Good uses and bad uses of Liam Fraser

[WestYorksRoyal]

Good uses
As cover for Wing when injured
To be a deeper option that allows Wing to push forward
As part of a double pivot when defending a lead or against high calibre opposition

Bad uses
As an attacking or creative midfielder when Doyle and Elliott are available.

Discuss.

[South Coast Royal]

Good uses
As cover for Wing when injured
To be a deeper option that allows Wing to push forward
As part of a double pivot when defending a lead or against high calibre opposition

Bad uses
As an attacking or creative midfielder when Doyle and Elliott are available.

Discuss.

Hunt tried to explain why a fit Elliott wasn't used yesterday but wasn't convincing.
Why buy a defensive midfielder who is allowed to roam all over the place?

Lack of a sound structure, and not just being without a proper striker, is one of the faults with this side.

[Esteban]

Good uses
As cover for Wing when injured
To be a deeper option that allows Wing to push forward
As part of a double pivot when defending a lead or against high calibre opposition

Bad uses
As an attacking or creative midfielder when Doyle and Elliott are available.

Discuss.

Yeah, everything you said.

[Sutekh]

Good uses
As cover for Wing when injured
To be a deeper option that allows Wing to push forward
As part of a double pivot when defending a lead or against high calibre opposition

Bad uses
As an attacking or creative midfielder when Doyle and Elliott are available.

Discuss.

Bad Uses
As an ashtray
As a replacement plumber when yours is on holiday
As a country vet

[West F]

Good uses
As cover for Wing when injured
To be a deeper option that allows Wing to push forward
As part of a double pivot when defending a lead or against high calibre opposition

Bad uses
As an attacking or creative midfielder when Doyle and Elliott are available.

Discuss.

Hunt tried to explain why a fit Elliott wasn't used yesterday but wasn't convincing.
Why buy a defensive midfielder who is allowed to roam all over the place?

Lack of a sound structure, and not just being without a proper striker, is one of the faults with this side.

Technically, we didn’t buy him. I think only one club has in his history. He is a squad utility player, not a player you build a side around. On this basis he is cover, nothing more. There is no discussion about how to get the best out of him. What you are seeing is the best. He is 27, not 19. He is the finished article.

[Snowflake Royal]

Good uses
As cover for Wing when injured
To be a deeper option that allows Wing to push forward
As part of a double pivot when defending a lead or against high calibre opposition

Bad uses
As an attacking or creative midfielder when Doyle and Elliott are available.

Discuss.

Completely agree. Fin.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Good uses
As cover for Wing when injured
To be a deeper option that allows Wing to push forward
As part of a double pivot when defending a lead or against high calibre opposition

Bad uses
As an attacking or creative midfielder when Doyle and Elliott are available.

Discuss.

Hunt tried to explain why a fit Elliott wasn't used yesterday but wasn't convincing.
Why buy a defensive midfielder who is allowed to roam all over the place?

Lack of a sound structure, and not just being without a proper striker, is one of the faults with this side.

Yes - it was a "second ball game"....most in L1 are which suggests to me Elliott won't be a regular starter. What a waste.

[WestYorksRoyal]

Doesn't Elliott only have a year left on his contract? Worst case is he doesn't feature like he should, leave for peanuts in January then smashes it for another club who knows how to use him properly.

Whereas it should be we make him a key part of the team, tie him down, watch him develop and sell him on for proper money in 18 months to 2 years.

[Hound]

Good uses
As cover for Wing when injured
To be a deeper option that allows Wing to push forward
As part of a double pivot when defending a lead or against high calibre opposition

Bad uses
As an attacking or creative midfielder when Doyle and Elliott are available.

Discuss.

Hunt tried to explain why a fit Elliott wasn't used yesterday but wasn't convincing.
Why buy a defensive midfielder who is allowed to roam all over the place?

Lack of a sound structure, and not just being without a proper striker, is one of the faults with this side.

O Mahony is, and was brought into be a proper striker. Whether he is any good is the question. Been poor so far certainly with the caveat the service has been appalling

[linkenholtroyal]

Good uses
As cover for Wing when injured
To be a deeper option that allows Wing to push forward
As part of a double pivot when defending a lead or against high calibre opposition

Bad uses
As an attacking or creative midfielder when Doyle and Elliott are available.

Discuss.

Bad Uses
As an ashtray
As a replacement plumber when yours is on holiday
As a country vet

Wouldn’t make a bad hat or coat stand though, quite a tall chap.

[South Coast Royal]

Good uses
As cover for Wing when injured
To be a deeper option that allows Wing to push forward
As part of a double pivot when defending a lead or against high calibre opposition

Bad uses
As an attacking or creative midfielder when Doyle and Elliott are available.

Discuss.

Hunt tried to explain why a fit Elliott wasn't used yesterday but wasn't convincing.
Why buy a defensive midfielder who is allowed to roam all over the place?

Lack of a sound structure, and not just being without a proper striker, is one of the faults with this side.

O Mahony is, and was brought into be a proper striker. Whether he is any good is the question. Been poor so far certainly with the caveat the service has been appalling

A proper central striker generally is somebody who can hold up play, is good in the air, knows how to lose his marker, can shoot and head a ball.
So far the young lad hasn't shown any of those so my point stands that we need a proper striker.

[Snowflake Royal]

Hunt tried to explain why a fit Elliott wasn't used yesterday but wasn't convincing.
Why buy a defensive midfielder who is allowed to roam all over the place?

Lack of a sound structure, and not just being without a proper striker, is one of the faults with this side.

O Mahony is, and was brought into be a proper striker. Whether he is any good is the question. Been poor so far certainly with the caveat the service has been appalling

A proper central striker generally is somebody who can hold up play, is good in the air, knows how to lose his marker, can shoot and head a ball.
So far the young lad hasn't shown any of those so my point stands that we need a proper striker.
So far the young lad has shown

So Forster, Cureton and Le Fondre weren't proper strikers? Riiiiight.

[Hound]

Hunt tried to explain why a fit Elliott wasn't used yesterday but wasn't convincing.
Why buy a defensive midfielder who is allowed to roam all over the place?

Lack of a sound structure, and not just being without a proper striker, is one of the faults with this side.

O Mahony is, and was brought into be a proper striker. Whether he is any good is the question. Been poor so far certainly with the caveat the service has been appalling

A proper central striker generally is somebody who can hold up play, is good in the air, knows how to lose his marker, can shoot and head a ball.
So far the young lad hasn't shown any of those so my point stands that we need a proper striker.

And my point stands that the service to him has been so poor he’s been unable to prove any of those one way or another. Except maybe not being able to head hopeful long balls punted in his general direction

[Forbury Lion]

Bad uses
Goalkeeper
Mascot
Steward

[South Coast Royal]

O Mahony is, and was brought into be a proper striker. Whether he is any good is the question. Been poor so far certainly with the caveat the service has been appalling

A proper central striker generally is somebody who can hold up play, is good in the air, knows how to lose his marker, can shoot and head a ball.
So far the young lad hasn't shown any of those so my point stands that we need a proper striker.
So far the young lad has shown

So Forster, Cureton and Le Fondre weren't proper strikers? Riiiiight.

Try not posting so quickly Ian-I said "generally" and "centrally" and I guess you think that the top teams in the country don't all have and spent a fortune on central strikers well over 6ft tall, e.g. Ekitike, Gyokeres,Haaland and Isak but I have been away for too long and forgotten that you know so much more than Slot,Arteta, Pep and Howe.

At the moment we are greatly in need of a Dixon, Senior or a Kitson rather than the 3 you mentioned.

[South Coast Royal]

O Mahony is, and was brought into be a proper striker. Whether he is any good is the question. Been poor so far certainly with the caveat the service has been appalling

A proper central striker generally is somebody who can hold up play, is good in the air, knows how to lose his marker, can shoot and head a ball.
So far the young lad hasn't shown any of those so my point stands that we need a proper striker.

And my point stands that the service to him has been so poor he’s been unable to prove any of those one way or another. Except maybe not being able to head hopeful long balls punted in his general direction

I don't disagree but early signs have not been good.

[Linden Jones' Tash]

'At the moment we are greatly in need of a Dixon, Senior or a Kitson'.

I'm too young to remember Dixon, but genuinely I don't think a Senior in his prime (pre Watford move) could score the goals he did in 2025 League 1 - the game, even at this level has changes so much in the last 35 years...

Kitson, on the other hand....

[Vision]

Also those 3 strikers mentioned played with a strike partner as a front 2. Rightly or wrongly thats not how we, or virtually any other team, currently plays.

Back to the original post. I've not seen anything so far that suggests Fraser is a nailed on number 6 and nothing else.

He was better further forward than he was defensively before Wing got injured against Huddersfield. Had a couple of great incisive passes whilst in an advanced position in that game.

Against Wimbledon that flick that almost got Ahmed away was exactly the sort of back to goal inventive play that is required from an advanced midfielder. Added to that, we clearly wanted to use his aerial presence in an attacking sense by making runs into the box. He got on the end of a couple of sub par crosses. Better deliveries and we may have been looking at a real attacking threat adding a different dimension to the team. I can't recall too many occasions in the last few seasons where we've had a midfielder arriving late into the box to get on the end of crosses. Knibbs was good at finding space in the area and sniffing out chances but I wouldn't say he directly got on the end of crosses as an aerial threat.

I can only comment on what I've seen for us so far and it may prove that he is mainly suited to a defensive midfield role but the evidence I've seen in a Reading shirt suggests he can definitely provide something positive when played further forward.

[Hound]

A proper central striker generally is somebody who can hold up play, is good in the air, knows how to lose his marker, can shoot and head a ball.
So far the young lad hasn't shown any of those so my point stands that we need a proper striker.

And my point stands that the service to him has been so poor he’s been unable to prove any of those one way or another. Except maybe not being able to head hopeful long balls punted in his general direction

I don't disagree but early signs have not been good.

No I don’t disagree with that either really

[linkenholtroyal]

Also those 3 strikers mentioned played with a strike partner as a front 2. Rightly or wrongly thats not how we, or virtually any other team, currently plays.

Back to the original post. I've not seen anything so far that suggests Fraser is a nailed on number 6 and nothing else.

He was better further forward than he was defensively before Wing got injured against Huddersfield. Had a couple of great incisive passes whilst in an advanced position in that game.

Against Wimbledon that flick that almost got Ahmed away was exactly the sort of back to goal inventive play that is required from an advanced midfielder. Added to that, we clearly wanted to use his aerial presence in an attacking sense by making runs into the box. He got on the end of a couple of sub par crosses. Better deliveries and we may have been looking at a real attacking threat adding a different dimension to the team. I can't recall too many occasions in the last few seasons where we've had a midfielder arriving late into the box to get on the end of crosses. Knibbs was good at finding space in the area and sniffing out chances but I wouldn't say he directly got on the end of crosses as an aerial threat.

I can only comment on what I've seen for us so far and it may prove that he is mainly suited to a defensive midfield role but the evidence I've seen in a Reading shirt suggests he can definitely provide something positive when played further forward.

I think Fraser is a great squad player but not in my starting 3. I am going to jump back to o Mahoney sorry, you mentioned the 2 up front and I think this is the issue, some players are better suited to a front 2 and I think Omahoney is this type of striker. So we either need to find a striker to play with him and change formation. Or find a striker designed as a lone striker. Lucas Joao anyone lol.