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Round of applause for Gary Holt

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Hope those who say Holty isn''t up to Premiership standard will take note of today''s game...

Never doubt The Holt

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Yes I must admit I thought he had a good game today in amongst it and not giving the ball away so much.  Still cant help thinking though that this was the first of a glut of games where we had to get the points and to only get one at home against Portsmouth just leaves me thinking where the other 42 are coming from to be safe. 

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Holt''s second half attacking display deserves recognition.But defensively the guy is out of his depth in this league and we all know it.

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Sorry but Holt didn''t have a blinder today, his attackings improved, he was unlucky with the volley but Safri''s better as a defensive midfielder IMHO, obviously Nigel doesn''t think so

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Holtys game has come on and whilst there were still too many times when his passing let him down I thought he was worth his place in the side today,  despite the view of many fellow barclay boys who were on his back from the kick off.

Would Safri had been a better option today?  Well given his shocking half at Anfield I doubt it.  EG, in the second half Holt crossed from the right only for the ball to be cleared and for Pompey to attack on the break down our left.  Who was first back to cover Drury and Bentley?  Yes old three lungs was back doing what he does best - covering the ground and breaking up the oppositions attacks.  The there was the unprecedented sight of two close efforts at the ''right'' end of the pitch!

No he is not the best prem player in the world and no he is not our best midfielder - but he looks like he IS coming to terms with the prem game and remains our best player of his type at the club. I thought todays performance still only merited a 6.5 - but still a seasons best. 

Mind you having seen Djorkaeffs class today how we could have done with that alongside Francis!

Todays was the first game where it wasnt clear that a substitution would really have helped our performance - a sign that none of the starting 11 played below par.

OTBC

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For some reason I found myself scrutinising GH more than anyone else today - a bit like when the camera tracks a single player rather than following the play.

I saw someone well out of their depth in the first half - although he came back into it after our first goal.

He was chasing shadows much of the time, was positionally weak, - and surprisingly, could not be called three lungs. I didn''t see anymore enrgy from him than anyone else.

 

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Sorry but I can''t agree that he had a blinder, take away his 2 shots and you are left with not much else to talk about.  Francis and Holt worked last season but I would bring back Safri to partner Francis. 

Secondly, I don''t usually listen to the MOTD studio commentators, but I think they were spot on tonight when they said we need to address the problem in midfield if we won''t to survive at this level.

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errmmm... did you go to the game today or just watch some highlights?!? 

Yes Holty hit the crossbar, but for the rest of the game he looked really poor, giving the ball away, getting out of position, allow the pompy players to go past him and most importantly he didn''t seem to be alert (hucks through ball anyone?)

In my opinion he was the worst NCFC player on the pitch - that probably sounds harsh, but personally thought we really played well today and deserved more than a point.

On a side note, I know Mark Lawrenson is a bit of an idiot sometimes, but he highlighted on MOTD that our main probably is our defensive midfield play - and look whos our natural defensive midfielder everyone!

Starting to think in January we need a really good battling midfielder, not a striker.

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[quote]Sorry but Holt didn''t have a blinder today, his attackings improved, he was unlucky with the volley but Safri''s better as a defensive midfielder IMHO, obviously Nigel doesn''t think so[/quote]

Have to agree with you,I much prefer Safri and why wasnt he on the bench?

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I''m sorry but you obviously haven''t got a clue, yes gary holt had a slightly improved game today, and yes that was a great shot but the fact of the matter is one good shot in a game doesn''t make it a blinder he did nothing else.

Are you blind to the fact that he is never available to pass to, the fact that when he''s got the ball he can''t pass,when he is available to pass to (rarely) his team mates don''t bother with it because there''s no point as he''ll lose it straight away, he doesn''t tackle, all he does is run around the pitch alot. Where did the myth come from that he''s a work horse. It''s the fact that he runs everywhere.

  I don''t like slating our own players but it is getting me down all I can see when iI''m watching my beloved city is him doing nothing or running like a headless chicken all over the place.

   How must saffri, mullers be feeling when the man with the least amount of ability at the club is keeping them both out. I for one feel gutted for both of them.

   How this man has played every single premiership minute for us is beyond comprehension

I thought this was the best game this season, by the way.

Rant over

come on you yellows

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First half i cannot remember Holt touching the ball! In fact i thought he was awful, he seemed to be chasing shaddows. Second half he came out of his shell a bit but only after the goals had been scored. just because he hit the bar does not mean he had a good game!. I say bring back either Safri or Mulryne in the middle with Francis. - Although it seems very unlikely!

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First half i cannot remember Holt touching the ball! In fact i thought he was awful, he seemed to be chasing shaddows. Second half he came out of his shell a bit but only after the goals had been scored. just because he hit the bar does not mean he had a good game!. I say bring back either Safri or Mulryne in the middle with Francis. - Although it seems very unlikely!

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I have long been an admirer of Gary Holt and found myself concentrating on watching his performance yesterday because of the recent speculation.

I have to say that whilst his game improved after our first goal, he seemed to me to be positionally poor, defensively weak and not deserving of the moniker - three lungs - looked no more energetic than anyone else to me.

Sadly, I do think this league is a step too far for him.

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Sorry, but I disagree totally.  A couple of shots (one blinder!) should not be allowed to distract from another sub-Premiership overall performance.  His ball control (why have one touch when 6 will do) is so bad it is actually sub-Championship standard, and frequently gets us into trouble. 

His allegedly exemplary covering back actually involves running backwards until he bumps into the defenders, thereby vacating the midfield area and allowing players to shoot unchallenged from the 25-35 yard range.  You can get away with there at a lower level (where Holt looked OK) but not in this league.  And he is still just plain rubbish going forward - he makes runs there but has no idea what to do when he arrives (his total failure to be ready for that ball in from Hucks in the 1st half and his inability to see a totally free Bentley to his left in injury time were typical examples). 

He''s a decent squad player but in this league your central midfielders (where the ball spends most of its time) have to be comfortable on the ball and Holt (painfully!) isn''t. No amount of "work rate" can make up for that unfortunately. 

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he may have slightly improved ..but don''t let a couple of shots blind to the rest of his shortcomings, I counted he gave the ball away  at least 13 times, he was out of position umpteen times I saw marking wide open spaces at free kicks and corners. and then he stood absolutely still when hucks fed a glorious ball through to him, and all he had to was strech a little a toe poke in.. he never dam well moved.... he is simply not up to the job and should be rested.......

a word for edworthy, his last ditch tackle in the second half was sublime, he didn''t give a S*** that he hurt himself, he got up and ran the limp off..he had saved a certain goal.....

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Didn''t see the game (listened on the net), but out of interest, how did Francis do? Any better than Holt? My pick would be Holt and Safri, with Francis on the bench.

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Eddy is a star. Poor old Helveg, he''s never gonna get in the team if Marc keeps playing the way he is.

As for Gary Holt he had a cracking shot that hit the bar. That''s really about all he did during the entire game. He''s out of his depth in the Premiership and I can''t believe he''s keeping Safri and Mullers out of the team.

Sure he hit the bar with a great shot, but Mullers would have probably scored it...

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More and more people are beginning to notice gary Holt''s shortcomings as the weeks go by....why don''t you Mr Worthington?!

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The way we defend means we always look like we''re chasing shadows. Instead of picking up players, we mark areas on the pitch. As a result, we''re caught our with the simplest balls through our midfield. The midfield sits so deep; we need to get into the opposition midfielders faces, which is what Gary Holt does best. Ask Holty to be Roy Keane, and read the game from deep, and he can''t do it. 

Gary Holt is good enough for this level and was no worse than Francis yesterday, also managing two good efforts on goal. Having Holt in the side allows players such as Bentley and Jonson to join so far forward, and you should all get off his back.

He''s not the most technically gifted player we have, but he has the steel and grit that all sides need. Without him, we don''t have it. Safri cannot tackle and Francis is either brilliant of clumsy; too inconsistent. Ditto Mulryne.

Gary Holt doesn''t need replacing, the way our midfield defends does.

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I have an idea it is to do with Holts work rate ethic.. he covers every blade of grass on the field.. and that is what nigel sees and likes......sorta blinds him to the other areas of the game..

If a striker doesn''t score or misses a sitter it is clear to see, but when a player is here there and everywhere, certains things look better than what they really are.. 

we came up with a tongue in cheek version of holtie song, and I am Not advocating its use..

he''s there, he''s there, the ball is every ******* where....

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Yes I agree that Gary Holt did play a little better this game, there was room for an improvement and still is, especially at this level.  The amount of running serves no purpose unless it combines with alert reading of the game.

Holty was guilty of being badly positioned 4 times, and twice could easily have caused us to be another goal behind, had it not been for Fleming once, and Charlton also.  Yes the midfield does lack authority. The inability of the men moving forward to support the strike force, to also be alert and quick enough to get back into defence when the ball goes astray as it often does. 

As I''ve said before the lads do not operate as a team and move up and down the pitch together as a whole instead of the striking element being separate from the defence and so become stretched.  Mulryne says that he is ready for a call up, in my books he''s only ready if he has an extra yard of pace combined with the ability to tackle  and occasionally pass the ball and get forward  to recieve a return. 

On the whole there was a big improvement in the quality of the work done.  For me, there is still a long way to go in a very short time.  This can only come from longer training sessions in concentration and movement. OTBC !!!!!

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[quote]Hope those who say Holty isn''t up to Premiership standard will take note of today''s game... Never doubt The Holt[/quote]

Cannot watch the game until this Wednesday for the taped replay, but sounds liked Gary Holt''s long range effort which hit the bar, STUN THE WORLD! I am sure it''s not long to wait for his first Premiership goal!

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Well said Campbell, a bit of sense at last. If Holt was so appalling how come our midfield totally bossed the midfield of a team which stayed up fairly easily last season?

The only time Pompey really caused us problems was when their strikers dropped deep and turned and ran at our defence. The fact is that despite their valiant efforts,our defence couldnt cope with the Pompey strikers height,strength and speed. They caused us very few problems from midfield, even the classy Berger being kept fairly quiet.

We all know Holt has limitations but as far as im concerned he has improved with every game (Liverpool debacle aside) and played a big part in outplaying a good Prem.side yesterday. To quote a relieved looking Pompey fan in the pub after the game "How on EARTH did you not win that,you were all over us!"

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lawro did criticise the midfield defensively but the unit as a whole not one individual player. The diamond gave us defensive security but no attacking threat.We revert to 4-4-2 and Holt is responsibile for all our defensive ills? What Lawro highlighted was last seasons failings repeated. The midfield 4 get sucked in too deep to the 18 yard line or so just in front of the back four - allowing opposing midfielders time in the 25-35 yrds from goal slot - eventually we were going to find a team to exploit that - Berger and Quashie sending in dangerous shots, leading to the first goal. This is Worthys tactic for his midfield, not down to Holts individual performance - Worthy needs to get the unit working at the right distance from goal and depriving the opposition of time in that dangerous part of the pitch.Better quality will always help, but we dont really have that at the club at the moment. Holt is probably the best defensive midfielder we have, Safri has yet to be convincing and Mullers can pass but can we afford a midfield partner ship of him and Francis?OTBC

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We are lucky to have Gary Holt, his none stop work rate, constant running, tackling, and now more forward play makes him a first choice in any team.

As for Halveg doing Holts job he would not know where to start.

                  Brian

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I am still in the give Holt a rest camp, I would like to see Safri Given a chance as his passing would surely be more likely to create chances or if you want to be more defencive why not play Helveg alongside Francis surely his distribution would also be better than Holts.

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Eddie was a star? Like Holt some of his positioning was poor and again his distribution was awful. He did get forward this weekend but the number of poor quality crosses was embarassing. Yes it was a good last ditch tackle but defensively he is no better than the tank engine - but a lot worse when passing.

My point is that the fans have favourites and fall guys. If Holt was this months flava flav then sats performance would have been seen as solid, or being a star, and eddie would have got the criticism coming holts way. In my eyes neither are premier standard, both showed why on saturday desite having better than their normal performances.

OTBC

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I was appalled at the fans this weekend. From my seat I heard criticism of Helveg, Jonson, Svensson and Holt throughout the entire game.

What''s the point in going to the games if you think our players are crap? Just stay away, and don''t spoil for others like myself who want to watch the team and have some belief that we might do well.

And while we''re on the subject of Holt, what didn''t he do that Francis did yesterday??

As far as I can see, GH''s willingness to tackle back and get himself in the firing line merely sets himself up for criticism - Francis just jogged around and let Holt do the work, then HOLT gets criticised because he can''t tackle 3 players!

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