Herd: perfect MF partner for Petrov?

[darren woolley]

I think the Herd and Petrov combination looks good I would stick with it.

[Eigentor]

Reo Coker is showing us just what we're missing by the way he's transformed Bolton.

Nice jibe. I couldn't care less what he's doing at Bolton, but he did a decent job here last season, and we haven't got anyone who has managed to replace him.

[PeterWithesShin]

Reo Coker is showing us just what we're missing by the way he's transformed Bolton.

Nice jibe. I couldn't care less what he's doing at Bolton, but he did a decent job here last season, and we haven't got anyone who has managed to replace him.

I dunno, we don't seem to be having too much trouble fielding players who can't pass or shoot.

[Mister E]

Herd's distribution ain't bad; he used the ball sensibly yesterday, without trying to over-elaborate.
Petrov is so underrated on this site, it's amazing! I used to be a critic of his but I do think he's come into his own in the last 9 months.

And as for NRC: he has looked shocking for bolt-on this season; I would have kept him, but I have to say he has really not done himself any favours so far.

I'm really interested in whether Jenas will play for us at all make a significant difference to our MF.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Delph will come good, he has had less than 30 appearances in 2 and a bit years and a run of injuries which has made him try too hard to live up to his price tag.  A bit of time in the reserves now to settle down and work on earning another shot will do him good.

Don't we have to pay Leeds an additional £2m for Delph, I assume, based on appearances?

[DrGonzo]

Herd's done nothing significantly wrong so far, given time he could grow into the role.  A real positive in these times of financial pressure, one less positionwe need to fil in January. His covering play does seem to have taken a weight off of Perov's shoulders. Petrov was always an attacking midfielder, granted it didn't work for him in his 1st season here; but he's had so much more experience of the Prem now he may be more capable of pushing higher up the pitch.  The quality of his finish yesterday shows that he is a creditable goal threat, and the Gods know we need that at the moment.  Also the delivery of the freekick for the 2nd goal was better than almost anything we saw from Ash (not a dig at Young, just an opinion).
Jenas (we wait to see) or Bannan as the playmaker, it might just work.

[ozzjim]

I read that Cabeye was lined up had Houllier stayed. He had a pretty decent eye for a footballer. I wonder where we would be now had he come back to health.

[Fernando Partridge]

Regards the chap we have on loan from THFC let us hope Jenas is our Dave Mackay and that Big Eck has done a Clough.

Mr Petrov are you really our Mortimer ? 

[Grande Pablo]

Reo Coker is showing us just what we're missing by the way he's transformed Bolton.

Nice jibe. I couldn't care less what he's doing at Bolton, but he did a decent job here last season, and we haven't got anyone who has managed to replace him.

I dunno, we don't seem to be having too much trouble fielding players who can't pass or shoot.

Reading last weeks Birmingham Post both NRC & Knight seem to be more interested in this, predictably.

http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/postfeatures/2011/10/28/john-paul-mcguirk-makes-the-stars-shine-65233-29665263/

[Concrete John]

Herd has done well so far, but his two midfield starts so far have both been against sides I'd expect to finish in the bottom half, so lets not get too carried away.  However, with the tougher games in December we'll know a lot more about him by the time January come round and hopefully he'll drop the required players by 1.

As for playing with Petrov, I don't think it's that he suits him particularly, but rather that he's what the side as a whole has been missing - a bit of midfield bite!
 

[Merv]

It's very much a case of using the best of what we have in midfield. We're nowhere near good enough in that department, and it's almost heartbreaking to read that Houllier had lined up Cabeye prior to his departure, and even that McLeish wanted Larsson, but moved too late for him.

Petrov never convinced me in this anchorman/defensive midfield role that MON carved out for him, and I believe it was more a case of him having to play that role with so many other offensive-minded midfielders around him - Milner, Young, Downing.

We need to have better than Petrov starting, but we haven't got that player at the club, and Petrov does at least have a touch of class and composure about him. I can see the benefit of him having a more athletic type alongside him. Herd looks okay, like he could do that job. Drop the Heskey in midfield experiment and we could have Herd and Delph as an old fashioned midfield pairing - Jenas comes into the equation when fit - and Petrov playing slightly forward with a bit more freedom.

I'd still prefer Bannan or Ireland in that attacking mid role, but Bannan's unavailable for now and I still don't know what to make of Ireland.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Agree with all of that, Merv.

[Greg N'Ash]

As was said at the time, the health thing with Houllier was a smokescreen. It was logical not to continue with him under those circumstances, but i don't think he'd have been still in charge if he hadn't fell ill.  Randy didn't fancy financing his spending, and add in the losses of flogging off the "gits" cheap and replacing them, it was never a goer. Basically we've suffered a bad case of the tail wagging the dog, and as often happens when the players choose who manages them,  it seldom goes much better than before

[nick harper]

Can'y help thinking that we have wasted Petrov in this holding role. I accept he took a fair old time to settle but he built his whole career on being an attacking goalscoring midfielder and then MON converted him to a role that has never really suited him.

Now he's been given more licence to get forward, he showed some real class at times this season. McLeish obviously saw a lot of him in Scotland.

Anyway, even though he keeps being written off, I think he's probably been our best player along with Gabby this season, so good luck to him.

[Merv]

It reminds me of what some coaches do when they have an aging playmaker on their hands. The 'legs have gone', so they put a couple of dynamic players around him to take the pressure off, and allow the playmaker to concentrate on what he's best at.

It might work with Petrov. He's only, what 31, 32? His time as a starting player should be limited but if there's a way to get the best out of him until then, I'm all for it. It could be one of McLeish's smarter moves.