If..

[Warren Hill 0]

And another disappointing defeat.

 

A 1-0 thrashing from Wigan Athletic, a Wigan side below us in the league, a Wigan side that hadn’t kept a clean sheet at home all season, a Wigan side languishing in the bottom 3 prior to kick off.

 

It has to be said though that this is also a Wigan side that has been in the Premier League since 2005, it’s also a Wigan side that seem to only play well at this time of year as they complete their annual great escape. The Incredible Mr Goodwin has nothing on the Latics.

 

That isn’t to say that the result wasn’t disappointing. It isn’t to say that the performance wasn’t disappointing, we should at least be giving opposition goalkeepers a workout and recently they’ve been more likely to catch frostbite through inactivity than they have a dangerous cross or a rasping shot. That aside we were still just a few minutes and a goalkeeping error from picking up another valuable away point. But we didn’t. We lost. Southampton brushed aside Chelsea to add salt to the wound and City fans were unthinkably cheering on Liverpool as they deservedly beat Aston Villa.

 

The bums they are-a squeaking it would seem.

 

A lot of fans are clamouring for all kinds of change and have been for weeks, it seems that the calls are not falling on deaf ears but seemingly adhered to at times. This worries me more than our league position, our points tally and our apparent impotence in front of goal. It worries me because it makes me wonder if the Gaffer has forgotten what his best team is.

 

That team has Grant Holt in it. I couldn’t care less if he is currently living in student digs surviving on Domino’s and KFC, dropping him hasn’t worked and we always look more dangerous when he plays. Another point worth making is that the opposition don’t want to play against him. When they see the teamsheet with a benched Holt it gives them a lift before a ball is kicked. Kamara has size, Kamara has pace but he doesn’t have the positional sense or presence that Holt has. The skipper must play.

 

That team has Snodgrass playing on the right. The sudden urge to switch him to the opposite flank to accommodate a lesser player in Elliott Bennett is frankly, ridiculous. Snodgrass has every chance of being player of the season, a season he has played on the right. This is another one I’ve heard fans clamouring for and I simply don’t understand why anyone would look to play our best player out of position.

 

That team also includes Hoolahan. Still our most gifted player. It has Tettey and Johnson holding. It has Bassong and Turner at centre half. It has Garrido at left back and, perhaps controversially, I’d say that it has Whittaker at right back.

 

Now, with Ruddy in goal and Pilkington on the left, that would be our best team. As it is, by my reckoning we can start 9 of our best 11 and in Bunn have an ample deputy for Ruddy. I’m confident that this side will pick up enough points to allay any fears of the dreaded R word.

 

However, in order for us to achieve this, in order for us to meet our goal, we also need to keep our heads.

 

Reading sacked their manager and replaced him with the recently sacked manager of a relegation rival. Sunderland sacked Martin O’Neill and replaced him with Di Canio. Unproven, unorthodox, unbelievable.

 

Of course both could turn out to be masterstrokes, but it’s one hell of a gamble to take. Reading’s appointment appears to be one of acceptance, a pre-cursor to their looking to put together a push for return next season. The appointment of Di Canio smacks of desperation and the turmoil his appointment has caused in the press, the boardroom and most importantly amongst the fans can only be a hindrance to their efforts.

 

And so the sacking of O’Neill might just keep Paul Lambert in a job. I’m not sure if that is fitting or not given the previous links and comparisons and furthermore I don’t really care, it’s the fact that the departure of O’Neill could help NCFC I’m bothered about. When Martin O’Neill walked out of his job here all those years ago, he seemed to take our top flight dreams with him. He’s now been kicked out of his job and that might just help us keep them.

 

If you can keep your head….

 

Spot on, Rudyard, spot on.

[nutty nigel 7,510]

Can''t argue with any of that. Some will though. But then some haven''t even noticed Snodgrass being moved.

 

But please Warren, in future could you post a little less sense and a little more sensation.

 

 

[Bury Yellow 2]

Spot on Warren. A good analysis of the current situation which indicates to me that both sides of the Hoots argument make valid points. It''s just that I''m always right of course!

[BOO 0]

"Never look backward or you will fall down the stairs" is more appropriate to the way we play football, why play a forward ball from mid field If you can play one back!

[percy varco 196]

A picture paints a thousand words. Who loves ya baby!