Yes I could accept that about Rowley. It isn't a bad argument. But to be successful a young ball player has to function against the tough guys, or he never gets to play. When do Xavi and Iniesta get kicked out of a game?. No one was more lightweight than Tigana; he found a way through the Vinny Joneses. My opinion is Saturday's game is exactly why you DO put in a young lad. We picked Kellett for gawd's sake, hardly a heavyweight and Talbot's injury-prone ......... and Reed himself isn't Mr Physique. To make players you have to make men IMO, and I hope Rowley is really disappointed. If one tackle finishes him he's going nowhere - and next season will be just one long nightmare for him. As for JBW, well I assume he's injured - he wasn't on the bench to bring on. And yes I'd have put Willock in against Matt Rhead - I'm betting he'd have loved the challenge - if he'd lost out a couple of times no-one would have blamed him and if he'd have done well his future would have been assured.
I think - I certainly don't know - we are seeing far too much influence from Tommy Wright. He's landing us some Barnsley planks as players and I'm guessing he's the source of Jack's conservative team selection and poor recruitment. First thing I'd do is sack him and try to recruit an assistant like maybe Marcus Law from Kettering, who has years of non-league experience, must have contacts too and certainly can't be accused of being conservative.
After 36 games the tactics of the opposition should never come as a surprise to us. We should always have ways of combating them. That doesn't mean what we do will always work ....... but nothing I've seen or read smacks of us having a viable plan and that is worrying for the rest of this season and all of next. That's the real difference between Kevin Davies at Southport and Jack with us. Kev's early struggles demonstrated the hopelessness of the players he had inherited and he replaced them. Jack had to wait for the January window to do that and then of his signings Coke, Smith, Mottley-Henry, Dodds and Talbot are rarely fit, Ramsdale makes young-goalie mistakes, the jury's out on Kay, Brown has zero experience, Hines has yet to recover his early-season Vanarama form, who does that leave, Nelson, who Yeovil tried and and discarded ................ ? Apparently an injury crisis is about to stall Kev's new recruits at Southport, but I'm sure he'd rather have his own worries than Jack's.
I think - I certainly don't know - we are seeing far too much influence from Tommy Wright. He's landing us some Barnsley planks as players and I'm guessing he's the source of Jack's conservative team selection and poor recruitment. First thing I'd do is sack him and try to recruit an assistant like maybe Marcus Law from Kettering, who has years of non-league experience, must have contacts too and certainly can't be accused of being conservative.
After 36 games the tactics of the opposition should never come as a surprise to us. We should always have ways of combating them. That doesn't mean what we do will always work ....... but nothing I've seen or read smacks of us having a viable plan and that is worrying for the rest of this season and all of next. That's the real difference between Kevin Davies at Southport and Jack with us. Kev's early struggles demonstrated the hopelessness of the players he had inherited and he replaced them. Jack had to wait for the January window to do that and then of his signings Coke, Smith, Mottley-Henry, Dodds and Talbot are rarely fit, Ramsdale makes young-goalie mistakes, the jury's out on Kay, Brown has zero experience, Hines has yet to recover his early-season Vanarama form, who does that leave, Nelson, who Yeovil tried and and discarded ................ ? Apparently an injury crisis is about to stall Kev's new recruits at Southport, but I'm sure he'd rather have his own worries than Jack's.