- May 26, 2004
- 4,797
- 2,139
A lot has happened in the first four months of the 2008/9 season. Out went a pair of goal scoring strikers, in came an inexperienced teenager and Russian who didn’t fancy the move, if the papers were to be believed.
Some shocking results, performances, team selections and tactical decision making saw Ramos and company depart, and Harry take over. Results improved remarkably, we are through to the semis of the carling cup and the last 32 of the Uefa cup. However, after so many comings and goings I cannot help but feel we are in a similar position as we were a couple of years ago.
We still need a left winger. We still need a leader in the middle of the park. Ledley still has a dodgy knee. While we now have that creative midfielder we needed in Modric, and I believe an improved keeper in Gomes, what we have gained in one hand has been taken from the other.
Our strikers would be described as goal scorers, not goal makers. None of the three are real target man. They will struggle if they try to play strong, physical centre backs at their own game, and lack the technical ability to come short for the ball into feet. Luka Modric certainly offers us a live wire in the hole, his technical ability is phenomenal, but he is very much an attacking midfielder, not a deep lying striker. Perhaps with time and confidence he will get into the box more, but right now our formation feels very much a 4-5-1.
Last night gave a 90 minute example (was it just me or was there no injury time in the second half?) of our season. First half we were not putting balls into the box, which did not matter because no one was getting forward to join or pass the ‘loan’ striker. We had a lot of possession without really going anywhere; no one was willing to come out of their comfort zone. Then there were a couple of defensive howlers and we were two down. A Gilberto error in Europe? Some things never change, it seems.
Second half we press much higher up the pitch, midfielders and full backs are breaking forward and we are attacking at pace and our two goals come from Modric from about 8 yards out, and Huddlestone getting forward to head one in. We did have injuries, and never before have I felt we are so short of numbers. But even with a full strength team we are still lacking.
I don’t expect solutions in January. It’s hard enough to get the right people, plus the players we should be looking at will probably be cup-tied for the Uefa cup. Come the summer, I will be hoping that we finally start seeing the missing parts of the jigsaw come in.
The new stadium and training ground, and the performances of the academy side, have all been very encouraging, but on the pitch the first team does not feel like it has moved forward at all. Fifteen million was spent on Bentley and although he would not be classed a failure, he is being kept out of his position by the great form of Lennon and is certainly not the answer to our left side problems. He adds quality to the squad, but when there are obvious holes in the starting eleven, its not money well spent.
There have been a lot of mistakes, and a lot of people need to take responsibility for them. With the players we have in the team you could not say we have gone backwards, but I hope that we stop buggering around with stop-gap signings, half-measure solutions, and expensive signings that only provide competition to existing players, and find the answers to our long term problems.
Some shocking results, performances, team selections and tactical decision making saw Ramos and company depart, and Harry take over. Results improved remarkably, we are through to the semis of the carling cup and the last 32 of the Uefa cup. However, after so many comings and goings I cannot help but feel we are in a similar position as we were a couple of years ago.
We still need a left winger. We still need a leader in the middle of the park. Ledley still has a dodgy knee. While we now have that creative midfielder we needed in Modric, and I believe an improved keeper in Gomes, what we have gained in one hand has been taken from the other.
Our strikers would be described as goal scorers, not goal makers. None of the three are real target man. They will struggle if they try to play strong, physical centre backs at their own game, and lack the technical ability to come short for the ball into feet. Luka Modric certainly offers us a live wire in the hole, his technical ability is phenomenal, but he is very much an attacking midfielder, not a deep lying striker. Perhaps with time and confidence he will get into the box more, but right now our formation feels very much a 4-5-1.
Last night gave a 90 minute example (was it just me or was there no injury time in the second half?) of our season. First half we were not putting balls into the box, which did not matter because no one was getting forward to join or pass the ‘loan’ striker. We had a lot of possession without really going anywhere; no one was willing to come out of their comfort zone. Then there were a couple of defensive howlers and we were two down. A Gilberto error in Europe? Some things never change, it seems.
Second half we press much higher up the pitch, midfielders and full backs are breaking forward and we are attacking at pace and our two goals come from Modric from about 8 yards out, and Huddlestone getting forward to head one in. We did have injuries, and never before have I felt we are so short of numbers. But even with a full strength team we are still lacking.
I don’t expect solutions in January. It’s hard enough to get the right people, plus the players we should be looking at will probably be cup-tied for the Uefa cup. Come the summer, I will be hoping that we finally start seeing the missing parts of the jigsaw come in.
The new stadium and training ground, and the performances of the academy side, have all been very encouraging, but on the pitch the first team does not feel like it has moved forward at all. Fifteen million was spent on Bentley and although he would not be classed a failure, he is being kept out of his position by the great form of Lennon and is certainly not the answer to our left side problems. He adds quality to the squad, but when there are obvious holes in the starting eleven, its not money well spent.
There have been a lot of mistakes, and a lot of people need to take responsibility for them. With the players we have in the team you could not say we have gone backwards, but I hope that we stop buggering around with stop-gap signings, half-measure solutions, and expensive signings that only provide competition to existing players, and find the answers to our long term problems.