Happy to keep an open mind on this young player until we see him get a few games. Hopefully, he does well and this is the start of a successful time for him at QPR.
He looks to be a utility player who likes to play in an attacking role and with Willock out injured I can see him being used to initially fill that gap and then being a challenger to both Chair and Willock for a starting place.
As has already been mentioned the big concern is that he's injury prone and has yet to manage playing at least 30 league games in a season.
I don’t know what Tyler Roberts is — not an orthodox 9, not quite a 10, not a wide player moving inside 🤷♂️
Another player that comes to feet, intrigued and doubtful as to how you get him, Chair and Willock in the same front three — instinct says they’ll all crowd one another’s space.
Also interested to see what happens when you can’t get the ball to stick and need an outlet to stretch the pitch and go in behind — putting a lot of pressure on full-backs or wing-backs.
Last Edit: Jul 6, 2022 12:12:11 GMT by jrperry1882
I don’t know what Tyler Roberts is — not an orthodox 9, not quite a 10, not a wide player moving inside 🤷♂️
Another player that comes to feet, intrigued and doubtful as to how you get him, Chair and Willock in the same front three — instinct says they’ll all crowd one another’s space.
Also interested to see what happens when you can’t get the ball to stick and need an outlet to stretch the pitch and go in behind — putting a lot of pressure on full-backs or wing-backs.
Could it be that Roberts is intended as another Chair or Willock - i.e. he provides an added cover for Chair & Willock, rather than an out-and -out striker role? If I am right, then that still leaves us with Dykes and Kelman up front....
WLS are reporting the initial deal is thought to be a loan with an added bonus if we make promotion, and both Leeds and QPR want to look towards converting the loan into a permanent deal if it goes well. This makes sensible business!
I don’t know what Tyler Roberts is — not an orthodox 9, not quite a 10, not a wide player moving inside 🤷♂️
Another player that comes to feet, intrigued and doubtful as to how you get him, Chair and Willock in the same front three — instinct says they’ll all crowd one another’s space.
Also interested to see what happens when you can’t get the ball to stick and need an outlet to stretch the pitch and go in behind — putting a lot of pressure on full-backs or wing-backs.
Could it be that Roberts is intended as another Chair or Willock - i.e. he provides an added cover for Chair & Willock, rather than an out-and -out striker role? If I am right, then that still leaves us with Dykes and Kelman up front....
WLS are reporting the initial deal is thought to be a loan with an added bonus if we make promotion, and both Leeds and QPR want to look towards converting the loan into a permanent deal if it goes well. This makes sensible business!
He could be, but if he is a back-up to Chair and Willock then he’s an expensive one. You could arguably get better value for money shopping in League One or Scotland — I’m thinking Rudoni specifically, possibly even Morgan at Charlton. And as with any loan, if he isn’t better than the players who start in your team and is likely to spend 50-75% of the season as a substitute, then what is the point?
He has a lot of similarities another Izzy Brown, who looked good at age group level but has struggled in the real adult world of football to the point where he’s just an irrelevance now. Roberts is in danger of falling the same way. The fact Leeds are looking to ship him out when they spent almost the entire of last season without a fit Patrick Bamford suggests something. Any permanent deal will cost around £5 million; which for Tyler Roberts, is well… a lot.
On the centre forward point, I think stoatey and I had this conversation elsewhere, but Kelman playing up top on his own doesn’t feel realistic which leaves him in a weird position whereby he won’t play much. And where he does play, you can’t really play him with both Willock AND Chair either because by virtue of those two playing as 10s, he’d be operating as a loan striker with a heavy demand being put on him to play with his back to goal, which just isn’t his game. It’s Dykes’ game (albeit we can discuss how effective he is at this) and Armstrong’s physique suggests he could do that, but not Kelman. And not Roberts either. And that for me is probably why I’d be looking to move one of Willock or Chair on this window, simply because they structurally don’t suit or necessarily compliment the rest of the teams attributes.
So yes maybe, you’re right kingfisher, about it being a back up for Chair and Willock. But stepping down a division, being nearly 24, coming on loan and being expensive, you’d think he’s going to start most games. Otherwise why are Leeds sending him a) to us and b) on loan? In which case, my curiosity remains — how do you get him, Chair and Willock in the same team and see each of them thrive?? That’s the question Beale will have to answer and I’m not sure how he devises that formula.
I don’t see Roberts personally as a 10; having watched a lot of Leeds and seen him in that role, to me he looked out of his depth in that team. He looked exactly the same as a 9 too. Leeds looked a weaker team whenever he played. So I remain at the point whereby I don’t know what Tyler Roberts is. And approaching 24, that’s a worrying place to be in your career.
Personally, I’d have stayed clear and looked elsewhere.
Last Edit: Jul 6, 2022 12:41:44 GMT by jrperry1882
Roberts was involved in every Leeds game from February 2021 to January 2022 in the Premier League - yes mostly as a sub - but he was still a big part of their team.
So like jrperry1882 says they won't be sending him here to be a back up player.
My thought is that Beale may favour a very fluid forward 3. Or I don't think he minds a smaller central striker with 2 number 10's working behind him. He did this with Defoe at Rangers and it worked. Maybe he see's Roberts as the Defoe role in that 3.
I think we could see Willock, Chair and Roberts on the pitch together a lot.
Roberts was involved in every Leeds game from February 2021 to January 2022 in the Premier League - yes mostly as a sub - but he was still a big part of their team.
So like jrperry1882 says they won't be sending him here to be a back up player.
My thought is that Beale may favour a very fluid forward 3. Or I don't think he minds a smaller central striker with 2 number 10's working behind him. He did this with Defoe at Rangers and it worked. Maybe he see's Roberts as the Defoe role in that 3.
I think we could see Willock, Chair and Roberts on the pitch together a lot.
The Defoe situation is completely valid and will probably be the preferred formula. But what I will add is that Defoe started very few games up in Scotland and was very much behind Morelos and Roofe in the pecking order, and even Sakala when he arrived. And both Morelos and Roofe are centre forwards who play on the shoulder, which Roberts isn’t. He drops deep and comes to feet and I’m not sure how compatible that is with Chair and Willock who also drop off into those pockets to collect the ball. Three players going into the same space is only going to create a traffic jam and potentially leave us with no focal point in attack.
My concern about that model is threefold. Firstly the effectiveness of it in this league with the way half of the division plays. Don’t get me wrong, I think it could work at home to the likes of Rotherham, Reading etc; but I have reservations over it for 46 games… not sure how workable it is? Secondly, there is no pace in that front three at all. And in professional football, with the game as quick as it is, pace is everything. If I’m Millwall, if I’m Bristol City. I’m quite happy to sit deep and let those three have tippy-tappy touches knowing I’m not in trouble. And if I’m West Brom or Middlesbrough I’m happy to play a high line, squeezing the pitch and limiting the space they operate in knowing that none of them will cause me trouble running in behind. And the third aspect is who plays on the right? Chair and Willock both want to play on the left side and as I mentioned before Roberts doesn’t come from wide so he won’t play on the right of a three? Again, this leaves me inclined to either sell one of Chair and Willock, or alternatively move to a back four, buy a winger and sell someone like Rob Dickie to finance it. Or even if you are going to play two tens behind as the preferred system, sell one of Willock or Chair and buy a left footed ten who will cut in from the right.
I agree on all counts that there are question marks but the club must have a plan in mind. We definitely need pace in the final third, nobody can argue with that.
Perhaps they know something about Willock we don't? Is he really still recovering from his injury or is he being held back from first team action to avoid further injury ahead of a sale?
I still think we've done very well if Willock is here come September.
If we are to believe Wikipedia then they say that Tyler Roberts is a versatile forward who can play as a striker, winger or as an attacking midfielder.
“He gives us a lot of options in the final third to play with the players we have got. He isn’t coming in to replace anyone, he is coming here to enhance what we already have.
He gives us options and he has a big reason to perform well because he clearly wants to go to the World Cup with Wales. Hopefully it goes very well for everybody!