Foster gone, Goldbourne gone, Steele dropped

Re: Having a large squad brings pressure on the manager to pick the right team

My point is ANY back 4/5 combo at the minute looks like it has to have Kennedy in.

Not for me.

 

Re: Loyalty to Kennedy and Dawson

Hehe.

 

Re: Having a large squad brings pressure on the manager to pick the right team

Just as long as it hasn't got Hassell in it, it'll do apparently.

 

Re: Having a large squad brings pressure on the manager to pick the right team

How can he consider Hassell when we're so watertight ?

 

Re: Having a large squad brings pressure on the manager to pick the right team

Fully expected Hassell to be a bit part player this year, spending most of the time on the bench. What I didn't expect was for him to be ignored completely, playing and training with the under 21s.

Two 5s, a 4 and a 3 conceded in our first 8 games and there's no room in an 18 man squad for our most experienced defender who can play in any position in the defence? We know he's not shot, we saw him at the back end of last season help us to a number of clean sheets. If it is purely for football reasons, I don't understand it.

 

Re: Having a large squad brings pressure on the manager to pick the right team

Not sure what's going off - everything we seemed to be last season has gone polar opposite this, both with performances, tactics and team selections.

He's already talking about playing catch up - much more of this and his 'assurances' will be used as a means of getting rid.

 

Re: Having a large squad brings pressure on the manager to pick the right team

I thought we looked good in the first half against Huddersfield and defended well in the second. Saturday wasn't a complete disaster, we matched them in spells, but the formation really didn't do our players any favours. Had Stephen Foster been playing instead of M'Voto we would have probably nicked a draw and might have even won it. He wouldn't have been destroyed in that first half and could maybe have done something about one of the goals and he would have still been on the pitch second half to mark Henderson at that corner. With Cranie being out injured, Hassell completely ignored and Foster sent on his way the defence has taken a serious backwards step this season.

I think we've got too many players giving us far too many options in terms of both personnel, formation and tactics. We're trying everything at the moment, using different players and different tactics for every game, the team isn't settled and we're suffering as a consequence. There's too much temptation to tinker. Flicker needs to have the courage of his convictions, decide on his best team and formation and play it for a number of weeks, even if we lose the first game in which he uses it.