Paul Coutts.

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alcoblade said:
Are you sure you haven't extrapolated people's thoughts there?


I thought he was dogshit before. I think he's decent now, but far from a revelation. I am glad he's in the team, but can still get frustrated with the missing parts of his game.

On the whole, that's a fair reflection of just about every Blade I discuss this with.

UTB
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And that's my view too. But there has been more than a fair bit of fawning over him since the season began. As far as I'm concerned he owes us 6 more months of being good enough to make up for the whole of last season when he even stood out as bad in Uniteds worst team for 35 years.
 



Tyler Durden said:
And that's my view too. But there has been more than a fair bit of fawning over him since the season began. As far as I'm concerned he owes us 6 more months of being good enough to make up for the whole of last season when he even stood out as bad in Uniteds worst team for 35 years.
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Agreed. But we can also just enjoy the ride whilst he pays us back. :)
 
Tyler Durden said:
He'd be fairly anonymous without John Fleck to carry him.
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What about the option that by his positioning and passing, he makes Fleck look a better player?

The fact they work well as a pair should be a cause for celebration rather than an excuse to have a dig at a player you obviously don't like.
 
Sometimes it's more about the whole than the individual.

Hey there's no 'i' in Teim.
 
Bladepicker said:
Load of bullshit. He said he was bored under Adkins as a lot of the players were due to his totally inept tactics he deployed. Scougall and to some degree even Sharp who is an Adkins golden boy have slagged off the regime last season.

Coutts is a proper footballer who is showing more mobility and fitness because it is his first actual pre season in 4 years since a major injury. Don't let facts get in the way of an anti Coutts tirade though.
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Whilst i'm happy with Coutts' performances this season, for him to say he was bored last season is just an excuse for his lazy, lacklustre, lethargic and shitty no turn up performances he put in last season. In short, he was an absolute wanker who took the piss out of the club when he clearly had the ability to do a lot better, as he is clearly showing this season.

Long may it continue for the good of our club but he still owes us big time to make up for last season, you don't need any pre seasons at all to show some actual effort in games and to use the boredom excuse is not only pathetic, it's a complete pisstake when your're getting paid handsomely for doing the job you're supposed to be doing.

If we go up this season with him playing the role he is doing then i'll be more than happy and we'll almost forget what's happened before as fickle football fans usually do, almost! :)
 
I've found it really hard to forgive him for last season. It's like a bird that's cheated on you and you take her back but you'll always carry that hurt that she got rammed up the ass by your mate Dave.

Fuck you Sarah.

What was this thread about?
 
wizadry said:
for him to say he was bored last season is just an excuse for his lazy, lacklustre, lethargic and shitty no turn up performances he put in last season.
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Again, that's just your interpretation. He said he was bored at times last season, not that he wasn't trying because of it. As I said above, his major injury and no pre season would have had a much bigger impact on his ability to run around for 90 minutes. The tactics we employed last season bored the team as a whole, not just Coutts or we wouldn't have finished mid table in league 1 and other players have said as such.

Also, he had many very good performances last season but get a game like say Burton or Wigan at home, when we were absolutely awful as a team and every player looked disinterested, and it was Coutts who seemed to get more than his fair share of criticism and still, even though he is easily in the top 2 for player of the season this year, he is seemingly one defeat away from being slagged off again.

Coutts is a quality player, the fact we now have a manager and a system that brings the best out of him and he is fitter than he has been in the last 5 years is a major positive for me, not a negative.
 
Bladepicker said:
Again, that's just your interpretation. He said he was bored at times last season, not that he wasn't trying because of it. As I said above, his major injury and no pre season would have had a much bigger impact on his ability to run around for 90 minutes. The tactics we employed last season bored the team as a whole, not just Coutts or we wouldn't have finished mid table in league 1 and other players have said as such.

Also, he had many very good performances last season but get a game like say Burton or Wigan at home, when we were absolutely awful as a team and every player looked disinterested, and it was Coutts who seemed to get more than his fair share of criticism and still, even though he is easily in the top 2 for player of the season this year, he is seemingly one defeat away from being slagged off again.

Coutts is a quality player, the fact we now have a manager and a system that brings the best out of him and he is fitter than he has been in the last 5 years is a major positive for me, not a negative.
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What has he done to warrant being the top two player of the year exactly?
 
Tyler Durden said:
What has he done to warrant being the top two player of the year exactly?
Click to expand...

Dur.

Being one of the best two players of this season...

On a less sarcy fucker note, his passing, link play, intelligence, control and ability to receive possession of the ball when marked and recylce it quickly is both brilliant skill and key to how we play and the space/time for Fleck and Duffy to shine. It's a pleasure to watch his control of the ball, added to that he isn't blowing out of his arse after 50 minutes anymore, I don't know how he cant be a contender for player of the season so far.
 
Said it before and I'll say it again, he's gone from totally shit to decent, which is more impressive than someone going from average to decent don't get me wrong, but it creates an illusion that many of our fans seem to have fallen for and they're now guilty of over emphasising his performances because of how utterly shit he was before.
 
Tyler Durden said:
What has he done to warrant being the top two player of the year exactly?
Click to expand...

He can control a ball properly and equally when under pressure.

He can look up and appreciate where his teamates are and anticipate where they are going.

He can accurately pass a ball to his fellow teamates.

The above should be pre-requisites for any well paid professional player, but sadly experience has taught us that is not always the case. He is consistently the best ball player at BDTBL since McDonald.

I genuinely don't know why you have it in for him..
 
I should coco said:
He can control a ball properly and equally when under pressure.

He can look up and appreciate where his teamates are and anticipate where they are going.

He can accurately pass a ball to his fellow teamates.

The above should be pre-requisites for any well paid professional player, but sadly experience has taught us that is not always the case. He is consistently the best ball player at BDTBL since McDonald.

I genuinely don't know why you have it in for him..
Click to expand...

You not seen enough TD posts to know that forgiveness isn't exactly his top skill? ;)
 
As we all know, Clough brought Coutts in when he was making his way back from a long and serious injury lay-off. That created justifiable frustration because the signing was unlikely to deliver the immediate impact that we needed to push for promotion. It was surely clear to anyone who has watched any football, however, that Coutts is an intelligent player with outstanding touch and ball skills.

Over the years, we've had plenty of players who you could watch and think, "he really can't do anything with the ball that I couldn't actually do myself"; players who were unquestionably more athletic and physically fitter than yourself but not necessarily good footballers. Coutts certainly doesn't fall in that category. He is quite obviously an extremely skilful and intelligent footballer.

One of the few bright spots towards the end of the 2014/15 season under Clough was the emergence of a seemingly telepathic link-up down the right flank between Coutts and Brayford. They played some excellent stuff within which there was enough evidence to show that Coutts is a class above the third division. Unfortunately, due to Clough's bizarre transfer policy leaving us bereft at central defence, that was disrupted when Brayford had to switch to centre-half.

Coutts was injured and/or out of favour at the start of Adkins' reign. After the wheels had started to come off with the 2 defeats and a draw against Bury, Colchester and Bradford, Coutts was brought back in at Doncaster and we won. Coutts was then restored to the side consistently in October and we had a run of just 2 defeats in 16 league games (albeit with lots of draws) to get back in contention - and of those 2 defeats, Coutts didn't play in the 2-4 home debacle against Shrewsbury.

Adkins apparently made Coutts carry the can for the home defeat to Wigan and he was dropped to the bench. In his absence, we had the awful defeats at Bury, Rochdale and Millwall, and draw at Fleetwood. Coutts was then restored at home to Crewe and we had the run of 4 wins and a draw from 6 games in March and April that gave us a glimmer of getting in the top 6, until the fade-out in the final 3 games. It seems that those miserable last games of last season, particularly the defeats to Coventry and Scunthorpe, cast a long shadow, because the rest of the season showed that we performed far better with Coutts in the side than without. And that was when he was playing in a poor side with no shape or direction for a manager without a plan.

We're now seeing Coutts in a side with a plan, a proper shape and other footballers playing where they should be. It's good to again be watching a United side that has proper midfielders, and I'm convinced that if Coutts, Fleck and Duffy can play the vast majority of the remaining 26 league games together, we'll win the league.
 



I should coco said:
He can control a ball properly and equally when under pressure.

He can look up and appreciate where his teamates are and anticipate where they are going.

He can accurately pass a ball to his fellow teamates.

The above should be pre-requisites for any well paid professional player, but sadly experience has taught us that is not always the case. He is consistently the best ball player at BDTBL since McDonald.

I genuinely don't know why you have it in for him..
Click to expand...

Because I've seen little evidence to warrant the excessive amount of praise that appears on here.
He's a safe player, which has its advantages, but Bury aside, he doesn't really do anything all that groundbreaking.

As I've said, I'll happily reassess that view by the end of the season. Because a full season of improved form is what he owes us.
 
I think him and Duffy are the 2 most important players right now. Coutts is the one always really deep picking the ball up from defence, and he is always happy to take the ball, no matter the pressure he is under - That is the kind thing that is irreplaceable in a team. He won't get the headlines for goals or assists, but he is the balance in the middle that just keeps recycling possession. I do rate Fleck just as highly ability wise, but I wouldn't trust him as much as I do Coutts in the same role.
 
LS16Blade said:
As we all know, Clough brought Coutts in when he was making his way back from a long and serious injury lay-off. That created justifiable frustration because the signing was unlikely to deliver the immediate impact that we needed to push for promotion. It was surely clear to anyone who has watched any football, however, that Coutts is an intelligent player with outstanding touch and ball skills.

Over the years, we've had plenty of players who you could watch and think, "he really can't do anything with the ball that I couldn't actually do myself"; players who were unquestionably more athletic and physically fitter than yourself but not necessarily good footballers. Coutts certainly doesn't fall in that category. He is quite obviously an extremely skilful and intelligent footballer.

One of the few bright spots towards the end of the 2014/15 season under Clough was the emergence of a seemingly telepathic link-up down the right flank between Coutts and Brayford. They played some excellent stuff within which there was enough evidence to show that Coutts is a class above the third division. Unfortunately, due to Clough's bizarre transfer policy leaving us bereft at central defence, that was disrupted when Brayford had to switch to centre-half.

Coutts was injured and/or out of favour at the start of Adkins' reign. After the wheels had started to come off with the 2 defeats and a draw against Bury, Colchester and Bradford, Coutts was brought back in at Doncaster and we won. Coutts was then restored to the side consistently in October and we had a run of just 2 defeats in 16 league games (albeit with lots of draws) to get back in contention - and of those 2 defeats, Coutts didn't play in the 2-4 home debacle against Shrewsbury.

Adkins apparently made Coutts carry the can for the home defeat to Wigan and he was dropped to the bench. In his absence, we had the awful defeats at Bury, Rochdale and Millwall, and draw at Fleetwood. Coutts was then restored at home to Crewe and we had the run of 4 wins and a draw from 6 games in March and April that gave us a glimmer of getting in the top 6, until the fade-out in the final 3 games. It seems that those miserable last games of last season, particularly the defeats to Coventry and Scunthorpe, cast a long shadow, because the rest of the season showed that we performed far better with Coutts in the side than without. And that was when he was playing in a poor side with no shape or direction for a manager without a plan.

We're now seeing Coutts in a side with a plan, a proper shape and other footballers playing where they should be. It's good to again be watching a United side that has proper midfielders, and I'm convinced that if Coutts, Fleck and Duffy can play the vast majority of the remaining 26 league games together, we'll win the league.
Click to expand...



I agree with all that. My OP above ( Feb 2015) says something like "it's about playing him in the right position with the right partnerships". The Coutts, Fleck, Duffy trio in a 3-5-2 is fine at this level. Coutts, because of his mobility restrictions and his poor defensive abilities, needs to be in a midfiled 5 and not in 4-4-2.

However, and it's a big "however" in 3-5-2 the wing backs are key and for a promotion push Lafferty is nowhere near good enough going forward and Freeman barely good enough overall.

Coutts likes to play in his comfort zone so Fleck has responsibilty to get up and down more which he does when we badly need a goal, not enough in general play early in games IMO. Duffy has licence to roam and that complements the other two. What a treat it is to watch these 3 play there as compared to Hammond, Coutts and Basham the nightmare of a long spell last season.

When watching I spend a big part of the first hour mentally urging Coutts and Fleck to up the intensity, run faster and to zip the ball to colleagues more and I think they can do that if the left wing back has more presence and wants the ball more ( he is a full back by nature). Freeman does that in fairness when he is on form, certainly before his injury..

Relevant stats for this season in the league:

Fleck played 18 Goals 1 Assists 9
Coutts p 18 g 0 Ass 4
Duffy p 19 g 3 ass 3
Freeman p 16 g 2 ass 3
Lafferty p15 g 1 ass 1

In truth Coutts' stats are helped by him taking free kicks and corners e.g. Charlton goal.
 
Woodwardfan said:
I agree with all that. My OP above ( Feb 2015) says something like "it's about playing him in the right position with the right partnerships". The Coutts, Fleck, Duffy trio in a 3-5-2 is fine at this level. Coutts, because of his mobility restrictions and his poor defensive abilities, needs to be in a midfiled 5 and not in 4-4-2.

However, and it's a big "however" in 3-5-2 the wing backs are key and for a promotion push Lafferty is nowhere near good enough going forward and Freeman barely good enough overall.

Coutts likes to play in his comfort zone so Fleck has responsibilty to get up and down more which he does when we badly need a goal, not enough in general play early in games IMO. Duffy has licence to roam and that complements the other two. What a treat it is to watch these 3 play there as compared to Hammond, Coutts and Basham the nightmare of a long spell last season.

When watching I spend a big part of the first hour mentally urging Coutts and Fleck to up the intensity, run faster and to zip the ball to colleagues more and I think they can do that if the left wing back has more presence and wants the ball more ( he is a full back by nature). Freeman does that in fairness when he is on form, certainly before his injury..

Relevant stats for this season in the league:

Fleck played 18 Goals 1 Assists 9
Coutts p 18 g 0 Ass 4
Duffy p 19 g 3 ass 3
Freeman p 16 g 2 ass 3
Lafferty p15 g 1 ass 1

In truth Coutts' stats are helped by him taking free kicks and corners e.g. Charlton goal.
Click to expand...

Thought you had flounced off?

jHxgthB.gif
 
LS16Blade said:
As we all know, Clough brought Coutts in when he was making his way back from a long and serious injury lay-off. That created justifiable frustration because the signing was unlikely to deliver the immediate impact that we needed to push for promotion. It was surely clear to anyone who has watched any football, however, that Coutts is an intelligent player with outstanding touch and ball skills.

Over the years, we've had plenty of players who you could watch and think, "he really can't do anything with the ball that I couldn't actually do myself"; players who were unquestionably more athletic and physically fitter than yourself but not necessarily good footballers. Coutts certainly doesn't fall in that category. He is quite obviously an extremely skilful and intelligent footballer.

One of the few bright spots towards the end of the 2014/15 season under Clough was the emergence of a seemingly telepathic link-up down the right flank between Coutts and Brayford. They played some excellent stuff within which there was enough evidence to show that Coutts is a class above the third division. Unfortunately, due to Clough's bizarre transfer policy leaving us bereft at central defence, that was disrupted when Brayford had to switch to centre-half.

Coutts was injured and/or out of favour at the start of Adkins' reign. After the wheels had started to come off with the 2 defeats and a draw against Bury, Colchester and Bradford, Coutts was brought back in at Doncaster and we won. Coutts was then restored to the side consistently in October and we had a run of just 2 defeats in 16 league games (albeit with lots of draws) to get back in contention - and of those 2 defeats, Coutts didn't play in the 2-4 home debacle against Shrewsbury.

Adkins apparently made Coutts carry the can for the home defeat to Wigan and he was dropped to the bench. In his absence, we had the awful defeats at Bury, Rochdale and Millwall, and draw at Fleetwood. Coutts was then restored at home to Crewe and we had the run of 4 wins and a draw from 6 games in March and April that gave us a glimmer of getting in the top 6, until the fade-out in the final 3 games. It seems that those miserable last games of last season, particularly the defeats to Coventry and Scunthorpe, cast a long shadow, because the rest of the season showed that we performed far better with Coutts in the side than without. And that was when he was playing in a poor side with no shape or direction for a manager without a plan.

We're now seeing Coutts in a side with a plan, a proper shape and other footballers playing where they should be. It's good to again be watching a United side that has proper midfielders, and I'm convinced that if Coutts, Fleck and Duffy can play the vast majority of the remaining 26 league games together, we'll win the league.
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Yeh but he's shit init
 
Proof conclusive that many a Blades fan has about as much idea of what good looks like as Honey G has to the world of rapping.

UTB
 
Bladesway said:
Thought you had flounced off?

jHxgthB.gif
Click to expand...


Bit of a sabbatical but I'm back part time, lessons learned, just talk about the actual football on the more serious threads, 'ignore' one or two WUM's you know, not you though. I thought you'd disappeared actually, good to hear from you. Time has proved us both right and wrong on so many topics!!
 
I wouldn't want to have to pick a top two at the moment. The midfield three of Coutts, Fleck and Duffy have worked really well together, as have Wright, EEL and JOC, or with Basham in either cm or cb too. Freeman has looked good, so has Billy at times, so has Moore. Our two weakest have probably been Done and Lafferty, of the regulars but apart from that there's little to choose between them.
 
Bladepicker said:
Again, that's just your interpretation. He said he was bored at times last season, not that he wasn't trying because of it. As I said above, his major injury and no pre season would have had a much bigger impact on his ability to run around for 90 minutes. The tactics we employed last season bored the team as a whole, not just Coutts or we wouldn't have finished mid table in league 1 and other players have said as such.

Also, he had many very good performances last season but get a game like say Burton or Wigan at home, when we were absolutely awful as a team and every player looked disinterested, and it was Coutts who seemed to get more than his fair share of criticism and still, even though he is easily in the top 2 for player of the season this year, he is seemingly one defeat away from being slagged off again.

Coutts is a quality player, the fact we now have a manager and a system that brings the best out of him and he is fitter than he has been in the last 5 years is a major positive for me, not a negative.
Click to expand...
Good reply BP, but if it wasn't because he was bored why he wasn't trying then what was his excuse because to me anyway, he certainly wasn't trying no where near enough a lot of times last season.

He did have some good games last season but no where near enough for a player with his attributes, I honestly thought he was taking the piss out of us as was Baxter, obviously in a different way just for a balanced view as you probably know, I rated Baxter but he is a reyt wanker who I hope never steps foot on a football pitch ever again, an absolute prick of the highest order.
 
Woodwardfan said:
Bit of a sabbatical but I'm back part time, lessons learned, just talk about the actual football on the more serious threads, 'ignore' one or two WUM's you know, not you though. I thought you'd disappeared actually, good to hear from you. Time has proved us both right and wrong on so many topics!!
Click to expand...

Fair point well made.
 
Bladesway said:
Oh stop taking yourself too seriously. Thought you had learned your lesson! :)
Click to expand...


No Bladesway, I probably took you too seriously. I thought you were a poster with "stature". I've learned another lesson.:)
 



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