Player Ratings - MK Dons away

[Piglet_Phoenix]

No player ratings from me right now. To quote Sheridan, "it's getting boring" - and he's correct. Three at the back, Hope upfront all match, very few discernable tactics and a clear inability to change shape and formation during the match. John "Boring" Sheridan. It's not surprising we get ripped to shreds down our flanks when we don't play with fullbacks. And why don't we play with fullbacks? It's because the lynchpin of Sheridan's defence is too fat and unfit to play in a central defensive two. We're suffering due to poor managerial decisions, Sheridan's same poor decisions costing us points every week.

MK Dons didn't do anything outstanding today, but their players were stronger, fitter and more organised as a team. In fairness they took both their goals very well - and you could argue that's what extra resources buys you - but we really did not help ourselves. I can't see the logic of replacing an attacking player with a defensive player so early in the match. Fair enough if Yates was injured sub him, but you're effectively ripping up your pre-game plan after barely ten minutes. A shrewder manager would have backed his own judgement, kept his defence intact and replaced a forward thinking player with a forward thinking player. To bring on a defender, to coin an Abbott phrase, immediately put us on the back foot.

What's very telling about Sheridan's judgement is his instance on playing Hope as a centre forward every week. It's painfully embarrassing watching him hack, slice and whinge his way through proceedings for the full game - come rain or shine. We went through all this with Curle last season - Hope cannot play as a central striker, his use of the ball is abysmal and he's without question not a natural goalscorer. How long do we have to wait before Sheridan wakes up and sees total cr+p for how it really smells? Hope contrived to waste an opportunity from two yards out (which Nadesan layed on a plate for him) and his performance was so bad it was beyond belief the manager decided to substitute Nadesan and bring Bennett on. Nadesan and Bennett look potentially a decent partnership but the manager refuses to play them together, why is this? In fairness to Hope, he looked a much better wide on the left last season but any cretin can clearly observe he's not a centre forward.

More mistakes would be signing Yates as a centre forward (according to Wright) but playing him as a winger / fullback. Playing Sowerby out of position as a right-back and filling our midfield with defensively minded players.

Positives are few, but at least (at times) we pass the ball quite well and make a few pretty patterns in midfield - it's not all hoof (although there's still much hoof). And what Sheridan keeps whinging about is very true, we're profligate in front of goal and lack the quality required to be clinical. However, the only person who is able to change this is the manager - and when keeps playing the same tactics and picking the same players every week in positions they continue to fail in, what really does he expect to change? He also might have helped himself in the summer by bringing (at least) another striker in instead of signing hundreds of midfielders - again, Sheridan's decision costing us.

In terms of improvement - we do actually look better on the eye than last year and Curle left a complete garbage fest of a squad behind him. To cut Sheridan some slack it's quite a job to try and tidy things up, it's going to take a good deal longer than six months. But ultimately, so many of our problems this season are of our manager's own making. Our team is liable to capitulation in defence and powderpuff upfront. We my have the odd week (like at Swindon) where it all clicks but this is the exception definitely not the rule.

Sheridan's performance as manager so far - 2/10. Far from convincing.

[sandpit]

Fair assessment and not looking good,it is a sad state of affairs when a loan player in Mr Nadesan is the leading scorer and speaks volumes about the way its going.

[Piglet_Phoenix]

I'm not bothered he's gone, to be honest. We only turned the corner after he took my "advice" in the above post and I won't be around to advise him what to do at Chesterfield.

Yes we've had a good run lately, but we had an equally bad run earlier this season and some of his activity in the transfer market was embarrassing in the summer.