Are Ipswich more effective without Cole Skuse?

Just seen this article in the Green Un:

http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-...ffective-without-cole-skuse-discuss-1-5266133

I've been saying this for quite a while now (basically since he's been at the club). We look a far better more cohesive attacking team without him in it. He doesn't support the team enough when we're on the ball for a central midfielder, he's just happy to break up play and then think his job is done, if you want that from a player put them a CB!! For me Skuse epitomises everything about Micks reign at Ipswich

 

Yes!

No more to be said.

 

Definitely, the man's a passenger, it like playing with 10 men every week, second half on Saturday was much more free flowing without his slow paced play

 

An article obviously intended to provoke debate (and wind up Mick which may be self defeating given the cussed nature of the man).

Whilst I have been critical of Skuse and the anti-football we seem to play under his/Mick's guidance I have also previously acknowledged that a Skuse type of player is needed in most teams.Skuse's ability to read the game and break up play has its value but it then needs someone to take the ball off him and initiate more creative play.The low point for me was when we fielded both Skuse and Douglas and then any attempt to be creative went right out the window.

Where the real problem lies is the fact that apart from the defence invariably wanting to lump the ball forward,if anyone has come back to collect the ball from them,more often than not it has been Skuse and he then has very little clue what to do with it.At the start of this season it was looking like Dozell would take up this role but injury has cut his season short.Nydam also looks willing to do so,so there is some hope.

 

I'm in not doubt that clubs need players to do that job but alot of the time he doesn't even offer himself for the ball to take it off the back 4 or playing a supporting role in attack which is why alot of the time our players hoof the ball because there are a lack of options. The thing is he could do that as I do think he's a good player he's just got quite a negative mindset. He should be the player in our team who dictates the tempo of the game.

To be fair he's not the only one not to demand the ball or offer themselves for it but he seems to do it less so that others. You say about the youngsters changing it but I think they're only doing it at the moment because they're yet to have it coached out of them by McCarthy

 

Matt Holland was fantastic in that Midfield role and he had a great engine in getting up and down the pitch. We haven't had a player of his quality since sadly! The legend is the best Box to Box player I have ever seen and 30+ goals from Midfield tells its own story. TWTD!

 

Good question.

I went to an evening with the man himself - nice lad, happy to pose for photos etc.

Regarding his ability, he's capable of a lot more. He admitted to us he does exactly what asked by Mick. Mick doesn't want there to be any chance of Cole losing the ball. Cole is more than capable of 30 / 35 yard passes, however whoever plays this role for us will do less than they are capable of doing.

I went to our first ever win without him in the side at Huddersfield 15/16 - 1-0.

Clearly we're miles better going forward without him though! When he doesn't play we are, however more open!

I honestly don't know - at least we don't have Skuglus though.............

 

My comment on discussions like these are that if Skuse could do all the things we wish he could.. then he wouldn't be playing in the Championship. He is an average midfielder in an average championship side and if he was dictating matches week in week out he'd have been playing in Premier League.

He is decent at doing the basics, though I do agree that he could show a lot more, which is where the debate into Mick's tactics come to the fore.. But in defence of the guy, there have been a few games where he's looked good and showed control.. He certainly looks better with willing runners around him as he can spread the ball around at times, but asking him to be a bombastic all action midfielder he aint.. (as we saw alongside Dougie last season)

 

Mick is the problem, not Skuse.
Different manager with different instruction would make Cole play better than he does.
As others have said, I've seen him play some lovely forward passes but they are few and far between and I think that's Mick's fault.

 

Completely agree SD, it's not Skuse's ability that annoys me there have been less talented players play in the PL.

Back in the days of Matt Holland we didn't really have defensive midfielders we had centre mids who did a bit of everything and that seemed to work not this broken tactic which Mick often plays where one player sits and another basically tries to take the whole team on and do everything it makes for a very unbalanced team.

I quite like Hyam as a defensive midfielder, he is someone who has limited ability but he's tenacious and can set a the tempo in this way aswell.

Like you say SD I don't see it changing whilst Mick is here. One thing is for sure Skuse is probably the most frustrating player I've seen at Ipswich

 

I think he has quite a lot of competition in that category just in the last decade..

Douglas, Nouble, Priskin, Martin, Delaney, Chopra (More hatred than frustration), Bullard, Norris, Reo-Coker and JET are just a few that instantly spring to mind

 

Skuse' single most irritating trait is when one of our defenders has the ball,he runs back towards them accepts the ball and then pings it straight back,without any thought of turning upfield despite the lack of an opponent within 30 yards.What do you expect next Cole?Oh yeah,they lump it upfield over everyone's head!

Other current players irritating habits:

Smith letting high balls bounce before he'll deal with them

Some of Bart's kicking,either straight to the opposition or into touch

Knudsen's long throws (thankfully fewer these days)

Ward running towards a player as if to tackle them and then just standing off

I really am becoming a grumpy,intolerant old man!

 

It will be interesting to see when we have a full squad who'll be our first choice midfield.
You have Skuse, Ward, Adeyami, Huws, Bishop, Downes and Nydam (And that's not including Waghorn, Bru and Hyam)

 

...and Dozzell longer term too.

 

There are many frustrating players some of those names were just plain rubbish (Delaney) or lacked interest/consistency (pretty much the rest) but for me Skuse is the most frustrating because he just shows a complete lack of intent

 

I get really peed off with some of our tactics. Considering we're probably considered a long ball/direct team we seem to try and play football at pointless times:

1. I cannot understand why when we get a freekick in the opposition half we don't just pump it into the box. I'm all for playing nice tippy tappy football but when you get the chance to get the big boys up put it in the box or at least take a quick free kick. We seem to hang around wait for the opposition to get back into position then play it short and it inevitably goes back to our defenders and we then hoof it up.

2. Again I'm all for GKs playing it short to our defenders but what's the point in hanging around waiting for the opposition to get back into position then pass it too our CB's who have a couple of passes between themselves, have a lack of midfield options (as noone is showing for the ball) so they inevitably pass it back to the GK who hoofs it up the pitch!! Why don't you just hoof it up the pitch in the first place and save our defenders passing it between themselves. That's what pees me off the complete lack of intent or desire to test the opposition

 

I think there's some great options in there it's just a shame our tactics probably won't get the best out of them and they will quite often be by-passed. At the moment it doesn't matter much about what team Mick picks if the tactics are the same we're going to see the same performances

 

Delaney was toilet at LB for us, however has proved to be a good prem CB for many a year since.....

Tommy Smith LOVES a bounce. Too risky / slow / better without that liability.

 

Delaney was toilet for us at CB also. I actually can't think of a worse CB than him

 

Yeah donkey Delaney, absolutely hated the guy, he'd make my eleven least favourite Town players ever!