Un Worthy

2004 has seen Worthy earn his fair share of praise & rightly so. But times, they are a changing & if he doesn''t get his act together quickly then this Club will be too far adrift come January to attract any quality players. Whilst acknowledging the lack of available funds during the summer, his management since the end of last season leaves much to be desired. Fact -- He has 7 genuine Premiership players at this Club, -- Green, Charlton, Jonson (yes Jonson), Francis, Safri, Bentley & Huckerby. Why Safri is not playing defies belief. This guy is a different class to Holt & if Worthington cannot see this then he is not fit to manage the Club. The evidence has been there from day one that Holt is unable to "cut it" at this level. Helveg should fit into this category but frankly looks desperately short of pace. Fact -- Bentley is probably the most naturally talented player at NCFC but because Worthy has had a bust up with him (common knowledge) he now gets left in the cold. Brennan revisited!! Publicly telling the Norfolk public that Bentley needs to work harder is not my idea of clever management. Nose, Cut, Spite & Face spring to mind. Whilst the hard work ethic is important, skill & vision are more likely to keep you in this division Mr Worthington. Persist with Bentley, he will come good for you. Fact -- Every supporter of this Club were aware that we needed a new striker for this season. Why wasn''t this addressed? Svensson, Doherty (up front), Mackenzie, Henderson all fall into the same category of not being good enough at this level. The purchase of Doherty & to play him up front was poor management & must have given a real confidence boost to the other forwards at the Club!! The lack of a new centre forward has & will continue to cost us dearly. Jarvis, is a fine prospect, but needs a little more time to develop. Fact -- A tall mobile centre half was a key requirement in the summer. Nothing done! Pull your socks up Worthington. Your loyalty to Holt is not justified. Is ours to you??    

Once again Holt gets the nod over Safri. Once again plenty of huff & puff from the Scot but poor technically & clueless distribution. Francis aside, this was a mediocre performance from a mediocre side. Don''t get me wrong, I was out of my chair with the rest of you when we equalised, but the real quality in the final third was always from the home side. In the summer, it was apparent that Worthington needed to buy a decent striker & a tall mobile centre half. Neither position has been addressed. As the season progresses, I am starting to question the managers judgement in the transfer market. Safri, Bentley, Helveg, Doherty (why!) all brought in to strengthen the squad but none of these getting a regular game. If we are to climb from the bottom 3 then Safri & Bentley both must be given a regular start. This will at least give us some creativity from the middle of the park. Svensson & Mackenzie are sub standard Premiership forwards (as evidenced by Doherty initially playing up front) & unless Worthington can bring in a decent centre forward in January, we will continue to struggle to score sufficient goals to keep us in this league. Negative thoughts, maybe -- but realistic surely!!