| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections 09:22 - Mar 4 with 1756 views | Hullblue |
Because the manager sees loads of things we don’t - sports science, performances in training, and (hopefully) the opposition’s last couple of games.
But that was the most ridiculous one I’ve ever seen. As soon as it came out the pre-match tension just disappeared for me. We knew what was going to happen. And it did.
I don’t necessarily mind him picking McGavin for a big game (although it’s a big call), but picking him next to two other CMs in front of a back three, behind a one-paced number 10 and a one-paced striker, was just asking for it.
How were we supposed to score? I see a few people saying the midfield was non-existent but that’s because they had zero options. With no threat in behind Fleetwood were so comfortable it was embarrassing.
Possibly the most frustrating thing is that Lambert corrected his mistake at half time and put Sears in the team. Why couldn’t he see that before the game? Maybe Sears can’t play 90 minutes again so soon - fine. Pick Dobra then. Maybe Dobra’s too young to start such an important game. Ok, so why pick McGavin?
And what’s Edwards done wrong? He has his limitations but every team needs some width and some pace, and last time I saw him he was one of our best players against Peterborough. |  |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 09:27 - Mar 4 with 1723 views | rickw |
I'm pretty sure everyone else thought the same as this last night!! |  |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 09:34 - Mar 4 with 1700 views | Swansea_Blue |
He had his hands tied with Scuse, Huws, Flynn, Norwood and Jackson all unavailable. That's the bulk of our competent senior players gone. But still, use what tools you have.
You've hit the nail on the head - we didn't give them anything to worry about, making it so easy for them.
Pick one of Dozzell or McG, but put a bit of experience and quality next to them with Bish. Given Fleetwood pushed on a full back all game (presumably we'd know that in advance), also give them something to think about out wide with a bit of experience (Edwards, Sears) or raw pace and trickery (Dobra):
Holy
Donacian Chambo Wilson Garbutt
Dozzell/McG Bish
Dobra/Edwards Judge Sears
Keane
It was awful game management and man management. McG will feel like crap now for being hauled off and Simpson sent out to the wolves. Just bizarre (it's a word I've used a lot in relation to last night, can't think of a more fitting one).
Edit - but as you say, we don't know the details around players. Edwards may carry a knock for all we know, Sears maybe sore and not up to 2 games in a few days yet... we don't know). [Post edited 4 Mar 2020 9:42]
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 09:36 - Mar 4 with 1682 views | WarkTheWarkITFC |
I had tears of laughter running down my face in the car when I heard the team.
It was obvious we were not going to score. What I at lest hoped is that Nolan or Judge would be somewhere near Keane in the unlikely event of him winning the ball.
It was more like 9-0-1 at times.
In a 'must win game'. |  |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 09:46 - Mar 4 with 1641 views | monty_radio |
I'd predicted a draw- though my lowly position in the table tells you what you need to know about that! (And though I'd predicted it I couldn't actually decide on a first scorer because I couldn't envisage any scorer). And all that was BEFORE I saw the actual team selected.
When I stood beneath the stand watching the actual side selected on the monitor there the reaction all around told everything: "who's he?"; "Dozzell, Oh"; "Wolfie's out"; "one up top!" etc. Who didn't know the outcome, even from the fact that we wouldn't be winning a header till it reached the back line or putting in any sort of decisive challenging midfield tackle. | |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 09:48 - Mar 4 with 1628 views | r2d2 |
Sports science? Not sure much of that goes on at the club looking at that rabble of players we keep churning out week in week out. |  | | |
| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 09:48 - Mar 4 with 1627 views | Herbivore |
When I saw the line up I actually changed my Super 6 prediction for our game. It was so obvious from seeing the side that we would lose. |  |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:03 - Mar 4 with 1582 views | itfcjoe |
The team played exactly as it looked like it would on paper
Defence - no ball carrier in a 3 so going to struggle to pass out
Wing back - Garbutt fine, Donacien a natural defender so means no attacking outlet on the right hand side
Midfield 3 - McGavin is a sitter like Skuse and won't push on, Dozzell is deep lying more naturally, Nolan is seemingly a nothing player
Front 2 - Keane drops in, is more of a 10 than a 9. Judge just drifts to try and get on the ball
And the game played out exactly as expected - defence couldn't play out so they went long, Keane isn't a target man and even if he slowed down Souttar we didn't have bodies to pick the 2nd balls up.
The team was a poor selection and played out as such |  |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:16 - Mar 4 with 1532 views | itfcjoe |
| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 09:34 - Mar 4 by Swansea_Blue |
He had his hands tied with Scuse, Huws, Flynn, Norwood and Jackson all unavailable. That's the bulk of our competent senior players gone. But still, use what tools you have.
You've hit the nail on the head - we didn't give them anything to worry about, making it so easy for them.
Pick one of Dozzell or McG, but put a bit of experience and quality next to them with Bish. Given Fleetwood pushed on a full back all game (presumably we'd know that in advance), also give them something to think about out wide with a bit of experience (Edwards, Sears) or raw pace and trickery (Dobra):
Holy
Donacian Chambo Wilson Garbutt
Dozzell/McG Bish
Dobra/Edwards Judge Sears
Keane
It was awful game management and man management. McG will feel like crap now for being hauled off and Simpson sent out to the wolves. Just bizarre (it's a word I've used a lot in relation to last night, can't think of a more fitting one).
Edit - but as you say, we don't know the details around players. Edwards may carry a knock for all we know, Sears maybe sore and not up to 2 games in a few days yet... we don't know). [Post edited 4 Mar 2020 9:42]
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Even with the XI picked you could've set them up in a way that would have caused more problems and more in natural positions
------------------------Holy--------------------
Donacien---Chambers---Wilson---Earl
-----------------------McGavin---------------
------------------Nolan-------Dozzell-------
------Judge-------------------------Garbutt-
--------------------------Keane---------------- | |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:39 - Mar 4 with 1482 views | Steve_M |
| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:16 - Mar 4 by itfcjoe |
Even with the XI picked you could've set them up in a way that would have caused more problems and more in natural positions
------------------------Holy--------------------
Donacien---Chambers---Wilson---Earl
-----------------------McGavin---------------
------------------Nolan-------Dozzell-------
------Judge-------------------------Garbutt-
--------------------------Keane---------------- |
The back five, and the reluctance to change from it was very odd. Sears at least gave us some energy up front when he came on.
It was reminiscent of a few Tuesday night matches at the end of Mick's time here really. |  |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:42 - Mar 4 with 1475 views | Hullblue |
| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:03 - Mar 4 by itfcjoe |
The team played exactly as it looked like it would on paper
Defence - no ball carrier in a 3 so going to struggle to pass out
Wing back - Garbutt fine, Donacien a natural defender so means no attacking outlet on the right hand side
Midfield 3 - McGavin is a sitter like Skuse and won't push on, Dozzell is deep lying more naturally, Nolan is seemingly a nothing player
Front 2 - Keane drops in, is more of a 10 than a 9. Judge just drifts to try and get on the ball
And the game played out exactly as expected - defence couldn't play out so they went long, Keane isn't a target man and even if he slowed down Souttar we didn't have bodies to pick the 2nd balls up.
The team was a poor selection and played out as such |
Exactly. Instead of making the best of what we've got, he managed to pick a team that highlighted individual players' weaknesses.
I can almost forgive the lack of midfield balance because we didn't have many options, and playing Dozzell and Nolan behind a number 10 might have left us exposed.
But did we really need to add a belt to the braces by adding McGavin AND that back three? Then abandoning both in the second half when the inevitable happened?
I've never really believed in the idea of a manager 'losing it' but what other explanation is there? Ridiculous team. | |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:43 - Mar 4 with 1462 views | Dyland |
| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:03 - Mar 4 by itfcjoe |
The team played exactly as it looked like it would on paper
Defence - no ball carrier in a 3 so going to struggle to pass out
Wing back - Garbutt fine, Donacien a natural defender so means no attacking outlet on the right hand side
Midfield 3 - McGavin is a sitter like Skuse and won't push on, Dozzell is deep lying more naturally, Nolan is seemingly a nothing player
Front 2 - Keane drops in, is more of a 10 than a 9. Judge just drifts to try and get on the ball
And the game played out exactly as expected - defence couldn't play out so they went long, Keane isn't a target man and even if he slowed down Souttar we didn't have bodies to pick the 2nd balls up.
The team was a poor selection and played out as such |
Something even I could see, and I'm really not an expert at all.
The decision not to play Wolfie, in whatever formation at the back, was absurd.
The selection harked back to end of days Jewell. Lambert is a dead man walking and Evans should put us all out of our misery. |  |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:44 - Mar 4 with 1459 views | Herbivore |
| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:42 - Mar 4 by Hullblue |
Exactly. Instead of making the best of what we've got, he managed to pick a team that highlighted individual players' weaknesses.
I can almost forgive the lack of midfield balance because we didn't have many options, and playing Dozzell and Nolan behind a number 10 might have left us exposed.
But did we really need to add a belt to the braces by adding McGavin AND that back three? Then abandoning both in the second half when the inevitable happened?
I've never really believed in the idea of a manager 'losing it' but what other explanation is there? Ridiculous team. |
Let's give an honourable mention to playing James Wilson, a man with zero footballing ability, on the right of a back three where ideally he'd be carrying the ball out and overlapping occasionally. Genius. | |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:48 - Mar 4 with 1434 views | Dyland |
| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:39 - Mar 4 by Steve_M |
The back five, and the reluctance to change from it was very odd. Sears at least gave us some energy up front when he came on.
It was reminiscent of a few Tuesday night matches at the end of Mick's time here really. |
How was the train back?
:) | |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:55 - Mar 4 with 1412 views | Hullblue |
| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:44 - Mar 4 by Herbivore |
Let's give an honourable mention to playing James Wilson, a man with zero footballing ability, on the right of a back three where ideally he'd be carrying the ball out and overlapping occasionally. Genius. |
Everything else was so bad I'd actually forgotten about this bit - but you're absolutely right. | |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:58 - Mar 4 with 1394 views | Steve_M |
| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:48 - Mar 4 by Dyland |
How was the train back?
:) |
The buffet car was open. I may have got on and headed there before sitting down. | |
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| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:59 - Mar 4 with 1380 views | Dyland |
| I usually try to avoid criticising team selections on 10:58 - Mar 4 by Steve_M |
The buffet car was open. I may have got on and headed there before sitting down. |
Small mercies. | |
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