After last night's wake up call I'm beginning to wonder if MW has somehow stumbled across 12 or 13 players that are a good unit and with several young players coming into the form of their lives at the same time BUT beyond this group the club has only the level of player resources that we all expected before the season started, i.e. very limited. I base this on the abject failure of all three subs last night to have any kind of impact on the game. Nearly every one of Kane's touches gifted the ball to the opposition, Amos again looked to be playing several divisions above his level and Pugh was so anonymous I'd almost forgotten he'd come on by the final whistle. It remains a complete mystery why the in-form BOS was left on the bench of course but the point still stands: what do our prospects look like when the injuries inevitably kick in?
Strength in depth?
- Thread starter QPAAAAAGH
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I did not go to the game however I would like to voice an opinion.
Whilst I agree that maybe MW does have a fav 12 or 13 players, we should still be utilising the whole squad. Pugh is a solid reliable pro that (I think should be given a run in the team. The front players Hugill, Wells, Eze, Chair, - two are young pros that may need a rest (whether being dropped from the starting 11 to come on as impact sub) might just need mixing. BOS is someone that I think has improved a lot since we signed him might just need an extended run but the young Spurs and Man City loanees are players that have come to us for experience.
We do have a good blend might the keepers have been mixed a bit - I think that maybe two games in quick succession might mean more rotating of the team.
We are doing better than many of us expected - however I do hope that we are not expecting too much and that maybe mid table should be what we are aiming for.
Whilst I agree that maybe MW does have a fav 12 or 13 players, we should still be utilising the whole squad. Pugh is a solid reliable pro that (I think should be given a run in the team. The front players Hugill, Wells, Eze, Chair, - two are young pros that may need a rest (whether being dropped from the starting 11 to come on as impact sub) might just need mixing. BOS is someone that I think has improved a lot since we signed him might just need an extended run but the young Spurs and Man City loanees are players that have come to us for experience.
We do have a good blend might the keepers have been mixed a bit - I think that maybe two games in quick succession might mean more rotating of the team.
We are doing better than many of us expected - however I do hope that we are not expecting too much and that maybe mid table should be what we are aiming for.
I think we have a very good squad, the best I can remember for a long time. Amos looked class in the opener against stoke but then picked up an injury. Pugh cant get a start due to the form of Eze and Chair. Kane hasn't impressed me yet but I certainly wont be judging on a handful of games. The strength in depth is what impresses me the most about what warburton has done on such limited resources
Our bench always strikes me as fairly strong with good options all over, certainly better than the last couple of years
We do seem to have 2 players for each position and the quality does appear to be better than previous seasons.......most positions can be covered without resorting to playing players out of position.....
I have more confidence in the set up these days than I've had for a good while.....no doubt we will have injuries and suspensions but I feel we can cope....
I have more confidence in the set up these days than I've had for a good while.....no doubt we will have injuries and suspensions but I feel we can cope....
I'm not sure what combination of our best eleven is? Unusual for me as I use to try and post our 'spine' and best eleven on the matchday threads. Can't do it with this group and going by our league position we must have strength in depth.
The dilemma for me is do we go with a three at the back or a flat back four? What is our best centre back pairing? What is our centre/holding midfield pairing? Do we play one there or two? I think we need to play both Wells and Hugill up top as they are both scoring. If only one of them which one? We also need to play Manning and Eze whenever possible. This is my initial draft but it's completely out of kilter and doesn't accommodate Chair and has Manning in a more forward position.
The dilemma for me is do we go with a three at the back or a flat back four? What is our best centre back pairing? What is our centre/holding midfield pairing? Do we play one there or two? I think we need to play both Wells and Hugill up top as they are both scoring. If only one of them which one? We also need to play Manning and Eze whenever possible. This is my initial draft but it's completely out of kilter and doesn't accommodate Chair and has Manning in a more forward position.
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Think we are really in need of a new CB in January with some pace about him. I don't know if Masterson has pace or not, but Hall, BFG, Barbet, and Cameron don't, and we are losing too many goals against from balls played in behind them and wide behind our backs, who push forward a lot and, other than Kane, aren't too quick either. Think we probably need an upgrade on the Keepers too if we are going to stay in contention in the top half of the League.
Does Wallace have any pace I wonder? I thought he was meant to be MW's key buy in the summer (experienced defender, worked together extensively in the past, etc) but he still seems no closer to getting a start after recovering from injury. I know left back is a very specialised job in most squads but do we have to wait for Manning to lose form or get injured before he gets a look in? Perhaps he's not that good?
My opinion is that we do have a good core team, and I think we have quite good back ups too (Ball and BOS look good; Hall can be excellent when fit, Wallace can be excellent cover from all I have read. Amos started really well until his injury, so hoping he comes back strong. )
Less good
Kane looked really really poor on Tuesday
Pugh has not impressed since the first couple of games that cup matches he was very good in.
Smith has not played since getting scalped versus Swansea
Mlakar has not looked anything at all
Finally:- Masterson is definately bought for the future, so I do not expect him to play in the first team before January
My two big problems is
1. Not sure we have a goalie that is equal in quality to the rest of the team
2. I am not sure what our best formation is, and whether it differs home and away
The teams that do well , do not swap and change, they have a core and some players that can come in and do the same.
I am not sure that we are far off that..
Less good
Kane looked really really poor on Tuesday
Pugh has not impressed since the first couple of games that cup matches he was very good in.
Smith has not played since getting scalped versus Swansea
Mlakar has not looked anything at all
Finally:- Masterson is definately bought for the future, so I do not expect him to play in the first team before January
My two big problems is
1. Not sure we have a goalie that is equal in quality to the rest of the team
2. I am not sure what our best formation is, and whether it differs home and away
The teams that do well , do not swap and change, they have a core and some players that can come in and do the same.
I am not sure that we are far off that..
I have the impression, may well be wrong, that players like Pugh, Amos, Mlakar will be better when they get more game time. I thought Pugh and Amos were good in their first games for us, and Mlakar looked like he could be.
He has a good rep
Would like to see him get a run
As Arrrrghhh said, he was Warburtons go to guy
Maybe he's the clean sheet grit we are flaying around for
Maybe
Would like to see him get a run
As Arrrrghhh said, he was Warburtons go to guy
Maybe he's the clean sheet grit we are flaying around for
Maybe