Definitely improved without Noone. Gunnarson is a strange one, leading Iceland to a good position in their Euro group and beating the Dutch. Anyone know his role in their national team? Obv midfield but where?
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Whitts has been played further forward where i would have hoped he could influence games and roll back the clock. Gunnarson has been employed to protect the back four.
Neither has at any stage this season looked remotely up to the job - along with Noone who finally saw himself dropped. Did we improve without Noone? Well these days a point is like gold dust as we struggle on.
Ive said it for a long time, and been shouted down for a long time too, but midfield is where our problems begin and end on the pitch.
Diamond, 3 man, 4-2-2 nothing has made either player look capable. No pace, no energy and too easily beaten they are our stalwart weak links.
Its time to change now, give someone else a go.
Definitely improved without Noone. Gunnarson is a strange one, leading Iceland to a good position in their Euro group and beating the Dutch. Anyone know his role in their national team? Obv midfield but where?
Fed up of hearing about this diamond formation.
Let's go back to the lob sided midfield of Lennny Lawrence's time instead
I think we could play 3-5-1-1 and still lose the midfield.Originally Posted by Cretin Hop wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 15:19
we are losing games in midfield. Just about the whole world can see it. What Slade sees in Gunnerson is way way above me.
Whittingham has a degree of skill and can still make a pass.
Whatever the answer ,the question is what are we going to do to take some kind of control in midfield.
I recently took a young lady to the football who would be the first to admit she is not a big football fan.
Even she pointed out we were getting over run in midfield....
from what i saw (highlights) sheff wed missed 3 or four really straight forward chances, snatched at from 15 yards out. could easily have been 4-1. doyle looked half decent mind.
Potentially with all the comings and goings Slade has been looking to the senior members of the squad to set an example and provide a constant in the team, unfortunately, this hasn't really worked, for me it's Whitts or Gunnarson, potentially neither.
If I was picking the side for tomorrow it would be,
Marshall
Peltier
Manga
Morrison
Malone
McAleny
O'Keefe
Adeyemi
Whitts
Noone
Doyle
Potentially Harris for Whitts with McAleny playing ahead of O'Keefe and Adeyemi but Harris still concerns me in terms of his defensive ability leaving his full back exposed.
In fairness you could say the same about us, Doyle's 2 chances should have been scored (although for his first one the bad pitch may have had something to do with it)Originally Posted by Dylbird wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 16:43
To answer the OP. No it is not over, but IMO it should be. If i was picking the team, there would be no place for either of these under-performers.
Spedger
Both have been a shadow of their former selves. I remember both contributing massively in the promotion year.
Whittingham is a difficult one to decide on; the fact is for a team struggling overall he has been effective with his assists. For me however other than a corner or free kick finding the head of Jones, the rest of the match he seems fairly anonymous these days. In a side struggling so much though it would be difficult to take him or Jones out of the side when we rely so much on set pieces just to keep close in most matches.
Gunnarsson hasn't really looked like scoring or seemingly getting anywhere near a player to tackle. There are many occasions where an opposition player will skip past him before he seems to even react.
I think individually they aren't bad players but in the 4 we usually play in there it's blatantly obvious to me anyway, that they can't be played together.
Would consider them both for a 5, I would like to see something like a 4-2-3-1 where we would have two sitting and then 3 attack minded players infront to go past Jones/Doyle.
This area of the picth seems to have been problematic for a long time, I'm sure there were concerns during the Jones era too in between the days of Scimeca and Mutch, either of which on their day were far superior in centre midfield to what we have now.
They've both been in the thick of it, taking the hammerings and the criticism, so they must be feeling the strain. Who wouldn't? Give them both a break, they need it, and use Adeyemi and Ralls.
The point though, is that without Whittingham and Gunnarson we might not necessarily be reliant on free-kicks corners and long throws. It's self-defeating because what they offer is at the expense of do very much more.Originally Posted by Trigger wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 17:31
I know I've harped on about this before but his last free kick goal came well over 2 years ago. I don't feel his game has the edge that it used to have. Long gone are the brilliant, even inspirational moments that won games - world class goals and unstoppable free kicks. Whittingham without those moments of sheer genius is barely an average Championship midfielder. He used to provide moments of brilliance without even thinking about it - now he doesn't at all. It was those moments that set him apart as a major talent and a hero on the terraces. I wonder if we'll ever see them again.Originally Posted by The Penguin wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 20:25
The Premiership ruined the pair, when they spent most of their time on the back foot. Problem now is they are still in a backward mode.
This post is an example of why drinking is bad for you children.....Originally Posted by crazyhorse wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 21:57
I doesnt have to be the end ,just change it ,leave them out and lets have a look at something/anything different. please pretty please Mr Slade..Originally Posted by Jeff Mansfield wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 17:51
Ever done stand-up? You're a natural!Originally Posted by crazyhorse wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 21:57
Whittingham and Gunnarson cannot never dropped - it was one of the conditions of granting planning permission for the CCS.Originally Posted by The Penguin wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 15:11
No. Whittingham is only 30. He's one of the best players we've ever had. He might be the best long-serving player we've ever had.
Do you think that he deserves a regular starting place due to his current level of performances or whether he's been one of the best players we've ever had?Originally Posted by NYCBlue wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 22:15
Another thing you only watch the highlights so what makes you an expert on players performance?Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 22:10
The length of his service is relevant .....? .....Why?Originally Posted by NYCBlue wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 22:15
I'd argue that he's never quite been the same player that he was when Dave Jones was with us. Successive managers have tried to make him more of a complete midfielder while Jones tried to encourage his individual brilliance. It's hardly any surprise that Whittingham's magic moments since Jones left have been few and far between.Originally Posted by crazyhorse wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 22:18
Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 22:23
Perhaps?Originally Posted by Jimmy the Jock wrote on Mon, 09 February 2015 22:18