- Jul 28, 2004
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Agree with everything you say. The word I’ve used about him since that match where he tore apart Derby after spy gate is ‘verve’. He has that undefinable aura about him that you got far more of in the 80s and 90s than now, when the balance of gifted players v athletic players was far more even than it is now. When I first saw him it was Waddle and Bale that came to mind, but now I see a fair bit of Nicky Barmby in him actually.Every time I see him and very impressed. I can only assume the reason he saw so little game time last season was due to not being physically ready. He might be a slow burner and take several years to be effective, but technically he's got lots of quality and seems like an intelligent player. I can see star potential in him.
Athletic players often get into the 1st team at a young age and it's assumed they will continue to progress and become stars. But so often they are limited by a lack of technical ability and game intelligence. Lennon would be a good example of that. He was super fast and strong for a little guy. But his technique was never anything special and therefore his potential to improve on what he was as a 19 year old, wasn't that great. Someone like Marcus Edwards is the opposite. I see Jack as more in the Edwards camp. Not that he's a physical weakling, like Edwards, but that he simply doesn't have that electric pace, which allows many youngsters to get into the 1st team in their teens. Jack, even though he is quite fast, will have to use his brain a lot more and that takes time as senior football is so fast paced.
Playing as a wide attacking player, when you don't have lightening speed, is a hard ask in the modern game. You've really got to learn how to link play by cutting inside and how to create space for the fullbacks to overlap etc. I say "learn" but he'll obviously know how to do all that kind of stuff, as he's a really good technical player, but he's got to adapt to doing it in a game with super athletes, when you only get a spit second to react or see the bigger picture. Players with super speed don't have to see the bigger picture so much, as their pace gets them the space other players have to use their heads more to find.
I could actually see him potentially developing as number 10 also.