No Whittingham- another win

[Cretin Hop]

I make that 5 matches without him this season & last and all won.

Coincidence or not

[Cyclops]

He aint the player he was three years ago

[The Penguin]

I've been saying it for three years. I've also said that he will have his legacy as a great at this club ruined by the centre midfield experiment. I'm right.

Whitts is not to blame, stupid managers are.

In our promotion year we stuttered until he was dropped too.

Shameful waste of a real talent but all I've had is Baker telling me I'm wrong.

[binman]

Just had a nose on the Bolton messageboard - couple of quotes from their fans

'Motm was their number 8. Bossed the game.'

'Joe Ralls (their No. Eight) ran the show in the middle of the park but it seemed Lennon did not do anything about it.'

If Slade insists on 4-4-2 (which he does) I can't see how Whitts can now play in that system unless as a back up to Ralls

[Cyclops]

In our promotion year we stuttered until he was dropped too.

So t-t-t-t-t-t-t-true.

[Slade Out]

I've been saying it for three years. I've also said that he will have his legacy as a great at this club ruined by the centre midfield experiment. I'm right.

Don't let the truth get in the way of you rewriting history and a good witchunt though

[Slade Out]

I make that 5 matches without him this season & last and all won.

Playing mainly relegation fodder.

[Spooky Tree]

I've been saying it for three years. I've also said that he will have his legacy as a great at this club ruined by the centre midfield experiment. I'm right.

Whitts is not to blame, stupid managers are.

[A Quiet Monkfish]

I make that 5 matches without him this season & last and all won.

Nowadays I find little to commend him. I also have a hunch the rest of the team are a lot happier when he's not there dragging the team backwards...

[rich munn]

I make that 5 matches without him this season & last and all won.

Coincidence or not

[darran1927]

I've been saying it for three years. I've also said that he will have his legacy as a great at this club ruined by the centre midfield experiment. I'm right.

Whitts is not to blame, stupid managers are.

In our promotion year we stuttered until he was dropped too.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

I've been saying it for three years. I've also said that he will have his legacy as a great at this club ruined by the centre midfield experiment. I'm right.

Whitts is not to blame, stupid managers are.

Whittingham didn't start 9 league games for Malky and we were unbeaten in all. In Championship matches since 2011/12 we have averaged just over 2 points a game without Whittingham and just over 1.5 with him starting. Without doubts Whittingham was far more influential and important to us before Malky became manager.

[Slade Out]

I've been saying it for three years. I've also said that he will have his legacy as a great at this club ruined by the centre midfield experiment. I'm right.

Whitts is not to blame, stupid managers are.

In our promotion year we stuttered until he was dropped too.

Once he's missed some more games against more solid opposition than the 5 games he's missed last 2 seasons then we can make a more balanced comparison.

[Arfur Europe]

An absolute modern day City legend who should be respected for his loyalty and service etc, but there's no room for sentimentality at this level so I'm afraid Whitts now has to be content with the sub's bench.

The team are far more offensive without him. Well done Slade for taking the brave decision when most fans including me never thought it would happen.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

I've been saying it for three years. I've also said that he will have his legacy as a great at this club ruined by the centre midfield experiment. I'm right.

Whitts is not to blame, stupid managers are.

In our promotion year we stuttered until he was dropped too.

Shameful waste of a real talent but all I've had is Baker telling me I'm wrong.

As much of a Whittingham fan as you might be, statistically there's little from the last few years to suggest he's invaluable to us. If anything we seem to be doing that little bit better when he doesn't play. That saddens me in some ways as he's a club legend but that doesn't guarantee him the shirt if others end up doing better than him.

[Slade Out]

Im not disputing that since we are back in the championship he has not been at his creative best. I also accept that under Slade with his rigid 442 there's no point playing Whitts in centre midfield anymore and Ralls deserves his chance now.

I just get extremely frustrated when people spout inaccurate bullshit when putting him down, especially the promotion season. Yes he suffered a drop in form in the promotion year, probably knackered with starting every game and the way Malky played, but he was arguably our best player the first half of the season which set us up for promotion. We won our first 10 home games and he was instrumental in that capped with a hat trick against Wolves.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Im not disputing that since we are back in the championship he has not been at his creative best. I also accept that under Slade with his rigid 442 there's no point playing Whitts in centre midfield anymore and Ralls deserves his chance now.

I'm also in agreement with others that the way we've tried to use Whittingham in the middle has affected his form. It's been over 3 years since he netted a free kick for us. Yes, he's maybe not had as many opportunities as he used to. However, if I'd have said back in September 2012 that Whittingham won't score a free kick for well over 3 years you'd reckon I was living in cloud cuckoo land. It's a stat that suggests to me that he has lost an edge to his game, arguably since he was moved into a more central game. The moments of Whittingham brilliance that define his time with us are a distant memory. Sadly.

[surge]

i) 4-3-3 would get the best out of Whitts and would get the best out of this squad.
ii) Our manager knows his favoured formation and is in a place where he can drop Whitts
iii) Having only two first team wingers when you favour a 4-4-2 and would do best with a 4-3-3 is completely bonkers.

[Slade Out]

i) 4-3-3 would get the best out of Whitts and would get the best out of this squad.

If like to see 433 with Whiits Ralls Gunnar in midfield but there's no chance under this manager

[Slade Out]

Im not disputing that since we are back in the championship he has not been at his creative best. I also accept that under Slade with his rigid 442 there's no point playing Whitts in centre midfield anymore and Ralls deserves his chance now.

I just get extremely frustrated when people spout inaccurate bullshit when putting him down, especially the promotion season. Yes he suffered a drop in form in the promotion year, probably knackered with starting every game and the way Malky played, but he was arguably our best player the first half of the season which set us up for promotion. We won our first 10 home games and he was instrumental in that capped with a hat trick against Wolves.

It's a shame it's taken Slade over a ****ing year to realise that.

[Eric the Half a Bee]

Im not disputing that since we are back in the championship he has not been at his creative best. I also accept that under Slade with his rigid 442 there's no point playing Whitts in centre midfield anymore and Ralls deserves his chance now.

I just get extremely frustrated when people spout inaccurate bullshit when putting him down, especially the promotion season. Yes he suffered a drop in form in the promotion year, probably knackered with starting every game and the way Malky played, but he was arguably our best player the first half of the season which set us up for promotion. We won our first 10 home games and he was instrumental in that capped with a hat trick against Wolves.

You're right in all that.

I don't see Whittingham as a centre midfielder, maybe a quarter back sort of position behind two more attacking centre midfielders where he's got freedom, but that's it. He's not a playmaker, far from it. I don't see him as someone playing behind the front two, far too congested in there.

[Spooky Tree]

Sadly I don't think Whitts even knows where his best position is now.

[Slade Out]

Sadly I don't think Whitts even knows where his best position is now.

Shame as we finally got some pace in Watt for Whitts to use his passing range to get Watt into dangerous positions and he gets fricking dropped.

[Slade Out]

Im not disputing that since we are back in the championship he has not been at his creative best. I also accept that under Slade with his rigid 442 there's no point playing Whitts in centre midfield anymore and Ralls deserves his chance now.

I just get extremely frustrated when people spout inaccurate bullshit when putting him down, especially the promotion season. Yes he suffered a drop in form in the promotion year, probably knackered with starting every game and the way Malky played, but he was arguably our best player the first half of the season which set us up for promotion. We won our first 10 home games and he was instrumental in that capped with a hat trick against Wolves.

You're right in all that.

The only problem with mentioning his excellent form during the first half of that promotion winning seasons is that it was 3 years ago.

Maybe time to build it around Ralls. I don't think young Ralls is better than young Whitts but he's the most talented youngster we've got by some distance.

[Cyclops]

Sadly I don't think Whitts even knows where his best position is now.

Or what day of the week it is....