Are we Spain???

[mattbianco1]

Are you happy about that mate?

No it will just be moan moan moan like p&g earlier.

Barnsley had a game plan and deployed it very well indeed.

JCR proved once again he can't cross a fucking road never mind a football. Other than that we battered them.

I think had Flynn been on or Davies we would have scored from the chances we created down the right hand side today. JCR is technically gifted no two ways about that but my god his crossing

 

[super_pig]

i wasn't there. who was he supposed to be crossing to??. we areen't used to anyone getting a cross in .. flynn ususally checks back falls downa nd loses the ball.. he works hard though

 

[yorkshirecoast]

No it will just be moan moan moan like p&g earlier.

Barnsley had a game plan and deployed it very well indeed.

JCR proved once again he can't cross a fucking road never mind a football. Other than that we battered them.

I think had Flynn been on or Davies we would have scored from the chances we created down the right hand side today. JCR is technically gifted no two ways about that but my god his crossing

What's the point crossing it when Clough never plays a striker and we rarely put more than one man in the opposition box? Our wingers beat their man but then have nobody to cross or pass it to.

 

[wizadry]

No it will just be moan moan moan like p&g earlier.

Barnsley had a game plan and deployed it very well indeed.

JCR proved once again he can't cross a fucking road never mind a football. Other than that we battered them.

I think had Flynn been on or Davies we would have scored from the chances we created down the right hand side today. JCR is technically gifted no two ways about that but my god his crossing

People are allowed to moan as you put it,and i personally would find it very strange indeed if someone didn't have anything to moan about after today,very pissed off today.

 

[Bladesman]

Are we fuck clough, that's why we need a striker on the pitch from the word go. That's why most of our goals have come in the last 9mins. Wake up an sort it out!

Exactly.

Even if he did not want to start McNuts he could have started Porter even!

 

[William Large]

Don't think McNulty would have changed anything if he started. That miss in the second half from a free header with the entire goal to aim at was disgraceful for any so-called finisher.
Scougall yet again proved that he requires a dropping to the bench, useless today. He really is a shadow of the player we all saw last season.
Baxter played well apart from a couple of misplaced passes in the second half. Couldn't fault him as he's being played out of position yet again.
McCarthy can fook off back to Palace. Never have I seen a player coming from the Premier League with as bad passing. Give Basham some time at centre back as we've all seen him playing there fairly comfortably.
So many problems with our defensive pairings this season. This wouldn't be a problem if one simple task would've been done properly. DO NOT SELL OUR BEST PLAYERS.

The header from mcnulty was truly dreadful but he must feel pressured when he only gets 10-20 minutes here and there. If he was given a run starting in the team he would probably gain confidence knowing he would get 3 or 4 chances instead of 1. A confident average striker will always perform better than a good one with no confidence.

 

[metalblade]

So this is what it comes down to we pin our goal scoring hopes on a young kid just down from Scotland who is still learning the English game. Says it all to me when the majority of our fans rate him as our best striker even if Negative Nigel doesn't. The fact is we don't have striker worthy of the name at the club why else would we persist with Baxter up front. Two and a half years on and we are still desperate for someone to give us a goal threat so we can ditch this crap 4-5-1 with no striker and play as Mike Basset would say FOUR FOUR FUCKING TWO

 

[wizadry]

So this is what it comes down to we pin our goal scoring hopes on a young kid just down from Scotland who is still learning the English game. Says it all to me when the majority of our fans rate him as our best striker even if Negative Nigel doesn't. The fact is we don't have striker worthy of the name at the club why else would we persist with Baxter up front. Two and a half years on and we are still desperate for someone to give us a goal threat so we can ditch this crap 4-5-1 with no striker and play as Mike Basset would say FOUR FOUR FUCKING TWO

We have the striker,it's just playing him that seems to be the problem and me personally can't see why.

 

[metalblade]

We have the striker,it's just playing him that seems to be the problem and me personally can't see why.

Are you seriously saying we should play McNults up front on his own ?

 

[wizadry]

Are you seriously saying we should play McNults up front on his own ?

Yes mate.It's all right giving him 10 mins here 25 mins there,give the lad a good run in the side with him playing with a consistent set of players to get a good understanding and this lad will get goals,no doubt about it.

Better still play him with Higdon up top,but that's never going to happen is it

 

[metalblade]

I would like to see McNults play as part of the 2 in a 4-4-2, I just think it is asking a lot of a young kid to play up top on his own.

 

[sitwell]

This hatred for Baxter you seem to have is really confusing. What have you seen from Scougall this season that warrants him starting over Baxter? José is our most technically gifted player. Scougall is a shadow of the player he was last year and it doesn't seem as though that player isn't coming back anytime soon. We've perserveared with many so-so performances from Scougs and its about time Clough uses Baxter in his best position to get the best out of him. I'd rather an onform Baxter than Scougall.

I haven't got hatred at all ,and Ive just explained why ,try reading the post. Ive also said why I would prefer Scougall to him ,but if you only choose to read the bits you want its a waste of time bothering to reply.

 

[wizadry]

I would like to see McNults play as part of the 2 in a 4-4-2, I just think it is asking a lot of a young kid to play up top on his own.

Yep,i said as much in my last little paragraph mate.I just want McNulty to get a few starts on the trot to see if he can be as good as a lot of us thinks he can.

 

[wizadry]

I don't agree ,but its all opinions ,I think Scougall is far more valuable to the team and we would miss his tackling and mobility. Baxter didn't have his worst game today but apart from 3 Hollywood passes I cant recall anything else he did.

I will start by saying i rate both very highly and that both can play at a higher level,but please answer me one thing,what has Scouggs done to influence games better or more than Baxter has? This season i'm struggling to see what that could possibly be.

 

[sitwell]

I will start by saying i rate both very highly and that both can play at a higher level,but please answer me one thing,what has Scouggs done to influence games better or more than Baxter has? This season i'm struggling to see what that could possibly be.

You mean like scoring a winning goal rather than miss a pen last week ?

 

[wizadry]

You mean like scoring a winning goal rather than miss a pen last week ?

Lets weigh it up then shall we on things like that.Nah because Baxter's not scored this season or got a winner has heAnd by the way,the keeper saved it,he didn't miss.

 

[yuley82]

For me Baxter isn't a luxury, he's a midfielder than can create a chance, so let's drop Wallace or scouges who by the way has looked shit since he said he'd vote yes for Scotland! (That's for another day) but seriously he's looked crap an too Light weight, play Baxter in the middle let him dictate play and with a recognised striker up top we might actually score some goals. Baxter is no striker never has been never will be, his footballing brain is enough to feed a striker all day in this league.

 

[crucialkneeligaman]

So this is what it comes down to we pin our goal scoring hopes on a young kid just down from Scotland who is still learning the English game. Says it all to me when the majority of our fans rate him as our best striker even if Negative Nigel doesn't. The fact is we don't have striker worthy of the name at the club why else would we persist with Baxter up front. Two and a half years on and we are still desperate for someone to give us a goal threat so we can ditch this crap 4-5-1 with no striker and play as Mike Basset would say FOUR FOUR FUCKING TWO

To be fair Nigel went at Barnsley by bringing Porter on with 5 minutes to go and attacking with two strikers . At the moment I don't know long term whether McNulty is going to be the answer but he certainly shows a lot of promise and just needs to conjure up some match winning performances from his 15 minutes on the pitch.

 

[grafikhaus]

This is the reason we have to get rid of Baxter ,and before you all say he is my scapegoat ,let me explain. While ever we have him I think Clough will want to play him because Clough was that type of player and he does have ability , but we are sacrificing a striker by playing him in the side. He isn't fit , mobile or strong enough to play as one of the midfield 2 and not a striker which has been shown over the past dozen games. It isn't Baxter Im having a go at as a person or player ,but a Baxter type player is a luxury ,and that is a luxury which cant be afforded in this division. He wasn't our worst player today ,but we cant keep having to find a place and formation to fit around him.

A lot of sense in this post. We risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater though. Baxter is probably our most technically gifted player, but NC is making him look a mug by using him inappropriately. I'm guessing that, if NC had inherited Kevin McDonald, he would have (mis)used him with the same pig-headed dogma.

This not playing a striker is getting annoying. Baxter is not a striker. Either find place for him in midfield or playing behind a striker or don't play him. I think he is a good player but we are messing the team about to accommodate him. Yes we have been winning games with this formation but have been making hard work of it against some very poor opposition. What happened today could easily have happened in all our last few wins. To say Barnsley were average today was being generous. Time and time again Murphy and Cambell Rice got in good positions but crosses went across the box with no one running onto them. I seem to be having the same conversation at half time every week. We are playing well but have no threat in the final third. We have to play at least one striker - any striker!

Agree with all of that.

I wasn't there. who was he supposed to be crossing to?? We aren't used to anyone getting a cross in .. Flynn usually checks back falls down and loses the ball.. he works hard though

You didn't need to be there, super_pig. Apart from our accustomed late goals, it was the same old. We huffed and we puffed...you know the rest. JCR is an obvious weak link for me. If he was as good as he thinks he is, Barnsley would have doubled up on him. He isn't and they didn't. They were content to let their full-back indulge his one and only 'trick' - the oh-so-predictable going round the outside, get to the byline and, as the line appears, chuck in a cross - any cross - with no hope of success. After the first half-dozen wasted, high crosses to no-one in particular you'd have thought he'd have tried to drill a couple of low, hard crosses in. But he didn't.

Talking of late goals, this shows how over-reliant on them we've been:

​

So we've now been out-scored in 4 of the 6 fifteen minute segments of a game (the first four). Always chasing a game. Reactive rather than proactive and if it doesn't 'come off' in that final half-hour (which yesterday it didn't thanks to the obvious reasons so many have posted), we're fucked.

 

[alcoblade]

Yep,i said as much in my last little paragraph mate.I just want McNulty to get a few starts on the trot to see if he can be as good as a lot of us thinks he can.

If like to see 442 much more often. But back to sitters point, could you see Baxter making up part of a 2 man midfield? We would be overrun every time.

UTB

 

[alcoblade]

A lot of sense in this post. We risk throwing the baby out with the bathwater though. Baxter is probably our most technically gifted player, but NC is making him look a mug by using him inappropriately. I'm guessing that, if NC had inherited Kevin McDonald, he would have (mis)used him with the same pig-headed dogma.



Agree with all of that.



You didn't need to be there, super_pig. Apart from our accustomed late goals, it was the same old. We huffed and we puffed...you know the rest. JCR is an obvious weak link for me. If he was as good as he thinks he is, Barnsley would have doubled up on him. He isn't and they didn't. They were content to let their full-back indulge his one and only 'trick' - the oh-so-predictable going round the outside, get to the byline and, as the line appears, chuck in a cross - any cross - with no hope of success. After the first half-dozen wasted, high crosses to no-one in particular you'd have thought he'd have tried to drill a couple of low, hard crosses in. But he didn't.

Talking of late goals, this shows how over-reliant on them we've been:

View attachment 9742​

So we've now been out-scored in 4 of the 6 fifteen minute segments of a game (the first four). Always chasing a game. Reactive rather than proactive and if it doesn't 'come off' in that final half-hour (which yesterday it didn't thanks to the obvious reasons so many have posted), we're fucked.

Yep, late goals come when the original plan has been abandoned. Why we continually use this tactic / formation is beyond me.

UTB

 

[LSF]

Yep, late goals come when the original plan has been abandoned. Why we continually use this tactic / formation is beyond me.

UTB

Maybe because everyone else plays 451, teams rarely start 442 these days and even if they start 2 recognised strikers, one always tucks in midfield, as Winnall did yesterday.

 

[sheffielder]

You mean like scoring a winning goal rather than miss a pen last week ?

Hasn't Baxter scored more goals than Scougs this season?

 

[alcoblade]

Maybe because everyone else plays 451, teams rarely start 442 these days and even if they start 2 recognised strikers, one always tucks in midfield, as Winnall did yesterday.

Agreed, there's a few maybes. But Higdon recently scored at a goal a game for over a season at a higher level than this. That wasn't because he can only be utilised for he last 10 minutes when you're chasing a game.

And if it were just about countering opposition, then why do the opposition feel the need to oblige us late on?

UTB

 

[sitwell]

Maybe because everyone else plays 451, teams rarely start 442 these days and even if they start 2 recognised strikers, one always tucks in midfield, as Winnall did yesterday.

We tuck 2 in midfield though. I think losing Higdon fucked us up yesterday to be fair ,and with Wallace not 100% we would probably get over run in midfield.

 

[mattbianco1]

This is the reason we have to get rid of Baxter ,and before you all say he is my scapegoat ,let me explain. While ever we have him I think Clough will want to play him because Clough was that type of player and he does have ability , but we are sacrificing a striker by playing him in the side. He isn't fit , mobile or strong enough to play as one of the midfield 2 and not a striker which has been shown over the past dozen games. It isn't Baxter Im having a go at as a person or player ,but a Baxter type player is a luxury ,and that is a luxury which cant be afforded in this division. He wasn't our worst player today ,but we cant keep having to find a place and formation to fit around him.

I'd personally drop scougall and have Baxter in behind the striker. Baxter is the most gifted player in the side but his position is behind the front man, not the front man.

 

[Blade59]

The problem is we have not got the striker required to play one up top. We need someone strong, pacey and mobile. O'grady would have been ideal. Mcnulty is not strong enough for this role. Higdon is not mobile enough and Porter is Porter. Unless we are going to sign such a striker we need up play 2 up front. All this we don't need a striker from Clough (we've got Jose, Murphy can go down the middle etc) is just self denial.

 

[LSF]

We tuck 2 in midfield though. I think losing Higdon fucked us up yesterday to be fair ,and with Wallace not 100% we would probably get over run in midfield.

Agree Higdon would have made a positive difference yesterday. All the balls that fizzed across 6 yard box would have been meat and drink to him . Wallace was off pace yesterday and I thought Scougall had a better game, he worked hard both defensively and getting forward. As I said in another post, we'll go on another good run from here IMO.

 

[Jonboy60]

The problem is we have not got the striker required to play one up top. We need someone strong, pacey and mobile. O'grady would have been ideal. Mcnulty is not strong enough for this role. Higdon is not mobile enough and Porter is Porter. Unless we are going to sign such a striker we need up play 2 up front. All this we don't need a striker from Clough (we've got Jose, Murphy can go down the middle etc) is just self denial.

Where is o'grady, did he go on loan from Brighton to somewhere else or not. Can't be arsed to check.

 

[Lord Bos of Eckington.]

Where is o'grady, did he go on loan from Brighton to somewhere else or not. Can't be arsed to check.

Think OGrady is still at Brighton . The thread are we in Spain . With the type of play no not really , but with hardly any information coming out of the lane , we seem to be in Spain in the dictatorship of Franco . The information we get is controlled and has spin. It is like all staff , players even down to the tea lady have signed a confidentially act agreement . We do not know still to this day what the Butler situation was all about . Does Mr Prince and Mr McCabe still think the place is riddled with spies and agents who would try and destabilise the club. Perhaps we only sign players with a certain type of political persuasion , and Butler , McNuts , Higgy have been found out.

Always been a funny life following the Blades.

UTB