Enayati, Rezaei, maybe Hashemian

[zzgloo]

I don't have the software football statbook and a digitized version of the game to measure, but look at the movement range of Enayati. He is running from Uzbaks' goal all the way to the middle of our field. Look at how he pressured the Uzbak ball carrier. The guy ran a lot. Even on attacks, he was added very well. Look at on the second gaol, how he is being added for a pass, possibley a rebound. Even the pace of his addition is very fast.
As for IPL, I suggest you be more patient. There are tens of players there to discover.
A short list of players that are less known:
Baykzadeh, Ravankhah, Amin Mohtashami, Shays Rezai, Hamid Shafie, Hojjat Zaad Mahmood, Abdul Karim Alee Nameh, Aghaeyee, Ashoobi, Mamani, Mohsen Yousefi, Mazyar Zare Pooladi, BayatiNia, Papi, Saeed Ramazani, couple of guys in Esteghlal Ahwaz that I forgot their names. PLease note this list, doesn't have well known players like Pezhman Noori, Akbarpoor, KolahKaj, etc. etc.
I think you are underestimating the power of our football.

ali jan,you are right about Enayati, as I paid even more attention to him during the secound game ,with china, and he indeed works hard...although,as you know, vahid worked even harder....
Regarding new talents, as we talked about it in another thread, the question is if we could keep and develope them or not.
And on your last point, you are right again, may be I did understimate TM, which I hope not to do it again...the game with China, was magnificent !
We just worm up about minute 30, which may be ,we should have better worm-up before the games.

[khabalood]

For the amount of possession Hashemian gets one would expect some results. We are not seeing those results. In addition, he appears quite selfish and unwilling to pass to his cf Enayati. Any secondary striker who does not/cannot pass adequately to his cf or set up the play adequately is a failure. Hashemian cannot accomplish this task. Other strikers in this tournament who despite getting less of the ball and not having the experience of playing in Europe are able/willing to beat their marker, get into the box and at least take a good shot on net are a good example of what is at least expected of Hashemian. Granted Iran is not mass producing strikers, but that does not mean we do not have individuals talented enough to fill that role. We could easily place either Kaebi or Mobali in the role of striker. Kaebi's speed, aggressiveness and determination are exactly what is needed beside our center forward Enayati who could poach goals off his rebounds. Mobalis shooting makes him an asset and a good choice as striker, since he could get shouts on target from anywhere around the box, a task that seems to be difficult for Hashemian.

[khabalood]

ali jan,you are right about Enayati, as paid even more attention to him with the secound game ,china, and he indeed works hard...although,as you know, vahid worked even harder....

zzgloo jaan, I disagree. Hashemian sees much more of the ball simply because he receives more passes and does not pass to his partner Enayati. As a result it is appears that he works harder, but a simple reflection of any of his games will reveal his tendency to move towards the sides rather than attack the box, which is much harder to do and takes more energy. Enayati for all his faults has always been one to go for goal. In addition, Enayati work both offensively and defensively in todays game.

[yashar_fasihnia]

khabalood jan, hashemian is in the heart of the opponents defense and is therefore always surrounded by defenders, many time all alone since enayati and kazemian are quite away from him in many scenes.

for such situations, i think he does very well, often winning free kicks, holding the ball until his team mates come to his help.

hashemian is really working hard, he is one guy we cant replace at all.

[khabalood]

khabalood jan, hashemian is in the heart of the opponents defense and is therefore always surrounded by defenders, many time all alone since enayati and kazemian are quite away from him in many scenes.
for such situations, i think he does very well, often winning free kicks, holding the ball until his team mates come to his help.
hashemian is really working hard, he is one guy we cant replace at all.

Yashar jaan, these are all excuses. Hashemian has two outlets on either side of him, which he is not taking advantage of. Any striker in the world would be delighted to play in a 4-3-3 simply because of the numbers advantage. He is not taking advantage of this and is isolating teammates, notably Enayati who was isolated despite Hashemians numerous touches on the ball. He holds onto the ball but continually fails to get it into the box, which is part of his job requirement. Worse yet he moves it off into the sides, weakening our whole formation, getting pressed easily by Chinese defenders. He had several attempts at goal and failed to get his shots on target on just about all of them. He is working hard but is not effective, unlike many other strikers in this very tournament who have much less pomp attached to their name. To say more was expected of him is beginning to become an understatement. Every player can be replaced. Ineffective players should be replaced, much as Karimi was today, and the team was better off for it.

[zzgloo]

zzgloo jaan, I disagree. Hashemian sees much more of the ball simply because he receives more passes and does not pass to his partner Enayati. As a result it is appears that he works harder, but a simple reflection of any of his games will reveal his tendency to move towards the sides rather than attack the box, which is much harder to do and takes more energy. Enayati for all his faults has always been one to go for goal. In addition, Enayati work both offensively and defensively in todays game.

Khabalood e aziz.......................I agree that enayati worked hard, but what you said about hashemian is a little unfaire...............
We saw,vahid hashemian on our screen of TV more than any other player...he was everywhere.......I agree that he did not pass to others as he should have, but, honstly speaking, he had many shot at goal, and many head at chineas goal.....how many did Enayati have !!!???? I do not remember even one.the reason vahid had more balls,was because , he went there,and got the ball !!, other players always saw him availeble to pass to !!

[perspolees]

hashemian played a rock solid game against china. GN has some major issues with fielding the players that needs to be corrected...plus AC is not the place for trials!

[khabalood]

Khabalood e aziz.......................I agree that enayati worked hard, but what you said about hashemian is a little unfaire...............
We saw,vahid hashemian on our screen of TV more than any other player...he was everywhere.......I agree that he did not pass to others as he should have, but, honstly speaking, he had many shot at goal, and many head at chineas goal.....how many did Enayati have !!!???? I do not remember even one.the reason vahid had more balls,was because , he went there,and got the ball !!, other players always saw him availeble to pass to !!

Zzgloo jaan, I disagree. The sheer number of opportunities proves that it was part of the team strategy to get the ball to Hashemian. Kazemian and Enayati were both just as active has he was on the field but did not receive the same number of opportunities. Moreover, his shot totals are nothing to be proud of since he missed the far majority of his shots. Cleary the current lineup of Enayati, Hahsemian and Kazemian is not working. Since Hashemian is the most ineffective of the three at the moment and playing in his natural position unlike Enayati, he should at least be benched to start the match against Malaysia. I would say move Hashemian to lwf if I thought he would be effective, but his previous performances in this position have prove he cannot. This is a problem that needs to be worked out before the elimination stage.

[yashar_fasihnia]

Yashar jaan, these are all excuses. Hashemian has two outlets on either side of him, which he is not taking advantage of. Any striker in the world would be delighted to play in a 4-3-3 simply because of the numbers advantage. He is not taking advantage of this and is isolating teammates, notably Enayati who was isolated despite Hashemians numerous touches on the ball. He holds onto the ball but continually fails to get it into the box, which is part of his job requirement. Worse yet he moves it off into the sides, weakening our whole formation, getting pressed easily by Chinese defenders. He had several attempts at goal and failed to get his shots on target on just about all of them. He is working hard but is not effective, unlike many other strikers in this very tournament who have much less pomp attached to their name. To say more was expected of him is beginning to become an understatement. Every player can be replaced. Ineffective players should be replaced, much as Karimi was today, and the team was better off for it.

khabalood jan, none of these are excuses.
wat u are saying is ideal situation, only theoretical that every player in 4-3-3 has 2 forwards on his 2 sides and can pass to them but in reality, this is not the case.
first of all enayati and kazemian play along the line a lot which makes them far from hashemian who is in the center. this means it will be difficult for hashemian to make passes to them directly but rather pass back to the midfielders and they give the pass to enayati/kazemian.
secondly,hashemian shots on goals were blocked by the defender and GK. wat can he do, its not like he is wasting them! wat clear cut chances has hashemian got that he didnt score (which u say is his job?)
in 4-4-2, the 2 forwards play closer to each other than in 4-3-3. so hashemian is more lonely upfront in 4-3-3 because 4-3-3 gives width to the team but at the same time increases the gap between the players, which naturally applies to the front line as well!
the header he had against china was a chance he created with his own gheyrat and not many players could head the ball in that jumping position. the fact that he moves to the sides directly implies and supports my point that 4-3-3 only theoretically and on paper shows that a forward has 2 other forwards on his side to pass to, but in reality its not the case. the 2 forwards on the 2 sides usually involve in defending and going back to the midfield and bringing the ball upfront, so hashemian many time is either alone upfront or very far from his team mates to be able to pass to them and so he has to move around with the ball or control the ball until his team mates come to his help and keep in mind, while doing this, he is pulling along atleast 2 defenders which opens up the chinese defense.
not to forget, he is also winning freekicks out side the penalty area which again is an advatange. if im not mistaken, the freekick mobali wasted from just outside the penalty area was won by hashemian controlling the ball well among 4 chinese defenders and waiting for his team mates move to open space for him to pass to them!

if enayati plays in this position instead of hashemian, he will do worse than hashemian simply because he doesnt have hashemians work ethics, his stamina, his ball control and his professionalism & experience. this doesnt mean enayati will be bad, it just means hashemian will be better.

hashemian keeps our attack line active and alive. hashemian is the most effective out of our 3 strikers. kazemian was ineffective against china but very effective against uzbekistan. enayati was effective but the least among the 3 forwards in both games.
so if anything, enayati should be benched and hashemian and kazemian be paired upfront. enayati can be subbed in for hashemian, kazemian or a midfielder accordingly later in the game.

yes, all players can be replaced and should be replaced if they are not effective. karimi is one of them, maybe teymourian too, but not hashemian.

i dont understand why people jump to conclusions that if anyone here has a positive opinion about a TM legionnaire, it means that this legionnaire should not be subbed out. this is not the case, i think hashemian is one of the most effective players of our team, forget forward line and thats why he should stay, not because he plays in hannover!

[khabalood]

khabalood jan, none of these are excuses.
wat u are saying is ideal situation, only theoretical that every player in 4-3-3 has 2 forwards on his 2 sides and can pass to them but in reality, this is not the case.
first of all enayati and kazemian play along the line a lot which makes them far from hashemian who is in the center. this means it will be difficult for hashemian to make passes to them directly but rather pass back to the midfielders and they give the pass to enayati/kazemian.
secondly,hashemian shots on goals were blocked by the defender and GK. wat can he do, its not like he is wasting them! wat clear cut chances has hashemian got that he didnt score (which u say is his job?)
in 4-4-2, the 2 forwards play closer to each other than in 4-3-3. so hashemian is more lonely upfront in 4-3-3 because 4-3-3 gives width to the team but at the same time increases the gap between the players, which naturally applies to the front line as well!
the header he had against china was a chance he created with his own gheyrat and not many players could head the ball in that jumping position. the fact that he moves to the sides directly implies and supports my point that 4-3-3 only theoretically and on paper shows that a forward has 2 other forwards on his side to pass to, but in reality its not the case. the 2 forwards on the 2 sides usually involve in defending and going back to the midfield and bringing the ball upfront, so hashemian many time is either alone upfront or very far from his team mates to be able to pass to them and so he has to move around with the ball or control the ball until his team mates come to his help and keep in mind, while doing this, he is pulling along atleast 2 defenders which opens up the chinese defense.
not to forget, he is also winning freekicks out side the penalty area which again is an advatange. if im not mistaken, the freekick mobali wasted from just outside the penalty area was won by hashemian controlling the ball well among 4 chinese defenders and waiting for his team mates move to open space for him to pass to them!
if enayati plays in this position instead of hashemian, he will do worse than hashemian simply because he doesnt have hashemians work ethics, his stamina, his ball control and his professionalism & experience. this doesnt mean enayati will be bad, it just means hashemian will be better.
hashemian keeps our attack line active and alive. hashemian is the most effective out of our 3 strikers. kazemian was ineffective against china but very effective against uzbekistan. enayati was effective but the least among the 3 forwards in both games.
so if anything, enayati should be benched and hashemian and kazemian be paired upfront. enayati can be subbed in for hashemian, kazemian or a midfielder accordingly later in the game.
yes, all players can be replaced and should be replaced if they are not effective. karimi is one of them, maybe teymourian too, but not hashemian.
i dont understand why people jump to conclusions that if anyone here has a positive opinion about a TM legionnaire, it means that this legionnaire should not be subbed out. this is not the case, i think hashemian is one of the most effective players of our team, forget forward line and thats why he should stay, not because he plays in hannover!

Yashar jaan, Enayati and Kazemian were often in and around the box, they were not utilized, because Hashemian opted to have a go by himself. In a 4-3-3 all the strikers collapse into/around the box while on offense depending on the strategy being played. In addition Hashemian took many shots, most missed the net or were blocked. Should he be lauded for this, definitely not. These are wasted opportunities and in the later case poor decision making. Iran has numerous players who can miss the net or make unwise shooting decisions. They would have yielded similar results. Moreover, a cf who cannot move the ball passed his marker and is forced to the side of the field is ineffective. It is the cf job to get the ball passed his marker and into a good scoring opportunity. Defenders traditionally attempt to steal the ball, when they cannot they force their opposing player to the sides so that they will have a decreased area to move, in addition to having a harder angle to shoot on goal. This is precisely the phenomenon we have witnessed time and again from Hashemian. He simply gets forced out of position. Even a player like Khatibi shows more determination and ability in beating his man, to get inside the box. In fact there are a number of strikers who are proficient in doing so in this tournament alone. One whose name comes to mind is al-Qhatani who was able to do surprisingly well despite being marked by two men. This problem is compounded by the fact that Hashemian has not been able to drawing his markers, creating space for his teammates as Ali Daei was able to do very well at the last Asia Cup despite being less mobile, and having multiple markers. By choosing to go it alone in many instances he gives up this option. He worked hard, but nothing came of his work. Had he utilized better decision making he would have had to do less work and probably would have been much more effective. I think Ghalenoei should bench Hashemian in favor of Kaebi, who has the speed and technique to cause the opponent trouble in the box. With Enayati placed beside him to finish of the opportunities they could be a very dangerous pair. I'm sure Hashemian can play better, and the best way to get the message across to him would be leaving him on the bench to start the game against Malaysia.

[yashar_fasihnia]

Yashar jaan, Enayati and Kazemian were often in and around the box, they were not utilized, because Hashemian opted to have a go by himself. In a 4-3-3 all the strikers collapse into/around the box while on offense depending on the strategy being played.

maybe i saw a different game, i watched the match twice and i hardly noticed hashemian acting selfishly and not passing to enayati or kazemian when HE HAD TO.

In addition Hashemian took many shots, most missed the net or were blocked. Should he be lauded for this, definitely not. These are wasted opportunities and in the later case poor decision making. Iran has numerous players who can miss the net or make unwise shooting decisions. They would have yielded similar results.

is it hashemians fault his header was saved by the GK? How many other iranian forwards could head the ball like that??
is it hashemians fault his shot gets blocked by the defender who puts his leg in the way?
u think other forwards would have shot the ball and the defender wouldnt put his leg infront of it?
and no, they wouldnot yield similar results.
ur example of khatibi, wat result did he yield? except turnovers? did he win any corners? did he win any free kicks? was he able to keep ball possession until his team mates came and moved into empty spaces?

hashemians decision making is one of the best in the whole team, not only forwards line. remember his goal against korea in the 93rd minute, how many forwards in iran have that decision making and that sharpness.
hashemian dribbled and shot when he had NO BETTER ALTERNATIVES! yes enayati might be standing next to him but there might be a korean defender next to him ready to punce on him as soon as he receives a pass or maybe hashemian himself is in a better position to shoot or dribble and i see no problem in hashemian dribbling in such situations. from the match i recall, this is exactly wat he did.
if u wanna complain about selfishness and not passing when required, u should talk about ur beloved mahdavikia who refused to pass to ando who had made a run and was in a better position than kia himself. now if hashemian had done that, i would agree but hashemian was never in such a situation, so i dont agree that hashemian played selfishly.

Moreover, a cf who cannot move the ball passed his marker and is forced to the side of the field is ineffective. It is the cf job to get the ball passed his marker and into a good scoring opportunity. Defenders traditionally attempt to steal the ball, when they cannot they force their opposing player to the sides so that they will have a decreased area to move, in addition to having a harder angle to shoot on goal. This is precisely the phenomenon we have witnessed time and again from Hashemian. He simply gets forced out of position.

and a player with a weaker physique, poorer ball control and slower speed like enayati would be able to do this while hashemian cant?
notice ur own words, Defenders traditionally attempt to steal the ball, when they cannot they force their opposing player to the sides so that they will have a decreased area to move, in addition to having a harder angle to shoot on goal. "EFENDERS TRADITIONALLY ATTEMPT TO STEAL THE BALL", now u temme, is it better to have khatibi who will for sure and has proven that he will lose the ball among 4 defenders or hashemian who can atleast maintain ball possession by moving to the sides, pulling along defenders from the opponent and opening up the opponents defense thereby making space for his team mates to move into the center?
which do u think is better?

Even a player like Khatibi shows more determination and ability in beating his man, to get inside the box. In fact there are a number of strikers who are proficient in doing so in this tournament alone. One whose name comes to mind is al-Qhatani who was able to do surprisingly well despite being marked by two men. This problem is compounded by the fact that Hashemian has not been able to drawing his markers, creating space for his teammates as Ali Daei was able to do very well at the last Asia Cup despite being less mobile, and having multiple markers. By choosing to go it alone in many instances he gives up this option. He worked hard, but nothing came of his work. Had he utilized better decision making he would have had to do less work and probably would have been much more effective.

sorry but khatibi shows more selfishness than anything else. he loses the ball and results in a turnover which like u said, yields to nothing. atleast hashemian pulls teh defender along opening up the opponents defense or wins a freekick while taking the ball to the sides with his good ball control and speed.
too bad yasser al qhatani is a saudi player, not iranian. so wat should we do? hashemian is not this type of player, but neither are enayati and khatibi.

I think Ghalenoei should bench Hashemian in favor of Kaebi, who has the speed and technique to cause the opponent trouble in the box. With Enayati placed beside him to finish of the opportunities they could be a very dangerous pair. I'm sure Hashemian can play better, and the best way to get the message across to him would be leaving him on the bench to start the game against Malaysia.

although i respect ur opinion, i seriously hope hashemian is not benched cos he gives life to our forward line, atleast thats wat i think. neither enayati nor khatibi can play better than him in this position he is playing now.

[khabalood]

maybe i saw a different game, i watched the match twice and i hardly noticed hashemian acting selfishly and not passing to enayati or kazemian when HE HAD TO.
is it hashemians fault his header was saved by the GK? How many other iranian forwards could head the ball like that??
is it hashemians fault his shot gets blocked by the defender who puts his leg in the way?
u think other forwards would have shot the ball and the defender wouldnt put his leg infront of it?
and no, they wouldnot yield similar results.
ur example of khatibi, wat result did he yield? except turnovers? did he win any corners? did he win any free kicks? was he able to keep ball possession until his team mates came and moved into empty spaces?
hashemians decision making is one of the best in the whole team, not only forwards line. remember his goal against korea in the 93rd minute, how many forwards in iran have that decision making and that sharpness.
hashemian dribbled and shot when he had NO BETTER ALTERNATIVES! yes enayati might be standing next to him but there might be a korean defender next to him ready to punce on him as soon as he receives a pass or maybe hashemian himself is in a better position to shoot or dribble and i see no problem in hashemian dribbling in such situations. from the match i recall, this is exactly wat he did.
if u wanna complain about selfishness and not passing when required, u should talk about ur beloved mahdavikia who refused to pass to ando who had made a run and was in a better position than kia himself. now if hashemian had done that, i would agree but hashemian was never in such a situation, so i dont agree that hashemian played selfishly.
and a player with a weaker physique, poorer ball control and slower speed like enayati would be able to do this while hashemian cant?
notice ur own words, Defenders traditionally attempt to steal the ball, when they cannot they force their opposing player to the sides so that they will have a decreased area to move, in addition to having a harder angle to shoot on goal. "EFENDERS TRADITIONALLY ATTEMPT TO STEAL THE BALL", now u temme, is it better to have khatibi who will for sure and has proven that he will lose the ball among 4 defenders or hashemian who can atleast maintain ball possession by moving to the sides, pulling along defenders from the opponent and opening up the opponents defense thereby making space for his team mates to move into the center?
which do u think is better?
sorry but khatibi shows more selfishness than anything else. he loses the ball and results in a turnover which like u said, yields to nothing. atleast hashemian pulls teh defender along opening up the opponents defense or wins a freekick while taking the ball to the sides with his good ball control and speed.
too bad yasser al qhatani is a saudi player, not iranian. so wat should we do? hashemian is not this type of player, but neither are enayati and khatibi.
although i respect ur opinion, i seriously hope hashemian is not benched cos he gives life to our forward line, atleast thats wat i think. neither enayati nor khatibi can play better than him in this position he is playing now.

Yashar jaan, when there are three players in an attacking line and one player monopolizes ball contact and makes nothing of it repeatedly, that player is not playing effective. This should be clear to anyone, and it is one of the reasons the line is not working. Hashemian made poor choices throughout the match.

One example can be seen around minute 16:40 when Hashemian decides to take a shot from close to the half way line, under absolutely no pressure when he received the ball. He misses the net. He could have passed the ball to another player (Enayati?) who was ahead of him and then continued the played down the field with this player. This was an ignorant decision, as the goaltender didn't even appear to be off his line.

At the 52 minute he fails to control a cross and allows it to easily go by him, when he should have easily passed that ball to Enayati who was very close to him.

At the 54 minute Hashemian falls in the box while following a cross.

At 71:18 after initially over shooting a cross he is presented with a golden opportunity and an open lane to pass to Enayati who would have a clear shot on net. He decides to pass the ball back to Nekounam.

I found these examples randomly in less than ten minutes, on my computer. I just do not have the time to go through the whole match.

Khatibi for all his faults is far better than Hashemian in beating his man, (this stems from his speed, and aggressiveness) and would be an asset for any cf if only his decision making and passing were better. I have never suggested his inclusion.

Enayati does also possess a fair amount of ball control. I use to be opposed to Enayati years back, but he is not as helpless as some make him out to be and he does posses qualities which are superior to Hashemian, such as finishing. Moreover, despite the lack of attention he received from tm (since Hashemian was made the target man), Enayati should have secured a penalty shot for tm when a chinaman charged him while he was jumping for a header in the 67 minute. He required treatment after that challenge. In addition, he saved us a sure goal earlier in the match.

Yashar jaan, please do not make exaggerations. There was perhaps one instance when Hashemian chose to go against three defenders, and that was an ignorant decision on his part since he does not do well against inferior numbers, let alone three.

I do hold him responsible for missing his shots and having his shots blocked. It is his responsibility to get those at the very least on target so that they cause the opposition real trouble. His inability to cause the opposition problems stems from his poor decision making and inability to beat his man. If he is our best forward, a good old fashioned benching will send him the message that more is required from him. Allowing a fast player with technique like Kaebi to start alongside a better finished in Enayati seems like a combination that may yield better results than out of form Hashemian.

The truth is Hashemian is hardly a cf since he has a tendency to move to the side rather than battle through to the center and is not our best finisher. Hashemian as a secondary striker has not been able to fulfill his duty, which is getting the ball to his cf or creating chances which his cf can capitalize on. GN using Hashemian as his target man is failing. A change needs to be made now before Iran reaches the knock out stages and it becomes dangerous to tinker with the formation. In my opinion Mobali and Kaebi would be our best option to compliment Enayati. Either it will work or not, but at least it will send a strong message to Hashemian. For those who have doubts Kaebi has the qualities neccessary to get into the box and cause problems. He is also a good passer and aggressive. Mobali has a better shot and is also arguably a better passer.

[zzgloo]

Zzgloo jaan, I disagree. The sheer number of opportunities proves that it was part of the team strategy to get the ball to Hashemian. Kazemian and Enayati were both just as active has he was on the field but did not receive the same number of opportunities. Moreover, his shot totals are nothing to be proud of since he missed the far majority of his shots. Cleary the current lineup of Enayati, Hahsemian and Kazemian is not working. Since Hashemian is the most ineffective of the three at the moment and playing in his natural position unlike Enayati, he should at least be benched to start the match against Malaysia. I would say move Hashemian to lwf if I thought he would be effective, but his previous performances in this position have prove he cannot. This is a problem that needs to be worked out before the elimination stage.

Khabalood e aziz...
I think we are both right....
VH, does not pass,and distribute as he should...
VH, does go and get the ball himself,and does not wait for passes from others.

[yashar_fasihnia]

Yashar jaan, when there are three players in an attacking line and one player monopolizes ball contact and makes nothing of it repeatedly, that player is not playing effective. This should be clear to anyone, and it is one of the reasons the line is not working. Hashemian made poor choices throughout the match.

One example can be seen around minute 16:40 when Hashemian decides to take a shot from close to the half way line, under absolutely no pressure when he received the ball. He misses the net. He could have passed the ball to another player (Enayati?) who was ahead of him and then continued the played down the field with this player. This was an ignorant decision, as the goaltender didn't even appear to be off his line.

At the 52 minute he fails to control a cross and allows it to easily go by him, when he should have easily passed that ball to Enayati who was very close to him.

At the 54 minute Hashemian falls in the box while following a cross.

At 71:18 after initially over shooting a cross he is presented with a golden opportunity and an open lane to pass to Enayati who would have a clear shot on net. He decides to pass the ball back to Nekounam.

I found these examples randomly in less than ten minutes, on my computer. I just do not have the time to go through the whole match.

Khatibi for all his faults is far better than Hashemian in beating his man, (this stems from his speed, and aggressiveness) and would be an asset for any cf if only his decision making and passing were better. I have never suggested his inclusion.

Enayati does also possess a fair amount of ball control. I use to be opposed to Enayati years back, but he is not as helpless as some make him out to be and he does posses qualities which are superior to Hashemian, such as finishing. Moreover, despite the lack of attention he received from tm (since Hashemian was made the target man), Enayati should have secured a penalty shot for tm when a chinaman charged him while he was jumping for a header in the 67 minute. He required treatment after that challenge. In addition, he saved us a sure goal earlier in the match.

Yashar jaan, please do not make exaggerations. There was perhaps one instance when Hashemian chose to go against three defenders, and that was an ignorant decision on his part since he does not do well against inferior numbers, let alone three.

I do hold him responsible for missing his shots and having his shots blocked. It is his responsibility to get those at the very least on target so that they cause the opposition real trouble. His inability to cause the opposition problems stems from his poor decision making and inability to beat his man. If he is our best forward, a good old fashioned benching will send him the message that more is required from him. Allowing a fast player with technique like Kaebi to start alongside a better finished in Enayati seems like a combination that may yield better results than out of form Hashemian.

The truth is Hashemian is hardly a cf since he has a tendency to move to the side rather than battle through to the center and is not our best finisher. Hashemian as a secondary striker has not been able to fulfill his duty, which is getting the ball to his cf or creating chances which his cf can capitalize on. GN using Hashemian as his target man is failing. A change needs to be made now before Iran reaches the knock out stages and it becomes dangerous to tinker with the formation. In my opinion Mobali and Kaebi would be our best option to compliment Enayati. Either it will work or not, but at least it will send a strong message to Hashemian. For those who have doubts Kaebi has the qualities neccessary to get into the box and cause problems. He is also a good passer and aggressive. Mobali has a better shot and is also arguably a better passer.

khabalood jan, im not exaggerating. im just saying wat i saw.

here is wat i saw from the 70th minute onwards just now in 20 mintues of the game:

77th minute, hashemian plays a 1-2 with enayati.
80th minute, hashemian wins a freekick among 3 defenders right outside the penalty area which mobali wastes from outside the box
88th minute, hahsemian makes a solo run on the side because he has noone to pass to.
89th minute, brilliant 1-2 with mobali and pass to enayati but he is in offside.
91st minute, he plays along the left line and dribbles past 3 chinese defenders who try to foul him but hashemian continues and a 4th defender takes his ball away from him. referee could have given freekick.

these are all examples which contradict ur claims by just watching 20 minutes of the game.

anywayz, like i said khabalood jan, i hope ghalenoi doesnt bench hashemian because to me, he is the main factor who keeps the forward line alive.

inshalla watever happens for the best of iran and we can win the trophy eventually.

[Hajagha]

Subbing Karimi in Mexico match was pure PS stupid. I watched the game again a few days ago. He was the most influential player of the pitch at the time. He brought Madanchi instead who touched the ball maybe 1 or 2 times with no outcome.

Again in Portugal game, he was good (not as good as mexico though) when Branko subbed the guy out. Branko simply ruined the guy. Oh, I watched the game 2 nights ago again.

So, please don't compare karimi's sub at the time with this time. Thanks.