Ease up on Redders, guys. The problem we've got is that we can't kill off games, so the opposition are always hitting us hard to get the equaliser/winner. If Redders had this team, plus McContract & Smith (or potent strikers of their ilk), then we'd be flying. We don't, and we're not. All of our coaches have been severely hampered this year by our Peseident trying to introduce 15 players into a squad. Bad enough if they were all english & used to the Championship - even worse when they're not. Like ours weren't. And before we criticise Cellino for the 15 players, remember the alternative - retaining or signing old, useless journeymen, Got to give Redders a strike force & another year to prove himself.
Got to give Redders his p45 and pray that whoever is running the club brings in a proper manager/ head coach. We were lucky to win yesterday, how many times have we said that since Christmas? Wake up and smell the coffee.
I said as long ago as January and repeated yesterday that we were better in possession, but we have no decent strikers and our midfield is **** at getting the ball back or closing down.
The problem goes deeper than Redfearn, that's the issue. I keep seeing people say we should be doing better with this squad, but I'm not sure how anyone can make that conclusion. We are hopelessly unbalanced. A first team squad of over 30 players and only one could possibly be described as a natural winger, and he hasn't played a game all season and barely constitutes a footballer (Aidy White, for those who didn't pick up on the clues). One third of those players are central midfielders. Twelve are in their first season of English football. We have full backs being pressed into service as emergency wingers and centre halves playing full back. The players available suit a diamond in midfield - we tried to persist with it but the results were getting increasingly dire. Redders stumbled across a formation that offers more protection vs Sunderland, was given a leader in Bamba and results pick up a bit, but he knows as well as we do that we don't really have the players to pull this formation off. Is he a master tactician? Not by any stretch of the imagination, but he's kept us away from relegation and before Christmas that's all any of us would've realistically wanted. He's getting the best out of Byram, Mowatt and Cook (I know LL doesn't rate him and that's fair enough, but I'm sure most would agree he's playing remarkably well for a 17 year old), he's given Taylor a chance (perhaps due to a lack of options after losing Warnock, but still) and he's revitalised Murphy. Redfearn is not perfect by any means but he's done a decent job, all things considered. Cellino bought players he liked rather than players we actually needed, meaning the squad is lopsided. We knew (and Cellino must've seen) from last season that the diamond didn't really work. Admittedly neither did the wingers, but you can't really call Cameron Stewart a footballer and I don't think any of us expected Kebe to be quite so bad. If Cellino's going to make the signings he has to give the coach the options to change things around tactically. The players we have only suit one formation, and our persistence with it coincided with our worst run of the season. It's not entirely fair to judge Redfearn until he has the right players in place. Oh and if anyone says 'Adryan can play wide! Doukara can play wide! Montenegro can play wide!' how about we focus on building a squad where we don't have to continually play players out of position? It's bad enough seeing Wootton at RB when Berardi's available, but at least Wootton's there on merit. I'm not sure he's the man to take us up, and if there are better options available I'd be tempted to go with one, but I wouldn't trust Cellino not to go with another Hockaday or Milanic. Redfearn's done okay so far. Not great, but not bad.
Kiwi, do completely agree with an unbalanced squad however isn't Montenegro legitimately a winger who can also play as a striker, a bit like a certain max gradel? And Adryan actually started his career as a left sided winger, it was only Cellino that described him as being perfect in the number 10 role. I respect what redfearn has done. Results wise, no one can complain about the run post christmas but he does not use his squad and it shows imo.
