Winter Improvement Thread (aka Winter Squad Weakening Thread and TWF Suicide Watch)

[WalsallWolf]

What we are gaining in Williamson we are losing in Golbourne. It has took the gloss off for me imo. Golbourne is a very solid experienced left back for me. Yes he is physically not great, but he is the best all round left back we have had since.. well.. i cannot remember since.

Really disappointed. I think we will go on to regret this big time.

 

[Jolemai]

That depends if he really is broken or not.

 

[Langers]

What we are gaining in Williamson we are losing in Golbourne. It has took the gloss off for me imo. Golbourne is a very solid experienced left back for me. Yes he is physically not great, but he is the best all round left back we have had since.. well.. i cannot remember since.

Really disappointed. I think we will go on to regret this big time.

Nah. He's declined massively. I wish him well and he was great for us in the first half of his spell here but he's completely replaceable. Doherty actually offers more going forward these days!

We certainly need another LB because I'm not sold on Doherty being there, I don't want Hause shoehorned out there and it doesn't look like Deslandes is ready.

But this really isn't surprising news or even that disappointing.

 

[Lycan]

What we are gaining in Williamson we are losing in Golbourne. It has took the gloss off for me imo. Golbourne is a very solid experienced left back for me. Yes he is physically not great, but he is the best all round left back we have had since.. well.. i cannot remember since.

Really disappointed. I think we will go on to regret this big time.

Best left back since... Ward?

I'm not a fan of Golbourne at all, he was awful in 2015.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

If you're a defender and you've been dropped around five times in 18 months then the signs are never good. Did brilliantly for us in League One but he's never completely convinced at this level, it started off with his complete refusal to cross the ball last season and then this year he's been shaky defensively on a number of occasions. Obviously I would play him ahead of Doherty 1,000 times out of 1,000 but I don't think it's a major loss (providing we get round to replacing him).

 

[WalsallWolf]

Some harsh views above but fair enough I guess agree to disagree.

I think he has played basically without a winger for the best part of 6 months which can't have done him much good. He was a left back who could defend and attack. I am not sure he will be so easily replaced although I sincerely hope I am proved wrong.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

I liked Golbourne very much. Not convinced he has been the same since his injury.

Replacing him won't be the facile task people seem to think, but it is achievable. It is starting to look like it isn't going to be the dull, not a lot in, not a lot out, window I was expecting. The weekend could actually be quite interesting, and we may even feature on deadline day.

 

[Sedgley Wolf]

We really should be flogging Doherty to Bristol City, or more suitably Rovers.

The mindset of the current management set-up is bizarre.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

You can't sell what no-one will buy.

I'm just relieved we have him signed up to 2019.

 

[Lycan]

Some harsh views above but fair enough I guess agree to disagree.

I think he has played basically without a winger for the best part of 6 months which can't have done him much good. He was a left back who could defend and attack. I am not sure he will be so easily replaced although I sincerely hope I am proved wrong.

He was on the decline way before Sako left IMO.

A cut above at League 1 level and initially looked like he'd adapt to the Championship but he got found out quickly. There were a few times where he was harshly dropped (after Wigan (H) last year and Leeds (H) this season) but there were a number of games where I felt he cost us points lasts season and he was pretty ineffective going forward as soon as we were promoted.

 

[Jolemai]

We really should be flogging Doherty to Bristol City, or more suitably Rovers.

The mindset of the current management set-up is bizarre.

You can't blame the management if people don't want to purchase Doherty.

 

[North West Wanderer]

It really shouldn't need to though surely?

Why shouldn't we though?

 

[Tony Towner]

How do you let a left footed right winger like Noone waltz inside onto his favoured foot with impunity the way Doherty did and keep your place the next week?re.

I don't know you'd have to ask Danny Batth. As I said, I don't think Doherty is a great option at left back, I'd rather have Golbourne there and would definitely rather have a new signing there, but he hasn't been as bad as some would like to think he has.

 

[Sedgley Wolf]

You can't blame the management if people don't want to purchase Doherty.

Well, it was slightly tongue-in-cheek but do you think we'd sell him if someone offered 300k?

He's not even completed a quarter of his bumper four year contract.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Sheff Wed - partially at fault for at least a couple of the goals
Reading - absolutely appalling, Stephen Hunt vs Watford levels of awful
Charlton - didn't see, did ok apparently
Brighton - dreadful for 70 odd minutes, nearly cost us a goal inside 2 minutes, actually did a reasonable job right near the end but overall cack
West Ham - didn't see
Fulham - scored a one in a million goal, doesn't stop the cross for the first goal to cancel that out, gave his man ridiculous amounts of space all night
Cardiff - diabolical, never laid a glove on Noone, bizarre picking the ball up incident, woeful body language, partially at fault for two goals
QPR - part of a terrible left hand side, he was borderline acceptable in the second half when QPR barely had an attack I suppose but shocking first half again

Given that he has no left foot whatsoever, I've seen planets turn quicker and he stops virtually nothing I don't see how that "isn't that bad".

 

[Lycan]

I don't know you'd have to ask Danny Batth. As I said, I don't think Doherty is a great option at left back, I'd rather have Golbourne there and would definitely rather have a new signing there, but he hasn't been as bad as some would like to think he has.

Both of them are to blame for those goals, Doherty more than Batth. Put those 2 together in a back 4 and they've proven how bad they are as a pair, a huge part of that horrible run in Nov 14. At least Danny has proven that he can perform as part of a coherent back 4 when put next to capable defenders, Doherty is a horror show whenever he's forced to try and defend.

 

[Tony Towner]

So not one goal he is solely at fault for across that period, compare that with Batth from Leeds onwards. He is crap, I agree, but not as bad as you are making out.

 

[Tony Towner]

Both of them are to blame for those goals, Doherty more than Batth. Put those 2 together in a back 4 and they've proven how bad they are as a pair, a huge part of that horrible run in Nov 14. At least Danny has proven that he can perform as part of a coherent back 4 when put next to capable defenders, Doherty is a horror show whenever he's forced to try and defend.

Sorry, but to say that Doherty is more to blame for Cardiff's second is just bollocks. I agree that Batth has in the past and can again offer more to the team than Doherty

 

[Lycan]

Sorry, but to say that Doherty is more to blame for Cardiff's second is just bollocks. I agree that Batth has in the past and can again offer more to the team than Doherty

It's not bollocks at all. Batth gets turned easily after he's pulled out wide (because there's nobody at RB) but Doherty is nowhere when the ball gets played forward initially and does fuck all to get back into position.

 

[MARKakaJIM]

Batth doesn't even need to get out wide to be turned easily, outside of being a pretty big chap he's not really got anything else going for him. He'll have done well for himself if he's ever considered a bog standard Championship centre half.