Virgo in MIDFIELD....riiiiiiiighhht

[Easy 10]

Dear Points of View,
I went to a game of football tonight, and when I arrived and sat down, I couldn't help but notice that our right back/centre back/striker was now starting in central midfield. Now I'm as flexible and open-minded as the next fan, but I've never had this chap marked down as a central midfielder. He's tall, he can put himself about a bit, and has had some success making a nuisance of himself in the oppositions penalty area. But he's not a great tackler, and passings not really one of his strong points either. Luckily one of our other centre-backs soon damaged his cartilidge, which allowed our right back/centre back/striker to drop back into his more natural position, as up until then, he had been completely and utterly f***ing LOST (do pardon my french).

Why oh why oh why do we leave a promising young MIDFIELDER with first team experience on the bench, and play our flexible friend in another position he is completely unaccustomed to ? I'm sure Mr M knows exactly what he's doing, but tonight I was left frightened and confused.

Concerned,

Southwick.

 

[the right footed denilson]

all very odd.

esp as hinsh played in midfield at the begining of the season.

 

[Roger Mellie]

Yeah I struggled with that one as well. Couple of good tackles but?

 

[Beach Hut]

I manage an U13s team and I do sympathise with MM.

We have two long term injuries and were one missing on Sunday and went down 3 - 2.

I shuffled the pack several times playing defenders in midfield etc but it just never happened - we came very close to pulling off a draw but shit happens.

I think MM is just looking for inspiration when you are short on players.

 

[Trigger]

Gotta get the favourites in the team by all means necessary...

Don't get me wrong, i like McGhee but he does need to cut down on the buddy picking.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

Gotta get the favourites in the team by all means necessary...

Don't get me wrong, i like McGhee but he does need to cut down on the buddy picking.

I agree with that 100%

 

[Easy 10]

Seriously. I could NOT get my head around this one. Reid could have slotted in next to Charlie, with Virgo or El Abd (wheres he gone ??) at RB. But Virgo in CENTRAL MIDFIELD ?? Sorry, but that just made absolutely no sense whatsoever. The fella looked completely lost. People were running past him, he was not involved in any build-up, and was left basically chasing shadows. It was an unmitigated disaster, and yet McGhee was on the radio saying he was pleased with how it went, and that Virgo was "in the right places". EH ? If the "right places" is totally uninvolved in any constructive moves, and left behind when Reading were springing forward, then yes, Virgs was spot on.

Its not Virgo's fault. He's just not a midfielder. I've supported McGhee all the way in the past, and I'll continue to do so because he's doing a damn fine job with what he's got available.

But sometimes, he gets it completely and utterly wrong. The mad formation in the home match v Plymouth (Kerry in midfield) was one, and tonight was another. It happens. It didn't work. Move on. But please Mr M, DON'T play Virgo in midfield.

Ever.

 

[London Irish]

OTT, Easy, but I guess you often mean to be. Virgs is talented enough to play anywhere, but his most effective position for us tonight was up front where his brilliant volley was the closest we got to scoring. He was not "lost" in midfield, though, and was an example of McGhee trying to replace the qualities we were missing with Chippy, box-to-box workrate and a shooting goal threat supporting the front 2 from midfield.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

If that scrappy piece of crap had finished 1-0 to The Albion instead of the other way round - and we had far more genuine chances capable of being converted into goals than Reading did - then the ol' 'Mark McGhee Tactical Genius' threads would have been up and running bigtime. Which would have been as much nonsense as threads slating him. He's not the messiah. He's not a naughty boy. He's just muddling through with the playing equivalent of two Squeezy bottles and a sheet of sticky-backed plastic. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

 

[the right footed denilson]

OTT, Easy, but I guess you often mean to be. Virgs is talented enough to play anywhere, but his most effective position for us tonight was up front where his brilliant volley was the closest we got to scoring. He was not "lost" in midfield, though, and was an example of McGhee trying to replace the qualities we were missing with Chippy, box-to-box workrate and a shooting goal threat supporting the front 2 from midfield.

step foward dean hammond

 

[Curious Orange]

How unlucky can we get.

We set out to stop Reading, and it would have worked had we not had three players off injured and the opposition cheated for the only goal of the match.

Having seen the challenge of McPhee again I also believe we should have had a penalty, based on the first spot kick given to Stoke a few weeks ago.

A bad month, glad it's over. I still reckon we'll stay up though.

I was quite amused to find myself behind Superphil on the bus back to Mill Road as he was on the phone to SCR, couldn't work out who he was talking to until I saw the hands free!!

 

[the right footed denilson]

If that scrappy piece of crap had finished 1-0 to The Albion - and we had far more genuine chances capable of being converted into goals than Reading did - then the ol' 'Mark McGhee Tactical Genius' threads would have been up and running bigtime. Which would have been as much nonsense as threads slating him. He's not the messiah. He's not a naughty boy. He's just muddling through with the playing equivalent of two Squeezy bottles and a sheet of sticky-backed plastic. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

disagree- we have nicolas, hammond, reid who can all play CM. if they cant they should be released.

 

[Easy 10]

Sorry, but it Just made no sense to me. What does Hammond think then, when one of our central midfielders is suspended, the other is injured, and yet he's still stuck on the bench while a converted defender-come-striker takes his slot in his position ? Even then we had other options, as we currently have a midfielder playing at right-back (Virgos old position). Later on, we had Harding next to Butters in the middle of the defence.

I'll not pretend to be more tactically astute than McGhee. He knows his players and makes his judgements on what they're capable of doing. And the side was further disrupted by injuries during the game. But it doesn't disguise the fact that we were completely and utterly stinking the place out BEFORE we lost Hinsh/McCammon and later Mayo. We looked disjointed, there was no shape, pattern or conviction to the play, and the only slight half-chance we created in the 1st half was when their keeper presented the ball to McCammon in trying to stop a corner, and he put it just wide. THAT was the sum total of our first half efforts, against an out-of-sorts, piss-poor Reading team with one win all year.

McGhee gets it right a hell of a lot more than he gets it wrong. But I just cannot see how playing Virgs in central midfield can be construed as anything other than a mistake. It didn't even come close to working, unless I saw a completely different game to you, LI.

 

[Shropshire Seagull]

The Sky commentator mentioned play-anywhere-Virgs.
But I was totally shocked when he said that his best position and future career position is left back.
Put him in goal I say ...

 

[Easy 10]

If that scrappy piece of crap had finished 1-0 to The Albion instead of the other way round - and we had far more genuine chances capable of being converted into goals than Reading did - then the ol' 'Mark McGhee Tactical Genius' threads would have been up and running bigtime.

Disagree.
We battled in the latter stages of the 2nd half and nearly scraped something out of it, but for 3/4 of that match, we were absolute toilet. A goal might have papered over the cracks of the performance, but be honest...we really were piss poor.

Of course I'm not saying that was ALL down to playing Virgo in central midfield (being as he had to revert to CB in the 1st half anyway), but I defy you to look at a recording of that match, and note ONE positive moment Virgs had in the middle of the park.

It's just not an option. God help us if McGhee perceveres with that for the Coventry match - I truley fear for us if we line up with that midfield again this season.

 

[pasty]

But it doesn't disguise the fact that we were completely and utterly stinking the place out BEFORE we lost Hinsh/McCammon and later Mayo. We looked disjointed, there was no shape, pattern or conviction to the play

No change from last tuesday then.

 

[Easy 10]

Good points well made D O.

 

[Easy 10]

No change from last tuesday then.

Actually, take out the first half an hour of last Tuesday and we did ok (although I accept that Wigan took their foot off the gas). And Wigan are a completely different proposition to Reading.

Tonight though, I really can't think of ANY positives from the performance whatsoever. It was desperate. I KNOW we were disrupted by injuries, but we were utter cack beforehand anyway. Its getting more and more worrying by the game, and I'm just glad we've now got a 2 week break now to draw breath and prepare ourselves for that run-in.

 

[London Irish]

Anyone remember this? "Adam (Virgo) is one of those players, like Chris Sutton and Dion Dublin, who can perform just at well at either end of the pitch. He is our top goalscorer and I am 100 per cent certain he will be staying up front for as long as we don't have a better striker to play there. The way Adam linked up with Mark McCammon was one of the big positives we could take from Tuesday night's game (v Wigan). With those two up front we have the partnership we have been looking for all season."

That was McGhee in The Argus less than a WEEK ago, not for the first time saying 1 thing and then doing something else.

My guess would be a combination of mind games with Coppell and countering the big threat of Little, which meant Leon couldn't play on the left flank.

Did you see that bit where Virgs had our best chance with a glorious volley? That's not the work of someone who can be pigeonholed just as a defender, don't talk down this excellent player.

 

[London Irish]

No change from last tuesday then.

Yeah, no difference at all between 0-0 and 4-0.

Easy, there were positives, error rate was much lower today, we looked more solid despite Reading's greater possession.