I know I've banged on about this since before Christmas and make no apologies for raising it yet again, but Malky's perseverance with Helguson in this team is costing us. He is too slow over the ground, even slower off the mark, no idea how to use his feet to beat an opponent, and even less idea how to use them to score a goal. Apart from his historic heading ability (and it IS historic now), he offers nothing upfront for this team of ours. For all the good Malky has done gathering and nurturing this excellent squad, he is squandering points with his persistence in using this old warhorse. We were all over them last night but hadn't scored. Malky's answer - take Mason off and stick Helga up there instead. Then he brought on Whitts who is tailor made to supply the likes of Mason with the channel balls they need - NOT bloody Heidi who wouldn't know a channel if he swam it!! I get so frustrated that we fail to capitalise on the superior skills within our squad, and persist with dinosaur tactics. With such a dominance as last night, I'd have even brought on Noone to open them up in place of say Smithy - when I saw Helguson stand up on the touchline in front of me, I could have wept.
With you on this Sparky. Either HH has something in his contract theat states he must be involved in x amount of games or MM is too worried about not getting promoted he's putting players he thinks are more defensive. I have no idea but Whitts needs to be left off the bench as he's done nothing in his sub appearances, he's probably knackered or carrying an injury, who knows? But hasn't performed for awhile. Personally I think MM needs to grow some and put out an attacking side and go for it. If we fail this year at least he could say he played attacking football to the end. Still gobsmacked we only got one goal last night!
We were saying the same as you Sparks. We wanted Noone on for the last twenty as no one else seemed capable of beating his man. I am also sick of our tactics of scoring one goal then stop playing and run away into our own half for the remainder of the match. We were playing against a very limited Barnsley team ffs not Barcelona.
Agree 100%...IF (and I mean IF) he had to play Whitts....surely he should have left Joe on. Whitts & HH = NO NO.
I echo everything already said in this thread. Can't even be asked to go into the minutiea of that second half debarcle. Only positive last night was seeing Barnett emerge as another solid defence option.
I was impressed with Barnett. He had their strikers in his pocket all night. He also knows when the ball needs to despatched into row Z.
Let's face it HH is past it. But that was not the only surprise in last night's team. What is with MM and Noone. I understand why he might not want him to play in away games due to defensive frailties but of late he hasn't even featured on the bench. Why? If we go a goal down we need someone with pace to open things up. But why he doesn't play in home games is even more of a mystery. Last night is a case in point. Last night would have been ideal for him as we desperately needed someone to actually beat his man. One goal is never enough as we always seem to sit back until the inevitable happens. Mason wasn't that effective either but the alternative of HH was even worse. HH and Smith must be the two slowest players in the league and it is not on to have only one player with pace - Bellamy - in the side. The game was set up for Noone to at least play for the last 25 minutes. Barnett was a positive at least but he has one game left. Mutch was also good and is beginning to show that he is likely to become a player of genuine quality. This was a game we should have won but yet again team selection has been poor.
I was mystified by the subbing of Kimbo with Whitts. We lost all our pace, zest and ideas as soon as that happened. Barnsley didn't know if they were coming or going with him. I assume Malky thought the game was won and rested him for Saturday. Their midfield looked about a foot taller each and 2 yards faster when they saw Whitts coming on and our marking in the hole in front of our back four became non existent. Before Whitts came on, Noone was being briefed in the dugout. Why they changed that I don't know. Perhaps Kimbo had a knock? Although he went to the bench not down the tunnel for treatment. Got to hope Campbell is back for Saturday. I know most on here like and rate Mason but as I have said before he is not strong enough to play up on his own. He gets sidelined and knocked off the ball too easily and wins little in the air. He needs to play alongside a stronger striker who can take the knocks and play him in. I am pretty sure the same criteria applies to Velikonja. Ironically, Helguson got himself in position for 4 chances, 2 headers and 2 shots (including the one on one miss) so the principle of bringing him on wasn't wrong, just the practical application. Has he been having lessons from Kev in strikes on goal? For the one on one I was screaming for him to take it around the keeper who commited himself quite early but so few players do that nowadays (oh for a Jimmy Greaves) and of course Helguson would not have backed his own pace to do that. On to Saturday which will be a tough one. I'm sure Forest's poisoned dwarf will have his side well up for that. However, 3 points for us and we will feel much better about ourselves again.
I'm not confident of us turning over the scabies on Saturday and fear a loss. Forest's last six games : WWWDDD Prepare for the worst hope for the best. Get fit soon Frazier.
Agreed that the tactics of HH coming on were OK. He provided another big aerial threat, won his first header from a long throw. We then managed to get the ball to Turner from a corner. The extra 'problem' of having to mark HH may have helped that. He definately should have scored his header and his one on one. To miss both was incredible. I honestly hope that's the last time we see HH in a City shirt. Thanks for the efforts up to November but you can retire now. Witts was shocking. His body language was that of a grumpy teenager rather than a player proving the manager wrong. We lost all control when Kimbo went off. If we were bringing on Witts why not instead of Mutch and let him play a bit higher up the park, also keeping thereby keeping the superb Kimbo on the pitch.
Sorry Stevo, but the "tactic", if that what it was, of bringing Helguson on was way off the mark. He adds nothing to the side but "presence", and Parkin could have done that. They were back pedalling and looking for the point before we scored - once we'd notched one, we sat back and let hem come at us. True, they had to, but that is just the time they are at their most vulnerable. Having brought Helguson on, he was left like a stranded whale, but even a stranded whale could have scored at least two of those chances. We had no pace in the side to stretch them at the back. Noone and Kimbo were the obvious choices to get the clinching goal rather than Helguson and Whitts - Conway for Smithy was also 20 minutes late happening. I don't know what it is about Malky that makes me doubt him tactically, but last night turned the screw a bit more.
Copied from my earlier comment: - "Before Whitts came on, Noone was being briefed in the dugout. Why they changed that I don't know. Perhaps Kimbo had a knock? Although he went to the bench not down the tunnel for treatment." It would be interesting to know why the tactic was changed but, as ever, we probably never will.
I agree. The problem is Malky stands by our position in the league. If we had selected the team throughout the season then one can suppose we would be 30 points clear by now? If we had selected the team how could we explain away a draw or a loss? jck
jck - why do you always sign your posts jck? We know who you are. Back to the thread. There are always 20,000 managers in the stands at every game at the CCS, but only one on the touchline. It's ultimately only what he does that counts - that shouldn't stop those 20.000 in the stands having an opinion. If you took a concensus, I reckon most would have done somewhat differently last night. Of course, if Helguson had scored a brace as he easily should have, we'd be praising Malky right now - BUT HE BLOODY WELL DIDN'T and we dropped 2 points that we shouldn't have. Hey ho - onwards and upwards.
i've yet to see the highlights so haven't seen hh through on goal but as i was listening to it on the radio i knew he wouldn't score, thats when i got nervous. maybe its the same for the players (particularly defenders) when they see a 'striker' miss in a one on one which is their bread and butter they think, 'ah cheers thats made my job harder' thus they aren't at full potential. hh and whitts not to play until we are mathematically up... bet they both start on saturday
I stand by what I said Sparks. From MM's point of view the hatrick HH should have had proves the 'type' of player he is worked. I personally would have stopped wasting a place on the bench on HH since January but last night was lost due to woeful finishing not poor management. Anyone one of those 3 very easy chances go in and we stroll to the 3 points. I was saying in the stands that I thought Witts could make a difference last night. The game was spread, space everywhere, loads of time in the centre of the pitch. A remotely on form Witts would have controlled those 20 minutes with ease. What we got was a shell of the player we have all seen in the past, it's very worrying why one of our previous star performers doesn't currently deserve a place on the bench. I'm sure Ralls could have done a better job if he'd been given that chance last night. IF he's sulking he needs to open his eyes because Kimbo and Mutch are showing what's actual required in terms of work rate, energy and most of all wanting the ball!
