Lionel Ainsworth

[dasdeid]

In response to a recent post from HD following St Johnston game, where I got the irony in his reply ...

36 SPL games starting 21 resulting 11 goals .. I would would say a fairly good return rate.

However, I would add of those games missed how many due being injured or simply dropped and sat on bench ?
If you are content with him often being AWOL and scoring with above stats FINE but I would prefer him being more active/involved throughout the 90 minutes. We were informed team required pace ... we are still demanding, yet Lionel stands wide right and seldom see an explosion of pace. When he does it can be affective but a rare sight. Perhaps the reason had many clubs (13) during his career and moved on.

Note: My stats are approximate, do not include assists or substitutions and subject to error - view external link

[wellin]

I think Ainsworth's done a fine job for us this season. That's a decent goal return for a midfielder/winger. You talk about the player going awol in games, surely his goal return and also his assists tells you he's active more than you give him credit for. Wingers, or wide midfield player's can be inconsistent at times, therefor maybe look like they are not involved enough. I for one hope we can get him signed up on a permanent deal.

[Wellup4it]

He's a decent if inconsistent player who has scored a few useful goals for us, but what you don't see in the cold statistics are his defensive weaknesses.

He'll be offski at the end of the season, quite rightly following up some decent offers from what I've heard.

[Handsome_Devil]

Someone on the other forum pointed out he also had ten assists and reckoned he was the only player to hit double figures in both categories. No idea if that true or not but regardless his attacking stats are excellent.

Injuries happen - I wouldn't hold that against him. His form yes, at times has been inconsistent. His defending leaves a lot to be desired but quite frankly, I can live with it. The 90 minutes is a team game - If he produces numbers which (surely.) are virtually unmatched by a 'Well winger, someone else should cover for him. Secondly, the season is a squad game - if he gets the goals which give us win after win v the bottom six I don't see a problem with him not playing at Parkhead. And I should point out his record v the top six in games he's played is also impressive.

He's clearly had issues in the past and I hope he feels comfortable at Fir Park and commits long term. If not, I think the chance of replacing him with someone who has the same offensive production, tr

[JOHHNYG]

Beggars belief imo that anyone can find anything negative to aay about Lionel Ainsworth given his attacking contribution since arriving end of August.

[firparkloony]

At the beginning of the season it was all doom and gloom, we had sold/lost all our best players, haven't got a team, will be lucky to avoid relegation or the play off spot.

Here we are currently 3rd in the league with 2 games left to play and a realistic chance of finishing second, and still people are complaining about an individual who has scored 11 goals as a winger...it beggars belief. Some folks are never happy...unless of course they are complaining.
'Mon the 'WELL

[Yazz]

scorer of some crucial goals, there's no denying

[Handsome_Devil]

Had a quick scan through some reports during a quiet moment at work, I reckon in 13 SPL games against the top six this season, Ainsworth has six goals and three assists. Corrections obviously welcome.

[dasdeid]

So you would disagree with observation that he can often drift out of a game .. for long periods.
Another is his attacking pace not fully utilised .. not used same as Humphrey although Ainsworth has undoubtably a better finish and crossing abilities. Many around me think he could become more involved and menace opposition defence.
Recent Celtic match a prime example .. caused chaos when came on resulting Goal ... I'd like more of that during his starts.
IMO not unreasonable expectation as acquired to get us forward into opposition half quickly .. we rarely see and he's stood isolated wide waiting for ball. Perhaps we're not playing to his strengths as we don't play with pace

[Handsome_Devil]

Wingers have a tendency to drift out of games for various reasons. Of course, your winger can come inside to get involved but what's the point unless they're absolutely top notch? It's crowded, they're often not great at tackling, they're probably on their weaker foot...but sure, plenty of fans would love to see him do more stuff even if it was less productive for the team.

For us, I'm quite happy if Ainsworth stands out on the touchline with no ****** near him and occasionally seems out of the game - he's clearly not completely out of the game because when we do get the ball out to him or hit him with a great pass behind the defence, he scores or assists.

He's an attacking player and he's superb at his primary job. Would it be good if he could defend or scored even more? Sure. It would also be good if he was six foot plus and could cover the front post at defensive corners but you can't have everything.