Build around Pritchard?

[Van wink 2,994]

McCormack on the bench for Villa so it''s not that usual. But as you say for all three to be absent is not a great endorsement of our recruitment, or our management, or something 😀

[Yellow Wal 314]

Don''t forget the £3M - £4M paid for Maddison.

[hogesar 9,658]

Hoolahan will be back in the team before Pritchard is.

[norfolkngood 1,086]

also Canos Barcelona Liverpool then a good loan spell at Bentford

Has been called Barcelona Starlet / wonderkid in the past can only get in our under 23''s team

[Ray 111]

[quote user="VanWink"]This one has got me stumped. I don''t see how we can afford to leave him out of the side. He must be injured or have a personal problem he is dealing with?[/quote]

Vanwink,

Maybe, like a few others in the squad who appear to be out of favour, he has said something the manager doesn''t like, or even dared to question a tactic, and as a consequence has been sent to the naughty step for an indeterminate length of time.

[morty 0]

Yes that''ll be it. In the absence of any solid facts, let''s just make random nonsense up.

[OldRobert 38]

[quote user="morty"]Yes that''ll be it. In the absence of any solid facts, let''s just make random nonsense up.[/quote]Morty, you have to admit Pritchard had a stormer against Brentford which must have earned him some brownie points, and short of calling the manager a Numptie (always possible I suppose), surely he''s deserved a place in the starting line up or on the bench, but there''s hardly been a sign?

[morty 0]

He then followed it up with a bit of a shocker against Barnsley though Bob. Could that be a reason?

[Van wink 2,994]

Ray wrote the following post at 20/12/2016 9:27 AM:

VanWink wrote:

This one has got me stumped. I don''t see how we can afford to leave him out of the side. He must be injured or have a personal problem he is dealing with?

Vanwink,

Maybe, like a few others in the squad who appear to be out of favour, he has said something the manager doesn''t like, or even dared to question a tactic, and as a consequence has been sent to the naughty step for an indeterminate length of time.

You may be right Ray, it''s the absence even from the bench that surprised me. When this sort of things happens people are bound to start wondering why Morty, there are all sorts of explanations, the naughty step being one of many.

[morty 0]

I prefer to rule out the less hysterical options first.

[OldRobert 38]

[quote user="morty"]He then followed it up with a bit of a shocker against Barnsley though Bob. Could that be a reason?[/quote]Could be, but not to be in the squad at all seems to be a bit harsh,  To banish one of your better players completely to the sidelines imo, is a bit of a weakness, but it wouldn''t be the first time that sort of thing has happened would it?

[GJP 79]

It''s the inconsistency. Pritchard has an off game and he gets axed. Others can survive a run of poor form.

In my opinion it''s been a problem for a long time.

[Ray 111]

Morty said "I prefer to rule out the less hysterical options first."

Morty, Like you I would like to think that this sort of behaviour belonged in the playground, so I wonder why I mentioned it? (smiley, winky, thingy)

[Chemical Bro 0]

At the end of the day the way i see it

If i go out and spend the baulk of our transfer budget on a player, I''d be doing all i can to get the best out of him. You''d certainly expect to build around and play to his strengths. He''s good enough for us to make that worthwhile.

I''m not whining because a player has been dropped either. For example i believe he''s had every right to drop Tim klose. No problem with that at all.

[norfolkngood 1,086]

I Think you will find There is more to Klose not playing than Form !

[Chemical Bro 0]

I don''t believe that to be true at all norfolkngood.

However each to their own

[Woodman 92]

[quote user="norfolkngood"]I Think you will find There is more to Klose not playing than Form ![/quote]

Really? Do tell us what you know...

[GJP 79]

It''s very hard to see Klose being here after January. He''s not been amazing but how is he not in the team?

Have to assume they know he''s leaving.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

So much hypocrisy from you on this thread, Morty.

Is it really the fans looking for a reason to bash Neil?

It''s actually a pretty consistent formula for what the majority of fans want:

Play well = continue playing, get more chances

Play bad = dropped to bench, or out of squad, with less chances

You''re the one being inconsistent here in your haste to try and spin things positively for AN as much as you can, it''s pretty hilarious when you think about it.

You justify Pritchard being dropped completely out of the squad (not even just to the bench) for having ''a bit of a shocker'' for one half of a game, despite a MOM performance the week before.

Yet players like Brady who have been consistently sh1te for months still get selected without fail, how do you justify that?

And lets not forget that this isn''t the first time Pritchard has come in and then been dropped completely after a strong performance.

When you tie decisions like this, together with Canos'' complete abandonment, the tenancy to not use Lafferty for more than 5 minutes EVER (no I don''t think he''s the answer), the continual insistence of selecting players who are playing awful, etc etc, don''t you think there''s quite a lot of inconsistency in what AN stands for in regards to his selections and substitutions?

It''s not fans picking and choosing what they want to moan about, it''s just how things have been this season, bizarre decision after bizarre decision.

I

[Alfie54 76]

Also Neil said that Maddison wouldn''t be going out on loan, just before he was exiled to Scotland

[It's Character Forming 1,160]

It would be unfair to single out Pritchard against Barnsley, because they did an excellent job of closing down him and both Murphys, and keeping their contribution in the first half to the minimum.

 

I think Ricardo has made the point in a couple of match reports that AN''s team selection for some time this season looks more like he''s shuffling the deck and hoping it''ll work more than anything else.  The Barnsley game being the perfect example, he tried an approach which failed completely in the first half, he then changed it to respond to the obvious problems in the first half (credit where it''s due although it was hardly rocket science) and we were unlucky IMO not to come away with a point.  But that''s not good enough given the squad we have, and the squad they have.

[morty 0]

It''s about not knowing actual reasons for players playing, so just making your own daft version up.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

Yes, I shared those thoughts at the start of the season. But when similar decisions continue and even increase in frequency, I can''t help but think that AN is the common denominator here.

Especially when you factor in the performances of this season, seems clear to me that the players are no where near as invested in the manager as they were 18 months ago; they all lack fitness, desire and generally play like a group of individuals.

It''s not a stretch for us to think that AN may have pushed players further who he has left in the cold, leading to fall outs etc.

After all, Pritchard and Canos played entire seasons in the Brentford first team, where were their attitude problems then?

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="Hank shoots Skyler"]Yes, I shared those thoughts at the start of the season. But when similar decisions continue and even increase in frequency, I can''t help but think that AN is the common denominator here.

Especially when you factor in the performances of this season, seems clear to me that the players are no where near as invested in the manager as they were 18 months ago; they all lack fitness, desire and generally play like a group of individuals.

It''s not a stretch for us to think that AN may have pushed players further who he has left in the cold, leading to fall outs etc.

After all, Pritchard and Canos played entire seasons in the Brentford first team, where were their attitude problems then?[/quote]

Exactly.

[morty 0]

Anyone who thinks that Alex Neil is deliberately leaving players out, who could do a better job than the ones on the the pitch, due to some kind of petty grudge, really is a bit of a canary caller.

Players who are in form and are training well don''t get left out of the team.

[GJP 79]

While it''d be nice to think that is the case there will be exceptions.

The other issue is AN''s judgement on what counts as good form and training well. It may not be what it should be.

[Hank shoots Skyler 2,094]

At no point have I called it a petty grudge. I do, however, believe that he has fallen out with a number of players over the course of this season, and maybe players are partly to blame too. But the general consensis within the fanbase is that AN has made several poor decisions this season; and surely this feeling of alienation is at least as strong, if not stronger, within the actual players who are being affected.

''Players who are in form and are training well don''t get left out of the team.''

How do you know that? When was Brady last in form? Pritchard has arguably shown more as an attacking midfielder in his two good performances than Brady has this entire campaign... Unfortunately he''s been given pretty much zero chance to build from these performances and is plucked from the squad without hesitation, not even just dropped to the bench.

Surely you see AN''s double standards here?

Remember when Hughton left and Bassong did a runner with Adams as manager? That was actually completely Bassong''s attitude at fault - he didn''t even give Adams a chance. Yet when a new manager came in, Neil, he brought Bassong back as a key player and promotion followed. Bassong is still playing now so clearly his attitude is not to the detriment of the squad at all.

What we need now is similar; a fresh face at the helm and a clean slate for the players to work from.

[lincoln canary (& Golden Coppel) 0]

[quote user="morty"]Anyone who thinks that Alex Neil is deliberately leaving players out, who could do a better job than the ones on the the pitch, due to some kind of petty grudge, really is a bit of a canary caller.

Players who are in form and are training well don''t get left out of the team.[/quote]

Anyone who refuses to recognise that grudges do and can exist, really is a bit naive.

"Players who are in form and are training well don''t get left out of the team" - Unless the manager is incompetent, something AN regularly demonstrates.

[norfolkngood 1,086]

[quote user="morty"]Anyone who thinks that Alex Neil is deliberately leaving players out, who could do a better job than the ones on the the pitch, due to some kind of petty grudge, really is a bit of a canary caller.

Players who are in form and are training well don''t get left out of the team.[/quote]

looks like it might be bah hamburg this christmas for Klose

[Bradwell canary 109]

I agree, for me should be the first name on the team sheet.

But will not happen while this manager is here.

Whatever reason he was not even on the bench tells us something is deeply wrong, lets face it it could be AN attitude. We alway tend to think its always the players with the attitude.

Who knows what AN is like as a manager now the gloss has completely gone.