I haven't seen any real evidence he can still change a game since he's come back. Surely if he was good/fit enough still he'd be starting? It's not just one manager who has passed on including him. Every manager in the league passed on him for the entirety of 20/21 and now Averladze as well as McCann. Seems to be a bit of a pattern...
Marathon runners don’t have people hacking away at their legs for 20 years or so. Injuries from impacts and tears take more out of a player than 7 per less aerobic deterioration.
and pies and pints... Just to be clear I'm not suggesting Tommy H has eaten too many pies or drank too many pints...just more of a personal reflection that's all.
I'm sorry... but how do you know he's a good technical footballer... couldn't get a game at Swansea....
If you disagree that's fine. I cannot be arsed with an argument to be honest. I'll go further. He isn't good technically, not sure why we got him. Thanks Newcastle
I agree, I think he's bang average, which is why he couldn't get in at Swansea. I thought we brought him in to fill out numbers.
If you watched him after he came on against Barnsley it was absolutely obvious that he's much better on the ball than our starting midfielders. I'm sure he won't be as good at other things as Smallwood, Doc and Slater are and that will be why they play and he doesn't, but there really isn't any question that he can knock a ball about.
Any player at any level above semi pro can knock the ball about, it's consistency and physical/off the ball attributes that govern how far a player goes up the professional ladder. Half way through his loan spell I'm not seeing anything that suggests we should pursue a deal for Walsh in summer.
I thought that too. It is difficult to change too much at present. There's not been much time on the training ground and whilst we're pretty ****e, we're doing the job we need too which is to stay well clear of the bottom 3. It's not vintage and but it is what it is. Hopefully the summer should be exciting. We need a massive overhaul, I think we could see something crazy like up to 15 arrivals
That’s underselling him though, he was hung out to dry in the derby game. He’s got a calmness on the ball that only Hudds possesses, he can pass forward at a level that only probably Hudds can (not as good obviously) but still. His touch is good, like I’ve said with the correct shape around him our attack would instantly be better as he’d get the ball forwards not just sideways and backwards. Slater/Smallwood/Honeyman should be ball winners plain and simple players like Walsh simply have to play for us to see a benefit in the top end of the pitch because we won’t if we persist with midfield 3s of Smallwood Doc/Slater and GH
15 is a bit overkill. I'd say between 8 and 11 depending on whether we can convince the loan players to sign. We're trying to get Baxter and Bernard sorted, Allahyar will sign in Summer. So assuming those three are going to be sorted: a centre half a right back a left back a defensive midfielder an attacking midfielder a winger two strikers Wilks, Smallwood, Elder, Cannon, Moncur, Smith, Eaves, Scott, Thudd and Elder will be allowed to go. Ingram's option will probably be activated so we don't need another keeper. Williams hasn't been watched yet, but I suspect he'll be allowed to leave given the level of player we'll be targeting. Most of the above are out of contract anyway, the likes of Cannon and Smith will no doubt be loaned out.
I think that was the thinking behind bringing him in. I just don't know why Shota played him against Derby as the sole holding midfielder. It was a bit odd. 15 was a bit overkill but I was including the loanees. I'd personally like 2 keepers, a 1st and 3rd choice keeper so Cartwright can get some games on loan. If we're going to play a 433 or 4231, I don't think we need 2 CBs, and I then probably wouldn't keep Bernard. You'd want someone ideally a step up on what we've got at present. Left back and right back is a given, could even go for 2 RBs if Coyle wants to leave to play. I think midfield is where we need the most. We need 6 midfielders for the 3 spots, I'm happy with Slater and Honeyman but the rest I'm not bothered. I think we need at least 2 defensive midfielders assuming we play with 2 deeper as we have been. We obviously need a creative spark too. I'd like to see Honeyman dropped a bit deeper next year to accommodate that extra creative player. The jury is still out on Allahyar but we definitely need 2 wingers including him, 3 if KLP leaves. I'd arguably go with overkill in the attacking departments, it wins you games and even if there's the odd younger one too we can develop
A lot of Turkish people believe Acun to be money laundering for Fenerbache by buying their **** players. Wonder if we see anymore come in from there
I am really not so sure about that first statement. We seem to take far too many touches to even get the ball out of our feet before looking to make a pass which is inevitably backwards or sideways most of the time. Maybe it is just the difference in ability or a lack of confidence? Why don't we try and move the ball through the lines more? We spend most of our time trying to get it wide and relying on a cross, which means we play nearly everything in front of the defending team It's obviously a consequence of keeping the same squad together who won the league but I do hope we see some change moving forward. When we come up against most teams their is a fluidity about their play which I rarely see from us. I am interested to see how Birmingham compare to us on Saturday.
Totally agree with this. All midfields need a ball winner. Gets stuck in and breaks up play, gets in the face of the opposition. A bit of a nasty twat really. I love the story of Alf Ramsey and the dog in the park. Nobby Stiles was in the side to win the ball and give it to Charlton to play the ball. Worked out alright for them.
