Maher missed?.....

[shrimperian]

Just wondered what everyone thought of our perfprmance yesterday without superkev? There are a very large amount of shrimpers who feel that he is some sort of talisman (we know he is crap but we are rubbish without him brigade). Well, I for one thought we looked more balanced in midfield yesterday than we have all season, including Tuesday. Sure Gutts and Clarke cannot pass as well as kevin, but kevin simply cannot tackle without fouling. I just wonder whether if Freddys effort had gone in and we won 1-0, would Tilly have kept the winning side?

Also, how well did Francis play yesterday? He was my man of the match with two great tackles on Nugent. Really, if Preston are contenders, we should start climbing that table now. BTW is Flavs one booking away from suspension with no sub keeper? just a thought

 

[overseas shrimper]

I doubt Tilly would have dropped Maher from the starting 11 next week if Eastwood (or anybody else) had scored. Maher is our captain and it would take a huge loss of form over an extended period for Maher to not be in the starting 11 unless suspended or injured.

As for the point about us doing well against contenders like Preston and surely starting our climb up the table, let's just remember the false dawn we had after doing well against a very in form Burnley away. I'm not taking anything away from yesterday, and really hope this is the start of a better run than we've been having... but let's be realistic about things. We had a great result against Man Utd and a good draw against Preston. Suddenly Tilly and co. are the K-9 testicles... but a defeat next week and suddenly it'll be 'we're not good enough' and 'Tilly must go' all over again.

That's not directed at you by the way.

 

[fredheim_holm]

I think we would have won the game yesterday if super Kev was in the team, he's so important. Saying that, although I thought Preston looked more likely to score, very pleased with the performance and the clean sheet from yesterday.

 

[Beefy]

I'd hope that the days when Kevin Maher was undroppable have long since passed. Yes, we all know he's a good passer of a ball, he works his balls off every week and I've no doubt that he cares a lot about the club. But for me the midfield yesterday looked so well balanced, precisely because he wasn't there.

Kev's trouble is that he has never had the mobility to get up and down the pitch all game. Thats never been his style, even as a youngster. Instead, he wants to take the ball off of the back four and dictate play from there. And if we had a strong, attacking, Bentley-esque midfielder alongside him that would be fine. But we don't. Clarke (and Hunt before him) was brought into midfield to put tackles in, win possession and shore things up, yet Maher hasn't adapted his game one bit. He still wants to play deep and consequently we often have Clarke and Maher occupying the same sort of areas, both typically being within ten yards of the back four which leaves a huge gap further forward.

If Maher and Clarke are to be a midfield partnership then Maher has to change his game or else its simply not going to work. He needs to allow Clarke to play the ball more, and if Clarke can't be trusted to do that then we need to bring Gutts back into the side and go back to the midfield we had last season.

Yesterday the midfield looked balanced. Clarke and Guttridge played like a partnership, one sitting and one going and then switching back and forth. Both gave the rest of the team a passing option and for once we didn't look to play everythnig through Maher and looked far better for it.

 

[tomasufc 4eva]

Quote[/b] (Beefy @ Nov. 12 2006,11:19)]I'd hope that the days when Kevin Maher was undroppable have long since passed. Yes, we all know he's a good passer of a ball, he works his balls off every week and I've no doubt that he cares a lot about the club. But for me the midfield yesterday looked so well balanced, precisely because he wasn't there.

Kev's trouble is that he has never had the mobility to get up and down the pitch all game. Thats never been his style, even as a youngster. Instead, he wants to take the ball off of the back four and dictate play from there. And if we had a strong, attacking, Bentley-esque midfielder alongside him that would be fine. But we don't. Clarke (and Hunt before him) was brought into midfield to put tackles in, win possession and shore things up, yet Maher hasn't adapted his game one bit. He still wants to play deep and consequently we often have Clarke and Maher occupying the same sort of areas, both typically being within ten yards of the back four which leaves a huge gap further forward.

If Maher and Clarke are to be a midfield partnership then Maher has to change his game or else its simply not going to work. He needs to allow Clarke to play the ball more, and if Clarke can't be trusted to do that then we need to bring Gutts back into the side and go back to the midfield we had last season.

Yesterday the midfield looked balanced. Clarke and Guttridge played like a partnership, one sitting and one going and then switching back and forth. Both gave the rest of the team a passing option and for once we didn't look to play everythnig through Maher and looked far better for it.

I think that now, more than ever, Maher should be undroppable, purely because we have so few centre-midfielders of any class, let alone better than him.

As for Clarke sitting in, winning possession and shoring things up, it sounds nice in theory but when 9 times out of ten once he has won possession he gives the ball straight back to the opposition, usually in very dangerous positions.

 

[Angell Delight]

Is this a serious thread? Maher's the one Championship-class central midfielder we've got at the club!!!!!!!

 

[shrimper_sam]

Quote[/b] (Angell Delight @ Nov. 12 2006,12:26)]Is this a serious thread? Maher's the one Championship-class central midfielder we've got at the club!!!!!!!

Agreed mahers performance is very Solid in midfield.

 

[Beefy]

Quote[/b] (Angell Delight @ Nov. 12 2006,12:26)]Is this a serious thread? Maher's the one Championship-class central midfielder we've got at the club!!!!!!!

Fine. If thats the case then we've got to build the team around that. Which we're not doing by sticking a holding player alongside him. And if we are going to stick Clarke or Hunt in there alongside him then Maher simply has to adapt his game which is something he seems unwilling or unable to do.

 

[pickledseal]

Quote[/b] (shrimper_sam @ Nov. 12 2006,12:47)]

Quote[/b] (Angell Delight @ Nov. 12 2006,12:26)]Is this a serious thread? Maher's the one Championship-class central midfielder we've got at the club!!!!!!!

Agreed mahers performance is very Solid in midfield.

defo.

clarke was better yesterday but still not good enough
and has had enough shockers that i;m not concivnced at all!!

 

[fredheim_holm]

Can't believe people still dont think Maher is vital to our performances. He's in the top 3 I would say, probably 2nd behind Fred and 3rd being Flahvs.

 

[BrettieAngell]

Clarke is not a midfielder so by that alone Maher should be back in the side next week.

I agree Clakre played better yesterday but he gives the ball away too often.

 

[Hazey SUFC]

I wasn't at the match, so wouldn't know. But has Luke done anough for his place back?

 

[* ORM *]

Jeeeeeeez, leave out one of the best midfielders in the division. I don't think so.

 

[Shrimper2thecore]

Quote[/b] (Beefy @ Nov. 12 2006,11:19)]I'd hope that the days when Kevin Maher was undroppable have long since passed. Yes, we all know he's a good passer of a ball, he works his balls off every week and I've no doubt that he cares a lot about the club. But for me the midfield yesterday looked so well balanced, precisely because he wasn't there.

Kev's trouble is that he has never had the mobility to get up and down the pitch all game. Thats never been his style, even as a youngster. Instead, he wants to take the ball off of the back four and dictate play from there. And if we had a strong, attacking, Bentley-esque midfielder alongside him that would be fine. But we don't. Clarke (and Hunt before him) was brought into midfield to put tackles in, win possession and shore things up, yet Maher hasn't adapted his game one bit. He still wants to play deep and consequently we often have Clarke and Maher occupying the same sort of areas, both typically being within ten yards of the back four which leaves a huge gap further forward.

If Maher and Clarke are to be a midfield partnership then Maher has to change his game or else its simply not going to work. He needs to allow Clarke to play the ball more, and if Clarke can't be trusted to do that then we need to bring Gutts back into the side and go back to the midfield we had last season.

Yesterday the midfield looked balanced. Clarke and Guttridge played like a partnership, one sitting and one going and then switching back and forth. Both gave the rest of the team a passing option and for once we didn't look to play everythnig through Maher and looked far better for it.

Kev has been getting into far more advanced positions than ever before recently, putting in a good few shots every game, like he never has before.

Play him, purely because Guttridge is sh!t

 

[class]

Did anybody else see Maher in the East Stand laughing his head off when Sodje ballooned his volley over the bar?

He soon stopped laughing when a some random fan shouted out to him "yeah thats what we do when you shoot Kev"

 

[StainesShrimper]

Quote[/b] (Hazey SUFC @ Nov. 12 2006,14:04)]I wasn't at the match, so wouldn't know. But has Luke done anough for his place back?

Definatly not. Awful in the first half, and poor in the second. There were glimpses of the Guttridge of old during the game, but that back heal on the edge of our own penalty area in the first half is enough in itself to get him dropped!

 

[Beefy]

The backheel was a shocker. I don't know what he was playing at there.

 

[Jonesy tap-in]

Quote[/b] (Beefy @ Nov. 12 2006,13:10)]

Quote[/b] (Angell Delight @ Nov. 12 2006,12:26)]Is this a serious thread? Maher's the one Championship-class central midfielder we've got at the club!!!!!!!

Fine. If thats the case then we've got to build the team around that. Which we're not doing by sticking a holding player alongside him. And if we are going to stick Clarke or Hunt in there alongside him then Maher simply has to adapt his game which is something he seems unwilling or unable to do.

That's it. Maher's the kind of player that you have to build around. He likes to sit deep and spray passes around - the old cross-field diagonal into the channels - but he's not a ball-winner, as we know, and neither does he burst into the box.

It's just a case of finding this much-mooted big, bustling Bentley-style centre mid that will galvanise the midfield, toughen the spine and provide an extra goal threat. Really is a big shame Beno didn't have the quality to make the step up. I liked him as a player and had the pleasure of meeting him (and the rest of the squad) out in Cardiff after the second Ldv and he was a thoroughly nice chap. Having said that, I was hammered and in such a good mood I thought everyone was a nice chap.  

 

[Westcliff Shrimper]

As well as we played yesterday (and let's be honest, it was an entertaining nil-nil draw) I seriously think we missed Kev, and he should go straight back in the team against Plymouth.

However, who else to pick? Glad that's Tilly's decision and not mine...

 

[gazzacat42]

If Kev would have been playing, JCR might have seen a bit more of the ball, we definately missed his passing..