McGhee - "Leon was absolutely INEPT tonight"....

[Prettyboyshaw]

20+ goals a season and still we moan...he may not be a 110% player (or even 75%!) but what would we have done without those goals.

I think 'inept' is a bit harsh especially in public and when there are a few players more deserving of it. Maybe it will fire him up to be a 30+ goals a season player...now wouldn't that make you happy ! ?

 

[Titanic]

This thread is one of the puzzling 'over-reaction' type threads I've seen for a while.

Leon had a poor game - heavily marked, but he also seemed to be lacking the heart for a real battle. it was also on marked contrast to TB who ran his socks off.

MM takes him off - Jakey does well - what a pity he missed that chance right on the final whistle.

Leon needs a bit of a gee-up... it's not the first time, so I would expect MM has had the quiet words in the dressing room several times already. I see no problem with a fair public comment that he wasn't doing well last night.

If Leon doesn't like it, then he's not fit to wear the stripes anyway.

 

[Ernest]

I thought he said inert listening to the interview live which if you read the rest of the transcript makes sense as Magoo goes on about him not buzzing after his suspension.
The trouble is that Knight has phoned it in now for many games and apart from an odd penalty is doing nothing every game. So thumbs up to Magoo and would Adams have done differently , remember Cameron and the useless comments ?

 

[wokingone]

Personally I think MM was right. Leon was clearly going through the motions last night and I would have pulled him off earlier. A few harsh words albeit in public and a bit of competition for his place from Mr Robinson might do the trick

 

[Faldo]

ship up?!

I agree with the mountain out of a molehill comment. McGhee didnt SLATE LK. By the sounds of it I reckon he was caught of guard by the question, gave an unconsidered response and quickly tried to cover (by citing his recent suspension as a possible reason for his poor performance).

In my opinion, MM knows his job and will deal with Leon how he feels is best - and seeing as he's the boss, he's the best to judge!

I reckon Leon needs a kick up the arse. He's been disappointing for a while, and a lack of goals from our forwards lately (read Knight) is undermining the good work being done at the back. I'm confident MM will get the best out of him.

On the plus side, at least David Lee didnt get a run out!

 

[Prettyboyshaw]

Personally I think MM was right. Leon was clearly going through the motions last night and I would have pulled him off earlier. A few harsh words albeit in public and a bit of competition for his place from Mr Robinson might do the trick

'Pulled him off earlier'

Is that your idea of a motivational tactic

 

[Marc]

my 2 pence worth:

McGhee should'nt of said that in public, keeps matters like this private and if he continues to play crap (which i thought he did last night) then drop him for a game or two and see how he reacts in training.

As for Jakey, he looked well up for it when he came on, should've scored or at the very least hit the target right at the death. Certainly not ready for a starting place, more subs then gradually work him in more next season IMO

 

[sully]

Andrew Hawes thought McGhee said INERT, and he was the one talking to him!

 

[Hiney]

The indisputable fact is that (on his day) Leon is clearly a top class striker at this level. It is also a fact that in the last few games he has not been on top of his form. No player likes being substituted, especially if it is because of poor form and I'm sure Leon is no different. Therefore any adverse reaction when he comes off is to be expected - he is hardly going to thank Mark McGhee for depriving him the chance to put it right.

Emotions always run high in football and for a manager to have a microphone shoved in his face straight after the game is a difficult situation. I am sure that there will be a conversation this morning and if there is any apologising to do, it will be done.

Mark McGhee's job is to get the best out of his players for 90 minutes twice a week, not to invite them round for dinner.

The time to judge his management performance is at 5 o'clock on the 8th of May. If we are 6th or above then in my book, he's done his job with players that he inherited.

If Mark McGhee thinks Leon Knight was inept last night then fair enough. If he wants to tell the listeners of SCR that he was inept, then that's out of order IMHO.

All this makes the game next week absolutely massive for us and Leon Knight has a job on to convince McGhee that he can do a job for us.

Personally I think he will come good and start knocking in the goals again.

 

[keitho54]

I heard the word as 'inert' (lifeless; inactive) which I thought was a good choice and accurately described Knight's performance.

It seemed to change to 'inept' (awkward; clumsy; incompetent)when 'Colon' and Hartie confirmed what a caller suggested Magoo had said.

 

[Falmer Dream]

So Hawsey jumps in and asks the stupid question.

The exact question he asked was: "You made quite a noticeable substitution, Leon Knight coming off and Jake Robinson coming on. What were you looking for? What was the thinking there?"

Andrew Hawes would not have been doing his job properly if he had not asked this question, which was asked in a totally neutral way without pointing McGhee towards any particular answer. There were 6,000 of us at the match last night wondering what McGhee's answer to that question would be.

Trying to shift some of McGhee's comments onto Andrew Hawes for asking a very good question is ridiculous. Top marks to Hawesy.

 

[Falmer Dream]

Andrew Hawes thought McGhee said INERT, and he was the one talking to him!

I've got the whole interview on tape and I can assure you his exact words were very clear: "I thought that Leon was totally inept."

 

[H block]

It is hard to remember a Albion forward who pulled out of so many tackles as LK did last night.It matters not one jot that the boy has undoubted talent and has a eye for goal.What matters is that he wears the striped shirt with pride and gives his all when he plays for the Albion.He cannot be allowed to escape criticism for his display last night just because he has scored 20 odd for us up to now.As for MM saying he was inept ...........well thats hardly a public roasting is it.``Pitiful southern softies``was aquote a few years back from one of the greatest managers we have ever had.I for one would have been annoyed had MM not said something like he did to Hawseys question but then again we could have a Houllier type response where the ref...crowd...weather...injury...suspension...sloping pitch...seismic disturbance was to blame for a players total dis-interest in playing for the Albion.

 

[balloonboy]

I've got the whole interview on tape and I can assure you his exact words were very clear: "I thought that Leon was totally inept."

McGhee is Scottish, remember, "inert" often sounds like "inept" when spoken by our northern brethren.

Seriously, Knight's reputation goes before him. Unfortunately he is one of the worst types of prima donas. It would be a crying shame if he doesn't make it in the big time, as he's easily the most skilful player in this Division. But someone important needs to sit him down and tell him the facts of life. McGhee could be that person. I understand TB gets on well with him - let's hope together they can sort him out, get him focussed, etc. McGhee may very well have tried every other trick in the book - public criticisms rarely works, but if it's the last resort then it's possibly worth a go.

 

[Falmer Dream]

McGhee is Scottish, remember, "inert" often sounds like "inept" when spoken by our northern brethren.

Perhaps we should ban managers with Scottish accents, even Rougvie

 

[Mr C]

If he did say INSERT then that describes his performance to a tee. INEPT would be a bit harsh, as he did have some good moement.s

But yeah he did look like he lacked effort, passion, and commitment to a degree

 

[On the Left Wing]

I would truly like to see MM have the balls to play Jake and McPhee up front together with Dan Harding moving further up field alongside Harty ... could really invigorate our attack

 

[Kneon Light]

What pisses me off about Knight at the moment is that apart from when he scores he never seems to acknowledge the fans. He always seems to be the first one off the pitch and away from home rarely claps the fans.

Couldn't go last night due to illness so I can't comment on his performance. I did however hear the interview and was sure he said "inept"

 

[Easy 10]

If he did say INSERT then that describes his performance to a tee. INEPT would be a bit harsh, as he did have some good moement.s

So now we have INEPT, INERT and INSERT.
Confused ? I know I am.

 

[DJ Leon]

Pardon me for butting in on this, but did he actually say inept? I thought he said inert - that's a completely different adjective and one that was appropriate tonight given the fact that Knight had about 5 defenders marking him. Any player would be inert with that kind of attention.

I was listening last night and I am ABSOLUTELY 100% sure that he did say 'inert' not 'inept.

Besides which, why call Knight inept when he could have singled out Jonesy, whose last 8 or so touches were all misplaced passes or poor control. Poor lad had a total nightmare (no pun intendeed)

But anyway - it was definitely 'inert'!