Quote Originally Posted by baggieal View Post
The frustration of many is the switching of key players so there?s a lack of consistency and cohesion. Is that intent to win a match with Wallace and Heggebo? No. For me you don?t chop and change key players. Junior is a race horse compared to Wallace and Maja usually knows where the net is. Three games in X amount of days some might say! My point is don?t tamper with the best key players who should start the match and then bring them off if necessary as opposed to bringing them on to chase a game when it?s lost. There?s no tampering with Phillips or Mepham to make my point clear.

Don?t buy the lots of experience comment either. Hugill and Zohore had lots of experience but they were ****e! Jed is ok to bring on but to start come on? He has no pace and can?t beat a player FFS! You need a real leader for Captain who plays 90 minutes ie Phillips. Shocking Wallace is still the captain.

Take Coventry - they set up to attack and win plus Asante is now playing on the flanks and not a lone number 9 like he was with us! Coventry get the ball forward at pace and don?t dilly dally with 15 sideways passes so the opposition can get back and work out the tactic.

Are Coventry any better than us? Debatable but they do have a manager who is trying to win the game and score goals. We don?t as clearly seen. Heggebo hold the ball up well but not quick enough with his feet and certainly not clinical. At the moment I would play Heggebo with Maja and drop Price because lately he?s been a waste of space.
Totally agree with your last 2 paragraphs Al! As for Wallace, as I've said, I certainly would not start him but whilst he clearly lacks pace I still think that his experience counts for something and when brought on in recent games he has shown attacking intent.

The crux of the issue is that in a league like the Championship you are going to have to rotate players and need a decent "shadow team" to do so effectively. Here, Mason is limited in his available options. Price is no winger and with Grant (whose energy I believe we miss) injured we really only have Wallace as a back up for Mikey or Illing Junior. Having said this, I don't disagree with you that Mason's starting selections have too often been baffling and do not show the attacking intent we would want.

Going back to OB's point, I don't think it is the Game Model itself that is the problem, more that we lack enough players with the qualities to implement it properly or consistently. The counter argument, of course, is then not to force a game model on players who cannot match it's requirement, but rather ditch the model and play to the strengths that we do have. The issue then, is whether this would really improve performances.

Bottom line though is that our defensive set up of Griffiths, Campbell (yes, I know he is not great going forward but I'm talking defensively), Phillips, Mepham and Taylor is pretty sound and doesn't need tampering with. It's the midfield and attackers that need sorting and whilst Mason's options here are limited, I share the frustrations of others around those he does chose to start.