Josh Dasilva

[No_sting_Bee]

The rest time during International breaks use to be an advantage now few will get it!

 

[Eieieio]

Had an Arsenal fan working with me yesterday who was gutted he left. He was interested that we'd signed him as a DM as he had dasilva down as a promising centre half. Apparently strong but also very quick, they were impressed with his league cup showing.

 

[Eieieio]

A fascinating appointment. Clearly rated by Arsenal and put forward by Wenger that this could be his break through season. I wonder what made him reject a contract at Arsenal then and become unemployed whilst he found another club? can't be the money as I would guess he could have earned more by staying there, maybe got bad vibes from Emery...or maybe our reputation is even bigger than we think amongst up and coming youngsters.

I imagine it was made clear to him that he didn't feature in first team plans for the coming season.

 

[maddogging]

Is he injured at present or just a case of getting him match fit?

 

[IDontBeeLieveIt]

Another of the sort of player I think would have helped us counter a side like Villa last night. Going to have a lot of options in the middle

 

[Doovster]

Is he injured at present or just a case of getting him match fit?

A couple of weeks to get him upto speed with fitness, style of play etc I believe. Not injured.

 

[maddogging]

A couple of weeks to get him upto speed with fitness, style of play etc I believe. Not injured.

Good news, thank you

 

[AB]

We could do with a decent League Cup run to give him and others match time so they are prepared for the first team in the league.

 

[Bigbee]

He needs time to adapt to a passing game instead of long ball at the Arse

 

[GP200]

He needs time to adapt to a passing game instead of long ball at the Arse

.............good observation..............

 

[swr22]

does this add credence to the rumours about Nico going to China?

 

[jlove]

does this add credence to the rumours about Nico going to China?

I can't see there's a connection, except they're both ex-Arsenal.

 

[Mikey Bee]

does this add credence to the rumours about Nico going to China?

I imagine he's been brought in to replace Lewis who is in the last year of his contract.

Every Macleod has Dasilva lining.

 

[A Real Mysteron]

I imagine he's been brought in to replace Lewis who is in the last year of his contract.

Every Macleod has Dasilva lining.

Outstanding!

 

[swr22]

I can't see there's a connection, except they're both ex-Arsenal.

Both box-to-box midfielders in a squad with a lot/too many midfielders to rotate in the central midfield three.

 

[jlove]

Both box-to-box midfielders in a squad with a lot/too many midfielders to rotate in the central midfield three.

I'd say there's currently, without Dasilva and Woods: 2 box-to-box (Macleod and Yennaris); 1 dual-purpose B2B/DHM (Mokotjo); 1 DHM (McEachran); 2 playmakers (Sawyers and Marcondes). Given that 2 of those are at present in the last year of their contracts, a young player who seems to be B2B/DHM is not too many.

 

[Mr Cynical]

Do we think he might be involved in the Cheltenham match or is it too early?

 

[gbems92]

Do we think he might be involved in the Cheltenham match or is it too early?

Not a good introduction , brentfords annual getting knocked out of the cup by lower league opposition game .

I don't see why not, would be a good chance for him to get some minutes in and see what he's about

 

[Les Beeavinu]

Not a good introduction , brentfords annual getting knocked out of the cup by lower league opposition game .

I don't see why not, would be a good chance for him to get some minutes in and see what he's about

Quarter finals at least this year. You heard it here first.

 

[Leonardo]

Quarter finals at least this year. You heard it here first.

Should be. We have enough quality to challenge anyone bar mid-top Prem teams I reckon

 

[Bigbee]

Do we think he might be involved in the Cheltenham match or is it too early?

yep,ask again later

 

[badgerbee]

yep,ask again later

About 10:00PM OK??
lol

 

[Mr Cynical]

yep,ask again later

Do we think he might be involved in then Cheltenham match or is it still too early?

 

[Bigbee]

Do we think he might be involved in then Cheltenham match or is it still too early?

Shirley its still too early ?

 

[Mr Cynical]

Hoping this kid can step up quickly as we clearly need better options in midfield, especially in the box to box/DM roles.

 

[Doovster]

Hoping this kid can step up quickly as we clearly need better options in midfield, especially in the box to box/DM roles.

After Rovrum, Stoke and Sheff Wednesday most were waxing lyrical about our midfield. One sh1te team performance against Blackburn and suddenly our midfield is not good enough and needs better options....

 

[sonofabee]

After Rovrum, Stoke and Sheff Wednesday most were waxing lyrical about our midfield. One sh1te team performance against Blackburn and suddenly our midfield is not good enough and needs better options....

I’m just glad we’ve got the points on the board now as we will need them to stay up end of the season based on some experts today.

 

[Doovster]

I’m just glad we’ve got the points on the board now as we will need them to stay up end of the season based on some experts today.

Seriously massive overreaction to a sh1te performance. If we turn that kind of performance in for the next 4 or 5 games then fair enough, but it sounded like one of those days when we didn't get going and were quite frankly rubbish but I don't believe today will define our season.

 

[sonofabee]

Seriously massive overreaction to a sh1te performance. If we turn that kind of performance in for the next 4 or 5 games then fair enough, but it sounded like one of those days when we didn't get going and were quite frankly rubbish but I don't believe today will define our season.

I don’t expect top two like some others on here, I see top 8 and if we are as I expect there in Jan we’ll spend big to get up.

 

[Mr Cynical]

After Rovrum, Stoke and Sheff Wednesday most were waxing lyrical about our midfield. One sh1te team performance against Blackburn and suddenly our midfield is not good enough and needs better options....

You always need better options. We can't rely on Josh, Macleod and Sawyers to play to the same level every game. The Villa game showed that and the rotation today showed that perhaps we need a bit more quality when we change things up. Losing Marcondes is a bit of a blow as I'd imagine he'd have come in to give Sawyers a rest,

 

[Doovster]

You always need better options. We can't rely on Josh, Macleod and Sawyers to play to the same level every game. The Villa game showed that and the rotation today showed that perhaps we need a bit more quality when we change things up. Losing Marcondes is a bit of a blow as I'd imagine he'd have come in to give Sawyers a rest,

I think sometimes you just have to accept players have off days and it sounds like today was a 'collective' off day. I will wait and see what happens at home to Forest and Wigan in the league before wishing for better. I do hope however that young Josh brings additional quality as I know he was very highly rated by Arsenal.

 

[Wooburn Bee]

Seriously massive overreaction to a sh1te performance. If we turn that kind of performance in for the next 4 or 5 games then fair enough, but it sounded like one of those days when we didn't get going and were quite frankly rubbish but I don't believe today will define our season.

Wrong midfield selection in light of having forss on his debut. Should Not have dropped both McE and MacLeod

 

[sonofabee]

Wrong midfield selection in light of having forss on his debut. Should Not have dropped both McE and MacLeod

We were absolutely right to drop MacLeod but think in hindsight Josh Mc might have started. In defence of DS he rarely plays 90 minutes so 2 games in 4 days might have been seen as a bridge too far.

 

[Mr Cynical]

Seriously massive overreaction to a sh1te performance. .

By the way it wasn’t a reaction to yesterday in particular though it did highlight an area where we are potentially weaker now Woods has left. I’ve been saying for a while that Woods and Sawyers were top quality but whilst we had numbers in midfield perhaps the same level of quality isn’t there in depth. Woods leaving leaves us with...

Josh - Has had a v good start but still questions linger as to whether he can play a lot of games in a short spell and over his long term fitness

Mokotjo- had been looking good in a more advanced role but now looking to be DM backup? Not sure that’s his best position?

Macleod - couple of great games and couple of invisible ones. Game time probably needs to be managed given his lack of appearances over last couple of years. Rumoured not to have signed contract on offer.

Sawyers - our best midfielder and currently main creative outlet. Can’t play every game though so we need to find someone who can rotate with him. Marcondes was looking likely but unfortunately injured at the moment

Yennaris - had dropped right out of favour last season but back in as a starter. Great off the bench but not sure he’s got the technique to be a regular starter in a promotion chasing side

Marcondes - was looking good in pre-season. Hopefully back soon to provide a bit more of the creative spark/attacking threat.

Judge - last season was training to be a no.8 but thus far struggling to get his touch back and looks unlikely we’ll trust him much in the centre in the short term at least.

Da Silva - high hopes for him as he looks strong and quick with good technique and an eye for a pass and goal but hasn’t really played any competitive football in his career so far.

That’s just the way I see it and this is bearing in mind our ambitions for this season, ie a step up from last year. Don’t get me wrong I think we have enough at the mo to be more than comfortable and prob get another top 10 place but if we want to make that step up into play offs or beyond I think we need better quality in depth. As I said earlier hopefully Da Silva can provide that and Marcondes too when he’s eventually fit but I wonder whether we are looking at bringing another body in in that area now woods has finally gone.

 

[swr22]

I'd say there's currently, without Dasilva and Woods: 2 box-to-box (Macleod and Yennaris); 1 dual-purpose B2B/DHM (Mokotjo); 1 DHM (McEachran); 2 playmakers (Sawyers and Marcondes). Given that 2 of those are at present in the last year of their contracts, a young player who seems to be B2B/DHM is not too many.

If you don't need to play him much, I would agree. But I imagine the lad wants some minutes. With Woods now gone, and Yennaris possibly off in January, I imagine he would get some minutes. If Woods had stayed and Yennaris does not leave, he'd find minutes hard to come by, I would expect. As you say, next year is likely a different story.

 

[Doovster]

By the way it wasn’t a reaction to yesterday in particular though it did highlight an area where we are potentially weaker now Woods has left. I’ve been saying for a while that Woods and Sawyers were top quality but whilst we had numbers in midfield perhaps the same level of quality isn’t there in depth. Woods leaving leaves us with...

Josh - Has had a v good start but still questions linger as to whether he can play a lot of games in a short spell and over his long term fitness

Mokotjo- had been looking good in a more advanced role but now looking to be DM backup? Not sure that’s his best position?

Macleod - couple of great games and couple of invisible ones. Game time probably needs to be managed given his lack of appearances over last couple of years. Rumoured not to have signed contract on offer.

Sawyers - our best midfielder and currently main creative outlet. Can’t play every game though so we need to find someone who can rotate with him. Marcondes was looking likely but unfortunately injured at the moment

Yennaris - had dropped right out of favour last season but back in as a starter. Great off the bench but not sure he’s got the technique to be a regular starter in a promotion chasing side

Marcondes - was looking good in pre-season. Hopefully back soon to provide a bit more of the creative spark/attacking threat.

Judge - last season was training to be a no.8 but thus far struggling to get his touch back and looks unlikely we’ll trust him much in the centre in the short term at least.

Da Silva - high hopes for him as he looks strong and quick with good technique and an eye for a pass and goal but hasn’t really played any competitive football in his career so far.

That’s just the way I see it and this is bearing in mind our ambitions for this season, ie a step up from last year. Don’t get me wrong I think we have enough at the mo to be more than comfortable and prob get another top 10 place but if we want to make that step up into play offs or beyond I think we need better quality in depth. As I said earlier hopefully Da Silva can provide that and Marcondes too when he’s eventually fit but I wonder whether we are looking at bringing another body in in that area now woods has finally gone.

Very reasonable observations to be fair. Like sonofabee said in his earlier post, I think in hindsight perhaps Moko should've been swapped in for MacLeod and retained Josh Mc as another able to unlock a deep lying defence.

Hindsight and all that I guess. Sure we'll dust ourselves down and bounce back next week

 

[IDontBeeLieveIt]

By the way it wasn’t a reaction to yesterday in particular though it did highlight an area where we are potentially weaker now Woods has left. I’ve been saying for a while that Woods and Sawyers were top quality but whilst we had numbers in midfield perhaps the same level of quality isn’t there in depth. Woods leaving leaves us with...

Josh - Has had a v good start but still questions linger as to whether he can play a lot of games in a short spell and over his long term fitness

Mokotjo- had been looking good in a more advanced role but now looking to be DM backup? Not sure that’s his best position?

Macleod - couple of great games and couple of invisible ones. Game time probably needs to be managed given his lack of appearances over last couple of years. Rumoured not to have signed contract on offer.

Sawyers - our best midfielder and currently main creative outlet. Can’t play every game though so we need to find someone who can rotate with him. Marcondes was looking likely but unfortunately injured at the moment

Yennaris - had dropped right out of favour last season but back in as a starter. Great off the bench but not sure he’s got the technique to be a regular starter in a promotion chasing side

Marcondes - was looking good in pre-season. Hopefully back soon to provide a bit more of the creative spark/attacking threat.

Judge - last season was training to be a no.8 but thus far struggling to get his touch back and looks unlikely we’ll trust him much in the centre in the short term at least.

Da Silva - high hopes for him as he looks strong and quick with good technique and an eye for a pass and goal but hasn’t really played any competitive football in his career so far.

That’s just the way I see it and this is bearing in mind our ambitions for this season, ie a step up from last year. Don’t get me wrong I think we have enough at the mo to be more than comfortable and prob get another top 10 place but if we want to make that step up into play offs or beyond I think we need better quality in depth. As I said earlier hopefully Da Silva can provide that and Marcondes too when he’s eventually fit but I wonder whether we are looking at bringing another body in in that area now woods has finally gone.

Think you're being harsh on McE.

He got bypassed at Villa as he struggles when people get a run on him for pace.......exactly the same as Sawyers and MacLeod and why we struggled as a team (combined with people like Canos needing to help out more defensively). Hence we looked better when subs were made. All three of them have that weakness and Sawyers is no different.
Sawyers, was also present at Blackburn, yet hardly pulling up trees by all accounts, and in fact you could argue it's McE we missed, to keep things moving fast and open teams up.

I agree about Kamo as I've said elsewhere - I think he's looked quite decent in attacking situations - but has looked less assured defensively.

I think we benefit from the creativity of having both McE and Sawyers and they're the sort of player that can actually break a press and take lots of opposition players out of the game quickly (especially McE).

However it's horses for courses, and if we come up against an opposition midfield that's althetic, pacey, and prepared to move the ball at speed, then we have to acknowledge that we'll need at least one, if not two, of the midfield three to be quicker. So perhaps Kamo with McE and Sawyers, and if that's not fast enough we swap out McE or Sawyers for someone faster. We also need to ensure the wingers tuck in without the ball (Canos is particularly bad for giving no cover and it's not always the midfield's fault for being overrun).

 

[Mr Cynical]

Think you're being harsh on McE.

He got bypassed at Villa as he struggles when people get a run on him for pace.......exactly the same as Sawyers and MacLeod and why we struggled as a team (combined with people like Canos needing to help out more defensively). Hence we looked better when subs were made. All three of them have that weakness and Sawyers is no different.
Sawyers, was also present at Blackburn, yet hardly pulling up trees by all accounts, and in fact you could argue it's McE we missed, to keep things moving fast and open teams up.

I agree about Kamo as I've said elsewhere - I think he's looked quite decent in attacking situations - but has looked less assured defensively.

I think we benefit from the creativity of having both McE and Sawyers and they're the sort of player that can actually break a press and take lots of opposition players out of the game quickly (especially McE).

However it's horses for courses, and if we come up against an opposition midfield that's althetic, pacey, and prepared to move the ball at speed, then we have to acknowledge that we'll need at least one, if not two, of the midfield three to be quicker. So perhaps Kamo with McE and Sawyers, and if that's not fast enough we swap out McE or Sawyers for someone faster. We also need to ensure the wingers tuck in without the ball (Canos is particularly bad for giving no cover and it's not always the midfield's fault for being overrun).

I was trying to be as balanced as I can with all of them. I really like Josh but looking at his time with us so far there's got to be question marks over his fitness. I know he's been unlucky with injuries. So far (fingers crossed) he's looked a lot fitter and more resilient than previous seasons so maybe that won't be so much of an issue but even if that's the case he can't play every game and nor can Sawyers. We need options to rotate in those positions without affecting the balance of the team.

I agree re against more athletic teams etc, the issue is how do we get that extra pace into midfield without losing the ability to play the way we can at our best or without sacrificing creativity? This Arsenal kid looks like he might tick those boxes but no idea how near or far from being first team ready he might be..

 

[jlove]

...I agree re against more athletic teams etc, the issue is how do we get that extra pace into midfield without losing the ability to play the way we can at our best or without sacrificing creativity? This Arsenal kid looks like he might tick those boxes but no idea how near or far from being first team ready he might be..

I think "pace" in the midfield positions is lower down the list of physical attributes than most of the others but mobility is vital, particularly with stamina, which is slightly different; of course, pace is always handy. Most of our midfielders have decent mobility, if not spectacular; McEachran does not have too much stamina, though, and Macleod similarly, but that may be due to the lack of a long run of games. Woods primary attribute was stamina but he was not that mobile, so pace is hardly a pre-requisite.

 

[WARFIELD BEE]

I think "pace" in the midfield positions is lower down the list of physical attributes than most of the others but mobility is vital, particularly with stamina, which is slightly different; of course, pace is always handy. Most of our midfielders have decent mobility, if not spectacular; McEachran does not have too much stamina, though, and Macleod similarly, but that may be due to the lack of a long run of games. Woods primary attribute was stamina but he was not that mobile, so pace is hardly a pre-requisite.

I am surprised you think that Woodsy was not that mobile.

 

[IDontBeeLieveIt]

Woods primary attribute was stamina but he was not that mobile, so pace is hardly a pre-requisite.

I think there's a case to be made that with only three in the midfield, that it's perhaps undervalued, and whilst isn't a pre-requisite, is actually a reason the defence got/gets a harder time than other teams defences.
So whilst Woods might have had stamina, and battled his little leggies off, he ultimately still might not have provided the cover that a faster / more athletic player might.
Combine that issue with three players in the middle who won't have the legs on most players (McE/Sawyers/MacLeod), it's not hard to see how a team like Villa might exploit that, and highlight what happens to lesser degrees against others.

(Of course, as mentioned before, I think it's also key that our wingers tuck back in and help out the midfield three and their full backs, and I'm not sure we always do that - especially the likes of Canos)

 

[jlove]

I am surprised you think that Woodsy was not that mobile.

Compared to and In relation to our other midfielders, he never seemed that mobile to me. He always seemed to struggle getting from side to side, for example, when play switched. Certainly better in possession than out of it.

 

[North London Bee]

I remember him chasing aftr Watmore for half the length of the pitch and never getting close to him until the winger helpfully slowed down just inside the box so Ryan could bring him down for a penalty.

 

[malagakid]

lol Woodsy has left the building

 

[AB]

Seriously massive overreaction to a sh1te performance. If we turn that kind of performance in for the next 4 or 5 games then fair enough, but it sounded like one of those days when we didn't get going and were quite frankly rubbish but I don't believe today will define our season.

Wolves managed to lose to QPR last season so these things happen in a competitive division.

 

[Mr Cynical]

I think "pace" in the midfield positions is lower down the list of physical attributes than most of the others but mobility is vital, particularly with stamina, which is slightly different; of course, pace is always handy. Most of our midfielders have decent mobility, if not spectacular; McEachran does not have too much stamina, though, and Macleod similarly, but that may be due to the lack of a long run of games. Woods primary attribute was stamina but he was not that mobile, so pace is hardly a pre-requisite.

Pace is probably the wrong word, I’m talking more about speed of thought, reactions, the ability to move the ball quickly and move into space. That little burst of acceleration to take you away from a player. One touch passing rather than having to take a touch to control.

 

[IslandBee]

We were absolutely right to drop MacLeod but think in hindsight Josh Mc might have started. In defence of DS he rarely plays 90 minutes so 2 games in 4 days might have been seen as a bridge too far.

Spot on!

 

[jlove]

Pace is probably the wrong word, I’m talking more about speed of thought, reactions, the ability to move the ball quickly and move into space. That little burst of acceleration to take you away from a player. One touch passing rather than having to take a touch to control.

OK, and I hope that Josh_Da, with his years of education at Arsenal, will have all that, plus a bit of pace.

 

[swr22]

Shame he couldn't make the bench today. Would have been good to get a glimpse!

 

[hatfieldbee]

Shame he couldn't make the bench today. Would have been good to get a glimpse!

He was in the club shop earlier chatting to punters! You could have seen him then!