With about 2 weeks to go before the transfer window closes I would suggest that we spend some of the large profit we have made on sales to purchase two further CB. If Pinto is still crocked have we got another RB other than Martin? It seems that our present German duo are not up to the Championship. When Klose returns this might help, but clearly our defense is still not good enough for us to challenge for a top 6 finish. If this is our ambition then something has got to happen.
Can we just give Naismith away, please, so managers don't have to feel they must play him because he cost us 8m?
Maybe we could recall Raggett from Lincoln ........ and send them Russell Martin until January instead?
If you wait long enough and show patience he will magically morph into Alex Ferguson Husband will turn into Roberto Carlos and Russell Martin will play like Cafu... Blind faith and patience is all we need apparently plus 10 players for less than £3m . ^^Wet pants
There were no changes in defense except that Pinto wasn't fit for this one. Martin struggled, but a large part of that was the little support he got from Stiepermann. I can understand starting Jerome in away games, but not Stiepermann, who contributed little IMO. His first game though and hopefully he'll improve as he adjusts to play here. Once we went behind it was always going to be a struggle, but at least there was an improvement in the second half and good goals from Murphy and Oliveira, with the second from an assist by Murphy. Those two and Gunn were the positives for me but there's also the fact that Villa played very well throughout with Hourihane, Green and Davis outstanding, which was the main reason our defense struggled.
Rich, I know you weren't calling for his head, it was made primarily at FML who keeps making stupid comments about the manager's team selection as if he knows what's going on at club level. I know he says he knows about a million European players that nobody else has heard of, ever heard the phrase, "Jack of all trades, master of none? Everyone is entitled to their opinion, even me, but just read FML's childish jibes, it's absolutely pathetic! Rant over and breathe!
I've put nothing any worse, than anyone else, and I've been less angry and aggressive than a lot. Make a change for you to target very specifically Dave.
Most people made comments about the team selection and manager decisions. Don't try and ruin another thread with your B.S.
I cheated and put strong cheddar on mine, it melted and tasted wonderful! If only I could find a green devil
I don't think it's Martin having a hold at all, Farke was quite clear in his pre-match comments that Pinto isn't fully fit yet. He was cramping up after an hour against QPR. Farke doesn't expect Pinto to be properly ready until after the international break (so after Charlton in the cup and Millwall away). The same applies to Hoolahan, 2 games in 4 days was too much for them at this stage of their return from injuries. I dare say if Pinto had played and pulled up after 20 minutes and was out for a couple of months, we'd have seen plenty of comments bemoaning Farke risking him. With the squad we have, Pinto and Hoolahan are a vital players and it makes sense to ensure they're fit for as many games as possible. Our RB/CB options are currently sufficiently limited such that if Pinto isn't available, there's no way to arrange the defence without using Martin. Hopefully as Pinto gains fitness, Klose returns from injury and the rest of the transfer window plays out, Martin will be increasingly sidelined. Farke has said post-match that Oliveira had a groin problem and "he didn't feel good". Apparently even bringing him on as a sub was a risk. So essentially all of our changes were forced by injury/fitness concerns, Leaving the only change that is open to questioning is his decision not to let a 20 year old midfielder play 270 minutes in a week. __________________________ I'm starting to think our fanbase would prefer our managers signed on a week-by-week contract, such is the demand for instant success. We have 11 new faces to bed in, with possibly more to follow. Half of those, plus the manager, have no experience of English football. Is it really surprising that we're not a cohesive unit yet? It needs time! Farke can't possibly know his best XI yet, and frankly I'd be surprised and worried if he thought he did. He's still learning, and he does appear to be taking things from each game. Even this season with a sizeable parachute payment, we're nowhere near as strong financially as Boro, Sunderland, Villa, Leeds, Wolves, Wednesday, Hull, Forest, etc. If we didn't change things up, we'd have stood absolutely no chance of competing this season. This whole new set-up is a bold move from the club, to give us the best chance of promotion both on and off the pitch. Would anyone have been comfortable if we'd kept things as they were, and given Irvine or another 3rd rate British manager another £7m to spend on unnecessary wingers? Or perhaps we should have kept hold of Jacob and Howson, then re-signed Turner and Whittaker for another season because we had no money to sign anyone better? Or would people have been more comfortable if we'd replaced Neil with some a manager from the 18th century and played brutalist hoofball? I never realised before that the league was decided in August!
