Mike Williamson (now managing MK Dons)

[Punk77]

Gotta say this talk of having Hangleland with Colcocinni is making me foam at the mouth. This would be a BRILLIANT signing. Make up for all those years watching Bramble and Boumbsong.

 

Agree. Hangeland has made huge steps since he came to Fulham. He wins everything in the air, and got a better physique than Willamson and Colo, and  he's developed good passing skills to. If you watch him play, notice how he's able to play the ball in tight areas and pass it upwards to the midfield. He doesn't hurl the ball away with long passes. But he's recently signed a new contract, so he won't come cheap.'

[ATB]

Samba, like Abdoulaye Faye, is a beast and I would absolutely love him here.

 

I like Willi and with the squad we have now he couldn´t be dropped. Play Saylor

[Ronaldo]

He can and will be dropped the second Saylor is fit.

 

And rightly so.

[Dokko]

I can't blame him tbh. He was first choice all season, then Pardew comes in and Taylor regains fitness and suddenly he's on the bench.

 

His head is down mainly because he feels as though he's just in the team because there's noone else. It's hard to motivate a player in that situation.

 

Wasn't he dropped because he was suspended for his own stupidity?

[Ishmael]

Lescott and ability, two words that I wouldn't associate - unless ability was prefixed with "lack of".

[Dokko]

He can and will be dropped the second Saylor is fit.

 

And rightly so.

 

Don't think any one can argue with that right now. Still think both offer similar quality but Williamson has made too many mistakes of late and we've been punished too many times, if Taylor made the same level of mistakes he'd be called a cunt and a wanker etc...by the usual lot on here.

[JH]

I can't blame him tbh. He was first choice all season, then Pardew comes in and Taylor regains fitness and suddenly he's on the bench.

 

His head is down mainly because he feels as though he's just in the team because there's noone else. It's hard to motivate a player in that situation.

 

Wasn't he dropped because he was suspended for his own stupidity?

 

And what about Colocinni? His was just as stupid and he was restored.

[Dokko]

I can't blame him tbh. He was first choice all season, then Pardew comes in and Taylor regains fitness and suddenly he's on the bench.

 

His head is down mainly because he feels as though he's just in the team because there's noone else. It's hard to motivate a player in that situation.

 

Wasn't he dropped because he was suspended for his own stupidity?

 

And what about Colocinni? His was just as stupid and he was restored.

 

What about him?

[JH]

I can't blame him tbh. He was first choice all season, then Pardew comes in and Taylor regains fitness and suddenly he's on the bench.

 

His head is down mainly because he feels as though he's just in the team because there's noone else. It's hard to motivate a player in that situation.

 

Wasn't he dropped because he was suspended for his own stupidity?

 

And what about Colocinni? His was just as stupid and he was restored.

 

What about him?

 

Well they were both dropped whilst they were suspended, yet one was restored and one wasn't. If it was just to do with the suspension, they would both have been on the bench.

[Dokko]

I can't blame him tbh. He was first choice all season, then Pardew comes in and Taylor regains fitness and suddenly he's on the bench.

 

His head is down mainly because he feels as though he's just in the team because there's noone else. It's hard to motivate a player in that situation.

 

Wasn't he dropped because he was suspended for his own stupidity?

 

And what about Colocinni? His was just as stupid and he was restored.

 

What about him?

 

Well they were both dropped whilst they were suspended, yet one was restored and one wasn't. If it was just to do with the suspension, they would both have been on the bench.

 

Colo is in a different league right now and a different type of CB, he was always going to return. Williamson and Taylor are fighting for that position, if Williamson thinks he's good enough not even to get challenged then he's a muppet, if his head has dipped because he's got competition and he opened the door for Taylor's return then he's an even bigger muppet.

 

Colo is irrelevant here. What we going to do leave Campbell in there after showing us how shaky and off pace he is? Taylor was left in because he played well and deserved to continue his chance, no one said it was just about being suspended BTW.

[JH]

I can't blame him tbh. He was first choice all season, then Pardew comes in and Taylor regains fitness and suddenly he's on the bench.

 

His head is down mainly because he feels as though he's just in the team because there's noone else. It's hard to motivate a player in that situation.

 

Wasn't he dropped because he was suspended for his own stupidity?

 

And what about Colocinni? His was just as stupid and he was restored.

 

What about him?

 

Well they were both dropped whilst they were suspended, yet one was restored and one wasn't. If it was just to do with the suspension, they would both have been on the bench.

 

Colo is in a different league right now and a different type of CB, he was always going to return. Williamson and Taylor are fighting for that position, if Williamson thinks he's good enough not even to get challenged then he's a muppet, if his head has dipped because he's got competition and he opened the door for Taylor's return then he's an even bigger muppet.

 

Colo is irrelevant here. What we going to do leave Campbell in there after showing us how shaky and off pace he is? Taylor was left in because he played well and deserved to continue his chance, no one said it was just about being suspended BTW.

 

Wasn't he dropped because he was suspended for his own stupidity?

[Dokko]

I can't blame him tbh. He was first choice all season, then Pardew comes in and Taylor regains fitness and suddenly he's on the bench.

 

His head is down mainly because he feels as though he's just in the team because there's noone else. It's hard to motivate a player in that situation.

 

Wasn't he dropped because he was suspended for his own stupidity?

 

And what about Colocinni? His was just as stupid and he was restored.

 

What about him?

 

Well they were both dropped whilst they were suspended, yet one was restored and one wasn't. If it was just to do with the suspension, they would both have been on the bench.

 

Colo is in a different league right now and a different type of CB, he was always going to return. Williamson and Taylor are fighting for that position, if Williamson thinks he's good enough not even to get challenged then he's a muppet, if his head has dipped because he's got competition and he opened the door for Taylor's return then he's an even bigger muppet.

 

Colo is irrelevant here. What we going to do leave Campbell in there after showing us how shaky and off pace he is? Taylor was left in because he played well and deserved to continue his chance, no one said it was just about being suspended BTW.

 

Wasn't he dropped because he was suspended for his own stupidity?

 

I'm simply asking a question, not making a statement.   You made it out like Taylor returned so Willi was just dropped like a stone, something if happened i'd agree was harsh, but the reality is that didn't happen.

 

Do you expect a player who's come back done well to be dropped after the player he replaced got himself sent off, or do you wait until that player makes his own mistakes before returning the original player? That's all that happened, Taylor then went and got injured Williamson came back in and has been shite. There's no defending him on ohh poor lamb got dropped his head is messed up, he's 27 FFS not 17, especially when he made the mistake which allowed him to be dropped in the first place!

 

[JH]

I'd have expected the manager to keep faith in what I see as our first choice CB partnership, over a player who was only weeks before wrestling the club over a couple more quid on his contract.

 

I wouldn't say he's been 'shit' at all either. He's no Colocinni but I think he's lower risk compared to Taylor, who I find to take too many risks with his passing and the stupid arm thing that he continues to do again and again - he thinks he's rambo and clearly loves himself, but that's just my opinion (no doubt one that Ronaldo or someone will be along soon to laugh at and call me 'stupid')

 

That being said, I'd still be looking for a better partner for Colo.

[80]

Williamson was abysmal against Arsenal.

 

That said, I think the defence in general has been looking gradually worse for a while now. We're less well-drilled and prepared, more frayed around the edges. My personal assumption is this is largely Pardew's influence coming through.

 

Williamson comes off worst out of this situation because he's the least useful as an individual defender out of our first 4. Most good things about him are found through teamwork and organisation - fitting into a unit. He is a better player than Steven Taylor, because he can play a part in a good team that's really progressing whereas Taylor can't in the long term and drags those around him down, but it's true that if you're going to have a dodgy, unstable team, you'd might well be better off with Taylor in the team because issue for issue he's better for flying around.

 

Fwiw, it might be worth noting the times Colloccini has gone out of his way to praise him as a partner (and vice versa) compared to Taylor.

[magorific]

I'd have expected the manager to keep faith in what I see as our first choice CB partnership, over a player who was only weeks before wrestling the club over a couple more quid on his contract.

 

I wouldn't say he's been 's***' at all either. He's no Colocinni but I think he's lower risk compared to Taylor, who I find to take too many risks with his passing and the stupid arm thing that he continues to do again and again - he thinks he's rambo and clearly loves himself, but that's just my opinion (no doubt one that Ronaldo or someone will be along soon to laugh at and call me 'stupid')

 

That being said, I'd still be looking for a better partner for Colo.

 

I'm staggered, on the evidence of Arsenal (twice), Wigan (h), Blackburn (h), Bolton (a) and Stevenage, that anyone would choose Williamson over Taylor right now.

Williamson was worse in those games than I can ever remember Taylor being, for all his kissing the badge, arm-waving nonsense.

[JH]

I'd have expected the manager to keep faith in what I see as our first choice CB partnership, over a player who was only weeks before wrestling the club over a couple more quid on his contract.

 

I wouldn't say he's been 's***' at all either. He's no Colocinni but I think he's lower risk compared to Taylor, who I find to take too many risks with his passing and the stupid arm thing that he continues to do again and again - he thinks he's rambo and clearly loves himself, but that's just my opinion (no doubt one that Ronaldo or someone will be along soon to laugh at and call me 'stupid')

 

That being said, I'd still be looking for a better partner for Colo.

 

I'm staggered, on the evidence of Arsenal (twice), Wigan (h), Blackburn (h), Bolton (a) and Stevenage, that anyone would choose Williamson over Taylor right now.

Williamson was worse in those games than I can ever remember Taylor being, for all his kissing the badge, arm-waving nonsense.

 

Because those games are stretched out over a number of months. Of course a player is going to have bad games, but to pick each one of them out like that is unfair.

 

If Taylor had played as much, he'd have had as many poor games. In fact, I'd struggle to name a player who hasn't had a few poor games this season.

[Hughesy]

Williamson was abysmal against Arsenal.

 

That said, I think the defence in general has been looking gradually worse for a while now. We're less well-drilled and prepared, more frayed around the edges. My personal assumption is this is largely Pardew's influence coming through.

 

Williamson comes off worst out of this situation because he's the least useful as an individual defender out of our first 4. Most good things about him are found through teamwork and organisation - fitting into a unit. He is a better player than Steven Taylor, because he can play a part in a good team that's really progressing whereas Taylor can't in the long term and drags those around him down, but it's true that if you're going to have a dodgy, unstable team, you'd might well be better off with Taylor in the team because issue for issue he's better for flying around.

 

Fwiw, it might be worth noting the times Colloccini has gone out of his way to praise him as a partner (and vice versa) compared to Taylor.

 

Yeah - undoubtedly Pardew's influence.  He probably told Williamson to start defending like a muppet and Williamson decided to follow his instructions.

[Benwell Lad]

Fwiw, it might be worth noting the times Colloccini has gone out of his way to praise him as a partner (and vice versa) compared to Taylor.

 

Probably says a lot more than a 100 pages of forum discussion.

[Ronaldo]

He's no Colocinni but I think he's lower risk compared to Taylor, who I find to take too many risks with his passing and the stupid arm thing that he continues to do again and again - he thinks he's rambo and clearly loves himself, but that's just my opinion (no doubt one that Ronaldo or someone will be along soon to laugh at and call me 'stupid')

 

That being said, I'd still be looking for a better partner for Colo.

 

Well, you are kinda stupid, but you're not far wrong here. Neither Williamson nor Taylor are ideal.

[80]

Williamson was abysmal against Arsenal.

 

That said, I think the defence in general has been looking gradually worse for a while now. We're less well-drilled and prepared, more frayed around the edges. My personal assumption is this is largely Pardew's influence coming through.

 

Williamson comes off worst out of this situation because he's the least useful as an individual defender out of our first 4. Most good things about him are found through teamwork and organisation - fitting into a unit. He is a better player than Steven Taylor, because he can play a part in a good team that's really progressing whereas Taylor can't in the long term and drags those around him down, but it's true that if you're going to have a dodgy, unstable team, you'd might well be better off with Taylor in the team because issue for issue he's better for flying around.

 

Fwiw, it might be worth noting the times Colloccini has gone out of his way to praise him as a partner (and vice versa) compared to Taylor.

 

Yeah - undoubtedly Pardew's influence.  He probably told Williamson to start defending like a muppet and Williamson decided to follow his instructions.

 

And Colo, and Enrique et al? Strange idea.

 

We're just less safe as a team nowadays. Don't mind looking at different reasons as for why yet, and hopefully we'll go back to how we were, but the biggest single difference I can think of since it started is managerial.

[JH]

He's no Colocinni but I think he's lower risk compared to Taylor, who I find to take too many risks with his passing and the stupid arm thing that he continues to do again and again - he thinks he's rambo and clearly loves himself, but that's just my opinion (no doubt one that Ronaldo or someone will be along soon to laugh at and call me 'stupid')

 

That being said, I'd still be looking for a better partner for Colo.

 

Well, you are kinda stupid, but you're not far wrong here. Neither Williamson nor Taylor are ideal.

 

The closest I'll ever get to a compliment

[Hughesy]

I don't see any marked difference in the amount of goals conceded under Pardew compared to Hughton.

 

Hughton - 25 goals in 16 games. (1.56 goals conceded per game).

 

Pardew - 13 goals in 9 games. (1.44 goals conceded per game).

 

I'd love to know what you think Pardew has actually done to make the defence more porous (in your opinion).  Do you think we have changed the way we defend?  Has he told them to take more risks?  Not bother with marking?

[80]

Not so interested in the amount as the type, both on the pitch and off it - i.e. whether they lose us points or not. They're small points, but we've had two injury time equalisers scored against us recently whereas none took place under Hughton (ever, iirc), and we've had four goals scored against us before the 10th minute, compared to one this season under Hughton.

 

The team often looks more panicky and disjointed and less calm and orderly than it did. Furthermore, our open-play attacks seem less measured than they did - I used to detect more of a safety first approach where we'd avoid getting caught on breaks. Not things you can read off a statistics sheet, you just have to use your judgement for that one. As I've said, it's been gradual, I'm just observing we're in a downward trend for some reason.

 

What do I think Pardew's done? Well, if any of it's his fault, maybe it's rooted in his training methods. Less practice? Less research on opposition teams? Or maybe it's to do with the way he picks his team, chopping and changing players and their positions. Let's be clear here - defence is a whole team issue, so I'm talking about Nolan, Jonas and Tiote as much as Williamson and Colloccini here.

[Punk77]

I don't see any marked difference in the amount of goals conceded under Pardew compared to Hughton.

 

Hughton - 25 goals in 16 games. (1.56 goals conceded per game).

 

Pardew - 13 goals in 9 games. (1.44 goals conceded per game).

 

I'd love to know what you think Pardew has actually done to make the defence more porous (in your opinion).  Do you think we have changed the way we defend?  Has he told them to take more risks?  Not bother with marking?

 

Not a big difference if you look at the numbers isolated. But, remember that Pardew has been plagued with suspensions and injuries on key players.  Tiote out for three games, that hurts, big time.  Also we've had a tough program,  Tham x 2 , Arse, City and Fulham away are daunting opponents. So, when those factors are considered,  I'm impressed that we in average have  conceded less than under Houghton's reign.

[Guest]

I can't blame him tbh. He was first choice all season, then Pardew comes in and Taylor regains fitness and suddenly he's on the bench.

 

His head is down mainly because he feels as though he's just in the team because there's noone else. It's hard to motivate a player in that situation.

 

Surely he should be motivated enough to think that if he plays well he'll keep Taylor out?