Howson!!! And Martin & Whittaker

[Matt Morriss 69]

Howson was appalling yet again and I''ve had just enough of him. Completely anonymous and ineffective for 90 mins. At least one goal started with him losing the ball in the attacking 3rd, just like Leicester when he gave the ball away twice and they scored.

Im sorry but Howson is simply not good enough for the premier league. He contributes very little over 90 mins and people seem to think because he providers the odd glimpse of quality, like the assist v Leicester, the goal earlier this season and the wonder goal v Man City 50 yrs ago, that he''s a great player. He''s typical of many pro''s who don''t make it at the top level. Clearly has ability but just not consistent or effective enough at premier league standard.

Quick note on Martin Whittaker, not much needs to be said as we''ve seen todays problems time and time again with these two. There also not good enough for the PL. Seemed to adopt zonal marking for goals 4/5 as neither seemed bothered by the space Mitrovic and co were allowed.

Johnson was sold because he''s not PL standard, the sooner these 3 follow him the better we will be.

They''ve been great for us but there just not up to the PL.

[ruthers1 0]

He was poor today but Dorrans was even worse! What anyone sees in him is completely beyond me. Hughton would''ve loved him - every time we looked dangerous today he passed the ball backwards and killed any momentum. Shocking

[lappinitup 629]

Nice to see you Matt, haven''t seen you since we last lost.

[Stylish Canary 0]

Great OP you can''t argue with a word of it

[lappinitup 629]

Blimey, they''re all on here. [:''(]

[Herman 9,759]

[quote user="lappinitup"]Nice to see you Matt, haven''t seen you since we last lost.[/quote]There''s a lot of that going on today.

[GJP 79]

Might help if we played Howson in his best position and kept with it. Unfortunately his position and role now change one game to the next.

[Indy 3,298]

We have''t won in a while, with what''s coming up next weekend would be a welcome win.

Why did anyone really think that the core side whic were found to be not quite good enough two years ago would be any better this time round?

It''s easy to see that Ruddy, Martin Whitts, Bassong & Olsson are solid players and alongside quality premiership defenders would no doubt look ok, but alongside each other are leaking close to 3 goals a game again.

Lots of hard work to come this week for AN.

[Hairy Canary 702]

Totally agree Howson was absolutely awful today and against

Leicester. Two break away goals in each game came from him losing possession. Not even subbed in either game. We need Mulumbu back asap.

[Katie Borkins 1]

[quote user="Huckerbys Boots - Matt"]Howson was appalling yet again and I''ve had just enough of him. Completely anonymous and ineffective for 90 mins. At least one goal started with him losing the ball in the attacking 3rd, just like Leicester when he gave the ball away twice and they scored.  [/quote]

I don''t mean to be pedantic - actually, I do - but he was hardly "completely anonymous" if you can identify him as the reason we shipped goals today. 

I mean, to me, that''s a basic logical flaw that you just can''t dig your way out of.

Therefore, everything else you said is nullified and you look like you have testicles coming out of your forehead.

You''re welcome!

[Y]

[Alex Moss 2,165]

[quote user="lappinitup"]Nice to see you Matt, haven''t seen you since we last lost.[/quote]

You have a very good point, Lapps. They''re all out tonight...

[Matt Morriss 69]

[quote user="GJP"]Might help if we played Howson in his best position and kept with it. Unfortunately his position and role now change one game to the next.[/quote]

He was played in his best position today, in a two with Tettey certainly isn''t. Further forward is supposedly his best position and he was utterly woeful.

[Move Klose 303]

I love Howson but for me he was poor vs southampton, poor vs leicester and was poor again today. Maybe it''s worth seeing what vadis can do.

[GJP 79]

His best position is central midfield. Recently he has played wide left, wide right and behind the striker. Not good for him and not good for the team.

[AJ 1,218]

Yes we were poor today but let''s not forget Howson and especially Martin have been a lot about what''s good for us this season

[Boris 56]

Is normal to loose ball when play much with ball but why always we are so high and no on can block them is very strange.

We are so brave with this % of possession but smart opposite manager easy can give us a ball even more and kill easy this fragile team on counters.

AN must reconsider some things coz with this way we easy will conceded 100 goals this season...

[im spartacus canary 0]

There was a bit near the end when a pass to whittaker

got cut out and he just stood there moaning as they

broke away yet again ! I am not a violent person but at

that moment I could have stabbed the lazy ,fat ,pedestrian,

bald (until !

[Jools 584]

We will turn it around at W Brom

[andyc24_uk 59]

Howson needs to be dropped and forced to up his game. Whittaker needs to go permanently, defensively he''s by far the weakest RB in the Premier League - he''s league 1 standard at best in that position and it shows, time and again. Dont care how good he is going forward (and I accept he does contribute well to the attack) - We don''t play wingbacks, so he''s not the man for the job. Martin is the best we have at the moment unfortunately but inconsistent and also clearly needs to be upgraded significantly in January if we''re to have any chance of staying up.

[Grant Holts Moustache 105]

Dropping Howson isn''t what we need to do we need to play him where he is most effective. His talents are breaking late to get forward and linking the play in quick one two situations when he is facing the goal. It''s no surprise these poor games highlighted are where he has played out of position. Southampton he played on the left. Leicester he played on the right and yesterday as an attacking midfielder. Is it no wonder he isn''t performing when playing in roles that don''t suit his attributes.

[ZLF 274]

Difficult one with Howson, when played deep it was pointed out he is better as a creative force further forward, when forward he is better deeper, he is better centrally than wide. Where is his best position?

Tettey is a better def midfielder, wes a better creator. jarvis better on the left and redmond better on the right.

Personally I dont think Jonny works in a 4231 used yesterday and is better as the box to boxer alongside wes in the middle of a 4141. But will we find that Mulumbu us better in that role too??

[Matt Morriss 69]

Exactly so what is his best position? for me its definitely not deep in a midfield two.

Further forward id say as per yesterday, and i thought he was appalling. The difference when Wes played there was noticeable.

Ive seen this so many times with Howson, i dont get the love in at all with him, for me he''s definitely not PL standard and is a good championship midfielder, like Johnson.

[GJP 79]

I''ll say it again - his best position is central midfield.

When he plays there he''s almost always one of the best players on the park for us.

[Matt Morriss 69]

Disagree with that completely, in a two deeper he''s even worse.

[Fiery Zac 1,066]

Howson is not, and never will be an attacking midfielder of the Wes type. The most disappointing thing for me yesterday was seeing AN think he can be. He''s never played well there and why he was preferred to Wes was baffling.

I do love him as a player though. His energy, reading of the game and eye for a pass make him a very good player. Hes a box to box midfielder who''s looked best for us in the two, usually alongside Tettey. Having Tettey (or hopefully Mulumbu soon) gives him more freedom to push on while having the energy to get back when needed, certainly quicker than Dorrans who seems to run out of steam very quickly,

[GJP 79]

In my opinion Dorrans wouldn''t make our best 11 but the manager is trying to accomodate him. And better players are either being played out of position or benched to fit him in.

[ellis206 0]

[quote user="andyc24_uk"]Howson needs to be dropped and forced to up his game. Whittaker needs to go permanently, defensively he''s by far the weakest RB in the Premier League - he''s league 1 standard at best in that position and it shows, time and again. Dont care how good he is going forward (and I accept he does contribute well to the attack) - We don''t play wingbacks, so he''s not the man for the job. Martin is the best we have at the moment unfortunately but inconsistent and also clearly needs to be upgraded significantly in January if we''re to have any chance of staying up.[/quote]He''s not league 1 standard though is he, hence why he''s been continously picked by our last 3 managers and is an international right back. You failed to mention that 5 of the goals yesterday originated from the left hand side of the pitch, so what does that say about Olssons ability?