Oh very well - here I am! Difficult isn't it? We're crying out for a bit of aggression, bravery, and leadership at centre half, and those are just the qualities McCarthy was supposedly bought for - remember the talk of being a real captain? And yet how many of us would (a) trust him, or (b) give him a chance? He did do well at Palace; a game that was ideal for a bit of blood and thunder defending. He also weighed in with a headed goal v Stockport, though Sodje promises one soon. It's just so frustrating that Fortune probably has all the necessary attributes, yet plays half his games in 2nd gear. By all accounts it's not the loathsome indifference that afflicted so many last year; more just an infuriatingly laid back nature.
The problem we have with Boogie is that we can't give him any more time to prove himself as a centre half, unless we throw away this season. If we want to try to extract some value from our 2mill then we have to try him in another position. He certainly is a very talented, strong and powerful footballer, however at centre half he doesn't have the scope to express himself on the ball. I remember seeing the youtube clips of him before we signed him. Some on here were saying that he would put the fear of God in them if he played at centre half, however they would love to see him playing in midfield. I think that's the way it has worked out Pardew has to be brave now and try something different that could end up making our season. Even if we get back to playing as we were pre Wolves, I still don't think we would be quite strong enough for automatic promotion. We are too weak in central defence and rely too much on Reid. Now without Todorov we are also too weak up front. It needs a major rethink by Pardew to address these problems
[cite]Posted By: queensland_addick[/cite]The problem we have with Boogie is that we can't give him any more time to prove himself as a centre half, unless we throw away this season.
If we want to try to extract some value from our 2mill then we have to try him in another position.
He certainly is a very talented, strong and powerful footballer, however at centre half he doesn't have the scope to express himself on the ball.
I remember seeing the youtube clips of him before we signed him. Some on here were saying that he would put the fear of God in them if he played at centre half, however they would love to see him playing in midfield. I think that's the way it has worked out
Pardew has to be brave now and try something different that could end up making our season. Even if we get back to playing as we were pre Wolves, I still don't think we would be quite strong enough for automatic promotion. We are too weak in central defence and rely too much on Reid. Now without Todorov we are also too weak up front. It needs a major rethink by Pardew to address these problems
I don't see what the advantage of playing in the midfield would be.
He's no Kinsella or Parker, what is he going to gives us that Semedo doesn't?
The problem with our midfield is that we are trying to accomodate both Reid and ZZ and it is effecting the balance of the team. Reid won't stay wide and doesn't push up so we have no width and Varney has to come wide, and the left back is left exposed
As I see it the choice is simple. We play 4-4-2 and one of either Reid or ZZ makes way for Thomas or we go 4-5-1/4-3-3.
Comments
Difficult isn't it? We're crying out for a bit of aggression, bravery, and leadership at centre half, and those are just the qualities McCarthy was supposedly bought for - remember the talk of being a real captain? And yet how many of us would (a) trust him, or (b) give him a chance? He did do well at Palace; a game that was ideal for a bit of blood and thunder defending. He also weighed in with a headed goal v Stockport, though Sodje promises one soon. It's just so frustrating that Fortune probably has all the necessary attributes, yet plays half his games in 2nd gear. By all accounts it's not the loathsome indifference that afflicted so many last year; more just an infuriatingly laid back nature.
But would he want to play there?
He was all set to go to Everton in January until Misery Moyes told him he'd have to play in midfield.
So he signed for us.
And we parted with £2 mill ......
If we want to try to extract some value from our 2mill then we have to try him in another position.
He certainly is a very talented, strong and powerful footballer, however at centre half he doesn't have the scope to express himself on the ball.
I remember seeing the youtube clips of him before we signed him. Some on here were saying that he would put the fear of God in them if he played at centre half, however they would love to see him playing in midfield. I think that's the way it has worked out
Pardew has to be brave now and try something different that could end up making our season. Even if we get back to playing as we were pre Wolves, I still don't think we would be quite strong enough for automatic promotion. We are too weak in central defence and rely too much on Reid. Now without Todorov we are also too weak up front. It needs a major rethink by Pardew to address these problems
I don't see what the advantage of playing in the midfield would be.
He's no Kinsella or Parker, what is he going to gives us that Semedo doesn't?
The problem with our midfield is that we are trying to accomodate both Reid and ZZ and it is effecting the balance of the team. Reid won't stay wide and doesn't push up so we have no width and Varney has to come wide, and the left back is left exposed
As I see it the choice is simple. We play 4-4-2 and one of either Reid or ZZ makes way for Thomas or we go 4-5-1/4-3-3.