by Extended-Phenotype »
10 Apr 2014 10:23
genome No-one is happy with the display, but I do feel Williams and Guthrie dropping out at short notice was a big factor in the preparations and the result. You can blame it on under-investment that we weren't prepared but we were also missing Karacan, Akpan and had an unfit Leigertwood on the bench. I'm not a master tactician and I'm also not an Adkins apologist (I'm not fond of the guy and he has made some mistakes in other games) but I'm not sure how Adkins is meant to prepare with four central players being injured, and promising academy players having played the night before? I do think he should have played Jake Taylor, but then I've not seen too much from him when he has played.
I'm not saying it wasn't a poor performance, but some of the quotes flying around are a bit OTT imho tbf tbh. We're 6th with 5 games to go and it's in our hands. If we were languishing in the bottom half I'd understand the backlash a little more.
Sure, losing Guthrie and Williams was a blow but it is the managers job to manage situations like these.
He could have kept the backline that has been doing so well on the road and prepare for a lot of defending where communication and familiarity would be crucial.
Realising his central midfield would be lightweight and understanding games are won and lost in midfield, he could have ditched his 4-4-2 in favour of a more forgiving 4-5-1 and given shaky makeshift CM’s more support.
Appreciating Bridge has probably forgotten what a football is, he could have refrained rushing someone back so early.
And in the light of every CM in the squad being injured, you’d bank on Taylor getting a go if he is any good at all. It seems he is SO BAD at football, he can’t even get himself selected in central midfield ahead of a child centreback, a makeshift fullback and a twilight winger. Like Schards said, he may as well pack football in and go work in a shoe shop or something.
Instead he changes the back four inexplicably, keeps 4-4-2 and plays two wingers in central midfield.
It’s choices that lost us the game on Tuesday, not injuries. This is the kind of situation where good managers step up. Adkins was on his knees undoing the situations trousers, taking the situations cock out and gagging on it until he cried.