Why do people assume that Whittaker and Ruddy will sort out all of our problems?

It's fair enough to say that they both have something extra to add but I don't see how their returns will sort out our lack of quality up front and the inconsistent performances from our midfield.

Whittaker's hardly outstanding defensively (although he would offer an extra attacking outlet) and we must bare in mind that half of our league clean sheets have come without him in the side. I can accept that Ruddy will improve us in that regard but Bunn has been decent in the past couple of games, so surely we have to consider that there are problems elsewhere?

Personally I believe that the tactics need sprucing up, teams (NCFC) sitting deep work well when you they are playing teams who have trouble unlocking a compact defence. However, when playing teams with combined pace and skill (Chelsea, Citeh, Liverpool) and those who like to play direct physical football (West Ham) then we are far too happy to invite pressure, in those situations I'd like to see us press higher up the pitch. Substitutes are also a problem but we all know this by now.

Part of the problem with pressing is that it is far more physically taxing than sitting deep. Hughton isn't one to rotate players without injuries prompting him and I believe that this is part of the problem at the moment. Players like Pilkington, Tettey, Johnson and Holt all look like they aren't up to their usual standards of fitness, yet we generally continue to persist with them. Extra competition for places could help this, but would that change Hughton's mentality at all?

Signing a pacy/skillful striker and a creative midfielder (we're too reliant on Wes) is a must in my opinion, with those types of players (of PL standard) then we will start to create and score more goals. This will also take some pressure off of the defence who know that a clean sheet is usually needed to gain a win, a knock on effect of this could potentially be more freedom for the players in an attacking sense which would allow greater tactical flexibility for Hughton.

We are not in a crisis but now is the time for the board, players and management to step up and prove it. As fans we also need to show a little bit of patience, at least until the end of the transfer window.

Posted By: Common Sense Police on January 19th 2013 at 21:02:14

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