Neil's comments about our midfield/injuries

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Am I the only one who thinks he''s talking utter nonsense/making excuses?

He is basically claiming he''s having to rely on kids due to Howson and Mulumbu being injured. He also said that as a result he''s having to start Jacob Murphy even though he could do with a rest.

He''s got Pritchard on the bench who he bought for £9m. He''s completely frozen out Canos who we bought for £4m and who did nothing other than look quite good when he got a chance. He''s also got Jacobs twin brother who has played far less on the bench and who has arguably looked better than him during his more recent run outs and Thompson as well.

Sorry I just don''t buy the hard done by suffering due to injuries line.

[morty 0]

Maybe the players you mention aren''t playing / training well enough to warrant a start?

Could that be it?

[Indy 3,283]

If that''s the case that he''s bought in players who aren''t into trying Morty then did AN and his staff scout them correctly?

Both Canos & Pritchard were signed last minute as they were about to go to other rival clubs......were they panic buys?

You can''t argue about the results 11 wins out of 15 games this year is great, beating Everton, after the first five games AN introduced more youngsters into squad with a positive result, but now they and others look knackered, lost and a little out of sorts, why? And how to address this before Brighton is the question.

[STAN 29]

Oliviera, Pritchard, Canos, Naismith, Klose, Pinto, Jarvis, Mulumbu, Brady, Andreu, Dorrans, McGovern, Maddison, Kean, Jones.

This is around 50 million of "talent" Neil has bought in.

If he doesn''t believe in his own signings we''ve got issues.

[Indy 3,283]

Out of the recent signings, Canos, Oliviera & Pritchard were not on the radar, but bought last minute stopping them joining, Brighton, Bristol & Forrest. The question is that''s most of our summer spend on players who weren''t our long term targets, did they fit what was required by AN? If not why did he buy them?

There''s no doubt Pritchard looks the deal, but if he''s on the bench he can''t do bugger all!

I''m not an AN fan I''ve never been convinced by his ability and still ain''t convinced, he doesn''t have that knack of reading a game, making a change to turn it around, but he has a knack of turning winning positions into dropping points.

[canarydan23 4,060]

He''s losing the plot. Relying on kids? Jump in and correct me if I''m mistaken but I believe the youngest person in our side yesterday was Jacob Murphy who is 21. Imagine how mithered that Nazi Tory MP David Davies would be if Alex Neil was in charge of letting kids in from Calais. We had a teeanger on the bench but only as a last minute inclusion and he didn''t feature. And Jacob Murphy played almost every game at Coventry last season. I accept this was in League One and the Championship is a step up but claiming he needs a rest this early in the season, 8 days after he had two weeks without a game, is clutching at straws.In terms of squad depth there are few, if any, Championship clubs who come close to us, particularly in terms of midfield.Imagine what managers like Simon Grayson must think seeing Alex Neil bemoaning cover for injuries. This is a manager who was allowed to spend about £16 million on three players who so far have collectively featured for less that 350 minutes all season.He''s scratching around for excuses because to admit the real reason for our poor performances and yesterday''s abject result and match would be to exercise self-deprecation, which does not seem to be Neil''s forte. His lets his ego and pride get in the way of team selections. Look at Preston; everyone knew it was a bad decision to drop Pritchard on Tuesday night, even Neil if he is being honest with himself. But he was criticised for it and repeated the mistake on Saturday.Once we go on a run of fixtures against teams who will be challenging for playoff places, his limitations will start to become more expensive than we already are.

[Jim Smith 2,314]

Not only did he repeat the error but he had a dig at the fans in his post match interview by pointing out that we conceded with Pritchard on the pitch. Presumably in response to criticism for not starting him. What kind of management is that?

[SeattleCanary 0]

[quote user="Jim Smith"]Not only did he repeat the error but he had a dig at the fans in his post match interview by pointing out that we conceded with Pritchard on the pitch. Presumably in response to criticism for not starting him. What kind of management is that?[/quote]

Definitely picked up on that sly dig too Jim. Not smart. We conceded with him on the pitch against Rotherham, but the argument could be made that we were 2-0 largely by his influence at the point we conceded. Today he should have started and AN knows that deep down.