Nathan Thomas

  


Boy can he play football!!!!!

Bar the assist (which granted, is quite the thing to bar) I didn't think he had a particularly good 1st half. Looked a little stronger defending in the 2nd half and for the final 15 minutes he terrorised their tired defenders. Overall, he should be pleased with that performance, meanwhile he should be aware of how much more he can improve - he certainly has a terrific amount of ability.

I don't think his service was great in the first half at all. Wotton missed him from 10 yards, and Hourihane played him a pass 20 ft in the air when he was in acres (ball goes out for throw).

When he had the ball at his feet he was a different animal. Aggressive and terrifying.

I dont think it had anything to do with tiredness. Showumni was the first forward who had the brainwave to play it calmly to his feet... when he was hugging the touchline, prowling for the ball.

Get Thomas in that mood and he will beat the majority of RBs in this 5 game run in, of that I am certain. It's the LWB role that is holding him back if anything.

I would say tonight Thomas looked several divisions better than the non leagues we found him in, tonight. Several divisions better than League Two even.

Ronaldo was famously signed when Gary Neville begged Fergie to sign him, having had to mark him for 90 mins in a friendly. I wonder what their RB would make of Nathan Thomas? Thomas had the beating of him every single time. As a supporter we haven't had a player since Scott Sinclair who you knew the opposition just wouldn't be able to handle.

He put some good crosses in too. Consider his performance against Gurrieri's and throw in the fact he is 19/20 years old... I think we have some genuine talent on our hands here. He looks like he is set for a bright career beyond Argyle - maybe that explains his big timer attitude.

He may think he is God's gift, but who can say he isn't backing it up?

Is he on loan from Darlington or was he fully signed on a short term contract until the end of this season?

The latter I believe

Thanks Pete. In which case he needs to be signed quickly.

ejh wrote:

I don't think his service was great in the first half at all. Wotton missed him from 10 yards, and Hourihane played him a pass 20 ft in the air when he was in acres (ball goes out for throw).

When he had the ball at his feet he was a different animal. Aggressive and terrifying.

I dont think it had anything to do with tiredness. Showumni was the first forward who had the brainwave to play it calmly to his feet... when he was hugging the touchline, prowling for the ball.

Get Thomas in that mood and he will beat the majority of RBs in this 5 game run in, of that I am certain. It's the LWB role that is holding him back if anything.

I think you make a good point here actually. Once Enoch came on for Morgan, we finally had a front man who could win and control the ball and Thomas really came alive. That probably had more impact to his game than the tiring Newport defence. He's definitely not suited to LWB in the long term IMO, but he's a fine winger. His dad told me he could play the CAM role in a 3-5-2 but I can't see it personally, he looks a great winger more than a central player. Harvey on the other hand had a terrific game in CAM. Both of them can be proud of their performances, but both have a long way to go yet.

His dribble through 3 Newport players (all within a challenge of him) to tee up Reid who should have done better, and his dribble and shot which hit the post, both came from Thomas in central positions.

But you are right - ball to feet, Thomas far out on the left touchline, plenty of space either side to feint and panic his isolated and vulnerable defender. That is where Thomas has the game right in the palm of his hand.

On the evidence of last night we would be barmy not to be drawing up terms for another 12-26 months as we speak.

As someone else said, imagine he was 'our own', 19 years of age and doing that, he would he worshipped. Yet some seem genuinely upset that he doesn't look good in defence. As if Messi or Ronaldo would ever get judged as teenagers and dropped by how good they were IN DEFENCE.

But that is football in the UK for you.

Indeed, it's not really in his game to be a defender and we knew that when signing him. A left side of Ben Purrington and Nathan Thomas could be lethal in 3 years time! Hell it could be lethal now, it'd be phenomenal in 3/4/5 years time. He's going to be exposed as a LWB. It's a case of weighing up the pros of his attacking prowess with the cons of his defensive liability. The team seemed to cope in covering him defensively, and he could have assist 3 goals yesterday had things gone really well for him. So I'd say he's worth it, but not a player to be over estimated. He needs to improve still.

Yep - a great cross to Harvey (scored), a good cross for Showumni who headed back across goal, and then the chance he created for Reid was the best of the lot. It just needed a cleaner contact from Reid.

Our young unproven hope was Lennox back a few years ago, then it became Blackman. But Thomas clearly has talent in abundance that trounces the pair of them. I would even say Thomas has shown more promise and potential already than both Noone and Bolasie did at his age, and throughout their debut seasons.

He excites and is crowd pleaser, works hard, gets stuck in and seems passionate.

He, along with Harvey, should be starting or at least featuring much more often. Quite a different team but it all worked quite well, get Showumni for Morgan and maybe Berry for Gurrieri and I think that team is looking pretty god damn good.

Does anyone know PilgrimJosh from the farm, and is he getting treatment for his schizophrenia?

PilgrimJosh - Tuesday wrote:

I didn't think Thomas was as good as people are saying if I'm honest, he didn't have a great first half and on more than one occasion went for a dribble to deep in his own half, and subsequently lost the ball.

PilgrimJosh - Thursday wrote:

All those things Sheridan said about Thomas, ie arrogant and not actually as good as people think he is, only an impact player etc..

Was wandering on the coach back, was it all just a little plan to get him fired up for the game? Because it certainly worked. Most of the time, when on the ball he was terrific, paticurlarly later in the game when defences are tired, 0 to 60 in about half a second!

Another thought, if he was a product of our own academy, the raves and reviews he'd be getting would be phenomenal.

All about keeping his feet on the ground I suppose.

I'll have a pint of what he's having  

Not quite sure I understand your point there ejh.. Still pissed off about being banned are we?

Are you Josh, Undercover Green? If you don't understand my post, then it is you appearing to be completely underwhelmed by him one minute, then describing him as terrific and phenomenal, and needing to keep his feet on the ground.

Which is it - I mean was he ordinary and overrated, or was he sublime and outstanding?   

UndercoverGreen wrote:

Not quite sure I understand your point there ejh.. Still pissed off about being banned are we?

With their annual banmesty, I could try and go back if I wanted. Rather stay with the educated wankers I think.  

Please read what is said again, ejh.

Says he wasn't as good as some people make him out to be, which he wasn't, he didn't get onto the ball as much as you like. There were a few moments where he should have done better, but as a 19 year old I'm hardly saying I was underwhelmed.

Later in the game he was terrific, as I said. MOST OF THE TIME he was good on the ball, exactly.. That cross was the sort of thing we've been missing all season now.. As well as his speed. He wasn't like some people on PASOTI said, and I'd advise reading them if you think what I've said is at all silly. I gave man of the match to Harvey, thought he was very good.

The point I was trying to make is that he got better as the game went on, and he was great in the last few minutes, but not as amazing as people say.

The phenomenal reference is if he was a product of our own academy.. He was good yes but he'd be getting all sorts of messiah references, which he is in a way I suppose.. But even so, he impressed me. Thought the point about mind games made sense to actually, and if I was right then whatever Sheridan said it most definitely worked.

He was good, not amazing but there's clearly championship level potential in there.

Oh and if anyone hasn't guessed, I am PilgrimJosh.

just need hairy and dane and ricks in on this and its atd's 'time of the month' (sorry for mentioning 'that time' ladies - see, marriage teaches you how to give in gracefully)   

Congratz for staying undercover for at least 31 posts. That's abait double what was usually achieved by Dano and Paul Thomas.

UndercoverGreen wrote:

Please read what is said again, ejh.

Says he wasn't as good as some people make him out to be, which he wasn't, he didn't get onto the ball as much as you like. There were a few moments where he should have done better, but as a 19 year old I'm hardly saying I was underwhelmed.

Later in the game he was terrific, as I said. MOST OF THE TIME he was good on the ball, exactly.. That cross was the sort of thing we've been missing all season now.. As well as his speed. He wasn't like some people on PASOTI said, and I'd advise reading them if you think what I've said is at all silly. I gave man of the match to Harvey, thought he was very good.

The point I was trying to make is that he got better as the game went on, and he was great in the last few minutes, but not as amazing as people say.

The phenomenal reference is if he was a product of our own academy.. He was good yes but he'd be getting all sorts of messiah references, which he is in a way I suppose.. But even so, he impressed me. Thought the point about mind games made sense to actually, and if I was right then whatever Sheridan said it most definitely worked.

He was good, not amazing but there's clearly championship level potential in there.

Oh and if anyone hasn't guessed, I am PilgrimJosh.

Well I personally do think he was very good. As you say, not brilliant over the entire course of the game, but the game dictated that. No-one was playing Thomas through in the first half, and he was struggling to even get the ball to feet. So to criticise him for that is harsh. It's like saying Morgan was awful for not scoring all those chances... that he didn't have.

In the second half Thomas pushed on. He found the space, he hugged the touchline and really went to work on their right back. Sheridan has since said that in the first half he wanted discipline, in the second, he wanted aggression. So Thomas was just following orders. As I posted to Sam, to me it was less about tiredness, and more about the link up play with Showumni that really got Thomas into the game. And the highlights didn't do Thomas justice. Like against Mansfield, he left his defender stranded on three occasions and put decent service into the box, but none of it made the final edit.

I am personally excited because I haven't seen an Argyle player who can skin the opposition like that for years and years. Bhasera could run, but he wasn't an aggressive dribbler. Noone could beat a player here and there, but his game was always more about his accurate crosses. Bolasie was wild and unpredictable, and often set out on dribbles not knowing what he was going to do himself, very often fooling himself, and lacking end product. Sinclair is about the best direct parallel. With Thomas he has this fantastic ability to draw a side back into the ball and fix his concentration, almost in a trance. Then when he sets off, it doesn't matter which way he tries, you can tell he is going to beat him, because the defender is in an utter state of panic and is desperate to avoid committing... so more times than not he maintains a dead central position. Thomas is only going to get tackled if he runs into that central position or gets too close, but his ball control is that good, he can storm left or right at a split second's notice. And then that defender is done with.

As I said before, his Mansfield cameo was good, but his performance on Tuesday needs to be the gateway to a 1 to 2 year contract. He really could be a Prem player in the making, and all this talk of arrogance etc. just risks making him unhappy and pissing him off. The scouts will soon be flocking, as I am sure the likes of Newport and Mansfield would gladly have him, if we don't tie him down. Thomas knows he is good, and he knows he deserves a crack - he is training full time with the squad, and must be able to see that he is the best in quite a few departments - dribbling, pace, left sided crossing, close ball control.

I hope Sheridan knows what he is trying to do with his management, because to me it looks like a dangerous game criticising a 19 year old in the media, and giving him very limited time (often none at all) to change things. Thomas is a young man who has moved a very long way to have a crack with Argyle - he won't be on much money, and he is treating this like a long trial. Now at a trial, all he wants is the opportunity to impress. I hope Sheridan gives him opportunities in the last 5 games, because if he leaves in the summer it would be a minor tragedy for the club.

Mates at the game reckoned bar the assist, he was completely anonymous for the first hour, then great for the last 3rd.

It's the same old story with him as has been with dozens of flair players we've signed or borrowed down the years. If he (and they) could perform at the very top of their capability chart consistently, they wouldn't be anywhere near a green shirt in the first place. Especially when we're in Div 4. Let's just hope Shez can eek out a plan to squeeze that last 30 minute form out of him for these next few games.

Czarcasm wrote:

Mates at the game reckoned bar the assist, he was completely anonymous for the first hour, then great for the last 3rd.
...

I'd agree with that, though as EJH points out, his up turn in performance coincided with Showumni coming on for Morgan.

He was nothing like he was in the final 30, but there was a change in tactics and personnel that was behind that.

In the first 30 he set up Harvey with a cross he couldn't really miss, so to say he was anonymous is a bit harsh.

I still feel that the centre mids have to take responsibility, because i don't remember Thomas doing a lot wrong when the ball was at his feet. In the first half we simply very rarely got it to him, and his deeper role at LWB meant their midfielders could deny him time and space.

In the second half Thomas played a lot more in the final third, was by and large beyond Newport's midfield line and so much more in his element.

I've been onto the Newport forum and spoke to them about Thomas, one of them said they were surprised he was such a young debutant and said to his mate he's be the first on the shopping list over the Summer.

I've been calling for Thomas for a while, I think he's brilliant, and agree that his upturn in performance definitely coincided with Showumni coming of for Morgan. Morgan just doesn't have the ability to play him through or control the ball and lay it off to him, but Showumni definitely seemed capable of doing that. Reid showed he could do that too with the way he layed off Hourihane, no reason that couldn't have been Thomas instead of Hourihane.

I do however think he should come inside a little bit more often, he's got the ball control, dribbling and pace to beat men by coming inside, and I thought that sometimes he hung a touch to far out on the left.. But, he is a winger and definitely the sort of player we've been crying out for. When the rest of the team see him stopping the ball and then bursting through the opposition team, it can only breed more confidence into them.

I'd start him and Harvey this weekend, in the same formation, but Showumni up front, then bring Alessandra on after a while depending on how it's going. Maybe Berry for Gurrieri too but not so bothered about that one.

Based on Tuesday's performances, I'd be more pissed off if Harvey was dropped than Thomas. Though if we're sticking with the 3-5-2 formation, I'd rather we actually go for it with attacking players instead of defenders! TBH, I wouldn't make any changes except Showumni in for Morgan.