The much-maligned Aden Flint

Time to get off his back?

The similarities between Flint & Morrison are startling.

They both came with an inflated price tag (that is surely the fault of the buying Club), they are both decent in the opposition box but riddled with mistakes in our own.

Morrison, who was jeered & abused for best part of 18 months when he arrived, has become one of the best CB's in the Championship and, much like Steven Caulker, could provide a 'stop-gap' for a PL side on a short term.

Whilst I will say that Morrison is better than Flint, there's not a great deal in it. Flint goes out on loan and Sheffield Wednesday supporters are quick to label him as a "future Captain".

McCarthy took a huge gamble in adopting a 3-at-the-back system but early indications are that Flint has shored up the gaps between Morrison & Nelson.

I thought he was easily MOM last night and long may it continue.

He's been helped massively with both wingbacks and Nelson

The pair of them are too slow to play on their own with Ralls/Pack in front of them but the benefits, to me pay dividends in the other half

I absolutely loved the long ball to Flint for the first. There's nothing wrong with route 1 football in certain circumstances

I think the biggest issue was Warnock and Harris trying to play them together, I think most of us knew before Flint signed they wouldn't work together.

I am slightly surprised it's worked with them both in a back three but I suppose less room for them to get turned.

I would still think one could try and be moved on in the summer, and of the two I would say Morrison is a much better player.

I think that Flint is performing better than Morrison at the moment, but he has the advantage of playing in the middle of the back three. Morrison does not look comfortable defensively in his current role.

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Originally Posted by LeningradCowboy

I think that Flint is performing better than Morrison at the moment, but he has the advantage of playing in the middle of the back three. Morrison does not look comfortable defensively in his current role.

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Morrison is being asked to cover the full back areas which is a bit of concern for him? The Wales side played Chester and Davies there, they're quite a bit different to Morrison! :hehe:

I think Morrison would be better than Flint in the middle but glad Flint is having a better time of it, some of the comments about him were ridiculously OTT a few weeks ago. I wouldn't have signed him in the first place though, he's about as far removed from Manga as is humanly possible for a centre back!

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Originally Posted by blueblade

Time to get off his back?

The similarities between Flint & Morrison are startling.

They both came with an inflated price tag (that is surely the fault of the buying Club), they are both decent in the opposition box but riddled with mistakes in our own.

Morrison, who was jeered & abused for best part of 18 months when he arrived, has become one of the best CB's in the Championship and, much like Steven Caulker, could provide a 'stop-gap' for a PL side on a short term.

Whilst I will say that Morrison is better than Flint, there's not a great deal in it. Flint goes out on loan and Sheffield Wednesday supporters are quick to label him as a "future Captain".

McCarthy took a huge gamble in adopting a 3-at-the-back system but early indications are that Flint has shored up the gaps between Morrison & Nelson.

I thought he was easily MOM last night and long may it continue.

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He's certainly enjoying playing in this system, was brilliant last night as were Morrison and Nelson.

Thought Morrison looked uncomfortable against Millwall, but since then he's not done too bad. Last night he had an awkward moment when somebody ran at him down Luton's left, but he and Flint would have the same problem if they were playing right, left or through the middle.

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Originally Posted by UNDERHILL1927

He's certainly enjoying playing in this system, was brilliant last night as were Morrison and Nelson.

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Nelson under MM is a different player. He's been outstanding.

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Originally Posted by Pedro de la Rosa

Nelson under MM is a different player. He's been outstanding.

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Defenders who have won the most headers in the Championship:

1 - Curtis Nelson - 196
2 - Sean Morrison - 187
3 - Mads Andersen - 174
4 - Harlee Dean - 157
5 - Matt Clarke - 153
6 - Michal Helik - 151
7 - Dael Fry - 150
Michael Ihiekwe - 150

https://twitter.com/secondtierpod/st...38929642430466

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Nelson has looked so much better under MM but the stat above suggests one part of his game has been strong all year.

Flint has looked better than Morrison when both in the starting line-up both under Warnock and now under MM, but that's probably because Morrison, as the better all round player, is asked to do the tougher job out of the two. I think Morrison can do the job Flint and Nelson are doing in this back three but neither of the others are as good on the ball and therefore would look very wrong in the role Morrison is being tasked with. Flint is doing his current role extremely well and showing why so many managers at this level have found a place for him.

I don't think you can play a more progressive style of football with Flint in the starting side though. Any sign of MM wanting to extend Flint's contract would be one for the cons list of MM's being offered a longer contract at the end of the year.

Good championship defender looking to get a fresh start , looks comfortable in back 3 more so than Mozza , interestingly Pack a a player folk dont like has been excellent as well , both or either woudl have been my MOM last night no Wilson as their 90 contribution was excellent.

I've never hated Flint and players like him with no pace are always the easy targets. He was really good yesterday and should have been motm.

Nelson was also very good and I'm not really a fan of his. We've probably got the 3 best players in the air attacking wise and whilst people aren't going to like the style it would be stupid not to play to it.

Flint will get singled out when someone runs past him because its easy to see but there are plenty who give the ball cheaply in other areas who put pressure on the team.

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Originally Posted by life on mars

Good championship defender looking to get a fresh start , looks comfortable in back 3 more so than Mozza , interestingly Pack a a player folk dont like has been excellent as well , both or either woudl have been my MOM last night no Wilson as their 90 contribution was excellent.

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The post after you highlights the main issue with Pack:

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I've never hated Flint and players like him with no pace are always the easy targets.

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If he was 32+ I'd argue it's time to move away from playing days so to use his excellent leadership skills and tactical knowledge in a coaching role. Unfortunately, teams like Norwich have been able to step up intensity levels and run past Pack* far too easily so it's likely that there will always be chunks of games/whole games where he really shouldn't be on the pitch. Up to the manager to work out when that is and protect him/us.

*not limited to Pack mind in those winter games where lots of our players were too easy to beat in their individual battles.

I was going to start my own thread that made this very point. We have been a different side since Flint returned. It's not entirely down to him - after all, anyone half-decent could play as the third centre back - but the fact that it worked from Day One shows how good he is. I liked him before, and I liked him now. It's just taken someone with a bit of sense to get the best out of him.

£4m well spent.

According to the Guardian today...

Flint has now scored more goals in English League football than any other defender since August 2014