Following on from yesterdays performance,I can't help but think that when you compared the Blackpool bench with ours Ollie had the trump card. I still feel there is room in the squad for Earnie and he would have been the perfect foil when Miller was subbbed.I keep hearing others say he's lost his main asset which was his pace probably due to his age.Personally I can't see it and I think Phillips proved what an old head can bring you in the final fifteen of a game.If Earnie is no longer part of the plans down CCS then there is no alternative striker and we MUST bring in a decent back up to Miller.
Things looked good up front earlier on in the season. Miller, Earnie, Gestede and the so promising Mason seemed to suggest we'd be OK in that department. Things have changed. Whilst Mason continues to impress, Rudy seems injury prone and looks very languid when he returns to the side when fit. Maybe he isn't really fit at all and is being pressed into service too early. Whatever, he is no insurance policy to keep us up there if Miller is out. As far as Earnie is concerned, he doesn't seem to figure im MM's thinking these days, so he's out of the frame. I don't think he should have come back at all to be honest. He was brought in as a fan pleaser before Malky got his feet under the table, and is now probably paying the price. Agreed Bobby - a quality front man should be high on Malky's loan list and they don't come cheap. Having said that, the Malaysians have demonstrated their willingness to put up cash with the gazumped £3M bid we allegedly made for Sordell.
Clearly in the minority then. I think had Earnie been on the bench Miller would have gone off a lot sooner as the poor guy looked knackered.For me,it just reinforces that Malky didn't have the confidence in his bench to make the Miller change earlier.
There is no real comparison between Earnie and Phillips. Phillips is a far better all round footballer. If we had Phillips hed probably start. Earnie has lost the pace he had. Hes still a good finisher (not as good as Phillips though). However id take our sub Mason over Taylor-Fletcher any day.
Earnie has had it - pace gone and he has never had the close control needed to run the channels and play others in so cannot lead the line. He is a fox in the box nowadays and nothing more. For that to be effective we need to get the ball running lose around the six yard line, not one of our strengths. Millar does look tired and needs support. I agree that Rudy is probably still not match fit and even when he came on we resorted to just lumping the ball up to him instead of the patient was we normally build our attacks. I don't think Mackie or Smith on loan are the answers so hopefully Malky has someone else in mind - and I don't mean Bothroyd either.