He's my first choice right back...

[king canary 7,606]

@Nigel

In terms of his improvements recently I''d say he has distributed the ball better and he has benefitted from having Tettey sitting in-front of the back four giving him cover.

He clearly struggles against pace though and its noticeable even in games we''ve dominated (Blackpool at home for instance) the opponent generally gets their most joy by getting at Whittaker.

Olsson has been disappointing this season but that is more due to the fact he is capable of so much more.

The main issue I had with your post was the idea he was getting stick because he worked hard- that makes absolutely no sense to me. He did work hard but he got stick because hard work is not enough if you constantly give the ball away, get caught out of position and in general play poorly.

[Mello Yello 2,294]

Mr S Whittaker is doing alright......I was ecstatic when he equalised away at Derby.....That point could make all the difference come May 2015....

[nutty nigel 7,536]

[quote user="king canary"]@Nigel

In terms of his improvements recently I''d say he has distributed the ball better and he has benefitted from having Tettey sitting in-front of the back four giving him cover.

He clearly struggles against pace though and its noticeable even in games we''ve dominated (Blackpool at home for instance) the opponent generally gets their most joy by getting at Whittaker.

Olsson has been disappointing this season but that is more due to the fact he is capable of so much more.

The main issue I had with your post was the idea he was getting stick because he worked hard- that makes absolutely no sense to me. He did work hard but he got stick because hard work is not enough if you constantly give the ball away, get caught out of position and in general play poorly.[/quote]

 

I don''t really agree with some of your crticisms. But it''s just opinion. I will avoid putting the stats up because they are not the be all and end all but they do show that Whitts has performed far better than Olsson at the time he was getting all that stick.

 

But really you have just made my point for me. Olsson has been disappointing playing well below his best but the boo boys get on to Whitts because they believe his best isnt good enough. Go figure...

 

 

[A Load of Squit 5,164]

It was bugging me what that third goal reminded me of and it''s just occurred to me that it was David Fox to Simeon Jackson at Portsmouth, both passes were shouting "goal" as they went into the box.

[lake district canary 4,531]

[quote user="Jack Flash"]The solution to our defensive problems was immediately recognised by AN - get a settled Back 4. In fact he''s got a settled and impressive back 6 now, which includes Ruddy and Tettey. Whitts is nan integral part of that unit.[/quote]Most people have missed that point imo.  Whittaker hasn''t suddenly improved that much - he''s just getting better support in a better managed team.  Tettey sitting in has made the defence tighter and made all the defenders'' jobs that little bit easier.   Being managed properly is what it is all about and he struggled in Hughton''s and Adams'' teams for well documented reasons.  Lo and behold the defence get proper support from a disciplined DM and playing generally as a team higher up the pitch - and Whittaker - and the rest look a lot more solid and effective. 

[king canary 7,606]

Fair enough Nutty, I don''t agree I''ve ''proved your point'' but as you say, opinions.

I''d also add to that point flash that having Bassong back in helps massively- he is a leader and a communicator in that back line and keeps others in shape.