No McAtee starting? Why?

[Varkanoid]

At Blackpool in 2nd half McAtee got a wack and I saw him hobbling and trying to shake it off which he seemed to do and continued. Maybe this was the reason a fit Doyle v McAtee with a slight knock. Its not been mentioned but then again we wont get to know everything going on cos if we know then the opposition know.

The FA Cup will be the chance to play Basham, Doyle, Jebbo etc and rest a few/get them in for the necessary training so after that match we should have a better view of the team thats going to run up to the end of the season. We are 2nd still and can play a lot better some fans find it hard to shake off the Wilder/Covid years when we were down and out with no sight of improvement.

We are 2nd with points clear despite whats going on and off the pitch. Whoppeeee. As long as we stay out of the play offs we are up.

 

[Ned the Donkey]

He's in good form and if there are signs of him needing a rest, they are hard to spot. I think he should keep starting.

Off the ball at Blackpool he was stretching his calves a couple of times in the second half, second time was a full-on downward dog. Disappointing he didn't start, but I think it made sense.

 

[Keen Blade]

McAtee looked very bright & fit when he was eventually allowed on.
Not surprising when he's bang in form.
How does Hecky make his decisions ?
I've got a fast young player , one of the few who can beat a defender , who's bang in form and scored 2 in 2.
So I'll drop him to the bench and I won't bring him on till we've played an hour struggling like fuck without any effective midfield.
Another of the stark examples of Hecky's in-game shortcomings.
Yes his points record is amazing and yes he has done very well with an injury depleted squad.
But some of our performances could be vastly improved if he made slightly better starting selections and recognised sooner when & why we are struggling , making timely substitutions.
We improved massively after his changes last night and if he'd made them at HT , we'd probably have won.
I hope he reflects on last night and appreciates why we came so close to defeat.
I must concede that he's doing a fantastic job with what's been available to him both this season and last.
My observations are thus a counsel of perfection , but if he could just make these small improvements he would be a genuinely top-drawer manager.
And capable of operating in the PL.

 

[Champagneblade]

Regarding the OP, the Management are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

We've had huge injuries which culminated at Stoke where we'd got the U23s filling most of the bench.

In what is usually a stressful Christmas period we've tried to manage the workload of the group. Even then it isn't infallible.

Lowe has now strained his side and will be out for 10 days even though he was only making a short sub appearance.

I'm fine for Doyle and McAtee to share the minutes of between them that takes care of one spot from now until the end of the season. Yes, Doyle had a poor game, but this was very unexpected. Until Cardiff away, there wouldn't have been a single soul who would have been putting McAtee in the team before Doyle.

We also couldn't have anticipated what happened with Egan early on, changing the entire complexion of the game through a completely unenforced error.

I think sensible rotation is ok as long as you don't undermine the entire team. If we don't do that then we'll end up with decreased numbers who we have no option to play week in, week out.

 

[Snake]

.

 

[Keen Blade]

Regarding the OP, the Management are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

We've had huge injuries which culminated at Stoke where we'd got the U23s filling most of the bench.

In what is usually a stressful Christmas period we've tried to manage the workload of the group. Even then it isn't infallible.

Lowe has now strained his side and will be out for 10 days even though he was only making a short sub appearance.

I'm fine for Doyle and McAtee to share the minutes of between them that takes care of one spot from now until the end of the season. Yes, Doyle had a poor game, but this was very unexpected. Until Cardiff away, there wouldn't have been a single soul who would have been putting McAtee in the team before Doyle.

We also couldn't have anticipated what happened with Egan early on, changing the entire complexion of the game through a completely unenforced error.

I think sensible rotation is ok as long as you don't undermine the entire team. If we don't do that then we'll end up with decreased numbers who we have no option to play week in, week out.

Your "complete change in the complexion of the game" occured in minute 10.
And Doyle was under par.
Hecky waited far to long to bring McAtee on.
When he finally did , the transformation in our favour was obvious.
I wonder whether he just doesn't see how a game is going or he sees it but ignores it.

 

[Champagneblade]

Your "complete change in the complexion of the game" occured in minute 10.
And Doyle was under par.
Hecky waited far to long to bring McAtee on.
When he finally did , the transformation in our favour was obvious.
I wonder whether he just doesn't see how a game is going or he sees it but ignores it.

The game plan was probably to stay solid and have a good balance between defence and attack whilst at the same acknowledging McAtee is a young kid and probably shouldn't play consecutive games in a short turnaround, to avoid injury.

The Egan brain freeze happened early so we were needing to force the issue earlier. That said it probably didn't warrant hauling Doyle off after 15 minutes!

 

[Keen Blade]

The game plan was probably to stay solid and have a good balance between defence and attack whilst at the same acknowledging McAtee is a young kid and probably shouldn't play consecutive games in a short turnaround, to avoid injury.

The Egan brain freeze happened early so we were needing to force the issue earlier. That said it probably didn't warrant hauling Doyle off after 15 minutes!

Half time maybe ?

 

[BushBlade]

Off the ball at Blackpool he was stretching his calves a couple of times in the second half, second time was a full-on downward dog. Disappointing he didn't start, but I think it made sense.

Hecky actually said in his pre-match interview that McAtee had done well in the previous game but was cramping up at the end and he didn’t want to risk giving him another full game so soon.

 

[Champagneblade]

Half time maybe ?

Couldn't have argued with that to be fair.

 

[Pegster]

McAtee looked very bright & fit when he was eventually allowed on.
Not surprising when he's bang in form.
How does Hecky make his decisions ?
I've got a fast young player , one of the few who can beat a defender , who's bang in form and scored 2 in 2.
So I'll drop him to the bench and I won't bring him on till we've played an hour struggling like fuck without any effective midfield.
Another of the stark examples of Hecky's in-game shortcomings.
Yes his points record is amazing and yes he has done very well with an injury depleted squad.
But some of our performances could be vastly improved if he made slightly better starting selections and recognised sooner when & why we are struggling , making timely substitutions.
We improved massively after his changes last night and if he'd made them at HT , we'd probably have won.
I hope he reflects on last night and appreciates why we came so close to defeat.
I must concede that he's doing a fantastic job with what's been available to him both this season and last.
My observations are thus a counsel of perfection , but if he could just make these small improvements he would be a genuinely top-drawer manager.
And capable of operating in the PL.

Just wait till Fleck is fit again