Couple of things to go on record before I start: 1. I really rate Fox and think he is one of our best 2. Hoolahan's goal yesterday was brilliant - even better when I saw the replays on tv However..... Am I the only one who thinks that whilst they are both good players we cannot play both at the same time, particularly if the rest of the midfield contains Surman. For me we had too many "strollers" and not enough ball winners in the midfield and consequently were over-run by the bottom club (who in fairness played very well). We did not seem to get any grip on the midfield until they had equalised and we had brought on Pilks and Bennett. I thought we got our shape all wrong - their stand out player is Moses and our formation lacked the width to give Naughton enough cover. I did think he had a decent game as did Whitbread and Ruddy and I thought the skipper worked really hard for the team but I don't think that anyone else starting in the team could say they had a decent game. I was really disappointed with Jackson who had three decent opportunities where he chose to blaze over when he could have passed to someone in a better position - maybe it's a confidence thing but i think that in his position Holt and Morrison would have had the awareness to make a better decision. Despite this slight moan we are in a much better position than we could have hoped for and there are so many poor teams around and below us that even after this blip we could still end up with a top half finish which would be magnificent.
was not the best performance obviously , I felt Surman and Wes were treading the same ground and was dissapointed we did not start with Bennett as I felt Holty didnot get a look in and without the width we were left lumping a few balls up the park to try and get out of defence as the centre was packed, thought Jacko worked hard but rarely got the ball to his feet, but hey this happens, sure we all learnt from that and move on; am on my first away trip next week with my boys to see us muller Newcastle and get the result that takes us to 40 pts and if that dont happen I will still be smiling as I know we are good for another year in the PL anyway!
An interesting thought. I would rather have both of them in the team than not. Fox is by far our best defensive midfielder and Wes's commitment to the cause yesterday was epic, he was everywhere. I'm not sure Crofts inclusion as a ball winner worked. He did okay in fits and starts, but Wigan were simply better through midfield than us on the day. I totally agree about not using Surman alongside Hoolahan though, would have liked to seen Pilks from the start, for his pace if nothing else.
I agree Jarrold - Wes and Surman seemed to be tracking each other rather than the opposition. It was crying out for some width as the middle of the park became very congested and we gave the ball away too quickly, too often. We only really gained some shape after Benno and Pilks came on and that co-incided with our best spell of the game even though we were lucky at the end when Diame blazed over. We were off our game completely yesterday but fair play to Wigan who played well I thought and their movement up front was sharp and varied - good job for us they can't finish !! I see it as a point gained and a point nearer staying in the PL !
Can't add much to that, another disappointing performance. Once again we let their forwards run at our defence without anyone going out to tackle them? Well done Wigan, glad to see your not giving up. ILD OTBC
.......exactly, we gave them far too much room, remember what sunderland did to us? gave us no room to play and totally negated our midfield. we allowed wigan to dictate most of the match.
Surely Fox is meant to be the creative part of the midfield? As a defender he couldn't tackle an overdue gas bill. I am happy for him to sit in the centre circle knocking passes for his team mates but when he just backs off their attacks because he can't or won't tackle he just allows the rest of their midfield to join in. I really think we should be tackling higher up the pitch. Hoolahoops and Surman is possibly not the best mix but the little feller had me up and down yesterday. He will lose it in our half of the pitch and when everyone is pushing out it leaves us vulnerable. Apart from that I thought after Ruddy he was our best player.
After watching the game highlights, what would be on the shopping list for the summer is a better quality midfield enforcer than for example Bradley Johnson, with pace as well. Someone to help break up play when pacey midfielders are running at us. Well, that would be nice. We have enough creativity / wide men in fox, Wes, pilks, Bennett, surman and howson This for me is a key area for the summer - Wigan, and other teams just ran at us a lot Through the middle
