Midfield permatations for Saturdays midfield ....... conundrum ?!?

Speaking as a former employer, and also accepting that a lot of this case is hearsay and I obviously don't know the full facts, I believe in a normal job he would have had a good case for bullying, victimisation, discrimination or whatever and would have been able to claim constructive dismissal. I think it was a disgrace (if true) that someone with a physical injury was accused of having mental issues which stopped him from playing. But even if he did have mental issues, aren't they an equally good reason for him being unable to play? Why do some people think that mental illnesses don't count?

Having had my rant I sincerely hope he's back to full fitness now and gets back in a side, whether it's ours or someone else's. Good luck to the lad.

 

I think the thing about what Lee Johnson actually said is a myth. Didn't he say something down the lines of, we don't know what's wrong and it's down to Ryan. Meaning that we couldn't find anything physically on scans etc, but Williams still was feeling his groin (or whichever muscle it was).

I think the mental health issues were someone blowing the entire situation out of proportion.

#TeamsLikeBarnsley

 

Of course he did because precisely nothing had been done to fix his injury, last time wasn't a comeback, he was playing with the exact same injury that hadn't been treated. I think it's a bit unfair comparing this come back after an operation and proper training to get back to fitness with last time when he was picked prior to treatment.

 

I'll try and dig it out if possible. You're right in that he said they couldn't find anything on the scans so I don't fully blame LJ as I obviously don't think he intentionally played him had be known for certain that it would make him worse. I do blame him for not listening to a professional who knew that something wasn't right and blaming mental blocks/barriers, whatever the exact wording was, which sparked all these discussion about whether he can mentally hack things and caused him to be thought of differently to players who are out with known physical injuries. (Although as Stahlrost points out above, even if it was mental issues then he still shouldn't have been treated differently).

 

So whilst was out last time he received no treatment at all ?

 

Problem with that is who goes where? Don't think Hammill, Kent or Watkins could fit in a midfield 3 and I presume Yiadom would have to act as a wing back back - so that leaves Morsy, Williams and who? Tricky situation.

 

I don't know what they attempted obviously but LJ said that he'd had a few scans and nothing showed up. I definitely remember him saying that they couldn't find anything wrong with him and then he made the comments about some people not being able to play through pain, saying it was up to Ryan and that some people have mental barriers/blocks. That all tells me that he didn't receive the treatment he needed. After that he went back to Australia (I think - I'm sure I heard that somewhere) and they found out what was wrong with him and he had an operation whilst he was there. Since they now know what was wrong and he has been operated on and received the proper aftercare he has subsequently made it back into the team and said in an interview that he is better now and wants to put it all behind him.

 

Re: Isn't Roberts out too

So good they named him different

 

Hamill, Morsey, Morsy and Hammill.

Kent, Watkins and Marley impact subs.

Sorted

 

Hmm. Not sure about that. I'd perhaps have Morsy on the bench too in case Morsy or Morsey is flagging later in the game.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

Re: Isn't Roberts out too

I'd be tempted to go Morsie Morsy Morsey Morsi

 

The team that were promoted to the Premier League had 3 players who rotated and Redfearn who was a constant. Marcelle, Sheridan and Bullock were the players who rotated. Now you would not say that any of the players who were rotating were particularly strong defensively. Indeed, there is an argument that says even Hammill and Kent are stronger defensively than any of the players who were rotated. Redfearn was a club all time great, and Morsy cannot match him in any aspect of the game.

The appeal for me is that we should not be expecting Williams to start so soon after returning from a long term injury, and we are not asking a defender to play out of their true position. Kent and Hammill have to play slightly narrower than is usual in order to look after the central 3 of Bristol, assuming they play the usual 5 man midfield, but I would sooner have that than trying to shoehorn players into a four who are not used to it, and then ask the two central midfield players to be positionally accurate in order to cope with 3 in the opposition.

Anyway, that is what I would do and I look forward to seeing how Hecky will solve the problem.

 

I'd beg to differ that Sheridan was not that strong defensively. He got exposed quite badly in the Premier League at times, but in the second tier he was a superb defensive midfielder and a very competent left back as well.

 

Jovo, Jovo, wherefore art thou Jovo? Alas Danny knew him so well.

(Think you'll find Shez and Jovo rotated alongside Redders and Martin or Clint in the hole).

 

In midfield we are currently missing one central midfielder and have both our first choice wingers are fit. The solution isn't to lose both wingers and now have to find two central midfielders which you propose to fill by playing two players out of position resulting in a midfield that is not just weaker in numbers (3 instead of 4) but also has two thirds of that midfield playing out of position. The obvious solution is instead to leave three quarter of the midfield in their correct positions and bring in just one replacement for one missing player

 

I used to love watching Sheridan scrapping it out in midfield in his own inimitable fashion. For sheer grit and determination, he had few peers. But he was not the quickest. Do not get me wrong. I am not trying to rewrite history. That team went up as a team, and I have seen few teams in my time watching Barnsley that were their equal, but looking at the individuals in that team, there were a few that had some faults.

As we say, football is about opinions.

 

We're at home, why should Kent and Hamill be asked to forfeit thier game to negate Bristol. Why not let Bristol worry about us.

 

I agree there were a lot of faults individually in that team, Marcelle could be lazy at times, bullock lacked strength, Sheridan lacked pace as did eaden, Watson was poor on crosses, Appleby had a mistake in him every game. But as you say as a TEAM they all complimented each other and worked excellently as a team and on their day could beat any side in the country.

 

As you well know, the wing backs make it 5 v 5 in midfield because they push up on the opposition wide players. The weakness in the 3-5-2 system is that it can leave space behind the wing backs, which then has to be covered by the outside players in the back three. But they will be marking just one forward, so that is not a problem. However, there is a question about whether those players are experienced enough to play the system, but we have a big problem with the players who are missing in midfield, and where ever you tinker, there will be a problem. I do not deny that all the solutions that are being suggested have a problem, because the hole in our midfield just cannot be fill adequately from the available players.

As I say, I am looking forward to seeing how the professionals solve it.

 

They are not being asked to forfeit their game to negate Bristol. They are being asked to play slightly narrower than usual because we have a huge hole in midfield and are struggling to find the players to fill it.

Look I know that I have a reputation for looking at alternatives to 4-4-2, but just forget that for a moment. I am not suggesting that we adopt 3-5-2 permanently. I am suggesting that it might offer a solution to the problem of the hole in our midfield. And as I keep saying, I look forward to seeing how the professionals solve it.