The blame lies with McGhee

[Beach Hut]

So therefore now was a good time to win if it was that long ago.

Oh what the hell, onwards and upwards - doddle next week West Ham away

 

[Yorkie]

The point is Yorkie as people have posted in another Thread we should be beating teams like Crewe as they are one of the so called easier games,and if we cant pick up points against teams like these it makes it a lot harder for us to beat better opposition.

We should have beaten Sheff Wed last season but we never win at Hillsborough.

Football is not the same as working in a factory or an office. There are lots of unquantifiable equations to take into consideration. I do believe there are bogey teams and confidence is something that cannot be bought, borrowed or stolen.

As I posted earlier today the person who can give a team (or any sportsperson) confidence to win a game every time they should, will make a fortune.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I do believe there are bogey teams and confidence is something that cannot be bought, borrowed or stolen.

Im sorry but this is rubbish. I do not mean to sound abrupt and an not trying to say you are completely wrong but I think tactics and the fact that we played crap has more to do with why we lost then a sequence of games the majority of which none of our players have played more then perhaps two games in.

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

You have missed my point,I am trying to say it is not the team that got it wrong it is the man who picked the team who got it wrong,bogey side or whatever you want to call it,the man in charge made a pigs ear of it yesterday and he is the one that should shoulder the blame,it is what he is getting paid for.

 

[Beach Hut]

The selections are baffling at present - Harding is a defender so why wasn't he played there and either Hammond / Chippy in midfield as starters ?

 

[oapdodge]

I think it is embarrassing to lose to Crewe at home, especially in the manner we did. I also think McGhee has his faults.



- Also, the day before you play someone like Crewe the manager should not be in the paper saying a draw is a good result.

I can go along with that statement.It was important not to lose.If we had drawn then they wouldn't have closed the gap.A draw would have been a fair result for us.It is a 6 p;oint swing losing to sides down in the dog fight with us.That is why the results against Gillingham and Forest have been so good.Sometimes a draw might only be a point but against sides in our own league they are massive.If we had beaten or drawn with Crewe our position would not be so bad.I we go and beat WHU then we olnly make up on Crewe what they have taken off us.IF that makes sense.We are in our own mini league.The sides up the top do not matter as much.

 

[Yorkie]

Crewe beat us 3-1 three weeks ago, with us playing different tactics and some different players.

What bright ideas would you have used yesterday?

I am not saying that McGhee shouldn't have done it differently but having watched both games I cannot see what more he could have done with the options open to him.

Maybe he should have thrown a strop at half time in the dressing room and told them to buck their ideas up or maybe he should have used the softly softly encouraging method.

How do you get players to play to the best of their ability all the time?
Having injuries the day before a match when training all week with one formation and having to change it because that person isn't available doesn't help.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

In reality a draw would not have been the end of the world. The point I was making is that your manager should not be publicly saying he would settle for a draw before the game.

He should be demanding a win because we are at home and playing a team below us. What message is that to send out that a draw is ok.

If we draw come out and say it is not too bad but dont say you will be happy with it before the game.

 

[Beach Hut]

How do you get players to play to the best of their ability all the time?

By at least playing in their best position - Harding is a defender for starters

 

[Charlies Shinpad]

Crewe beat us 3-1 three weeks ago, with us playing different tactics and some different players.(Quote)

So why couldnt MM use different tactics that work then?

I am not saying that McGhee shouldn't have done it differently but having watched both games I cannot see what more he could have done with the options open to him.

Maybe he should have thrown a strop at half time in the dressing room and told them to buck their ideas up or maybe he should have used the softly softly encouraging method.

How do you get players to play to the best of their ability all the time? (Quote)

I dont know as I am not the Manager,but MM is and it is his job to get them playing to the best of there ability every week


Having injuries the day before a match when training all week with one formation and having to change it because that person isn't available doesn't help.

We Lost Virgo,so that is one player but we had DC,Butters and Nicolas back from when we played them 3 weeks ago.So on paper we had a stronger side out than last time we played them?

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I cannot see what more he could have done with the options open to him.

a) not play a left back in midfield when we have midfielders on the bench.

b)have a striker on the bench. Robinson or Molango would have been a better option then four midfielders. He was NEVER going to bring on three midfielders.

c)Not play someone who has not played first team football for 12 months and who is recovering from a serious illness.

d)not break up a defence that has been playing well lately.

e) Surely if you have limited time available in which to prepare the team then changing the formation so drastically was not a good idea. Surely better to stick with something they are comfortable with?

 

[oapdodge]

Crewe beat us 3-1 three weeks ago, with us playing different tactics and some different players.

What bright ideas would you have used yesterday?

I am not saying that McGhee shouldn't have done it differently but having watched both games I cannot see what more he could have done with the options open to him.

Maybe he should have thrown a strop at half time in the dressing room and told them to buck their ideas up or maybe he should have used the softly softly encouraging method.

How do you get players to play to the best of their ability all the time?
Having injuries the day before a match when training all week with one formation and having to change it because that person isn't available doesn't help.

For a start we didn't have Cullip or Butters for that away game and I still believe they are our best central defence pairing.
I would have adopted the tactics that have worked for us most of the time.
Kuipers
Hinshelwood,Cullip,Butters,Harding
Currie,Nicholas,Carpenter,Hammond,
Knight,Robinson
In a 4-4-2.
Robinson came on against them away and nearly scored twice and caused them problems,didn't he ?
On the bench,El-Abd,Oatway,Roberts,Piercy,Reid.
It is a solid 4-4-2.
Who knows if it would have done any better but that is my opinion.I would have used Piercy as a change up front if and when required not thinking he could last a whole match.Oatway to give added steel to the midfield if required and Reid to replace Hammond or Currie if tiredness crept in,El-Abd as cover for the defence.

 

[Dancin Ninja BHA]

Errr....who's stopping you? There was a bloke called, I think, Colin, on the phone-in on Saturday who spent most of his time criticising McGhee. I didn't agree with everything he said, but he made intelligent and perceptive point after point, and it was worth listening to - good stuff.

Then you got all the other spanners who came on afterwards who might as well just farted down the phone to let off steam given the utter poverty of their contributions. At least listening to farts can be funny sometimes, so listeners might have got something out of that at least.

No one questions people's right to criticise McGhee, it's the WAY you do it that's important. Too many people take a pop at McGhee just to let off steam without having thought of anything worthwhile to say. Listening to that time and time again just gets SO TEDIOUS.

Like your f***ing posts, eh LI?

NSC very own patronising-twat-in-chief

Anyone not singing from the same song book as you LI is deemed a cretin, a spanner.

 

[London Irish]

Nice to see my fan club's still paying attention to what I say

 

[Yorkie]

Oapdodge

El Abd wasnt available due to a virus infection

 

[Curious Orange]

Leviathan thread.

My thoughts on yesterday:

Interesting game to watch in some ways. Our passing game was good, however it was brought in at the sacrifice of our defensive game. The protection our defence usually gets from the midfield was horribly absent for all three goals.

Going forward I thought Piercy showed some nice touches and linked play well, but he was obviously not match fit so no shock when he came off.

As an attacking fullback Little Hinsh is a great centreback. He doesn't have the confidence to whip in a cross - a fully fit Paul Watson would have been a better option.

Four players stood out for me yesterday - Leon Knight, Darren Currie (playing like he's realised he should have played at this level years ago and is making up for lost time), Alexis Nicolas, and Michel Kuipers.

Hopefully McGhee will have realised that trying to outplay sides in footballing terms is not something we're quite up to yet and will play a little bit more defensive in future. We need Chippy in there to give the back four a bit of protection.

A final word about Dan Harding, a lot of people have been muttering about him being a fullback. He actually regards himself as a centre midfielder, so it isn't that suprising that he was played there.

 

[London Irish]

For a start we didn't have Cullip or Butters for that away game and I still believe they are our best central defence pairing.
I would have adopted the tactics that have worked for us most of the time.
Kuipers
Hinshelwood,Cullip,Butters,Harding
Currie,Nicholas,Carpenter,Hammond,
Knight,Robinson
In a 4-4-2.
Robinson came on against them away and nearly scored twice and caused them problems,didn't he ?
On the bench,El-Abd,Oatway,Roberts,Piercy,Reid.
It is a solid 4-4-2.
Who knows if it would have done any better but that is my opinion.I would have used Piercy as a change up front if and when required not thinking he could last a whole match.Oatway to give added steel to the midfield if required and Reid to replace Hammond or Currie if tiredness crept in,El-Abd as cover for the defence.

That's not a bad line-up, similar-ish really to the one we put out against Coventry earlier this season, Robinson leading a 4-4-2.

The problems relate to Jake's form, where I am inclined to think McGhee probably is in a better position to judge that, given he sees all the reserves/youth games and training.

I'm still genuinely in 2 minds about whether McGhee was right or wrong about the 4-3-3 on Saturday.

It reminded me of the team he picked last season against Plymouth, which produced one of our best performances of the year in front of the Sky cameras.

That day Piercy, as part of a front 3, worked well, although that was partly because Big Trev was on top form. The problem on Saturday I guess was whether Currie looks comfortable up front - probably not.

Full-back Watto was part of a 3-man midfield, again probably giving McGhee the idea to give Harding the holding role on Saturday. Nicolas and Reid instead of Charlie and Chippy.

It was a calculated gamble to address the fact that without Virgo up front, we've looked dire offensively. Remember those stats before Saturday, played 6 lost 5, drawn 1, a measly four goals scored.

McGhee gambled that we would get the goal playing 3 up front and then we could bring on the bench midfielders to steady things and prevent Crewe striking back.

Oddly enough, it wasn't a million miles away from working, we did have the better of that first half, Harding, Reid and Currie all had chances, and there was a few other scrambles around the Crewe box and handballs that the ref missed. Crewe did score against the run of play.

Playing an orthodox 4-4-2 with a possibly out-of-form striker, you have to ask, would we have been any more offensively threatening. I really don't know. Then the quality of the Crewe counterattacking might still have been too good for our defensive midfielders and defenders to stop. They did show some quality going forward and I reckon they would still have done so against a 4-4-2.

I honestly think there is little to choose between these two options, they're both pretty dire. That's why I'm inclined to go easy on McGhee, and even perhaps applaud him for trying the unorthodox.

The reality that gets lost is that without a targetman, whatever system we play has been proved to be pretty piss-poor this season.

With Virgo doing that job, we've done well, P12 W5, D3, L4 is a brilliant record given our resources.

We must pray that Virgo stays fit until the situation eases at the bigger clubs and they allow a few loans out.

 

[London Irish]

Leviathan thread.

My thoughts on yesterday:

Interesting game to watch in some ways. Our passing game was good, however it was brought in at the sacrifice of our defensive game. The protection our defence usually gets from the midfield was horribly absent for all three goals.

Going forward I thought Piercy showed some nice touches and linked play well, but he was obviously not match fit so no shock when he came off.

As an attacking fullback Little Hinsh is a great centreback. He doesn't have the confidence to whip in a cross - a fully fit Paul Watson would have been a better option.

Four players stood out for me yesterday - Leon Knight, Darren Currie (playing like he's realised he should have played at this level years ago and is making up for lost time), Alexis Nicolas, and Michel Kuipers.

Hopefully McGhee will have realised that trying to outplay sides in footballing terms is not something we're quite up to yet and will play a little bit more defensive in future. We need Chippy in there to give the back four a bit of protection.

A final word about Dan Harding, a lot of people have been muttering about him being a fullback. He actually regards himself as a centre midfielder, so it isn't that suprising that he was played there.

Spot on - the dilemma for McGhee was that without Virgo providing the outlet for the direct ball, all that was left for us to go for was the "outfootballing them" approach.

The alternative was how well Jake would have coped with the direct ball :whoknows:

 

[dovorian]

mc Phee

Now I know McPhee is injured but nowhere can I find out how long for. I know he' s not everybodys cup of tea but he does have a bit of height and bustle

Maybe we rushed him back to quickly last time but does anyone know how long he is likely to be out, and what was Molangos operation for.

The injuiries side doesnt always seem to be quoted, whats wrong with Jones for instance, heaven forbid.