Daz Sparks 1,154 Posted February 18 (edited) As there is no thread dedicated to him, I just wanted to show my appreciation of his contribution yesterday. He was very solid in the role in central defence, and if you didn't know, you would have said he was the time served CB who was the Coach's first name on the team sheet week in, week out in the back four/five. He absolutely toyed with the Cardiff front line on occasions and never looked troubled with the ball at his feet. He did have a stray header that led to Cardiff getting a sniff on goal, but all in all, he performed admirably, smooth, easy on the eye and workmanlike. End of Kenny love in. Just to add, he was MoM contender along with pretty much the rest of the team. Josh's double sealed it really. Edited February 18 by Daz Sparks 5 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jaberry2 550 Posted February 18 Very accomplished and tidy at this level mostly. He is susceptible still for questionable balls and against better opponents you would get punished. Nonetheless he has been consistent in the most part this season Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Feedthewolf 4,846 Posted February 18 If the season ended today, he'd get my vote for POTS. There are still a few 'confirmation bias' doubters out there who remember every single misplaced pass and refuse to notice how instrumental he is in everything we do. He did make two or three pretty poor mistakes yesterday, but I lost count of the number of positive contributions in attack, defence and transition. PS. It's McLean, not McClean 5 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,676 Posted February 18 Of course, the squad claim he's invaluable and the most intelligent footballer we have. Hence his ability to still be one of the better players on the pitch when out of his natural position. I'm glad he got a new contract as opposed to going to Leeds. Where are those fans now.... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Petriix 2,838 Posted February 18 I think he's been excellent every time he's played in defence and continually improving with yesterday's performance right up there. He's still prone to the odd moment of madness but he seems to have better natural instincts around the positing required from a defender in comparison to the defensive side of the midfield role. He's alway been fairly decent in the air and he is pretty solid (if not spectacular) at defending, but it's the passing and carrying the ball forwards that gives us something extra. The team always has a better balance with Kenny in the back line. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Indy 3,300 Posted February 18 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said: If the season ended today, he'd get my vote for POTS. There are still a few 'confirmation bias' doubters out there who remember every single misplaced pass and refuse to notice how instrumental he is in everything we do. He did make two or three pretty poor mistakes yesterday, but I lost count of the number of positive contributions in attack, defence and transition. PS. It's McLean, not McClean He’s certainly not alone in making those daft mistakes! But even I would start him in the CB position ahead of all four we have! Not that I’m having a go at them but they’re all devoid of being able to play forwards and it’s noticeable we all say how slow we play out the back! This changes with McLean at the back, he’s a decent defender too! For me at his age and ability now his best position in this starting 11 with Numez & Sara in midfield. If we want to shore up midfield during a game we have Sorensen or Gibbs. Edited February 18 by Indy 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt. Pants 4,236 Posted February 18 He'd be my POTS too. A very consistent performer for Wagner. He isn’t going to last forever and yesterday was very interesting to see how we could transition the midfield without KM in it. Great player to have at Championship level but let's not kid ourselves he could play CB in the Premier League. Having McLean, Nunez and Sara compete for those 2 midfield positions is not a bad place to be! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coneys Knee 959 Posted February 18 He’s been quality. Deserves way more credit than he gets. Always has in my book. He’d be very hard to replace. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Feedthewolf 4,846 Posted February 18 Just now, Capt. Pants said: He'd be my POTS too. A very consistent performer for Wagner. He isn’t going to last forever and yesterday was very interesting to see how we could transition the midfield without KM in it. Great player to have at Championship level but let's not kid ourselves he could play CB in the Premier League. Having McLean, Nunez and Sara compete for those 2 midfield positions is not a bad place to be! Strangely, I think Kenny would be a better CB than CM in the Premier League. With a good enough 'rock' alongside him, his mobility and distribution would actually work quite well I think. The modern CB is more about positional play, awareness and distribution than it is about brute strength and aerial ability (or at least it's much more common to have at least one CB in that mould). Not that I think we're likely to be in the PL next season, but I wouldn't baulk at the idea of him playing alongside an upgrade on Hanley. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daz Sparks 1,154 Posted February 18 34 minutes ago, Feedthewolf said: If the season ended today, he'd get my vote for POTS. There are still a few 'confirmation bias' doubters out there who remember every single misplaced pass and refuse to notice how instrumental he is in everything we do. He did make two or three pretty poor mistakes yesterday, but I lost count of the number of positive contributions in attack, defence and transition. PS. It's McLean, not McClean I knew that! 😜 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
canarydan23 4,060 Posted February 18 He gets more time to pick a pass as CB and actually creates more attacking opportunities from that position than when he's in CM. And him dropping into that position allows us to field our best CM pairing in Nunez (probably my MOTM yesterday) and Sara. Hopefully he sticks with it even when Gibson is available. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jersey Canary 143 Posted February 18 I’ve been a big critic of Kenny. I’ve never seen how he got in the team ahead of others and he has lots of deficiencies in midfield ie too slow, can’t tackle, doesn’t track his runners, he doesn’t score or create enough. However, this season has been his best, some of his long passing has been very good, his effectiveness has been far better. I still worry about the crazy passes around our boxes but on the whole Kenny has gone up in my estimation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,676 Posted February 18 3 minutes ago, canarydan23 said: He gets more time to pick a pass as CB and actually creates more attacking opportunities from that position than when he's in CM. And him dropping into that position allows us to field our best CM pairing in Nunez (probably my MOTM yesterday) and Sara. Hopefully he sticks with it even when Gibson is available. The only thing we lose from Mclean being further back is no-one else in midfield seems capable of breaking and driving with the ball and playing Sargent through on goal as he did in consecutive home games before this week. I certainly think it's something that could be in Nunez' locker so let's wait and see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daz Sparks 1,154 Posted February 18 3 minutes ago, Jersey Canary said: I’ve been a big critic of Kenny. I’ve never seen how he got in the team ahead of others and he has lots of deficiencies in midfield ie too slow, can’t tackle, doesn’t track his runners, he doesn’t score or create enough. However, this season has been his best, some of his long passing has been very good, his effectiveness has been far better. I still worry about the crazy passes around our boxes but on the whole Kenny has gone up in my estimation. Fair play for saying this JC. We all see the game differently, some folk will only really pay attention when the ball is the attacking third, others just track the ball, others a particular player and others take in a rounded view, along with many other ways of forming your own opinion of how it's gone as a team or for a player. It is games like yesterday, however that most people's opinion fall in line and most agree that we played really well, and probably the best game since DF in the champs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Branston Pickle 3,660 Posted February 18 3 minutes ago, Jersey Canary said: I’ve been a big critic of Kenny. I’ve never seen how he got in the team ahead of others and he has lots of deficiencies in midfield ie too slow, can’t tackle, doesn’t track his runners, he doesn’t score or create enough. All makes you wonder how he’s had a very decent professional career and 30-odd international caps. He’s always been better than many realise, those who only see mistakes - that much is clear from all the managers who continually pick him. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Trevor Hockey's Beard 527 Posted February 18 I can't decide whether CD is a better position for him, or whether it is just easier to see what he does. His runs forward with the ball and his passing have added to our attacking options. Too many times in the past I've got to the end of a game and wondered what Kenny had contributed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Well b back 3,208 Posted February 18 If he does not win POTS it will be because 1. He is called Kenny McClean and 2. The keyboard warriors vote for somebody else. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man 3,821 Posted February 18 1 hour ago, hogesar said: The only thing we lose from Mclean being further back is no-one else in midfield seems capable of breaking and driving with the ball and playing Sargent through on goal as he did in consecutive home games before this week. I certainly think it's something that could be in Nunez' locker so let's wait and see. I think Sara is perfectly capable of this, personally. I've said on here recently that the Nuñez-Sara and Nuñez-McLean combos both look better than McLean-Sara, and with Barnes also proving to be a key player in the hole, the only way to get all four players into the team and make it work is to play McLean at centre back, which he has shown recently that he is perfectly capable of doing. The spine we had yesterday is what we need to build around for the rest of the season, with a few duels to be decided in other areas (Hanley/Duffy, Giannoulis/McCallum, Hernandez/Fassnacht). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Feedthewolf 4,846 Posted February 18 2 minutes ago, Well b back said: If he does not win POTS it will be because 1. He is called Kenny McClean and 2. The keyboard warriors vote for somebody else. I think Sara and Stacey are the only others who can push him close. Gunn, Rowe, Sargent and Sainz might have been closer if not for significant spells out injured. PS. He's not called Kenny McClean, he's called Kenny McLean. We've already been through this once today... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hogesar 9,676 Posted February 18 35 minutes ago, Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man said: I think Sara is perfectly capable of this, personally. I've said on here recently that the Nuñez-Sara and Nuñez-McLean combos both look better than McLean-Sara, and with Barnes also proving to be a key player in the hole, the only way to get all four players into the team and make it work is to play McLean at centre back, which he has shown recently that he is perfectly capable of doing. The spine we had yesterday is what we need to build around for the rest of the season, with a few duels to be decided in other areas (Hanley/Duffy, Giannoulis/McCallum, Hernandez/Fassnacht). Sara's capable but not shown it in the past few months even when played in the more advanced positions. Its just something to be aware of. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
