Quote Originally Posted by A Quiet Monkfish View Post
Football-wise I think Fulham and even Huddersfield have overall better players, play better football, and look more comfortable at this level compared to us. That City are 17pts and 5 pts above these teams says so much for the way Warnock has tactically and psychologically bonded this group of players into a strong unit where the whole is greater greater than the sum of the parts.

What I didn't expect was his mis-management of our attacking selection options over the past few games. An over-reliance on Niasse, at the exclusion of fit-again and much more dangerous Zohore. The exclusion of Ward, who what little we have seen of him offers something different. The sidelining of Bobby Reid - again a player who offers something different. And the inclusion of Rhys Healey who would be slow by league 2 standards.

Maybe the omission of Murphy for not training well says how much reliance Warnock places on match preparation etc, but Healey for Murphy ? You've got to be joking.

Trouble is, next season in the Championship is going to be so hard, with a dozen strong footballing sides, this squad of players will either need a revitalized Warnock, or a complete change of direction..
It is a paradox. The one thing I think we can be pretty certain of is that it'll be more of the same next season if Neil Warnock is our manager and it is a formula that has been proven to be successful in the Championship, but important players in our squad are not getting any younger and we are going to have to completely rebuild our midfield whoever our manager is.

It seems to me that at the heart of the Warnock managerial philosophy is the notion that an honest grafter can give you more than someone who relies more on skill and flair. Using the example you talk about, I think our manager would like Rhys Healey's competitive edge to the extent that he would believe that this would overcome the limitations you mention (I think he could make a decent League One player, so it seems I rate him a bit higher than you).

The point is though that Healey's attitude in no way makes him a Premier League quality player and I couldn't see him getting close to the first team squad at any other club in this division. As you say, the notion of Healey being selected above Josh Murphy is laughable, as is the idea of him coming on before Bobby Decordova-Reid today.

I find Warnock's words today regarding Murphy inexplicable. For me one of our manager's strengths is the way he can create a good team spirit, but those comments suggest to me that all is not well in that direction and if Neil Warnock starts to lose that part of his skill set, then he becomes more dispensable.

To not select one of the two players we paid a substantial fee for last summer at all and to leave the other one on the bench until the dying minutes while lesser talents get on before him, has to be seen as an admission of defeat by Neil Warnock - he signed those players and, like too many others he has signed, they have spent much of the season out of the starting eleven.

The more I think about the more I'm coming around to thinking we need a complete change of direction.