Transfer Speculation Thread 2014/15

[Lord Knows]

Whereas I see the unit as considerably better with Evans in it. I would definitely like Price back here. Wouldn't object to him getting in the team at the moment, but I would rather see him replace McDonald if Evans is fit.

No problem with that, my concern was McDonald has become a little bit of a scapegoat of late, and maybe some of the problems he faces have been down to the coach and his team selection.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

No problem with that, my concern was McDonald has become a little bit of a scapegoat of late, and maybe some of the problems he faces have been down to the coach and his team selection.

It's largely down to him being a casual bastard. Nothing the manager can do about McDonald underhitting five yard passes like he did twice in the first 60 seconds of the second half on Saturday.

 

[Lord Knows]

It's largely down to him being a casual bastard. Nothing the manager can do about McDonald underhitting five yard passes like he did twice in the first 60 seconds of the second half on Saturday.

So you ask yourself what do you do when someone appears over casual. What kind of standards have been accepted in training, how do we improve on field mentality, or were there other reasons. Were his passing options good enough.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

So you ask yourself what do you do when someone appears over casual. What kind of standards have been accepted in training, how do we improve on field mentality, or were there other reasons. Were his passing options good enough.

I'd ask myself first why we're seeking to make excuses for someone failing in the most basic of duties that a good portion of the 25,000 watching could perform. He wasn't under pressure, they were simple five yard balls with numerous options on. It's just shit play. I'd also ask why he appears to be Teflon in the eyes of the manager.

I like McDonald a lot, he was decent enough in the first half on Saturday. Second half he regressed to the very low standards he's slipped to in all the other games in November. He shouldn't be in the team at the moment because he's actively detrimental to us in this form.

 

[YoungWolf]

IIRC you also went to the Rotherham 6-4 game where Jacobs was played in central midfield. Remember how poor he was then? Had no idea where to stand.

I wasn't advocating playing Jacobs in the centre of midfield though, I was just trying to say that he isn't just a luxury player. He's got all the attributes to play that role we just have to be brave enough to use him there.

 

[Lord Knows]

I'd ask myself first why we're seeking to make excuses for someone failing in the most basic of duties that a good portion of the 25,000 watching could perform. He wasn't under pressure, they were simple five yard balls with numerous options on. It's just shit play. I'd also ask why he appears to be Teflon in the eyes of the manager.

I like McDonald a lot, he was decent enough in the first half on Saturday. Second half he regressed to the very low standards he's slipped to in all the other games in November. He shouldn't be in the team at the moment because he's actively detrimental to us in this form.

I fear this continuation of dropping our best players without studying the full reasons beyond a lowering of standards.

 

[YoungWolf]

So effectively Van la Parra stole Jacobs' place over the summer, and subsequently lost it to Henry, whilst Edwards/Evans just carried on as they were from last year.

Pretty much but what confuses is me is that as far as I am aware, Jacobs played pre-season behind the forward. He even started the last friendly against Celta Vigo there

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I fear this continuation of dropping our best players without studying the full reasons beyond a lowering of standards.

I don't really know what you're trying to get at. Regardless of whether McDonald is one of our better players in terms of talent, and we all know he's central to things when he and the team are playing well and in the style we've become accustomed to since January - he isn't playing well at the moment. All players hit bad runs of form. Continually doing the same thing and expecting different results is a very dangerous game. I don't think we would suffer were he to be taken out of the team on current form - and in any case, how much worse can it get than played 4, scored 1 (a cross), conceded 10, points 1 - and it might even do him good.

There are no excuses for the kind of play which led to Ipswich's first goal, Birmingham's best chance at Molineux, the two incidents I mentioned at the start of the second half vs Forest, if we're going back a bit further the half arsed closing down for the short corner at Reading leading to their first goal - it is bad play. Simple as that. Casual, complacent, slack, dangerous, ultimately costly. No need to over-analyse it to the nth degree to defend a player who we all like but can all see isn't playing well.

 

[YoungWolf]

McDonald needs to step it up a gear again and KJ as to find a way to do that. If dropping him motivates him to work harder when he gets his next chance then so be it, as important as he is he is detrimental to our play right now because our passing is so laboured. While he linked well with Price last year, he also linked well with Evans a the start of this season once Evans got going (he had a poor first couple of games), so while I understand your point LK I don't agree with it on that basis

 

[machin05]

We've been steadily weakening it if anything. If you take our strongest run of form last season being those nine straight wins between January and March - none of Doherty, Ebanks-Landell or Edwards were considered to be good enough to get in that team. Yet suddenly they're all starting every game? And with Dicko's absence and having no viable alternative until Graham turned up (and he'll do nothing if he receives such poor and limited service as he did vs Forest), we're much weaker up top as well.

I find the flat out refusal to ever field the same defence that we had for virtually every game from November onwards last season - the same one that kept record numbers of clean sheets, albeit at a level where we should never have been playing - absolutely perverse. Lee Dixon made the point last week that defences work as units, it really is not all about individuals. Why have we been voluntarily messing around with that - and it's not as if the players we've been bringing in to disrupt that are even any good. They have next to no pedigree at this level and precious little quality.

Agree with this pretty much 100%. I think the line up now is worse than it was last year, which, on the face of it, is bonkers. Stearman was, however, starting to struggle and his idiosyncrasies (mistakes) were starting to creep into his play, but instead of strengthening that area we are now selecting someone who was nowhere near the starting 11 last season, in a worse league. I guess the early season injuries to Ricketts and Golborne (was he really injured???) didn't help, but there's only one man to blame for the state of the current back 4.

This is a crucial time for KJ now. He needs to show he has what it takes to operate in this division and turn this woeful form around. I'm not convinced. Haven't really seen a 'plan b', just a tinkering of the starting 11. We've been out-pressed and bullied into submission far too easily and far too many times already that it's a real concern that we've seemingly done nothing to address this.

I'm prepared to give him a decent crack at it and we can write this season off with regards promotion, but I'm starting to see why Swansea upgraded him when they did. Has he got his level, just like Mick did?

 

[Lord Knows]

I also think Scott Golbourne being out of the side has had an effect on our midfield, with him in the side they found an outball which gave them all a chance to move up the pitch. His passing stats early season suggest he was an integral part of the passing and movement that set up our game going forward.
Droping individuals can have an adverse effect on other players performance.

 

[YoungWolf]

I just didn't think Golbourne deserved to be dropped anyway, if anything he was probably our most consistent defender. We lose a sense of calm without him I think too

 

[Kenny]

As it turns out, he wasn't dropped though was he. He had been injured for a while with his foot. KJ didn't say he was injured at the time though and the spell not playing and sitting on the bench did him no good so he had a 2 or 3 weeks complete rest (it was when he was rested they said the foot injury had been an issue)

 

[YoungWolf]

But he was dropped in the first place, and then not playing resulted in him needing that complete rest? I thought that was what happened, but didn't KJ say something about goals coming down that side of the pitch (explaining why he took Stearman out too)?

 

[Kenny]

But he was dropped in the first place, and then not playing resulted in him needing that complete rest? I thought that was what happened, but didn't KJ say something about goals coming down that side of the pitch (explaining why he took Stearman out too)?

He did but when they revealed the injury they said he had it for a while. Same as they did with McCarey.

KJ really doesn't like giving things to the press unless he has to. I guess the hope was the injury would settle down after a few games but it didn't so he was taken out of the team and then they announced he was crocked and had been for a bit.

 

[YoungWolf]

Fair enough, I just hope he is back in the team soon. Is he fit this weekend?

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

But he was dropped in the first place, and then not playing resulted in him needing that complete rest? I thought that was what happened, but didn't KJ say something about goals coming down that side of the pitch (explaining why he took Stearman out too)?

He did. He said too many goals coming down that channel and specifically for the Millwall game that he was worried about diagonal balls exploiting Golbourne's lack of height there (so we er, play 5'10'' midfielder Tommy Rowe instead). However what Ken says publicly and what Ken actually thinks don't always marry up.

As I say, this is an occasion where - if we are to assume, he actually *does* think the left side of our defence was the weak point - he's bang wrong despite seeing the players every day and working in football all his life, which is why that line of argument is redundant. Go right back to the Reading game and most of the goals we've been letting in have their root cause on our right hand side. Like all of them on Saturday.

 

[Kenny]

Fair enough, I just hope he is back in the team soon. Is he fit this weekend?

He returned to training back end of last week I think. So he should be

 

[machin05]

Why would you hide the fact a player was injured?

 

[Penk Wolf]

Kenny Jackett has told the media that there will not be a deal done for Northampton striker Ivan Toney