Is this Part of the Reason we Cannot Score?

[LDH]

The different pairings being put forward say it all. What do you expect him to do, guess and then stick with that guess !!!!

The players aren't there. Maybe he should have seen / done that in the summer and he probably tried but it didn't happen so here we are and we are still trying. But it ain't easy to sign people with no money and no ground.

But he didn't give *any* partnership a chance. You can't keep changing it every single game as. He knows the stikers he has and you'd have thought by this stage of the season he'd have some of idea of which ones to play.

 

[London Irish]

I think it is quality of strikers rather than continuous partnerships. If the strikers cannot score, then no matter who they are paired with, they still won't score. In the Coventry match, we had 17 chances on goal compared to their 6 (according to Yahoo stats). The strikers don't need to be with someone they know to be able to slot them away. Look at teams like Chelsea (granted, a universe away from us) - they use squad rotation, and they have high-calibre strikers to slot in when required. We simply don't. We have strikers who need some work (CKR, Jakey), or strikers that we are not sure about (Turi), or strikers that seem unable to score for whatever reason, not necessarily because they are shit (McC). We need one striker who can come in, and score - he will give the others strikers confidence, and give the team confidence. We should have one before long, hopefully.

That really sums it up in a nutshell.

 

[London Irish]

But he didn't give *any* partnership a chance.

That simply isn't true, he gave the Leon and Jake one a good go after their success against Plymouth, but it was found wanting in the end, too lightweight.

Leon and CKR were paired together in a number of games, but their movement and workrate when paired wasm't good enough.

It's a pretty simple thing to grasp - we didn't have two strikers who demanded to be selected week in, week out. If we had possessed it, McGhee would have stuck with it!

 

[Uncle Buck]

It's a pretty simple thing to grasp - we didn't have two strikers who demanded to be selected week in, week out. If we had possessed it, McGhee would have stuck with it!

But would he?

If you look at last season it was changed a lot then. Virgo played up there a lot, but then in the run in, when fit he went back into defence. If you look at the games round Christmas last season he played Hart and Knight for a few of them, then Virgo and McCammon.

Under McGhee is has been an area that has been changed a lot. Granted in his first season this was partly due to the fact that Knight's partner was for a while a loan player, but the last 2 seasons we have changed that area nearly as much as we have with the keepers (I know that was down to injuries).

 

[Sid James]

He knows the stikers he has and you'd have thought by this stage of the season he'd have some of idea of which ones to play.

I don't want to be negative about our own players ( apart from Knight when he was here ) but I think what he knows is that he doesn't want to play the ones he's got. I think the post match 'desperate for a striker' comments give that one away.

 

[LDH]

That simply isn't true, he gave the Leon and Jake one a good go after their success against Plymouth, but it was found wanting in the end, too lightweight.

Leon and CKR were paired together in a number of games, but their movement and workrate when paired wasm't good enough.

You might be right but i'd like to see the stats that back that up. Also, what is 'a good go'? 5 games in a row? 10? 15?

I might be wrong but i don't remember any partnership starting more than a few consequtive games..

 

[Uncle Buck]

I don't want to be negative about our own players ( apart from Knight when he was here ) but I think what he knows is that he doesn't want to play the ones he's got. I think the post match 'desperate for a striker' comments give that one away.

But then other than Robinson, all the other strikers at the club (CKR, McCammon, Turienzo and although on loan Molango) were signed by him. So if he does not want them, why the hell did he sign them?

 

[Icy Gull]

But then other than Robinson, all the other strikers at the club (CKR, McCammon, Turienzo and although on loan Molango) were signed by him. So if he does not want them, why the hell did he sign them?

Silk purse from a sow's ear?

 

[Uncle Buck]

Silk purse from a sow's ear?

With regards to Molango, granted. But he spent a good period of last season trying to raise funds to get McCammon down here. Turienzo we paid money for.

 

[Sid James]

But then other than Robinson, all the other strikers at the club (CKR, McCammon, Turienzo and although on loan Molango) were signed by him. So if he does not want them, why the hell did he sign them?

I was just about to rephrase that. It's not that he doesn't want to play them, just that THE partnership isn't there.

CKR - looks promising but far from finished article. Likely starter with our new striker !!

El Turi & Molango - in our position you sometimes have to take a punt on people you don't know a lot about and only get to look at for a couple of weeks. Molango didn't work out, lets not give up on El Turi yet.

McCammon - afraid I can't answer that one.

 

[HampshireSeagulls]

Silk purse from a sow's ear?

Perhaps he saw something that has not come to fruition. The league is littered with "the next big thing", players that could have been great (Jeffers, etc?) - perhaps he thought that these players were ones that he could make something out of?

I don't particularly rate MM now, and I think that he has probably reached the limits of his management with us, but I also think we have to look at the other management staff that are there. MM doesn't decide on his own that a player is great, he has scouting and coaching staff to help him. We can't tell what videos of Turi, Molango, etc that they saw, or what little spark they saw on the training ground, but I imagine that they saw something to justify spending money on them.

 

[London Irish]

But would he?

If you look at last season it was changed a lot then. Virgo played up there a lot, but then in the run in, when fit he went back into defence. If you look at the games round Christmas last season he played Hart and Knight for a few of them, then Virgo and McCammon.

Under McGhee is has been an area that has been changed a lot. Granted in his first season this was partly due to the fact that Knight's partner was for a while a loan player, but the last 2 seasons we have changed that area nearly as much as we have with the keepers (I know that was down to injuries).

Well, when we are lucky enough to be in the position to acquire two strikers that are clearly better than the others we have in all tactical circumstances, then we'll know if he wants change for change's sake.

But we haven't been in that position probably since the end of the tier 3 football with Knight and Iwelumo.

The fact that McGhee rotated his forward line last season and, in doing so, kept us up, surely should reflect credit on him getting his decisions right? A less jaundiced onlooker would conclude that.

 

[London Irish]

Perhaps he saw something that has not come to fruition. The league is littered with "the next big thing", players that could have been great (Jeffers, etc?) - perhaps he thought that these players were ones that he could make something out of?

I don't particularly rate MM now, and I think that he has probably reached the limits of his management with us, but I also think we have to look at the other management staff that are there. MM doesn't decide on his own that a player is great, he has scouting and coaching staff to help him. We can't tell what videos of Turi, Molango, etc that they saw, or what little spark they saw on the training ground, but I imagine that they saw something to justify spending money on them.

I wonder if anyone on here will now admit to being part of the 80 per cent of Albion fans who chanted "sign him him, sign him up" at the 2004 Crawley pre-season game after Malongo scored two fine goals that day?

 

[Uncle Buck]

The fact that McGhee rotated his forward line last season and, in doing so, kept us up, surely should reflect credit on him getting his decisions right? A less jaundiced onlooker would conclude that.

Maybe it was a factor last season, along with pulling off some results that we have not managed this season.

But he has talked about evolving the team and the style and part of that should surely have been sorting out the strikers?

If we are going to start playing our own style and taking the game to the opposition more, than consistancy of selection should be part of this?

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

By changing the side it shows other teams that Mcghee is worried by them even at home, Mcghee needs to stop this as it gives them an advantage.
Let them worry about Brighton for once.

 

[London Irish]

But then other than Robinson, all the other strikers at the club (CKR, McCammon, Turienzo and although on loan Molango) were signed by him. So if he does not want them, why the hell did he sign them?

Well, we move into Ben's Grandad territory now Uncle Buck, discussing our financial situation and the limited options that this hands to the manager. We don't need to reprise this debate, do we?

 

[London Irish]

By changing the side it shows other teams that Mcghee is worried by them even at home, Mcghee needs to stop this as it gives them an advantage.
Let them worry about Brighton for once.

It's so simple, it's brilliant

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

It's so simple, it's brilliant

]

Its so simple, its true

 

[Uncle Buck]

]

Its so simple, its true

Like we use to pre McGhee when Withdean was something of a fortress?

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Knight worked well with Iwelumo so might have been an idea to pull out some stops to get him to have stayed.

Knight worked well with Benjamin so perhaps signing him might have been a good idea.

Knight even worked well with Darius Henderson who seems to be doing ok now.

PARTNERSHIPS not chopping and changing.