My take on things (for what it's worth!)

I?ve kept quiet on all the Worthy out/in ranting on here so far?.however, our pre-season and start to the season has been so poor, I?m starting to seriously doubt he is the man to take us back up again.

And this is not just about the results, it?s the manner of the games I?ve watched and how we?ve played, our na?ve tactics and the lack of any really cohesive football that worries me.

Most drastically there is this midfield problem, which has been debated endlessly on here, and rightly so, as it is the key to winning in the modern game. The best teams at whatever level use the width of the pitch to get behind the otherwise massed ranks of opposition midfielders. Or they get good goal contributions from their midfielders.

We?ve got some great wide players - in Hucks probably the best in the division. So what do we do? Never get hold of it in the middle of the park, in order to play diagonal balls behind the defence for him (or Marney) to run on to.

Somebody on here said the other day about how much pace they thought Hucks had lost. I don?t believe that for a minute. Instead consider how much more difficult it is for him to get any momentum going when the ball is laid off sideways to him by Ashton or McKenzie, with the customary two defenders already positioned in front of him. Or worse still when he?s reduced to chasing one of Greeno?s hopeful punts upfield?.

And on that subject, how depressing ? and wasteful ? is it to see us constantly resorting to the punt from Greeno as a way of moving the ball forward? Whatever happened to passing? Are our back four so bad that they can?t be trusted to take a short pass/kick from the goalie and move it on to the midfield. If they can?t, we?ve got the wrong players in there, and we also have no chance of going up if we don?t get this sorted.

There are countless big donkeys like Robert Page in this division who?ll eat that mindless long ball game up all afternoon, but who?d s**t themselves if you play football against them.

Using Dean Ashton as a glorified target man for these punts is a crime against football. Jesus, didn?t Worthy watch that brilliant showreel of his goals for Crewe???? If he did he would have seen that Deano is at his best when he?s working off another striker (i.e. Hulse), and not the other way around. We might as well still have Iwan in there if we?re going to play like a bunch of Route One dinosaurs?.

And all of this comes back to the manager. With only a couple of exceptions this now is entirely his team, but more importantly he works on the formations and tactics, and the drills on the training pitch. And this is where we?re falling down so badly. God, some of the possession stats for our games this season are embarrassing ? 36% against Coventry?

Man for man we?ve as good a team as anybody in this division, but they?re playing like a bunch of League 1 nobodies.

It?s time to get it sorted Worthy. The board aren?t stupid and they?re not blind?.

Posted By: Greeny, Aug 22, 10:03:52