A simple formula

[Mungo Bumpkin 0]

No Howson plus no Surman equals a winning combination! Both should be transfer listed.

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

[quote user="Mungo Bumpkin"]No Howson plus no Surman equals a winning combination! Both should be transfer listed.[/quote]

 

We do need to de-congest the midfield in some way. Too many options lead to complicated thinking and we still have Jacob Butterfield to come.

 

There is a difference between having a strong squad with options and having too many much of a muchness players that working out the best combination becomes a handicap.

[Herman 9,717]

Idiot!!

Howson hasn''t been playing well and sadly deserved to be dropped,but transfer listed??Really?? He is a quality player to have in the squad and hopefully this will spur him on.

 

[A Load of Squit 5,135]

Mungo Bumpkin + Opinion = Stupidity

[Mungo Bumpkin 0]

We won, and won well, by stamping out midfield weakness. We nearly threw it away by bringing on Howson''s co-pansy Snodgrass.

[BroadstairsR 2,138]

No, of course Howson should stay. No question. I feel now that there might  be a question mark against Andrew Surman remaining. He has been splendid for this club and has proven to be a brilliant signing by PL, but his talents now seem to be over-lapped by more recent arrivals. His weaknesses become more apparent, being neither as aggressive or pacy as others available. 

 

They can''t all play or even be on the bench. AS would fetch a decent fee and something has to give after all. A sennapod needs to be administered to that midfield.

 

Now the Surman fans will jump on my back, even though I am a Surman fan. I''m talking practicalities here.

[Canaries Utd 0]

Simple formula - close the opposition down and don''t give them time on the ball.

[Mungo Bumpkin 0]

I concur, ship Surman out immediately! Loan to lower Championship/League One would be his level. I am staggered by the degree to which some people rate this talentless show pony. One good game, Wolves away, in his entire time with us. I''m pretty sure he was only signed to model tat for the club shop catalogue (vest tucked in to y-fronts, smoking a pipe and staring in to the middle distance).

[Hackedoff 0]

Mungo = d!ck

[The Yellow Pimpernel 0]

Whao there Nelly.  All slow down please.  We just had one good game, we dont want to be thinking of getting rid of anybody.  What happens if we pick up a couple of injuries, loss of form (seems quiet common) or a suspension?  Lets just let things settle down, see if we can get that winning habit back and progress from there first.  Then we can maybe think of where the squad needs tweaking, but at the moment no-one is surplus and will all have important roles to play this season.

[gorlestongirl 0]

[quote user="The Yellow Pimpernel"]

Whao there Nelly.  All slow down please.  We just had one good game, we dont want to be thinking of getting rid of anybody.  What happens if we pick up a couple of injuries, loss of form (seems quiet common) or a suspension?  Lets just let things settle down, see if we can get that winning habit back and progress from there first.  Then we can maybe think of where the squad needs tweaking, but at the moment no-one is surplus and will all have important roles to play this season.

[/quote]

Too sensible. This is after all a simpleton''s formula.

[Highland Canary 76]

I was a little surprised that Surman was offered a 3 year contract in the Summer but I suspect the offer was to a large extent a result of the uncertainty surrounding Lambert''s departure. I think we have better options at the club and felt at the time felt we should have been seeking to make incremental improvement to the quality of the squad. In particular, I think Surman is relatively weak defensively.

On the other hand, I think Howson is a player with real talent notwithstanding the statistical analysis above, which is flawed because it fails to take into account the other factors affecting the team''s performance post-Christmas. The significant difference between Lambert and Hughton''s Howson seems to be the box-to-box brief that the former manager promulgated. I agree Howson has looked much much less effective in the more restrained role he has had thus far under Hughton.

[gorlestongirl 0]

Agree with your points about Howson. He would not have been strong enough yesterday, and Hughton rightly paired Tettey and Johnson. There will be games, though we play with a more expansive midfield, where Howson will be a good contender for that box to box role. He, and perhaps Surman, will play a part this season, not least in any cup runs, (can''t believe I just said that!)