Yes, we should have been 'out of sight' by half time and as I said on the MDT, we need to get more players in the box when we have possession (even ONE would be better than the none we sometimes have!!! I'd like to see Basil and Pritchard given more of a chance to show what they can do and I guess their only chance is going to be against Leeds in the EFL cup on 25th Oct.
I think for a long time many people were sat on the fence as to whether AN was the right manager to get us promoted to the PL and keep us there. Personally I lost confidence in him towards the later part of the PL season, but was still happy to keep him and sat on the fence for a long time. I like many on here think he has some very good qualities, but equally he has some flaws. My biggest concern with him is not that he makes mistakes, he is a young manager and that is to be expected, but I'm not convinced he has the ability to learn from experience or if he's just too stubborn. I'm also concerned whether he's able to make effective tactical decisions and to change tactics when necessary, again he will make mistakes which isn't a problem for me as long as he learns from them. Part of being tactically aware is only using tactics that you have the players to implement. So whilst you could argue that the decision to go defensive at Newcastle may or may not have been an appropriate decision in general, AN knew or should known from experience that there was a very significant risk that we wouldn't hold out as our defence in general and our CB pairing in particular have shown in the past that they don't have the necessary character / ability. So possibly the right tactic if you had the players with the necessary qualities on the field, but we didn't. I also have concerns about his ability to get the best from our players, far too many of our players for most of this season have not played to their fully potential, a couple I accept could be down to individual players, but for me too many are falling short so I believe it's a management issue. I don't pretend to know why as an outsider, but things like playing square pegs in round holes, team tactics, leadership on the pitch, favoritism, decision making and man management are general areas that may explain things. Can AN make difficult decisions, sometimes I think yes, but other times I feel he may shy away from them. I still don't understand why Martin is team Captain, particularly as he shouldn't as far as I'm concerned be one of the first names on the team sheet. But it is clear that when Klose plays he organises and leads the defence much better than Martin does. I not sure why he isn't captain and the only explanation I can find is that AN doesn't want to make the difficult decision. We can argue if our current position represents our true level ie we're second but do our performances really suggest we're the second best team in the division. But we are second and as far as amassing points goes we're doing really well, so I think he has more time, I don't think anyone is seriously suggesting that we change him now, however a bit like the team his performance doesn't really match what he's currently achieving. So all to play for, but I would say even if he does manage to get us promoted I'm far from convinced he has the ability to keep us in the PL. If we start to drop off the points needed for a promotion challenge and / or he doesn't get us promoted then I think the club should grasp the nettle and look at other options.
Great post and enough debating points raised there to see us through the international break, CC. H reckons Ja Murphy was shot up at St James park so that's why he was withdrawn. Fair enough, don't want to injure the lad. But by making the change he did, we spent the remainder of the game camped in our 6 and 18 yard area - which can only [and did] end up one way Had he brought Josh on instead, that would have forced a few black and white shirts back to the halfway line and alleviated the onslaught which was entirely of his own making. And blow me down if he didn't replicate that self-same move yesterday, (bringing a third CB on late in the game) having clearly not learned a squeak from his error of three days earlier Fortunately, the personnel at Wolves were able to manage the situation and see the game out - but PHEW!!
I remember there was a poll on here and in the PinkUn as to who should be captain this season and the vast majority voted for Klose, but no, AN perseveres with Martin – WHY??? I still believe Bennett offers more than Martin as a CB anyway. Certainly, we are 2nd in the Championship, as a result of points won and unless we get hit by a spate of injuries, I would expect us to be no worse than in the play-offs come May. I don't think some of our playes have played to their full potential, but I've seen glimpses of it in the last 2 games. As was mentioned on another thread, we’d £13M of our summer signings on the bench yesterday – are they ever going to get their chance other than in the EFL cup?? If not, why sign them?? Great post Cromer.
Some great posts on here as people make their views known and that's what's great about a message-board discussion. My view is slightly different and that will be no surprise to some. My view is that AN has been right more than he's been wrong. We wouldn't be in 2nd place if that wasn't true, but some see that as just chance and that it won't last. I go by results, and not just ours. Newcastle played Wolves at SJP just before we played them, and they lost 2-0. They were shaken by that and came into our match with them determined to put that right. They started like a house on fire and we defended, ably to my mind. They scored and we could have weakened, but instead we leveled by half-time by seizing the initiative after AN made subtle tactical changes. We then went 3-1 up and had them worried before they got one back with an over the top ball that should have been defended. With 20 minutes left, AN decided to reinforce the defence and I for one was glad. It should have been enough but it wasn't because the players didn't do their job in the final two minutes. Yes, he could have put Josh on for Jacob, but if that didn't work many on here would be dismissing him as naive. In the end, the players had to defend the box for 2 minutes and they didn't. How can that be the manager's fault? Just to emphasize the fact, we then moved on to beat Wolves at Molineux by dominating possession and winning 2-1, and it could have been more. That against the very team which had comfortably beaten Newcastle at SJP 2-0. It isn't all about one result.
Excellent Post Rick and I agree that when posters add comments and then back up their comment with valid points is what makes this forum so interesting and so far, I don't remember anyone 'throwing their toys out of the pram' or founcing off because another poster haas dared to have a different point of view. The form guide is also VERY initeresting and if you take Newcastle's 6-0 thrashing of KooPeeAArgh out of the equation, our goals for and GD is pretty impressive!!! Especially when you consider that we have amassed 15 points out of a possible 18.
The more I think about the more I think Dorset shouldn't waste his quid. I think Brentford or Reading standing a really good chance of finishing in the top 6, maybe both.
Anyone prepared to leave a club who are currently top, to join an outfit in 19th with an appalling recent track record of hiring and firing whenever the mood takes them would have more than one screw loose!
What on earth is going on? All the threads seem to be olduns accept the stickies. Is that just for me or is the site having a proper paddy? Bah!
The form guide is really interesting, Braveheart. Imagine what it'd look like if we had defended the box against Newcastle and come out winners!
