In his press conference today Kit said, Amorebieta, and Hoogland are making good progress but Sean Kavanagh is still out. Scotty Parker has recovered though and in the squad. Probably for the first time since he took over formally, Kit really has a conundrum. He’s got pretty much a full house to pick from, especially in midfield with Parker fit again, Hyndman back from his World Cup exploits and only Kavanagh missing. Ryan Williams is around as well. Bryan is still with us and McCormack seems to have got over the muscle strain that was bothering him in the Sunderland match. And there’s new boy Richards in the mix. He’s also got to think about chasing the Cup next Tuesday. And he can add to that the fact that’s it’s an away game against a Blackburn side who will be on a high after beating Swansea in their own cup-tie but had a League game last night (lost 2-0 away to Derby). So plenty of key decisions. For this one, I reckon he’ll go more or less for a ‘tried, tested and trusted’ group that will keep it tight, but look to get them on the break: ……………….Bettinelli……………. …Grimmer…Bodurov..Hutchinson…Stafylidis… …………..Tunnicliffe…Parker…. …….LVC…………Kaca…………McCormack ………………..Hugo…… With (for once) a solid bench of - Jazz, Seko, Bryan, George, Emerson and Cauley
That's a bummer, especially if it happened in his last game at the U20 WC tournament. Wonder why on earth the Club haven't said anything.
I'd be quite interested to see how Grimmer played in a defensive mid position, he's got the energy and tackling ability to break things up, he could keep the passing simple ala Dixon Etuhu and give us that bite we've missed. Suspect it won't happen and the team will be as c58 posted, although I'd rather LVC through the middle, Kaca out wide, Roda on the bench and Woodrow starting.
I thought Woodrow played really well at Sunderland. I like the team the Cottager put out. The midfield is very mobile and versatile so they can swap sides and cover etc. Plenty of energy in the squad. Will we see 90 minutes of decent stuff or just the one half?
I'd prefer the midfield diamond - though I'm not sure who plays out of Parker, Tunnicliffe, Kacaniklic, Christiansen and Fofana - in order to accommodate McCormack alongside Hugo or Cauley. Let's not go back to playing our most dangerous striker away from where he can score goals.
Richards in for Grimmer and McCormack takes on the Bryan role. Bettinelli; Richards, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Stafylidis; Parker; Tunnicliffe, Christensen; McCormack; Rodallega, Woodrow Subs: Kiraly, Burn, Grimmer, Fofana, Kačaniklić, Roberts, Dembélé
Listening to Gentleman Jim, lack of composure (McCormack and Woodrow in front of goal) and concentration (Stafylidis in the first place and the defence from the resultant throw-in for the goal) cost us in the first half. Yet again we had the better share of possession (61%) in that first half but I got the impression that we were just so slow in playing the ball in their final third. Was Hugo even playing?? Well obviously, because he got subbed. However, in the hour he was on the pitch I think I heard his name mentioned three times! Then more sloppy defending for their second. However Kaca coming on allowed McCormack to go up front and …. he scored. please log in to view this image And shortly after has one ruled out because Dembele was judged offside. So, does the defeat go down to Kit’s poor team selection in the first place?
I'm recent weeks, when McCormack has played as a proper striker, he has scored. We've got lots of decent options for number 10, but no one remotely as good as him up front. So why does Kit keep playing him out of position? I'm not saying he plays badly in other roles, just that he's most needed as a striker. It may be too simplistic to say we lost because of team selection, but we're hardly helping ourselves.
Of course it was Captain, and badly presented on my part. Indeed it was really a "What if?" reaction. Naturally we'll never know the outcome if McCormack had started up front but the plain fact is that while he was in the middle as part of a flat four, we went two down. Yet as soon as the change is made, he scores. As you say it's not that he plays badly in those other roles. My problem is that he's then all over the place; the others don't seem capable of properly reading his moves, get drawn out of position and we lose shape. Again that's an over simplification or if you like, a generalisation but hopefully you get the drift. My preference is for a solid midfield of three who know their job and keep their discipline - with McCormack doing his running around in the opposition box.
2 really poor goals and as already stated lack of composure on goal. However, Kit's post match comments are getting a bit repetitive. Proud of the players, good shift, played well, we've come a long way in a short space of time...............etc. I agree with these comments as the guys do play well sometimes, there's cohesion and spirit but Blackburn were there for the taking. I seriously think he sets his bar a too low. If he set his standard higher then I think he would get an even better response from the boys. It's like he's being apologetic for the first 2 months of the season, or using it as an excuse for letting teams off the hook. Poor defending cost us and I am a firm believer that Kit is doing a splendid job. But, get tougher Kit. Give them all a right rollicking for appalling defending, if they are a band of brothers then they should all take responsibility. And, this for me is the crux of the issue. Responsibility on the park. No-one in the back four is taking responsibility for their actions. When they do they will do better. I say the players, Kit has to take responsibility too but he will tell them what he wants them to do before the match but he can't be blamed if some go flipping AWOL! 3 points lost, again. We have the players to be contenders for play offs. Rant over.
How do we know that Kit doesn't give the players a rollicking in the dressing room? Just because he doesn't criticise them in public doesn't mean he's being soft with them in house.
We heard him say the defending was poor, no need for him to single players out IMO - bad for morale. Again I'm calling for better defenders, we keep shipping goals.
Ireland, point taken mate, it was a rant at the disappointment of missing out on a point or 3! However, i still stand by my point. How many more games are we going to ship such unnecessary goals. If Kit is unhappy then is that being extended in to training and then on to the pitch? I would have thought the players would have taken his wishes on board and put things right by taking responsibility for the situation. I'm not saying he needs to single people out, they're a team, they all need to take responsibility for their role. Every game there are always unnecessary goals, poor goal, soft goals that we concede.
Awful defending on both goals. Seems that we gave them a good game and with a bit more composure in front of the goal we could have got at least 1 point...
