2 x Centre halves please when the loan window opens.

[finlaytheblade]

Dear Mr Clough.

Please refrain from trying any more midfield players in never ending trial and error scenario.

Can we please have 2 PROPER centre halves instead of a central midfield player and a left back "filling" in.

Thanks

....now off to sulk as my weekend has been ruUTB

I know how you feel fulwood it gets me the same.Moving on to our problems in both boxs we lack height both defending and from attacking set pieces, we have conceded far too many goals and look toothless from corners and free kicks .Just by having height at deadballs causes panic and mistakes in the box,our tallest player is probably basham and he is not great at attacking the ball ,I am still a clough supporter but he is baffling me with his inability to make us a threat at deadballs and seems to think we will win matches playing controled football.If so he is missing a vital part of a successful team.Iwould be interested to know(can anyone supply it?) stats for goals scored and conceded from deadballs and i will be amazed if the figures are not alarmingly on the conceded side.Come on nigel we need a brute in each box and that doas,nt mean bringing collins back as he is easily overpowered in both boxes,the playoffs are still there for the taking.

Dear Mr Clough.

Please refrain from trying any more midfield players in never ending trial and error scenario.

Can we please have 2 PROPER centre halves instead of a central midfield player and a left back "filling" in.

Thanks

....now off to sulk as my weekend has been ruined.

UTB

 

[finlaytheblade]

is this in the same way that people have wanted Basham at centre half after a few decent games?

Basham and Mceverly are decent footballers who are now being found out.

It is nothing personal against young Kennedy - he is a kid who has played a few games and seems at the limit of his game. If he went in permanently, that initial enthusiasm he is playing with would wane and his performances would struggle - in exactly the same way as Ironside. He was magnificent v Donny a while back, but when give other chances he didn't step up to the mark.

Seriously, noting personal with Kennedy - you need brutes of a CH to get out of this league - we have nobody in the that mould.

Think everyone admits this league ideally needs big strong players to get out - at leats have a couple of uncompromising players who put the shits up any one who comes near them.

UTB

appreciate your point of view fulwood but until tel gets a run of games judging him the way you have is unfair he is a competitor and a winner in the morgan mould the 2 draw backs for me are his lack of height which puts him at a disadvantage he fights his corner well though and the other drawback is his gammy knee,s which means he cant train everyday and play every match his knee,s have to be managed,for such a young player that is a terrible handycap.
mcgrath we signed from Man utd was in the same position but he was a player at the end of his career.

 

[Blade82]

We had one but he sold him.

Butler?

 

[Blade82]

we don't know where to play him that's the problem. I think a deep position with two strikers and two wingers in front of him would see him shine and dictate play.
A dimond with Murphy and JCR out wide and mcnulty&another up top is the way to use him.

 

[Lane Ender]

Butler?

Yep

 

[DI36O]

The thread has gone off Centre halves onto Baxter.

The old cliché - don't concede, don't lose.

Pre-season saw us with Maguire, Collins, Butler and Kennedy.

Butler and Collins were shit as Burton in pre season. Maguire went shortly after. Butler, whatever happened HAS NOT been replaced except by a Palace player who we got fit for Colin and came up Thursday evening and practiced Friday....fucking bollox!!
Collins is pinged as the one who defends too deep - fine, I actually agree with that and he and Maguire could never defend balls into the box either.
As for kennedy - totally accept he tries his heart out but you have to be better than that at this level, so sorry, not for me.

FFS, Basham is a midfield player and Mceverly is a left back - BOTH are being found out as players, they do quite well, but are actually square pegs in round holes. Like them both, both skilful players - NOT CENTRE HALVES. At ANY professional team to have square pegs in round holes or players filling in on a seemingly regular basis is dereliction of managerial duties. Am at a loss to understand why we haven't tried another replacement after Mccarthy proved very very average - as for Premier league, he is certainly not - championship at best and didn't look too special (although possibly a tad unfit) at 1st division level.

Always though Maguire was overrated a bit - perhaps that thought was wrong and he made up for his lack of pace with positioning and reading the game.

Really don't know why we have a mega number of midfield, virtually no centre halves and few ineffective forwards out of a squad of 41.

Where do we go from here? No doubt ANOTHER changed midfield on Tuesday for..........................Colchester !

and it's still ruined my weekend........

UTB

as for Baxter.......over rated - agree generally with sitters here - creates little and now scores nowt.

You could also say that in the promotion game you need wins, and you can't win if you can't score.

I agree Baxter isn't really producing enough. There's a reason a player like him is playing in this division - he's very talented but he plays like he's reaching the end of his career. He only turned 23 today. He's in no real shape physically and he doesn't have the experience to make his consequent style effective enough. I don't know of any stats for assists though that might be able to prove me wrong.

I was completely unimpressed by McCarthy as well. But I have to pull you up on Kennedy. Where has he ever gone wrong exactly? The results we've had when he's started have been excellent with few goals conceded and almost always against the very top teams at this level. I don't know how you can write him off when he clearly hasn't been found out yet.

 

[DI36O]

So he should ,he has played 90% of games and is our attacking/creative midfielder. We don't attack/create anywhere near enough with the players we have ,doesn't that say something ?

He's started about 60% of our league games to be fair. And although it's a flaw of his own game, he's rarely still on the pitch when it comes down to squeaky bum time of a match. Maybe that's why so many of our goals are late.

 

[Blade82]

Yep

Was thinking maguire too. Should have made him see out his contract. Him and butler would have been solid in this league

 

[Woodwardfan]

For our play maker and technician ,how many chances does Baxter forge out ? Clough has knocked every player on the team today ,but not Jose ,yet his is the position which is costing us most. He creates fuck all ,his set pieces are wank ,he gets taken off for the last quarter of every game ,why do we persist with him. This isn't knee jerk I have said it all season ,only twice this season has he had a decent game ,we have much better options both positionally and tactically.

We all know we bought a CH in the summer , never played him , never replaced him. Too many players being square pegs in round holes .

UTB

And Collins of course.

 

[Blade56]

We all know we bought a CH in the summer , never played him , never replaced him. Too many players being square pegs in round holes .

UTB

One too many managers that are a square peg as well!

 

[Woodwardfan]

I don't miss home games and go to every other one away ,I couldn't give a shit whether I like him or not ,I comment purely on football. As our Ball player ,technician ,what ever you want to call him ,please tell the games he has affected or played well in this season. Second half at Doncaster is about all I can give you. How can you possibly say he is the least of our problems ? We don't score goals because we don't create chances ,we are terrible from set pieces ,he is the prime player regarding these problems ,how can you possibly defend that ?

Scougall has played in the main creative role for twenty odd games, scored 1 and 0 assists. Baxter is not having a good season but he has not played in his favourite areas all that much. Expectations are higher for Baxter and he has to live with that. Creative players need runners and they are few and far between in forward areas where he likes to play. Not many other players have had a good season either, things are not going well at all.

Sitwell, you have an obsession about Baxter, epitomised by these comments on a thread about centre halves. For your sake I hope Baxter is rested a while but with Scougall out I would worry about our creative potential. I think we desperately need Baxter to come to the party in Scougall's role, unless you see alternatives.

If we play 4-4-2 the Coutts/Reed partnership has potential but the lad is only just turned 17. In a side lacking in confidence it could ruin him. In 4-5-1 Baxter has to be the man in the absence of J. Wallace and Scougall. Cuvelier struggles with fitness too.

P.S. Baxter is only 23 as of last week and has only had 119 senior games.

 

[Blade56]

and it's still ruined my weekend........

 

[The Bohemian]

Dear Mr Clough.

Please refrain from trying any more midfield players in never ending trial and error scenario.

Can we please have 2 PROPER centre halves instead of a central midfield player and a left back "filling" in.

Thanks

....now off to sulk as my weekend has been ruined.

UTB

Agree, two makeshifts at centre half doesn't work long term. I'd be happy to keep Basham there , because of his pace, but he needs to be alongside a strong, dominant partner (a bit like my Mrs!).

Replacing a centre half - Harry - who won everything in the air, nearly everything on the ground and could play as well, was always going to be problematic but we've failed spectacularly here.

Right now, £2m for Harry versus another year of him in the team, looks like a bum call.

 

[Blade56]

Agree, two makeshifts at centre half doesn't work long term. I'd be happy to keep Basham there , because of his pace, but he needs to be alongside a strong, dominant partner (a bit like my Mrs!).

Replacing a centre half - Harry - who won everything in the air, nearly everything on the ground and could play as well, was always going to be problematic but we've failed spectacularly here.

Right now, £2m for Harry versus another year of him in the team, looks like a bum call.

Basham and Kennedy pairing is the solution

 

[Woodwardfan]

Agree, two makeshifts at centre half doesn't work long term. I'd be happy to keep Basham there , because of his pace, but he needs to be alongside a strong, dominant partner (a bit like my Mrs!).

Replacing a centre half - Harry - who won everything in the air, nearly everything on the ground and could play as well, was always going to be problematic but we've failed spectacularly here.

Right now, £2m for Harry versus another year of him in the team, looks like a bum call.

Not a bum deal for Harry, he's banking £14k a week!

As for Basham he's a central defender primarily but he fancies himself in midfield. Most of his career has been at the back I understand. I think he's good at the back and lacking in midfield, so he's where he should be IMO. In the Championship I'm not sure he has ever been a regular first choice in any position but I think he is one we could expect to compete at that level.

He's only had 129 first team games in his career and he's 26 years old. He was at Blackpool for 4 years, including a fraught year in the Prem, and played a total of 85 games for them, that's not many.

 

[The Bohemian]

Basham and Kennedy pairing is the solution

If Kennedy can grow 2 inches (in height), I'd agree with you.

 

[Blade56]

If Kennedy can grow 2 inches (in height), I'd agree with you.

The thing Kennedy shows is an awareness of where the ball will be played and he moves before its delivered and gets on the end of most things similar to Harry

 

[Silent Blade]

If Kennedy can grow 2 inches (in height), I'd agree with you.

It is the timing of jumping and meeting the ball that is more important than height. Kennedy seems to head the ball (whether defending or attacking) more often than the rest of the players. His tacking is very good too

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

If Kennedy can grow 2 inches (in height), I'd agree with you.

sorted

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

Basham and Kennedy pairing is the solution

I'd say a Basham-Kennedy pairing at centre half is probably the best we currently have at the club. I've only seen Kennedy v Preston and v Swindon and have been impressed with what I've seen, but that's only 2 games, who knows whether he can keep that level of performance to the end of the season??? I still think we lack a big dominant centre half that attacks/wins everything and can organise that back four. They got £2m plus for Maguire, proper money from that should have gone a proper replacement.

 

[Blade56]

I'd say a Basham-Kennedy pairing at centre half is probably the best we currently have at the club. I've only seen Kennedy v Preston and v Swindon and have been impressed with what I've seen, but that's only 2 games, who knows whether he can keep that level of performance to the end of the season??? I still think we lack a big dominant centre half that attacks/wins everything and can organise that back four. They got £2m plus for Maguire, proper money from that should have gone a proper replacement.

Nah best to buy 2/3 utility players that can play CB, LB, RB CMF

Harry had a solid but roomy start, he grew with games and Kennedy could be another gem given the chance. You've only seen him in 2 games and he had 2 good performances. How many other Blades players could say the same?

Only problem is in his after match rant NC sounded like he called time on the youngsters.

 

[Harry's Game]

Yes let's add another couple of players to the squad.. How many is it now?

You can all you want but if the guy in charge is useless it won't matter one jot.

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

Only problem is in his after match rant NC sounded like he called time on the youngsters.

On a number of levels that was a poor comment from the manager. But primarily If he can't see the spine of the team is weak as f*** (no proper centre half, no defensive midfield player yesterday and no dominant centre forward) - and that is nowt to do with the youngsters - then Clough really has got a problem.

 

[The Bohemian]

It is the timing of jumping and meeting the ball that is more important than height. Kennedy seems to head the ball (whether defending or attacking) more often than the rest of the players. His tacking is very good too

I would argue they're equally important. Kennedy can't dominate a big centre forward in the way Morgan could and Maguire can, because he's simply not tall enough. I love his attitude but, hand on heart, can't seem him being more than a lower league journeyman.

 

[SUFC Handsworth]

I would argue they're equally important. Kennedy can't dominate a big centre forward in the way Morgan could and Maguire can, because he's simply not tall enough. I love his attitude but, hand on heart, can't seem him being more than a lower league journeyman.

He could be another Tony Kenworthy, just needs a Monty or Stan the man to play alongside him???

 

[The Bohemian]

He could be another Tony Kenworthy, just needs a Monty or Stan the man to play alongside him???

That's his best chance, agreed.

 

[Darthblade]

Two proper strikers wouldn't go amiss. How long have we been saying this ?

Three years nearly !!

Oh heck though ..... what good are strikers anyway ..... they cost money, run around scoring goals so you get all excited and sweaty, allow you to win games ...... they're just very overrated really !! Lets get a couple more midfield players so we could try switching from a 4 - 6 - 0 formation that tickles the opposition to death into a rip roaring 3 - 7 - 0 formation
UTB & FTP