Post by andyl on Oct 8, 2015 10:50:21 GMT
Each day I look to the BN and other outlets for meaningful news and stories and am rewarded with the usual platitudinous tripe garnered at a weekend and recycled through the week. Even here it's gone quiet in international week and fewer posters feel motivated to engage- which I can quite understand given the overwhelming ambience of a club in decline currently.
So here's another topic that I hope Neil is chewing over and maybe others may wish to lob in their sixpenn'orth
Mark Davies is our best player. In the post Chungy universe everyone knows that, don't they? In the past he has been reportedly targeted by big clubs for multi-million fees. But injuries have frustrated him and us, his market value has fallen and but for the odd glimpse he has perhaps disappointed more times than delighted? Too many times he has popped up and done something brilliant only to vanish from view for the rest of a game.
But he is our best dribbler, by a mile our best current passer (though that's not saying much??) and his stats support this? Over the years he has been berthed in left midfield, right midfield, central midfield and at both head and apex of a diamond. he loves to recieve the ball from our defence and wherever he's playing does this but as often as not gives it back to the likes of Mills last year and Dervite this who are many times less effective than he at passing. We all (?) cetainly I scream at him to be more positive, to move forward, to take oponents out of the game but sometimes on his most positive day he passes to Danns rather than the defence and of course it comes back form him sometimes dangerouslyu so when opponents know his trick and dispossess him.
He is a good tackler if he remembers to be in position to make a tackle and has improved markedly since continously getting booked and injuring himself by wild emotion driven chases and hacks, dives or lunges. He now does that once a game!
By chance as to be fair is often the way Neil fell into playing him as the water carrier in central midfield, increasing his defensive responsibilities, and with a brief to start attacks and I think that for the most part he has rewarded us with more consistent if less eye catching displays and in our good phases has this year been more prominent than previously. As second choice captain he did quite well at times driving fightbacks. And when occasionally he has got forward hen has looked good if not much like scoring. All in all he has been a plus
So on came QPR, a very winnable game against an imploding team and Neil once more decides to make a change. he brings in a half fit Pratley and it works for while but to do this he pushes Mark Davies out to the left and reduces his responsibility. Immediately Davies swerves a delightful pass to a clever run by Feeney and we open them up for a goal. But then he is never seen again. Pratley and Danns are the water carriers and they get surrounded and stuck. Neither can pass nor are they quick enough to steal a yard in pass gathering as Mark D often is. They tackle a little better yes but once more the creativity of midfield is absent and we look pedestrian. We are overhauled predictably and with ease. Davies treats us to a couple of loony challenges and once looks like he's injured himself again from one of them. deja vu but overall he vanishes as his role has in the main become dependent upon receiving passes rather than giving them. When Pratley went off ( too late) and Spearing came on we again began to get control and drive forward. Mark D was a feature of that. When we lost we were well on top!
So what is Neil thinking about Mark D. At this point last year he was praising Chungy, adding to his responsibilities and we were all rewarded with the Chungy of old and our league position improved. My argument here is that if he can do the same with Mark Davies we may see positive results. But if he marginalises him as last Saturday we will have neutered our best player once more much as Dougie and Owen did with Chungy!!
So here's another topic that I hope Neil is chewing over and maybe others may wish to lob in their sixpenn'orth
Mark Davies is our best player. In the post Chungy universe everyone knows that, don't they? In the past he has been reportedly targeted by big clubs for multi-million fees. But injuries have frustrated him and us, his market value has fallen and but for the odd glimpse he has perhaps disappointed more times than delighted? Too many times he has popped up and done something brilliant only to vanish from view for the rest of a game.
But he is our best dribbler, by a mile our best current passer (though that's not saying much??) and his stats support this? Over the years he has been berthed in left midfield, right midfield, central midfield and at both head and apex of a diamond. he loves to recieve the ball from our defence and wherever he's playing does this but as often as not gives it back to the likes of Mills last year and Dervite this who are many times less effective than he at passing. We all (?) cetainly I scream at him to be more positive, to move forward, to take oponents out of the game but sometimes on his most positive day he passes to Danns rather than the defence and of course it comes back form him sometimes dangerouslyu so when opponents know his trick and dispossess him.
He is a good tackler if he remembers to be in position to make a tackle and has improved markedly since continously getting booked and injuring himself by wild emotion driven chases and hacks, dives or lunges. He now does that once a game!
By chance as to be fair is often the way Neil fell into playing him as the water carrier in central midfield, increasing his defensive responsibilities, and with a brief to start attacks and I think that for the most part he has rewarded us with more consistent if less eye catching displays and in our good phases has this year been more prominent than previously. As second choice captain he did quite well at times driving fightbacks. And when occasionally he has got forward hen has looked good if not much like scoring. All in all he has been a plus
So on came QPR, a very winnable game against an imploding team and Neil once more decides to make a change. he brings in a half fit Pratley and it works for while but to do this he pushes Mark Davies out to the left and reduces his responsibility. Immediately Davies swerves a delightful pass to a clever run by Feeney and we open them up for a goal. But then he is never seen again. Pratley and Danns are the water carriers and they get surrounded and stuck. Neither can pass nor are they quick enough to steal a yard in pass gathering as Mark D often is. They tackle a little better yes but once more the creativity of midfield is absent and we look pedestrian. We are overhauled predictably and with ease. Davies treats us to a couple of loony challenges and once looks like he's injured himself again from one of them. deja vu but overall he vanishes as his role has in the main become dependent upon receiving passes rather than giving them. When Pratley went off ( too late) and Spearing came on we again began to get control and drive forward. Mark D was a feature of that. When we lost we were well on top!
So what is Neil thinking about Mark D. At this point last year he was praising Chungy, adding to his responsibilities and we were all rewarded with the Chungy of old and our league position improved. My argument here is that if he can do the same with Mark Davies we may see positive results. But if he marginalises him as last Saturday we will have neutered our best player once more much as Dougie and Owen did with Chungy!!
