Most improved player this season?

Been talking about it down the local in between the karaoke. Good bit of debate.

Mine goes to Scott Wiseman. Thought we'd seen the last of him when he was getting booed around Xmas time. Credit to him. Looked very solid the last few games.

Other contenders were Daggers and Etuhu.

 

The three you mentioned; Wiseman and Etuhu in particular.

 

I would add Kennedy to the list. Reasonable debut against Birmingham then hardly got a look in, been great under Flicker. Etuhu for me though.

 

I agree about Kennedy, he definitely deserves a mention too.

 

Got to say Wisey.

Daggers always had ability, just suffered with bad luck.

Etuhu was rarely played by Keith. Under Flitcroft he's been superb.


Whereas, Wisey looked an awful defender in 2012. But since Man City, he's been a revelation. The fact I've wrote him off, slated his abilities etc, also means I now have to give him ultimate credit/respect.


Well played Scott. One more performance, pal.

 

Dawson for me. I thought he had some dreadful games at the back end of last season, but he was at it from the start this season. Etuhu looked hopeless when played out on the wing but as soon as Flicker moved him in to central midfield his performances were excellent. Wiseman actually got worse before he got better, although in his last dozen games or so I think he's been our best player Cranie I also though improved. His second half of the season performances were far superior to those in the first.

 

The thing that has improved is the supporter's attitude towards Wiseman. It was the supporters who turned it into an either or situation at right back between Hassell and Wiseman. When Stones established himself at right back, it was once again the supporters who turned it into an either or situation at centre half. It was the supporters who damn near ruined Wiseman's confidence because they confused their animosity towards Keith Hill with a blame culture for the players he had signed from his former club, just as it was the supporters who wanted none of Flitcroft because he was part of the problem. Then the team begins to win again and Flitcroft is god and Wiseman is the most improved player. Not true. It is just that the club are winning again and the supporters are supporting again. Speaking as one who has always said it, Wiseman was always a good player.

 

Wiseman in the first half of the season was awful..watch the videos on player and you'll see how many points he cost us.......now I've said that, since Flicker fetched him back in he has got better and better and would say he has redressed the balance,like a lot of his critics on here I have to say Flicker got it right and we got it wrong...and by the same token Flickers change of heart on Hassell suggests that Flicker has realised he and Keith Hill got it wrong about Bobby and the vast bulk of fans were right.......makes everyone happy that.

 

Etuhu for me. Has been like a new signing since his move into centre midfield.

I'd like to agree with you Red Rain with re Wiseman but I'm afraid he did have some poor games earlier in the season which ever way you look at it. They are however becoming more and more difficult to remember thanks to his recent performances. If he were to leave I think we'd really miss his pace.

 

It has improved, since his performances have.

The supporters (vast majority) merely found it bizarre that a quality defender was ignored no matter how badly others - especially Wiseman - performed.

The supporters were fed up of seeing us concede so many goals owing to poor central defending, and thus wondered if Hassell could do a job in there. Again, it boils down to equal opportunities.

It was Keith Hill who ruined Wiseman's confidence by playing him no matter what. Yes, there were a tiny minority of supporters who disgracefully booed Scott on two occasions in the Blackburn home game. That behaviour can't have helped Scott's confidence. But a manager selecting him almost in an "I'll show you who's boss" manner was far more destructive. By the Blackburn game, Keith was even dropping Stones for Wiseman. He'd lost the plot, the dressing room, and Flitcroft. (as well as his job).

I'll give you that. Because I didn't want Flitcroft as manager for that very reason - association. Thankfully, he's proved to be unlike Keith in so many ways. And I'm delighted that he's proven me wrong for daring to doubt him.

He may have been. But he was a player that was playing horrendously for months, making mistake after mistake. It's only natural that supporters will pick up on regular shoddy displays.

 

Flicker has got it right because he finally listened to the fans. What nonsense.

 

I have a funny feeling that Bobby was only being picked due to injuries in the squad though sadbrewer I'd probably pick Bobby but I reckon with a fully fit squad, Flicker still wouldn't (he only got back in after Delap got injured). I'm sure we'll find out next season.

 

Spot on Red Rain Regarding Scotty Wiseman he's always been a really good player and what a Pro he his just can't understand some of our fans at times !!

 

I can only remember him have one really bad game i.e Blackburn (h). There was a combined hysteria that Wiseman was at fault for goals. As I said at the time, when the opposition score, supporters look around for someone to blame and select the usual scapegoat. Since we have started winning again, supporters have become more positive in their attitudes towards the players. There is no looking for scapegoats and there is a general realisation that doing so is counter productive. It has become accepted that getting behind the team can help them to win.

Wiseman has always had pace. Provided the team does not encounter big forwards, and provided we do not concede free kicks and corners and provided we continue to pressure the passer, he will continue to look good. Every player has his faults. It is the teams responsibility to ensure that each players faults are mitigated whenever possible. Flitcroft's team is, with the odd exception, making defending look easier because the midfield is putting the opposition mid-field under greater pressure. It is this pressure that forces their opponent to mistime or misdirect their final pass allowing Wiseman to play to his undoubted strength, which is his pace.

 

I agree with all that, your second paragraph. 100%.

But trust me, he had a few poor games, and even in games where he was ok, he'd drop clangers, cost us goals.

It's not something I made up at the time, it's what I witnessed with my own eyes. I don't 'need' a scapegoat. I call it how I see it. Just as I am now by saying he's much improved since Man City away.

 

I have to agree with the Bobby vs Wiseman attitude. Bobby was the only one ever going to win that.

When Wiseman first came to us, he looked a decent player. The vast majority were happy with the job he was doing at right back. Then came the downturn in form of the team. The opposition had worked us out and knew how to play against us. We continued attempting to play from the back and as the supporters got increasingly frustrated, players started making mistakes, giving the ball away. Because most of our possession was in the wrong area of the pitch, when we lost the ball our defence was immediately put under pressure. We started losing and it was the defence that was blamed. That was always something I didn't get, it was scoring goals that was our real achilles heel and the stats backed that up. Only twice this season under Hill had we scored more than one goal.

What the vast majority of fans wanted was Bobby Hassell. Had he been picked he may have made a difference, he may not have, it was probably worth a try. Naturally, he was vying for a place against Wiseman since they both could play in the same positions. Because Hill refused to pick Bobby, the fans vented their fury at Wiseman. He was booed during games and sent abuse on Twitter. As I saw it, everyone's love of Hassell pretty much meant an equal dislike of the man keeping him out of the team. He was branded the worst defender we've ever had by some. His confidence knocked, and the style of football not helping, of course he was going to make mistakes. However, his performances were judged in such minute detail that people couldn't wait to give him a lambasting on here post match for even the smallest thing. I think you have to blame Hill for some of Wiseman's below par performances (but don't get me wrong, I don't think any were much more below par than anyone else's). Picking him against big target men isn't his game, and he can't be critisized for his stature, that's ridiculous, just as Bobby can't be critisized for his lack of pace. We can never know if Bobby would have coped any better under Hill's suicidal tactics, perhaps he got a lucky escape.

After Flicker's appointment, we got the tactics right. The defence got the ball forward early and when we lost the ball, it was high up the field. The defence did the defending and the attack did the attacking. We kept plenty of clean sheets and then Bobby came back into the team following injuries and we just carried on performing well. Wiseman could no longer be blamed for keeping him out of the team and finally people began to notice he wasn't an awful player. Confidence back, he pushed on and has become one of our most consistent, stand out performers.

Worst defender ever to standout performer in a few months? I don't think so. Just my opinion, like.

 

I agree with most of that.

There is no argument that the style of football we have played since Flicker took over has been more successful than that we played under Hill. However, I do not think that the pressing game can be played for a full season. It is just too tiring. Once the pressure to survive is over (one way or another), I would like to see the team change its style. We need to retain the ball better than we do at the minute rather than simply hitting the ball long and hoping that O'Grady can win his share of possession against the odds. There is too much simply hanging on at the end of games because the players are spent, having run themselves to the edge of exhaustion.

Flicker has been lucky. No-one knew that Etuhu would be so effective in centre midfield. He finally managed to persuade Sheffield Wednesday to loan us O'Grady. He employed the wing back system, much to everyone's surprise. These are the most significant changes employed by Flicker and I hope that he will be rewarded with a win at Huddersfield. But those who think that the team is the finished article are wrong. Whatever happens at Huddersfield will precede a big turnover of players.

 

He's improved the basics and cut out the mistakes, however, watch the highlights from Saturday and their two best chances came from players Wiseman was marking. If that had been three months ago and one had gone in then he'd have been slated

 

Scott Goldbourne

Although I think he just looked lost last season when played as a winger, yet he's took to the wing back role well and for me was our most consistent performer up to getting injured.