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McCarthy Set to Stick With Back Four
Tuesday, 17th Mar 2015 06:00

Town boss Mick McCarthy looks set to stick with his regular back four when Bolton Wanderers visit Portman Road this evening, despite the Blues having kept only one clean sheet since the turn of the year.

McCarthy defended his increasingly under-fire backline and pointed out that he has few alternative defensive options at his disposal at present, aside from 18-year-old centre-half Matt Clarke, who has made one Capital One Cup start - at left-back - and two brief Championship sub appearances in midfield, and Jonny Parr, who has impressed at wide midfield in recent games.

“Am I tempted to change it at the back? I’ll put Matt Clarke in and Jonny Parr, [they’re our other] defenders,” he said.

“Our back four has been almost ever-present and have been brilliant. I don’t think they deserve too much derision from anybody because they’ve been outstanding.

“The two corner kicks [from which Middlesbrough scored] were not down to our back four and that’s what ultimately cost us on Saturday, how we conceded from the two corners.

“It makes us look like chumps, as if we don’t prepare. And of course we do, we’re very thorough in how we deal with corner kicks and it’s not like us.

“We ended up two down and chasing it and then we got caught at the back and suddenly it’s down to the back four. Well, that’s not the case because they’re a big part of the reason we’ve done so well this season.”

McCarthy, who also dismissed the suggestion that he might consider moving to three at the back, says he’s not one to make changes unless he believes they’re really necessary.

“I do [stick by players and give them a run in the team],” he said. “I think when we play as well as we have done that’s important.

“I don’t believe in chopping and changing. I don’t think they know where they stand then.

“I think there’s got to be a good reason in my mind why they don’t play - there might be somebody who’s tired, there might be someone who is carrying an injury.

“There’s all of that. But when they’re fit and firing and they play well, then they deserve to be in my team.”

Those out of the team have to show the right attitude in training: “I insist that they do things in training to impress me, whether they get in the team or not is another matter.

“At a time like this, every other player is better than the ones I’m picking. That’s what people like to tell me.

“When we’re struggling on the pitch, no matter who I’ve picked there are always seven behind me that are better and about three in the stand as well.


“But generally that’s not the case because I’ve a fair insight as to who are the best players and which is the best team and what I need to do.”

Winger Cameron Stewart, who signed a three-year deal when he signed on a free Bosman transfer in the summer, is still to make his league debut for the Blues - although he did make two sub appearances in the FA Cup ties against Southampton - while Alex Henshall, another summer recruit, made the most recent of his four sub appearances back in September.

“You’ve got to earn a place," McCarthy continued. "I signed Alex Henshall and Cameron Stewart to compete with the Tabby and Hunty and Paul Anderson and, you know me by now, if they’d done enough to compete and be better than them, do you think they would have played? So quite clearly they haven’t. And that’s the way it is.”

Bartosz Bialkowski will start in goal with Dean Gerken not being risked having been knocked unconscious at Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Gerken was back at Playford Road yesterday and is OK but won’t be involved so soon after suffering a concussion. Paddy Kenny will be on the bench.

Skipper Luke Chambers is again set to be at right-back with Tyrone Mings on the left and Christophe Berra and Tommy Smith at the heart of the defence.

In midfield, Cole Skuse will probably keep his regular holding role, but McCarthy may look to freshen things up elsewhere with the Blues quickly in action again at Watford on Saturday.

Youngster Teddy Bishop may drop out in favour of Kevin Bru, while Stephen Hunt could be a candidate to come into the side for Jay Tabb on the left if McCarthy opts to rest him. Paul Anderson and Richard Chaplow are alternatives to Parr on the right.

Up front, 23-goal Championship top scorer Daryl Murphy will again start alongside Freddie Sears with David McGoldrick not yet ready to return from his thigh problem. The Ireland international could be involved at Vicarage Road, however.

Bolton have endured a tough season but have climbed to 16th and are now 10 points off the relegation zone and McCarthy isn’t expecting an easy evening: “Not at all, or against Watford or Bournemouth or Huddersfield or Wolverhampton or anybody else that we’ve got to play.

“We’ve just got to knuckle down and make sure we do our best and try and win a game on Tuesday. It has a different outlook if we win on Tuesday.”

The Blues manager has been impressed with the job Neil Lennon has done since taking over at the Macron Stadium in October: “I think he’s had a great impact from going in. I think you generally change manager at a club because it’s not going right for whatever reason.

“You need an instant impact, especially where they were and that’s what they got. Since then they’ve had a bit of an up and down time.

“He’s had to take a lot of players in on loan because of injuries and what have you. He’s had a really good impact.

"They had a good result on Saturday [a 1-0 home win] against Millwall, so they’re coming here on the back of a victory.”

McCarthy says the Blues will have to be wary of striker Adam Le Fondre, who has already netted five goals in nine starts and one sub appearance since joining on loan at the end of January.

“He’s a good player, isn’t he?” the Town boss continued. “When he signed for Reading he was a good player. He signed for Cardiff for a chunk of money, so I’m told, and now Bolton have taken him on loan.

“I thought that was an amazing loan signing. I thought that was a great loan signing for them and he’s a player that I’ve always admired and respected. He’s a proper goalscorer. And he’s one who is a real threat and we’ll have to watch.”

Bolton are likely to be without on-loan Manchester United midfielder Saidy Janko, who has a glute problem, while former Colchester man Neil Danns is suspended having amassed 10 bookings this season.

Defender Dorian Dervite is back from a knee injury, but midfielder Mark Davies is not yet ready to return from his knee problem.

Definitely ruled out are full-backs Kevin McNaughton and Marc Tierney (both leg), midfielder Darren Pratley, central defender David Wheater (both hamstring), frontman Max Clayton (knee) and highly-rated young striker Zach Clough (shoulder).

Historically, the Blues just have the edge, having won 16 times (14 in the league), Bolton 13 (nine) and with nine (eight) games between the teams ending in draws. Town are unbeaten in their last five games against the Trotters.

Bolton have won only two of their last seven matches and have lost 13 - a total equalled only by bottom-of-the-table Blackpool - of their 18 away games this season, winning only two, most recently at Sheffield Wednesday on January 17th.

In December, Town dropped to fourth as the teams drew 0-0 at the Macron Stadium. After an evenly balanced first half in which the home side had the better opportunities, the Blues were on top for much of the second period with Jay Tabb twice going close to breaking the deadlock.

The teams last met at Portman Road in February last year when David McGoldrick’s 55th minute penalty saw Town to a 1-0 victory.

The striker had been hauled back by Trotters’ keeper Andy Lonergan after he had dropped a high ball.

Former Blue Liam Trotter joined Bolton from Millwall in January 2014, initially on loan before the switch was made permanent the following summer, while ex-Town loanee Keith Andrews, 34, is still a Bolton employee but is on loan with the MK Dons.

Blues keeper Paddy Kenny was on a short-term contract with the Lancastrians between September and January but failed to make a senior appearance.

Following the game there will be roadworks on the A14, while Grafton Way will be closed from 11pm for resurfacing work, which will also affect the Novotel and the Punch and Judy roundabout.

Tonight’s referee is Fred Graham from Stanford-le-Hope in Essex, who has shown 36 yellow cards and no red in 13 games so far this season.

Graham’s most recent Town match was the 4-2 win at Brentford on Boxing Day when he booked two home players and Noel Hunt.

Squad from: Bialkowski, Kenny, Chambers (c), Mings, Berra, Smith, Clarke, Skuse, Bru, Bishop, Parr, Tabb, S Hunt, Anderson, Chaplow, Connolly, Henshall, Stewart, Murphy, Sears, Wood, Varney.


Photo: Action Images



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BlueMachines added 09:38 - Mar 17
guentchev

I think he signed a short term deal after being released from Bolton. No loan involved.
0

BrettenhamBlue added 09:39 - Mar 17
Must have posted at same time BlueMachines :-)
1

planetblue_2011 added 09:43 - Mar 17
Bialkowski How about a 3.5.2
Chambers For tonight.
Smith
Berra
Parr
Mings

Skuse
Bishop
Bru

Sears
Murphy

Parr
Mings as wing backs?!!
Worth a go surely 👍
3

Steve70 added 09:49 - Mar 17
Man up Mick !! 1 clean sheet in 15 tells its own story !!

3

thebeat added 10:10 - Mar 17
Arrogant, stubborn man who refuses to do whats right fir the good of the team and the club just because he'd be doing what the fans have wanted for 3 months.
Im sorry Mick but if you can sit there and tell me our defence hasnt been all over the place for 3 months i will sit there and tell you you shouldnt be a football manager anymore.
Swallow your pride,do the right thing and put a balanced back four out
7

muccletonjoe added 10:11 - Mar 17
Agree with mm. I think we are playing our best defence. Most back fours, the more they play together the better they are. Don't seem to be working for us though.
-4

MattinLondon added 10:11 - Mar 17
Tabb,Hunt and Anderson..players that will always give you 10/10 in terms of effort but who lack that extra bit of quality. Will also add Skuse into that.
2

cats_whiskers added 10:11 - Mar 17
Same team, will be the same drivel then
Lennon can "Imagine" to be the one to get the 3 points
You could say its Bolt(ed) on
1

Surco72 added 10:12 - Mar 17
Guthrum .. are you suggesting that no footballers at any level have dips in form ? Just because they played well in November and December doesn't mean they will do it forever that is a childs view .
Cahill the England centre back and part of the best defence in the country had a few poor games and he was dropped for a youngster .

MM will pick a defensive side to keep a clean sheet tonight get a nil nil and tell us how good Bolton are , hope I am wrong but don't reckon we will start with Bish tonight and maybe not Sears
0

gippeswyk added 10:15 - Mar 17
MM was a professional footballer and has been a very successful manager getting teams promoted and keeping us up. He sees the squad in training and watches them play day in day out. We should keep the faith in him and let him do his job which has been to get a small and inexpensive squad into the promotion mix. We won team, player and manager of the month awards and attracted premiership interest in several players, including the championship top scorer. No neutral would have predicted any of this and its thanks to MM and TC. Give them our support.
-2

Razor added 10:21 - Mar 17
Reading Micks comments now actually depress me apart from getting me so damn angry.

Why can he not see what we all can or is he just being deliberately obtuse?

If Tabby plays tonight my season ticket may well be cancelled.

Why dont you go off and save Millwall now and save them and do us all a favour.


Oh, no mention of Didds either---just what is the truth on this one?
3

bluefeast added 10:30 - Mar 17
Form ,Mings last 3 games poor. Smith since Derby game poor. Chambers , cant distribute unless the balls in the air. Berra ,generally ok ,but was ball chasing and isolated vs Bora. So where does bad form mean things dont get changed.
1

itfc1981 added 10:32 - Mar 17
Jonny Parr song for tonight to Spandau Ballet Gold

"Jonny Parr, Parr. Our best right back by farrrrr!"
1

juniorblue added 10:38 - Mar 17
I agree that certain players seem to get more chances than others. Training is not the same as playing so why not try Henshall/Stewart/Connolly. I thought Hewitt looked a good prospect as well so why not get him back. I am not a football manager but can see that we have players clearly playing out of position. Come on MM give others a chance!
1

TR11BLU added 10:42 - Mar 17
I agree with the posts on here but fact is on Saturday the two corners cost us. Ive seen pub teams (whenb pi$$ed) defend better than that. In fact its not even poor defending, its common bloody sense to clsoe down a short corner, they passed round us.....twice
Poor to allow it once, Unforgiveable to repeat it 20 mins later.

Shocking
2

TimmyH added 10:48 - Mar 17
Cannot understand why we can't resort back to the defense that did pretty well in September and that was with Chambers/Berra in the middle and Parr RB but Mings needs to up his game if he is to continue at LB! - Parr should not be used in midfield and as we have such a thin squad a return of Hunt or Anderson on the wings is probable with Bish and Bru in the middle...why Mick can't adopt a similar line up particularly at the back which defo needs changing just mystifies me and many on this board.
4

hinchers1066 added 10:50 - Mar 17
Totally agree oldegold.
The Burley teams at least played entertaining football and it did take a few seasons to make it to the premiership, but above all win, lose or draw we were ENTERTAINED. The Burley sides did lose but they were good to watch and as paying fans we did get value for money. Living in Somerset it is both difficult and expensive to go to Portman Road. Above all ITFC is an entertainment business for those who part with their hard earned cash. The solution lies in MM's own hands and if he cannot solve it then over to ME, if of course he cares about his HARD EARNED CASH!!!!!!!!!
2

Lightningboy added 10:51 - Mar 17
Sorry but I for one find this really really irritating..Mick is paid to make the decisions but when he's continually making the same wrong decisions month after month then you do begin to wonder how stupid & stubborn the man really is at times?

He's not done Mings any favours - Tyrone's been fantastic at times this season but it's his first full season and the kid needs a rest - no wonder his performances have started to slip and he's now getting quite a bit of unfair criticism for it.

Chambers is not a Right-back Mick - he's obviously out of his comfort zone going forward so why do you persist in playing him there?..if you're going to play him there then we need an out and out winger in front of him to make up for Chambers' lack of quality crosses into the box.

Smith like Mings needs taking out of the firing line at the moment - I love Tommy being one of our own etc but like Mings you haven't done him any favours by not giving him a rest whilst he's been going through a terrible run of form.

These are decisions that even Stevie Wonder could see and I fear defeat to Bolton could lead to some serious stick for Mick.
5

GiveusaWave added 11:07 - Mar 17
No disrespect to Kenny, but would worry if he's forced to play with Smith, Mings and Chambers in the form they are all in.

We really need Chaplow and Varney to step up and show what they are worth in the next few games.
1

kidsurello added 11:35 - Mar 17
Bizarre comments, "there has to be a good reason to change". Is conceding four goals and shocking defending in the past month, especially by tommy smith not good enough? Tommy smith has got to be dropped!! The only saving grace for the club is we have a goal scorer in Murphy, a pacey talent in Sears, and the only pure talent we have in Teddy Bishop who is simply amazing and has to play as much as possible because he's the only one who will move with the ball in midfield and find the cutting pass
2

TennesseeBlue added 11:58 - Mar 17
“You've got to earn a place," McCarthy continued. "I signed Alex Henshall and Cameron Stewart to compete with the Tabby and Hunty and Paul Anderson and, you know me by now, if they'd done enough to compete and be better than them, do you think they would have played? So quite clearly they haven't. And that's the way it is.”

he really is beginning to lose the plot, isn't he?

Can someone please explain to me how anybody can describe our back 4 as brilliant when they have leaked an average of 3 goals a game in the last 3 games?

Can someone explain to me what Tabb does apart from run around like a headless chicken?

Can someone explain to me why he loves Hunty so much when he has produced so little over the course of a season?
3

TheGov added 12:01 - Mar 17
Having followed millwall as a lad I've always liked MM but he seems to be losing grip of the game. We have no plan b it's always the big hoof and hope while yes its frustrating and annoying we are not in the top 6 what's worse is the recent quality of football on show its soul destroying. While MM must take most of the blame for our recent form Marcus Evans is not without blame. This is the closest we have been to trying to achieve promotion for years and he is not backing the manager to get players that we desperately need someone who can control the ball and vision for the thru ball...... yet he gave MM the reported 1 million pounds to keep us up? I'd rather that money went on wages then maybe we would not be sliding into the depths of mid table for what looks like what will be our 14th season in the championship!!

And before anyone drums on about the FFP rule go actually check it out see how much it's (not) effecting other teams not sticking to the rules.
3

Walk_the_Wark added 12:13 - Mar 17
Interesting watching last night. Even Bradford passed and moved and kept the ball better than we do.
3

BlueMachines added 12:30 - Mar 17
This is a bluff. Normally "MM is considering changes" then changes Anderson for Tabb over whilst rest remains unchanged. This time, "MM set to stick to the same team", surely means wholesale changes doesn't it? Please!?!
1

positivity added 12:31 - Mar 17
I agree that Clarke shouldn't be coming in for Smith yet, and I can see what he's saying about Parr working well in a more advanced role. Given our lack of width, the obvious solution is surely 3-5-2 with Mings and Parr pushing on
1


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