Jephcott's form

[Dan Ellard]

No one should be guaranteed a place in the side, and Luke has been poor in the last 2 games. His link up play, normally ok, hasn't been there at all. As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, he's entitled to a dip in form - he's been so bloody good for literally his entire Plymouth Argyle career so far. I think that a game or two where he comes off the bench will do him some good in terms of fitness and knowing that his starting spot isn't guaranteed.

 

[philevs]

The only advantage of the disastrous last year is the ability to watch every minute of the season which I have.
My observations on Luke Jephcott would be:
Things he does well
Having the ability to be in the right place at the right time and the confidence to finish without taking a touch. Very important and that instinctive ability is not coachable.This has meant his goals are generally in and around the six yard box. So possibly it is not his form that has dipped off but the rest of the assistors. He also holds the ball up reasonably well and has good movement off the ball.
What he does not have are:
Pace, I have not seen him beat a defender 1 on 1 or get onto a through ball to score.
Trickery and quick feet, he does not successfully take on defenders and create chances for himself in or outside the box
finishing from outside the box, the last few matches have really shown up his inability to finish from around the edge of the box.
Physical presence and aggression is obviously lacking
Ability in the air, he rarely wins balls in the air, and though he has scored with is head this is a weakness
Bearing all of this in mind I am not sure he would successfully make the transition into the championship or full international level which is why I would readily accept a large fee for him

I agree with a lot of this. The ability to score with his first touch is extremely valuable for a striker. Carlo Ancelotti has made a big point of it with Dominic Calvert-Lewin this year. I remember him saying that Filippo Inzaghi scored 300 goals for Ancelotti and 210 were with his first touch.

His ability in the air / physicality will improve as he continues to develop physically. He is only 21. In terms of pace and trickery, I just don't think those are things will ever be in his skillset.

We've had a number of strikers over the years who didn't score enough but were good at other things. A lot of people criticised these players because "strikers are there to score goals". So now that we have one who is very good at his job, it's bizarre that so many are talking him down.

Re your last sentence, I too find it bizarre.
It’s almost as if some have made up their mind that Jephcott is not very good, and can’t concede that he’s done well because if they did, it would mean they would have to revise their opinion.

Where are all these "so many" people "talking Jephcott down", and saying "he isn't very good"? Across several threads I've read comments about him like "he's tired", "he's out of form" (implying that he IS good when in form),, and he's not the finished article (implying that , fairly obviously, he's young enough to get better). Obviously the notional values put on him vary enormously, but even the lowest guesses are way, way more than anyone's going to pay for a not very good L1 player. I've come across only three posters who have said anything like he's not very good, and of those one has contradicted himself by praising LJ massively on other occasions , whilst another of these 3 is known for making comments that provoke a reaction.

I don't dispute that there are big differences of opinion on how good LJ is, and how good he can be. I do dispute, however, that there are many who totally don't rate him. It's become a bit of a Pasoti technique to make your point by implying that there is significant opposition to it - even if this isn't so.

Fair point made.
It’s probably that I think he has proven himself a fine player already, whatever happens in the rest of his career; whereas the view of some seems to be that he has yet to prove himself.

 

[philevs]

No one should be guaranteed a place in the side, and Luke has been poor in the last 2 games. His link up play, normally ok, hasn't been there at all. As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, he's entitled to a dip in form - he's been so bloody good for literally his entire Plymouth Argyle career so far. I think that a game or two where he comes off the bench will do him some good in terms of fitness and knowing that his starting spot isn't guaranteed.

Good points. It would probably also catch Lincoln by surprise in their strategy planning.

 

[WoodsyGreen]

No one should be guaranteed a place in the side, and Luke has been poor in the last 2 games. His link up play, normally ok, hasn't been there at all. As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, he's entitled to a dip in form - he's been so bloody good for literally his entire Plymouth Argyle career so far. I think that a game or two where he comes off the bench will do him some good in terms of fitness and knowing that his starting spot isn't guaranteed.

If a ball had dropped for him in the area in one of our last few games he would have put it in and no-one would be talking about him needing a rest.

You're absolutely correct that he's earned the right for his manager to be patient with him (and us fans), and personally I think RL would be mad to drop him. He might sometimes look bang average for large stretches of games but he's by far and away our most clinical finisher. And if anyone thinks he only puts away easy chances, have another look at the gimme Ennis missed at Accrington, or the many occasions Hardie has wasted a chance by taking an extra touch.

Jephcott is one of the first names on the teamsheet and I bet there's no talk of resting him at HP.

 

[Balham Green]

No one should be guaranteed a place in the side, and Luke has been poor in the last 2 games. His link up play, normally ok, hasn't been there at all. As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, he's entitled to a dip in form - he's been so bloody good for literally his entire Plymouth Argyle career so far. I think that a game or two where he comes off the bench will do him some good in terms of fitness and knowing that his starting spot isn't guaranteed.

If a ball had dropped for him in the area in one of our last few games he would have put it in and no-one would be talking about him needing a rest.

You're absolutely correct that he's earned the right for his manager to be patient with him (and us fans), and personally I think RL would be mad to drop him. He might sometimes look bang average for large stretches of games but he's by far and away our most clinical finisher. And if anyone thinks he only puts away easy chances, have another look at the gimme Ennis missed at Accrington, or the many occasions Hardie has wasted a chance by taking an extra touch.

Jephcott is one of the first names on the teamsheet and I bet there's no talk of resting him at HP.

I wouldn't be surprised actually if he is rested tomorrow to try something different freshen things up. We may not get many of the chances Jephcott thrives on tomorrow.

 

[Green Flash]

Jephcott reminds me Reuben Reid, a confidence player who oscillates between prolific scoring and drought

 

[philevs]

Jephcott reminds me Reuben Reid, a confidence player who oscillates between prolific scoring and drought

For me he’s more generally more confident about his game and also tries harder than Reid, and this is the nearest thing to a ‘dry spell’ he’s had in 12 calendar months.

 

[Dan Ellard]

No one should be guaranteed a place in the side, and Luke has been poor in the last 2 games. His link up play, normally ok, hasn't been there at all. As someone mentioned earlier in this thread, he's entitled to a dip in form - he's been so bloody good for literally his entire Plymouth Argyle career so far. I think that a game or two where he comes off the bench will do him some good in terms of fitness and knowing that his starting spot isn't guaranteed.

If a ball had dropped for him in the area in one of our last few games he would have put it in and no-one would be talking about him needing a rest.

You're absolutely correct that he's earned the right for his manager to be patient with him (and us fans), and personally I think RL would be mad to drop him. He might sometimes look bang average for large stretches of games but he's by far and away our most clinical finisher. And if anyone thinks he only puts away easy chances, have another look at the gimme Ennis missed at Accrington, or the many occasions Hardie has wasted a chance by taking an extra touch.

Jephcott is one of the first names on the teamsheet and I bet there's no talk of resting him at HP.

I'd completely agree with you WG if we didn't have good alternatives to Jephcott. But in Hardie and Ennis (plus Moore on occasions) we have two pretty good strikers for this level, and if something more long-term was to happen to LJ or if he was sold, I'd be fairly happy with them as a pairing in League 1 going forward.

 

[cheshiregreen]

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/ ... ssion=true

Rotation policy for our strikers.

 

[philevs]

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/luke-jephcott-argyle-ryan-lowe-5054562.amp?__twitter_impression=true

Rotation policy for our strikers.

Great article you’ve posted here.
Hope some of those who keep doubting Jephcott’s abilities read it with an open mind, as it explains a lot.
Should also be pointed out that when he came on v Lincoln we were 3-2 down, and went on to win 4-3. If anyone thinks he has no influence on a game other than scoring goals, they would do well to consider that fact.

 

[Balham Green]

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/luke-jephcott-argyle-ryan-lowe-5054562.amp?__twitter_impression=true

Rotation policy for our strikers.

Great article you’ve posted here.
Hope some of those who keep doubting Jephcott’s abilities read it with an open mind, as it explains a lot.
Should also be pointed out that when he came on v Lincoln we were 3-2 down, and went on to win 4-3. If anyone thinks he has no influence on a game other than scoring goals, they would do well to consider that fact.

What influence did he have on the game yesterday? We certainly didn’t miss Hardie though!

 

[Tugboat]

I’ve always liked Byron upfront. He’s got an experienced head on him and can make things happen.

Nice to have the 3 young options on the table but sometimes we need some guile in there aswel

 

[philevs]

https://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/sport/football/luke-jephcott-argyle-ryan-lowe-5054562.amp?__twitter_impression=true

Rotation policy for our strikers.

Great article you’ve posted here.
Hope some of those who keep doubting Jephcott’s abilities read it with an open mind, as it explains a lot.
Should also be pointed out that when he came on v Lincoln we were 3-2 down, and went on to win 4-3. If anyone thinks he has no influence on a game other than scoring goals, they would do well to consider that fact.

What influence did he have on the game yesterday? We certainly didn’t miss Hardie though!

The influence he had was that we won the last 23 minutes 2-0, from a position of 3-2 down. Is it your view that that fact had nothing to do with Jephcott's being on the pitch? Mine is that it had everything to do with all of those on the pitch during that period, which includes Jephcott, because each player brings their own unique movements and touches to a match and that is what leads to outcomes such as chances and goals, as well as adverse outcomes in the form of mistakes. Woods and Lolos can likewise be said to have had an influence on the outcome of the match. This is the whole basis for 'not changing a winning team'. Fortunately, the management seem to take such things into account, even if not all supporters do.

 

[DenverDugout]

Jephcott did have an impact on the game, teams are very happy to see the oppositions best players being substituted, Grant for Lincoln yesterday, when he went off the team lost there drive, in the same way when new players enter the game such as Jephcott who has scored a number of goals then the defenders adopt a different mind set. I thought he looked energetic. Opoku and Fornah were forced changes, Reeves had the most impact with his tigerish play which really upset them although this does not mean the others failed as they all played there part in various valuable roles. Hardie is the sort of striker that defenders hate, he is quick and never gives up, he will develop into a big player for us as will Ennis, if you add Jephcott to the mix then we will have a group of very good strikers. In relation to Lolas I have always thought he has something, he is still young and we need to be patient with him.

 

[xmastree]

I got snapped back at last week for suggesting rotation and different striker combinations, "we wouldn't have dropped Mariner or Rafferty" was the argument.

It's a squad game now though, and our fresh legs yesterday created the momentum to win us the game.