James Sands

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Defensively he was solid on Tuesday. Some dodgy passes out of defence right enough.

The crazy thing is that I would have thought he would have been completely assured coming out of defence and passing the ball since he plays in midfield most of the time. His defending was good otherwise.
 
The crazy thing is that I would have thought he would have been completely assured coming out of defence and passing the ball since he plays in midfield most of the time. His defending was good otherwise.

I think to be fair to the defenders, we were playing a slightly unfamiliar formation for them, where the players in front weren't in the usual spot on the pitch for their passes.

If you recall Bassey when he had just moved into CH for us he was talking about learning different passing sight lines etc etc, so assume it's the same when there is a shift in formation.
 
I think to be fair to the defenders, we were playing a slightly unfamiliar formation for them, where the players in front weren't in the usual spot on the pitch for their passes.

If you recall Bassey when he had just moved into CH for us he was talking about learning different passing sight lines etc etc, so assume it's the same when there is a shift in formation.

Funny you should mention Bassey because I remember a few of his early games at CH he did similar and gave the ball away cheaply. He was also guilty of letting the ball bounce then trying to clear it. That all cleared up pretty sharpish, hope the same happens with Sands as I think he is definitely a player.
 
Funny you should mention Bassey because I remember a few of his early games at CH he did similar and gave the ball away cheaply. He was also guilty of letting the ball bounce then trying to clear it. That all cleared up pretty sharpish, hope the same happens with Sands as ai think he is definitely a player.
Exactly, Bassey took a few games to adjust. The CH position is arguably the most crucial part of a side, in regard to shape and balance etc; Sands is doing well overall considering. Any great side, going through time, has had great CH partnerships, most of the time; that's how crucial it is and he has performed well.
 
Funny you should mention Bassey because I remember a few of his early games at CH he did similar and gave the ball away cheaply. He was also guilty of letting the ball bounce then trying to clear it. That all cleared up pretty sharpish, hope the same happens with Sands as I think he is definitely a player.


Balogun and Bassey together in Prague was undoubtedly the worst central defensive performance by us last season.

It was only when Goldson and Bassey were paired together (with Goldson talking him through the early games) that Bassey began to perform in central defence.
 
Exactly, Bassey took a few games to adjust. The CH position is arguably the most crucial part of a side, in regard to shape and balance etc; Sands is doing well overall considering. Any great side, going through time, has had great CH partnerships, most of the time; that's how crucial it is and he has performed well.

It was more than a few games with Bassey which strengthens the case for giving Sands more time. I must admit to flipping and flopping with Sands. One minute I think he’s great then the next I’m thinking we would be safer with another partner for Goldson until he finds his feet. There is definitely something to work with though. I think he’s just a bit more coaching away from being a great player.

He reminds me of Craig Moore. If he hadn’t persevered with him we wouldn’t have seen how good a player he became for us.
 
It was more than a few games with Bassey which strengthens the case for giving Sands more time. I must admit to flipping and flopping with Sands. One minute I think he’s great then the next I’m thinking we would be safer with another partner for Goldson until he finds his feet. There is definitely something to work with though. I think he’s just a bit more coaching away from being a great player.

Longer term Souttar and Davies will be in there with Sands another option for midfield, IMO
 
Some of the comments in thread seem a little OTT to me. Yes he has a couple of slack passes out of defence but on the whole, I thought he was actually very good.


Overall a good performance. Looks to pass forward, but could be better when he doesn’t have time to control the ball. He’s not the only one guilty of slack passes. Brilliant tackle to bail out McLaughlin’s poor pass.

Couple of passes he looks to pass in front of the man out wide. Too many times I’ve seen wide players with space to run into only for the pass to be played short.
 
I like him in the sense I think he’s a very handy player to have in a squad. Don’t think he’s a first pick though but a good squad player. Think the same about Sakala as well tbf.
 
He’s not going to be a starter when the other CB’s are fit and I don’t see him starting in midfield right now when even Kamara can’t get a start. As it stands I wouldn’t be buying him especially for the £4m quoted. He might develop this season but it just don’t see him starting many games. Remember Bassey only developed due to a injury crisis which allowed him a run of games which he took huge advantage of but I don’t see Sands being that lucky.
 
I think Sands will be fine and as others have said he is a versatile defensive midfielder or CB. Having watched him I prefer him in midfield. In view of the number of games we will be playing this season both domestic and European, I can envisage when he will prove very useful filling in when we have injuries or resting players. He will be a very good squad player this season and Gio will fully utilise him make no mistakes!
 
I think Sands will be fine and as others have said he is a versatile defensive midfielder or CB. Having watched him I prefer him in midfield. In view of the number of games we will be playing this season both domestic and European, I can envisage when he will prove very useful filling in when we have injuries or resting players. He will be a very good squad player this season and Gio will fully utilise him make no mistakes!
Defensive midfielder or just a defender?
 
Some of the comments in thread seem a little OTT to me. Yes he has a couple of slack passes out of defence but on the whole, I thought he was actually very good.

Good video, he was sold down river for 1st booking. Kent's pass was short.
Couple of dodgy touches but I like him in this position, he plays good passes forward which are seldom behind the guy he is trying to pass to.
He will start tonight.
 
Pretty much mate, other than the stray passes mentioned I thought he had a decent game in a position he hasn’t played in very often.

According to the stats on Stan TV he had the best passing rate in the game.

Just noticed you're referring to the St J game. The stats Im talking about are from PSV.

Sorry mate.
 
How was Sands vs PSV today?

I thought he played well, against good European opposition.

He does the simple things well, the stats on US TV showed he completed 92 passes with a 99% rate, with a few good long range passes thrown in.

For a young inexperienced guy just turned 22, he's doing great and I think he has a big future, probably as a DM as opposed to a CH, but he's doing fine filling in at the back right now.
 
I thought he played well, against good European opposition.

He does the simple things well, the stats on US TV showed he completed 92 passes with a 99% rate, with a few good long range passes thrown in.

For a young inexperienced guy just turned 22, he's doing great and I think he has a big future, probably as a DM as opposed to a CH, but he's doing fine filling in at the back right now.
agreed… his more experienced defensive partners aren’t exactly playing their best…
 
According to the stats on Stan TV he had the best passing rate in the game.

Just noticed you're referring to the St J game. The stats Im talking about are from PSV.

Sorry mate.
No sweat mate, he was very good last night I thought.

When Davies is up to speed I’d like to see Sands playing in midfield with Lundstram though.
 
James Sands is never a CH, and will not shift anyone out the team playing in midfield either.

Last night in particular, whilst in possession of the ball, he slows the tempo down big time. Has a quick easy pass to Borna, with Kent in acres to attack their full back, checks back to Goldson checks back again and Kent’s now marked and they press Borna. Played his teammates into trouble on too many occasions with hospital passes and the masses then jump all over Borna in particular……..and has a mistake in him as was evident last week against USG with his distribution on a few occasions with misplaced passes.
Goldson was poor last night , but was that down to being uncomfortable with Sands beside him? Who knows, but Sands is not for me in any position.
 
That was his best game for us last night

Don’t think he’s the answer long term for the CB position, but credit where it’s due, he played really well last night.
 
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