Coutts Last Night

[Guesty]

Pinchy I fear J Wallace is going the way of our Tel!

He's shown no reason why we should rely on him.

 

[Kenilworth]

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 'cept the COG v S Davies bit Pinchers - For me COG doesn't score anywhere near enough goals but I have seen enough of Davies to tell me he is a better all round player than COG - capable of a Worldy outside the box too and as a "lefty" he gives some balance to the forward line.

Done has been a significant loss during his injury riddled end to the season - he was a passenger in the first half but very dangerous in the second and but for some rash decisions by players shooting, not squaring, he might have had a hat trick.

If people take off the blinkers re Coutts they should recognise that he had a pivotal role in at least three of our goals last night and was winning possession back in midfield. I'll concede that several short passes went astray but he is miles away from the useless clogger he was when he first came into the team - the thing is for this season we couldn't really afford to allow him to get match fit in the last third of the campaign. The positive is that he will be a much better asset for us next season.

If we get the CB positions sorted and add another quality central mid (or get J Wallace fit) we will be there or thereabouts - I am reasonably content with the forwards now - as you know, my bugbear for 2/3 of the season but FFS - McEveley and Alcock at CB! WTF?

 

[Pinchy]

Pinchy I fear J Wallace is going the way of our Tel!

He's shown no reason why we should rely on him.

No mate. The pre-season is make or break for him. I really wish him well because he's a proper player, but he's about as much use as me sitting in the stand! I think the signs for Coutts are more promising and some of us (happily I trust) may be eating hats in the months to come.

 

[Guesty]

No-one will be more delighted than me if a midfield duo of Coutts and Wallace powers us to promotion!

I'll enjoy my trillby and chips.

 

[Grecian2000]

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.

Fuck right off.

If today wasn't bad enough . . . . .

 

[Fulwood Blade]

For me, Coutts is now the new Basham.

Hardly anyone gave Basham a minutes peace early season - some of us saw a footballer and a few asked him to be given time - sadly a load did not.

Coutts is similar - there is a footballer, he needs a good pre-season. The kid had a serious kneecap injury and believe he played 1 league cup game for Derby before signing for us. Admittedly, he needs to improve in certain areas, but when he is partnered with Basham in centre midfield they look quite good together. Basham has not been in midfield a lot, but from memory Rochdale/Bristol/Barnsley/Swindon, all away games with Bash/Coutts in the middle.

Again, as with Basham - give Coutts a chance AFTER pre-season.

As long as Clough signs centre halves, then we will see Basham and Coutts as first choice, starting centre midfield next season - assuming Clough is still here.

UTB

 

[Pinchy]

Agree with all 'cept the COG v S Davies bit Pinchers - For me COG doesn't score anywhere near enough goals but I have seen enough of Davies to tell me he is a better all round player than COG - capable of a Worldy outside the box too and as a "lefty" he gives some balance to the forward line.

Done has been a significant loss during his injury riddled end to the season - he was a passenger in the first half but very dangerous in the second and but for some rash decisions by players shooting, not squaring, he might have had a hat trick.

If people take off the blinkers re Coutts they should recognise that he had a pivotal role in at least three of our goals last night and was winning possession back in midfield. I'll concede that several short passes went astray but he is miles away from the useless clogger he was when he first came into the team - the thing is for this season we couldn't really afford to allow him to get match fit in the last third of the campaign. The positive is that he will be a much better asset for us next season.

If we get the CB positions sorted and add another quality central mid (or get J Wallace fit) we will be there or thereabouts - I am reasonably content with the forwards now - as you know, my bugbear for 2/3 of the season but FFS - McEveley and Alcock at CB! WTF?

Somewhere else I nominated my players to be released. I omitted Ben Davies and Alcock. They have their attributes and are decent squad players but we really do need to move on with "quality not quantity" as a defining objective rather than a slogan this time. Oh, Higdon should go as well. That's about right now I think. I'll remember another soon. Is Monty still here?

I'm not against Steve Davies at all. He's surprised me in a good way. My preference would certainly be COG but, failing that,I wouldn't lose any sleep if he and Done were paired together but (Nigel) a pair it must be.

 

[Kenilworth]

Somewhere else I nominated my players to be released. I omitted Ben Davies and Alcock. They have their attributes and are decent squad players but we really do need to move on with "quality not quantity" as an objective rather than a

what?

 

[sitwell]

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.

where did you end up for a drink ,we went to the Grove ,quite a few Blades in ,John smiths was shit and the queue at the bar was a pain.

 

[metty]

I think with a pre season under Davis' belt we will see the best of him. He's a team player, you can see that as soon as he steps on the pitch. When a team mate is in bother he's the 1st there and if you watch him closely he gets his retribution in at the 1st opportunity.

 

[JohnDenver]

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.

Word for word agreement. Pinchy summed it all up perfectly but sneaked in a deliberate mistake to keep us on our toes.

Sorry Jose, football is about more than the odd rapier-like pass. Time to move on.

 

[Pinchy]

what?

Trigger happy, I'm afraid! Add your own....

 

[Kenilworth]

Trigger happy, I'm afraid! Add your own....

Ah, we've all had that happen when our yorksire puds taste like Fannies

 

[Pinchy]

Ah, we've all had that happen when our yorksire puds taste like Fannies

Yes, though I once encountered a fanny that tasted like Yorkshire pud....

 

[robbiez666]

I've been a vocal critic of Coutts, but I've not really got any problem with his attitude, I just think his legs have gone.

He reminds me of Kev Mac in terms of his ease on the ball, and the way he retains the ball.

However, his passing is poor quite often. He's so slow, not only in terms of movement but speed of thought. He takes too long on the ball and slows everything down. Watching him chase a ball or try and bring it forward is pretty painful. His positioning often makes up for his lack of pace.

He's clearly a quality footballer, but I see no evidence that he's still got the athleticism to play football at this level. He would need to play next to the best CM in the league in terms of box to box and pace. He's a luxury player like Baxter, but Baxter brings far more in terms of passing and goals.

The one odd thing is that he doesn't take corners. I'm sure I remember him winning the Derby deadball challenge.

 

[Kenilworth]

Yes, though I once encountered a fanny that tasted like Yorkshire pud....

That's fanny batter for you, Pinch

Hopefully not just after someone else's gravy stroke, though, eh?

 

[longinthe toothblade]

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

It was certainly one of them for sure.

We were amazed when we heard the team news and that McN had replaced Davies.

Personally, I would have also gone for Basham at CH and Holt in midfield.

As for Coutts, he's a bit like "the curates egg".........good in parts. My next door neighbour is a Derby fan and he rated him very highly. So do my guys in Sandiacre.........alas, that's before he had the knee injury [which was horrendous by all accounts]. He's obviously struggling fitness wise which is a great pity for any 'pro'.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

I think with a pre season under Davis' belt we will see the best of him. He's a team player, you can see that as soon as he steps on the pitch. When a team mate is in bother he's the 1st there and if you watch him closely he gets his retribution in at the 1st opportunity.

Yes. Old school attributes in a Nu Skool team.

 

[longinthe toothblade]

I've been a vocal critic of Coutts, but I've not really got any problem with his attitude, I just think his legs have gone.

He reminds me of Kev Mac in terms of his ease on the ball, and the way he retains the ball.

However, his passing is poor quite often. He's so slow, not only in terms of movement but speed of thought. He takes too long on the ball and slows everything down. Watching him chase a ball or try and bring it forward is pretty painful. His positioning often makes up for his lack of pace.

He's clearly a quality footballer, but I see no evidence that he's still got the athleticism to play football at this level. He would need to play next to the best CM in the league in terms of box to box and pace. He's a luxury player like Baxter, but Baxter brings far more in terms of passing and goals.

The one odd thing is that he doesn't take corners. I'm sure I remember him winning the Derby deadball challenge.

I was with you all the way until you mentioned Baxter!

 

[curtisblades]

Coutts helped to create 3 out of the 5 goals we scored last night. Two were through his skilful switching of play to Bob Harris, who put two excellent balls into the box, which we then scored from. The other was the Done goal, he had the initial shot which went out to Adams, who shot and Done followed in. Coutts is comfortable on the ball, gets stuck in and has good strength. With a full pre-season under his belt, there will be few central midfielders better than him in this division

 

[robbiez666]

I was with you all the way until you mentioned Baxter!

I'm not in favour of keeping Baxter but at least he scores the odd goal and sets them up as well.

 

[cooperblade]

I think with a pre season under Davis' belt we will see the best of him. He's a team player, you can see that as soon as he steps on the pitch. When a team mate is in bother he's the 1st there and if you watch him closely he gets his retribution in at the 1st opportunity.

Agree with that. We need a few more 'men' in our team. 2 big, nasty centre backs with Basham in front of them and Davies up front and we've got a much stronger spine, we're better equipped to defend set pieces and, hopefully, we don't suffer from losing Doyle's bite and edge.

 

[robbiez666]

Coutts helped to create 3 out of the 5 goals we scored last night. Two were through his skilful switching of play to Bob Harris, who put two excellent balls into the box, which we then scored from. The other was the Done goal, he had the initial shot which went out to Adams, who shot and Done followed in. Coutts is comfortable on the ball, gets stuck in and has good strength. With a full pre-season under his belt, there will be few central midfielders better than him in this division

If memory serves me correctly, he got the ball, took a touch, and then passed it to an unmarked Harris. There was nothing skilful about it, in fact any player should have done it.

In terms of a pre-season, I don;t see how that's going to improve his pace. He's just too slow and we've lost the midfield battle in almost every game he's played in.

 

[curtisblades]

Just making the point that not all players in this team would have done that. Always has his head up and looks for the right pass. Every team needs a player who does this job, they may not be the most spectacular, but they keep play ticking over and generally keep the ball.

 

[AlBlade]

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.

To be fair I don't think that McNulty has been treated that well this season. He's never really had a consistent run in the side, and is regularly singled out by Clough for criticism when he doesn't have a good game. I agree he is not the finished article, but I think he could have scored 20 + goals this season if he had been given a decent run and provided with proper encouragement.

He had a poor game last night, but then again so did Done, however only McNulty was singled out for criticism.

McNulty is not a consistent performer, and there have been a number of games where he has been poor. However, the same applies for Coutts, yet he appears to be the first name on the team sheet and is never criticised by Clough.

As for Davies, the jury is out for me. I know he can link up play, and he offers a more physical presence, but he just doesn't score enough.

 

[sitwell]

To be fair I don't think that McNulty has been treated that well this season. He's never really had a consistent run in the side, and is regularly singled out by Clough for criticism when he doesn't have a good game. I agree he is not the finished article, but I think he could have scored 20 + goals this season if he had been given a decent run and provided with proper encouragement.

He had a poor game last night, but then again so did Done, however only McNulty was singled out for criticism.

McNulty is not a consistent performer, and there have been a number of games where he has been poor. However, the same applies for Coutts, yet he appears to be the first name on the team sheet and is never criticised by Clough.

As for Davies, the jury is out for me. I know he can link up play, and he offers a more physical presence, but he just doesn't score enough.

Difference between Done and McNulty is movement ,Done is constantly on the move and pulling defenders all over opening up space for other players and McNulty is a bit static. His other problem is he never has 2 good games in a row ,he tends to play well ,get praised and have a mare ,however when he gets criticised he comes back and plays well again.

 

[Going up]

If memory serves me correctly, he got the ball, took a touch, and then passed it to an unmarked Harris. There was nothing skilful about it, in fact any player should have done it.

In terms of a pre-season, I don;t see how that's going to improve his pace. He's just too slow and we've lost the midfield battle in almost every game he's played in.

Memory doesn't serve you correctly.

Even our friends on Radio Sheffield, who always slag him off, commended his skill in that build-up.

 

[Going up]

Difference between Done and McNulty is movement ,Done is constantly on the move and pulling defenders all over opening up space for other players and McNulty is a bit static. His other problem is he never has 2 good games in a row ,he tends to play well ,get praised and have a mare ,however when he gets criticised he comes back and plays well again.

Agreed and I would say, for reasons of mobility and energy off the ball as you outlined, at the moment, he is a good "super-sub", rather than a 90 minute player.

 

[Blade58]

I think Coutts carries the ball well, puts his head up and is looking for a good pass

I also think he hangs on to the ball too long on occasions

Times I've said get rid, get rid only for him to get caught in possession. Sometimes he can't see an outlet. Other times he wants to be a greedy git

He also lacks pace.

 

[AlBlade]

Difference between Done and McNulty is movement ,Done is constantly on the move and pulling defenders all over opening up space for other players and McNulty is a bit static. His other problem is he never has 2 good games in a row ,he tends to play well ,get praised and have a mare ,however when he gets criticised he comes back and plays well again.

To be fair, I'm not saying that Done isn't a better player than McNulty. I'm simply saying that Done didn't have a good game last night, and particularly in the first half I don't remember him being involved at all. Yet McNulty is singled out exclusively for a slagging from the Manager.

I agree McNulty is inconsistent, but I think that is largely because he is young and learning his trade, and partly because he never gets a consistent run of games. His problem is he never has 2 good games in a row, mainly because Clough never actually gives him 2 games in a row!

My point isn't that I think McNulty should start every game, my issue is the inconsistency of our manager. How one player can be singled out for criticism, whilst others who have played as badly are not, doesn't seem the best way to build confidence and team spirit. Similarly, when players are dropped for not having a great game (McNulty) whilst others are picked week in week out whilst having poor game after poor game (Coutts), this again cannot build trust in the manager or improve team spirit.