| Time is against Mick now..... 19:01 - Jan 20 with 3064 views | Mullet |
Trotting on up to Bolton Town were looking to get back to top six contention. The addition of two loanees who had spent this season at either end of the division, saw one in the side and one on the bench. Returning to goal, and thunderous applause as he walked into it in front of the few hundred away games was Bart.
Iorfa on the right, inside of him new boy Carter-Vickers, and surprisingly Chambers on the left. Knudsen outside of them. Connolly and Skuse sat, Celina, McGoldrick and Waghorn the three supporting actors behind Joe Garner’s amateur dramatics.
Matching up Bolton who had the colossal Madine at the forefront of their attack, it took less than a minute for him to chest the ball out from between a centre-back sandwich. Vela skipped on and smashed a low effort of Bart’s shins. If there was uncertainty in the stands at the sight of Chambers the wrong side of his partner, it was squared when he was also the wrong side of his man.
Town took time to settle, and like the weather; their play for almost all of the game was patchy. The most notable shot on goal came from Ameobi when he cut inside and chanced a low drive inside of Bart’s near post. The Pole prodded it away all too easily given how threatening it had appeared. Ultimately it meant little.
Up top, our lone striker had thrown himself into everything as usual, but typically not the referee’s good books. The home fans grew tired of Garner’s floor show all too soon as he appealed for everything but a place on the scoresheet.
When the Blues did get going their looser approach to the idea of ‘matching up’ often saw Waghorn overlapping into dead ends, or Celina more withdrawn and central. Coming deep and not firing seemed to be an irritating pattern to his play today. Some nice flicks up but rarely over centre backs like Wheater will never see us cut teams asunder no matter where they sit in the league, or their own box.
Whilst Buckley got very little joy out of the athletic attentions of Iorfa, besides an early cut inside and rifle over the bar, Ameobi caught the eye again, then his own standing foot as he crashed down on the turf when a goal-bound shot looked promising. Town’s defence had looked superb or at least comfortable individually, but when called upon as a unit we scrambled and struggled against the business of Vela and bulk of Madine.
CCV checked out his new team mates and started a lovely move with a cross-quadrant long ball that draws polite applause. Chambers contrasted, with a failure to launch much of anything without the white line on his right to guide him. One horrifying moment saw the ball come back to him under little pressure and he gave it to an onrushing attack. These were the finer moments that nearly cost Town points today.
The captain would nearly redeem himself with the second of two well won-corners first from the work of right back, then target man. Chambers thundering a low van Basten rip off at Alnwick. The stopper claiming a handy stop to keep things level.
As the half went by, and things rarely got more interesting than the drills players were doing during a lengthy injury after 5 mins. Town seemed to realise that stretching Bolton might cause them to break. A good move and Celina with a rare threat found Skuse at the back post. The fact that all of our attackers had drawn their men out with runs wide meant Town lost all elasticity and failed to spring back to meet the waiting the ball. An easy finish was supplanted by an easy clearance.
Skuse had earlier succumbed to a naughty stab at his leg by a churlish Madine. The man that Bolton looked to for everything, was always likely to be involved in everything. Having lost the ball, he lost his head and was always going to get a card.
It would be far more telling than any bouncing ball or half chance. Celina had weighted a touch behind Little and ran off the pitch to get past him and make good on the run. Waghorn did a mini scorpion kick on the other side to start a counter that was as fortuitous as it was always going to fizzle out. Such was the way the half had gone.
When the teams returned for the second Skuse did not. Gleeson became the 4th loan to enter the pitch, and the second one to make his debut for the blues. His first action was to win the ball, look for the return only to watch the consistently off-colour McGoldrick play another pass to the wrong place.
Indeed, as late as 75 mins the number 10 was missing Iorfa and letting him take the pelters from fans sick of seeing the simple ball put behind the runner and out of play yet again. By then we had looked less like a team starting to gel and more like one scabbing over. Knudsen on the other side was rarely beaten but only got forward far enough to be flagged offside. Celina tried too hard, to find a cut inside or chip over the top without the effort of looking first.
It had been at least 20 minutes since Madine had given the home side the lead and a reason to sit back. Who else but the combative jailbird would unlock our defence? A whipping cross inside from their Evertonian, a flick by Vela which could have gone anywhere, dropped to the striker all on his own with a simple slam past Bart. Up until then Town had been pressing with chances since the restart.
From the second kick-off of the half Town had a chance to equalise. A good move saw the midfield shift the balance of play and sent away McGoldrick. With Waghorn rushing into the centre for an easy tap in, our #10 pre-empted the finish and not the run and rolled the ball to a grateful Alnwick at the near post. The suspicion that his legs were going, gathered a lot more evidence today.
Town had threatened from distance, but in the rain and dark moaning floating on the wind, it seemed each move was set to break down. The Trotters had another free kick which could have given us more to do, Madine capped a move with a nod to the side netting, but possession rather than impetus had all been blue.
When the goal did come, it was worth the wait. 80 or so mins of not showing up, saw Garner start deep on the right, Gleeson took on the carrying duties. McGoldrick and Waghorn danced and overlapped, and finally the passes went right. Who else but Garner would crash home from close range, to cap a delightful piece of play. It was a candle flickering in the gloom of a forgettable game.
Town could, and maybe should have stolen an undeserved victory. Iorfa who had put in a much-changed shift today, began a move that saw Waghorn direct a diagonal run into three defenders. With the overlap from Garner on, he spun and smashed the ball of the post. Alnwick was helpless and so was the sense of hope that we’d walk back to the car with a spring in our step.
Sears replaced the disappointing Celina late on and Hyam saw out the last two kicks of the match as Connolly was withdrawn for the final time today. It was a poor display from a Town side who had the personnel rather than the personality to put the hurt on Bolton today. Little came off for us and there was little to take away, other than we stand still when a likely stumbling block looked to be in our way for most of the afternoon.
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 19:14 - Jan 20 with 2979 views | Guthrum |
One technical point - Gleeson is actually a free transfer, not a loan. |  |
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 19:19 - Jan 20 with 2965 views | Mullet |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 19:14 - Jan 20 by Guthrum |
One technical point - Gleeson is actually a free transfer, not a loan. |
Good point, hadn't realised that had been confirmed mid flow innit. Cheers Guffers.
Hope you're well. | |
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 19:24 - Jan 20 with 2942 views | cbower |
It was a poor game to say the least. Carter-Vickers did ok but I thought For 60 minutes Chambers was bullied and outmuscled by Madine. The passage of play you mentioned in the first half when Chambers gave the ball away was painful. I like Garner for his tenacity but the constant throwing himself to the ground is irritating. I know he does get some fouls in good areas from it but 7 times out of 10 we lose possession as the ref just doesn't buy it. He is a better player staying on his feet more. Can't doubt Celina for his work rate today but really no end product. Lovely football for our goal and Waggy striking the post was spectacular. Alnwick nowhere near it. McGoldrick just not delivering. Appalling effort just after they scored. Had time to bring it onto his right foot and shhot across the keeper or pick out someone else. His tame dribbler into Alnwick's arms was tripe. Time and again his final ball was useless. Thought Gleeson looked good. Some composure, some passing forward to our players or into good channels. Impressive debut. Sad to see Tommy go though. Macron is a sterile pit, hate it. Couple of fellas really struggling to get up those stairs, was quite woried for them. Hard to generate an atmosphere in a half empty stadium with away fans isolated up in the sky. |  |
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:03 - Jan 20 with 2859 views | Mullet |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 19:24 - Jan 20 by cbower |
It was a poor game to say the least. Carter-Vickers did ok but I thought For 60 minutes Chambers was bullied and outmuscled by Madine. The passage of play you mentioned in the first half when Chambers gave the ball away was painful. I like Garner for his tenacity but the constant throwing himself to the ground is irritating. I know he does get some fouls in good areas from it but 7 times out of 10 we lose possession as the ref just doesn't buy it. He is a better player staying on his feet more. Can't doubt Celina for his work rate today but really no end product. Lovely football for our goal and Waggy striking the post was spectacular. Alnwick nowhere near it. McGoldrick just not delivering. Appalling effort just after they scored. Had time to bring it onto his right foot and shhot across the keeper or pick out someone else. His tame dribbler into Alnwick's arms was tripe. Time and again his final ball was useless. Thought Gleeson looked good. Some composure, some passing forward to our players or into good channels. Impressive debut. Sad to see Tommy go though. Macron is a sterile pit, hate it. Couple of fellas really struggling to get up those stairs, was quite woried for them. Hard to generate an atmosphere in a half empty stadium with away fans isolated up in the sky. |
I thought Celina was very poor today, had certain others played that ineffectively relative to their ability, or been so ill-disciplined (e.g. that trip) as well as positionally they'd be scapegoated to high heaven.
That said, I don't begrudge him the odd poor appearance, Boro seems a long time ago.
I just think with chambers he's so uncomfortable on the left side that it totally marooned him. Especially as CCV has a tendency to sit back and cover, then play the ball out. Six games time they might well be brilliant together. But all Luke's natural instincts meant his aim and field of vision was all out of kilter.
I think Mcgoldrick might be done at this level. At best he needs remodelling into a thin Lee Tomlin. Otherwise he simply can't be as wasteful and lazy as he was for much of today and last week.
Garner will do so much for this side, but the whole Hamlet routine every time a defender comes near him just doesn't work does it? If he played for Chelsea..... | |
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:21 - Jan 20 with 2816 views | cbower |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:03 - Jan 20 by Mullet |
I thought Celina was very poor today, had certain others played that ineffectively relative to their ability, or been so ill-disciplined (e.g. that trip) as well as positionally they'd be scapegoated to high heaven.
That said, I don't begrudge him the odd poor appearance, Boro seems a long time ago.
I just think with chambers he's so uncomfortable on the left side that it totally marooned him. Especially as CCV has a tendency to sit back and cover, then play the ball out. Six games time they might well be brilliant together. But all Luke's natural instincts meant his aim and field of vision was all out of kilter.
I think Mcgoldrick might be done at this level. At best he needs remodelling into a thin Lee Tomlin. Otherwise he simply can't be as wasteful and lazy as he was for much of today and last week.
Garner will do so much for this side, but the whole Hamlet routine every time a defender comes near him just doesn't work does it? If he played for Chelsea..... |
When (if ever) Huws, Bishop and Dozzell are all fit next season I just no longer see a place in the side for McG. Waggy just offers more purpose and Garner more physical threat. For all his silky skill and grace, Didz is not delivering. It frustrates me when he seems to slow down a counter attack and whilst he packs a shot in both feet, his actual finishing is not great. The withdrawn role behind Garner would seem ideal but the slowing down of the game may be his biggest downfall (lack of pace too). Intersting what you say about Chambo on left. His stock ball down thhe line just not an option for him from there. | |
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:27 - Jan 20 with 2802 views | olimar |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:03 - Jan 20 by Mullet |
I thought Celina was very poor today, had certain others played that ineffectively relative to their ability, or been so ill-disciplined (e.g. that trip) as well as positionally they'd be scapegoated to high heaven.
That said, I don't begrudge him the odd poor appearance, Boro seems a long time ago.
I just think with chambers he's so uncomfortable on the left side that it totally marooned him. Especially as CCV has a tendency to sit back and cover, then play the ball out. Six games time they might well be brilliant together. But all Luke's natural instincts meant his aim and field of vision was all out of kilter.
I think Mcgoldrick might be done at this level. At best he needs remodelling into a thin Lee Tomlin. Otherwise he simply can't be as wasteful and lazy as he was for much of today and last week.
Garner will do so much for this side, but the whole Hamlet routine every time a defender comes near him just doesn't work does it? If he played for Chelsea..... |
McGoldrick hasnt been helped by being shifted into different positions. He also looks a different player to the one before he got injured earlier in the season, so I wonder if confidence is a factor too- I mean, his pace has never really been there.
Ultimately though, Im not sure MM has ever really dealt with the McGoldrick conundrum when we arent playing 4-4-2. His injuries have often meant that resolving it has been deferred for a bit longer, but MM has been compromising on it for a while. If he doesnt have a natural position in 4-3-3 or whatever, then it might be better not to play him at all. But hes highly paid and highly talented, so we try to make it fit.
Garner is an issue for me. He looks far better dropping deep for the ball, than trying to win headers at the forefront of the attack. I was thinking that again today as he was making barely any impact up front, aside from trying (and failing) to win freekicks. He started to pick the ball up deep and make more impact, then he dropped deep again and started off a move, ended up making up ground and overtaking the play to finish off the move himself. No wonder he was puffing after that. Impressive stuff. |  | | |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:36 - Jan 20 with 2770 views | Mullet |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:21 - Jan 20 by cbower |
When (if ever) Huws, Bishop and Dozzell are all fit next season I just no longer see a place in the side for McG. Waggy just offers more purpose and Garner more physical threat. For all his silky skill and grace, Didz is not delivering. It frustrates me when he seems to slow down a counter attack and whilst he packs a shot in both feet, his actual finishing is not great. The withdrawn role behind Garner would seem ideal but the slowing down of the game may be his biggest downfall (lack of pace too). Intersting what you say about Chambo on left. His stock ball down thhe line just not an option for him from there. |
I think if anyone needs to move with MM, it's McG more than any other player. He needs a fresh scene like he got here and Coventry which earned him the move obviously.
Skuse and Chambers would be welcomed by 90% of the managers likely to get the Ipswich gig. They also have more defined roles on and off field and less question marks over their heads.
It's a shame because I love watching him move the ball and when he clicks like he did for the goal it's still there. I worry that Bishop will spend next season in a similar position if he even gets a look in unfortunately. He;s missed so much football when he should be developing. | |
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:36 - Jan 20 with 2769 views | olimar |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:21 - Jan 20 by cbower |
When (if ever) Huws, Bishop and Dozzell are all fit next season I just no longer see a place in the side for McG. Waggy just offers more purpose and Garner more physical threat. For all his silky skill and grace, Didz is not delivering. It frustrates me when he seems to slow down a counter attack and whilst he packs a shot in both feet, his actual finishing is not great. The withdrawn role behind Garner would seem ideal but the slowing down of the game may be his biggest downfall (lack of pace too). Intersting what you say about Chambo on left. His stock ball down thhe line just not an option for him from there. |
Yeah, said the same in my other reply- Mick hasnt really dealt with the McG situation, where his best position is, when we play 4-3-3. The injuries to all of those players have meant he once again hasnt needed to address it. In previous years, its been because McG hasnt been fit.
His shooting is awful, I dont know whats happened to the player in 13/14 who was blasting them in from distance week after week. When he came back in 14/15, he seemed quite rash with his shooting, rushing them and blasting over and it felt like he was recovering confidence after injury. Yet, its never improved and we are now 3 years later.
He did start to look quite sharp earlier this season (shooting aside), but hasnt really found that since the injury. Also, it may not be a coincidence that we were playing him in a 4-4-2 earlier in the season.
If he really does have a long standing injury that affects his ability now, it might explain why we are letting his contract run down (although clearly we could offer him a cheaper deal if that was the case- after all, we are using him). | | | |
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:38 - Jan 20 with 2761 views | cbower |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:27 - Jan 20 by olimar |
McGoldrick hasnt been helped by being shifted into different positions. He also looks a different player to the one before he got injured earlier in the season, so I wonder if confidence is a factor too- I mean, his pace has never really been there.
Ultimately though, Im not sure MM has ever really dealt with the McGoldrick conundrum when we arent playing 4-4-2. His injuries have often meant that resolving it has been deferred for a bit longer, but MM has been compromising on it for a while. If he doesnt have a natural position in 4-3-3 or whatever, then it might be better not to play him at all. But hes highly paid and highly talented, so we try to make it fit.
Garner is an issue for me. He looks far better dropping deep for the ball, than trying to win headers at the forefront of the attack. I was thinking that again today as he was making barely any impact up front, aside from trying (and failing) to win freekicks. He started to pick the ball up deep and make more impact, then he dropped deep again and started off a move, ended up making up ground and overtaking the play to finish off the move himself. No wonder he was puffing after that. Impressive stuff. |
Yep, shoehorning players into an 11 instead of creating the proper balance of a team has plagued Mick for almost three seasons now. Didz has been the biggest connundrum as you say but for quite a while, he did the same with Pitman. Waggy is also a potential issue. He is a striker for me and does not always provide the ful back with good cover being deployed where he is right now. | |
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:41 - Jan 20 with 2747 views | Mullet |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:27 - Jan 20 by olimar |
McGoldrick hasnt been helped by being shifted into different positions. He also looks a different player to the one before he got injured earlier in the season, so I wonder if confidence is a factor too- I mean, his pace has never really been there.
Ultimately though, Im not sure MM has ever really dealt with the McGoldrick conundrum when we arent playing 4-4-2. His injuries have often meant that resolving it has been deferred for a bit longer, but MM has been compromising on it for a while. If he doesnt have a natural position in 4-3-3 or whatever, then it might be better not to play him at all. But hes highly paid and highly talented, so we try to make it fit.
Garner is an issue for me. He looks far better dropping deep for the ball, than trying to win headers at the forefront of the attack. I was thinking that again today as he was making barely any impact up front, aside from trying (and failing) to win freekicks. He started to pick the ball up deep and make more impact, then he dropped deep again and started off a move, ended up making up ground and overtaking the play to finish off the move himself. No wonder he was puffing after that. Impressive stuff. |
The run was very impressive not just because of the fitness, but he was in my peripheral vision right the way through and timed it really nicely to lose his defenders at each point.
I think you need an Iorfa on each side and do what Fulham do really well in terms of shape and compressing the play to carry a player as gifted/limited as McGoldrick by placing him in that creative role.
You'll also have games like today where it takes 80 mins to come good. | |
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:47 - Jan 20 with 2729 views | BloomBlue |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:21 - Jan 20 by cbower |
When (if ever) Huws, Bishop and Dozzell are all fit next season I just no longer see a place in the side for McG. Waggy just offers more purpose and Garner more physical threat. For all his silky skill and grace, Didz is not delivering. It frustrates me when he seems to slow down a counter attack and whilst he packs a shot in both feet, his actual finishing is not great. The withdrawn role behind Garner would seem ideal but the slowing down of the game may be his biggest downfall (lack of pace too). Intersting what you say about Chambo on left. His stock ball down thhe line just not an option for him from there. |
McG wont be here next season, he's not going to sign another contract so might as well get a small amount of cash for him this month |  | | |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:47 - Jan 20 with 2723 views | olimar |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:38 - Jan 20 by cbower |
Yep, shoehorning players into an 11 instead of creating the proper balance of a team has plagued Mick for almost three seasons now. Didz has been the biggest connundrum as you say but for quite a while, he did the same with Pitman. Waggy is also a potential issue. He is a striker for me and does not always provide the ful back with good cover being deployed where he is right now. |
Id play Waghorn as that lone forward, he looked good there. In fact, I think Im right in saying he hasnt scored for us since he played that role in Garners absence.
Mick did the same when Berra showed up, put him on the bench and played Smith/Chambers, when it was inevitable that Berra would be in our starting XI. Yet, as soon as he put him in, he shifted Chambers to right back and most fans spent the next 3 years saying that Chambers should be playing in the middle and we should get a proper RB.
Same with Pitman, Sears, Murphy, McGoldrick. We had a strong set of forwards, but somehow he tried to play all of them at once. Pitman and Sears were both the losers in that really and Sears has never recovered. McGoldricks injuries meant he wasnt forced to do something about it. | | | |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:55 - Jan 20 with 2701 views | olimar |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:41 - Jan 20 by Mullet |
The run was very impressive not just because of the fitness, but he was in my peripheral vision right the way through and timed it really nicely to lose his defenders at each point.
I think you need an Iorfa on each side and do what Fulham do really well in terms of shape and compressing the play to carry a player as gifted/limited as McGoldrick by placing him in that creative role.
You'll also have games like today where it takes 80 mins to come good. |
In a team like Fulham, Brentford or whoever, McGoldrick might just be a perfect fit, orchestrating things on the edge of the box.
I think he would work better for us in a front 2, where he can drop deep and somebody else can offer the legs ahead of him. I think Garner would be equally more comfortable, dropping deep to win the flick ons, with someone to pick them up, or to play balls over the top for his colleague.
Strikes me that McG, Pitman and Sears are all forwards who would have been so much better in a different style of team. | | | |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 09:30 - Jan 21 with 2432 views | Mullet |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:47 - Jan 20 by BloomBlue |
McG wont be here next season, he's not going to sign another contract so might as well get a small amount of cash for him this month |
But we'd still need to replace him.
It's disappointing Rowe didn't make the grade. I don't think someone like McKendry might be ready. So do we then see more of Drinan and revert to a stricter 442? Morris? etc. | |
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| Time is against Mick now..... on 09:34 - Jan 21 with 2424 views | Mullet |
| Time is against Mick now..... on 20:38 - Jan 20 by cbower |
Yep, shoehorning players into an 11 instead of creating the proper balance of a team has plagued Mick for almost three seasons now. Didz has been the biggest connundrum as you say but for quite a while, he did the same with Pitman. Waggy is also a potential issue. He is a striker for me and does not always provide the ful back with good cover being deployed where he is right now. |
I think Pitman was not good enough for the championship to be anything more than a squad player, and was not helped by Leeds snapping him and putting him out for 10 weeks. He never got the momentum back after that.
He's a bit like McG in that when he catches the eye it's memorable, but he doesn't have enough about his game at this level to be as impactful.
He was also disgustingly lazy rather than Dids' inability to run into the wind or up a slight slope. | |
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