Ian Royal Rother, would you say it is even remotely reasonable to attribute poor results/performances to a player who isn't even involved in the squad? Because that seems to be what has been implied in a couple of places..
Has it? I must have missed that.
Ian Royal My personal view on Lita, to clarify totally, is that I don't like him. I think he has a lot of talent, but his attitude is suspect and he doesn't fit in well in our squad, play wise and personality wise. I think it's best for both parties that he moves on. .
I don't dislike him as such, and I've never really had a problem with his on-field attitude - I just don't think he's particularly talented, and I don't think he's a clever enough footballer to push on. It's too easy for reasonably decent defenders to suss him out.
Ian Royal However, he is here at the moment and is a more proven, dangerous and talented striker than Shane Long IMO. Therefore if we're paying his wages we should make use of him. In a Reading team playing with confidence and quality he will score goals, probably quite a few given the right type of service. .
As I've said before, despite the reservations about Lita's ability, I do feel that he needs a particular type of service to be seen at his best. Through balls to run onto and hit first time would definitely service his strength. Give him time to think, (shoot or pass etc.) and his brain seems to freeze. Lita's form for us of 2-3+ years ago is certainly better than Long has shown for us, but in his limited opportunities Long, whatever weaknesses he has shown, has certainly demonstrated that he's a good finisher, and far better with the type of service provided these days, than Lita.
The stats back that up 100%!