why play if not 100 per cent?

[Baldyboy 0]

as usual we have excuses after a sorry performance on saturday! if players were suffering with illness or injury, why were they allowed to play? this is not the professional thing to do and shows a total disrespect for all of those travelling on saturday. the manager has to be asked why he allowed these players to play? i know i will get the usual answer that there were no alternatives to pick but whose fault is that? im just glad i dont travel to away games and i never will whilst worthington is manager as his record away from home is appalling!

[Saint Canary 0]

I would imagine that Worthy like most managers trusts his own players to know whether they are fit enough or not.  Neither Hux or Etuhu said they were not up playing but maybe they should have.

[JJ 0]

If the players said they were fit enough to play then its not really Worthy''s fault.  He''s not a mind reader and has to trust what they say.

The problem is having no proper back up to replace them, but that''s another something for another thread...

 

[Yellow Rages 0]

Agreed Saint. I think this is the responsibility of the players. They needed to be honest about their fitness for the sake of the side.

It''s not the first time this has happened in football and certainly not somthing unique to NCFC.

[sheded 0]

Hucks WAS carrying a groin prob  pre match  , the question is , did he tell Nigel  about it  before the match ?  and did  Nigel tell him to play  anyway ?    groin injuries are notoriously  difficult  to   assess  the severity of  , maybe Hucks thought  the niggle would work itself off ?   seemed ok   in the first half at Cov ,  but that  bad foul on him might have  done damage ......  

Out for a month ! OMG !!     is this the winter of our discontent , or shall we fill the breach  with our  bench  ?   

never a dull moment  is there ? [:D]

[Saint Canary 0]

[quote user="sheded"] 

never a dull moment  is there ? [:D]

[/quote]

True Sheded, it wouldn''t be NCFC if we had nothing to worry about.

[LeedsYellow 0]

I guess that Worthy will have known about Etuhu''s illness (a chest infection is pretty unambiguous) but given Hux''s hunger and desire to play every game, he may not have know about Huckerby... I''d like to think that Worthy would have rested a player that he knew had a groin strain! Personally, I would have risked left Etuhu in Norwich to rest.

However, I''m more concerned and disappointed that Worthy/Hunter didn''t change tactics to reflect the fact we were away from home and that Leon was involved in preparing our opposition, esp tactics around 4-3-3.

Predictably, Coventry''s tactics were to crowd-out our 3 attackers leaving us completely bereft of ideas...

Given our back four have been playing so well, and given we were away from home against a team who have made a decent start, I''m surprised we didn''t opt for a more defensive approach to wrong-foot Coventry and hopefully come away with a point.

Dare I say, we could even have pushed Doc upfront for the last 10 mins and played Worthy''s favoured long-ball!!!!

[Saint Canary 0]

[quote user="LeedsYellow"]

Dare I say, we could even have pushed Doc upfront for the last 10 mins and played Worthy''s favoured long-ball!!!!

[/quote]

I think had it been 1-0 with ten minutes to go that may have happened but at 3-0 it was hardly worth it.

[avenging canary<IMG src="http:new.pinkun.comforumsimagesline.gif"><BR>We never score from corners.<BR> 0]

Another example of Worthington''s lack of leadership. He''s the boss, he makes the call. If players aren''t being straight with him about their fitness, they clearly don''t respect him. If he knew the players weren''t fit and he played them he can only blame himself.This is not the first time he has done this. Remember Ashton playing on with a head injury then missing a penalty? How about Robinson playing with broken ribs then aggrevating the injury. He was out for weeks.My biggest gripe with him is that he consistently fails to learn from his mistakes.

[ca 1]

As much as I don''t like Worthy if an adult professional footballer declares himself fit for a game, then you have to trust his judgement and the blame lies there.

As far as Etuhu is concerned if as Worthy has said he had a chest infection on Thursday and didn''t train  why he was selected to travel let alone play.

 

 

 

[avenging canary<IMG src="http:new.pinkun.comforumsimagesline.gif"><BR>We never score from corners.<BR> 0]

If a player is not honest with the manager, then there is a lack of respect and hence leadership. You contradict yourself CA. Why is Huckerby to blame for insisting on playing when injured, but Etuhu is not to blame for playing when ill? The answer is that Worthington is to blame in both cases. He makes the decisions, or rather he doesn''t.

[YankeeCanary 0]

To those of you who think it is the players responsibility to declare whether they are fit or not I would say, in principle, I agree. However, do we not think some players may have been well-intentioned in stepping forward, knowing it''s a thin squad that''s not over-stocked with back-up talent. I''m sure you  know lots of people in other walks of life who will go to work ( although not fit ) if their department is short-staffed, thinking "I''m going to put my best foot forward."

I''m not trying to be too hard on Nigel here but it''s a manager''s job in a tough business like professional sports to be intuitive so as to ensure his players do not make bad judgements, well-intentioned or not. 

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

It is down to the Manager in consultation with his team. Do any of you believe Etuhu came off and said, ''by the way Guv, I woz shite on account of me poor chest'' along with other players giving retrospective excuses which he happily trotted off to the press post match?

If he didn''t know then what''s he doing in charge and if he did know why is he using unfit players when he regularly harps on about new players getting up to fitness?

It never works to play unfir players and that includes your Beckhams, Rooneys and Owens in World Cup finals. You need 11 fit men, fit for the purpose of their position in the strategy of the team.

This was the game to play Hughes in along with a genuine 5 in midfield, give nothing away, frustrate and come away with something.

[Baldyboy 0]

Etuhu has admitted he should not have played but will the manager discipline him for being unprofessional? I doubt it, he has let a lot of people down with this action and should be made aware that this sort of thing is never allowed to happen. worthington should make it clear to players they only play if 100% he now has lost our most influential player for up to a month because he listened to the player. surely the physio should have decided if it was up to 90 minutes especially when he says we knewthey would give us a rough ride! it shows the complete lack of disregard by players and management for this action towards the hard working supporters who travelled all that way to be let down in such a manner!

[Marty 0]

[quote user="avenging canary"]If a player is not honest with the manager, then there is a lack of respect and hence leadership. You contradict yourself CA. Why is Huckerby to blame for insisting on playing when injured, but Etuhu is not to blame for playing when ill? The answer is that Worthington is to blame in both cases. He makes the decisions, or rather he doesn''t.[/quote]

 

what absolute dross!

it is down to the players. Don''t forget most players have niggles and minor injuries, they have to decide if they think they will be able to play, it is not an exact science, sometimes the players are over opimistic and get it wrong. To blame the manager again is just mindless.

[nutty nigel 7,534]

I don''t recall us having this problem last season so maybe playing unfit players is a tactic the new coach has brought in??? [;)]

[Citizen Journalist Foghorn 0]

[quote user="canary cherub"]I don''t recall us having this problem last season so maybe playing unfit players is a tactic the new coach has brought in??? [;)][/quote]

Actually Dean Ashton played unfit to poor effect a couple of times and injured a couple of times and Carl Robinson aggravated am injury when playing injured...  So yes it was a problem last season. [:S]

Again lessons learned?? Absolutely not.

[Marty 0]

Anyway, you show me any football player that is 100% fit and i''ll show you the moon on a stick! There is no such thing once the season has started players will have knocks and niggles non stop all season, sometimes you just try to keep playing and most of the time you are fine. I play a bit and I have a dodgy back, calf, knee and ankle, but would I consider myslef fit to play - yes, and i did last night. Sometimes you think you are fine and just keep playing, this is not the manager fault, it is usually a calculated risk.

[nutty nigel 7,534]

[quote user="Citizen Journalist Foghorn"]

[quote user="canary cherub"]I don''t recall us having this problem last season so maybe playing unfit players is a tactic the new coach has brought in??? [;)][/quote]

Actually Dean Ashton played unfit to poor effect a couple of times and injured a couple of times and Carl Robinson aggravated am injury when playing injured...  So yes it was a problem last season. [:S]

Again lessons learned?? Absolutely not.

[/quote]

Dean Ashton played to poor effect a lot more than a couple of times last season and always appeared unfit!

[FilletTheFishWife . 0]

i thought we expected 110% so 100% is just not good enough.

meanwhile what would you prefer

a) Croft @ 80%

b) Henderson @ 100%

 

 

[Getting off the fence 0]

Lots of players play through niggling injuries. You often here stories of players waiting fo the end of season to have an operation or getting injections to see them through matches. Sometimes it has disappointing consequences, like Saturday - it was a gamble that did not succeed.