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Can anybody confirm what they do or if any of them do anything well?
It is ridiculous how we have let it get to this stage.
They can't pass, can't create anything and as it showed earlier are not that great at stopping attacks coming at them. What do they do?
Would you keep any of them if their contract was up this summer?
Will Vaulks is only in there because of the throw ins
And the others?Originally Posted by City123
We don't really have any other options. The midfield desperately needs work done to it in the summer and has done for a while, it really is the glaring weakness in our squad
Oh for a Barry Bannon, or even an Aidan McGeady. Johnny Williams is a show pony and always has been, Ralls is by far the best of the rest but only if doing a workhorse job not requiring any real skill, Bacuna runs about, Vaulks' ball skills are non-existent. Pack turns away from anyone near to him and passes back or risks losing the ball, which is why he is so negative.
None of our defenders can pass, to an extent that is embarrassing.
Ojo has proved he is not up to it on any regular basis, Wilson undoubtedly has skill but like Jason Bowen of old is only any good when we are on top. Moore could be excellent but has been overworked beyond sense.
I am firmly of the view that this being a results game McCarthy deserved a contract, since we were on the verge of being sucked into a relegation struggle, and you can see why. Sheffield Wednesday have a squad that is far more talented than ours, apart from Patterson who just happened to hit an unbelievable volley (for him) and played a very good pass today, which it took him about a dozen games to achieve when he was with us.
I am encouraged by the use of younger players, but disconcerted by McCarthy's overall approach especially to substitutions and shape.
I am glad it is the end of the season and will be hoping for the best.
Ciaron Brown is taking this aspect of City's play to new levels. He is so poor with the ball at his feet that it's genuinely incredible he's playing at Championship level.
If he needs any reason not to be in the Welsh squad then tonight was it regardless of how much MM bulls him up
It's truly astonishing how poor they all are in possession. Same for all our centre backs aside from Morrison.
It doesn't help that we have no width.
That happens if you pick no wide midfielders or wingers.
Absolutely.
In a way we were playing some 3-4-2-1 formation where the only width was Ralls and Sang. What's happened to Ojo? Why is Hoilett out of favour? He's arguably our best choice for a left wing back. Where's Murphy? Wilson? Instead we went narrow with two centre midfielders in behind Moore. Awful formation.
You got what you wished for.
They really struggle when playing against individuals/a group who can move the ball quickly, intelligently, effectively (especially if on a large pitch) but are able to bully most of the midfields in the championship. Most of them are strong personalities in the dressing room, Pack is one of our more intelligent footballers and Vaulks has a good shot in him and a useful long throw.
Having two of the four (Bacuna still seen as a CM) with two players with greater capability on the ball would be fine, but Warnock rejected need for a balanced squad and decided expensive and super-Warnock was the way to go.
Problem is more whether we can move any of them on rather than whether we'd keep if they were out of contract.
n/a
They were all very poor last night, but in Brown’s case I haven’t seen anything in any of his performances so far to suggest he’s going to be good enough for this level. He’s big and his defending is reasonably competent but that’s about it. He can’t seem to do anything constructive with the ball at his feet.
His use of the open space 50 yards ahead of him was brilliant
Shame really as I'd heard good things about him from pals north of the border, I was hoping he was going to come back and really grab his chance.
From what I've seen I can't see how he's likely to be here for next season
https://footballleagueworld.co.uk/ex...over-new-deal/
Given the financial situation of many clubs, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him here next season. I think it'll be a very quiet transfer window for almost everyone.
I doubt that. To use Newport County as an example, they’ve got twenty one players out of contract this summer - that’s an extreme case, but I think there’ll be plenty of clubs scouring the free transfer market while trying to cash in on their most sellable assets.
Is that Sheehan amongst them? he didn't look terrible for Wales
I think the OP is a little harsh. Id say that Vaulks, Bacuna and Ralls are all perfectly good Championship midfielders, the problem is that they are all more or less of a type (grafters) so playing them together is a recipe for a lack of creativity and inability to keep possession.
Theoretically that's where Pack should come. He should be the one playing the Joe Allen / Stephen McPhail role, the play should flow through him and he should be the be the link between defence and attack. In truth though weve seen precious little of that from him.
Personally I hate the 3-4-3 formation. It neutralises the wingers because they have to tuck in to accommodate the wing backs and doesn't give you the option of playing a number ten. I can see why McCarthys gone with it because the only creative midfielder we have thats worth anything is Tomlin who's had a dreadful run with injuries but playing Bacuna as one of the from three? **** right off.
That though had been a glaring problem at the club for literally years. Weve barely signed any creative midfielders, probably due to the types of manager that weve had and the fact that we dont have a director football. Perhaps the systemic problems at the club need addressing before the endless hiring and firing of managers.
In my opinion, even if we had two ball playing Bannan types in our midfield then any of the others we have as a holding midfielder would still stand out as a weak link, they simply cannot pass the ball
This is exactly how I see it too. These players didn't get slated in the same way at other clubs as they do here because the blend of players around them and the job they were asked to do differed. We lack someone who can create time for themselves, dictate tempo, always be available for the ball and pick a pass.
This hits the nail on the head. They aren't poor midfielders - they are both pretty good at what they do. The problem is what's going on around them. The last few games, we have had two stand-in full-backs, plus one stand-in centre back. Against Wednesday, we also had two stand-in forwards. What did we expect?
But again, both Williams and Bacuna were out of position - if it had been those two in place of Vaulks and Pack, with Wilson and Murphy alongside Moore, we might have seen a different game.
McCarthy has his injury issues at the moment, but he's been guilty of taking his foot off the throttle, when playing two 'lesser' sides. The full back issues couldn't be helped, but he rested his best forward line, and we paid the price.
I think a lot of the stuff levelled at Ralls is pretty harsh, he's played a lot of games at this level and generally been pretty successful. If he were shit he wouldn't have been an important part of a side that's been top half Championship at least throughout his time here
That being said, this has certainly not been his best season
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