If he is serious about promotion, yestdi we had 2 full backs who totally lack in confidence. When players can't get the basics right,It's time to move on. Tonge & Williams reading/positioning were awfull. Poor clearances when not under pressure. In fact this is now fast becomming a trade mark of Tonge's. Why we still haven't got in a centre half is beyond me (I've heard all the excuses but am still not convinced) making do with what we've got, will not get us promoted this season. We lack serious competition for places.
You must appreciate, though, that before Colgan's injury, we were looking at the tightest backline in the league. Since Colgan's return, Carbom Kay and Hassell have all picked up knocks. The defence is down to the bare bones and beyond. I think a loan player fpr a month, to await a return to fitness of these players, is all we need. For me, the defence did OK yesterday, considering the fact that they were under pressure for far too much of the game. Sadly there was very little in central midfield and until Wright came on, no threat up front.
Fair comment, I suppose what I'm also questionning is the mental strength of Tonge & Williams. Both came into the team full of confidence at one point, yet yesterday they seeemed to be frightened to death everytime the ball went near them & their distrubution is simply awful. We do need a centre-half though. Over these last 2-3 weeks we've failed to claim a top 2 spot & guarantee a place in the 4th round of the FA cup. Overall, very disapointing indeed.
It's also true That the level of performance with young players does have a tendancy to fluctuate quite rapidly . Both Tonge and Williams have the ability and I wouldn't be surprised to see a marked improvement of form on Tuesday . Perhaps I'm too much of an optimist !
What IS the situation with Tony Vaughan? He had a decent spell last season (bookended between two nightmare performances against Doncaster). Presumably he is now back at the club, yet not even on the bench yesterday. Is he injured?
That's Odd. Thanks for the info Jay. I figured he must be. However, according to the program notes (Hudds 31st December), Rick Holden stated Tony Vaughan would be fully fit when he returned from Stockport on Jan 1st. Has there been a "setback" of some description, or maybe he was given duff information.
Not sure I think it was quite a serious injury he picked up at Stockport and like I said, he hasn't played since early October. I suppose after being out for almost 3 months there's always the chance of a setback. Not that I'd be particularly happy to see him back in the side. I think Reid, Carbon, Kay, Hassle and even Austin are all superior to Vaughan at centre half. And they've all got the advantage of being able to form a decent partnership with one another. Vaughan perhaps isn't as bad as some people reckon, but if last season taught us anything it's that him and Carbon simply cannot play together.
Thanks. I does sound like a serious injury to be missing that number of games. I'm sure Vaughan is not as bad as people think. In fact, all the defenders have performed better this season than last (maybe Paul Reid is the exception). There is no reason to believe Vaughan would not have improved also. Carbon plays well when he is attacking the ball, he is not as effective as the second defender doing the tidying up. Vaughan also likes that role and maybe that is the reason for the incompatability between Carbon & Vaughan. Thanks again, Stephen
RE: Ritchie Needs to Go, Bring back Bassett Bassett was the start of barnsley decline, we got to the playoff final despite Bassett not because of him. His first season had the nuecleus of a great team handed to him. By his second he'd brought in his players and we wer mid table. He comes back and I stop going. Ritchie is struggling at the moment but he's had a hell of an ijury list to contend with.
RE: Ritchie Needs to Go, Bring back Bassett Ritchie ia doing a fantastic job. But we should have stuck with bassett