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For me he needs dropping for the Boro game due to inconsistently being poor. I hope Maja and Dike do not get anywhere near the starting line up and Wallace and Bostock share a good chunk of the game. The defence needs tightening up and Campbell is no full back. We urgently need a decent quality midfielder with pace - shame about Collyer as he will come good if he goes out on loan again.
Big big game for Ramsay
I don?t think we can expect too much on Friday due to the fact Ramsey will have had only a few days with the team, I agree Price needs dropping but he?s one player who might get back to his normal levels under Ramsey, sadly until the young lad Williams is fit we are stuck between two awful right backs in Campbell and Gilchrist, let?s hope there?s some cash left for a couple of loans
Agree about Price Al but not so much Campbell. Seems that he wasn't great yesterday but then none of our players were at their best (Mozza said it was one of the worst 90 minutes of football he had seen).Quote:
Originally Posted by baggieal
Before joining us, Campbell mostly played as a Centre Back and isn't a natural RB but I think he has done well considering the adjustment he has had to make from the MLS to the Championship. Defensively, he is an improvement on Furlong and early criticisms were that he was poor going forward and not comfortable doing so but he has since much improved in this area of his game and links up increasingly well with Mikey. Gilchrist is certainly no better as a RB.
Defensively, I'd argue that a back four of Campbell, Phillips, Bielik and Styles is our best line up unless Styles is to play in midfield in which case Taylor takes over at LB. We know that either of these can work for us and be pretty solid.
Totally agree with you about our midfield issues though. Neither Molumby or Mowatt are creative midfielders but we missed that strength and bite that both can offer yesterday in terms of control. Diakite tries but isn't strong enough and as for Bany, I don't think we will be seeing much of him now. Styles plays for his country in midfield and does ok when we have played him there but then he also works well playing as a wing back.
A great pity that we lost Collyer going back to Manure through that injury as he looked to be good but unless we can find another decent loan player in this window I can't see us being able to afford a creative midfielder until the summer. Harry Whitwell unfortunately didn't get much of an opportunity yesterday due to that suspected concussion but Savage has been singing the young midfielder's praises at Forest Green and he has clearly been brought back off loan for a reason so we may well see far more of both Ollie Bostock and him going forward. I hope so!
Ramsay will obviously need some time to settle and to get to know the players and their strengths/ weaknesses but let's just hope that he can optimise the squad available to him better than Ryan Mason was able to which should certainly include giving Bostock and Whitwell more game time and utilizing Wallace now that he is fit again. He can't play 90 minutes any more and he hasn't the legs now but he has proven that his experience still counts.
As you say, Friday's game will be a big one and it will be interesting to see his team selection.
Don?t think Styles is the answer in midfielder. Not good enough in my opinion. Campbell is never a full back though and not just awful yesterday but he looks awkward on the ball and ball watches. Styles at least looks comfortable with the ball at his feet in this position. Diakite though - deary me!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Omegstrat6
More use of youngsters and Patel needs to open his wallet going forward. You watch Collyer do brilliantly if he goes to someone like Hull - I can see it coming and was unlucky with injuries but never given a real chance by useless Mason. Clever kid and highly rated by Man Utd fans.
I think Campbell has done okay, considering he is not a natural RB.Quote:
Originally Posted by baggieal
I don't think he's amazing, but I don't think he's that bad either. He's competent, but there's better out there I imagine and Furlong was/is a better RB than him.
I think Price has been playing out of position all season. He's not an attacking midfielder in my view. He's a box to box midfielder. I would play him and Molumby together, when fit. They've both got a lot of legs and would give us a lot of running and energy in the middle of the park - I think they could overrun teams in that part of the pitch. Not sure why we haven't done or tried that before.
Styles I like at LB to be honest, because he's a good attacking option there. I like full backs that go forward.
Gilchrist looks to me to be a terrible purchase. Hope I'm proved wrong on that one.
[QUOTE=Omegstrat6;40790690]I read that our young RB Alex Williams is back in training after his injury. Certainly don't expect him to break into the first team as a regular anytime soon but hear good things about him and may see him start to get a few opportunities at least. Gilchrist has been poor whenever I've seen him and whilst I like George Campbell and think he has done ok in that position and is improving he is more naturally a central defender.
Let's see if Ramsay will give the likes of Bostock, Whitwell and Williams more of a chance than Mason did. I understand that the step up for them is huge but with little or no funds for further acquisitions we need to see what our promising youngsters may offer. I know it was a cup game where we would expect to see them tried out but Mozza seemed to hint in his post match interview that he would like to see them tested in the Championship more to see how they cope. The ideal, of course, is to send our more promising youngsters out on loan to get experience under their belts but given our lack of squad depth, we may find we need to utilise them at home earlier.
We might be a bit light in midfield on Friday night, I believe that Mowatt is injured and Diakite has been given compassionate leave. Is Whitwell available after his substitution in the last game?
I would imagine it will be Styles and Molumby but our midfield remains our biggest problem. Oh for Yusuf and Claudio who were streets better!Quote:
Originally Posted by kettering_baggie