Originally Posted by
Eric the Half a Bee
Warnock took over a side that had lost rather lamely at Burton Albion. Our team sheet that day read: Amos in goal, Manga and Morrison as centre backs, John and Peltier as full backs, Whittingham, O'Keefe and Ralls in midfield, Lambert up front with Immers in the hole and Noone out wide.
It's an interesting team sheet to read. Amos proved to be a bit of a liability in goal, having been thrust there after Marshall and Moore had been sold, and was replaced by Brian Murphy over the Christmas period, before Warnock brought in the experienced Allan McGregor in the January window on loan until the end of the season. Murphy is second choice keeper this season behind the excellent Neil Etheridge, who bar a few early blunders, has become a very dependable goalkeeper. It's the first time since David Marshall was sold that we've had a settled goalkeeper.
At the back that day we had Morrison and Manga, two very good defenders at this level albeit Manga occasionally switches off. We also had Matt Connolly, who was once player of the season for us. Most would have thought the centre back position was one that didn't need strengthening, but Warnock immediately brought in Sol Bamba. His partnership with Sean Morrison in particular has been excellent. Bamba is a leader on the pitch, plus he's been an excellent defender.
In the full back positions we'd tried all sorts over the few seasons before Warnock took over. Peltier was the favourite to be given a regular shirt as a Warnock-type player, yet he's been in and out of the team. Fabio had gone, but we had bought Joe Bennett from Villa, yet Trollope hadn't given him any game time, preferring Declan John in the main. Warnock gave Bennett his debut and he's been a regular in the position ever since. We haven't had a settled right back, though Warnock giving Manga the role, and being able to incorporate Manga, Bamba and Morrison in the defence has worked (which it never did when they were used as a back 3). Our defence has been relatively settled, bar the odd injury which happens. When results don't go for you, it's tempting to keep changing things, as Trollope did.
In midfield is where there's been quite a transformation. O'Keefe was in and out of the team under Slade and Trollope, but ditched by Warnock and playing on loan in League 1. Emyr Huws was thought to be someone to take over the mantle of Peter Whittingham but he never saw the matchday 16 under Warnock. Sadly, Huws has had injury problems this season and hope he gets over them. Tom Adeyemi, a curious buy under Slade, is also at Ipswich but has been injured. Lastly there's Peter Whittingham - a club legend whose best days were behind him, whose contributions from set pieces offset his contributions from open play and whose opinion divided fans. Warnock whittled down Whitts' team time and offloaded him in the summer.
In has come Loic Damour, a raw player from the French second tier who has lots of energy to give in midfield; Greg Halford, another less than creative midfielder but a steady enough player to help with midfield graft; Marco Grujic, who has settled well into the side and is a player always there as an outlet to receive possession and support attack and Craig Bryson, another worker in midfield who gives 100%. There's a definite theme here - midfielders playing in the middle who work hard and cover lots of ground. Whitts and Huws are gifted footballers, yet haven't got the dynamism to play in a Warnock midfield. What works better at this level? Well, certainly the more direct and energetic style of Warnock rather than the slow, passing, keep possession style Trollope tried to impose. The final piece of the midfield jigsaw comes from a former right back, Callum Paterson. Gives 110%, has so much energy to burn, has an incredible knack of being in the right place at the right time. I'm not sure many Hearts fans would have thought of putting him in an advanced midfield position, but he's absolutely flourished there.
Lastly, the biggest change has come at the top end of the pitch. Ricky Lambert was a bit of a panic buy by Trollope and didn't last much beyond Warnock's appointment. Much of this goes to our manager and his team for turning Kenneth Zohore into one of the leading strikers in the division. For a part of this season, Zohore has been quiet, but the signing of Medine has given him competition and he's been on fire for some time. Another issue that has been present for a number of seasons was the lack of pace we had up front. Anthony Pilkington and Lex Immers were tidy footballers but without the pace needed to hurt teams. Now, with Hoilett and Mendez-Laing, we have frightening pace and trickery out wide, something we've been lacking since the Malky Mackay days. Even Warnock's loan wide signings have been more about pace than anything else.
Warnock has largely ripped up what he had before he came to us. It's perhaps a surprise that the players have gelled together so quickly, especially if you consider that only 3 of the side that lost to Burton are still regulars, with only Peltier still being at the club as well. He spotted that we had no decent striker (and by his own admission is grateful for Zohore who saved him millions), no pace in the attacking third, little graft in midfield and no real leader at the back. He's also managed to get a group of players together who have bonded and are together as a unit. He's also not spent a lot to do this, either.
