Tempo

[Pinchy]

If you're a fan of Wilson yet a hater of Monty / Doyle, how do you square the fact that they are his preferred midfield pairing?


UTB

I believe he will turn this club around in time. I also disagree with his present midfield selection. Decent teams concentrate on keeping possession. They don't set up on the presumption that the opposition will have the majority of possession. When not in possession the whole team [from back to front] presses the ball and suffocates the inferior opposition so that they give it away in due course. No last minute reckless tackles; no upanatem. On that approach there is no need [indeed there is no place] whatsoever for dogged, committed, talentless shadow-chasers such as the Gruesome Twosome. Of course we are not presently a good team, but without change we never will be!

I don't hate either The Maestro or Mrs. Doyle, by the way, though I do despair that either wears a United shirt. Montgomery for sure has many admirable qualities. Its just that they have little or nothing to do with proper football.

I suspect DW is under pressure [whether direct or indirect] to play Montgomery to justify his obscene wages and in the hope that some other club out there is as daft as us. He may even have a 'must play if fit - can't be subbed' clause' in his ransom note [sorry, contract]. As I said above its a long term task. Neither will be in our team in twelve [hopefully two] months time.

Unfortunately McAllister did his cause no good at all on Saturday. Recruitment and outgoings are essential in January.

 

[Sothall_Blade]

I believe he will turn this club around in time. I also disagree with his present midfield selection. Decent teams concentrate on keeping possession. They don't set up on the presumption that the opposition will have the majority of possession. When not in possession the whole team [from back to front] presses the ball and suffocates the inferior opposition so that they give it away in due course. No last minute reckless tackles; no upanatem. On that approach there is no need [indeed there is no place] whatsoever for dogged, committed, talentless shadow-chasers such as the Gruesome Twosome. Of course we are not presently a good team, but without change we never will be!

I don't hate either The Maestro or Mrs. Doyle, by the way, though I do despair that either wears a United shirt. Montgomery for sure has many admirable qualities. Its just that they have little or nothing to do with proper football.

I suspect DW is under pressure [whether direct or indirect] to play Montgomery to justify his obscene wages and in the hope that some other club out there is as daft as us. He may even have a 'must play if fit - can't be subbed' clause' in his ransom note [sorry, contract]. As I said above its a long term task. Neither will be in our team in twelve [hopefully two] months time.

Unfortunately McAllister did his cause no good at all on Saturday. Recruitment and outgoings are essential in January.

Alternatively, he might be playing Monty and Doyle together because whenever he has done we've had clean sheets and good results:- P7 W4 D2 L1 F10 A4 Pts 14 PPG 2.

Danny Wilson on Nick Montgomery:-
"His commitment is total, he gives the team tempo, he is aggressive and lifts the fans with his tackling. He may not play a Glenn Hoddle role, but he brings belief. As a team mate you know how hard he is working for the cause. He is a terrific Captain, believe it or not he is quite a quiet boy, but he leads by example. There are different characteristics of being a Captain, and when he is out on the pitch he leads by example, showing total commitment, which rubs off on the other players".

 

[yorkshirecoast]

Sorry, let me make myself clear!

I believe the players are not performing to their best week in week out - there is too much inconsistancy
The third division has many poor teams and we are 5th because despite playing well below acceptable standards (given the players' experience and supposed 'value') we are getting victories when we are playing little better than last season!
Our wage bill is probably far bigger than any other club in the division and players like Simonsen, Cresswell, Evans, Quinn, Montgomery,have Premier League experience with players such as Collins, Williamson, Doyle, Porter, all regular Championship performers in the past.
What I am trying to say is that despite having the majority of possession football on Saturday, passing was very square or backward and we didn't create much going forward except for dead ball situations.
I cannot see where Wilson is taking us and yes despite our consitantly poor performances we are fifth in a poor league!
The performances of some players this year is unacceptable especially some of the Wilson buys Porter, Williams, Flynn and LJF - have consistantlyfailed to deliver and Doyle, Montgomery and Co are just giving the ball away week after week after week.
I have not seen any considerable improvement and I firmly believe that if Torquay had not conceded that disasterous own goal (for them) we would have lost on Saturday despite being the supposed superior team.
I have struggled with this acceptance of mediocrity and we do not see players running off the ball, creating space, beating players and crossing from the byline and incisive passes from midfield - if Deano and his pals are happy so be it - but I have a belief that United are better than that!

I didn't say I was happy with the season generally & the performances of all the players. I'm not. In fact, apart from Collins & more recently Evans, I don't think anyone has performed consistently well. If you check my earlier posts you will see I'm far from being a "happy clapper". If we play poorly or lose games we shouldn't be losing, I'm as critical as most. But yesterday, I was responding to your ludicrously negative assessment of the Torquay match - a game we deserved to win and and went on to dominate in terms of attempts & possession - & the vitriol you aimed at the team & Wilson. I agree with much of your latest post - but it's a long way from what you posted yesterday.

 

[judge]

if wilson ever wants to play a progresive expansive style of football then im afraid monty has to go ,a lot has been said of his abilities but as i have said before i have watched him for an entire game as i was curious to see what he brings to the team and the short answer is he does more harm than good

 

[blade too long]

He needs a fresh challenge , players do , its time for change, and that goes for squinny too

I feel a fresh approach would benifit both parties

 

[super_pig]

>I feel a fresh approach would benifit both parties
heh.. quality post.. ever considered a career in diplomacy

 

[cooperblade]

I think that we started the season playing 'good football', we moved the ball about fairly quickly, the passing was largely on the floor and created a lot of chances.

However, since the Wycombe game (and seemingly since we went behind in that game), I think we've gone more and more direct and it is to our detriment given the players we have. We hit a hell of a lot of long balls v Torquay.

I think we've lost the swagger and the confidence that we had early in the season and our football is suffering because of it.

 

[Paulus]

Sorry, let me make myself clear!

I believe the players are not performing to their best week in week out - there is too much inconsistancy
The third division has many poor teams and we are 5th because despite playing well below acceptable standards (given the players' experience and supposed 'value') we are getting victories when we are playing little better than last season!
Our wage bill is probably far bigger than any other club in the division and players like Simonsen, Cresswell, Evans, Quinn, Montgomery,have Premier League experience with players such as Collins, Williamson, Doyle, Porter, all regular Championship performers in the past.
What I am trying to say is that despite having the majority of possession football on Saturday, passing was very square or backward and we didn't create much going forward except for dead ball situations.
I cannot see where Wilson is taking us and yes despite our consitantly poor performances we are fifth in a poor league!
The performances of some players this year is unacceptable especially some of the Wilson buys Porter, Williams, Flynn and LJF - have consistantlyfailed to deliver and Doyle, Montgomery and Co are just giving the ball away week after week after week.
I have not seen any considerable improvement and I firmly believe that if Torquay had not conceded that disasterous own goal (for them) we would have lost on Saturday despite being the supposed superior team.
I have struggled with this acceptance of mediocrity and we do not see players running off the ball, creating space, beating players and crossing from the byline and incisive passes from midfield - if Deano and his pals are happy so be it - but I have a belief that United are better than that!

Some of your criticisms are fair enough but I can't see that yet another change of manager, which I guess is what you would like to see, would do anything but damage the club further. None of the overpaid underperformers were contracted by Wilson and yet because of them he was scraping about in the bargain basement to freshen up the squad as best he could in the summer - it's hardly surprising that they are not all megastars. Granted, Porter has been shocking virtually every time i've seen him, but Wilson is certainly an improvement on the jokers we had last season and Flynn and LJF may yet prove their worth. On the positive side he has managed to do what no-one else had yet managed and got Evans playing and most importantly of all, we are still in with a chance this season - quite frankly considering how shit we were last season I see that as a minor miracle.

 

[blade too long]

lets not forget Wilson had Porter at his best , fully fit and confident at Swindon and he got sold for big money by his chairman
He wasnt to know exactly how much hed lost his pace and confidence and needed a lot of medical rehab
Could still recover and prove us wrong , no sign of it so far admitted

 

[Sothall_Blade]

lets not forget Wilson had Porter at his best , fully fit and confident at Swindon and he got sold for big money by his chairman
He wasnt to know exactly how much hed lost his pace and confidence and needed a lot of medical rehab
Could still recover and prove us wrong , no sign of it so far admitted

Chris Porter never played for Swindon, I think you're mistaken him for Billy Paynter ;-)

 

[Revolution]

lets not forget Wilson had Porter at his best , fully fit and confident at Swindon and he got sold for big money by his chairman
He wasnt to know exactly how much hed lost his pace and confidence and needed a lot of medical rehab
Could still recover and prove us wrong , no sign of it so far admitted

As Sothall says, he had Paynter not Porter at Swindon.

Porter came from Derby, where he had an appearance record even worse than Lee Williamson's over the last 2 years due to injury. Despite knowing this, and getting burned with other crocks in recent years, United signed him anyway.

 

[B.Lade]

firstly didn't go to the game but.. it is like reading the same report game after game.. (no offence intended DB.. i meant the content..style is excellent)
simmo.. does ok if there are no high balls under the bar
lowton.. should be in midfield (in place of maestro?).. not a natural fullback/tackler/marker.. his instincts are to go forward
williams.. solid for ages.. mistake the other week has affected him (carrying injury?)
macguire.. needs a rest.. he's only 18 and has played every game.. it's asking a bit much IMO
collins.. player of season so far.. can't believe i typed that
williamson.. infuriatingly inconsistent.. if he was consistent he wouldn't be here
quinn.. rapidly regaining elpiton tag he worked so hard to get rid of
macallister.. not on same wavelength as everyone else (has more of a clue IMO).. next harper/howard/britton
evans.. has finally showed up.. gone in january
cresswell.. has heart of a lion but his legs have gone

ctrl-A.. ctrl-C.. ctrl-V

edit post.. forgot doyle!.. says it all really

Quick post re McAllister, on Saturday he looked very poor. Poor touch, didn't find space, generally didn't look up to the mark. To me at the end of last season he looked very promising, but on what I've seen this season he doesn't look the part.

 

[super_pig]

ahh well.. paynter..porter.. same thing really
reminds me when blackburn signed duncan shearer not alan

 

[blade too long]

Chris Porter never played for Swindon, I think you're mistaken him for Billy Paynter ;-)

probably have
not followed div 1 much for 23 years