LITTLE WEE JIMMY

[Nicesheffielder]

Let's all give thanks for the return of our little smiling jock.
Massive sorry to use that word improvement in our form NOT,it's bad enough carrying that world class midfielder Beefburger,but to have them both in same team doesn't help the team much rather have Doyle in. Like or lump it that's my 2p's worth

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Let's all give thanks for the return of our little smiling jock.
Massive sorry to use that word improvement in our form NOT,it's bad enough carrying that world class midfielder Beefburger,but to have them both in same team doesn't help the team much rather have Doyle in. Like or lump it that's my 2p's worth

I don't really know what our fans see in Doyle. He's had less than a handful of good games for us. I've seen him put in totally anonymous displays more often than not.
I'd probably give him a go for a couple of games but not really on merit. Just on the basis that we can't keep blindly playing Berge in the hope he turns a corner. He needs taking out and given a rest / given a rocket, whatever it is.

 

[Nightsweats]

I don't really know what our fans see in Doyle. He's had less than a handful of good games for us. I've seen him put in totally anonymous displays more often than not.
I'd probably give him a go for a couple of games but not really on merit. Just on the basis that we can't keep blindly playing Berge in the hope he turns a corner. He needs taking out and given a rest / given a rocket, whatever it is.

Must have been at different games to me.
Seen Doyle contribute more than Berge and Fleck combined.

 

[Katzenjammer]

Fleck's a spent force, among others.

 

[Nicesheffielder]

I don't really know what our fans see in Doyle. He's had less than a handful of good games for us. I've seen him put in totally anonymous displays more often than not.
I'd probably give him a go for a couple of games but not really on merit. Just on the basis that we can't keep blindly playing Berge in the hope he turns a corner. He needs taking out and given a rest / given a rocket, whatever it is.

Fair comment bud but I believe Doyle in my eyes offers more commitment, and has a better engine than both Berg & Fleck,with respect to wee Jimmy he has been fantastic in the PAST for us but he's yesterday's man and he just can't hack it at this level, and as for Berg I'm sick of hearing he's world class which world? The premier manager's know a world class player,1 Good game in 4 don't cut it .

 

[biggiesablade]

Fleck's a spent force, among others.

You know things are bad when we are still relying on Fleck and Sharp

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Doyle in the 'Norwood role' Vrs Spurs offered Hecky a glimpse at the solution to our current woes...

Question is - can he action it?

 

[alcoblade]

Must have been at different games to me.
Seen Doyle contribute more than Berge and Fleck combined.

Also, Doyle hasn't been granted an extended run in the team. Whilst I accept they're supposed to earn it, it's difficult to argue Berge is earning his continued inclusion.

 

[Charlieblade]

Whoever gets picked will cause consternation. Mr Fleck and inconsistency, loan players with questionable impact, all those create questions, which only PH can answer.
Maybe Fleck will be the only one left next season? Who knows.

 

[metalblade]

Doyle in the 'Norwood role' Vrs Spurs offered Hecky a glimpse at the solution to our current woes...

Question is - can he action it?

Another difference is he had Coulibaly and Brooks alongside him, players who put the effort in and did some tackles. Fleck isn't fit to do 90mins just yet as for Berge he has all the talent and attribute but zero fight and desire, he strolls around in a dream world most of the time. Shame he could be a top player but you can't teach fight and desire if you don't have them you are never going to make it to the top.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Must have been at different games to me.
Seen Doyle contribute more than Berge and Fleck combined.

Which games?

I think he did really well on his debut at home to Reading.
A decent outting a couple of months later away at West Brom.
And two good showings in the FA Cup, another couple of months later: Millwall (A), Spurs (H).
Beyond that, I'm struggling.

I thought he was diabolical away at Millwall and poor in some of our other worst performances of the season: Blackpool (H), Coventry (A), Stoke (A), QPR (H)...
I'm not sure what our record in the league is like when he starts, but I bet it's not great.

 

[billyblademan]

Which games?

I think he did really well on his debut at home Reading.
A decent outting a couple of months later away at West Brom.
And two good showings in the FA Cup, another couple of months later: Millwall (A), Spurs (H).
Beyond that, I'm struggling.

I thought he was diabolical away at Millwall and poor in some of our other worst performances of the season: Blackpool (H), Coventry (A), Stoke (A), QPR (H)...
I'm not sure what our record in the league is like when he starts, but I bet it's not great.

He's been inconsistent, but that's fair enough given his age, and fitness issues (including missing pre season). The frustration is he was starting to show some good form pre World Cup, but hasn't really been able to capture that since. For every good game, there's a bad or anonymous one. When he plays well, he shows what our midfield needs - a passing range, legs, can get in people's faces, and is capable further forward. People (including myself) start to wonder whether he's worth investing in long term. But it's not nearly enough on the whole.

Some hope remains, not least after a very good performance in the Norwood role. If he can get back in the team, stay fit, and contribute to a successful end of season outcome, then there's a case for him coming back in some way. The past 6/7 months however shows its probably more likely he'll be in and out, and maybe get injured for a while.

A real shame by the way, as he seems a good egg, and seems to like it here. Hopefully he can put it all together for the next 2 months.

 

[Katzenjammer]

You know things are bad when we are still relying on Fleck and Sharp

That's the problem, we have a natural affection towards them because they've been our players for years, but objectively speaking it falls short of what we need to meet our target.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

I'll leave Norwood to one side, as his is a closer argument, but neither Fleck nor Berge offer enough anywhere on the pitch for long enough periods, to be picked ahead of more mobile (arguable less technical) CM's now. It's time to grasp the nettle. If we roll out a midfield trio of Norwood, Berge & Fleck for the remaining games, we'll not get promoted either automatically or via the Play Offs.

I would also proffer that despite his ability to win defensive headers, McBurnie isn't mobile enough to lead the line and pressure the opposition's defensive line repeatedly.

A bulked up CM of Brooks, Doyle and Coulibaly (with Baldock & Osborn either side), with McAtee in front & Ndiaye up top would offer more solidity and mobility away from home. Doyle in the DCM role offers a lot more protection for our CB's than Norwood.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

He's been inconsistent, but that's fair enough given his age, and fitness issues (including missing pre season). The frustration is he was starting to show some good form pre World Cup, but hasn't really been able to capture that since. For every good game, there's a bad or anonymous one. When he plays well, he shows what our midfield needs - a passing range, legs, can get in people's faces, and is capable further forward. People (including myself) start to wonder whether he's worth investing in long term. But it's not nearly enough on the whole.

Some hope remains, not least after a very good performance in the Norwood role. If he can get back in the team, stay fit, and contribute to a successful end of season outcome, then there's a case for him coming back in some way. The past 6/7 months however shows its probably more likely he'll be in and out, and maybe get injured for a while.

A real shame by the way, as he seems a good egg, and seems to like it here. Hopefully he can put it all together for the next 2 months.

There's inconsistent and there's only having 2/3 strong games in the league out of several.

I do agree that, when he's on it, he can look really good... but given how rare those days are and how often he's unavailable he's not somebody I'd want us going anywhere near if we went up.

The last crop of expensive young signings we made have similarly been unavailable almost as much as they have been available.

 

[billyblademan]

There's inconsistent and there's only having 2/3 strong games in the league out of several.

I do agree that, when he's on it, he can look really good... but given how rare those days are and how often he's unavailable he's not somebody I'd want us going anywhere near if we went up.

The last crop of expensive young signings we made have similarly been unavailable almost as much as they have been available.

Agreed. Given how average/crap our midfield has been the last couple of months, and the contract farce we find ourselves in, I think there's still a chance for him to redeem himself over the remainder of the season, and fingers crossed that can happen.

Ultimately however, he was brought in to replace Fleck (not a particularly high bar of late) and he hasn't done that.

 

[Brian Deane]

Fleck's a spent force, among others.

Has been for a couple of seasons same goes for Basham. Should of got rid when we got relegated from PL.

 

[Katzenjammer]

Has been for a couple of seasons same goes for Basham. Should of got rid when we got relegated from PL.

Maybe so, but then again, Basham's past few displays at home have been very strong, and he still has something to offer. I have doubts as to whether that's the case with Fleck.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

I'll leave Norwood to one side, as his is a closer argument, but neither Fleck nor Berge offer enough anywhere on the pitch for long enough periods, to be picked ahead of more mobile (arguable less technical) CM's now. It's time to grasp the nettle. If we roll out a midfield trio of Norwood, Berge & Fleck for the remaining games, we'll not get promoted either automatically or via the Play Offs.

I would also proffer that despite his ability to win defensive headers, McBurnie isn't mobile enough to lead the line and pressure the opposition's defensive line repeatedly.

A bulked up CM of Brooks, Doyle and Coulibaly (with Baldock & Osborn either side), with McAtee in front & Ndiaye up top would offer more solidity and mobility away from home. Doyle in the DCM role offers a lot more protection for our CB's than Norwood.

Loving that formation/selection.

Very harsh on Norwood but sometimes life can be harsh.

 

[biggiesablade]

That's the problem, we have a natural affection towards them because they've been our players for years, but objectively speaking it falls short of what we need to meet our target.

Yeah completely agree, especially when it comes to Billy. Iv never felt an attachment to someone outside my personal life bar for Sharp, I hope he hangs his boots up after this season and moves in to management down the leagues. In my soppy perfect scenario he comes back in a few years to manage us

 

[Bladesman]

For the 100th time. Fleck is just a solid substitute these days as he was in the Watford game.

He isn't a starter anymore. Same goes for Basham.

 

[Moan? Nope-I saw Longhorn]

Doyle in the 'Norwood role' Vrs Spurs offered Hecky a glimpse at the solution to our current woes...

Question is - can he action it?

Aye
because Doyle replacing Norwood resolves the (other) more obvious problems:
“full backs” that can’t defend- exposing immobile central defenders
Lack of mobility / pace/ energy (elsewhere) in the middle
Ndiaye being smothered / downturn in form
Inability to deliver incisive balls into box to maximise McB impact
Limited alternative options ‘up top’

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Aye
because Doyle replacing Norwood resolves the (other) more obvious problems:
“full backs” that can’t defend- exposing immobile central defenders
Lack of mobility / pace/ energy (elsewhere) in the middle
Ndiaye being smothered / downturn in form
Inability to deliver incisive balls into box to maximise McB impact
Limited alternative options ‘up top’

I'm suggest having a more mobile midfield helps address most of the above.

With a static midfield and an even more static CF (McBurnie) then we're relying on Ndiaye and our full backs to create/attack space. This is palpably not working. No amount of switching fleck/Mcatee/osborn or Doyle/Berge is going to really address that.

We need a more fluid approach as we saw in the spurs game. It also means we can defend with a lot more agility and don't get ripped apart everytime we lose possession in the final third.

I'd agree on the fullbacks and have been saying this last year, Bogle is better suited to an attacking midfielder role than RWB....

 

[ATL Recs]

Another difference is he had Coulibaly and Brooks alongside him, players who put the effort in and did some tackles. Fleck isn't fit to do 90mins just yet as for Berge he has all the talent and attribute but zero fight and desire, he strolls around in a dream world most of the time. Shame he could be a top player but you can't teach fight and desire if you don't have them you are never going to make it to the top.

Brooks was spent by half time and offered nothing in the second half kid looked out of his depth and was the weak link
No criticism just mine and others around me how we saw it

 

[nopigfansintown]

The balance of the team is the problem. It's too late to solve that with the midfield as we don't have the personel. It's a spine problem: a lot of lovely ball playing midfielders but a lack of physicality, athleticism and aggression. Put a lot of these players in other teams and people would be wanking themselves off about them. The blend is oft the key in football. That said, first things first is making yourself hard to beat. That means using your better defensive players to balance out the inbalance in the rest of the team; in this case the midfield. Not giving poor goals away has to be the start

When we were at our best we were winning the ball back due to the forward running power, and the positioning of our players with our press. We were intercepting the ball, forcing them to lump clearances and forcing mistakes. We weren't thundering into tackles and physically dominating teams that way; we've never done that. This has dropped off alarmingly in recent months All of Blackburn's chances came from trying to press, failing, and getting picked off on the break. They offered very little when tasked with creating openings themselves. They broke our crap press and watched our players amble back whilst taking advantage of bigger numbers. If you can't high press effectively you have to change your defensive lines. If Klopp has had to do it why not Heckingbottom?

Playing out from the back. This is problematic due to our personnel. We've missed RND's ball carrying and overloads and Clark's composure compared to JLT. This exacerbates the Norwood issue. The issue being the ease of neutralising him with the opponent's press or a man marking system. Blackburn used it again to good effect. The opponents know that if they can do that, a match against us becomes a lottery as Norwood will then go backwards or sideways. The ball will be in the air, the match will be a scrap and they will, to a large extent, neutralise our footballing abilities. When one of the back three can't use the ball it makes it even easier to neutralise Norwood and make us go back or long. Harsh on JLT who has his strengths, but true imo.

Ndiaye and Mcburnie aren't an ideal partnership. They both prefer coming towards the ball. This makes us easier to press as the opponent knows there's nothing running behind their defensive line. It naturally results in congested central areas all of which Oli, Ndiaye and Berge all like to operate in. Their effectiveness is all reduced as a result. If you can somehow get Jebbo in there running off the shoulder I think we are a much tougher proposition, as more spaces will open up for these players. Ideally it'd be Jebbo and Sharp/Oli with Ndiaye in the hole. But is our midfield good enough to do that. I have my doubts.

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

I thought he was diabolical away at Millwall

Except for the diabolical free kick of course…

 

[robbiez666]

Norwood aside, the problem is that none of our other midfielders are reliable enough. They're inconsistent. The two Man City players struggle with stamina and can be great and awful in subsequent games (the latter is to be expected given their age). We've got Jimmy/John, 1 in 3 Berge and then players with no record of being able to deliver at this level (Arblaster, Coulibaly) and then Osborn.

PH has to try and put 3 midfielders out every game to get us a result and it's very obvious that no combination is ideal and what works one day fails another. They all struggle against a press. They all struggle with athleticism and mobility. None are known for their defensive qualities.

We just have a fairly poor make-up of midfielders in the squad.

Even when we're doing well performance-wise, I think the defence and attack have plastered over the cracks. Ndiaye off the ball, for instance, often operates as an extra man in there.

 

[ancientblade]

I don't really know what our fans see in Doyle. He's had less than a handful of good games for us. I've seen him put in totally anonymous displays more often than not.
I'd probably give him a go for a couple of games but not really on merit. Just on the basis that we can't keep blindly playing Berge in the hope he turns a corner. He needs taking out and given a rest / given a rocket, whatever it is.

must have been at different games to me anall norwood and fleck are all but done tommy doyle is a great prospect and i really hope we can sign him if this embargo gets sorted mind its all about opinions isnt it i dont like this 3 centre back tactic anymore and have never ever rated mcburnie but most on here disagree with me on both

 

[Willie Carlin]

Flecks had a bad injury (Broken Leg) but being the bloke he is he actually tried playing through the pain with it before having surgery, but some of the know nowts on here start pulling the man down Hecky is building his minutes up steadily to get him fit to play 90 minutes. He’s done the same with Illy when he first came also MCAtee. To say the injuries we’ve had Hecky is doing a fine job to have got the points total we have up to now. It seems the norm on here to some to pull one player or the other to bits.

 

[bakeblade]

I don't really know what our fans see in Doyle. He's had less than a handful of good games for us. I've seen him put in totally anonymous displays more often than not.
I'd probably give him a go for a couple of games but not really on merit. Just on the basis that we can't keep blindly playing Berge in the hope he turns a corner. He needs taking out and given a rest / given a rocket, whatever it is.

Fleck's a spent force, among others.

Watch Fleck trying to get back on Blackburn's goal and it confirms the above.