Mid Sussex RoyaltmesisUke
Hence the Gilkes comparison. When he did something it was great, but in reality more often than not it fizzled out…
Smith and Azeez seem to also have developed a bit of understanding, there was one bit where the should have passed between them (can’t remember which way, but instead of throwing toys out of the pram there was a quick handshake to acknowledge each other.
As a team we are definitely gelling now
I'd say Gilkes was a lot more consistent. He knew how (and when) to actually put a decent cross in for a start. Yes, a lot of crosses would be sliced into the Tilehurst End, but he didn' run into dead ends, hit crosses that are blocked by the first man, or put in crosses aimed at nobody at all anything like as often as Azeez does.
Saying that, I think the art of wingplay has largely been lost, especially outside the premier league.
Gilkes did become more consistent with age, and we probably remember that most, eg the promotion under McGhee and play off year, but he was very raw when Azeez's age, I'd say worse.
He was certainly consistent at running the ball off the end of the pitch from summer 95.