ’Dixie’ Beatties strikes where against the mighty Blackpool.
Puts this blog into perspective dosnt it really.
Puts this blog into perspective dosnt it really.
Gareth Davies
13 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:39:08
13 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:39:08
Fair point, Ben.
I still picture people in the Park End raising hands to protect faces whenever he got the ball.
I also hope he does well... he’s nailed on score against us whenever that will be!
I still picture people in the Park End raising hands to protect faces whenever he got the ball.
I also hope he does well... he’s nailed on score against us whenever that will be!
Ray
14 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:53:52
14 Posted 19/09/2007 at 15:53:52
I reckon its a bit of both Beattie needed a change and also the Premiership being a mega step up from the Championship..We only have to look at the player we were all raving about David Nugent for evidence of that..Remember the solo goal he got a Crystal Palace last season?. You think he could do that in the top flight?. You dont get the time or the space to start walking the ball through defences in this division unless you are a truly magnificent player Thierry Henry ect: I dont think Beattie could be labelled a bad player..35 goals in seasons running at Southampton says he will be a big asset to the right club and remember he scored some absoloutly wonder goals from distance.Any coincidence there I wonder why he never scored any for Everton?. We dont seem to encourage players to shoot from long distance..He flopped at Everton and I have said before the start he got off to never helped matters at all..Sent off stupidly and suffering lots of frustrating injuries. I hope he does well at Sheff Utd and Im sure he will get 20 goals for them this season.
Mark Stone
15 Posted 19/09/2007 at 16:06:47
15 Posted 19/09/2007 at 16:06:47
It’s like Groundhog day. I really can’t believe this one got published on here after we’ve been discussing it for about a month already.
David Barks
16 Posted 19/09/2007 at 16:17:14
16 Posted 19/09/2007 at 16:17:14
Okay, so it was Moyes that caused Beattie to sky the ball above the bar when just a couple of feet in front of the goal??? Moyes somehow made him do this??? Beattie constantly missed the open goal, his confidence was shot. Moyes gave him every bloody chance but he just didn’t get it done. And to say that Shef United play better football than us, utterly ridiculous. So shite football gets you into Europe but good football like you say Sheffield United play gets you relegated. I’ll take Europe over the Championship any day of the week mate. He’s playing against the likes of Blackpool while we’re playing against Man United!!! A little difference in class me thinks.
simon williams
17 Posted 19/09/2007 at 16:39:56
17 Posted 19/09/2007 at 16:39:56
haha, great comment!
Brian Waring
18 Posted 19/09/2007 at 16:31:47
18 Posted 19/09/2007 at 16:31:47
David,before he came to us,Beattie was scoring goals for southampton against the top sides in the prem.He comes to us,then for some reason(apart from 1 season) he stops scoring.Why?I remember posts on here,saying that even though he wasn’t scoring, his work rate was excellent.Chasing balls down into the channels.Sound familiar?I know the opposition in the championship is at a different level to the prem.But,at the end of the day you still have to put the ball in the back of the net.
David Barks
19 Posted 19/09/2007 at 16:57:15
19 Posted 19/09/2007 at 16:57:15
Actually Brian, when he came to us he was sitting on the bench at his former team. He had scored 3 goals with Southampton the season he joined us. The season before that he scored 14 in the league with Southampton. In his first full season with us he scored 10 in the league. And I remember posts on here about how fat and out of shape Beattie was with us.
Brian Waring
20 Posted 19/09/2007 at 17:03:24
20 Posted 19/09/2007 at 17:03:24
David,I’m not going tit for tat with you,we could be here all day.The point I was trying to make in the post,was,is it the tactics Moyes uses,the reason behind AJ not scoring since March?It’s okay him working his socke off,but at the end of the day he is there to score goals.
David Barks
21 Posted 19/09/2007 at 17:15:38
21 Posted 19/09/2007 at 17:15:38
I’m not either Brian. But I totally disagree with you. AJ has had many open looks at goal, but has had numerous chances cleared off the line, and other times just plain missed the goal. He is in a goal droubt, something that all strikers go through. I remember Rooney going through a droubt last year but I don’t think anyone would think it was because of Ferguson. Strikers go hot and cold, and the injuries he sustained last season didn’t help his cause. I would argue that the changing strike partnerships have had an effect on him though. He seemed to be very good with Vaughan, but then he went down. Then had to partner with Victor, then McFadden, then back to Victor because of injury to McFadden, and now he is having to learn how to play with Yakubu. I think this is the bigger issue.
David Barks
22 Posted 19/09/2007 at 17:52:58
22 Posted 19/09/2007 at 17:52:58
There is one thing I would add regarding AJ’s goal tally last season. When AJ was at Palace he scored a lot of his goals from the spot. Last season the officials would not give him a penalty, the head of the referees association admitted that at least 8 no calls were blatant penalties. So lets just say that those were granted like they were when he was at Palace, and that he took the penalties that he drew like he did at Palace. He would have ended up with about 20 goals last season.
Chris Otway
23 Posted 19/09/2007 at 18:20:49
23 Posted 19/09/2007 at 18:20:49
Surely it confirms the gulf between the Premiership and Championship. In terms of time on the ball, fitness and quality of defenders
Jay
24 Posted 19/09/2007 at 18:50:15
24 Posted 19/09/2007 at 18:50:15
Beattie was Brett Angell’s lovechild!!!
billy deane
25 Posted 19/09/2007 at 18:53:40
25 Posted 19/09/2007 at 18:53:40
i saw beatties goal on granada reports, me grannie would of saved it with her oven mitts on. It was a goalie howler of horrendous proportions
Steve Taylor
26 Posted 19/09/2007 at 19:14:34
26 Posted 19/09/2007 at 19:14:34
My thoughts on this are....who gives a shit? he’s a Sheffield United player who mostly stank in the Royal Blue & we all sniggered when the cloggers coughed up £4M for him...
Tony Marsh
27 Posted 19/09/2007 at 19:31:22
27 Posted 19/09/2007 at 19:31:22
Your right Barks Beattie is useless.And who was it that smashed the club recoerd to sign him?None other than your hero David Moyes.Dean Ashton and Darren Bent were both available at the time at half the price.Great judge that Moyes.
David Barks
28 Posted 19/09/2007 at 19:36:34
28 Posted 19/09/2007 at 19:36:34
Yeah Tony,
Darren Bent is really prospering for Spurs and scoring tons of goals isn’t he. And Dean Ashton missed an entire season, great buy that would have been. He bought him for 6 Million and was able to sell him for 4 Million after a dreadful season, not that bad a loss. I could point you towards others, such as Schevchenko, Veron, Morientes, Boularhouz. Every manager has his bad buys, but Moyes has also bought Arteta, Baines, Yobo, Lescott, Howard, Cahill. Those players aren’t too bad the last time I checked.
Darren Bent is really prospering for Spurs and scoring tons of goals isn’t he. And Dean Ashton missed an entire season, great buy that would have been. He bought him for 6 Million and was able to sell him for 4 Million after a dreadful season, not that bad a loss. I could point you towards others, such as Schevchenko, Veron, Morientes, Boularhouz. Every manager has his bad buys, but Moyes has also bought Arteta, Baines, Yobo, Lescott, Howard, Cahill. Those players aren’t too bad the last time I checked.
nicholas
29 Posted 19/09/2007 at 19:37:40
29 Posted 19/09/2007 at 19:37:40
Tony, fair enough he got that and a few others wrong but he is pretty good in the transfer market i.e cahill, lescott, arteta and baines. we all know the problem a lack of creativity, moyes tried to sort it this window he’ll sort in january untill then aj will have to work the channels. now lets get behind our team for thursday!
Alan Clarke
30 Posted 19/09/2007 at 20:52:36
30 Posted 19/09/2007 at 20:52:36
It’s all about pressure. At a big club like Everton, Beattie couldn’t handle the pressure. That absolute sitter he missed at home to Watford last season showed this. He couldn’t deal with the expectation placed on him and the £6 mil price tag. Now he’s at a shit little club in Yorkshire where everyone expects him to be a fat waster and the pressure’s off just like when he was at Southampton. This is why he’ll bag them goals.
Watch Darren Bent do the same for Tottenham. He won’t cope with that massive price tag and will be sold back to Charlton for 4 million in 2 seasons time.
Watch Darren Bent do the same for Tottenham. He won’t cope with that massive price tag and will be sold back to Charlton for 4 million in 2 seasons time.
David Barks
31 Posted 19/09/2007 at 21:07:18
31 Posted 19/09/2007 at 21:07:18
I still can’t believe the price paid for Darren Bent. There is no way he justified that price tag and I don’t think he will come close to fulfilling Spurs expectations.
roy coyne
32 Posted 19/09/2007 at 23:27:21
32 Posted 19/09/2007 at 23:27:21
Can I just say that I’m pleased for Biffa ,OK he didn’t do it for us he just was not up to the job so hes gone no hard feelings good luck to the guy,By the way much as I hate Ronaldo he showed Rooney how to respect your old club and fans tonight when he scored pity hes a diving b*** normally.
Mark Stone
33 Posted 20/09/2007 at 01:51:11
33 Posted 20/09/2007 at 01:51:11
Tony get your facts right mate, We signed Biffa in in Jan 2005, at that time Bent was battling for promotion with Ipswich. It wasn’t till the summer after Ipswich missed out on promotion that they agreed to listen to offers for Bent. There is no way they would have let him leave when we needed a striker in January. As for Ashton, there’s no way we could have paid his wages whilst he nursed his broken ankle! Not him and Pistone!!!
Mikhail Ridhuan
34 Posted 20/09/2007 at 08:47:28
34 Posted 20/09/2007 at 08:47:28
Beattie is one of those really big what-ifs from now on. I refuse to concede that he is a bad player simply because no one who could create THAT chip against Fulham a couple of years ago (his best game in an Everton shirt, btw) can be that bad. We bought him on the basis of his form for Southampton, in which he really caught the eye with some sumptious goals (I can think of 3 really good ones: away games at Chelsea, Spurs and Newcastle, all long-range efforts).
I think more than any player Beattie is a confidence player. He also doesn’t thrive under pressure. The record buy tag hovering over his shoulders hindered him from day one. Coupled with weight issues, disgruntled fans’ views, lack of support etc, it may explain his complete breakdown in ability at the tailend of last season.
I for one wish him all the best at the Blades. If his confidence is restored banging goals in against dodgy defences and shoddy goalkeepers, then so be it. I wouldn’t class him as a transfer success, but rather a missed opportunity as far as I can see.
I think more than any player Beattie is a confidence player. He also doesn’t thrive under pressure. The record buy tag hovering over his shoulders hindered him from day one. Coupled with weight issues, disgruntled fans’ views, lack of support etc, it may explain his complete breakdown in ability at the tailend of last season.
I for one wish him all the best at the Blades. If his confidence is restored banging goals in against dodgy defences and shoddy goalkeepers, then so be it. I wouldn’t class him as a transfer success, but rather a missed opportunity as far as I can see.
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Of course the alternative approach is to recognize that any away goals we concede tomorrow are worth double in Europe... does that mean Moyes will play twice as defensively as normal?!?! Arrrgh!!!!