Tuesday 13th May, 20082 years ago, mid-May
What We Can Learn as the Dust Settles on the Season
The dust has settled on the season now and Stuart McCall has decided City were not good enough saying we were a four out of ten team.
The dust has settled on the season now and everyone is getting ready to not be interested in the European Championships and Euro 2008 but Stuart McCall is sat behind his desk at VP trying to find out how to make his four our of ten team a nine or tenner. He hasn’t asked me for suggestions but I’m going to give them anyway.
First I’d tell him to have not made as many changes as he has which is not like me at all cause I normally favour throwing out bathwater and babies on the hope that we might get cuter babies but Eddie Johnson, Darren Williams (Who seems to have done nothing wrong except remind people of Holloway) and Tom Penford were used to the way that Stuart got City playing. The big problem this season was that it took City four months to get into the zone and get used to each other so letting go of the players who were used to each other was not a great idea.
Second I’d say that he should look again at that four out of ten. Chop the first four months off the season and take the season half of it and City are a playoff team. A good start to the season and we could end up being the best side from January to January (not that that gets you promoted) which says to me that we need a couple of tweaks and not a load of changes.
The changes we need are about smarts. We need to get smarter and stop giving the ball away so much (getting rid of Paul Evans goes half way to this) especially when we are away from home. At home we just need to make sure we understand that the best way to attack is to get the ball as often as possible so we need a guy in the midfield to win it back and that guy is not Lee Bullock or Kyle Nix. Stuart needs a Stuart and he needs one who can come in on the first day of the season and be good. Everyone in football is looking for one of them.
Third he needs to change the law so Donny Ricketts can come back. Scott Loach did nothing Ricketts couldn’t do and made the same mistakes. People were just less bored of him is all so he didn’t get groaned at. Shame to see Donny go and I don’t think he got enough of a send off.
Lastly Stuart needs to fix his team in his mind before the first day and stop the chopping and changing of forwards. We need partnership and understanding to get out of this league.
Colin Todd brought Eddie to Valley Parade after an ambitions bid to secure his signing. Johnson had completed a successful loan period at Crewe Alexandra and had been offered an extremely generous contract offer in relation their wage structure. Colin Todd convinced the board to also build a package to outbid Crewe. Eddie obviously looking for his first professional contract outside of Manchester United, took the best offer on the table.
I liked both Striker Johnson & Midfielder Johnson and could never question his commitment for our club. However, for the ‘Championship’ wages he has commanded over the last 2 years, he has not produced enough to warrant a new contract. People may point to the fact that he wished to stay at BD8 by offering to take a 50% wage cut. 50% would still contribute to an excessive wage compared to his league two compatriots and probably 4 times the amount we are paying an exciting Kyle Nix.
I feel that McCall has got the right target in Luke Beckett! Guaranteed goal scorer! My mouth waters at the thought of fielding our first established (proven goal scorers) strike partnership since Blake and Mills…
I’m entirely with Roland on the Donavan send-off. Wouldn’t you just love to have seen the last 10 minutes at Wycombe with that awesome strike partnership of Wethers and The Don? At least Wethers would have known that he would have had to go for all the crosses, on the basis that The Don wouldn’t be jumping!!
Not sure I agree Tom. I think Eddie, or “Skip” as I like to call him deserved another year. He’s a good player and will no doubt do well wherever he goes. Let’s hope McCall has some ftting replacements!
Stuart has two main things to sort out this summer.
1) He has to reshape the back four. This will mean signing a first-choice centre half because I don’t think Clarke and Bower are enough to carry us through a whole season. There are loads of right backs around but not many good ones. I feel a bit sorry for Williams but then having seen him give away the most stupid penalty of the season at Shrewsbury and the way he got done by Michael Boulding I think he had the odd calamity in him a la Holloway and that is a tendency that does not disappear with age. It would do no harm having a younger and more energetic model in. Heckingbottom stays. There are decent goalkeepers out there but if there is a chance of keeping Loach I would because he is talented and loved playing for us this season.
2) He has to find a way to accommodate Nix, Colbeck, Daley, Thorne and a second striker (whoever that may be) in the same side. That is a lot of attacking talent for this division (especially when Daley can actually be bothered) and it should yield a tonne of goals but it leaves us a bit soft on midfield cover for the defence. I think City would reap the benefits of playing in a more attacking style, but unless Stuart can persuade Bullock to anchor full-time or get someone in like Brandon to do that job then I think he needs to work out how those 5 can provide us with more insurance when City haven’t got the ball.
“At home we just need to make sure we understand that the best way to attack is to get the ball as often as possible so we need a guy in the midfield to win it back”
Dare I say that we had one of these, and he’s just been freed in the shape of Craig Bentham?