Coutts Last Night

[William Henry Foulkes]

There's plenty of hate for Paul Coutts, here and in the ground, so I thought I'd try and see what Foulkes Jr Sr sees in him last night.

Well he was MoM for the first minute or so: won a strong header, and in a different passage of play controlled the play and set up an attack.

After that I got caught up in the game - and didn't really look at him, but where he really stood out was in our second goal. You don't see it on the highlights - all you get is him passing the ball out wide - but he retained the ball, moved with it, looked for options and openings and found exactly the right one. It was very classy, and I guess the kind of thing fans from other clubs saw in him.

Maybe this is him in microcosm: Wins the ball in MF, carries it, and plays others in.

FSJ pointed out, and I think it's true, that no matter what he doesn't hide. He's always making himself available. Not a shy or timid, afraid of making mistakes.

Related to the above, like Davies, he's a senior pro. Just from the way he carries himself.

On the downside he has an uncanny ability to misplace extremely simple passes.

And watching him labour to recover is painful.

So very good and very bad. For me the good outweighs the bad for now, but particularly wrt the fitness, is it enough to justify his staying on at the club and getting regular starts? Otoh we are a Division 3 club so every player we have is going to have good and bad about them.

I'd be giving him fitness targets (eg speed over 30 40 yards, and stamina) over the summer - and if he didn't make those then he might need to drop a level - in which case he might become a hero again at some fortunate Division 4 club.

(Incidentally if you ignore his positives - a lot of which takes place off the ball - then you'll have plenty to shout at. Confirmation bias and all that.)

 

[sitwell]

There's plenty of hate for Paul Coutts, here and in the ground, so I thought I'd try and see what Foulkes Jr Sr sees in him last night.

Well he was MoM for the first minute or so: won a strong header, and in a different passage of play controlled the play and set up an attack.

After that I got caught up in the game - and didn't really look at him, but where he really stood out was in our second goal. You don't see it on the highlights - all you get is him passing the ball out wide - but he retained the ball, moved with it, looked for options and openings and found exactly the right one. It was very classy, and I guess the kind of thing fans from other clubs saw in him.

Maybe this is him in microcosm: Wins the ball in MF, carries it, and plays others in.

FSJ pointed out, and I think it's true, that no matter what he doesn't hide. He's always making himself available. Not a shy or timid, afraid of making mistakes.

Related to the above, like Davies, he's a senior pro. Just from the way he carries himself.

On the downside he has an uncanny ability to misplace extremely simple passes.

And watching him labour to recover is painful.

So very good and very bad. For me the good outweighs the bad for now, but particularly wrt the fitness, is it enough to justify his staying on at the club and getting regular starts? Otoh we are a Division 3 club so every player we have is going to have good and bad about them.

I'd be giving him fitness targets (eg speed over 30 40 yards, and stamina) over the summer - and if he didn't make those then he might need to drop a level - in which case he might become a hero again at some fortunate Division 4 club.

(Incidentally if you ignore his positives - a lot of which takes place off the ball - then you'll have plenty to shout at. Confirmation bias and all that.)

Brilliant post ,I agree with that completely ,he retains possession when its difficult and plays difficult passes well ,and then he can balls up a simple 10 yard pass. He does get lost in the game too much for me and has quiet periods ,but his strength on the ball and ability cannot be questioned. Maybe some confidence playing in a winning team and a full pre season could be the makings of him ,there is definitely a player in there. Cloughs big mistake for me last night was playing McNulty instead of Davies ,they were scared of Davies and the way we played suited him ,I was saying this after 5 minutes. Basham had a horrible first 20 minutes too where nothing went right for him ,but all the players bar McNulty showed great strength in character. I noticed Davies at half time going up to every player coming off and giving encouragement ,I like him and think he could form a great partnership with Done. We are a couple of centre halves and a defensive leader away from being a good side. Its finding that player in the summer that will be crucial.

 

[Esablade]

Coutts is a good player, you can see that.

Unfortunately he reminds me of lot's of 'good players' I played with in semi-pro leagues. You can see they can play a bit but they can't compete off the ball because injury hampers their movement.

I've mixed views on whether Coutts can get back up to his previous levels of performance elsewhere, but suspect Nigel will give him the summer to work at it...Wallace is in the same boat eh?

 

[pommpey]

I think he was 6/10 last night. There's room for improvement and as much as I don't much rate Doyle either, I think he would have added maybe a .5 more of creativity to that central area where we were getting a bit out run at times with their big tattooed wanker.

pommpey

 

[Guesty]

On the downside he has an uncanny ability to misplace extremely simple passes.

And watching him labour to recover is painful.

Funnily enough this seems to be a problem not unique to Coutts in the squad. For such a skillful player, Baxter's short passes are often appalling. He seems to have better luck over 20 yards than under ten. And it goes without saving that his scrambling to recover is also not top drawer.

 

[sheffielder]

Brilliant post ,I agree with that completely ,he retains possession when its difficult and plays difficult passes well ,and then he can balls up a simple 10 yard pass. He does get lost in the game too much for me and has quiet periods ,but his strength on the ball and ability cannot be questioned. Maybe some confidence playing in a winning team and a full pre season could be the makings of him ,there is definitely a player in there. Cloughs big mistake for me last night was playing McNulty instead of Davies ,they were scared of Davies and the way we played suited him ,I was saying this after 5 minutes. Basham had a horrible first 20 minutes too where nothing went right for him ,but all the players bar McNulty showed great strength in character. I noticed Davies at half time going up to every player coming off and giving encouragement ,I like him and think he could form a great partnership with Done. We are a couple of centre halves and a defensive leader away from being a good side. Its finding that player in the summer that will be crucial.

Why did McNulty not show strength of character and the rest did?

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Coutts is a good player, you can see that.

Unfortunately he reminds me of lot's of 'good players' I played with in semi-pro leagues. You can see they can play a bit but they can't compete off the ball because injury hampers their movement.

I've mixed views on whether Coutts can get back up to his previous levels of performance elsewhere, but suspect Nigel will give him the summer to work at it...Wallace is in the same boat eh?

Spot on.

It has to be about (the right) fitness targets for Coutts.

 

[sheffielder]

There's plenty of hate for Paul Coutts, here and in the ground, so I thought I'd try and see what Foulkes Jr Sr sees in him last night.

Well he was MoM for the first minute or so: won a strong header, and in a different passage of play controlled the play and set up an attack.

After that I got caught up in the game - and didn't really look at him, but where he really stood out was in our second goal. You don't see it on the highlights - all you get is him passing the ball out wide - but he retained the ball, moved with it, looked for options and openings and found exactly the right one. It was very classy, and I guess the kind of thing fans from other clubs saw in him.

Maybe this is him in microcosm: Wins the ball in MF, carries it, and plays others in.

FSJ pointed out, and I think it's true, that no matter what he doesn't hide. He's always making himself available. Not a shy or timid, afraid of making mistakes.

Related to the above, like Davies, he's a senior pro. Just from the way he carries himself.

On the downside he has an uncanny ability to misplace extremely simple passes.

And watching him labour to recover is painful.

So very good and very bad. For me the good outweighs the bad for now, but particularly wrt the fitness, is it enough to justify his staying on at the club and getting regular starts? Otoh we are a Division 3 club so every player we have is going to have good and bad about them.

I'd be giving him fitness targets (eg speed over 30 40 yards, and stamina) over the summer - and if he didn't make those then he might need to drop a level - in which case he might become a hero again at some fortunate Division 4 club.

(Incidentally if you ignore his positives - a lot of which takes place off the ball - then you'll have plenty to shout at. Confirmation bias and all that.)

He doesn't play with any conviction, like Baxter. Fix that.

 

[sitwell]

Why did McNulty not show strength of character and the rest did?

Simply not good enough in my opinion ,his concentration levels are poor and his positioning. He can finish (I know he cleared the stand) but he doesn't get in the positions often enough or give options to midfielders ,Davies offers a lot more.

 

[Revolution]

Simply not good enough in my opinion ,his concentration levels are poor and his positioning. He can finish (I know he cleared the stand) but he doesn't get in the positions often enough or give options to midfielders ,Davies offers a lot more.

He doesn't offer a lot more goals.

We sign him permanently, it'll Ashley Ward Mark II.

McNulty is a work in progress, but Davies is a never will be. He's exactly the sort of player we shouldn't be signing permanently given his injury history.

 

[TonyAgana]

I'm at the point with Coutts where I'm wary of becoming a knocker. Because he's on my radar, I seem to spot every little mistake and spend some time watching him off the ball. He has been awful at times. But last night was probably his best game for us and that 2nd goal was all down to his skill and calm head. A solid pre-season is essential for him but we need more from him than that, he needs to work on his own. If he doesn't come back after the summer looking more mobile and agile then we should move him on.

 

[Trigger Blade]

After that I got caught up in the game - and didn't really look at him, but where he really stood out was in our second goal. You don't see it on the highlights - all you get is him passing the ball out wide - but he retained the ball, moved with it, looked for options and openings and found exactly the right one. It was very classy, and I guess the kind of thing fans from other clubs saw in him.

He was getting some stick in the Shoutbox last night and I ventured on there to make exactly that point about what he'd done to set up the second goal and was greeted with sarcasm along the lines of give him MOTM and well done him for finding Harris in space, both of which missed the point, but that's the Shoutbox I suppose.

He still seems to struggle with movement, but he drives forward and he doesn't give up. In the very last minute at Barnsley, when the game was won, he chased a lost cause right to the byline and tried to get a cross in, when he could easily have not chased it, or just kept it in the corner. I winced because he could easily have done himself damage to no good effect.

Yes, he misplaces passes and he has a habit of using the outside of his right foot, when it should be a left footed pass and those passes go astray, but on balance, I think he's worth keeping and I like him the more I see of him.

 

[sheffielder]

Simply not good enough in my opinion ,his concentration levels are poor and his positioning. He can finish (I know he cleared the stand) but he doesn't get in the positions often enough or give options to midfielders ,Davies offers a lot more.

You said strength of character though. I feel like Clough you're copping out and it's easy to pop on the young lad for that shit attempt, however watch the game back and see how many other players showed a lack of character.

Clough showed a lack of character by playing Alcock/McEverley over Collins and his ability to keep Coutts on the pitch when constantly giving the ball away and being weak in the tackle.

To put it on McNulty is a cowards way out

 

[sheffielder]

I'm at the point with Coutts where I'm wary of becoming a knocker. Because he's on my radar, I seem to spot every little mistake and spend some time watching him off the ball. He has been awful at times. But last night was probably his best game for us and that 2nd goal was all down to his skill and calm head. A solid pre-season is essential for him but we need more from him than that, he needs to work on his own. If he doesn't come back after the summer looking more mobile and agile then we should move him on.

That's more in hope than expectation unfortunately.

 

[Kenilworth]

Brilliant post ,I agree with that completely ,he retains possession when its difficult and plays difficult passes well ,and then he can balls up a simple 10 yard pass. He does get lost in the game too much for me and has quiet periods ,but his strength on the ball and ability cannot be questioned. Maybe some confidence playing in a winning team and a full pre season could be the makings of him ,there is definitely a player in there. Cloughs big mistake for me last night was playing McNulty instead of Davies ,they were scared of Davies and the way we played suited him ,I was saying this after 5 minutes. Basham had a horrible first 20 minutes too where nothing went right for him ,but all the players bar McNulty showed great strength in character. I noticed Davies at half time going up to every player coming off and giving encouragement ,I like him and think he could form a great partnership with Done. We are a couple of centre halves and a defensive leader away from being a good side. Its finding that player in the summer that will be crucial.

Agree with that Sitters and with WHF
There is definitely a quality player in Coutts and a pre season should sort him out
Same observations that Ken Jnr and I spoke about last night re Coutts - and I think that's down to rustiness and coming back to full match fitness and full match speed.
He was party to a lot of what went right for us last night and I can see him growing into the role more as his fitness and sharpness improves
One thing not mentioned above - when the match was drawing to a close it was Coutts busting a gut to try and drive the team forward to get that last goal that would have taken it into ET
Unfortunately a lot of the lads were spent by then but I took some solace from the character that Coutts showed. I am absolutely sure he knows he's better than he has demonstrated so far, but the signs are emerging each time I see him.

 

[Kenilworth]

Simply not good enough in my opinion ,his concentration levels are poor and his positioning. He can finish (I know he cleared the stand) but he doesn't get in the positions often enough or give options to midfielders ,Davies offers a lot more.

He is good enough - he's just not experienced enough - he's a natural finisher and once he gets more adept at the decision making he is certainly a 20 goal a season striker

 

[Bergen Blade]

Coutts is a good player, you can see that.

Unfortunately he reminds me of lot's of 'good players' I played with in semi-pro leagues. You can see they can play a bit but they can't compete off the ball because injury hampers their movement.

I've mixed views on whether Coutts can get back up to his previous levels of performance elsewhere, but suspect Nigel will give him the summer to work at it...Wallace is in the same boat eh?

Agree that he's got good attributes, but it's frustrating having to accommodate players all the time. We have some players who are struggling with certain parts of the game, so much that they need specific player types around them to compensate.

Many midfield combinations are not possible because it leaves us lacking at something. Chesterfield's duo Ryan and Morsey + Swindon's Kasim and Luongo all look great athletes and have composure and ability as well.

We have the ageing ball winner who can't run or playmake; the neat and busy shortarses who get bullied; the physical athlete who most often has to play in defence; the talented playmaker who's always injured; the creative guy who's also a defensive liability; the other playmaker who can't get around the pitch, etc. It makes it just so dificult to get it right, especially as we use attacking wide men, which means we've got to be strong centrally.

 

[mattbianco1]

Simply not good enough in my opinion ,his concentration levels are poor and his positioning. He can finish (I know he cleared the stand) but he doesn't get in the positions often enough or give options to midfielders ,Davies offers a lot more.

At half-time I said to my brother to get Davies on for McNulty. His response was "Done hasn't touched the ball?"

The difference is - you know that Done will chase every ball and make things happen. McNulty doesn't do this anywhere near enough for me. He's quite a lazy player if truth be told.

I'd keep McNulty, but as a backup player.

 

[Sharrowblade]

Sorry, just don't see it.

Fair enough knocked a good pass out to Harris for the second goal, but that's it.

Lost count the number of times in the first half, when Flynn, Freeman or Murphy were looking to offload inside and he just didn't want to know.

He didn't make himself available at all.

He doesn't win anything in midfield.

The reason why Basham had a poor first 20 minutes because he wasn't getting any assistance from Coutts.

Where was he?

 

[CarlingBlade]

He was awful, a poor man's Doyle.

We needed leaders last night, Collins and Doyle would have provided tha, Coutts didn't.

 

[Bergen Blade]

Sorry, just don't see it.

Fair enough knocked a good pass out to Harris for the second goal, but that's it.

Lost count the number of times in the first half, when Flynn, Freeman or Murphy were looking to offload inside and he just didn't want to know.

He didn't make himself available at all.

He doesn't win anything in midfield.

The reason why Basham had a poor first 20 minutes because he wasn't getting any assistance from Coutts.

Where was he?

And where were the wide men? It's true that we couldn't cover enough grass. I think we were so intent on attacking, and after we conceded the first goal, so intent on getting a quick goal back, that we lost defensive focus. This meant Swindon found space out wide and behind our midfield, leading to us panicking in defence.

 

[HoodedClaw]

I thought he had a decent game last night, never hid and always tried to be available and positive.

If a pre-season can help his fitness/mobility I personally think he will make an excellent captain for us.

He looked gutted that the stewards wouldn't let him come go over to our fans at the end.

 

[Lane Ender]

I saw things last night in Coutts (also at Barnsley) that i liked passes the ball well, tackles well, good vision however these attributes need to be stepped up if he is to be retained a good pre season would help.

Davies has a good skills but theres better about.

 

[sitwell]

Sorry, just don't see it.

Fair enough knocked a good pass out to Harris for the second goal, but that's it.

Lost count the number of times in the first half, when Flynn, Freeman or Murphy were looking to offload inside and he just didn't want to know.

He didn't make himself available at all.

He doesn't win anything in midfield.

The reason why Basham had a poor first 20 minutes because he wasn't getting any assistance from Coutts.

Where was he?

You cant say he didn't make himself available ,that's simply not true ,he was showing for the ball more than any other player.

 

[DronnieBlade]

Saw enough last night to suggest he could be very important for us next year.

I live in hope !

UTB

 

[Sharrowblade]

You cant say he didn't make himself available ,that's simply not true ,he was showing for the ball more than any other player.

Sorry Sitters just my opinion. I know what I saw and so do many others.

Keep hearing about Coutts ability and quality. Not done it for me. People say he doesn't hide, where was he in the second half at the Lane when Swindon had the freedom of the City. Along with Holt I didn't even know he was on the pitch. Where was he last night in the opening 20?

There's no hate here for the lad, but for whatever the reason his name appears to be the first on the teamsheet and I just don't get it.

 

[sitwell]

Sorry Sitters just my opinion. I know what I saw and so do many others.

Keep hearing about Coutts ability and quality. Not done it for me. People say he doesn't hide, where was he in the second half at the Lane when Swindon had the freedom of the City. Along with Holt I didn't even know he was on the pitch. Where was he last night in the opening 20?

There's no hate here for the lad, but for whatever the reason his name appears to be the first on the teamsheet and I just don't get it.

Agree with you about the game at the Lane ,the whole midfield vanished though and last night the whole team for the first 20 minutes ,Basham had a particularly hard time and Coutts needs him to play alongside. He does need to get more in to games ,that is his problem but I don't think he hides like Baxter ,I think he is still finding his feet ,and being the fans scapegoat means he also has to win them over. Heres hoping anyway.

 

[Pinchy]

Agree with that Sitters and with WHF
There is definitely a quality player in Coutts and a pre season should sort him out
Same observations that Ken Jnr and I spoke about last night re Coutts - and I think that's down to rustiness and coming back to full match fitness and full match speed.
He was party to a lot of what went right for us last night and I can see him growing into the role more as his fitness and sharpness improves
One thing not mentioned above - when the match was drawing to a close it was Coutts busting a gut to try and drive the team forward to get that last goal that would have taken it into ET
Unfortunately a lot of the lads were spent by then but I took some solace from the character that Coutts showed. I am absolutely sure he knows he's better than he has demonstrated so far, but the signs are emerging each time I see him.

Precisely. It's all about the injury with Coutts. He's a proper footballer, highly rated everywhere he's been until his serious injury. The good news is the signs in the last couple of games are he's slowly but surely getting more mobile, involved and influential. He desperately needs a good pre-season. A full-fitness Coutts and Wallace, together with the admirable Basham, will give us an outstanding central midfield at this level. Don't give me Louis Reed though. He is a novice of considerable potential but certainly no "first name on the team shirt".

We need, and Nigel knows it as well as we do, TWO powerful, tall (Yes tall - the modern game is No Country for Joe Shaw!) and athletic centre-backs. We don't need Beckenbauer at this level - just someone capable of stopping us leaking goals and then passing it simply to a midfielder who can play.

Davies is infinitely better than McNulty but personally I would still welcome the arrival of COG.

Above all else, and this is for you Nigel - next season we have to set our excellent footballers free to play excellent football. If we'd had anything better than the appalling Sunday League excuse for a defence we had last night. The forward players on the other hand - awesome. 5 goals away from home - 56% possession - 21 shots, 10 on target. That has to be our benchmark for next season.

I would not retain Holt. I would reluctantly pass over Davies if we can get COG. Doyle, McEveley, K Wallace and Collins should be moved on. If Flynn, is to feature it must be at right-back. We need the pace and vibrancy of the Adams of last night (or better) in that position. Matt Done, another who needs a pre-season, must play alongside or just behind the centre-forward, not in some awkward, makeshift wide role - let proper wingers Murph and Che (or better) play there.

Baxter and Scoogs to stay but will have to up their games to justify a starting berth.

As for Nigel - I'm a fan. No knee-jerks, thank you. I know what he's trying to build and I'm with him, but we need significant and substantial progress by Christmas, both in points and performance. Although it's silly to say we must be in the top two at that stage, we must be shaping up by then as a team with real prospects of auto and not off the pace amongst the play-off also-rans.

Let's keep our nerve though. Good passing football coupled with power and athleticism gets you out of this league, like any other, as the top two have demonstrated yet again. There is no case for Upanatem Gerritintbox.

 

[Sheff de party]

I think Coutts is copping a lot of unfortunate flack. He's a talented footballer in a team littered with average ones I think. I thought he did quite well last night and we should be above having to scrap all the time. He was holding what was left of it together at 3-0 while Basham was wandering around helpless (through not being quite as good, not being lazy). Coutts inspired the comeback in the first half I thought. If we had more people who could play football at the level he can, we could pass teams off the pitch at this level. Unfortunately, in Baxter, Scougall and Basham on his day, we probably do, but they just haven't done it.

I think we're a few players short of having a very good side. I'd be happy to sign Davies as I see what he offers, but McNulty just isn't good enough I don't think. Whether we sign Davies or not, we MUST sign a quality striker.

 

[sitwell]

Precisely. It's all about the injury with Coutts. He's a proper footballer, highly rated everywhere he's been until his serious injury. The good news is the signs in the last couple of games are he's slowly but surely getting more mobile, involved and influential. He desperately needs a good pre-season. A full-fitness Coutts and Wallace, together with the admirable Basham, will give us an outstanding central midfield at this level. Don't give me Louis Reed though. He is a novice of considerable potential but certainly no "first name on the team shirt".

We need, and Nigel knows it as well as we do, TWO powerful, tall (Yes tall - the modern game is No Country for Joe Shaw!) and athletic centre-backs. We don't need Beckenbauer at this level - just someone capable of stopping us leaking goals and then passing it simply to a midfielder who can play.

Davies is infinitely better than McNulty but personally I would still welcome the arrival of COG.

Above all else, and this is for you Nigel - next season we have to set our excellent footballers free to play excellent football. If we'd had anything better than the appalling Sunday League excuse for a defence we had last night. The forward players on the other hand - awesome. 5 goals away from home - 56% possession - 21 shots, 10 on target. That has to be our benchmark for next season.

I would not retain Holt. I would reluctantly pass over Davies if we can get COG. Doyle, McEveley, K Wallace and Collins should be moved on. If Flynn, is to feature it must be at right-back. We need the pace and vibrancy of the Adams of last night (or better) in that position. Matt Done, another who needs a pre-season, must play alongside or just behind the centre-forward, not in some awkward, makeshift wide role - let proper wingers Murph and Che (or better) play there.

Baxter and Scoogs to stay but will have to up their games to justify a starting berth.

As for Nigel - I'm a fan. No knee-jerks, thank you. I know what he's trying to build and I'm with him, but we need significant and substantial progress by Christmas, both in points and performance. Although it's silly to say we must be in the top two at that stage, we must be shaping up by then as a team with real prospects of auto and not off the pace amongst the play-off also-rans.

Let's keep our nerve though. Good passing football coupled with power and athleticism gets you out of this league, like any other, as the top two have demonstrated yet again. There is no case for Upanatem Gerritintbox.

Agree with all that apart from Jose. If we are to play at pace ,with power and athleticism then he has no place with us ,he would hold up momentum and become a burden. Shame we cant just bring on a penalty taker like the NFL. Un decided with JCR ,on his day he is great but his days have to be more frequent.