But I'm sorry, I don't buy this Pratley is now an automatic starter and we need to build a team around him stuff.
I don't think this point has ever been stated or even implied
Ok, I'm not going to go back through 10 pages trying to find someone who has used those exact words but there's plenty of comments saying something on those lines of how important he is to the team. Just one that stuck in my mind from last night that I can easily find was "If fit, for me, his name should be the first on the teamsheet."
I'm not slagging Pratley off. I actually like him and think he still has much to offer. And he was great last night. But his performances this season haven't always been of the same standard of last night - let's not rewrite history and pretend otherwise. And as the season goes on it may well be that we are going to need a bit more guile from our midfield players and I'm just not sure Pratley is the man to provide that.
No, I have concluded that if we play like that every away game we won't go on the sort of run we need to. I have also concluded it was a good result and will hopefully help our confidence which will enable us to play better than that.
I won't make any apologies for refusing to put on my rose tinted spectacles. I desperately want us to go up. I think our squad is good enough to go up (unlike a few supposedly positive fans) so I am looking for the clues which suggest we can do it.
We need to improve, but we didn't gift any goals which is a start. The next step is to impose ourselves better on teams. But I see yesterday as a step, not the top of the staircase.
Got to say it was unconvincing and painful to watch - i have been clinging on to the view that we will go on a run now we have better forward players (and the centre halves come back) and we will start to sweep sides away - just hoping that yesterday was a hangover from the bad run / nerves but the pattern is still there atm - go behind and we stay on the front foot, watch an entertaining game and bemoan our luck / mistakes and draw or go in front and endure an age of defending and clinging on - hope this changes as we get a few wins under our belt and relax because its not an ideal loop to be stuck in. Once we get a few goals up and see a game out comfortably is when we can start seriously thinking about our promotion chances. as soon as we scored we just seem to stop playing - did bowyer instruct this or did it just happen - chalk and cheese before and after the goal.
How about that Washington huh? Another contribution
But I'm sorry, I don't buy this Pratley is now an automatic starter and we need to build a team around him stuff.
I don't think this point has ever been stated or even implied
Ok, I'm not going to go back through 10 pages trying to find someone who has used those exact words but there's plenty of comments saying something on those lines of how important he is to the team. Just one that stuck in my mind from last night that I can easily find was "If fit, for me, his name should be the first on the teamsheet."
I'm not slagging Pratley off. I actually like him and think he still has much to offer. And he was great last night. But his performances this season haven't always been of the same standard of last night - let's not rewrite history and pretend otherwise. And as the season goes on it may well be that we are going to need a bit more guile from our midfield players and I'm just not sure Pratley is the man to provide that.
Nobody is rewriting history. Pratley at his best does a great job in front of the back four - he is mobile, athletic, has a great engine and stamina, has physicality, presence and leadership. At times he has poor games and his limitations are exposed - guess what he isn't fecking Beckenbauer. At a time when our back-four is depleted, error strewn and maybe lacking confidence he was arguably our best option to sit in front and protect - particularly as teams were ploughing through our midfield like a knife through butter. Maybe if/when we go on a winning run and are playing with more belief and confidence, we can risk playing without an enforcer and play, for example, somebody like JFC in front of the defence in more of a "quarterback" type role. In the league we are in and the type of opposition we are up against I suspect more often than not we will need to call on Pratley to do a job. He was great yesterday
There are games that really suit Pratley. I thought he was our best player against Posh too. There will be other games than suit Watson and others that may suit playing neither.
Pratley is definitely an asset and I think most midfields are improved if they have a hard edge to them and Pratley does give us that in spades.
Thought Dons looked very much like we did a few weeks back; lots of sideways passing, finally getting it out to the winger, who immediately found his path block, so passed back into the middle. They had no Plan B at all, other than the tall CB occasionally coming through on a run. They didn't even think to put him up front for the last 5 mins or so. Once, Pratley nullified "Jackson" Frazer, the game was up for them.
But I'm sorry, I don't buy this Pratley is now an automatic starter and we need to build a team around him stuff.
I don't think this point has ever been stated or even implied
Ok, I'm not going to go back through 10 pages trying to find someone who has used those exact words but there's plenty of comments saying something on those lines of how important he is to the team. Just one that stuck in my mind from last night that I can easily find was "If fit, for me, his name should be the first on the teamsheet."
I'm not slagging Pratley off. I actually like him and think he still has much to offer. And he was great last night. But his performances this season haven't always been of the same standard of last night - let's not rewrite history and pretend otherwise. And as the season goes on it may well be that we are going to need a bit more guile from our midfield players and I'm just not sure Pratley is the man to provide that.
The guile should come from the other midfielders. Our midfield yesterday had a winger and two playmakers in it alongside Pratley. JFC does his share of defensive work but he can't marshal the opposition out of possession, and Shinnie puts himself about but is expected to drive forward. No-one thinks we need to build the team around Pratley, it's the opposite; the team is built and if a player like him isn't there then it doesn't stand up. Accrington was an excellent example of just how easily our midfield can be walked through if there isn't that physical presence getting in the way and guiding the rest of the midfield. The question really is can we find a player out there better than Pratley to come in and replace him. Ideally we would have a destroyer who can also play the ball around a bit, and that was intended to be Watson but his speed has really left him and he doesn't seem to be physically where he needs to be to offer the protection that we need. With us missing out on Ofoborh it looks like the search will go on for that player, but of what we have Pratley is the best available in an essential role.
Got to say it was unconvincing and painful to watch - i have been clinging on to the view that we will go on a run now we have better forward players (and the centre halves come back) and we will start to sweep sides away - just hoping that yesterday was a hangover from the bad run / nerves but the pattern is still there atm - go behind and we stay on the front foot, watch an entertaining game and bemoan our luck / mistakes and draw or go in front and endure an age of defending and clinging on - hope this changes as we get a few wins under our belt and relax because its not an ideal loop to be stuck in. Once we get a few goals up and see a game out comfortably is when we can start seriously thinking about our promotion chances. as soon as we scored we just seem to stop playing - did bowyer instruct this or did it just happen - chalk and cheese before and after the goal.
How about that Washington huh? Another contribution
another? been a while since the last one
He scored against Peterborough. 2 contributions in 3 games/8 days.
I agree that improving the mood and feeling of the players is very important. If Bowyer appreciates this as it looks like seeing that, then that is great seeing as I think he is responsible for lowering that happiness by his previous actions and statements. But that is the past, and if he is trying to rectify that now, good.
I openly admit I would have played a midfield of Shinnie, JFC, Morgan and Millar last night. Morgan & JFC did well together in central midfield against Bristol Rovers, both putting their foot in and creating chances. But fair play, Bowyer called it right - turned out Pratley was the man for last night and he did put in a great performance.
But I'm sorry, I don't buy this Pratley is now an automatic starter and we need to build a team around him stuff. Let's not rewrite history - only last Saturday against Swindon his first half performance was poor. Don't believe me - look at the match thread comments. Sure, he will have a key role to play in games like last night but at the Valley if teams start packing out their defence we are going to need a bit more guile from our midfield to unlock them. (Incidentally, I'm a Morgan fan but his cameo substitute appearance last night wasn't great and did little to support my belief he should be starting.)
Nor do I think last night's performance was that good. Sure, 1-0 away wins on a wet night on a mudbath pitch will win a team promotion and the team is to be hugely congratulated on digging in and winning last night. But after a very bright opening 20 minutes, we were on the back foot for the rest of the game. Did we even have an on-target shot in the second half? This time we held out thanks not only to some good defending but a bit of luck which hasn't gone our way lately and some powder-puff attacking from MK Dons. Even so, there were still a few shots from them that whistled past our goal a bit too close for comfort.
I'm delighted that LB seems to have stopped playing players out of position. I hope the team now goes on a 6 or 7 game unbeaten run but I saw little last night that convinces me we will do so. Given the squad has been strengthened considerably in this transfer window with the signings of Stockley, Schwartz and Millar - and the last one looks to have a real future in front of him - that is something we surely should be capable of doing now, even given our continuing lack of central defenders.
We did have one on-target shot in the second half though, when Schwartz played Millar in. Was a moment of class from the Dane to pick out exactly the right weighting of pass. We could have done with more of that
Comments
I'm not slagging Pratley off. I actually like him and think he still has much to offer. And he was great last night. But his performances this season haven't always been of the same standard of last night - let's not rewrite history and pretend otherwise. And as the season goes on it may well be that we are going to need a bit more guile from our midfield players and I'm just not sure Pratley is the man to provide that.
I won't make any apologies for refusing to put on my rose tinted spectacles. I desperately want us to go up. I think our squad is good enough to go up (unlike a few supposedly positive fans) so I am looking for the clues which suggest we can do it.
We need to improve, but we didn't gift any goals which is a start. The next step is to impose ourselves better on teams. But I see yesterday as a step, not the top of the staircase.
Pratley at his best does a great job in front of the back four - he is mobile, athletic, has a great engine and stamina, has physicality, presence and leadership.
At times he has poor games and his limitations are exposed - guess what he isn't fecking Beckenbauer.
At a time when our back-four is depleted, error strewn and maybe lacking confidence he was arguably our best option to sit in front and protect - particularly as teams were ploughing through our midfield like a knife through butter.
Maybe if/when we go on a winning run and are playing with more belief and confidence, we can risk playing without an enforcer and play, for example, somebody like JFC in front of the defence in more of a "quarterback" type role.
In the league we are in and the type of opposition we are up against I suspect more often than not we will need to call on Pratley to do a job.
He was great yesterday
Pratley is definitely an asset and I think most midfields are improved if they have a hard edge to them and Pratley does give us that in spades.
You're just plain wrong on this one.