Will Davey drop Brian Howard?

The first thing Davey did when he took over from Ritchie was to drop Howard. I was his biggest critic arguing that it took away our creative midfield player. However, after one of the worst matches I have seen, we had beaten Ipswich and kept a clean sheet. The next game (Southend), if memory serves, Howard played left wing. He was wasted there, but again the team won and we kept a clean sheet. I am sure that the team has kept clean sheets when Howard has played centre midfield, but you see my point.
I reckon that we will soon revert to 4-4-2 which means 2 wingers and 2 centre midfield players. I think that Davey regards his wingers as the constructive side of midfield and his centre midfield as his first line of defence, their job being to stop the opposition from passing accurately and winning the ball back for the wingers. Brian Howard is our only contructive centre midfielder, although Davey claims that he now has cover for every position. The conclusion I draw is that Brian will be sitting on the bench for our next game.

 

In a wing back formation Howard should play central midfield, shoved forwards behind the front 2.</p>

In a 4-4-2 formation Howard needs to be central alongside someone who'll do the nasty bits of the game and give him the freedom to play. Howard on the left wing just doesn't happen. You may as well drop him as play him there.</p>

 

I do not think that he will play left side. I think that he will be on the bench, replaced by a second defensive midfielder say Togwell/Johnson.

 

Can't drop him in this sort of form. Davey would be daft. Howard's the only way we look like scoring regularly.

 

The forwards will have a better chance of scoring if we play 2 wingers, always assuming they get into a position to hit decent crosses. Howard has scored 4 goals this year but 3 were from penalties so he is behind Ferenczi on goals in open play.

 

hell please no,wish davey would do away with the negative tactics at home,considering the opposition,no disrespect to scunny,but at home we really shouldnt be looking to playing defensively against any but the top sides,even then i would question it from kick off.We need to send the message out to other teams in this league that we will give anyone a game,a case of "come on if you think your hard enough" when we are at home.

 

Best of luck with that wish.

I'd start praying now.

 

Our defensive record is abyssmal. We have tried 3 at the back and it has not improved. The goals are not coming in any particular way so it may be time to stop the supply of passes being delivered into our box. I am sure that the return of Bobby Hassell will improve us at full back, but now we have invested in wingers, surely that means that we have to see if they are any good.

 

If we've had Scunny watched

we will know that they play high up the pitch and narrow, idea being to stop opposition having any time on the ball and condense the game into midfield. They will be in our faces. I'd be looking to play with some width (JCR and Ricketts) and players who can break from midfield to beat the offside (Howard and Togwell). Odejayi and Mostto to start if Istvan is not 100%.

 

I think the thing that we need most of all after the start that we have had is a clean sheet. Scunny will be very hard to beat, just ask Sheffield United. They will work very hard and they will keep the ball in the air as much as possible. Is that really a game for Howard.

 

Simply cant drop your captain, best player and league top scorer

cos the opposition might not suit. Daveys selection was crap against Newcastle, but to drop Howard would be proper mental. besides, he is likely to be the only one looking to thread a pass or run past the strikers and create something. If anyone, it'd be Johnson I'd drop cos the pace of the game might pass him by.

 

especially now that coventry have offered 1 million for him................and thats come from a good source inside the club......................

 

If Reid plays, as he may well do given Souza's seeming inability to concentrate for 90 minutes, Howard is not captain. I am merely presenting a possible solution to our defensive problems that lies away from the fault being with the back four (or three, or five) and which involves the midfield as well. As you say, Brian is the only player that gets forward / runs past the front two. This means that he is the one most often out of position when it comes to defending, winning the ball back, putting presure on oposition passers. If I were a devil's advocate, I might ask how badly does Davey want to keep a clean sheet.

 

Dowie is supposed to be off to Leicester according to the Mirror.

Unlikely they would offer that if the manager is on his way.

 

RE: Dowie is supposed to be off to Leicester according to the Mirror.

getting their bids in early.</p>

witfantasyislandart</p>

 

Wouldn’t surprise me to see Howard dropped with Davey in charge.

How dare a player look to do something positive and try to attack during a game. Shame on you Brian.

Don’t you know your supposed to concede as mush possession as possible to give them as much chance of wining as possible and hardly venture into the opposition half of the pitch.

 

So how do you see it? What do we do to stop the opposition scoring.

 

Don't sit back and invite the opposition on to us

Play attacking football and put our opponents under pressure. The opposition can't score if we're down the other end. I never want to see that 4-5-1 ballacks again.

 

I echo those sentiments

Let the opposition worry about us and how they're going to keep us from scoring .

 

RE: Don't sit back and invite the opposition on to us

I think you'll be unlucky.</p>

I've never know a manager of BFC so wound up about the opposition that he approaches certain games so negatively from the start and certain other games sounds the retreat in the 2nd half if we are winning.</p>

One other thing. This manager cannot or will not change things round if we are losing/playing badly. Despite his larger squad which gives him 'options'. </p>