Nooooooo! He’s established himself as pretty much our best CM, no point sending him backwards now.
Ye I get that but at least we have Osbourne who can come in and do a similar job.
We desperately need to sort the defence.
Osbourne offers height and can help defend set pieces
But he doesn’t get about the pitch like Kinsella. If anything, put Edwards RB
I’ve tried thinking about this and with the current players I’d go:
Roberts
Kinsella Johnson Fitzwater Edwards
Osbourne
Jarvis Dobson Zeli
Cook Ferrier
That, of course, won’t happen. Thinking is get in as many players who can play football, and see if that helps. It probably won’t.
What is needed:
We need a centre half who can actually organise a back line.
A holding midfielder because Osbourne is either great, or anonymous. I do think we are better with him however. What would be is Chambers, but we was way off the pace before this injury - so I dread to think now.
We need two full backs that can actually defend and stop crosses coming in from bad positions. I can seeone coming in, but two? With our budget - I guess not.
I’ve gone Johnson and Fitzwater at centre half to introduce a bit of mobility in there. Far from ideal both being kids in a relegation scrap, but we need a centre half desperately.
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Interesting to watch Newport just beat Leicester,.What stuck me was how many more defensive players they got in the box ,attacking the crosses and then the knock-downs if they didn’t deal with the initial cross. The players in the box didn’t just stand there watching if they failed to defend the original ball in. In comparison, it’s like a fatalism takes over if we can’t stop the initial attack.
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I cannot understand how hard Walsall have found it to stop balls coming into the box. Perhaps Keates should get some advice from some former managers that he’s played under. I would take a 0-0 to stop the rot, next game.
Would someone like Alladyce (a Midlander) come in for a couple of training sessions to provide a different voice? It’s not as if he’s going to threaten the manager’s authority is it? The club can’t afford to sack him! Even if it costs £5k for a few days work, it would be money well spent if it instils a bit of self belief and confidence.
What depresses me most is that we concede 5 goals and the back 5 hardly changes from one game to the next…
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It might be that teams put priority on getting balls in because they know it pays such big dividends. Even if you don’t score straight off,it doesn’t matter because we do poor defending any resulting scramble. Forwards can turn with ease in the six yard box without being closed down. It’s like a mental paralysis sets in. That’s not saying we’re not weak also at stopping balls in in the first place. But right now a speculative cross seems to be paying rewards so often.
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Exactly. Now don’t tell me that the Newport defence have THAT much more quality than ours?
It’s all about organisation, shape, closing down - Newport didn’t give Leicester a second. Their full backs were wide and prevented the Leicester wingers getting space or time, and they packed the centre of the pitch preventing them from playing through the middle.
Compare and contrast to our defensive “shape”.
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That’s a ridiculous idea. Not only is Kinsella ■■■■ there, much worse than Devlin. He’s our only performing centre mid at the minute.
And you say Osbourne can do that job. I haven’t seen it.
Christ all mighty, I’m the deluded one!
So you want to put Liam Kinsella, a bloke whose literally never performed well at right back and is currently our best centre mid out of position. Joe Edwards, a bloke whose dangerously off the pace for a defensive position at left back, completely out of position as well. And entrust two kids, both loanees who can walk away whatever happens at the end of the season, with sorting out our woeful defending every time a ball comes into the box.
Oh but don’t worry! They’ll have Isiah Osbourne sitting in front of them. A bloke whose barely covered 10 yards of space the entire season.
That will shore us up.
What do you suggest then ?
I’ll pre-empt your response - or try to change it when you see it - with the defitnion of madness from Einstein.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.
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none of the Whitney defenders will be here next season and would not have been this season if anyone wanted them but no one is stupid enough to pay a fee for such garbage roll on next season with a completely new defence and keeper.
If the budget allows sign a full back and a centre half. I presume it does considering Keates threats regarding this transfer window. I probably wouldn’t bother telling Fitzwater to come back if that helped loosen the purse strings a little. He’s been dire this season.
If not though it wouldn’t involve playing two kids and two players out of position, with an immobile DM.
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fair comment much rather that than pulling the likes of Kinsella out of position when he has been head and shoulders above Dobson for me this season.
I’d keep the 4-4-2 and drop Dobson for Edwards whatever happens to be honest. Edwards is good enough box to box to defend well but also contribute in their half and Kinsella has been outstanding all year.
Yes there were defensive monstrosities this weekend but those came from pressure. And the pressure came from the midfielder particularly Dobson not keeping the ball at all second half.
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So you would drop Dobson for an unfit midfielder… my days now that’s ridiculous
Quite a bit of selective reading going on here.
Walsall 2 Burton 0 - 10th October 2015
"Young Kinsella, what a game. He’s taken over the reins from Jason Demetriou, who’s been excellent all season. And he got a goal.“
Quoted from Dean Smith. I’m not saying put Kinsella at RB however to say he has literally never performed well in that position is unfair to the lad.
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