If anything, I would have been chucking Ekwah and O9 in there alongside Neil and making us really solid. We are missing Corry Evans massively and it feels like the season is already over. We'll finish somewhere around 13th now which is a shame
so true, easily out thought, but dont heap this on TM totally, the big issue was Speakman being billy big bollocks to Kyril.
here we go again, i basically said that evans was a better team player than many gave him credit for and imentioned we were missing him as much as LND. onien is not everyones cup of tea in midfield but right now we need that bit of bite in there, dan neil for all his improvements in recent weeks has taken a massive return to earlier in the season and i know the lad has taken some stick today but (especially with the current squad) that bloke in there needs to protect the back line and link play up with the forward line. gelhardts goal came about from a winger (onien at the time) getting up the field and putting a ball into the middle and also proved you do not have to have a 6+ lad in there, we also need someone the 'feed' gelhardt, once again i saw how often he was ready to run the line and not a single ball went in to at least test them. i also promise never to invite smug to my house again before a match day
Gelhardt's no Kevin Phillips - he doesn't suit our style of play at all. I know he's young and inexperienced and all that bollox, but he doesn't offer enough and just isn't very good.
We do have a striker though just not one who is looking for crosses. Why are we not looking at People talk like we don't have a striker, I think it's more we are expecting him to play a way he can't play. Surely it's easier to adapt the type of bal we look to feed him?
So, where do we go from here? Does Mowbray have to sacrifice our attacking play in order to make us harder to beat? For all our pretty play and attacking talent we have zero points from 3 games and Stoke absolutely walked through us today. Maybe it's time to go back to a back 3 (Batth-Ballard-O'Nien) and pack the midfield whilst sacrificing one of Amad or Roberts We signed Ekwah to be a physical presence in midfield, but the manager won't play him. This time last year, Alex Neil came in and made us hard to beat. Maybe it's time Mowbray did the same
'not very good' ... does not ring true with me though, play to his strengths and give him a chance but right now we basically have roberts/clarke/amad trying to be technical when many a time a quick cross or through ball would be much better.
Alex Neil also recognised a fair few were burnt out around this time of year when he came in. Maybe we are at a similar point with Amad, Clarke, Neil etc. I'd change it and go onien, Echwah and maybe Ba as a 3 with Roberts Clarke and Pritchard up top for Norwich?
Aye, think changes are needed and not just resting someone for a game here and there. I'd take Neil, Clarke and Amad out for next 4 or 5 games. Really try and tighetn things up
Yeah, I'd go with a narrower more solid midfield 3 for the next few games and try to protect the back 4 but also let the front 3 roam and interchange.
Good point that, it certainly feels like we're suffering from burnout and gradually getting worse. We should freshen things up in CM we've got the players for it.
Agree. We need to find a way to get the best out of Gelhardt - as someone else has mentioned, he needs someone to play balls in behind and try and spring attacks, not this constant dicking about on the edge of the box and refusing to release the ball
I've no idea on how many minutes have been played by our lads but I reckon the same core of 15 or so have played the majority. At 19 to 22 years of age on average its a big ask for them in this league plus the cup games. Not making excuses for today's performance BTW..... We were shocking and got what we deserved.
Totally agree that the crosses and through balls need to be much quicker, but Gelhardt on the end of them doesn't fill me with confidence. Would be nice to be proved wrong but Mowbray doesn't have the nous to change the style.
It's true mate they've had a lot of minutes, players like Bennette look canny but haven't been used so much to lighten the load as have brief cameos here and there. I remember Doyle last season looked great for about half the season but we overplayed him and he was useless after a point. Still a good player just needed better management.
The current style has been sussed ie Clarke receives the ball on the left facing two defenders, has to cut in and is crowded out / Hume passes to Roberts on the right who immediately faces two defenders, taps it to Diallo who's about two feet away, takes the return and is crowded out. These are talented lads and when it comes off it's fantastic to watch. However it's working less and less often because teams have done their homework. The attacking style and urgency needs to change, but with poor options at CF it's difficult. If Mowbray persists playing the same game week in week out regardless of the opposition we'll pick up very few points between now and the seasons end. Surely an experienced manager can see this??
well for a start off there is no way the team are playing as if they have a striker on the pitch, surely just changing that part of the game would help. i have no idea about him but the lad certainly deserves to be given a chance and if he still fails to deliver then at least we know the club tried.
