BEES Central Midfield

[Ace Face]

With Newman out for 5-6 weeks, who should play centre midfield with Oli?

After yesterday should we stick with MAs choice of EH?

My choice is Kev with Tillen coming in at Full back, until Newman returns.

 

[wanderer paul]

I'd have Tillen Left Midfield and Tabb in the Centre with Oli. Tabb will bring a bit of creativity to the centre which we've lacked. Leave O'Connor at RB.

 

[jbee]

I think EH deserves a run- he looked pretty decent against Scunny

 

[Deleted member 2202]

With Newman out for 5-6 weeks

According to MA's programme notes, it's only 3-4 weeks, as the injury is not as bad as first feared

 

[Boston Bee]

Wow. I saw a game totally different to you. I thought we had two very average plodders always late for the ball and never sure what the hell to do with it when won. Eddie is a Conference-level Talbot and not much in the MANY times I've watched him has changed that view. Even MA had some vague "well...he wins a lot of headers" view of him! Since Oli wasn't much better yesterday it was a problem for us.

I think we should go with Oli behind Tabb in the center. Brooker on the left and Rankin on the right?

I think EH deserves a run- he looked pretty decent against Scunny

 

[homerbees]

Wow. I saw a game totally different to you. I thought we had two very average plodders always late for the ball and never sure what the hell to do with it when won. Eddie is a Conference-level Talbot and not much in the MANY times I've watched him has changed that view. Even MA had some vague "well...he wins a lot of headers" view of him! Since Oli wasn't much better yesterday it was a problem for us.

I think we should go with Oli behind Tabb in the center. Brooker on the left and Rankin on the right?

Although Eddie didn't do anything of note yesterday i dont see the need to change the side after a win. We've kept a clean sheet and he's done his job i guess, i wish we'd see the Eddie of Bournemouth at the turn of the year. Getting involved and doing something rather than the old one which he seems to be going back to of the bad days.

 

[Thomas Bathurst]

Since Oli wasn't much better yesterday it was a problem for us.

I thought Ole looked pretty good in the first half. A range of passing, and loves to get stuck in. His stupid booking just after half time took him out of the game completely as he was scared to make a tackle after that - and then looked lost. I didn't think he looked like a plodder either I think once he gets settled he'll be a major asset - a pretty difficult start trying to hold the midfield together on your full league debut with only "Clean Shorts" alongside. I reckon once Newman comes back - with his experience - we'll see the best of Ole.

As for Hutch - I think we get away with him in the side at home (although i'd rather he wasn't in it). It's away from Griffin Park the midfield looks really exposed with him in it .... particularly on bigger pitches.

 

[mattfarr89]

...Rankin on the right?

 

[Ace Face]

Seconded

I would also liked to have seen some experimenting with Dobbo in pre-season in CM if only out of fairness to a good club servant, as he is finished as a full back.

 

[NorthamptonBee]

Rankin on the bench and EH on the list.

 

[Les Beeavinu]

The most telling moment yesterday was when Eddie played a one touch pass through two Scunny players to Tabb on the New Road. Simple bit of one touch football but from Eddie it was so out of character. It says something about expectation when a central midfielder gets applause for a 10 yard pass.

 

[mattfarr89]

Rankin on the bench and EH on the list.

 

[Mr Cynical]

Good news that Newman's only a few weeks off, I think we'll probably scrape by with Eddie for a couple of games. Chesterfield's always a game of head tennis so that's right up his street, it's when we come up against better sides that we're going to get overrun and I think we need to come up with a better solution. I think Oli will come good but he really needs some quality next to him to help bring it out. Does really highlight for me though how short we are of quality in that area...

 

[red_and_white]

i dont think skulason has outshone eddie yet to be honest, i think people just have that in there mindset unjustly. personal oppinion. I think the team lacks a real leader and because that was in the centre midfield last year our midfield seems weak. Hopefully Newman possesses that autocratic talbot personality, i think we need it.

 

[hanworthbee]

that pass eddie did was simple but brilliant easily the best pass of the day

 

[swr22]

I thought both CMs were weak to be honest- Skulason seemed shy to go to ground and get stuck in- letting some Scunny players run onto our back four when he seemed content to lean on them rather than tackle them- while EH was his usual OK self.
Very rarely did it look like anyone would win the ball, make a couple of yards of space and then knock the ball to feet. It was all heat and no light, and the passes that did get made were looped balls up top which their two big (but cumbersome) centre-halfs ate up. It was when DJ came on and could twist and use his pace that their centre backs looked troubled. But we are only going to use them best if we can play diagonal balls into space for DJ to run onto, or be able to win it and knock it wide to Tabby or Brooker.

 

[Brentford_till_die]

the style of play seems to be the same last year ?

cant see where the goals will come from, espec if we start with rankin ? we need dj

if we start with dj i think we will do great but if not than much like last year

 

[emel bee]

oli scares me,he tracks players then gets frustrated and kicks them.i can see us giving alot of free kicks away around the penalty area this year unless oli can change his way and learn to be patient.

 

[Paul O'Brien]

"that pass eddie did was simple but brilliant easily the best pass of the day"

Spot on - he did another one later on that was almost identical but our forward (Rankin?) was pulled up for offside. AH also managed more headers and shots than the rest of our team put together. Didn't win as much in the air in midfield as he often does - Skulason and he often seemed to go for the same ball as well. Overall, tho, not too bad a game by EH.

 

[Canadian Bee]

A Confrence level Talbot? lol rofl lol rofl

Don't make me laugh,emuando!

 

[owusu_is_home]

Eddie hutchinson is a good player why don't people just leave him alone and let him play football. Encourage him not put the man down. Just concentrate on the football.

 

[Boston Bee]

My mistake, I thought this was a messageboard where we talked about Brentford football club. At the match I encourage. Here I can say he didn't have a particularly good match, if that's ok with you.

Eddie hutchinson is a good player why don't people just leave him alone and let him play football. Encourage him not put the man down. Just concentrate on the football.

 

[8 Bee]

On the evidence of Saturdays game then Eddie should be picked ahead of Skulason. We all know that Eddie has limitations but he also has strengths which are often not credited by his detractors.

MA gave Eddie praise after the game and appeared to be giving Skulason a well-deserved bo**oking at one stage of the game. On several occasions Skulason gave the ball away in dangerous situations.

Eddie currently deserves his place in the starting line up

 

[Downbeat Bee]

1. I hate the 'don't slag them off brigade' - if people thought player x / y played well / badly they should say on here.

2. I don't agree that Hutchinson was so awful - I've seen him play much worse. I'm not a big fan, but the notion Skulason played better is either Hutchinson bating or wishful thinking. That is not to say Skulason is a bad signing just that he was not very impressive against Scunthorpe.

 

[Stanley]

On the evidence of Saturdays game then Eddie should be picked ahead of Skulason. We all know that Eddie has limitations but he also has strengths which are often not credited by his detractors.

MA gave Eddie praise after the game and appeared to be giving Skulason a well-deserved bo**oking at one stage of the game. On several occasions Skulason gave the ball away in dangerous situations.

Eddie currently deserves his place in the starting line up

Spot on, its nor Eddie we should be worried about at the moment but Oli, he looked to be struggling a lot of the time. having said that he did enough to suggest he might have a lot about him.

Newman and Eddie to form the most likley partnership for now.

 

[Boston Bee]

lol lol
Talk about damning with faint praise.
lol

2. I don't agree that Hutchinson was so awful - I've seen him play much worse.

 

[Les Beeavinu]

On the evidence of Saturdays game then Eddie should be picked ahead of Skulason. We all know that Eddie has limitations but he also has strengths which are often not credited by his detractors.

MA gave Eddie praise after the game and appeared to be giving Skulason a well-deserved bo**oking at one stage of the game. On several occasions Skulason gave the ball away in dangerous situations.

Eddie currently deserves his place in the starting line up

Skulason was making his debut. I can't believe anyone thinks that he is going to be a worse player than EH. He just needs time.

 

[rg12bee]

rather suspect MA will start with same team against Chesterfield, may put :dj: in. As for midfield, could use Frampton as a defensive type, or Tillen. Does EH deserve to be dropped already? Obviously a fair few GPGers think so.
See that Hargreaves got 9/10, scored and was in team of the day!
Agree about Dobbo, he got turned and outpaced at right back. Shame because Kev looked ok in midfield. Wonder if Tillen can play on the right.
At the end of the day, if we keep winning and still think the team can or should be changed then we may be on track for something.
I also agree that if people want to criticise, then fine.But, try to suggest viable alternatives.
For what it`s worth I would probably stick with Eh at the moment.

 

[hanworthbee]

the only change could be dj for rankin otherwise i think he'll stick with the same team, with Blatherwick on owusu it could be good to have DJ to run onto balls but if we hoof it we'll have no chance its gotta be on the ground against them

 

[Gee Bee]

It would not surprise me if we played 5 in midfield for away games, with Tabb/Brooker alternating playing just behind Owusu with Tillen playing left side. I suspect DJ may also remain on the bench for a few more games.

 

[jlove]

I would expect the same team as Saturday, too, except with Rankin playing his wide right midfield role and poor old Lloydo up on his own. DJ to come on when their defence gets tired of heading the ball out all the time.

If we play the "hoof'n'hope" game against Chesterfield, we'll have no chance. I just hope we can get Tabb and Brooker to be busy and play on the deck a bit more.

 

[Hampton Hill Bee]

Chris Hargreaves scored for Oxford on saturday!

 

[Boston Bee]

:yes: I would love for them to whack it on the ground into channels and see how Blatherwick likes a day of 30 yard footraces to the endline with Lloydy, Tabb and Rankin!

If we play the "hoof'n'hope" game against Chesterfield, we'll have no chance. I just hope we can get Tabb and Brooker to be busy and play on the deck a bit more.

 

[NorthamptonBee]

Chris Hargreaves scored for Oxford on saturday!

got 9/10 in a paper also.

 

[hanworthbee]

Chris Hargreaves scored for Oxford on saturday!

we know

hes quality

 

[Hampton Hill Bee]

He's their new skipper too!

 

[8 Bee]

Skulason was making his debut. I can't believe anyone thinks that he is going to be a worse player than EH. He just needs time.

Nobody is suggesting that.

The replies are merely adding some perspective to the original question for the thread:

"With Newman out for 5-6 weeks, who should play centre midfield with Oli?"

i.e. Oli may be one for the future but, on the limited evidence of 1 competitive match, it should not be assumed that he has an automatic place in the team ahead of Eddie.

 

[BeeAlzibub]

That all players give 100% is the first request of any fan.

Eddie does that for sure, however I don't think he's more than a squad player & with Newman out we look very short of cover. That was obvious from the first friendly at Staines where we lacked creativity to break down the oppo.

I think Skulason given a few matches to get the pace of 1st XI football & learn to control his petulance somewhat will turn out to be a very shrewd signing.

He will get round the pitch for sure & will certainly look to pass the ball. We only saw one example on Saturday but he hit the ball 50 yards crossfield to feet.

We'll play better and lose for sure !!

 

[Brentford_till_die]

exactly we miss a team leader, someone like P.Evans

 

[hanwell bee]

exactly we miss a team leader, someone like P.Evans

Well in a little under 6 weeks we'll have one

 

[Deleted member 2202]

Well in a little under 6 weeks we'll have one

3-4 weeks now, injury not as bad as first feared

 

[AB]

exactly we miss a team leader, someone like P.Evans

Not much evidence of that in the play off final or LDV Final!

 

[murphalot]

I would expect the same team as Saturday, too, except with Rankin playing his wide right midfield role and poor old Lloydo up on his own. DJ to come on when their defence gets tired of heading the ball out all the time.

If we play the "hoof'n'hope" game against Chesterfield, we'll have no chance. I just hope we can get Tabb and Brooker to be busy and play on the deck a bit more.

yep same team as saturday cept fitz instead of rankin and if at half time we are losing or drawing then bring on :dj: to spark things up

 

[Mr Cynical]

yep same team as saturday cept fitz instead of rankin and if at half time we are losing or drawing then bring on :dj: to spark things up

urrghh! To be honest I'd rather Rankin than Fitz if Dj isn't going to start. Will be interesting to see if MA tries to use last season's away tactics with one up front, I would hope with the players we've got we'll be a bit more adventurous..

On the midfield debate I think it's a bit rich to be comparing Oli with Hutch after one game. Hutch has been here for a few years and we all know what he can (and mostly can't) do, whereas Oli is definitely one for the future and hopefully with a few games under his belt will prove a good signing.. Remember Sidwell looked a bit lost in his first few games for us.

For me, Hutch is average at best and we need to do a lot better than that in midfield if we want to compete at the top. Whether Oli is the answer, we'll just have to wait and see....

 

[Bush Tuckerman]

I think Oli will be the business however the rest of the team need to move away from last years tactics of hoofing it long....on Saturday Tabby, Brooker and Oli were looking for the ball only for it to be sent long...we have three players there who are arguably amongst the best players on the ball in this league...yet we are still by passing them!

I thnk that slowly we will cotton on to this and start taking teams apart...to be honest I reckon Brooker could do this on his own given what I have seen so far!!

 

[Bigbee]

Get the Bailey kid in that Northampton Bee wrote about.MA's is free to approach Barnet for players signed after he left isnt he ? NB ,when the emails working at the club can you forward your suggestion so Martin sees it ? ta

 

[blianstillman]

I think Oli will be the business however the rest of the team need to move away from last years tactics of hoofing it long....on Saturday Tabby, Brooker and Oli were looking for the ball only for it to be sent long...we have three players there who are arguably amongst the best players on the ball in this league...yet we are still by passing them!

I thnk that slowly we will cotton on to this and start taking teams apart...to be honest I reckon Brooker could do this on his own given what I have seen so far!!

Very well said, there are alot of teams out there who just play FOOTBALL.

We now have the quality to produce this football. Lets hope they get better and better as the season goes on, can only be promotion if thats the case.

 

[londondude]

Is skulason injury bad

 

[NorthamptonBee]

Is skulason injury bad

Horrible tackle and he was limping off with Dobbo holding him up just after the 3rd goal.

 

[JANORAK]

I deliberately stayed away from this topic in the light of MA's pep talk on/at Eddie the other day, then blimey Eddie becomes midfield MOM in the very next game! (BeesWorld commentators were impressed anyway).

Tillen & Keenan seemed to have promising debuts, and with a new-found emphasis on playing passing football (both in the game & in MA's Press Conference), I'll put my doom & gloom back in the cupboard for a while....