Mr Jenkins 0 Posted August 26, 2014 Great to see 9 academy players in tonights squad. One of the many qualities Neil was always going to bring was his knowledge of our young players, something often dismissed by his detractors, but tonight he has shown what a great asset this is.Well done Neil! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barclay seats 4849 the 3rd 0 Posted August 26, 2014 Well i hope that he uses his knowledge to realise that mc Fadden was way out of his depth ,, he spent most of the second half playing in front of my seat,,, he appeared to panic any time he had to challenge or anybody ran towards him ,, wildly slicing at the ball ,, putting the ball out for a corner on at least three occasions when RM was on hand to help out , and it could have been played out of trouble. I think he needs a fair bit longer in the u21''s.Although I caught the canary call commentators saying he had a good game ,,, I am baffled by that . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CJ 0 Posted August 26, 2014 Yes I agree McFadden out of depth needs to also build up odd strength too easily bullied and caused panic several times in box Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Jenkins 0 Posted August 26, 2014 Do you understand anything about young players? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pabs 0 Posted August 26, 2014 I thought McFadden was superb for a centre back on debut against two physical strikers, won headers, tackles and look composed on the ball: he was even ordering other defenders about showing leadership too. Slipped once and made a wild clearance, but that''s just one of those things. I was really impressed with him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Jenkins 0 Posted August 26, 2014 Spot on Pabs, he''s 19 FFS and needs all the encouragement we can give him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Masked Raccoon 0 Posted August 26, 2014 McFadden was out of his depth, out of place and panicked when under pressure what to do with the ball. He''ll learn from it but needs to go out on loan from this.Surman though...woeful tonight Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evesham Canary 0 Posted August 26, 2014 Wow! Some of you on here are very harsh. This was McFadden''s debut and whilst he had a couple of iffy moments he also had some very good ones too. Macleod is a real handful and he dealt reasonably well with him. Clearly he needs a spell in the lower leagues to toughen him up & gain some experience. The same can be said for Hall-Johnson, Jacob Murphy & possibly even Loza. It was good to see them given a chance & even better to see them play in a winning side. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Marchant 5 Posted August 26, 2014 Thought tonight was a really good exercise. Crawley provided a proper test, the Academy players gained experience, (made a few mistakes but they will learn from it) and Cuellar and Jerome got a bit of match fitness. I liked the fact that when we were under a bit of pressure, Adams didn''t play safe by bringing on Bradley Johnson, but showed faith in another Academy product. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GJP 79 Posted August 26, 2014 Sorry to spoil the party a little bit but NA wouldn''t exactly be the first manager to play youth and fringe players in the League Cup. Particularly as one of the bigger sides in the earlier rounds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nutty nigel 7,527 Posted August 27, 2014 Don''t be too harsh on the lads. It''s a huge step up for many of them. Crawley are a decent League One side. They beat the binners in the last round. The team we put out tonight could well have been good enough to win last Saturday. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr Jenkins 0 Posted August 27, 2014 GJP. You make a good point, the difference however is that we know have a manager who has a knowledge of these lads way and above what would normally be expected of a Championship manager. He knows their strengths and weaknesses, what makes them tick and how to get the very best out of them. Also of course he will have an excellent understanding of how to help them develop their game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites