Kevin Blackwell in for a fall.....

[Robbie]

His latest interview gives very lame reasoning behind playing Monty and not Hendrie

Kevin Blackwell has responded to criticism by a section of the United support of Nick Montgomery by explaining his thinking behind the midfielder's selection over Lee Hendrie in the last two games:

"This division is one of the most demanding, very physical with a lot of hard running and tackling so it has to be horses for courses."

The United boss explained that Montgomery's all action, aggressive style was a vital component in the team, but didn't rule out a future role for Hendrie:

"When it's a war and you need a dog it will be 'Monty', when we are ahead or need to add some creative flair then it will be Hendrie. His strength is being on the ball on the front foot but sometimes you need to win a battle first before you can express yourself.

"Monty's strength is in running and tackling, not passing and he will admit that. But he has a huge heart and is real Blade, and sometimes I think fans forget that he has played a big part in many of the great wins this club has had over the years.

"Maybe he is an easy target because he has been around for so long and some supporters can forget just what they have got in him and the likes of Paddy Kenny, and Michael Tonge before he left.

"When I first came to this Club, make no mistake, Lee Hendrie was persona non grata and United fans wouldn't accept him at any price.

"But he has worked hard to get back in and, I have drip fed him in. The fans have liked what they have seen and he will get an opportunity."

Blackwell gave an insight into his thinking when he was faced with tricky decisions against Coventry when Sun Jihai was dismissed and the team was already one down:

"I felt that we could still go on and win, and put a structure in place on the pitch to try and achieve that.

"We wanted to keep two strikers on which meant I needed three dogs of war in midfield to cover for having ten men. In Gary Speed, Stephen Quinn and Monty I had three players who would give me legs to achieve that.

"If I had kept Dave Cotterill on the pitch to do that he wouldn't have been able to give me anything going forward as well, so bringing on Greg Halford enabled me to keep some cover at the back and bring his long throws into place.

"It is a balancing act which at times some supporters might not fully understand. If I had gone gung ho for a win and ended up losing the point we had worked hard to get I would have been criticised for not shutting up shop. If we had locked things up and not tried to capitalise there would be criticism so you can't win really!"

So he is basically saying that Hendrie isn't willing to work hard like Monty would? This may be true to the effect he won't do as much work as Monty, however he will still put in a good shift, and give us something going forward and also have the fans fully behind the team.

What about this new signing he is wanting to make on loan, if he isn't as hard working as Monty (which I fail to believe he will find anyone who is) then will he not come in to the team?

Kevin Blackwell is making excuses in my opinion. He needs to start making decisions on the pitch that are going to make us a more positive side, rather than being negative. It would seem he can't accept if he makes a mistake, and won't back down to it.

This isn't a dig at Monty, I like him, I just can't see a side with Speed and Monty together working on a regular basis.

I agree with his remarks about the Coventry game about who he kep on pitch, but it was obvious we weren't pushing for a win. It's not always about going "gung ho" for it, it's about having about of guile and creativity to look like we wanted more than a draw. When we got on equal terms, we pushed forward, did some passing and scored, after that it was the same old long ball system.

 

[dingledog]

Its just all too depressing at the moment, there isnt any good news anywhere and just when you need your team to give you some escape it lets you down. A well thought out argument Robbie, I couldn't agree more.

 

[beightonblade]

The Blades are worse now than when f10pp0 was here !

The truth is not far away.

 

[MAQ]

Great post robbie and its been nominated accordingly.

I agree with you that the decisions and changes against coventry were the right ones to make, and in the end we salvaged a point which could and up being important at the end of the season.

I also take his point about monty's work ethic, and the role he plays. For me he was one of the leading players in performance on the field against coventry.

What i find difficult to accept is his remarks on the need for what and when, ie: monty when we need to battle and hendrie when we need the flair and attacking mindset. His wording implies that when we are up, ie: winning, then that would be the time to include hendrie, however when we are down, ie: loosing, then thats the perfect time for monty. so short of FIFA bringing in a rule whereby substitutions are made available like american football in a players for specific plays etc this isnt going to be possible. Surely what he should be doing if his opinions are correct is starting with hendrie and speed in the middle with monty starting on the bench. Surely if hendrie and speed are starting in the middle, hendrie is given the oppertunity to provide his flair and attacking prowess with speed providing the defensive attributes of monty and also spreading the balls around.

Thats my take on it anyway.

Discuss!!

 

[Kev Gee]

Im starting to be confused by Blackwells comments more & more!!

I just dont think his reasons for team selection & tactics are any good & are very contradictory!!

It seems to me like he's lost his way since the end of last season!

 

[matth]

I couldn't agree more.

If we have to play negatively, at least let's do it after we've scored rather than before. With no creativity, we're not going to take the game to the opposition and we're going to end up playing at their pace, which is never going to work.

I'm really disappointed with Blackwell this season. Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling for his head or anything like that, but his overly cautious style and clear contradictions in what he's said worry me somewhat.

I'm not expecting to win every game; nor am I expecting us to play fantastically scintillating football. However, with a team blessed with players like Beattie, Speed, Hendrie (who by KB's own admission is returning to his best) and Naysmith, we should be at least playing much better, if not winning more matches. Many managers in the CCC would give their right arms for players of that caliber, and would probably make them the backbone of an entertaining and threatening squad.

I fear too that mentioning another player who might be coming in will backfire if it doesn't come off, or if it's another journeyman jack-of-all-trades. I sometimes think our managers could do with some media training!

 

[jodman]

I heard this interview last night on radio Sheffield and i agreed with most of what Blackwell was saying.

He did come across a bit "father knows best" when it came to the criticism that he and the team have received of late but i can forgive him that because i do think people have gone overboard.

He has, of course, made a cross for his own back by once again mentioning a possible new arrival and drawing parallels with the impact made by Michael Brown; talk about setting a high standard. When will blades managers learn that it is best to say nothing until the deal is signed, sealed and delivered?

If this one falls through he can expect another backlash in my opinion, especially if the performance levels are not significantly raised.

 

[TonyAgana]

Quite a bit about that interview last night worried me. Especially the part about how last season he took risks that he wouldn't take this season. It perfectly explains why we aren't the attacking force to be reckoned with like we were towards the end of last season.