Why Lita Doesn't Work

[Royalee]

Here are a few reasons why Lita doesn't work:

1. He thinks he's better than he is
2. He only puts in the required level of effort and chasing one every three games or so at best.
3. He has no first touch.
4. He has little to no mental attributes and cannot anticipate.

[RoyalBlue]

This season he has scored just the one goal, put through for a 1 on 1 (decent goal) but.

And there is the major flaw in your argument. The team play well, create chances and, guess what? Lita scores!!

Perhaps Lita 'doesn't work' because, for no reason down to him, he has been playing in games where, by and large, the team has performed far worse than they did earlier in the season.

As others have already pointed out, some of the best strikers in the country would find it hard work, given the way the the supply chain currently is failing to provide.

[Snowball]

Congratulations on proving our second top scorer is better than our third top scorer.

If it's so obvious why hasn't Sir steve worked that?????????????????????????????????????

Which wasn't my point anyway. The point is, Lita is a loner and right now
only seems to be interested in scoring to up his sign-on fee

[CMRoyal]

To be honest, I think Lita's done OK recently. He hasn't had many chances, and given time I'm sure he'd start putting them away. Unfortunately for him, we don't have time and in a situation such as this where there's a goal drought, you have to change things around, and it seems to make perfect sense to recall the forward who has contributed so much to what was a very profitable striking partnership.

[Snowball]

This season he has scored just the one goal, put through for a 1 on 1 (decent goal) but.

And there is the major flaw in your argument. The team play well, create chances and, guess what? Lita scores!! Perhaps Lita 'doesn't work' because, for no reason down to him, he has been playing in games where, by and large, the team has performed far worse than they did earlier in the season. As others have already pointed out, some of the best strikers in the country would find it hard work, given the way the the supply chain currently is failing to provide.

Nope Lita is missing chances. The official club stats show he has had 15 shots this season (1 goal

Lita's selfishness costs us a likely equaliser at Swansea

Lita had four chances v Preston, missed them all

Lita had at least four chances v Bristol, missed them all (and he almost gave away a penalty)

Doyle has had 61 shots, 38 on target, (62%) 17 goals = a goal every 3.5 chances (four times more lethal than Lita)

Hunt has had 42 shots, 25 on target (59.5%) 11 goals = a goal every 3.8 chances

Lita has had 14 shots, 8 on target (57%) but just one goal = a goal every 14 chances

He DOES get chances, just doesn't convert them.

These are from the Reading web-site

SWANSEA

Leroy Lita was thrown on as we just looked to get bodies forward as much as possible, and he should have passed to Doyle following a good break, but instead chose to shoot and got crowded out.



PRESTON

1 Lita put through and hit straight at the keeper (offside)

2 Reading soon began to up the ante, and midway through the period our two frontman combined for what would have been a great goal. Kevin Doyle drilled a pass to Leroy Lita on the half volley, and Lita unleashed a cracking drive - only for Lonergan to make another top drawer reflex save at close range. (ie failed to score)

3 Lita took the free kick himself, and it ricocheted off the wall but got hacked clear in the middle, Reading desperately claiming a corner. (ie he shot straight at the wall)

4 Lita was closest to scoring with a header from a Stephen Hunt free kick but Lonergan was comfortable enough in the end as it dropped.

BRISTOL

1 Straight from the kick off Reading had a good chance, Jimmy Kebe doing well to find Leroy Lita with a pull back, the striker not getting enough purchase on the shot.

2, 3

Lita tried his luck with a couple of chances - but frustratingly shot miles over on both occasions.

The second chance, just before the hour, looked a very good opportunity indeed and as it sailed over, you felt our chance of a result went with it.

4 Then in injury time the Czech gave Lita another sight of goal, but he was crowded out as he looked to shoot.

Lita almost gives away penalty

Then both teams thought they could have had a spot kick - first when Lita seemed to be holding Louis Carey in the box.

[Snowball]

To be honest, I think Lita's done OK recently. He hasn't had many chances, and given time I'm sure he'd start putting them away. Unfortunately for him, we don't have time and in a situation such as this where there's a goal drought, you have to change things around, and it seems to make perfect sense to recall the forward who has contributed so much to what was a very profitable striking partnership.

He had 4 v Preston and at least 4 v Bristol

Both Hunt & Doyle have conversion rates better than 1 goal in 4 chances. Lita is 1/14 (club statistics)

[CMRoyal]

To be honest, I think Lita's done OK recently. He hasn't had many chances, and given time I'm sure he'd start putting them away. Unfortunately for him, we don't have time and in a situation such as this where there's a goal drought, you have to change things around, and it seems to make perfect sense to recall the forward who has contributed so much to what was a very profitable striking partnership.

He had 4 v Preston and at least 4 v Bristol

Both Hunt & Doyle have conversion rates better than 1 goal in 4 chances. Lita is 1/14 (club statistics)

I know this might bring on a seizure, but I don't trust the stats on this - yours or the club's - because I'd rather judge with my own eyes what constitutes a chance. And to my eyes we haven't been creating many recently.

[Snowball]

I know this might bring on a seizure, but I don't trust the stats on this - yours or the club's - because I'd rather judge with my own eyes what constitutes a chance. And to my eyes we haven't been creating many recently.

The eyes are fine, but what about MEMORY?

It's easy to forget chances that are crowded out, or blocked, or hit straight at the wall, or tamely headed at the keeper or shot straight at the keeper, or shot wide, or shot over the bar.

I remember the two chances he blasted at the keeper v Preston very well. He missed a very good chance when Kebe set him up v Bristol, he selfishly shot from an angle v Bristol (way over) when he should have put better-positioned players in.

I wasn't at the Swansea game but the radio said his refusal to pass to Doyle for a super chance was selfish in the extreme (and another chance wasted which doesn't even go down as a shot. I trust the club stats because they are likely to UNDER count his chances. Those numbers are for actual shots NOT blocked down or crowded out.

It's so funny to hear him being praised for running around a lot. I presume you don't dispute the absolute facts that he scored two goals in these last two seasons? Or are we playing badly only when he plays, so it's not his fault?

This INNACURACY was the same last year. Then he had TWENTY chances for his solitary goal, 11 on target, 9 off.

The year before he needed 43 chances for his seven goals (1 in 6, better, but not 1 in 3.5)

In his best season his 11 league goals came from 56 chances

[Snowball]

To me Lita is simply in decline (at least as a Reading player)

You only need to look at a table of chances/goals and see how it's so bad compared to the first two seasons

2005-6 56 chances 11 goals = Scores 1 goal every 05.1 chances
2006-7 43 chances 07 goals = Scores 1 goal every 06.1 chances
2007-8 20 chances 01 goals = Scores 1 goal every 20.0 chances
2008-9 14 chances 01 goals = Scores 1 goal every 14.0 chances

133 chances 19 goals = Scores 1 goal every 7 chances (including his two best seasons)

It isn't that he's not getting chances. It's he MISSES THEM

Here is Shane Long for comparison

11 chances 3 goals
14 chances 3 goals
13 chances 2 goals
07 chances 3 goals

45 chances 11 goals = Scores 1 goal in every 4.1 chances

[CMRoyal]

I know this might bring on a seizure, but I don't trust the stats on this - yours or the club's - because I'd rather judge with my own eyes what constitutes a chance. And to my eyes we haven't been creating many recently.

The eyes are fine, but what about MEMORY?

It's easy to forget chances that are crowded out, or blocked, or hit straight at the wall, or tamely headed at the keeper or shot straight at the keeper, or shot wide, or shot over the bar.

It's also easy to forget occasions where a player has got into a good position and not received the ball, as you seem to have done. But I'm sorry, your statistics-based arguments are flimsy enough - I'm certainly not going to accept your recall over mine!

As for praise for him running around a lot - that's not something I did, I'm afraid.

[Snowball]

Last year was dire, very few goals.

I had always presumed it was Reading's failure to MAKE CHANCES
when, in fact, at least in Doyle's case it was not the chances made, but the chances MISSED

81 18 04.5 chances required for a goal
40 13 03.0 chances required for a goal
67 06 11.2 chances required for a goal
61 17 03.6 chances required for a goal


249 54 4.6 (overall)

So this season with 6 less chances Doyle has scored virtually three times as often!

[Sarah Star]

Where are you getting all this data on chances from?

[loyalroyal4life]

This season he has scored just the one goal, put through for a 1 on 1 (decent goal) but.

And there is the major flaw in your argument. The team play well, create chances and, guess what? Lita scores!!

Perhaps Lita 'doesn't work' because, for no reason down to him, he has been playing in games where, by and large, the team has performed far worse than they did earlier in the season.

As others have already pointed out, some of the best strikers in the country would find it hard work, given the way the the supply chain currently is failing to provide.

To some extent i concur, I mean although he has scored just one goal for us, how about the goals he has scored for Norwich including a hatrick against wolves!!

On the other hand maybe he just cant play within our team

[Maguire]

He missed a very good chance when Kebe set him up v Bristol

LOLZ at you thinking that was a good chance. It would've taken an absolutely brilliant strike to score from there.

I also like the way you criticise him for not giving a penalty away.

Your stats are nonsense and you're an absolute joker.

[The whole year inn]

Snowball contemplates where his next bunch of bullshit statistics will come from

[poohs pure]

These are the results with Noel Hunt/Doyle or Long-Doyle this season

Partnered by Hunt (a few times by Long, do the strikers score?)

4-2 PALACE YES! Long-Doyle, Doyle Double: Hunt Doyle (Hat-Trick)
6-0 WEDNESDAY YES! YES! Doyle (3) Hunt (2)
4-0 SWANSEA YES! YES! Doyle (2) Hunt (1)
3-1 BURNLEY YES! (Doyle-Hunt (1), YES! Doyle-Long (1)
2-1 DONCASTER YES! Doyle (1)
4-1 Bristol YES! YES! (Doyle(2) Hunt (1)
3-0 DERBY YES! YES! (Doyle(1)-Hunt(1), Long-Doyle (1)
2-0 Sheff UTD YES! Doyle (1)
2-2 Cardiff YES! Doyle (1)
3-1 COVENTRY YES! Hunt (2)
2-0 NORWICH (YES) Hunt-Doyle (0) Doyle-Long (1)
3-1 Birmingham YES & YES Hunt (1) Long on for Hunt Doyle (1)
1-1 Saints YES Doyle & Long (1) Hunt came on 79 goal 84
4-0 WATFORD Yes! Yes! Hunt (1) & Doyle (1)

1-0 WOLVES (NO) But Hunt pressure led to winning OG
1-0 BLACKPOOL NO
3-0 Wolves NO
1-0 Barnsley (NO)) Hunt off at 56 for Gunnarson (1)
2-2 Watford NO
0-0 QPR NO
1-1 CARDIFF NO
1-2 Preston NO (Doyle off on 69)
0-1 Burnley NO
0-2 Ipswich NO
1-2 SAINTS NO.


0-2 Swansea NO

54 goals for 21





P26 W16 D5 L5 = 53 points = 2.04 points/game

==========================

Lita partnering Doyle
Do either score?

0-0 Forest NO
2-0 PLYMOUTH NO (2 goals from Sonko)
2-4 Charlton NO (Sonko & Hunt)
0-0 QPR NO
0-0 Preston NO
0-2 Bristol NO

W1 D3 L2 4-6 = 1.0 pts/game

Two sub-games

4-0 WATFORD NO, Lita on for Doyle and Lita scores in 90th
0-2 Swansea NO, Lita refused to feed Doyle for clear chance

Our biggest problem is that Coppell lost the dressing room during the transfer window, latest set of prima donnas didnt get the big buck moves they wanted...dissention (?) spreads quickly in a close knit group with one or 2 bad apples.

get them out of the barrel sir steve and lets move forward with the FA cup side.

no stats required.

[Plymouth_Royal]

lita doesnt work because he plays for reading on weekends and trains during the week.

[Rex]

Loiter Lita simply doesn't work because he's simply too disconnected in his style of play to the rest of the team. His annoying stance and style of play is to lean into opposition players to gain space. It's frankly predictable and easily sussed out. He has great body strength but i think he feels he's a made man and this has seemingly instilled complacency in his style of play. Fecking run and interlink and set up other players instead of glory hunting.

[Snowball]

Where are you getting all this data on chances from?

Club Stats for Shooting

[Snowball]

The Norwich web-site has Lita having 49 shots for his 7 goals. 1 assist.

48% on target, and 7 chances needed per goal.

Well, lookatdat, exactly the same conversion rate as he has averaged for Reading
as he scores 19 goals in 4 seasons


Lupoli has 4 from 28 (1 in 7)
Lee Croft has 5 goals from 25 shots (1 in 5)