 [Blog] Engine Room?Written by SWGF on Tuesday, 26th Apr 2011 09:06 So we currently have a defence and goalkeeper which is conceding goals and a strikeforce which is looking lethargic, immobile and isolated without support. Two new full-backs and two new strikers may be the least of our requirements in these areas. However I’d like to spend a while pondering the midfield. The part of the team designated to protect the back four while providing support and chances for our front line. I, for one, expect a lot more from two midfielders which cost a combined total in the region of £5 million – David Norris and Grant Leadbitter. How many other clubs (not recently in the Premier League and benefiting from parachute payments) have spent so frivolously on this area of the team for such a poor return? How many have spent over £2 million on one midfielder, let alone two? For that sort of outlay I’d expect them to be running games, winning them single-handedly. Yet we see, time and time again, that our midfield is out-played, out-thought and out-fought. Think back to the infamous Barnsley game where the crowd cheered as the opposition played it around us at will, as we chased shadows. Think of the Norwich game as they broke time and again at pace, with no-one picking up their midfield runners. Pinging the ball around their midfield with one and two touch passes. Plenty of teams have done the same against us. Paul Jewell will tell us that we don’t have a defensive midfielder in the club yet Leadbitter seldom gets within 30 yards of the opposition goal and appears content to pass the ball (and the buck) to his less talented colleagues in the back four to play the forward, hopeful punt. He receives from the defence yet will, more often than not, give it back to them. He scores far too few goals from open play, his set pieces are atrocious and he doesn’t create chances for others. If we’re breaking forward, he’s not one of the midfielders who joins in or gets beyond our striker(s), so where is he when the opposition break? The frustrating thing is that when he first joined, he looked the business. Energetic, a force getting forward, cajoling team-mates, a breath of fresh air. But that seemed to soon change. Whether we dragged him down to our level, he was asked to play out of position or he just settled into a comfort zone, I don’t know, but we haven’t seen that original player since. Maybe if he’s given licence to get forward we’ll see him again. If Jewell gets this experienced defensive midfielder who’ll allow Leadbitter to play in the final third, we may see some more goals, we might see some more assists, he may take more responsibility. Maybe. Personally, if a reasonable offer comes in, let him go and we start a rebuild of this area of the team, admittedly along with the other areas which may seem more glaringly in need. Norris, as we know, is a hustling, energetic midfielder which people will argue is required in this division. But his technical ability and passing range is so inferior to opposition midfielders it is, at times, laughable. Yes, he’s scored goals this season but they’ve been instinctive – he has had no time to think; arrive in box and bang. Give him time on the ball in the final third and the move will break down or he’ll pick the wrong (or easy) pass, then it’s in the lap of the gods whether it reaches its intended target. As captain, he’s presided over two of the worst (if not the worst) derby performances in our history. Does he rally his troops? Do they follow him, unquestionably, into battle? Again, should we expect more for our £2 million? If rumours are to be believed, he’s not re-signing and will be off in the summer. Will we miss him? Both have been shown up by the appearance of Jimmy Bullard, who is far beyond both in terms of influence on the team, range of passing, touch and vision. To some extent, Andy Drury has shown that he has more technical ability than Norris and is taking more attacking responsibility than Leadbitter, which is a shameful slight on two players who’ve played at a higher level for far many more years, but Drury doesn’t have the speed to be considered a consistent selection. Similarly, I’m yet to be convinced that Bullard has the legs to play in a central midfield two (Jewell is on record as saying he wants to play 4-4-2 with two wingers and two strikers). Put two alongside him to do his running and he can run the show. Having him with one partner puts more responsibility on him to do his share of defending as well as creating. The problem is that 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 has worked away from home (in parts) but at home, with the same formation, we’ve been abysmal, neither seemingly able to stem the opposition’s attempts on our goal nor creating (or converting) enough of our own. We’re not scoring enough and we’re conceding too many. The midfield don’t support the lone striker, yet don’t protect the back four. Too slow, ponderous, technically limited. Too often we break too slowly and allow the opposition to regroup and get men behind the ball. Control, movement and crisp passing but at pace is where we need to get to, potentially with one of the midfield offering a 'shield' to the defence. The current midfield doesn’t have the personnel and ability to allow us to do this. So what is it? Another rebuilding programme? Like we’ve supposedly had to have done every time a new manager arrives, to undo the work his predecessor did? Sadly, I think it is. Since Marcus Evans rode into Town we’ve looked a lot towards fringe Premier League players (Campo, Fulop, Edwards, Leadbitter, Scotland et al). It’s time to look elsewhere for hungry, pacey, technical players looking to make a name for themselves. If Bullard’s the fulcrum of this team, fantastic. But let’s liven things up around him. Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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