Freddie Potts has found himself in the firing line shortly after his move from West Ham United to Club Brugge.
Gazet van Antwerpen cover the situation in their print edition today and criticism following the recent defeat to Aston Villa in the Champions League.
Analyst Franky van der Elst is the one doing the criticising. That follows recent criticism during the game where it was claimed that a 65-year-old Van Elst could do a better job than the signing from West Ham.
“Potts needs to have the courage to play the ball forward,” Van Elst said.
“That isn’t happening right now. Gert backed this up with a map showing Potts’s passes. Barely four were directed forward, and not a single one found its target. That’s simply not enough. You could sense Gert’s frustration while he was explaining it on TV.
“All those backward passes annoyed me, too. It’s as if Potts doesn’t realize he can turn, play forward, or switch flanks. He needs to scan his surroundings better. Perhaps it’s a lack of confidence, or a failure to read the game situation – or a combination of all those things.”
Training time
As far as Van Elst Is concerned, Brugge need to get Freddie Potts on the training ground, showing him the footage of the game so he can learn from his mistakes.
“Show him the footage. Point out where he could have done better,” he added.
“Constantly have him practice turning and playing the ball forward during training sessions. It’s something you can train. It doesn’t matter if he plays a bad pass now and then; that happens to everyone.
“Club Brugge often plays against a low block – like they did recently against AA Gent. Especially against teams like that, you have to dare to play between the lines, look for gaps, and play at a higher tempo. He could take a leaf out of Stankovic’s book in that respect.”
Make smarter decisions
Van Elst also believes that the former West Ham man needs to be trained to make better – and smarter – decisions in game.
“Potts could sometimes make even smarter decisions,” he concluded.
“Club Brugge plays man-to-man all over the pitch. I was at the Lommel vs. Club Brugge match last weekend to provide commentary. You’re right next to the pitch there, and I suddenly saw Potts playing right-back to track his man.
“Potts sometimes lets himself be drawn too far away from the centre. Sometimes you just have to decide to stay central so the striker can’t be reached.
“You often have to choose your position based on where the ball is. The defensive midfielder needs to be able to apply pressure when necessary.”
