Russel Martin.

[Divs crew! 0]

Hi guys i dont really post on here that much, im more of an avid reader but after some of the recent goings on i thought i would take time to write how i feel about Mr R Martin.

I to be honest dont see what is so fantastically poor about him, in fact i believe him to be a very capable and well accomplished right back, okay maybe he doesn''t get foward enough at all times, and he isn''t the most gifted player you will ever see but the overall fact is that he does his job and on most occasions he does it well, i have watched him many a time when he played for peterborough as my father lives out that way. I thought on Friday night he was fantastic and i can take note of several occasions where he prevented what would have probably been a certain goal with a tackle or interception. I can only think of one bad game he has had playing for us, Orient away as i was at this game. I think some of you guys need to cut him a bit of slack and at least give him more of a chance to prove himself at this level.

Interesting to see how you view this?

Thanks

[Morisons Prozac 0]

Infortunately most fans on here view him as the scape goat and judge him by the views of fans from his previous teams instead his performances by us. I agree with all your points and I am adamant that he will be a strong player for us this coming season.

[Morisons Prozac 0]

Sorry meant unfortunately. [:$]

[W-H 0]

I wasn''t a fan of his last season but I think that he looks better since the break.

[Boyo 0]

I just don''t think he is good enough.  I didn''t think he looked very good last season and Friday night I also didn''t think he looked very good.  With him I can''t exactly pin it down as to what is bad about him I just think he is a very average League 1 player all round.  I know about the instances you are talking about when he stopped a clear goal scoring oppurtunity but apart from those he was poor again IMO.  I''m sure a player like Ward will improve because someone wouldn''t stay around in the Championship that long if they were that bad and I see Russel Martin being the weak link in our defence over the course of the season.

[Jacko 0]

He was steady without being spectacular. I only remember one blinding performance away at Wycombe and one stinker at Leyton Orient that was allluded to above. Whether he will be good enough in the championship remains to be seen but I thought he had poor second half against Watford. Regardless of what anything thought of the refereeing for the third goal, Martin and Nelson got in a horrendous tangle under no pressure after that incident. That lead to Graham regaining position and subsequently scoring.

[Northern Canary 0]

I think he deserves a chance at this level and didn''t think he was bad at all on friday. What concerns me is the lack of cover if he starts getting shaky. All other positions have a bit of a back up, but Francomb is very young for a full back at this level.

[Davo 0]

I think he was Ok last season and I think he will be ok this season. I just think he''s an ok sort of player.

Will he make mistakes? Undoubtedly. Will these mistakes lead to us conceding goals? Of course he''s a defender and their mistakes get punished.

The question I keep asking is do we need to replace him now? Who would be available? Can we afford that replacement now? Would that replacement be good enough for where we want to head to?

I honestly don''t think we can answer "Yes" to all of those.

Davo

[Big Slob 0]

Everyone''s entitled to their own opinion.Mine is that i dont think he''s championship quality. I thought he did alrite on friday though, but too many times last season he was easily beaten by the forward/winger, and was disappointing going forward.

[Brendo 0]

Good post for me.

I agree. I feel he isn''t great either, but I also think he is getting wayyyyyyy too much stick and unfair criticism too. Ward for me was worse.

Anyway, to my point. Please, could someone please explain to me why so many are suggesting that 18 year old George Francomb is to come in, and play in front of experienced Russell Martin, even though he''s only ever played 2 (not very competitive) games for City. These two were in the JPT against League 1 or below sides (I believe).

Russell Martin is clearly no Maicon but he certainly isn''t as bad as many seem to think.

What did Russell Martin do on Friday, which was worse than Ward? He certainly didn''t turn his back on two shots, which lead to two goals.

[the stump 0]

its one position mr lambert didnt strengthen so he must feel the martin is good enough.personally iam not sure though he wasnt the only player friday who didnt play well

more games will tell.

[Gingerpele 0]

[quote user="W-H"]I wasn''t a fan of his last season but I think that he looks better since the break.[/quote]^^ [:D]

[Salopian 1]

He may be good enough in a conventional 4-4-2, but with our diamond he is too exposed, with a wide space down the wing in which opponents can attack. (I have a high opinion of Drury, but he, too, is left exposed at times.)

What I would point out is that Peterborough were not playing him when we obtained him, and they were ultimately relegated. The fact that they let him come on loan and then sign says a lot.

He seems to have had a good season before they were romoted, and to be able to excel in League 1, but the Championship may be a division too high for him.

[Divs crew! 0]

Its interesting to see what you all really think and i agree with the point that he is a scapegoat for our team, but hell if lambert has faith in his ability then i sure will do!

still its early days and my views can be changed.

Brendo i agree with your comments about Francombe, the lad is just a kid! hes played a few games and sure as hell is an exciting talent, but he has a lot to learn and i would rather see Martin at right back purely for his experience.

[ncfcstar 342]

I thought Martin looked good in the first couple of games he played for us last season, and then he went downhill.  He was absolutely diabolical against Orient away.  Still he deserves a chance in the Championship, but if Friday night is anything to go by he will struggle.  Yes he was left exposed on a few occassions, but at the same time he seemed to always make the wrong decision.  His attempt at clearing the ball from Nelson''s rather large boot is laughable, and despite the fact that a free kick should have been awarded previously, it was this that cost us the 3rd goal, not only was it a terrible clearance, it also dragged him out of position when Nelson clearly was just about to stick his foot through the ball.  That for me summed up his game, I don''t have a clue what he thought he was doing there.

[Graham Humphrey 13]

[quote user="ncfcstar"]He was absolutely diabolical against Orient away.[/quote]Why do people always mention this match?  NOT ONE PLAYER put in even an average performance that night but no-one else ever gets criticised for it.

[ncfcstar 342]

[quote user="Graham Humphrey"][quote user="ncfcstar"]He was absolutely diabolical against Orient away.[/quote]Why do people always mention this match?  NOT ONE PLAYER put in even an average performance that night but no-one else ever gets criticised for it.[/quote]No you''re right, but maybe it''s because he was by far and away the worst of a bad bunch.

[Davo 0]

I think "by far and away the worst of a bad bunch" is harsh on him. He was awful in that one game but so was everyone and when a team plays that badly it''s unfair to single out any one person.

I sometimes wonder if we had of won that game would Russell Martin still get the same level of dislike as he get now?

Davo

["6 ft 2, eyes are blue Duncan Forbes is after you" 0]

He is not good enough -Simples

[Gingerpele 0]

[quote user="6 ft 2 eyes are blue Duncan Forbes is after you"]He is not good enough -Simples[/quote]Why does the Manager, who knows a lot more about these players (and probably football in general) than all of us, think he is then?

[urdie_Canary 33]

Hes not a scapegoatHes is just shite and the weakest player in our team in some peoples eyes.Therefore, comments will be made.

[Northern Canary 0]

If he is the weak link I would put it down to the formation, having to get forward on the right and having no cover in front of him. As someone else pointed out, he would be fine in a 442.

[chicken 0]

I think people think about players too one dimentionally.

As I have said time and time again, our formation relies upon our full backs getting forward. This only works if we keep posession and actually use the width created. If not someone like Russel Martin gets caught out which is what happened against Watford a few times. Notably more in the second half when we were trying to get back into the game.

Martin is a solid right back but is he a wing back? Now that''s a different question. In this formation and without anyone offering to cover him when he pushes forward will always create a space for the opposition to try and exploit, if it happens it will often look like his fault. The only way this can be sorted in this formation is to tell our full backs not to push on as much or at all. Or to incourage Fox to drop into the back four when needed. I am not sure that I like either of these options to be honest.

I know people love him and he got man of the match but for me Hoolahan was very chalk and cheese against Watford, seemed unwilling to put the hard work in off the ball until stoked up by Crofts, would take it past a couple of players and then play a ball to no one. Yes I would agree that people think this is because he is a clever player and not all the other players are up to speed with him, but I would have at least expected him to pick out some of the easy passes.

So for me Russel Martin was not the worse player against Watford, even Drury didn''t play as well as we know he can.

[Divs crew! 0]

I agree with nearly all the points being made, im just saying, he isn''t spectacular nbut he isn''t awful like some people are making out!

If Lambert thinks he is good enough, then im happy to go with him!

I saw him many a time at Peterborough and he always looked solid, although this was more often than not in a more conventional 4-4-2 system!