Now now champs😉
What would happen in that exciting scenario, he would break into the first team. And end up watching a 36 year old managers favourite not contribute much but play ahead of him. After 12 months of sitting in a bench he would slowly start to go backwards. Lose alot of confidence. Be played in a dead rubber final home game. Play well, score and then spend the next 12 months sitting on the bench watching another journeyman at 35 play instead.
Now now champs😉
I love watching top wingers, but it can be a frustrating experience.
So often, they have three-quarters of what's needed, but lack the ability to do the decisive thing.
I'm not sure what Rothwell's best position is, but he's a case in point. Chapman looks the same, and we've had a succession down the years.
That was why I had a soft spot for Craig Conway. He couldn't beat a man like Chapman can, but there were other things in his game that compensated.
I have no problem with carrying one "luxury" player in the hope of a magic moment, but if we had Rothwell, Chapman and Armstrong in the team at the same time, the midfield would be under real pressure, in other respects.
That's why I'm more optimistic about Rankin-Costello. To me, he looks more like a Steve Coppell than a Ruel Fox, and - in the long run - that can only be a good thing.
One thing we will miss next season and what I felt we missed this season is the partnership up front. For 18 months we created a formation and played a style of football that was spear-headed by a partnership of Graham & Dack. And it worked. Both knew each others strengths and knew what one another would do.
Next season we have 3 individual strikes. Armstrong, Brereton & Gallagher. I feel all 3 are showing varying degrees of improvement and promise. And are all undoubted individual talents.
Not one of them are forming any kind of partnership. They are 3 separate players playing 20-30 yards apart. They do not connect on the pitch. The ball doesnt stick and often comes back quickly. Grahams qualities where he backed into defenders and played in Dack. Or others. That isn't happening. And none of them have been played enough together on a consistent basis going into next season. 3 good, young footballers who are showing good signs of progressing not benefitting from the system. Continually asking them to do things they aren't very good at. Gallagher and Brereton should never be 45 yards apart on an attack. It happens everytime we play. Those 3 lads are not going against what they are being told to do. Or they wouldn't be in the sside. They are doing what they are told. And are not bad footballers, as we've seen. It's not quite working, you can see it. We need to find a system that suits our players now.
Graham has gone. I hope Dack returns, in is his old self. ACL is not a type of injury players tend to come back from positively. And I mean the likes of Shearer etc. The greats. I'm not pinning any hopes on him, I'm unsure he will be anything like as effective.
Back quickly to last season, even before Dack was injured, that Graham - Dack partnership was no longer effective. It had been figured out and dealt with, more & more. Then we went on a decent run. Because he reverted back slightly to what he felt was successful before. And it worked for a while. Then it didnt work. And it's all ended in an inconsistent season middling out to midtable.
Next season they will need to form a partnership if they want to improve.
Trying to do what Liverpool do with those 3 forwards is commendable in many ways. But with such inferior players it simply doesnt work effectively or consistently.
I still think we need to give those three a bit more time, though, Champs.
We got two six-yard goals against Luton, and we just haven't seen enough of that.
Gallagher's flick was expertly done, and that's what we desperately need to have more of.
I think Robin has mentioned this before: we really need another dead-ball specialist.
It's a pity we can't use the American Football system, whereby we could bring Mulgrew on, just to take corners and free kicks!
It will be interesting to see if Buckley or Rankin-Costello have that particular skill.
(Incidentally, you could see Rothwell doesn't lack confidence, from the way he insisted on taking the free kick on the edge of the area. Pity about the technique!)