Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
magic_eyes

Players Not Performing

Recommended Posts

Is it just me or do the following three players stand out as being completely out of form at the moment.

Easton - completely off the pace of the game, always looks like he is rushed on the ball, gives the ball away so often during a game - answer - McVeigh.

Holt - again off the pace, doesn''t appear to be in control, gives the ball away often and no where near the destructive force he was 2 seasons ago - answer - Mullers and Francis in the middle.

Fleming - another one off the pace, can''t pass, lost his pace and doesn''t win a lot in the air - answer - Shackell - I thought he was superb in pre season, what did he do wrong?

Basically what i''m saying is that as a team we are playing really well, but I think 8 very good players are carrying 3 that are not up to it. If Worthy can sort them out or replace them we could be a great team and really destroy some sides.

Any comments?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Easton has not been playing well of late - though how booing him will help is a puzzle.
But Holt and Flem have done fine recently and neither deserve to be left out. If anything, Mackay has been the weaker of the two centre halves, and Francis was poor at Stoke.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I actually felt that Mackay was the worst player on the pitch - remember it was his man who scored their goal. Where was he? About 10 yards of the pace, leaving Drury to try and recover the situation. He looks short of pace, confidence, and his punts up the field are getting more and more wayward. Fleming didn''t have a brilliant game, but Malky looks a mile of the pace at the moment.

Otherwise, I agree. Both Holt and Francis were poor in the first half, and a toss of a coin could''ve decided which one to bring off. Fleming''s miss was appalling, I know he''s a centre back, but an empty net from two yards away? Come on, if someone missed that at Sunday League level it would have been laughed at. He''s paid to play football!!

I still can''t work out why Easton is playing while McVeigh isn''t. I know there''s been one or two murmerings about contracts, etc. but the simple fact is we want results, and Clint just doesn''t provide the answer. It''s evident form the last three games that we look a far better side with McVeigh down the left. There''s also the argument that Worthy would rather have a left footed player down the left - a fairly safe theory but one that is totally undone by the fact that Easton never (oh, apart from in our playoff run) uses his left foot to good use!

It looks like Shackell, McVeigh, and a rejuvenated Mulryne need their chance...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I have only seen the home games first hand but can''t agree with all of your views. I would say that Holt is playing as well as anybody - seems nicely fired up this year, and you know that you''ll have total commitment. Same for Fleming - yes we know his distribution isn''t the best but in all other respects he''s not having a bad season to date and again you get 100%.
Easton is another story. Whilst he''s had a reasonable start by his standards, and Worthy appears to have acknowledged that, its hard to say that he''s really pushing himself. I would play McVeigh everytime, he tries harder, is more energetic, is far more creative and can finish.

Weakest player without doubt has to be Malky. Can''t fault his commitment but he''s not with it this year - in every match I''ve seen he has looked a liability. Has Worthy the bottle to drop him?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Whether you boo him or cheer him I''m afraid Easton is always going to be a mediocre player. We need to be patient and hope that Brennan gets fit soon, or, after the second half performance against Stoke, McVeigh is on from the start. Holt could well be suffering from the problem he had last season and to the best of my knowledge he still has not had an operation. Irrespective of Fleming''s missed goal opportunity he still looked the better of the two central defenders. I do not remember Mackay winning hardly any aerial balls and he wasn''t much better on the ground. Every player is allowed the odd bad game and Saturday was probably the one for Francis. Mulryne looked his old self in the second half and hopefully he can feature as a first choice, possibly alongside Fancis, therby giving Holt a deserved rest. Anyone else think that being captain is having an effect on Drury''s performances?Finally, if Nigel is not prepared to give Shackell a chance, then he needs to get that central defender on loan quick before we get a hiding from some team.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have to disagree with you on this one. Easton has probably played better this season than he ever has for City. However I agree that he should be a second choice to McVeigh who has been in superb rather than simply good form.

Holt has shown that he is returning to be best of 2 seasons ago - we do not boss midfields like we have been if he is not playing well. Both he and Francis struggled in the first half against Stoke but he stepped up a gear in the second half when the team went forward.
As I said earlier today at least worthy no has an option - if francis,holt or muller are not performing he now has a real alternative - not a makeshift like russell.

With Fleming what you see is what you get - he is Mr Reliable - providing the same standard week in week out. He has never had electric pace and his distribution has never been excellent. I have not seen anything this season that makes me think he is worse than before. And I certainly would keep him in the side in preference to Malky who has lost several yards of pace this season, and dont even get me started on his distribution ability - he no longer needs boots but a horseshoe! However I too would play Shackell, but alongside Fleming at the moment.

But why isnt Shackell on the bench - I like attacking subs but 3 strikers and a midfielder could leave us short with a dismissal or injury one game...

4 away points out of six must be our best for months - as long as the results keep coming I can live with the current starting line up... even if I would start with McVeigh & Shackell.

OTBC

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I agree with most of the messages that have been posted, pity Francis didnt play well against Stoke, he has been excellent otherwise, let´s hope it was a one-off. However McVeigh has to play, something always happens when he is on the park. Im sure Worthy can see that Malky is a bit of a liability at the moment, although he is a real character and gives 100 per cent, there is no place in football for sentiment, and Shackell should definitely be given his chance - if he is good enough, he is old enough!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Im sure the damien will be back to his best in the next game. It seemed to be that the Stoke fans we giving him jip all through the first half. Lest we remember that he spent a week training with them and was due to sign before we stepped in. No wonder they were upset with him....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Totally agree with regards to Easton, at Gillingham and Stoke his ability really showed up when McVeigh came on.

Holt will always work hard, but it is difficult when you''ve got Mullers waiting on the bench - I know I wouldn''t want to take Francis off.

Fleming always has to be on the pitch - I think it''s been Malky that needs a boot up the backside.

One thing to mention is that Edworthy has been an inspired signing - I was worried to start with as we seemed to be his last choice after being turned down by Reading and Stoke, but the boys done good !

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
With two home games coming up I would take a bit of a gamble and play Holt alongside Fleming. Malky might need replacing or a spell away from being an automatic first choice- often that perks a player and gives them renewed determination to work on what''s going wrong. It would be worth seeing if it works.

That would give us somebody able to run the ball out of defence and open a space for Mullers alongside Francis.

As for Easton I am in two minds. In that run before Cardiff he was playing extremely well, but at Cardiff itself he never put in a decent ball and his corners were dreadful. So he does frustrate, but he has also scored more goals than Iwan this season! I would be inclined to start with him and if we need to be reinvigorated bring on McVeigh in his place. I actually prefer McVeigh in the centre, since he has a tendency to come inside too much when out left. It can leave the left side exposed and he does have less physical presence than Easton in that spot.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Even a blind man can see that malky is not performing well, also we are losing games in midfield so is it time to move to a 3-5-2

Green

Edworthy Flemming Drury

Francis Holt
Harper Mulryne Mcveigh

Crouch Huckerby

This may help solid up the midfield which needs to play further forward so as not to mix with the defence (like 2nd half stoke). as teams to often walk through our midfield as they stand off too much.

Also being dropped ould give malky a kick up the backside he needs. He seems to be in the comort zone of not being dropped however well he plays

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Interesting that most people would prefer Fleming to Malky. I don''t see it that way. At least Malky has the height required in central defence and he does a decent job in defending corners etc. He has no pace, but neither has Fleming. Neither can distribute the ball that well. Therefore I would keep Malky in and bring in Shackell next to him.

I just find Fleming very annoying. He always looks to blame someone else when he makes a mistake, and he makes a lot of mistakes.

Arguably, if we brought in 1 decent centre back it might make the remaining one look alright.

How about this? Bring Drury into the middle and play Brennan at left back.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
The argument for keeping Fleming in is that he''s the better organiser and talker of the two. Fleming seems to be able to keep the defence its shape. Malky, however, looks clumsy, slow, and has a poor touch. Drury at centre back might not be a bad idea, and is worth a try if we''re not going to allow Shackell his chance.

As for the 3-5-2, the problem is with the players named is barring Holt none of them really track back. Harper and McVeigh aren''t wing backs, leaving us short on defensive cover. Holt running with the ball out of defence (as previously suggested) would be a great idea if Holt could be trusted to do so. I''m never really happy seeing Holt trying to do anything clever on the ball, and I think his work rate is much better used in midfield where he has more freedom. If he starts doing too much at the back and gets caught out of position, there''s no one to cover him!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thats the joy of football - we all see different things - but most of the posts see Malkays really woeful distribution outweighing his ability at defending a corner.

I think either would do OK partnering a player who will pass the ball and who has some pace - both looked at their best last season when they were with Kenton.

Good to see an alternative solution but I feel that Drury lacks the presence and physical strength that a central defender in this div needs - Shackell remains the best alternative at the club but another loan player would be better still.

OTBC

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
In a 3-5-2 formation Harper and Brennan would be my choice of wing backs. Both used to play that role for their previous clubs.

The problem would be if Harper went back to Portsmouth there wouldn''t be an obvious choice to replace him - Rivers, McVeigh, Notman are all attacking midfielders. Briggs could probably do a job as he often played in midfield for Stockport and has defensive tendancies.

Don''t know enough about Sinclair or Batt to know if they would be suitable.

Anyway, I think Worthy is set on 4-4-2 and so here is my prefered team:

Green
Edworthy, Shackell, Drury, Brennan
Rivers, Mullers, Francis, McVeigh
Huckerby, Crouch

Subs: Crighton, Briggs, Holt, Roberts, Notman

It''s got quality written all over it :-)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On paper this looks like quite a good team and one I wouldn''t mind watching. In reality however there is no way Nigel would drop either Mackay or Fleming unless they are injured or suspended. What also worries me is that Jarvis and Henderson are not even making the bench at the moment. We must continue to keep these players involved with the first team squad or else I fear they may end up being poached by another club.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You''re right about Jarvis and Henderson. The danger is that they end up like Adrian Coote or like Jamie Cureton who never quite fulfilled his potential until he left. Incidentally is he still at Reading??

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Jamie joined Busan Icons in South Korea after rejecting the offer of a new contract with Reading before the start of the current season. He rejected some offers from English clubs but later admitted that if Norwich had come in for him then he would''ve signed for us.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
But I think we have seen that both Jarvis and Henderson are still not ready for a lot of action in the first team. This is no insult, they are simply just to young. Everybody just wants them to be our "Rooney" but its not going to be like that.

The first division is very physical and there is less time on the ball. The one thing I noticed with the pair of them is that they are not really ready physically. They need time to fill out a bit more because they both are still pretty young.

Lastly Roy Waller summed up Malky a couple of season ago when he said he had improved greatly since the previous season because he now takes a touch then hoofs it up the park! Yes he is on his day one player that you would never drop, and lets face it he had quite a goal haul last season. But at the moment he isnt playing well at all and he played best last season after sitting on the bench after coming back from injury and having to watch kenton and Fleming rule the roost. Both Malky and Fleming seem to look more comfortable with a youngster in the centre with them.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It should be McVeigh but knowing Nigel it will probably be Easton. Now that Notman is out again we might even see Jarvis on the bench, can you picture the benefits of him playing alongside Huckerby, Crouch, and Harper. Alas I am only dreaming again and know it won''t happen.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It should definately be Maccaz of Easton. He''s in a different league. Paul has a footballing mind and plans the majority of passes.


Green
Edworthy, Shackell, Drury, Brennan
Rivers, Mullers, Francis, McVeigh
Huckerby, Crouch

Definately my preferred team for now. Mackay has lost what he had, maybe he could find if it he was dropped. Drury is getting sloppy but I reckon he could pick up soon. Brennan looked promising, Mullers plays good football and deserves a place more so than Holt. Francis generally looks good and rarely makes mistakes. McVeigh, in my opinion, is a must week in week out as the more he plays the more cnfident and effective he is. As for Huckerby and Crouch, they needno justifiction from me!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
i agree even though mr makay had a superb game against palace i cant see how worthy can afford to leave phill out of the team and the only way he can do so is buy playing three at the back. the only problem with this is that this will stop edworthy and drury galloping forward more. i felt that edworthy was m.o.m on saturday defanatly improved.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

[quote user="Karl Pilkington"]Even a blind man can see that malky is not performing well, also we are losing games in midfield so is it time to move to a 3-5-2

Green

Edworthy Flemming Drury

Francis Holt
Harper Mulryne Mcveigh

Crouch Huckerby

This may help solid up the midfield which needs to play further forward so as not to mix with the defence (like 2nd half stoke). as teams to often walk through our midfield as they stand off too much.

Also being dropped ould give malky a kick up the backside he needs. He seems to be in the comort zone of not being dropped however well he plays[/quote]

I''d buy that team for a dollar.

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...