Message to Billy Bodin

[portugull]

Billy I hope you see this message which is entirely constructive.

Most of the Plainmoor faithful recognise you are a talented and improving footballer.

As an honest young man I know from your body language when subbed that you know you had 3 chances to put the game to bed. 2 shots missed the target going over the bar.

Some may laugh but Christiano Ronaldo spends many hours practising free kicks and shooting. Billy I STRONGLY advise you to spend 2 hours a day doing nothing else for the next 3 months. You are good but your shooting technique needs work and then more work. I predict IF you put in the work you will be rewarded.

Gary Player the great South African golfer said once "the more I practise the luckier I get"

If you get good coaching on keeping the ball down you will be our top scorer without a doubt. Study all the videos of your shots which miss the target and work out why. You have a short career as a pro footballer make the most of it. Billy you are good but you need to start scoring so it becomes a good habit. Good luck!

[dazgull]

So you are telling me we spent £70,000 on a forward who cannot shoot straight....

[Gullscorer]

It's not just Billy. Pretty much the whole squad has been affected by the experience of the past few months to the extent that they have been making individual mistakes and not giving of their best, whether they're defenders, midfielders or strikers. But on Saturday they all played as if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders, and although nobody would expect them all to return immediately to their top form, there can be no doubt that the prospects for the rest of the season have improved enormously. Yes there will still be a big battle to avoid relegation, but with increasing confidence and determination the players will only get better and better, and that includes Billy's shooting abilities..

[arcadia]

Billy I hope you see this message which is entirely constructive.

Most of the Plainmoor faithful recognise you are a talented and improving footballer.

As an honest young man I know from your body language when subbed that you know you had 3 chances to put the game to bed. 2 shots missed the target going over the bar.

Some may laugh but Christiano Ronaldo spends many hours practising free kicks and shooting. Billy I STRONGLY advise you to spend 2 hours a day doing nothing else for the next 3 months. You are good but your shooting technique needs work and then more work. I predict IF you put in the work you will be rewarded.

Gary Player the great South African golfer said once "the more I practise the luckier I get"

If you get good coaching on keeping the ball down you will be our top scorer without a doubt. Study all the videos of your shots which miss the target and work out why. You have a short career as a pro footballer make the most of it. Billy you are good but you need to start scoring so it becomes a good habit. Good luck!

[nickbrod]

Totally agree with portugull's constructive comments. With Billy's parents watching him every home game and his dad being an ex-pro and coach you might think these ideas had come up in conversation!
With greater confidence, which I believe a goal would bring, Billy has tremendous potential. He is, after all, an international capped by his country.

[brucie]

What an absolutely stupid message. Bodin has played in all four xmas games. I have seen two of them but he has been outstanding in two of them.
Bodin had a couple of chances in the second half - sure he didn't hit the target but with tired legs on a glue pot pitch he didn't manage to score.
More or less the same with Benyons shot - it was probably due to tiredness rather than any lack of ability.

[arcadia]

Bodin has good balance just hope he's not to proud to read this and take it in. I rate Billy and I would say the first person a boy does not listen to is his father. I wished I had thought to have written this above. Billy do this for yourself and the supporters who know you can be better. We have championed you when others have run you down others might laugh but you have the last one. :K Haropp not me! Billy read Chris Garlands book on how the great John Atyeo of Bristol City helped him hitting squares on a brick wall and I know it's true I was with him.
WE ALL WANT ALL THE PLAYERS TO DO WELL!

[exilegull]

Billy I hope you see this message which is entirely constructive.

Most of the Plainmoor faithful recognise you are a talented and improving footballer.

As an honest young man I know from your body language when subbed that you know you had 3 chances to put the game to bed. 2 shots missed the target going over the bar.

Some may laugh but Christiano Ronaldo spends many hours practising free kicks and shooting. Billy I STRONGLY advise you to spend 2 hours a day doing nothing else for the next 3 months. You are good but your shooting technique needs work and then more work. I predict IF you put in the work you will be rewarded.

Gary Player the great South African golfer said once "the more I practise the luckier I get"

If you get good coaching on keeping the ball down you will be our top scorer without a doubt. Study all the videos of your shots which miss the target and work out why. You have a short career as a pro footballer make the most of it. Billy you are good but you need to start scoring so it becomes a good habit. Good luck!

Have you thought about applying for the Manager's position - with insights like that you must be a shoe-in.

[ferrarilover]

It's not his shooting, it's his decision making. He shoots when he should take a touch and vice versa. Missed the target with both yesterday because he'd A. made the chances harder than they needed to be due to bad decision making and B. trying to be too clever and hitting the top corner at 100mph. Have a look at the second and third Exeter goals, see what happened there and have a think about what Billy would have done.

The extra training idea is a good one, but just shooting will do more harm than good. He needs to spend time in realistic match simulations, receiving through balls, being harried by Pearce and having Pokey in net. His job is then to hit the target, every single time. Once he's got that, you up the power and accuracy until you find exactly the maximum power and angle that Billy can use in order to hit the target 70% of the time.
This is a modified version of what racing drivers do (think MX-5 one make series, not F1).

Matt.

[Dave]

Sorry , this thread is hilarious, and it's not meant to be, that's a worry. Billy Bodin, his dad, our coaching, and I am sure the new manager will know exactly what development he needs , that's why they go training most day's, to work on team and individual needs.

[chunkygull]

Sorry , this thread is hilarious, and it's not meant to be, that's a worry. Billy Bodin, his dad, our coaching, and I am sure the new manager will know exactly what development he needs , that's why they go training most day's, to work on team and individual needs.

Hence why I have asked the question many times - WHAT DO THEY DO IN TRAINING?

At times it has looked like a big fat nothing has been done, no work on team patterns of play, strategy, formation, shape, teamwork and individuals dont seem to have worked on improving the parts of their game that need work!

I see what Portugull is trying to say, it isnt just Billy though, then again if we all see it, then why didnt the coaching staff. Lazy coaching is a big problem in football, all the time coaches and managers are after new players or wanting to shift out the ones they have, when all is needed is a bit more hard work on the training ground. Surely the players want to improve and would appreciate their game being better and they arent too precious about it when told which aspects have flaws or need improving.

[exilegull]

Hence why I have asked the question many times - WHAT DO THEY DO IN TRAINING?

I have to admit my faith in Alan Knill started to slide when I heard that he'd had Nicholson on the unicycle and Billy was getting extra practice juggling knives.

Still I've heard that Downes is a nap with the tiger.

[Dave]

What I am finding funny is the notion that Billy Bodin doesn't know aspects of his game need improving, and that we don't actually do all the things that people think we should do, just ask those members of this site that watch training, what our team does in training.

Personally ran many training sessions and had the pleasure of watching other coachs plus academy coaching sessions both outfield and goalkeeping, the one thing I'll say now, it doesn't matter how many training sessions you run, practising keep ball, shooting, attacking/defending corners, free kick routines, marking the space/man marking etc, etc, there is no training that can replicate what is going to happen in a match .

In training there's no pressure, no opposition defender trying to ruin your life or disrespecting your mother, banging goals in, in training is one thing, staring at the whites of the keepers eyes in match is something else.

[nickfrench82]

I'd imagine Billy is just waiting for his account to be verified before he posts his thanks for the tips people have suggested. Some of them have probably never crossed his mind

[Banging_Them_In]

What I am finding funny is the notion that Billy Bodin doesn't know aspects of his game need improving, and that we don't actually do all the things that people think we should do, just ask those members of this site that watch training, what our team does in training.

Personally ran many training sessions and had the pleasure of watching other coachs plus academy coaching sessions both outfield and goalkeeping, the one thing I'll say now, it doesn't matter how many training sessions you run, practising keep ball, shooting, attacking/defending corners, free kick routines, marking the space/man marking etc, etc, there is no training that can replicate what is going to happen in a match .

In training there's no pressure, no opposition defender trying to ruin your life or disrespecting your mother, banging goals in, in training is one thing, staring at the whites of the keepers eyes in match is something else.

Here are some of my thoughts. Young English footballers do not relish practice and training like youngsters in other countries, where they see the importance and enjoy the practice of skills, tactics and a variety of set plays. English youngsters mainly get bored (and cold) so quickly and they really only enjoy playing 5-a-side or practise matches. Like I say, the climate doesn't help. In Italy for instance, youngsters might warm up properly, then practice some skills, then play a practise game followed by practising different corner-kick routines and free kicks......then play another game...they enjoy the variety in the good weather....they are enthusiastic for it......the variety and yet discipline of practice...... and so pressure doesn't really come into it. English youngsters just really want to play games at an 100 mile an hour and also keep warm and are not so disciplined................. one feels that continental players are more professional and disciplined at a younger age........