300 games is a great achievement. Tommy is a very good keeper at our level who I like a lot. BUT it is hard to distinguish between loyalty and lack of ambition. He's now a 29 year old lower division keeper so his transfer value is low to non-existent. His place now appears automatic, however many mistakes he makes (and he's made some this season). Why did we sign Chapman, stick with him through prolonged injuries, send him out on several successful loans if we never intended to play him?
Do we then intend to keep Tommy until he is 35, he may well be fit enough and deserve his place, especially if we permanently avoid offering a younger keeper a chance? Should we never give a moment's thought to the idea that one way to freshen up a failing defence is to bring in a new keeper? If our defence might struggle in the air isn't one way round it to play a tall keeper who can win the ball in the air? Can Chapman do that? If not, what's the point of him?
One of the positives of a crisis is that it sometimes forces a decision you'd never otherwise be able to justify. Gnanduillet seems not to score sufficient goal,s but we've never tried playing him in a different position. Centre forwards sometimes do make good centre backs, so maybe him or Novak might be a revelation (or of course a disaster)? Equally when are we likely to give Maguire a chance, but in a crisis? When might we give him a gentle baptism? He is going to be under pressure whenever it happens. Okay it would be better if the side was occasionally winning, but look at the potential rewards for the lad. (That said I did think what we did to Daley was tough, drop him into a losing side from nowhere due solely to left-footedness.)
The good thing about Danny is he is both shrewd and caring. I don't think he'll throw in a young lad and risk ruining his career. I think he'd only play Maguire if he thought he was mentally up to it.
This time tomorrow you might be thinking that Maguire's a real player. Kept calm, never put a foot wrong. When SEB made it 1-0 in the 88th minute we all knew we'd hold the lead with that defence.
If we reward loyalty as you'd like Dancing we'll eventually have a team of fading old men. You pick whoever you regard the best man for the job on the day. My rating of Tommy is that Aston Villa, Norwich and Newcastle could all improve their sides by playing Tommy in front of their current first choices! So I think he's well good enough to get the gloves elsewhere, but ruts aren't good for anyone and we'll become one for him (if we haven't already). We and he should be looking to the future that's all. And if he left us it should be as a hero, not some sad old failure.
Do we then intend to keep Tommy until he is 35, he may well be fit enough and deserve his place, especially if we permanently avoid offering a younger keeper a chance? Should we never give a moment's thought to the idea that one way to freshen up a failing defence is to bring in a new keeper? If our defence might struggle in the air isn't one way round it to play a tall keeper who can win the ball in the air? Can Chapman do that? If not, what's the point of him?
One of the positives of a crisis is that it sometimes forces a decision you'd never otherwise be able to justify. Gnanduillet seems not to score sufficient goal,s but we've never tried playing him in a different position. Centre forwards sometimes do make good centre backs, so maybe him or Novak might be a revelation (or of course a disaster)? Equally when are we likely to give Maguire a chance, but in a crisis? When might we give him a gentle baptism? He is going to be under pressure whenever it happens. Okay it would be better if the side was occasionally winning, but look at the potential rewards for the lad. (That said I did think what we did to Daley was tough, drop him into a losing side from nowhere due solely to left-footedness.)
The good thing about Danny is he is both shrewd and caring. I don't think he'll throw in a young lad and risk ruining his career. I think he'd only play Maguire if he thought he was mentally up to it.
This time tomorrow you might be thinking that Maguire's a real player. Kept calm, never put a foot wrong. When SEB made it 1-0 in the 88th minute we all knew we'd hold the lead with that defence.
If we reward loyalty as you'd like Dancing we'll eventually have a team of fading old men. You pick whoever you regard the best man for the job on the day. My rating of Tommy is that Aston Villa, Norwich and Newcastle could all improve their sides by playing Tommy in front of their current first choices! So I think he's well good enough to get the gloves elsewhere, but ruts aren't good for anyone and we'll become one for him (if we haven't already). We and he should be looking to the future that's all. And if he left us it should be as a hero, not some sad old failure.