Bruce Sacked at last (now official)

[chrisw1]

I'd probably keep the same team, but if Jedi is fit it would be tempting to bring him in to counter the physicality and aggression that is bound to come our way.

[Clark W Griswold]

Yes, I think you could bring Onomah into it in a less 'gritty' fixture, giving Hourahane a rest. The idea of putting Jedinak in and seeing if an in form Thor can have a better impact than Hourahane further forward would also be interesting.

[paul_e]

The problem with jedi and thor both being in there is that neither of them are particularly good passers so just getting the ball to Grelaish, Snodgrass and Adomah becomes harder than it needs to be.  Whelan would be the counter to that but I just find him utterly ineffective in almost every other aspect, he's just an older version of Westwood for me.

[Neil Hawkes]

The idea of putting Jedinak in and seeing if an in form Thor can have a better impact than Hourahane further forward would also be interesting - gets a thumbs up from me.

[LeeB]

The problem with jedi and thor both being in there is that neither of them are particularly good passers so just getting the ball to Grelaish, Snodgrass and Adomah becomes harder than it needs to be.  Whelan would be the counter to that but I just find him utterly ineffective in almost every other aspect, he's just an older version of Westwood for me.

Whoa, that's cold man.

[paul_e]

The problem with jedi and thor both being in there is that neither of them are particularly good passers so just getting the ball to Grelaish, Snodgrass and Adomah becomes harder than it needs to be.  Whelan would be the counter to that but I just find him utterly ineffective in almost every other aspect, he's just an older version of Westwood for me.

Whoa, that's cold man.

Even writing it I felt like i was being incredibly harsh but I think it holds true, no mobility, no cutting edge, lots of 'show' in defence but very little impact.  I think the idea of a player who holds a role in the middle of the pitch and keeps things ticking over is great but they need to offering something on top and first of those is for them to not let players run through their channel and get chances around the dge of the box.  That's where both of them look poor and show that they can't do the DM role that their style is suited to.

[villa `cross the mersey]

Oh for a midfield of Sid Cowans, Steve McMahon, Kevin Richardson for Sunday

[Bad English]

Manager of the Month OUT!

[ChicagoLion]

The problem with jedi and thor both being in there is that neither of them are particularly good passers so just getting the ball to Grelaish, Snodgrass and Adomah becomes harder than it needs to be.  Whelan would be the counter to that but I just find him utterly ineffective in almost every other aspect, he's just an older version of Westwood for me.

Whoa, that's cold man.

Even writing it I felt like i was being incredibly harsh but I think it holds true, no mobility, no cutting edge, lots of 'show' in defence but very little impact.  I think the idea of a player who holds a role in the middle of the pitch and keeps things ticking over is great but they need to offering something on top and first of those is for them to not let players run through their channel and get chances around the dge of the box.  That's where both of them look poor and show that they can't do the DM role that their style is suited to.

I think Whelan tackles and intercepts more than Westwood did.
Slower though.

[AsTallAsLions]

The problem with jedi and thor both being in there is that neither of them are particularly good passers so just getting the ball to Grelaish, Snodgrass and Adomah becomes harder than it needs to be.  Whelan would be the counter to that but I just find him utterly ineffective in almost every other aspect, he's just an older version of Westwood for me.

Whoa, that's cold man.

Even writing it I felt like i was being incredibly harsh but I think it holds true, no mobility, no cutting edge, lots of 'show' in defence but very little impact.  I think the idea of a player who holds a role in the middle of the pitch and keeps things ticking over is great but they need to offering something on top and first of those is for them to not let players run through their channel and get chances around the dge of the box.  That's where both of them look poor and show that they can't do the DM role that their style is suited to.

I think Whelan tackles and intercepts more than Westwood did.
Slower though.

And more prone to glaring errors which can change matches. I hated watching Westwood 'play', but his worst offense was to be anonymous in virtually every game. I don't recall him ever lobbing the ball back into the path of an opposition striker to put him 1 on 1 with our keeper.

[not3bad]

The problem with jedi and thor both being in there is that neither of them are particularly good passers

Haven't Thor's passing stats been pretty good since he moved to defensive mid?

[paul_e]

The problem with jedi and thor both being in there is that neither of them are particularly good passers so just getting the ball to Grelaish, Snodgrass and Adomah becomes harder than it needs to be.  Whelan would be the counter to that but I just find him utterly ineffective in almost every other aspect, he's just an older version of Westwood for me.

Whoa, that's cold man.

Even writing it I felt like i was being incredibly harsh but I think it holds true, no mobility, no cutting edge, lots of 'show' in defence but very little impact.  I think the idea of a player who holds a role in the middle of the pitch and keeps things ticking over is great but they need to offering something on top and first of those is for them to not let players run through their channel and get chances around the dge of the box.  That's where both of them look poor and show that they can't do the DM role that their style is suited to.

I think Whelan tackles and intercepts more than Westwood did.
Slower though.

He averages 1.8 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game, that's pretty similar to Westwood when he was with us.  As I say, there's really not a lot between them.  For me to play that DM role you either need to be   all action, constantly tracking runners and closing space or you need to win everything that comes near you, anything you bring after that controls how high up the leagues you can go.  Whelan wants to be the latter but he just isn't dominant enough, whereas Jedi can do that style well and we look a better side with him there, despite him being a fairly poor player in many ways.

Simply put I thought Whelan was a poor signing at the time and he's done nothing since he arrived to make me question that.

[john e]

Manager of the Month OUT!

is that Out or Out Out ?

[john e]

The problem with jedi and thor both being in there is that neither of them are particularly good passers so just getting the ball to Grelaish, Snodgrass and Adomah becomes harder than it needs to be.  Whelan would be the counter to that but I just find him utterly ineffective in almost every other aspect, he's just an older version of Westwood for me.

Whoa, that's cold man.

Even writing it I felt like i was being incredibly harsh but I think it holds true, no mobility, no cutting edge, lots of 'show' in defence but very little impact.  I think the idea of a player who holds a role in the middle of the pitch and keeps things ticking over is great but they need to offering something on top and first of those is for them to not let players run through their channel and get chances around the dge of the box.  That's where both of them look poor and show that they can't do the DM role that their style is suited to.

I think Whelan tackles and intercepts more than Westwood did.
Slower though.

He averages 1.8 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game, that's pretty similar to Westwood when he was with us.  As I say, there's really not a lot between them.  For me to play that DM role you either need to be   all action, constantly tracking runners and closing space or you need to win everything that comes near you, anything you bring after that controls how high up the leagues you can go.  Whelan wants to be the latter but he just isn't dominant enough, whereas Jedi can do that style well and we look a better side with him there, despite him being a fairly poor player in many ways.

Simply put I thought Whelan was a poor signing at the time and he's done nothing since he arrived to make me question that.

Westwood, Gardner, Hourihane, Whelan, Barny, Lansbury theres not a fag paper between the lot of them

we have swapped average box standard for average box standard,
the only reason some look slightly better now is because they are operating at a championship level

[AsTallAsLions]

The problem with jedi and thor both being in there is that neither of them are particularly good passers so just getting the ball to Grelaish, Snodgrass and Adomah becomes harder than it needs to be.  Whelan would be the counter to that but I just find him utterly ineffective in almost every other aspect, he's just an older version of Westwood for me.

Whoa, that's cold man.

Even writing it I felt like i was being incredibly harsh but I think it holds true, no mobility, no cutting edge, lots of 'show' in defence but very little impact.  I think the idea of a player who holds a role in the middle of the pitch and keeps things ticking over is great but they need to offering something on top and first of those is for them to not let players run through their channel and get chances around the dge of the box.  That's where both of them look poor and show that they can't do the DM role that their style is suited to.

I think Whelan tackles and intercepts more than Westwood did.
Slower though.

He averages 1.8 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game, that's pretty similar to Westwood when he was with us.  As I say, there's really not a lot between them.  For me to play that DM role you either need to be   all action, constantly tracking runners and closing space or you need to win everything that comes near you, anything you bring after that controls how high up the leagues you can go.  Whelan wants to be the latter but he just isn't dominant enough, whereas Jedi can do that style well and we look a better side with him there, despite him being a fairly poor player in many ways.

Simply put I thought Whelan was a poor signing at the time and he's done nothing since he arrived to make me question that.

Westwood, Gardner, Hourihane, Whelan, Barny, Lansbury theres not a fag paper between the lot of them

we have swapped average box standard for average box standard,
the only reason some look slightly better now is because they are operating at a championship level

Westwood, Gardner and Whelan are (/were) garbage, but I actually think the rest of them can offer something different. Hourihane is tired and needs a rest but has shown glimpses of brilliance dotted here and there - Bjarnason is only starting to come good in the new position and would be wrong IMO to write him off now. He's clearly working hard and has the right attitude. I accept that Lansbury has been poor for us so far, but there's a reason we bought him and a reason he was captained at Forest. He's a good player who needs a run, and we might need him off the bench between now and end of season.