Why Holt will never be dropped - Inside info...

[Swifty McVeigh 0]

Imagine if you will, a young Nigel Worthington.....

Hardworking, reliable, dependable, not very skillfull, but always gave 100%

Sound like anyone we know ??

What are Worthy''s ethics as a manager for his players ??

Well, we know all about his diciplined approach, allah Rivers, Eastern, Mullers, Brennan etc. Boys who liked to go out on the town and get wrecked and for some reason also never seemed to be able to nail down a spot in the first team (remember stoke away last year - Mullers was class, but still dropped back to the bench for the next game).

Now imagine the complete opposite of this ''type'' of person

Anyone ??

It''s him again isn''t it.

 

Someone who won''t rock the boat, doesn''t drink, always gives 100%.  Your ideal pro.  A player everyone wants.  Unfortunately he can''t pass a ball and so it is now up to Worthy to break his Moral views, and perhaps go with those who are creative and not just hardworking.  Tough on Holt - a brilliant Div 1 player where your up and at ''em approah is the way to beat those teams, but in the Prem it has to be Mullers/Safri for the second spot in the middle - my preference I hear you say....

 

Got to be Mullers.

 

 

[Creative Midfielder 1,985]

Sorry to divulge more inside information but we dont have any ''creative'' players, well Hucks is but we dont have a truly creative midfield player which is what I think you mean. Mullers may be able to pass, as long as you count all the ten yard sideways or backwards passes, but Ian Crook he is not. Safri is even more wasteful of possession than Holt.

So when you also take into account that neither Mullers or Safri can tackle, or cover a fraction of the ground that Holt does it seems pretty obvious why he is still in the team.

If we ever sign, or develop, a really talented midfield player then I''ll happily join the chorus to drop Holt but given the currently available replacements we''d be crackers not to play him.

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

Agreed.

But young Worthy could pass the ball to his team mates.

If you can''t pass the ball at an acceptable accuracy count, no other combination of talents can justify your place in a Premier League side.

Perhaps Worthy is keeping Holt''s hand in for next season (- oh dear, that''s far too cynical).

Seriously though. Leave the ball winning this year to Saffri & Francis and let Holty follow Malky back to the land where he is best - driving on some other poor dreamers in the fizzy league.

OTBC for ever.

 

[gazzathegreat 0]

if worthy were to drop everyone who was seen around POW road on a Saturday night, we wouldn''t have a team!! They are always out - no, i don''t think anyone has ever spotted Gary Holt, but Hucks and Greeno are always out and they don''t get dropped

Worthy has his favourites, as does any manager - but he will have to realise sooner or later if we don''t keep the ball (elementary stuff), don''t go into the opposition''s 18 yard box, we won''t win too many games.  Playing Holt means we are on the defensive, playing a target man means we are relying totally on one person winning the ball, controlling it and scoring. 

We don''t have anyone of that class for this league, moreover, we don''t need to, we have to get out of this target man and holding the ball up obsession and start playing proper football

It is not simply a case of who he won''t drop, more of the style of play, i would love to have someone come on here and say they were up at colney and saw the squad practising passing to each other (beyond a couple of hours in the morning) please someone do this as i do wonder what goes on up there.  We have to learn to pass the ball, keep possession and think about what we are doing. 

IMO Safri has to play instead of Holt, he is simply a better player for this division - simple as that.  Holt has had every  game to prove himself, it is the others who haven''t which bugs me.  What about Jonson, Helveg and Leon, Brennan etc? 

[Gentleman Jim 0]

I seem to remember in Ron Saunders'' day, popular belief would have it, that the first dozen or so players to troop off Mousehold complete with back packs would be the team for the next match.

I think Nige does a similar thing and picks his teams from the training ground, which of course we are not privy to, thus resulting in selections that sometimes give rise to puzzlement.

[Worthy Nigelton<br><br><br><br><br>Evening News Sports Page Headline 8th August 2007:<br><br>Henderson joins Dereham Town. 0]

Gazzathegreat I applaude that post. My thoughts exactly this "target man" crap is ridiculous, we have to get the ball down and play football the way it should be - ON THE DECK!!

[nolegs 0]

[quote]Imagine if you will, a young Nigel Worthington..... Hardworking, reliable, dependable, not very skillfull, but always gave 100% Sound like anyone we know ?? What are Worthy''s ethics as a manager f...[/quote]

Swifty I''d always thought Saffri was our 1st Islamic player,I stand corrected .....Allah Rivers??

[BlyBlyBabes 0]

Exactly Gazza. That''s what City should be about.

Since 1958, the only time City ground and clawed their way to success was under Ron Saunders. That won''t work these days in the Prem. Look at the quality that Bolton, Portsmouth, Charlton and Brum have acquired.

We must defend higher & keep the ball, then we will score goals and sock it to a few of them.

Any player with an inadequate pass completion ratio must be consigned to Colney or the transfer list.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going!

OTBC for ever

 

 

[The Great Drinkell 50]

I find it amazing, Last year we were all behind the team and look what happened now after 6 games we are a team of poor players. If anything the team should have been given a chance. That would include Holt ( I suggest you watch him when he''s not got the ball instead of just when he has it)he is the modern day Mendham. Drop him and watch what happens to the team. By the way I''d also have Svensson in the starting line up too as he is a clever player with great vision.

[0King Juan of SpainddMMyyyy0Falseen-USTrue 0]

Creative Midfielder - "Safri is even more wasteful in possession than Holt"

Love it. The poor bloke''s played about 2 and a half games and you''ve written him off already. That''s what I like about fans like you: optimistic to the last. You''re not the guy who ruined the Liverpool game for me by moaning from the 1st minute are you?

 

[gazzathegreat 0]

[quote]I find it amazing, Last year we were all behind the team and look what happened now after 6 games we are a team of poor players. If anything the team should have been given a chance. That would includ...[/quote]

great drinkell (if only he were still playing!)

we are behind the team, and for your information (or if you can be bothered to go back a year on these threads) some of us were of similar mind then - if you think things are perfect, good for you.  If i think things are going wrong, i am going to say them, myself (and others on here) are no less fans because we dare criticise or discuss worthy or his tactics, say some players are not up for it etc ... this is the main reason we all come on here, if we were so damn good, ie arsenal would we have this msg board?  no

this year is a hell of  a lot more difficult than last year - we are playing much better opposition and to be honest none of us really expected to win the first six games, but surely if a player (or manager) is getting it wrong, or not up to standard) we have a right to voice our opinion. 

Worthy did, by shipping out iwan and malky (i won''t mention the others, they didn''t figure last season) so why is he so blind as to players who can''t pass the ball, and his own tactics?  Okay he may be dropping the diamond, but will he ever get us to keep the ball down on the floor (which we must do to stay in this league)

 

[Old Boy 0]

One hammering at Liverpool and we''ve gone all neurotic and panicky. In the games before that (excepting the Arsenal match) we looked genuinely dangerous on the counter-attack, though it usually took us the first half to gain the composure to do that. It just happened that at Liverpool the whole team played like rabbits in the headlights. It happens - but I don''t think they''ll do that again for a while. It must hurt them more than it hurts us.

Having said that, I agree with gazza''s preference for Safri. He''s the nearest thing we''ve got to a creative midfielder (apart from Creative Midfielder, and I agree with his remarks about Mullers - don''t really rate him and his lazy cross-field passes. Too comfortable by far). Also agree with her idea in another thread about McVeigh as centre forward - intriguing.

Nigel likes his players to be able to run for the full 90 minutes (he seemed to say our recent buys weren''t fit enough), but then if you give the ball away you end up HAVING to run for the full 90 minutes: maybe we could trade off a little fitness for a bit more skill. So again I agree with gazza''s comments about training ground routines. If you can improve a player''s fitness, why can''t you improve his skills?

[Creative Midfielder 1,985]

[quote]Creative Midfielder - "Safri is even more wasteful in possession than Holt" Love it. The poor bloke''s played about 2 and a half games and you''ve written him off already. That''s what I like about fans...[/quote]

Who said anything about writing him off?

Surely this thread is about whether people are beng picked on the basis of their form, or for some other reason, and how recent team performances could be improved upon.

Something I would have thought almost everyone on the board would agree with is that we need to pass and keep the ball better than we have done so far if we''re going stay up. Holt has taken a lot of criticism on here, some of it quite unfairly in my view. I was simply observing that whilst he may have provided a few nice touches when given the time, in the admittedly little we''ve seen of him of far Safri has conceded possession at an alarming rate, and not just at Liverpool.

If NW sees what he''s looking for on the training ground and decides to play Safri again then fine, but please dont try and tell me that there is something very mysterious or sinister in Holt not being dropped because he gives the ball away too much .............and that the answer is Safri!!

[The Great Drinkell 50]

[quote]great drinkell (if only he were still playing!) we are behind the team, and for your information (or if you can be bothered to go back a year on these threads) some of us were of similar mind then - ...[/quote]

This reply has certainly been taken to heart, I am all for opinions - let''s face it that''s one of the reasons we all love the game - all I am saying is it takes time to move up a level in anything you do whether it be working life or sporting abilitie, Lets give Holt a chance and I''m sure he will prove to be a good Premier league player. If at Christmas there are players who are''nt doing it then I''ll accept that there are not up to it.

[ZLF 271]

[quote]Exactly Gazza. That''s what City should be about . Since 1958, the only time City ground and clawed their way to success was under Ron Saunders. That won''t work these days in the Prem. Lo...[/quote]

You hit the nail on the head Bly Bly babes - and today it cost us a couple of points.  Keep a line further up pitch rather than getting drawn in like a magnet to the penalty box.

OTBC