A Chair(full) of Questions

[Qprtanpa1]

Ilias Chair was put in a tough position when Eze left. Chair was bound to be compared to him, raising expectations for an immediate show of skill.

Simply put, in the here and now, Ilias is not ready to consistently don the #10 shirt. Beyond direct kicks, the rest of his game is spotty and inconsistent. Instead of playing the role of field general, he often seems to dribble past one too many defenders forgoing one too many passes, and his shot-making (especially fro 25-30 yards out is not ambitious but wasteful.

He is definitely a player who could evolve into something special, but he's far from that at present. Platoon him with Carroll, Battache, Adomah, and Willock.

[Stainrod]

Ilias Chair was put in a tough position when Eze left. Chair was bound to be compared to him, raising expectations for an immediate show of skill.

Simply put, in the here and now, Ilias is not ready to consistently don the #10 shirt. Beyond direct kicks, the rest of his game is spotty and inconsistent. Instead of playing the role of field general, he often seems to dribble past one too many defenders forgoing one too many passes, and his shot-making (especially fro 25-30 yards out is not ambitious but wasteful.

He is definitely a player who could evolve into something special, but he's far from that at present. Platoon him with Carroll, Battache, Adomah, and Willock.

I said on another thread Chair misses Eze more than anyone. They bounced off each other at times and teams were so scared of Eze they would double up on him , freeing up more space for Chair . He will need to adapt but I believe he’s talented enough to do so .

[SheepRanger]

Eze made 104 appearances for us, but how good was he in the first 60?

Chair has made 53 appearances

[Qprtanpa1]

All worthy observations. My point is that Chair is not yet fully there, and with a packed schedule like ours should not be the automatic starter in the #10 slot every game.

[Abseits]

If he don't sort himself out pronto I can see him being loaned out, probably abroad, in next window. A slower less intense league might give him space to calibrate his football brain.

[gator]

I have been disappointed in him so far, I like the idea of using others in the #10 role to spell him off, there are huge expectations from him, maybe we are expecting too much!

[LoftusRoadLad]

Chair has not found his "Eze". That will come in time the more he plays and trains with the likes of Willock, Carroll, Thomas and Amos.
Ilias is trying to do it all himself. Lots of work is needed to build up trust with all around him.

[FurtiveFox]

Chair is not Eze. He is developing fine. Given time and patience he could evolve into a very good player.

[stanistheman]

Chair is not Eze. He is developing fine. Given time and patience he could evolve into a very good player.

Spot on.

I think Chair is a good young player, but he is not a replacement for Eze and should not be compared with him. I also agree with Stainrod, that Chair made the most of the space left when teams doubled up on Eze last season.

It's going to take some time, but players like Chair and perhaps Willock will need some game time together in the team in order to try and get close to what we had last season. Obviously this cannot happen in some formations, i.e. 4-4-2 with two strikers and two wingers. It could work in a 4-3-3 , 3-5-2, 3-4-3 or 4-1-3-2 etc.

We need to be patient, but it is difficult when watching matches like the last 3 games where we have had no more than 2 shots on target per game. MW can help players like Chair and the team by getting the defence to pass the ball forward to the midfielders and wingers quicker rather than amongst themselves until it is too late to take advantage of any space further up the pitch.

This is a work in progress, but also why it is important to get transfer business done earlier rather than later. Had these transfers taken place in August & early September, they could have been close to the getting the right formation by now. As it is, we will be lucky if they get there before the next international break.

[shaggy24]

As Stainrod pointed out Eze had that much ability he often got marked by by an extra man giving chair space which he now does not have. He will learn others used to get on Eze back but unless your super talented you will make mistakes and its how you learn from them that count. Personally I think Chair being used out wide is a waste of time and that won't help him either

[Qprtanpa1]

All of this begs the question: if more game time alone, or more familiarity with the new players around him, does not show short term promise, what is the upside of keeping him as the #10 starter every game? I would like to see Adomoah, Willock, Carroll, possibly Battache given a shot in that slot if Chair's progress proves to be slow. Thoughts?

[gator]

All of this begs the question: if more game time alone, or more familiarity with the new players around him, does not show short term promise, what is the upside of keeping him as the #10 starter every game? I would like to see Adomoah, Willock, Carroll, possibly Battache given a shot in that slot if Chair's progress proves to be slow. Thoughts?

That just depends on what he does the next couple of matches, others have made the point about being patient and I get that but if Chair continues to struggle it would only be prudent and fair to give one of the players you mentioned a shot in the #10 role! I like Chair and think he has great skill and potential, he is the same as any other player though if you are not getting things done you try someone else there!

[Qprtanpa1]

That just depends on what he does the next couple of matches, others have made the point about being patient and I get that but if Chair continues to struggle it would only be prudent and fair to give one of the players you mentioned a shot in the #10 role! I like Chair and think he has great skill and potential, he is the same as any other player though if you are not getting things done you try someone else there!

Totally agree.