It's been interesting post match reading the opinion on MDG. As is the way in football, so many differing views. Every footballer on the planet makes mistakes. MDG makes mistakes. He has done previously and he'll do so again. In that regard he's no different to any other player. However, the key question is whether he makes more mistakes than you'd expect a competent L1 CB to make. In my opinion he does not. He's sound in the tackle, has good positional sense and he makes a good pass. He defends well. He's our very own French Franz (Beckenbauer)!! The point of this post is... let's put things in perspective. MDG is sound. Interestingly, under DC, he's also providing us with an extra attacking option. Seems to me that our coach has picked up the Wilder mantle by using the marauding/overlapping CB. MDG is doing this, as is Josh Earl. They're being used as an extra body carrying the ball through midfield. It's effective and confuses the opposition defence. I'm guessing that's why Pines isn't first choice. He hasn't got the attacking ability of MDG (or Josh). I'd stick with MDG, Robbie and Earl. The End.
He gives the side balance capable of carrying the out if the space opens up. His he the best defender no he got out muscled for the goal yesterday but he's about as good as we are going to get at this level,IF we go up I think he would struggle at Championship level.
I agree. In all honesty he was dreadful for the first 15 minutes of the game yesterday but got better as the match went on. The recent improved form is coinciding with us playing more football rather than just going direct. To do that MDG and Earl are critical to it because of their distribution and ability to run forward with the ball.
I’ll start this by saying I’m certainly not someone who’s always been critical of him. I was on here defending him on the night of his debut saying that I could see a player in him because of the quality of his passing. I expected him to become a top player for us & someone we would sell for good money. Having said all that I think he makes far too many mistakes to become the player I expected him to be. He has a couple of ‘bomb scare’ moments every game & gets caught out positionally. I thought he would have improved more defensively than he has up to now. I guess he’s still young & there’s plenty of time. But he’s also pretty much undroppable because realistically he has no competition. I think everyone would admit that McCarthy’s days are numbered with us & as much as I love Roberts you aren’t going to put him at RCB & ask him to carry the ball into midfield for obvious reasons likewise for Pines. The only way MDG can be taken out of the team is if we changed system which isn’t going to happen when we don’t have orthodox full backs or wingers. What I’ll say about him is he’s an excellent passer, carries the ball forward well for the most part & he has the important trait in any footballer which is that he’s never injured. Plays week in, week out & you can’t question his commitment. He seems a good lad too, I just wish he made a few less individual errors. Definitely worth persisting with but one of the weaker players in our starting 11.
Our recruitment at the back has been atrocious. We appear to have only concentrated on the value adding stats of ability to pass and make forward runs when it comes to our signings which is at the expense a little thing called defending. Both earl and MDG are very capable of running out of defense with the ball and it looks great on the stats used to buy and sell players but frankly neither of them are really any good at defending which is why we need to score a minimum of 2 goals to win a game.
I think he’s fine. I’ve no issue with him starting and agree a back three of Earl, Robbo and MDG is the best combination we have. Although I’d also say he’s one of the players i’d have no problem moving out and replacing with someone else. As I think he is the weaker link in the back 3 and we could get better. He has a year left on his contract after that I’d let him go.
To give the club the benefit of the doubt I think they have signed more traditional centre backs in Roberts, Pines & Lopata but I agree with your general point. I think they cracked it with the Thomas, Anderson & Kitching defence & thought that if you get two good passers either side of a dominant centre back that was the winning formula but Thomas & Kitching were outstanding defenders at this level too.
Yes I think that's the problem. They've decided that you need a stopper in the middle and two runner/passes either side but in the two outer positions they have completely focused on the attacking attributes
He is a lovely footballer. Great touch. Decent range of passing. But at this actual job of defending he is average at best. He makes far too many mistakes and is dragged out of position very easily. He’s easily bullied off the ball in poor areas. I think its no real coincidence that our ability disappeared as soon as he started appearing regularly. I guess the same calculation needs to be made as we have made with Gaga. Are the mistakes worth it for the qualities he brings. It’s my view they aren’t but appreciate others think they are.
I didn't see the game yesterday so my opinion is not based on that at all. In my opinion he does make more mistakes than you would expect a competent L1 centre back to make. Actually, that's not really what I mean. If you play a long ball down the line and it drifts out of play well into the opponent's half, that's a mistake, but it's not one that matters all that much, it doesn't put your team under pressure. MDG makes way too many mistakes that hand a goal scoring chance to the opposition on a plate. The Rotherham game was the first time I can remember him not doing so. You can usually guarantee he'll do it at leat once, probably twice, when under no pressure. He gifts chances to the opposition. And he does it way, way too often.
We've conceded 2 goals in the last 4 proper games. For me that's down the improvements all round defensively. And a goalkeeper they don't have to worry about.
I like him. He's a selfless footballer and always puts his body on the line something that is rarely acknowledged. I don't know what his blocking stats are but I suspect they're impressive. He needs to play alongside a big physical player and I believe he gets criticised for what he isn't and not for what he brings to team (attributes that have been outlined above).
He does have some good attributes and does make valuable contributions to games. However, I'm with @Jay on this. Too many errors.... No Too many CRITICAL errors... Hell, yes.
I've got no problem with MDG but I do think that Pines is a bit unlucky to not have been involved more. I could be wrong but it feels like the majority of our admittedly few clean sheets have come with Pines in the team and I reckon that if he was given a decent run of games he would form a solid partnership with Roberts, whilst also contributing a big goal threat from corners, free kicks etc which would possibly outweigh any goal threat that MDGs runs forward actually creates. Good thing for me is that the team is now looking much more settled so Clarke has a good base to just focus on the odd tweaks here and there.
I'd take him out of the team for a spell. Mistakes in him every game, clumsy on the ball and finds the easy things hard like shielding the ball out yesterday when he should have put his foot through the ball and cleared it.
Great attitude, great heart, but just not up to it - even with Roberts at his side covering up for so may of his errors. He’s had enough time and he’s not improving.
