I have to say this but Connell played against Rotherham we won by one goal,next two games he doesn’t play we win 2 games and score 6 goals Nwakali plays we then play Charlton Connell back in side we lose and don’t score just my observation
Connell played well yesterday. Nwakali hasn't been great at all recently and still looks much better off the bench. There's absolutely no defensive ability in any of our midfielders other than Connell.
Just to play devil's advocate. Using the games you mentioned, in the 2 games he played, we only conceded 1 goal and the 2 he didn't we conceded 4.
Probably more to do with the fact that the teams we played without him are below us in the league and Charlton are above. We'll win the next three.
I thought he did OK. Had decent mobility. I do wish the penny would drop that Neil Redfearn, he is not. Nwakali... Seems to have a good range of passing but his work rate is poor. Russell, does some impressive things and has good strength, but other times he coasts. But it's the overall set up of midfield that concerns me. We had a very positive first 5-10 minutes, but after that and second half especially, we had no outlet. We couldn't get the ball into midfield, we had no target man to hit, and we had no ball over the top. And we have this weird passive tendency which the more I think about it, the more I worry its fitness related.
I think it might be worth trying Nwakali higher up the pitch, where his excellent passing ability might lead to his creating a lot of chances. When he won the Ballon d'Or as a 17 year old he scored 3 goals and got 3 assists in the 7 games of the U17 World Cup finals. That was a long time ago, I know, but he obviously has a lot of talent and perhaps it might be better utilised further forward. Just a thought.
Him and Russell are too similar to carry in the same team for me. Both are good on the ball but poor out of possession. They go missing too often. Phillips is a bit same to be honest. There aren’t enough grafters in our midfield for this level of football.
It could work, but then you're replacing Russell or Phillips. I'm not sure if it's the components in our midfield, the set up, coaching and messages or a mixture, but our midfield doesn't do what it needs to. Although Charlton didn't create that much, I actually quite enjoyed watching them. They were very solid, had a bit of physicality, pace and trickery on the wings and an old head in the middle. Not an amazing side, but you could see what they were trying to do. Us on the other hand...
I know your right CR but we win three games without Connell but then our brilliant manager changes the set up again sorry two games without Connell I know there are a lot of games and he’s trying to keep everyone fresh but why put him back in the team when we are winning games and then bring him on as a sub.And I know we conceded 4 goals but we still won
You build around a strong spine. Goalkeeper, centre back, mid fielder, centre forward. A strong defence means you don’t concede you don’t lose.
Agree 100%. Unfortunately we have as much spine as a cheesestring atm. So DKD is a start, as a central AM.
I’d sooner we didn’t try to move on our best players because they’re out of form, especially bearing in mind where we are shopping for their replacements. I’d be looking to keep all my good players and upgrading the rest.
