Why Lita Doesn't Work

[Snowball]

Congratulations on posting more stats which show that Lita hasn't scored many goals for Reading.

On the basis of your successful week last week, where you provided 5 essays of information as to why City wouldn't beat us at home, I now look forward to Lita scoring 15 goals in the next game, and Doye scoring 43.

Hi Stalker.

You are SOoooo thick.

This thread was NOT about Lita failing to score for Reading. There's a simple stat for that, 2 seasons 20+ games, 2 goals.

The thread is about the fact that when he plays NO STRIKER SCORES



and that's because he either

(a) doesn't suit the way we play

OR

(b) he is extremely selfish and goes for goal rather than put a team-mate in

OR

(c) he's not good enough

OR

(d) something about him or the interaction between him and other players seems to stop them playing as well

[sam1]

a, c and d.

[Huntley & Palmer]

Those stats are straightforward

When Lita and Long play together, neither scores and the points per game
are less than half they are when Doyle partners Hunt (and occasionally Long)

The clown who says this is me arguing for Long is just a total prat.

I have consistently said our best pairing by a street is Doyle with Noel Hunt

24 goals Doyle-Hunt Partnership (26 games, once as sub, once off after 30 mins)
07 goals Doyle-Long Partnership (03 games, one 60 minutes, the rest as sub)
00 goals Doyle-Lita Partnership (06 games, once as sub.. Lita's only goal, 90th minute when not partnering Doyle)

31 goals by the strikers when Lita isn't playing
00 goals by the strikers when Lita plays

Nobody disagrees. Doyle and Noel Hunt are clearly the best partnership we have.

However, why doesn't Lita work?!

Don't, it's like banging your head on a brick wall.

[papereyes]

Why doesn't Lita work?

because he's a lump of a striker who reminds me increasingly of a Marlon Harewood but without the eye for goal and first touch.

[Schards#2]

Those stats are straightforward

When Lita and Long play together, neither scores and the points per game
are less than half they are when Doyle partners Hunt (and occasionally Long)

The clown who says this is me arguing for Long is just a total prat.

I have consistently said our best pairing by a street is Doyle with Noel Hunt

24 goals Doyle-Hunt Partnership (26 games, once as sub, once off after 30 mins)
07 goals Doyle-Long Partnership (03 games, one 60 minutes, the rest as sub)
00 goals Doyle-Lita Partnership (06 games, once as sub.. Lita's only goal, 90th minute when not partnering Doyle)

31 goals by the strikers when Lita isn't playing
00 goals by the strikers when Lita plays

Was Lita not playing when Lita scored against Watford then?

[Royal Rother]

Yeah, we get it. They don't work.

Any insight into *why*?

We don't play to his strengths.

The only person in our squad who could possibly bring the best out of Lita is MM - Lita needs the ball played in front of him to run onto and and we have no-one else capable of doing that. In those circumstances Lita is a very decent finisher but the trouble is that he isn't a particularly clever player and so far has shown zero indication that he is capable of tuning into MM's wavelength. Similar criticism could be levelled at all our strikers to be fair, but Doyle and NHunt are more clever in other other areas of the game and have been able to form a good understanding between themselves and have helped each other bag a decent haul this season.

Apart from Lita failing to score for us for 2 years (apart from 2 pretty meaningless 90th minute goals in 4-0 victories) I am also unable to recall any assists to his name in that time either.

Actually, although we don't play to his strengths, the main reason "why" is that he isn't a particularly good footballer.

[Huntley & Palmer]

Why doesn't Lita work?

because he's a lump of a striker who reminds me increasingly of a Marlon Harewood but without the eye for goal and first touch.

I don't think it helps that we have decided to focus even more on putting the ball down the channels for the striker to run onto as well, when Leroy has been in form it's playing off of the shoulder of defenders in the middle. His best work for us has been on the ball into his feet as he makes his run, or from good crossing. The quality of both these areas has declined in the last two seasons IMHO

[Snowball]

The thread is about the fact that when he plays NO STRIKER SCORES

and that's because he either

(a) doesn't suit the way we play

OR

(b) he is extremely selfish and goes for goal rather than put a team-mate in

OR

(c) he's not good enough

OR

(d) something about him or the interaction between him and other players seems to stop them playing as well

(a) In all the games I've seen him so far he seems to play on his own, rarely interacts with Doyle, whereas Doyle-Hunt just seem to know what each other will do, seem to play for each other. When the ball is sent up and Hunt jumps I actually expect him to win the header (unlike Lita) but also I expect it to go into the right space.

(b) Lita "should have passed" when it was 1-0 at Swansea, but again showed he's only interested in improving HIS goals-scored record (and we all know why)... He did the same yesterday shhopting from low-percentage angles rather than try to play others in.

(c) This season he has scored just the one goal, put through for a 1 on 1 (decent goal) but he hasn't turned any more of his 14 chances into goals.

Long is more accurate and scores more often and everyone thinks Long is sh!t

CLUB Statistics

6 Starts (03 sub) 8 shots on target 6 shots off target 1 goals LITA

3 Starts (22 sub) 6 shots on target 5 shots off target 3 goals LONG

(d) I have no idea what the truth is, how Lita interacts with the team, but he's been "out of it" a lot
these last two seasons, wasn't prepared to be on the bench, was keen to stay at Norwich, and there
are other off-field "elements" which says to me he's not a Reading-type of player (as a person) and
I seriously wonder if he's part of the current malaise.

Example, unless Noel is being secretly disciplined, (eg maybe he got p!ssed at being dropped for Lita)
then he should rightly be upset... might that not affect his brother, the other Irish lads etc?

It takes very little to undermine a team. Look what happened last year.

[Ian Royal]

Why doesn't Lita work?

because he's a lump of a striker who reminds me increasingly of a Marlon Harewood but without the eye for goal and first touch.

I don't think it helps that we have decided to focus even more on putting the ball down the channels for the striker to run onto as well, when Leroy has been in form it's playing off of the shoulder of defenders in the middle. His best work for us has been on the ball into his feet as he makes his run, or from good crossing. The quality of both these areas has declined in the last two seasons IMHO

Look sensible and insightful analysis and without a stat or list of games in sight.

SNOWBALL Take freaking note!

[Snowball]

I have consistently said our best pairing by a street is Doyle with Noel Hunt

24 goals Doyle-Hunt Partnership (26 games, once as sub, once off after 30 mins)
07 goals Doyle-Long Partnership (03 games, one 60 minutes, the rest as sub)
00 goals Doyle-Lita Partnership (06 games, once as sub.. Lita's only goal, 90th minute when not partnering Doyle)

31 goals by the strikers when Lita isn't playing
00 goals by the strikers when Lita plays

Was Lita not playing when Lita scored against Watford then?

I was talking about Doyle-Lita. Lita came on for Doyle. So neither Doyle or Lita has scored while
they are a partnership (which was the point I was making)

Even this goal was not a strike-partnership goal, it was a deflected through-ball from Harps

[Royal Rother]

What's the problem with stats - I only read half of them (if that) but it is good to have a different form of analysis on the board.

If you don't like them, can I suggest you just scan past.

[Ian Royal]

So what you're saying is, the one time Lita got the type of service Huntley describes him needing he scored? Is that right?

Rother: because there is nothing else in the post and they take up so much room contributing nothing.

[Thomas L'Heureux]

What's the problem with stats - I only read half of them (if that) but it is good to have a different form of analysis on the board.

If you don't like them, can I suggest you just scan past.

Stats can be very insightful, but they do not explain why something happens, just merely that it has happened.

If statisitics are used in the right way, to accompany an argument or observation, they can be very useful. However, stats alone do not prove a great deal.

[Royal Rother]

So what you're saying is, the one time Lita got the type of service Huntley describes him needing he scored? Is that right?

Rother: because there is nothing else in the post and they take up so much room contributing nothing.

On the first point, you are probably right, but as per my post at the same time as H&P's we just don't play to his strengths (I fear only MM has the vision to help him there) and he doesn't have enough else to his game to make a particularly strong contribution if he's not getting the service he needs.

On the 2nd, they may not be earth shattering but they do often contribute something of some interest - but you have to put the time into reading them. Most people have become snowballind it seems.

[Snowball]

So what you're saying is, the one time Lita got the type of service Huntley describes him needing he scored? Is that right?

Rother: because there is nothing else in the post and they take up so much room contributing nothing.

AND MISSED THIRTEEN OTHERS.


Lita got goals at Norwich. This thread isn't about can he score goals

It's an absolute fact that he has scored just one 90th minute goal for us in 6+3 appearances this season
but it's an ADDITIONAL fact that he has failed to work with Doyle at all, hence no goals for his strike
partner either.

What I don't see is why we are bothering with him at all. He has been going steadily downhill
as a Reading player for 4 seasons. 22-7-1-1 is a pretty damning statistic

But it's worse than HIM not scoring goals. He doesn't have a single assist this season in 6+(3) appearances) and last season had ONE

16+7 = 2 goals and 1 assist in two seasons. Doyle has 17 goals and 5 assists this season, Hunt is 11 + 2, Long is 3 + 1 (Cisse at Wolves. He also has won TWO penalties = assists) and he's only started three games.

[Ian Royal]

You appear to have completely failed to understand the bit about the TYPE of service Lita needs from Huntley's post.
Balls through the middle for him to run off the shoulder of the defender, get onto and slot past the keeper. Not the service he is largely receiving whilst playing for us. If you put your clever little mind to thinking about it for a second. You may just come up with a plausible reason for why he's scored for Norwich more than us.

But carry on posting up stuff that doesn't really respond to any points people post in response to you.

[Snowball]

You appear to have completely failed to understand the bit about the TYPE of service Lita needs from Huntley's post. Balls through the middle for him to run off the shoulder of the defender, get onto and slot past the keeper. Not the service he is largely receiving whilst playing for us. If you put your clever little mind to thinking about it for a second. You may just come up with a plausible reason for why he's scored for Norwich more than us. But carry on posting up stuff that doesn't really respond to any points people post in response to you.

Why exactly should we change, just to suit Lita? Someone who will leave at season's end anyway?

No. I think we should completely change our style of football to accommodate Leroy Lita because he's a superstar.

My point throughout has been HE DOESN'T SUIT THE WAY WE PLAY but to play differently to accommodate him is truly ridiculous.

He is just NOT special. I mistakenly said he'd scored 22 in the 106 season. I meant 11 in 22 starts followed by 7-1-1

But that's perspective. In FOUR SEASONS he has scored 11+7+1+1 = 19 League goals in 60 starts and 22 as sub

Doyle has got 17 in 32 this season and people are suggesting he be dropped.

Hunt has 11 in 23( 7) and in two of those starts he went off after 25/30 minutes.

[Snowball]

What's the problem with stats - I only read half of them (if that) but it is good to have a different form of analysis on the board.

If you don't like them, can I suggest you just scan past.

Stats can be very insightful, but they do not explain why something happens, just merely that it has happened.

If statisitics are used in the right way, to accompany an argument or observation, they can be very useful. However, stats alone do not prove a great deal.

I have given my reasons (opinions) why, and so have now others.

Ian Royal thinks we should change the whole make-up
of the team just to accommodate Leroy...

[cmonurz]

I thought this post wasn't about Lita's goalscoring record?

Calling me thick, or a stalker, Snowball, whilst true in the first case, doesn't make you look half your age, never mind 61. Cut it out, it's ridiculous.



On Lita, it's frustrating, because it should work. Lita is our one striker who likes the ball fed through to him to run on to, and has decent pace - and a very different player to Doyle, who is comfortable with the ball at feet, moving wide to pick it up etc. It should be perfect - effectively the 2 up front should become a 1-1. But it doesn't happen.

[Ian Royal]

No I don't snowball.

I've merely pointed out that when given the service he thrives on he scores. And if you work backwards from what I've actually said it explains WHY he doesn't work in the current set up.

Something you still haven't really managed to do. The best you've done is just now saying he isn't suited to our style. A rather empty phrase.

If we stopped being such a one trick pony and developed some play through the middle Lita would become much much more useful to us.

Seeing as no one is currently scoring in our system, because the system has been sussed and countered, I'd say it was a pretty good idea to change the system, if only a little.