Guest Neo Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 A while ago I thought our squad was very well placed to do well due to the quality cover. Now with an injury to Aaron and possibly Tommy out for a couple of games (at least), I am worried that we have a problem in midfield. Although I keep seeing posts saying that Wilkshire and Goodfellow are good players, I think they are both complete light-weights. With Goodfellow, it is like men versus boys. He is knocked off the ball far too easily and cannot defend whatsoever. People question Aaron's commitment at times, however, at least when we are on the back foot you have a level of confidence he can win an occasional tackle. People's praise of Wilkshire continually baffles me. What sort of player is he. He is often far to slow to spot a pass to be a focal playmaker, he cannot tackle and cannot run. I know the normal people will come on here with their "we need to get behind the team stuff" etc. (believe me I do). But what is the solution? Surely we are not going to compete with QPR, Plymouth, Brighton, Swindon etc. when 2 out of our 4 midfielders are generally a pair of tarts? I personally would go for the following :- Roberts, Tinnion, Fortune, Bell with Wilkshire and Goodfellow on the bench to come on if we need a laugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbored Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Its about getting a balance in any starting 11. Defenders,midfield,Strikers.Midfield is always the most difficult to fill due to the various roles midfielders have to fill. You get "wide", "creative", "attacking" and "defensive" all prefixing the word midfielder. Sure, Wilkshire and Goodfellow are lightweight but they offer pace and goalscoring potential in G'fellows case and creativity in Wilkshire case.Neither are the worlds best tacklers or ball-winners but what they lack in one department they make up for in others. Its upto Wilson to tinker and jiggle his resources to fill the gap left by Browns' injury.After all he's paid handsomly for his expertise. As fans we all have opinions about who should play where - I would go with Goodfellow,Tinnion,Docherty and Roberts especially at AG, and Bell in place of G'fellow away from home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobby Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 I would go with Goodfellow,Tinnion,Docherty and Roberts especially at AG, and Bell in place of G'fellow away from home. Absolutely agree - will be interesting to see what Danny comes up with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neo Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Absolutely agree - will be interesting to see what Danny comes up with I would agree to an extent as well as we have capability within the squad to cover for Goodfellow's failings. However, doesn't this presume that Tommy's diagnosis is going to be good (or have I missed something). History has normally dictated in his case that an injury normally equates to about 3 to 6 weeks!! If he is out for a period, would you go with Fortune or even Burnell ahead of Wilkshire? I certainly would if it meant both Wilkshire and Goodfellow starting (see original post) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elko Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 I personally would go for the following :- Roberts, Tinnion, Fortune, Bell with Wilkshire and Goodfellow on the bench to come on if we need a laugh I don't believe you think Fortune is better as a central midfielder than Docherty and Wilkshire Edit: spelling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neo Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 I don't believe you think Fortune is better as a central midfielder than Docherty and Wilkshire Edit: spelling I don't believe you can't read. I am saying that Aaron is out and MAYBE TOMMY. That is why I picked the midfield I did. As for Wilkshire. Why? It's ok to say I can't believe you would do this and that, but surely you need to back it up. I said in my original post he is not a play-maker as he wants too much time on the ball, his tackling is light-weight and he has zero pace; at least i'm justifying my reasons. Fortune has already shown in limited appearances he can win ball and can keep up with play. He also is very useful with the ball at his feet. So yes, Fortune would be in ahead of Wilkshire (for me) IF TOMMY IS UNFIT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elko Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Ok sorry. Didn't see the bit about Tommy, didn't know he was out. As for playing Wilkshire in front of Fortune, he makes more forwards runs to attacking positions and has better distribution and control. Fortune has more speed and strenght, but is not as good on the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 I am very impressed with Fortune. He is confident and composed on the ball. He seems well able to fit into where ever he is asked. He also has grasped the need to press forward, unlike some players. I would like him to get a start again soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucksred Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 Absolutely agree - will be interesting to see what Danny comes up with Burnell, is the magic name, with Doc in the centre, Tins on the right, and Luke on the right. Leapy & Miller up front. Robbo on for 30, Leroy on for 20-30, Goodfella on for 10...you know the DW Script by now!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucksred Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 OOOOps, Burnell, is the magic name, with Doc in the centre, Tins on the right, and Luke on the right. Leapy & Miller up front. Robbo on for 30, Leroy on for 20-30, Goodfella on for 10...you know the DW Script by now!!!! Should read Tins on the LEFT, its been a long day!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Top Corner Posted March 15, 2004 Share Posted March 15, 2004 As already has been pointed out, it's pretty obvious that Wilkshire or Goodfellow aren't the most combative or most defensively minded of midfielders in the world. However their qualities lie in different areas. Goodfellow has already chalked 4 goals in 7 starts (plus 4 as sub). That wouldn't be a bad return for a central striker, let alone someone who is playing out wide. Wilkshire is comfortable on the ball and before he went off with Australia in January, he had more assists than anyone in the 2nd division. Again not a bad return. Lightweight maybe, but that doesn't mean they aren't good players. Again without wishing to state the obvious, it's clearly about getting the right balance in the side. Since Wilkshire came back from international duty, his almost immediate inclusion back in the side, definitely unbalanced things. Unless you go with a five in midfield, then you have to play either Tins or Wilkshire in central midfield, not both. Say with Doherty out (let's hope we don't have to find out), I'd go with Tinnion/Burnell in the middle and Goodfellow and Roberts out wide. With Matty Hill and Carey operating behind Goodfellow and Roberts, then at least you would have 2 reliable defenders to 'tidy up'. Not sure about Fortune in midfield. Haven't seen enough of him playing there yet to form a definite opinion. Wilkshire has got a lot to offer, but his role at the moment probably is as a deputy for Tinnion, unless as I mention, we change the system we play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Neo Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 I would be happy with that midfield Top Corner; I agree that Hill and Carey behind Roberts and Goodfellow will help cover any frailities in defensive respects, although, Hill's distribution (especially in the left-back position) isn't going to help Goodfellow in terms of being able to sit on the last defender; he will need to drop deeper and pick up the ball as Aaron has had to do. This at times hinders our ability to break quickly and allows teams time to organise and get plenty of men behind the ball. I would have no problem with Joe coming back in especially given our fixtures over the next 6 weeks! Clayton is perhaps to inexperienced with such difficult games, however, I think this player in particular is the future. I know he is mainly regarded as a Central Defender, however, Danny's Vieira quote wasn't as far-fetched as it may have appeared. This lad has got real quality and I hope he becomes a regular feature (at least from the bench) soon. A lot of people rate Lita as a real talent; personally, I am not so sure he will ever play at a higher level than he currently is. He knows where the net is for sure, however, is all too often very ineffective. Of all the promising youngsters we have, I see Clayton Fortune and Scott Brown as the 2 with the brightest futures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fct Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 I think that if Burnell was utilised in midfield it would have to be in away matches, because he's really not suited to home games where we have to break down opponents with quick incisive forward passes. Burnell's strengths lie in tackling, running and tidying up. What he cannot do and this has been demonstrated enough times by the man himself, is to play a quick ball or to pass forward with any degree of accuracy. Wilkshire is still a young man as is Freezer and they will develop given time into good players. Wilks is to me Tins' successor but I think maybe we'll need to sign a quality midfielder to replace Tins if we go up to nuture Wilks for the next 3 years or so. As for Freezer, he's useful in that he can play on either flank and covers for Roberts or Aaron (such as the present when we have Aaron out). Roberts is pacey but we all know he does not play well with Peacock so unless DW drops Peacock (unlikely given DW's stubborn refusal to accept the blinding obvious until its too late) Roberts should make the right his own. In the centre Tommy is a must but if he's out I'd play Tins and Wilks there at home and (takes a deep breath) Tins and Burnell for away matches, particularly at Swindle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.