Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
pete

Mbo makes team of the week

Recommended Posts

It is only Garth Crooks but never mind a reflection of his performance.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Both Mbokani & Olsson deserve to make team of the week, but it really was a great team effort against the toon. Even Howson put in a good performance.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="julian hudson"]Both Mbokani & Olsson deserve to make team of the week, but it really was a great team effort against the toon. Even Howson put in a good performance.[/quote]Howson has been outstanding for the last few weeks - playing in the centre really suits his style of play

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Haggerdoo"][quote user="julian hudson"]Both Mbokani & Olsson deserve to make team of the week, but it really was a great team effort against the toon. Even Howson put in a good performance.[/quote]Howson has been outstanding for the last few weeks - playing in the centre really suits his style of play[/quote]Well, I wouldn''t say outstanding, but he''s definitely improved over the last few games and by God he needed to. I, like many other fans, had been getting extremely frustrated with AN''s insistence on Howsons inclusion in the team for the majority of the season. Really pleased he''s come good.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
Really? I''m surprised you say you and many other fans, as everyone I talk to thinks he''s one of our best footballers and has been immense when played centrally.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Mbokani was slated on Radio 5 live for his offside goal; "All he had to do was look along the line" they said.

Watching the highlights I could see he was clearly offside, but on re-watching I could see that he was in line with their two defenders, but unfortunately their line was not perpendicular to the sideline.

On TV it must be much easier to see the on-side line relative to the sideline as we can see the 18 yard line, and the grass cutting lines.

This set me wondering whether players on the pitch sometimes use the linesman as their reference point, and whether Mbokani couldn''t see the linesman against the black and white of the Newcastle fans?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="Ian"]when played centrally.[/quote]Hammer, nail hit firmly on the head. He is a central midfielder after all.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Howson has improved greatly in the last few matches. His defensive play was always a weakness and it now seems to be improving, he is now seeing the threats and beginning to deal with them. Perhaps that''s the benefit of O''Neil''s experience rubbing off on to him.

His recent form has been good.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Yellow Wal"]Howson has improved greatly in the last few matches. His defensive play was always a weakness and it now seems to be improving, he is now seeing the threats and beginning to deal with them. Perhaps that''s the benefit of O''Neil''s experience rubbing off on to him.

His recent form has been good.[/quote]So you agree Howson''s form was middling for most of the season.There you go, Ian.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Howson hasn''t been great when played out wide - in the same way most players wouldn''t be at their best in a position that doesn''t suit them.

But that''s on the manager, not on him.

Played centrally there should be no doubt that he''s well worth his place.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="GJP"]Howson hasn''t been great when played out wide - in the same way most players wouldn''t be at their best in a position that doesn''t suit them.

But that''s on the manager, not on him.

Played centrally there should be no doubt that he''s well worth his place.[/quote]How many times has Howson been fielded wide this season?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
He had a shocking start to the season but for the last few months is playing to his usual brilliant standard. Fantastic box to box player.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="julian hudson"][quote user="Haggerdoo"][quote user="julian hudson"]Both Mbokani & Olsson deserve to make team of the week, but it really was a great team effort against the toon. Even Howson put in a good performance.[/quote]Howson has been outstanding for the last few weeks - playing in the centre really suits his style of play[/quote]Well, I wouldn''t say outstanding, but he''s definitely improved over the last few games and by God he needed to. I, like many other fans, had been getting extremely frustrated with AN''s insistence on Howsons inclusion in the team for the majority of the season. Really pleased he''s come good.[/quote]

Really? He has been outstanding for a while now.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Player of the season for me and he still scored goals when played out wide even if it is not his preferred position. Will do a job for you whatever position you put him in.

Should be team/club captain next season!!!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I am someone who criticised Howson''s continued inclusion (normally at the expense of Wes) earlier in the season when he was having the occasional decent game but also going missing too often. In fairness to him, however, he was never terrible and he was being asked to play out of position a lot of the time. His form in the last few weeks has been outstanding and it is no abundantly clear that he is most comfortable and at his best playing as an orthodox central midfielder because his strength is in surging forward with or without the ball and in making those late runs into the box. he is also technically good and has a great engine on him. He is nit suited to playing wide on the right of a midfield four and he is also not (contrary to some views) really suited to playing in the Wes/Naismith role behind the striker.

Its no coincidence that since Neil has realised this (or had his hand forced by injuries and suspensions) and Howson has had a run in the middle he has been great. It is similarly no coincidence that since Martin went back to right back he has improved gradually and recently looked back to something close to his best nor that Olsson playing regularly at left back has improved our defence nor that Brady has regained his form playing on the left of midfield. All these changes have helped the team find balance and the moral of the story is play your players in their best/proper positions unless you have absolutely no choice. Again, thankfully Neil seems to have realised this/hand his hand forced just in the nick of time.

Mbok also looking excellent of late and showing himself to be our first choice striker. i read somewhere we have an option to buy for £5.5m if we stay up. If true that could be very good business.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just playing devils advocate in light of the various threads we have had on here about how the "manager always knows best" and where some fans have been chastised for criticising certain team selections I would point out that not playing Howson wide, moving Martin out of CB and back to RB, bringing in Ryan Bennett, playing Olsson at LB and moving Brady up to LM are all changes that a significant number of fans have been wanting to see for quite some time so perhaps it is worth acknowledging that the opinions of fans who watch their team week in, week out are worthy of some respect rather than the "manager always knows best" attitude that pervades at times on here.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Jim Smith wrote the following post at 05/04/2016 3:41 PM:

Just playing devils advocate in light of the various threads we have had on here about how the "manager always knows best" and where some fans have been chastised for criticising certain team selections I would point out that not playing Howson wide, moving Martin out of CB and back to RB, bringing in Ryan Bennett, playing Olsson at LB and moving Brady up to LM are all changes that a significant number of fans have been wanting to see for quite some time so perhaps it is worth acknowledging that the opinions of fans who watch their team week in, week out are worthy of some respect rather than the "manager always knows best" attitude that pervades at times on here.

---------------------------------------

If only there was a ''like'' button I would press it for this post. Totally agree.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I''d wager that Alex Neil knows more about picking a team, than anyone here.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="morty"]I''d wager that Alex Neil knows more about picking a team, than anyone here.[/quote]
Yep - and the problem is we''ve won plenty of games without, for example, Olsson at left-back. During those times, I never saw posts on this forum desperate for him to come back into the team.
Waiting for things to go terribly wrong and then shouting "I know, we should try some different players" isn''t a stroke of genius. AN is a bit better versed in selecting our team than anyone else on here. That''s because he''s seen them all week - he know''s who''s covering slight knocks, who''s looking terrible in training, who''s looking up for the fight, who''s put the extra work in at the gym, who''s good at this but not at that, etc etc.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="Jim Smith"]Just playing devils advocate in light of the various threads we have had on here about how the "manager always knows best" and where some fans have been chastised for criticising certain team selections I would point out that not playing Howson wide, moving Martin out of CB and back to RB, bringing in Ryan Bennett, playing Olsson at LB and moving Brady up to LM are all changes that a significant number of fans have been wanting to see for quite some time so perhaps it is worth acknowledging that the opinions of fans who watch their team week in, week out are worthy of some respect rather than the "manager always knows best" attitude that pervades at times on here.[/quote]

 

Jim, I believe that the manager probably has an ideal team but he has to be pragmatic, injuries, suspensions and what he''s seen with the players that week in training mean that he has to make choices, when people say that the manager knows best what they mean is that he''s been there all week watching what happens.

 

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I accept that the manager sees them all week and I''m not saying that the fans are always right but managers can get things wrong and fans can sometimes get things right and so the stock line as trotted out by Morty above which is basically just used to belittle people who are making legitimate points is the wrong attitude on a discussion forum in my view.

These were not points being made with the benefit of hindsight in most cases and in response to the other posts above yes there have been plenty of fans wanting Olsson back in and Brady pushed forward and who were slightly bemused at how Olsson was made the scapegoat for the Newcastle away defeat.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="Jim Smith"]I accept that the manager sees them all week and I''m not saying that the fans are always right but managers can get things wrong and fans can sometimes get things right and so the stock line as trotted out by Morty above which is basically just used to belittle people who are making legitimate points is the wrong attitude on a discussion forum in my view.

These were not points being made with the benefit of hindsight in most cases and in response to the other posts above yes there have been plenty of fans wanting Olsson back in and Brady pushed forward and who were slightly bemused at how Olsson was made the scapegoat for the Newcastle away defeat.[/quote]Not forgetting also that he is actually a football manager, for a living?Sure we''re all entitled to an opinion, but yeah I will continue to belittle people who arrogantly say they know better than an actual man who sees the players every day, and is also a professional football manager.Show me the posts that wanted Olsson back in. Seriously.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
morty wrote the following post at 05/04/2016 4:22 PM:

I''d wager that Alex Neil knows more about picking a team, than anyone here.

-----------------------------------

In what way though?

I''d argue that he''s made a lot of selection errors this season, not just from the start but substitutions as well, and I think there are some posters which wouldn''t have made these mistakes. Where he''s better than any of us here is his motivation of the team, coaching and general football tactical knowledge, that''s why he''s a manager. However in terms of team selection I''d say it''s taken him a long time to realise that Whitts isn''t good enough, Martin is not good enough at CB to play there regularly, Howson is not a RM and Brady should play further foreword in front of a genuine LB in Olsson.

If the question is, ''would anyone here do a better job than AN?'' then the answer is no, however in terms of team selection I think other posters have been right to point these errors out. Luckily now he''s rectified those mistakes, found his best 11 and we''re getting some wins.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="mrs miggins"]morty wrote the following post at 05/04/2016 4:22 PM:

I''d wager that Alex Neil knows more about picking a team, than anyone here.

-----------------------------------

In what way though?

I''d argue that he''s made a lot of selection errors this season, not just from the start but substitutions as well, and I think there are some posters which wouldn''t have made these mistakes. Where he''s better than any of us here is his motivation of the team, coaching and general football tactical knowledge, that''s why he''s a manager. However in terms of team selection I''d say it''s taken him a long time to realise that Whitts isn''t good enough, Martin is not good enough at CB to play there regularly, Howson is not a RM and Brady should play further foreword in front of a genuine LB in Olsson.

If the question is, ''would anyone here do a better job than AN?'' then the answer is no, however in terms of team selection I think other posters have been right to point these errors out. Luckily now he''s rectified those mistakes, found his best 11 and we''re getting some wins.[/quote]In every single way.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
''In every single way.''

------------------------

Therefore do you agree with AN that it was the right decision to play Howson on the right, Whittaker at RB, Martin at CB and Brady at LB with Jarvis in front of him all in the same team?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="mrs miggins"]morty wrote the following post at 05/04/2016 4:22 PM:

I''d wager that Alex Neil knows more about picking a team, than anyone here.

-----------------------------------

In what way though?

I''d argue that he''s made a lot of selection errors this season, not just from the start but substitutions as well, and I think there are some posters which wouldn''t have made these mistakes. Where he''s better than any of us here is his motivation of the team, coaching and general football tactical knowledge, that''s why he''s a manager. However in terms of team selection I''d say it''s taken him a long time to realise that Whitts isn''t good enough, Martin is not good enough at CB to play there regularly, Howson is not a RM and Brady should play further foreword in front of a genuine LB in Olsson.

If the question is, ''would anyone here do a better job than AN?'' then the answer is no, however in terms of team selection I think other posters have been right to point these errors out. Luckily now he''s rectified those mistakes, found his best 11 and we''re getting some wins.[/quote]
1) Whittaker has played as well as Wisdom, Pinto and Martin have in other games. 
2) If you''d listened to AN he''s comfortably admitted Howson is not a RM but at the time when trialled in CM was not taking hold of the game well enough and we had other options at the time - players in the middle of the park weren''t playing badly yet Howson''s quality meant he still wanted him in the side. I agree he struggled a bit out there.
3) Some of Brady''s best performances have been at Left Back, and in a couple of games Olsson has looked a complete liability when brought in off the bench or given a chance. In his recent run of games, he''s been very good however.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
[quote user="Jim Smith"]I accept that the manager sees them all week and I''m not saying that the fans are always right but managers can get things wrong and fans can sometimes get things right and so the stock line as trotted out by Morty above which is basically just used to belittle people who are making legitimate points is the wrong attitude on a discussion forum in my view.[/quote]Hear, hear! [Y]Wouldn''t be much point of a message-board if people didn''t opine.[quote user="Jim Smith"]These were not points being made with the benefit of hindsight in most

cases and in response to the other posts above yes there have been

plenty of fans wanting Olsson back in and Brady pushed forward and who

were slightly bemused at how Olsson was made the scapegoat for the

Newcastle away defeat.[/quote]I''ve only been here since October of last year, but I certainly recall posters making valid opinions regarding Olsson. I for one was bemused by Olsson''s scapegoating and I''m pretty sure I stated so. Yes, AN is a football manager and ultimately knows more than us, but only a fool would deny he''s made mistakes and unnecessarily tinkered too much -- we''d be finishing the season as champions otherwise.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...