triggs Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I'd agree with all of that Gottlob, but I still don't accept that our squad is awful. The way we are playing is awful alright. Pick a team from our players that you think would get midtable Krul Janmaat Mbemba Colo Haidara Tiote Sissoko Wijnaldum Thauvin Perez Mitrovic Bench: Elliot/Darlow, Lascelles, Dummett, Anita/Colback, Aarons, De Jong, Cisse Look, it's not good enough for where I want NUFC to be and there are certainly huge weaknesses to the squad, but it should be adequate enough to compete for 10-12th alongside the likes of West Brom, West Ham and the likes. I massively disagree but I'll leave it there Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 It's completely pointless asking anyone to name a line-up, because the whole problem is we're not a good TEAM. It's the responsibility of the manager and the coaching staff to patch up the same holes in a playing squad that every club barring about three has to deal with. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unbelievable Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 It's completely pointless asking anyone to name a line-up, because the whole problem is we're not a good TEAM. Isn't that at least in part the manager's responsibility? I don't need convincing that there are a lot of other things wrong at the club, but the premise here is that this squad of players is apparently so awful that relegation is practically a foregone conclusion. Back in September most people on here felt that this squad was capable of midtable. I still believe it is. There's quite a few teams above us currently whose squad I wouldn't swap with ours (keeping managers in place). Edit: just seen your edit. Agreed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Until we've seen our best players in a system that suits their qualities failing I will continue to believe these are good enough for midtable in this league. Evidently, no left hand side, two defensive midfielders, four central midfielders and no wingers does not get the best out of this squad. Why McClaren keeps at it begars belief really. The shittest defence in the league and no proven goalscorer in the entire squad and you're still at it, man. Give over. Aye - the game can be this simple. Solid defence + goals = decent team. Crap defence + no goals = crap team. This is us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Until we've seen our best players in a system that suits their qualities failing I will continue to believe these are good enough for midtable in this league. Evidently, no left hand side, two defensive midfielders, four central midfielders and no wingers does not get the best out of this squad. Why McClaren keeps at it begars belief really. The shittest defence in the league and no proven goalscorer in the entire squad and you're still at it, man. Give over. Aye - the game can be this simple. Solid defence + goals = decent team. Crap defence + no goals = crap team. This is us. Or we could try dropping a defensive midfielder and playing a more attacking formation considering we do have some assets in that department like De Jong, Wijnaldum, Perez, Sissoko etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Yeah, that really doesn't address the issues mentioned, though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 It's completely pointless asking anyone to name a line-up, because the whole problem is we're not a good TEAM. It's the responsibility of the manager and the coaching staff to patch up the same holes in a playing squad that every club barring about three has to deal with. Yes! Someone listed the individual faults of each of our defenders earlier on, HTT I think, but that just misses the point as does pointing out deficiencies in our attackers like Mitrovic is young and unproven. A good manager could make them into a team imo, absolutely no doubt about it, whereas we're still basically just throwing 11 individuals out there and expecting it to work. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Until we've seen our best players in a system that suits their qualities failing I will continue to believe these are good enough for midtable in this league. Evidently, no left hand side, two defensive midfielders, four central midfielders and no wingers does not get the best out of this squad. Why McClaren keeps at it begars belief really. The shittest defence in the league and no proven goalscorer in the entire squad and you're still at it, man. Give over. Aye - the game can be this simple. Solid defence + goals = decent team. Crap defence + no goals = crap team. This is us. Or we could try dropping a defensive midfielder and playing a more attacking formation considering we do have some assets in that department like De Jong, Wijnaldum, Perez, Sissoko etc. I agree we should try. But having more defensive responsibilities isn't likely to make the likes of Sissoko or Gini (i'm assuming you want us to try at least one if not both at CM) more dangerous or creative. And it won't help us defend better. We need to do something but nothing screams out as a good balance because the squad doesn't have it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 It's completely pointless asking anyone to name a line-up, because the whole problem is we're not a good TEAM. It's the responsibility of the manager and the coaching staff to patch up the same holes in a playing squad that every club barring about three has to deal with. Yes! Someone listed the individual faults of each of our defenders earlier on, HTT I think, but that just misses the point as does pointing out deficiencies in our attackers like Mitrovic is young and unproven. A good manager could make them into a team imo, absolutely no doubt about it, whereas we're still basically just throwing 11 individuals out there and expecting it to work. How? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 A pretty shit team, he means. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 It's completely pointless asking anyone to name a line-up, because the whole problem is we're not a good TEAM. It's the responsibility of the manager and the coaching staff to patch up the same holes in a playing squad that every club barring about three has to deal with. Yes! Someone listed the individual faults of each of our defenders earlier on, HTT I think, but that just misses the point as does pointing out deficiencies in our attackers like Mitrovic is young and unproven. A good manager could make them into a team imo, absolutely no doubt about it, whereas we're still basically just throwing 11 individuals out there and expecting it to work. How? How what? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Can I good manager turn an unbalanced squad into a team worth a shit? I'm sure we could be better but the squad hasn't shown me anything in a long time that needs me to believe it could be a proper team as it stands. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heron Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I can't hate him. He's a decent guy probably doing his best. He is a total f***ing pansy, though, and I've very little respect for him and zero faith he can turn this around. I don't want to make a habit of agreeing with Ron but I totally agree with the above. McClaren's not a bad person, he's just utterly useless. Agreed Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heron Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Our squad is woeful like. In goal we have a Championship 'keeper at best. Colo is way past his best and Mbemba is inexperienced at this level. At full-back Dummett is Championshop standard and Jaanmat a liability defensively. In midfield we have Gini who for me is our best and only top class player or stand out player. We have Sissoko who is inconsistent and technically very average and then we have Colback, a free from the mackems who have for the last decade it seems constantly been in a relegation fight... and he was one of their better players! Anita is a nothing player, not great, but not s***, just meh. Up front we have two youngsters from a low level of Europen football. Deeper into the squad and we have Cisse who the club have wanted rid of for a long time, Tiote likewise, both players who don't want to be here. The whole squad stinks. There is very little talent and zero balance. I'd say we have one of the worst squads in the league. Agree with this too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawK Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Useless, and still the best manager we'll get under this regime. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ElCid Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Can I good manager turn an unbalanced squad into a team worth a s***? I'm sure we could be better but the squad hasn't shown me anything in a long time that needs me to believe it could be a proper team as it stands. By 1 playing the team in a formation which does not allow the opposition to dominate the play from the first minute to the last and 2 to play players in their correct position. It's not rocket science you know - the squad looks tiotally unbalanced due to the formation, tactics, insistance on playing three or four Championship players every week and playing the players who have the arsenal to contribute totally out of position and as such making their contribution far less productive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Can I good manager turn an unbalanced squad into a team worth a s***? I'm sure we could be better but the squad hasn't shown me anything in a long time that needs me to believe it could be a proper team as it stands. By 1 playing the team in a formation which does not allow the opposition to dominate the play from the first minute to the last and 2 to play players in their correct position. It's not rocket science you know - the squad looks tiotally unbalanced due to the formation, tactics, insistance on playing three or four Championship players every week and playing the players who have the arsenal to contribute totally out of position and as such making their contribution far less productive. Yep. The squad hasn't shown anything for ages cause it's been managed by shite for longer than anyone cares to remember Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki679 Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Until we've seen our best players in a system that suits their qualities failing I will continue to believe these are good enough for midtable in this league. Evidently, no left hand side, two defensive midfielders, four central midfielders and no wingers does not get the best out of this squad. Why McClaren keeps at it begars belief really. The shittest defence in the league and no proven goalscorer in the entire squad and you're still at it, man. Give over. Aye - the game can be this simple. Solid defence + goals = decent team. Crap defence + no goals = crap team. This is us. Or we could try dropping a defensive midfielder and playing a more attacking formation considering we do have some assets in that department like De Jong, Wijnaldum, Perez, Sissoko etc. I agree we should try. But having more defensive responsibilities isn't likely to make the likes of Sissoko or Gini (i'm assuming you want us to try at least one if not both at CM) more dangerous or creative. And it won't help us defend better. We need to do something but nothing screams out as a good balance because the squad doesn't have it. That's where they've played their whole careers until they came here. We bought them on the back of their outstanding performances in the centre and then decide we'd rather play them on the wings. It's stupid. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettNUFC Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Wonder which individuals he was referring to who haven't been giving him maximum effort? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Our squad is woeful like. In goal we have a Championship 'keeper at best. Colo is way past his best and Mbemba is inexperienced at this level. At full-back Dummett is Championshop standard and Jaanmat a liability defensively. In midfield we have Gini who for me is our best and only top class player or stand out player. We have Sissoko who is inconsistent and technically very average and then we have Colback, a free from the mackems who have for the last decade it seems constantly been in a relegation fight... and he was one of their better players! Anita is a nothing player, not great, but not s***, just meh. Up front we have two youngsters from a low level of Europen football. Deeper into the squad and we have Cisse who the club have wanted rid of for a long time, Tiote likewise, both players who don't want to be here. The whole squad stinks. There is very little talent and zero balance. I'd say we have one of the worst squads in the league. Agree with this too Me too...an excellent summary by HTT. I agree with almost all he has written, but I do think you could get away with Anita IF we had dominant m/f players around him - and we don't. I remember people thinking Geoff Nulty was a plank when Joe Harvey signed him from Burnley in the 70s, but when Gordon Lee took over, he used him as a 'fetch-and-carry' player in m/f and he got a fair few goals there too but he had Tommy Craig and Tommy Cassidy doing the clever stuff. Anita is technically decent but he lacks the physique to be a tackling midfielder and his play isn't clever or dominant enough to act in Cabaye's role. Other than that, HTT is spot on - Wijnaldum IS a talented player but he is not, in my view, a dominating CM. He is better arriving late in the box and getting on the end of passes or in time for headers at which he has been successful. IF we still had Cabaye, we wouldn't be as far down the table as we are and Wijnaldum would have even more goals. I am still to be convinced about the forwards, esp Mitrovic ; Perez has scored vital goals, but not enough of them and won't whilst he lacks support as he is slight in build - he is wasted at NUFC and would be better in a better squad. Mitrovic lacks pace - critical weakness in a forward these days - and is always liable to be booked. Experience MAY show an improvement but time is something NUFC haven't got if they are to survive. Cisse is a waste of space, he and Tiote should have been long gone, as should Colo - the very fact he was given a new contract sums up the club's lack of ambition and ability to find quality defenders. Janmaat, great going forward and technically decent, is a poor defender and Dummett IS a Champ player - no better. We are a club with an owner who is only interested in picking up TV cash, a CEO who shouldn't(and couldn't)run a whelk stall, a Chief Scout who spends most of his time in France, probably because he knows the club will only spend limited fees on players and just needs to keep recommending people he knows the club will either not bid for, or are cheap. In my view, only Cabaye of his French recommends has been a real success. I will not mention the mana - I mean, the Coach - because we all know about him..The remainder of the Board are former players who wouldn't get a similar job in a really ambitious club and quite happy to pick up their Danegeld whilst alienating their former fans by sucking up to an owner who despises them. Our Junior sides are NOT bringing through any local talent which is in any case, a diminishing resource. As you can see, we are in fine shape and know where we are going....the Championship, and this time any players wanted by other clubs - namely Wijnaldum - will be off and it will be a long haul to get back to the PL...if ever. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cronky Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 There are weaknesses in the squad as individuals and in how they blend as a unit. But McClaren has had only one transfer window and half a season, and he inherited a sinking ship that was lucky to avoid relegation. The natural reaction when a team is doing badly is to call for the manager's head, but there's plenty of reasons to think that any other manager (who we could reasonably attract) would struggle as well. It looks to me that in midfield McClaren is just selecting his best individuals and hoping that they click enough times in a game to win matches. In theory he should be looking for a better blend, but there's a lack of quality and availability in the wide positions that make that difficult. Obertan and Gouffran aren't good enough, and Obi is injured anyway. Cabella didn't settle. Thauvin might make the grade but will need time that McClaren can't afford. Aarons has been injured. So he pushes Wijnaldum out wide, despite the fact that his best work is done through the centre and he never looks likely to make the by-line. Sissoko can look effective going forward when the play is stretched, but doesn't contribute much in other areas. It's not a pretty sight, but what's the alternative? A fit De Jong might allow him to put Ayoze out wider, but that's hardly ideal. We just have to hope that the January window gives McClaren another option or two. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
maze Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Our squad is woeful like. In goal we have a Championship 'keeper at best. Colo is way past his best and Mbemba is inexperienced at this level. At full-back Dummett is Championshop standard and Jaanmat a liability defensively. In midfield we have Gini who for me is our best and only top class player or stand out player. We have Sissoko who is inconsistent and technically very average and then we have Colback, a free from the mackems who have for the last decade it seems constantly been in a relegation fight... and he was one of their better players! Anita is a nothing player, not great, but not s***, just meh. Up front we have two youngsters from a low level of Europen football. Deeper into the squad and we have Cisse who the club have wanted rid of for a long time, Tiote likewise, both players who don't want to be here. The whole squad stinks. There is very little talent and zero balance. I'd say we have one of the worst squads in the league. 100% agree with this. Glad someone finally said it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
STM Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I agree with HTT but his post doesn't highlight how poor other squads are. For all our shite, there are plenty of worse squads. Leicester are a fantastic team, that's why they have got results. They aren't in the top four because of their squad, it's because they play as a team. Atm our line up is all over the place. Drop Coloccini and Colback, play 442 or near enough, play our best players and we would soon start picking up points. Something like this Elliot Janmaat Mbemba Dummett Haidara/Mbabu Sissoko Anita Wijnaldum Perez De Jong Mitrovic Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 That midfield is horrible and would get us relegated. Unfortunately Colback and or Tiote are necessities right now until a point where we actually sign two competent central midfielders. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paully Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Apologies if already posted! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3377795/Newcastle-manager-Steve-McClaren-deluded-deceptive-s-dreamland-thinks-not-heading-drop.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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