The Coutts Excuse

[Houston_Blade]

We have undoubtedly missed Coutts since his injury and the form since suggests that with him we’d have done a lot better, however we sound a bit ridiculous now with the “we’d have won the league with Coutts”.

Coutts injury is one factor in the decline since November, however there are other factors that shouldn’t be ignored:

- Lack of squad depth
- Poor form of strikers (simultaneously)
- Lack of ‘plan b’ where needed (apart from bringing loads of forwards on)
- Poor decisions in the JTW and subsequent poor deployment of these signings

There are more, but can we stop with the delusional bollocks about Coutts and where we’d be if he were in the team as it’s supposition?!

As a few have said, we’ve had a relatively successful season compared to expectations. I just hope we now get a few wins to halt the slide as it will mean we start with positive momentum rather than negative.

 

[super_pig]

We have undoubtedly missed Coutts since his injury and the form since suggests that with him we’d have done a lot better, however we sound a bit ridiculous now with the “we’d have won the league with Coutts”.

Coutts injury is one factor in the decline since November, however there are other factors that shouldn’t be ignored:

- Lack of squad depth
- Poor form of strikers (simultaneously)
- Lack of ‘plan b’ where needed (apart from bringing loads of forwards on)
- Poor decisions in the JTW and subsequent poor deployment of these signings

There are more, but can we stop with the delusional bollocks about Coutts and where we’d be if he were in the team as it’s supposition?!

As a few have said, we’ve had a relatively successful season compared to expectations. I just hope we now get a few wins to halt the slide as it will mean we start with positive momentum rather than negative.

we'd have made the playoffs with Couttsy.. we would 'never' have won the league though, who said that? it's idiotic. Wolves have spent a gazillion quid on their team.. we've spent ten bob

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Losing one of your best 3 players to a season ending injury, then another to a serious illness soon after, was always going to have an impact.

Coutts stays fit and Brooks avoids injury and we're at least 10 points better off than where we now.

The other points are valid, but losing Coutts & Brooks was/is massive.

 

[Houston_Blade]

Losing one of your best 3 players to a season ending injury, then another to a serious illness soon after, was always going to have an impact.

Coutts stays fit and Brooks avoids injury and we're at least 10 points better off than where we now.

The other points are valid, but losing Coutts & Brooks was/is massive.

Partly agree, it’s a factor in what’s happened but we have had plenty of time to remedy it and haven’t.

 

[cooperblade]

Lots of small margin things that add up - for example, Fleck doesn't dive into that tackle v Bristol City and we might be a few places higher now.

We'll be a bit wiser next season, the squad will be deeper from Day 1 and hopefully we'll add 2 or 3 important players.

We'll see what happens between now and August but if we don't make it this season, I think we'll have another good go next season.

 

[Superblades]

What’s cost us so far this season is the fact we can’t see games out. Bristol City, Cardiff, Barnsley & Aston Villa off the top of my head. 7 points right there.

 

[wavy-blade]

It wasn't just Coutts , it was Duff and Fleck as well , all 3 together just worked , and everything they did just set the team up , its the fact that we lost one of the three . If we would have kept them together for the season things might have been different !! Hey you never know we might beat Middlesbrough and Millwall and things could pick up again , cant see it though !

 

[DronnieBlade]

Take Cairney out of the Fulham side, see the difference.

The loss of Coutts has been even more massiverer than I could have imagined.

UTB

 

[Bladesman]

We have undoubtedly missed Coutts since his injury and the form since suggests that with him we’d have done a lot better, however we sound a bit ridiculous now with the “we’d have won the league with Coutts”.

Coutts injury is one factor in the decline since November, however there are other factors that shouldn’t be ignored:

- Lack of squad depth
- Poor form of strikers (simultaneously)
- Lack of ‘plan b’ where needed (apart from bringing loads of forwards on)
- Poor decisions in the JTW and subsequent poor deployment of these signings

There are more, but can we stop with the delusional bollocks about Coutts and where we’d be if he were in the team as it’s supposition?!

As a few have said, we’ve had a relatively successful season compared to expectations. I just hope we now get a few wins to halt the slide as it will mean we start with positive momentum rather than negative.

I agree with that. Some of our performances have still been at the same level as they were when Coutts was in the team. I could understand the excuse if Coutts was a 10 goal plus a season attacking midfielder but our problem has been lack of goals not the lack of goal scoring chances.

The thing I would say is that the loss of Coutts hit the moral of the squad BUT this is nothing different to what any other clubs face. A key player gets injured, shit happens. It is how you deal with that matters.

I think the big factor which a lot of people are overlooking is our full backs which I thought was an issue before Coutts got injured. They don't score nor do they create as much as Lafferty or Freeman did last year. 1 goal each this season with a few games left to go is pretty pathetic considering they are meant to be an attacking threat. Throw in the lack of goals from our midfielders and then we are over reliant on our strikers scoring in every match.

Last season Lafferty got 4 goals and Freeman got 8 goals and that is before you throw in the assists they got as well.

Also our set pieces this season have been utter crap especially corners regardless of who takes them. It is not often they beat the first man and I am shocked that we don't appear to have sorted that out on the training ground.

 

[JohnDenver]

Lots of small margin things that add up - for example, Fleck doesn't dive into that tackle v Bristol City and we might be a few places higher now.

We'll be a bit wiser next season, the squad will be deeper from Day 1 and hopefully we'll add 2 or 3 important players.

We'll see what happens between now and August but if we don't make it this season, I think we'll have another good go next season.

Admire the optimism, but i think that depends on player purchases. Next season will see some of our best players a year deeper into their thirties, and we won’t have the same adrenaline fuelled start as this season.

I think we need 4-6 good quality signings to challenge next year. Otherwise I predict a grind.

 

[Eddiecolquhounsleg]

I think it's the lack of goals from midfield that has cost us not simply the injury to Coutts. I don't think we should be overly critical of Clarke and Sharp. They have done their job to a degree but the goals form midfield is woefull. I believe Fleck's goal yesterday was his first since September.

Last season Freeman scored 11 goals. Where would we be now with another 11 goals in the bag. They could have changed losses into draws and draws into wins.

Midfield needs to chip in on a more regular basis and as much as I like Coutts, Duffy and Fleck they need to up their goals to games ratio. The same goes for the wing backs.

I know that losing arguably your best player for the last six months of the season is never going to be good, but we do have other talented players in the side who should be able take up the slack.

Edit. Just seen Bladesman 's post with which I concur

 

[Fulwood Blade]

We had replacements all over squad all except for Coutts.

The flipchart from the Bleacher report program from August 31st clearly showed we didn't get the "cover" for Coutts.

The interesting thing was that the managements cover was Lenny and seeing as Southend held out it never happened. How ironic that from what we have seen with Lenny, it wouldn't have worked anyway. None of the others at the club are a replacement either.

We couldn't afford to lose Coutts - but we did. The settled nature of Fleck & Coutts would surely have created 6/7 or 8 more points than we have now, and therefore comfortably looking forward to the play off games instead of the scrabble for 6th place.

No one will ever know - what we have to do is look at the 2nd half v Barnsley and keep Duffy fit and available for games with the other place being Evans or Lunny to accompany Fleck.

Thought the midfield of Evans/Fleck & Lunny worked well against Cardiff and was solid, but we now can't afford solid and safe - we just have to go for the remaining games.

UTB

 

[Bladesman]

I think it's the lack of goals from midfield that has cost us not simply the injury to Coutts. I don't think we should be overly critical of Clarke and Sharp. They have done their job to a degree but the goals form midfield is woefull. I believe Fleck's goal yesterday was his first since September.

Last season Freeman scored 11 goals. Where would we be now with another 11 goals in the bag. They could have changed losses into draws and draws into wins.

Midfield needs to chip in on a more regular basis and as much as I like Coutts, Duffy and Fleck they need to up their goals to games ratio. The same goes for the wing backs.

I know that losing arguably your best player for the last six months of the season is never going to be good, but we do have other talented players in the side who should be able take up the slack.

Edit. Just seen Bladesman 's post with which I concur

Yeah I got my stats wrong I think Freeman did get more than 10 goals. He has been unlucky with his injuries this season.

You could argue the loss of Freeman is bigger than the loss of Coutts.

 

[Dec]

Losing one of your best 3 players to a season ending injury, then another to a serious illness soon after, was always going to have an impact.

Coutts stays fit and Brooks avoids injury and we're at least 10 points better off than where we now.

The other points are valid, but losing Coutts & Brooks was/is massive.

Do you really think Brooks is one of our best 3 players?

 

[Revolution]

Yeah I got my stats wrong I think Freeman did get more than 10 goals. He has been unlucky with his injuries this season.

You could argue the loss of Freeman is bigger than the loss of Coutts.

Freeman was not scoring when he got injured.

Freeman had a great season last year, but his goal scoring was to a certain extent a small sample size fluke and probably not repeatable higher up. I would be surprised if he gets more than 3 or 4 at the most at this level.

Goals and assists from midfield was for the first time in a long time not a problem last season, but it's come back this year. All of our regulars are poor shots and the standard of crossing, particularly since Christmas, has been appalling. Set pieces have been poor throughout. Happily, some of these things are teachable. We have much to work on in the pre season. I am tired of seeing a corner easily cleared or O'Connell heading it over the bar, tired of seeing our midfielders fail to hit the target from 20 yards, and most of all tired of Enda hitting the first man when he crosses. Hopefully Wilder is tired of these things too and will work on them (or continue to do so - I can't believe, for example, that he thinks the wing backs crossing is acceptable).

 

[metalblade]

Can anyone honestly see us considering the divisions in the boardroom spending the money to bring in even 2-3 quality Championship players ? Much more likely to go with what we have some of whom will be well into their 30's.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Yeah I got my stats wrong I think Freeman did get more than 10 goals. He has been unlucky with his injuries this season.

You could argue the loss of Freeman is bigger than the loss of Coutts.

Really????

Baldock has been one of the best RBs in the Championship this season...

 

[Revolution]

Can anyone honestly see us considering the divisions in the boardroom spending the money to bring in even 2-3 quality Championship players ? Much more likely to go with what we have some of whom will be well into their 30's.

I don't think they'd do it if things were harmonious, yet alone now.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Do you really think Brooks is one of our best 3 players?

At the time of his illness - yes. Had he not got ill and had another 20+ games under his belt - yes.

One upside to all of this, is that his development has been pushed back 6 months so he's more likely to be here next season....

 

[Bladesman]

Freeman was not scoring when he got injured.

Freeman had a great season last year, but his goal scoring was to a certain extent a small sample size fluke and probably not repeatable higher up. I would be surprised if he gets more than 3 or 4 at the most at this level.

Goals and assists from midfield was for the first time in a long time not a problem last season, but it's come back this year. All of our regulars are poor shots and the standard of crossing, particularly since Christmas, has been appalling. Set pieces have been poor throughout. Happily, some of these things are teachable. We have much to work on in the pre season. I am tired of seeing a corner easily cleared or O'Connell heading it over the bar, tired of seeing our midfielders fail to hit the target from 20 yards, and most of all tired of Enda hitting the first man when he crosses. Hopefully Wilder is tired of these things too and will work on them (or continue to do so - I can't believe, for example, that he thinks the wing backs crossing is acceptable).

You have to admit there have been times when Stevens and Baldock could have had a crack on goal themselves and didn't. With our formation the wingbacks need to contribute much more than they do.

 

[Bladesman]

Really????

Baldock has been one of the best RBs in the Championship this season...

Yet he only has 1 goal to his name. My point this both of our wingbacks need to be contributing more.

 

[cooperblade]

Admire the optimism, but i think that depends on player purchases. Next season will see some of our best players a year deeper into their thirties, and we won’t have the same adrenaline fuelled start as this season.

I think we need 4-6 good quality signings to challenge next year. Otherwise I predict a grind.

Completely agree that we need additions. At the start of this season we needed to add depth which we've done over 2 windows.

Now we need to start upgrading the first 11. Get Blackman back on loan and add 2 starters and I'd be delighted.

 

[Rodders]

Admire the optimism, but i think that depends on player purchases. Next season will see some of our best players a year deeper into their thirties, and we won’t have the same adrenaline fuelled start as this season.

I think we need 4-6 good quality signings to challenge next year. Otherwise I predict a grind.

I have to agree. We say “we’re only a couple of players off” - but isn’t that what Preston, Middlesbrough, Brentford etc fans will be saying as well?
The great start was undoubtedly brilliant and we’ve done really well to adapt on the first season back but the reality is we’re about level with around 8-10 teams in this league, all hoping for a bit of luck and an extended run of form to sneak into 5/6th spot come May.

 

[JohnDenver]

I have to agree. We say “we’re only a couple of players off” - but isn’t that what Preston, Middlesbrough, Brentford etc fans will be saying as well?
The great start was undoubtedly brilliant and we’ve done really well to adapt on the first season back but the reality is we’re about level with around 8-10 teams in this league, all hoping for a bit of luck and an extended run of form to sneak into 5/6th spot come May.

If that couple of players both complete 46 appearances and vie for player of the season, whilst the all others maintain their current level....

...then yeah, a couple of players will do us.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Completely agree that we need additions. At the start of this season we needed to add depth which we've done over 2 windows.

Now we need to start upgrading the first 11. Get Blackman back on loan and add 2 starters and I'd be delighted.

Having Coutts and Brooks back will be like two new signings!

As for other targets - We need to pool all our pocket money together and spunk our entire budget on a Number 9!!

 

[ChipButtyBlade]

The Coutts X Files............we will never know how we would have performed (with him) after his injury...........but we do know how we performed before his injury.

 

[super_pig]

I have to agree. We say “we’re only a couple of players off” - but isn’t that what Preston, Middlesbrough, Brentford etc fans will be saying as well?
The great start was undoubtedly brilliant and we’ve done really well to adapt on the first season back but the reality is we’re about level with around 8-10 teams in this league, all hoping for a bit of luck and an extended run of form to sneak into 5/6th spot come May.

every team on the planet is 'a couple of players off'..

 

[Keen Blade]

Can anyone honestly see us considering the divisions in the boardroom spending the money to bring in even 2-3 quality Championship players ? Much more likely to go with what we have some of whom will be well into their 30's.

Yes , but people on here like to dream their dreams !
Anyway , why do we need new players ?
We got 5 in January who were better than what was here (otherwise they wouldn't have been bought).
Presumably they're all starting and performing well ?

 

[Dnblade]

Coutts has definately been a big miss for me...I'm sure we wouldn't have seen him hauled off with 10 minutes of the First Half still remaining for instance...he knitted things together,hardly gave the ball away.
The new lads have been good in some games,but it's taking time for them to get consistency,which is understandable.
Brooks illness came at a time he was playing well...even if it was off the bench,we've missed him running at defenders,as nobody else really offers us that.
Other than that,as has been said,we find it difficult to close out games and miss a lot of chances to put teams away,and concede to many soft goals.
Beat Boro though,and we're still in with a chance.

 

[LS16Blade]

Even before Wilder took the reigns, we were a better side with Coutts in the team. Being one of the Blades who recognised Coutts as, in the gaffer's parlance, 'a proper footballer' right from the off, I merely attach what I posted back in December 2016:



Cerberus Blade is spot on. Losing Coutts wasn't so much about losing a midfielder, it was about losing the team's 'brain'. Of course, you can stick another midfielder in to try to perform the same role (and I think Evans and Lundstrum have at times done reasonably well in Coutts' position) but Coutts is a more intelligent player than anyone else we have in the squad.

Watch how Coutts receives the ball from the defenders on the 'half-turn' because he has already decided where he is going to move the ball; he always dictated the direction of our play and the big part of our success in the first third of the season was that Coutts instinctively knew whether a given attack should be down the left, right or the middle, depending on which area we had an overload on the opposition.

Now, just watch how our other midfielders receive the ball 'square on' to the defender that has passed to them. They have their back to the strikers, can't see how the play is unfolding, have nowhere to go and consequently, invariably end up passing the ball straight back to one of the defenders. Opposition teams are then shepherding our play back into tight corners and, ultimately, it often ends with the defender hitting it long.

When Coutts got injured I said that he was the one single player that we could not afford to lose; he is literally the brain of the team. I also said that, regardless of Coutts' actual value on the open market, it would cost us £15m to replace what he does within our system (Woods at Brentford is the closest I've seen to what Coutts does).

Obviously, we were never going to spend millions. With the hindsight of what has happened since November 17th 2017, though, what we perhaps should have tried to find in January was a 'Gordon Cowans type' intelligent player coming to the end of his career, who had the intelligence to come in and do what Coutts did so brilliantly in the first part of the season.

In fact, Cowans is a salutary example of how losing one cog in the machine can be absolutely critical, even if most or all of the other players, who are excellent in their own right, are still in place. I've no doubt that had United persuaded Cowans to do another season, with the quality assembled in the rest of Howard Kendall's squad, we would have romped to promotion in the 1996/97 season.

The impact of losing Coutts cannot be over-stated.

It isn't the loss of one player. Its the loss of the wider impact he has on the team: the chemistry with Duffy and Fleck; the confidence and reassurance he gives to the wing-backs; the constant availability for a pass that he gives to the centre-halves; and the licence that he gives the centre-halves to get forward.

As others have mentioned, it was also a massive blow to the side's morale. With Coutts in the team, the players were walking out on to the pitch with the knowledge that the best player on the park was in our side. Coutts was the player who invariably controlled how our games panned out.

The late goals conceded in recent weeks and failure to close games out from winning positions, illustrate how we have lost the ability to control and manage games, since Coutts was injured. The stats before his injury bore this out; Coutts was the Championship player with the most touches and best passing percentages in the entire division.

And don't be in any doubt that the players are aware of that. Just read how player after player spoke about Coutts in the match programme, prior to his injury. They know that he is the main man.

I felt sick when Coutts was injured at Burton. It was clear that he was the one player that we simply could not afford to lose. I said at the start of the season that if Coutts, Fleck and Duffy could play the majority of games this season, we would not be far from automatic promotion and I stand by that.

I just hope that Coutts can come back at the same level next season.