Player ratings vs. Salford City 14.12.24

[Could'vebeenacontender]

They definitely lined up with Crowley back alongside Palmer, and Abbott getting close to the inside-right position. That has to be wrong, GA hasn't shown enough as a final third player but has done as a man in the middle.

SM also only has himself to blame for other picks...Austin is on an horrendous run of form, so many poor games on the bounce, you could've bet your house he'd do nothing again.

It's hindsight of course, but I felt at the time that...

Macari didn't deserve to lose his place to Ness
Tsaroulla should've started on the left, in the absence of Gordon, as Austin shoudn't have been considered for another start.
Abbott could've had another run out at RWB, he showed really well there at C'field, with Hinchy holding which would've freed up MP more. With DC in the advanced role.

The most shocking thing about Saturday was the inability to respond to being 2 down. I don't blame the backline or Jatta because we totally lost the battle across the middle of the park - the box midfield and the WBs never once got on top of the game, Didzy and SA being the most anonymous. And then whole team gave up, which is most disturbing of all.

We seem to have the perfect storm of SM decision-making, ill-discipline, low confidence and motivation, players off form and confused. It's a real low point, and I think they need a shake up - MP to pass on the armband to somebody more vocal and then allowed to concentrate on his own game. And a couple of immediate exits, to get everyone's attention.

Spot on
We need a younger Michael Doyle type to come in and shake things up
We're crying out for a vocal L1/L2 experienced leader in the middle of the park
We're a quiet team at the moment and a bit too nice
We're not far off being the real deal if we can add this to the mix

[Boomerangpie]

We don?t have enough bite, aggression or strength in the squad in the key area of midfield. We have plenty of technicians but not enough (1) battler. We don?t win enough 50:50s too many players get outmuscled and I believe this is the biggest weakness of the squad that has been put together.

Robertson is young raw and inconsistent but can be effective and is the only player to provide those missing qualities and in abundance

[SmiffyPie]

I don't think there is anything on a personal level between SM and DC (or anyone else for that matter) but I am inclined to think that DC wants to be the pivot in all attacking play (on his side of the pitch) and as such becomes involved in places that verge on being counterproductive.

[nw6pie]

We don?t have enough bite, aggression or strength in the squad in the key area of midfield. We have plenty of technicians but not enough (1) battler. We don?t win enough 50:50s too many players get outmuscled and I believe this is the biggest weakness of the squad that has been put together.

Robertson is young raw and inconsistent but can be effective and is the only player to provide those missing qualities and in abundance

I had high hopes for Robertson this season, but he missed quite a bit of pre-season and has been injured more often than not this season.

Never thought I’d say this, but we’re also missing a JOB-type to take it to the opposition a bit more. As others have said, we have technically gifted players, but lack fight, spark and a little bit of unpredictability in the centre of the park. Who was the last midfielder to provide an assist this season?

[irishpete]

We need aggression & pace, but neither is much cop if your style of play has no tempo

[nw6pie]

We need aggression & pace, but neither is much cop if your style of play has no tempo

Agreed. We’ve become far too passive with and without the ball. We need to get the intensity back that we had earlier in the season - most frequently when Matty Palmer wasn’t in the side, which may or may not be a coincidence.

[durhampie]

We don?t have enough bite, aggression or strength in the squad in the key area of midfield. We have plenty of technicians but not enough (1) battler. We don?t win enough 50:50s too many players get outmuscled and I believe this is the biggest weakness of the squad that has been put together.

Robertson is young raw and inconsistent but can be effective and is the only player to provide those missing qualities and in abundance

Ive said this all season, and even with players coming back it will make no difference. The team has taken on Maynard's girlish identity..

[Boomerangpie]

Girlish identity? That?s new one on me. Which other managers or head coaches have a girlish identity?

[maddogslater]

Ive said this all season, and even with players coming back it will make no difference. The team has taken on Maynard's girlish identity..

First sentence I agree with, second one is just weird you freak. 🥶

[the_anticlough]

We're a quiet team at the moment and a bit too nice
We're not far off being the real deal if we can add this to the mix

Yes, but it's hard to identify how a full-strength XI could be improved. You look back to the Grimsby game and it was a performance to match any under LW. How can it go so wrong from there? Goals and chances drying up so dramatically, so many non-performers, even the backline shaking now.

SM's focus seems to be too much on tactical changes, and game by game lost sight of the performance levels. Games aren't won on whiteboards or in the coach's head, they're won by players going out sure of what they're doing and attacking the opposition.