lake district canary

Howson, Tettey and Johnson can barely make a simple pass, yet the best passer in our squad by a country mile gets overlooked time and time again. Baffling. All I hear from City fans is that he got his chance against Luton and blew it. So did several other first teamers in this game i.e. Howson, and they were terrible, yet they get chance after chance. David Fox''s defensive play isn''t up to much. Why is an issue if you play him alongside a battler? Johnson breaks up the play and then gives it away - what''s the point.

Chris Hughton will never have us playing exciting football. This is how it will be with him in charge. Forget glass half-empty, the poor guy hasn''t even got a glass. He''s just completely negative and treats every opponent as though they''re Barcelona. We played one of the worst teams in the league today and didn''t even go for it, we were actually outplayed. And I''m sick to death if him saying after the game "they''re a good side". So are we when you''re not scared of the opposition.

There''s no problem with Garrido. If one of our centre backs is ruled out, I''d like to see Russ cover there - always does a good job.

Hopefully David Fox will get some minutes (albeit from the bench), with presumably Howson and Johnson our first choice pair for the next few weeks.

Turner has put in some excellent performances this season. When he''s not playing alongside Bass though he doesn''t look very comfortable at all

Don''t know why but I''ve got a sneaky feeling we might get at least a point

Score draw, probably 1-1. I''d happily take that now.

The defenders we have on our books are better - Bass is a class above what we''ve had for many years. However, when Bass is not in the team is where the problems start. Turner and Bennett have nightmares when he''s injured or suspended, whereas last season we seemed to cope better when our best defenders were missing from the team. Last season we scored more goals so there was less pressure on us to keep clean sheets. I think it''s just a case of us trying to find a better balance between defence and attack, but unfortunately this isn''t necessarily an easy task

Am thinking of parking at MediaCity. Only a 20 min walk from ground plus should also get away quicker.

Booklet has pretty much the same opinions as me. Hughton is a Championship manager at best. You can see why Newcastle got rid. They wanted to progress,

You don''t need stats to realise Hughton''s substitutions are poor at best. No plan B

Most of these posts are ignoring the fact that Hughton is an extremely negative manager. We COULD play 4-4-2. We COULD play Wes and two strikers. We COULD drop Tettey or Johnson. We COULD play Snoddy on the left, and even Pilks on the left. However, none of these things will ever happen because CH has his rigid formation and way of playing and it never changes, it''s the way we set-up against the best teams in the division and the teams that are there for the beating. Even the notion of swapping the wingers between the flanks during a game is never considered (i.e. getting our wide players on their decent foot for periods of games). To sum it up we''re just incredibly predictable.

Odd person

David Fox could have been the answer earlier in the season but it''s too late for him now - lacking match sharpness/fitness and clearly not rated by CH. In the summer buying a holding player with the ability to pass and break up play is a must. Johnson and Tettey are just too similar and offer little else but two tackling midfield players.

2 strikers = no Wes = no creativity

I''m driving up to Old Trafford for our game a week on Saturday, and wondered where the best places are to park? I''ll probably arrive at around 11-12 and try and get as close to the ground as I can. I''ve heard the Cricket ground is a good place to park and there''s some on-street parking available. Thanks in advance.

Very well put Gingerpele, exactly what I was trying to saY

If anything Wes is UNDERRATED. He is the only man in our squad who can think of that little piece of magic to unlock a defence set up an attack. He''s willing to try something that might give the ball away, yes, but when he gets it right it''s a joy to behold.

I wouldn''t be too excited Bradley. David Fox was given a two-year deal earlier in the season and has hardly had a kick since (or before as it happens.

Spot on. David Fox gets criticised because he doesn''t get ''stuck in''. There are several classy midfielders who are similar but they don''t get ignored because of this. Tettey and Johnson have no purpose other than to break up the play. They do this fairly reasonably but when it comes to passing they are very limited. I''m not saying Foxy should start every game, but when it comes to passing and vision, apart from Wes, there is no one else in the City squad that does it better. And people wonder why we don''t create any chances! Fox is too rusty now and clearly not rated by CH, so my thought on playing DF alongside Tettey or Johnson is never going to happen.

I thought Chris Hughton was the manager? It''s him that''s selecting the negative tactics and rigid formation week in, week out. He''s served up dross for most of the season.

There are a number of players in our squad that enjoyed decent seasons last year, yet this season they look like completely different players devoid of confidence. I know as a Club we have to move on but some of these lads still have something to give the side in my opinion. The treatment of some of these players questions whether the morale of the squad outside of the regulars is very good at all. I''m very much of the opinion Hughton has no motivational skills to inspire confidence, Lambert got a lot of our players, including lads like Wilbraham, who was not really Premier class. GRANT HOLT - 15 league goals this season but I''d be surprised if he got more than 5 this season. CH''s rigid system is isolating him and he''s not getting support he needs. Some fans are saying he become ''lazy''. This is rubbish, he''s having to battle very hard for not a lot of reward. Our captain looks a pale shadow of his former self. I can''t imagine he''s particularly happy about our negativity and can see him leaving in summer. DAVID FOX - finished 3rd in POTS last year but hardly got a look in this season. Mainly because Hughton favours the two battlers in midfield and Foxy''s defensive game isn''t up to much. However, his range of passing, awareness and vision would surely add something to our quite frankly pedestrian and uncreative midfield. I''ve seen comments that he''s had chances and blown them, but judging a player on 4 or 5 games, and one that is clearly rusty and lacking match fitness is harsh. Struggles to get on the bench these days, even Surman is given the nod ahead of him. Very likely we''ll never see him in a City shirt next season. JONNY HOWSON - after an impressive end of last season, I was predicting England honours for him as I rated him so highly. Not any more. At the start of the season he got in the team but was played as a holding player; but his strengths are as a box-to-box player. Hughton''s system is not allowing him to express himself. He now looks totally devoid of confidence every time he gets on the pitch and a shadow of his former self. SIMEON JACKSON - maybe not entirely PL class but always looked lively last season. This year however the spark seems to have gone from his game. The fact that Hughton only rates him as a last resort is probably not helping him. ELLIOTT BENNETT - when he was playing well earlier in the season he wasn''t given the chance. Now he is he''s being played out of position and having to cut in to use his right foot. Surely a manager with a plan would think to swap him and Snoddy on the wings, even if not for the entire 90 minutes.

Before I begin, I''d better mention that I''m a huge fan of Foxy (maybe too much) so my view of him may be slightly biased and blinkered. I can see the arguments both for and against his inclusion in the team, obviously I would much rather see him there. Hughton has found his system now in two holding players, and obviously Fox''s defensive play is certainly not his strong point. Although I would argue pairing him with a Tettey or Johnson would ensure there''s still a ball winner in the middle of the park. So what are his strong points? Well, his ability to dictate the play would be the major one. Too often recently, such as the Brom and Swansea games, we''ve struggled to retain possession in the second half. Foxy is a calming influence who likes to move it quickly, can play it simple but also possesses the ability to ping a long ball with ease. Along with Wes, he has the knack of seeing a pass some of his team mates might not, his cross for Jacko against Pompey being a prime example. Plus his set piece delivery is excellent, which could prove handy if Snoddy''s not around. Even if he''s not going to start games, bringing him on for 20-30 minutes seems to make sense to try and keep the ball at least. Although CH''s lack of a plan B and his inability to change things is another topic. Although I''d like to see Foxy get more action, I''m not sure Hughton particularly rates him (alongside the likes of Simeon and Benno, also both very unlucky). The decision to award him a new 2 year deal recently seems rather baffling if he''s not rated by our manager. Anyway, here''s hoping the Norfolk Xavi gets to strut his stuff against the Posh.