Deadbat
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Monty and Quinn
I do try and call it as I see it. I do not have pre conceived opinions of players and if someone has a good game I will usually say so I feel. Evans being an example in how he has played recently compared with performances earlier in the season and last season.
I am glad my reports cause debate and opinions. That is what they are for. I do not expect everyone to agree with me.
I will try and answer some of the points made by posters.
It's not so much as putting a downer on it but we have lost so many games at home this season it is hard to come on here and rave about the team, seriously. We just keep losing; no matter what bad luck, circumstances and ultimately that means we have a real chance of going down. The performances and effort has been better but ultimately it is still not enough to say we tried hard! I felt the first half performance was good and the second was not so good but it mirrored much of the season in that we gave away daft goals and then look to the officials as a get out for a defeat. I too have watched the goals back on TV. Would have liked to have seen the Bartley foul but on the actual corner; it was not a foul on Simonsen and the contact was minimal. He has to be stronger and get a far better punch on the ball (if he takes a player out it wont normally be given but he is very timid how he comes for crosses). Can you honestly say you would have been happy if that goal has been disallowed at the other end? Most of the United defenders, Lowry, Cresswell etc did not even appeal and it was only Simonsen who made a dash for the referee as if to cover up his own error.
The second goal we had more of a case and maybe Evans did get pushed but Simonsen once again was not fouled. The ball has gone when EVans headed it away and maybe the referee felt it was not worthy of a foul; just a coming together. It could have been given but was not a blatant foul. What I would say is that Norwich had as much of an appeal for a foul by Cresswell (who made a back on Whitbread) in our goal but of course noone mentions this!
Simonsen gets a 3 as I felt he was at fault for both goals. That simple.
Not sure how my assessment is a joke? He made some routine passes in the first half (should they be seen as excellent passes just because Monty made them - they were simple balls/ ball retention that any decent professional footballer should make). He gave away at least 4 or 5 aimless punts/slices into each corner of the field. Maybe my eyes were deceicing me but I recall quite a few others around me commenting on his wayward passing once again. However, he and Quinn did a lot of good scrapping, battling and covered a lot of ground. They were good in the first half I did say that. After the break they lost their individual battles and as a result we conceded possession and Norwich won the midfield. I agree Cresswell and Ward did not help as they were both really poor too. I feel my ratings were fair as they were good in the first half but poor in the second. I cannot recall either of them playign well consistently for 90 minutes and that sums up our season for them and many other players.
I would not say they are the poorest midfield pairing in the Championship but they are one of the poorest as our league position indicates. It is too easy to always blame the defence or attack but we have absolutely zilch creativity from the centre of the park (Britton did not help as he was a major disappointment). I expect my midfield pairing to score at least an odd goal or set up an odd goal here but to be frank neither looks like doing that so from an attacking point of view they do not really offer much of significance. It is unfathable to have a midfield pairing that does not set up goals or score them and if you went down the whole division and looked at the assists/goals of every other midfield pairing I would wager quite a bit our two would be near the bottom. Thats fine if they do other things so well but defensively they are billed as great ratters and scrappers and do a decent job but our goals against record indicates they perhaps dont do quite as good a job as we think.
I agree about Williamson. A decent player but he is so injury prone and we will never know if he will ever play a series of games consistently without injury. I do wonder if it is the centre of the park that the leadership Adams speaks of is where we may make a signing this week. As commendable a battler as Monty is; he does not really smack of being a leader to me. We need someone who can get hold of the team/players and the ball and take the game by the scruff ot the neck in the middle of the park.
Yes, a lot of managers have picked him but other than Warnock and Blackwell, they have not been at the club very long and have hardly been success stories have they (even Blackwell was ultimately deemed a failure)? I think most have picked those two because there was noone else. When we got promoted and also played in the Premiership, I do not think Monty (Quinny did not play in Champ as was loaned out then) was a regular in the side like he is now and remember Jags/Tongey playing first half of that promotion season and also Leigertwood, A Quinn etc featuring quite a lot. I am sure he did play a lot of game/apperances (sub etc) but he was not a regular and ever present.
Do not get me wrong I like Monty despite what many think and I was actually glad we kept him (and Morgan; Cresswell and Quinn extensions were nonsensical especially the former who is done at this level) and think he can be effective as a tackler, harrier, scrapper but he needs some class alongside him and Quinny sadly does not offer that. The pair of them together is not going to cut it. Yesterday, they both did well first half but those lauding them so much have tended to forget the second half when we got overrun for periods and Norwich had far more of the ball and the far better chances (even after they scored both goals -they had the better chances and Simonsen had more to do than Ruddy who did not have a save to make second half outside of the goal). Football is a 90 minute game.
I do try and call it as I see it. I do not have pre conceived opinions of players and if someone has a good game I will usually say so I feel. Evans being an example in how he has played recently compared with performances earlier in the season and last season.
I am glad my reports cause debate and opinions. That is what they are for. I do not expect everyone to agree with me.
I will try and answer some of the points made by posters.
It's not so much as putting a downer on it but we have lost so many games at home this season it is hard to come on here and rave about the team, seriously. We just keep losing; no matter what bad luck, circumstances and ultimately that means we have a real chance of going down. The performances and effort has been better but ultimately it is still not enough to say we tried hard! I felt the first half performance was good and the second was not so good but it mirrored much of the season in that we gave away daft goals and then look to the officials as a get out for a defeat. I too have watched the goals back on TV. Would have liked to have seen the Bartley foul but on the actual corner; it was not a foul on Simonsen and the contact was minimal. He has to be stronger and get a far better punch on the ball (if he takes a player out it wont normally be given but he is very timid how he comes for crosses). Can you honestly say you would have been happy if that goal has been disallowed at the other end? Most of the United defenders, Lowry, Cresswell etc did not even appeal and it was only Simonsen who made a dash for the referee as if to cover up his own error.
The second goal we had more of a case and maybe Evans did get pushed but Simonsen once again was not fouled. The ball has gone when EVans headed it away and maybe the referee felt it was not worthy of a foul; just a coming together. It could have been given but was not a blatant foul. What I would say is that Norwich had as much of an appeal for a foul by Cresswell (who made a back on Whitbread) in our goal but of course noone mentions this!
Simonsen gets a 3 as I felt he was at fault for both goals. That simple.
Not sure how my assessment is a joke? He made some routine passes in the first half (should they be seen as excellent passes just because Monty made them - they were simple balls/ ball retention that any decent professional footballer should make). He gave away at least 4 or 5 aimless punts/slices into each corner of the field. Maybe my eyes were deceicing me but I recall quite a few others around me commenting on his wayward passing once again. However, he and Quinn did a lot of good scrapping, battling and covered a lot of ground. They were good in the first half I did say that. After the break they lost their individual battles and as a result we conceded possession and Norwich won the midfield. I agree Cresswell and Ward did not help as they were both really poor too. I feel my ratings were fair as they were good in the first half but poor in the second. I cannot recall either of them playign well consistently for 90 minutes and that sums up our season for them and many other players.
I would not say they are the poorest midfield pairing in the Championship but they are one of the poorest as our league position indicates. It is too easy to always blame the defence or attack but we have absolutely zilch creativity from the centre of the park (Britton did not help as he was a major disappointment). I expect my midfield pairing to score at least an odd goal or set up an odd goal here but to be frank neither looks like doing that so from an attacking point of view they do not really offer much of significance. It is unfathable to have a midfield pairing that does not set up goals or score them and if you went down the whole division and looked at the assists/goals of every other midfield pairing I would wager quite a bit our two would be near the bottom. Thats fine if they do other things so well but defensively they are billed as great ratters and scrappers and do a decent job but our goals against record indicates they perhaps dont do quite as good a job as we think.
I agree about Williamson. A decent player but he is so injury prone and we will never know if he will ever play a series of games consistently without injury. I do wonder if it is the centre of the park that the leadership Adams speaks of is where we may make a signing this week. As commendable a battler as Monty is; he does not really smack of being a leader to me. We need someone who can get hold of the team/players and the ball and take the game by the scruff ot the neck in the middle of the park.
Yes, a lot of managers have picked him but other than Warnock and Blackwell, they have not been at the club very long and have hardly been success stories have they (even Blackwell was ultimately deemed a failure)? I think most have picked those two because there was noone else. When we got promoted and also played in the Premiership, I do not think Monty (Quinny did not play in Champ as was loaned out then) was a regular in the side like he is now and remember Jags/Tongey playing first half of that promotion season and also Leigertwood, A Quinn etc featuring quite a lot. I am sure he did play a lot of game/apperances (sub etc) but he was not a regular and ever present.
Do not get me wrong I like Monty despite what many think and I was actually glad we kept him (and Morgan; Cresswell and Quinn extensions were nonsensical especially the former who is done at this level) and think he can be effective as a tackler, harrier, scrapper but he needs some class alongside him and Quinny sadly does not offer that. The pair of them together is not going to cut it. Yesterday, they both did well first half but those lauding them so much have tended to forget the second half when we got overrun for periods and Norwich had far more of the ball and the far better chances (even after they scored both goals -they had the better chances and Simonsen had more to do than Ruddy who did not have a save to make second half outside of the goal). Football is a 90 minute game.
