bignbeefy wrote:I generally think MF has lost the plot of late. Not sure what affect Lennie & Hats has had lately, if any.
Bringing Jackson on instead of McCoulsky is scandalous. Willmott has been very average since end of January and Flynny has been reluctant to sub or not play him which is wrong.
He finally has had enough of Noobs by the look of it, but there was a comment that his wife is expecting so he may not be available. Hayes looked great, and it's a 'king mystery why we haven't seen him get more minutes up until Tuesday. Hope he's not crocked for long.
The back 5 when fit and available are probably the best back 5 in the league. They play well as a unit. Same applies if any one of them is long term injured - our side just doesn't function as well. I'm not as convinced of our resoluteness as a Back 4. What I do know is that we need a unearth another gem like Ben White for next year to fill the same role. Is he genuinely out of contract next season now that he didn't re-sign with Brighton?
Midfield is our weakness. Tozer & Dolan should never play together - it's one or the other for me. Without Labs we lack drive to push forward. Obviously we are trying to get him signed up - this is a no-brainer. Without him or a suitable replacement, we are relegation fodder in all honesty (ok, that's probably a bit extreme - but he's incredibly valuable to our well-being!!!)
Willmott is a squad player at best. I know he has fans on here, but apart from a purple patch through December and January, he has not been L2 standard.
It is clear Sheehan needs game time. Osadebe has played only a handful of minutes. He's on loan so Flynny needs to make a decision on him. If he's in 18-19 plans, then he also needs to play. I was quite impressed with him when he played, although he was non-existent on Tuesday.
At the minute we only 5 have defenders that get any time on the park with Benno injured and Reid not featuring.
We really only use 4 midfielders too with Sheehan & Osadebe unused, TOE out on loan & Benno injured.
Up front we have surplus. Collins not even getting on the park baffles me, although in all fairness the 4 in front of him deserve to be there, through workrate alone (not necessarily goal output).
All in all, if you had given me where we are this season in terms of mid table & a decent cup run at the start of the year, I would have chewed your arm off. However, considering the points we have dropped from winning positions, it could and should have been much better.
Beefy
Very good post.
I am beginning to think that MF is becoming a victim of his own hype and may have stopped listening to his mentors, in particular Lenny. Also not sure whether he has favourites or whether certain players are selected to spite the majority opinion of supporters.
Occasional public outbursts where players get singled out is not a very commendable managerial trait either. Praise in public, chastise in private.
I don't recall one instance where, after a poor result, he has put his hand up and said he got it wrong, it is always others, and most recently the inclusion of a low budget.
As a young manager he still has a great deal to learn and consequently now finds himself at a crossroad, let's hope for all our sakes, his natural arrogance will not stop him listening and learning. We are presently a Team in relegation form, how he rises to this challenge will determine his, and County's, future prospects.