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John Wang-Hansen

Hucks' the difference

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After watching todays 1-1 draw against WHU, I''m a bit worried. Hadn''t it been for Hucks we would have lost today. Why is Worthy still playing Francis and Holt together in midfield when we need creativity? They are too much alike. Most balls went above midfield-not through it. That means inefficient wingbacks. We need the runs from Drury, Edworthy,McVeigh and Brennan. I''d really like to see Mulryne back in central midfield, creating the necessary openings and options! We didn''t play well today and have been lucky in the last few games. We need creativity og good runs against established defences, creating two against one-situations all over the park.

Greetings from Norway

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i expect 1 or 2 changes in the team come the sunderland game. i hope/expect mckenzie to start, maybe a change in midfield to freshen things up. we might even see henderson starting on the right wing again!?

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I have to say that I agree - Hucks was about the only player that I thought played well today. We were second to most balls, defended too deep and our hard-working midfield didn''t really impose themselves enough. I''ll put it down as just one of those days - results more or less went our way (I don''t mind WBA winning if it''s at the expense of one of the chasing pack - the more space we put between us and 3rd place, the better), but I expect to see more hunger and more creativity next weekend. By the way, does anyone else remember the days when Paul McVeigh used to cause the opposition problems? Don''t get me wrong, I like the guy and rate him as a player, but today he didn''t run at his fullback, opting for a simple layoff instead. With so much pace and ability, why won''t he just attack his fullback??

All in all, to get a point against a rejuvenated and in-form side was a good result, especially considering the level of performance. I''m well and truly behind the team, but we can''t keep playing like this or we could "do a Wolves" as it were and end up 3rd and facing the playoffs once again!!

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I think you are right about McVeigh but think the reason is that he is being played on the right rather than the left. He was having a storming season linking with Hux and creating all sorts of havoc. Due to a lack of viable options (Rivers, Francis , Henderson Mullers etc have all been tried) NW is simply trying to fill a square hole with a round peg

McVeigh was comfortable on the left and had an excellent understanding with Juke Box and Hux allowing all three or a combination to get forward. Moving McVeigh to the right has broken up that link and the Edworthy/McVeigh partnership will take time to bed down. Secondly Brennan does not have that same attacking link up play that McVeigh brings to the left. Both Brennan and McVeigh are playing solidly but we are no longer creating as much down the left, making Hux work harder for his openings and the teams creativity is suffering as a result. That is why there is a challenge to play Mullers in the middle cos if there is no creativity from the wings it sure aint gonna come from Holt and Francis - that is not their game.

I would put McVeigh back on the left and look for NW to finally resolve the the right wing issue - either return to Henderson (who has filled in best there so far), try Jarvis once fit or look to bring in Robbie Blake (Premiership experience and didnt look out of his depth at that level), Kevin Harper who gave our team balance, pace going forward and would put in a tackle or another loan/fringe signing to complete the squad.

Having said that we have got the results with Brennan and McVeigh playing so who am I to criticise? However I do think that we can be and (even) better team if this is addressed.

OTBC

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Personally i don''t think there''s any need to change the team with the exception of possibly Svensson in for Roberts. I feel a bit sorry for Mckenzie bit without changing the formation i can''t see how he''s going to fit in on a regular basis. We have to utilize Huckerby to the maximum and i feel is going to play at his best when he''s alongside a strong target man.

I don''t agree that Huckerby was the only one who played well today. Personally I thought the back 4 had an outstanding game against 3 of the top strikers in the division. Good to see Malky looking more assured at the back again compared to earlier on in the season. I also thought Holt was superb again today.

I agree with the point about Mcveigh playing better on the left. He isn''t a wide player who''s going to skin players with pace because he''s not that quick, he''s tricky and has quick feet but doesn''t have pace to get away from a lot of players, he''s a lot better when he''s cutting infield and earlier on in the season he and Huckerby struck up a great understanding with Hucks operating mainly down the left with Mcveigh cutting in. The issue being, as stated above, is that the right side of midfield is a problem area and due to Brennan coming in and doing a good job, i don''t any other option but to play Mcveigh where he''s currently playing, i''d rather have him in the team out on the right than Henderson or Rivers or anyone else able to play there.

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I think you''ve hit the nail on the head - McVeigh looks a totally different player on the right. But I really don''t think we have the answer to our right wing conundrum in our squad. I like Kevin Harper, but appreciate that his loan spell wasn''t hugely succesful, so I''d be surprised to see Worthy trying to bring him back. Robbie Blake''s a handy player, but whether we have the cash available to bring in a new face is another matter. I guess I''ll just have to hope that results continue our way and that we address the problem in the summer.

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i agree that we need to put mcveigh o the left and bring back harper to play on the right. the team is then a lot better balanced and therefore will play better and create more opertunities for the front men.

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