defence at oldham

[DMR]

what would you all do?

me, i'd keep the same lineup as today. by all accounts our defence shone. if it ain't broke...

collins (and remember i slated the boy) has earnt the right to retain his place.

o'hanlon- the one i can see everyone calling for a recall- has been abysmal for months. not a patch of what he was, stays out.

[DMR]

You'd completely drop Collins from the squad after a motm performance, having proved he's desperate to play for the first team and doing extra training.

I'd wondered where you'd got to, Andy...

[DMR]

I've never been convinced by him, but I believe in current form dictating the team rather than whether or not he was shit 3 months ago. If he's played well today then he should stay in.

[santini]

Smith had a shocker, closely followed by Collins who has been taking lessons from  Jerel's book of hoofing it into touch or straight to the opposition. He gave the ball away more than anyone else and hardly hit a ball he didn't slice.

Man of the Match?? ... My Arse!!

[Tails]

Comyn Platt and O'Hanlon in the centre. Not sure about the Right & Left backs.

[DV]

Smith had a shocker, closely followed by Collins who has been taking lessons from  Jerel's book of hoofing it into touch or straight to the opposition. He gave the ball away more than anyone else and hardly hit a ball he didn't slice.

Man of the Match?? ... My Arse!!

What he said, Smith was never fit and I believe wouldnt have played if we didnt have so many suspensions.

Collins looked alright, but so unfit and the number of times he hoofed it right to their left back, he was never Man Of The Match, that goes to Rhys Evans (someone else you;ve slated before Dave )

It wasnt pretty, it wasnt good football....but we battled and won.

I thought Miglioranzi did well today out of position, nice to see him captain as well.

[Tails]

I'd rather battle and win then play brilliantly and throw it all away or lose.

[DV]

I'd rather battle and win then play brilliantly and throw it all away or lose.

Very true, but we've played much better than that this season, and like you said come away with nothing...

[Tails]

Were Rotherham that crap then? They sounded shite on the radio.

Then again, Brighton consistently played shit, just battled and got promoted!

[Spud]

I think Collins is shit but if he played well today then you can hardly drop him for Peter O'Hanlon (Must be Sean's brother playing these days as he isnt the same player we had last year!).

[normy]

My views on our centrebacks.

Distribution of O'Hanlon, Ifil, and Collins has always been poor.
Gurney plays it out better when he plays CB, and C-Platt is too new to judge.

The worst defenders are those who fail to do their job by either:

Giving away unnecessary penalties
Getting sent off, or receiving lots of yellow cards
Making crucial errors leading to goals against or near misses
Not closing down and blocking shots
Not marking or positioning properly etc
Anything else I've overlooked

Looking at it this way, Ifil and O'Hanlon are not worthy of their places at the moment, Gurney, Collins, and C-Platt are the most reliable CB's, and Migs has always been good in defence the few times he has played there.

[Reg Smeeton]

I'm still of the opinion that Reeeeeeves is the best defender on our books.....it was a real shame that his season and probably career was ended in such cruel fashion.

 Today was a paper over the cracks sort of performance.....wont be like that at Oldhan necessarily....but leaving players out who've done a job for you sends out the wrong message...maybe if Jack Smith is injured and we know Jenks is not fully fit, Collins should get a run out at right back with  one of SeanO or Jerel coming back in.

[normy]

I'm still of the opinion that Reeeeeeves is the best defender on our books.....it was a real shame that his season and probably career was ended in such cruel fashion.

 Today was a paper over the cracks sort of performance.....wont be like that at Oldhan necessarily....but leaving players out who've done a job for you sends out the wrong message...maybe if Jack Smith is injured and we know Jenks is not fully fit, Collins should get a run out at right back with  one of SeanO or Jerel coming back in.

I agree about Reeeeves, but he ain't available more's the pity.
I prefer Collins at CB. I am fed up with Ifil's regular mistakes most games, and O'Hanlon's as well to an extent. One  crucial mistake per game leading to a goal  is one too many, no matter how the rest of the player's game goes. Other teams do not concede many soft goals, as we do. It's time for a change in my view.

[sonicyouth]

Smith had a shocker, closely followed by Collins who has been taking lessons from  Jerel's book of hoofing it into touch or straight to the opposition. He gave the ball away more than anyone else and hardly hit a ball he didn't slice.

Man of the Match?? ... My Arse!!

spot on

collins distribution was shocking, a half decent team would have punished him for that.

i thought nicho had a poor game compared to his current form, much prefer him at left-back.

stef did a solid job at centre-back but he has no aerial presence whatsoever, would rather have him in midfield.

i'd put seano back in for collins and leave the rest as it is.