Whitey Grandad

Booked and misses next two games.

Oops

Not really. Rothwell’s chance was clearer. My criticism of him relates to his defensive qualities.

I just think that ‘brilliant’ is too strong a word.

Could Do Better

But not as brilliant as the managers of Leicester, Leeds or Ipswich.

There was one occasion when he was in the correct position but their winger just made a feint and skipped past him into our penalty area as if he wasn’t there.

‘an assist’? Wow I know what I saw on Tuesday and I saw him getting regularly skinned and caught out of position all night long.

It was that shirt tug in the home game that annoyed me.

I don’t think we can afford the luxury of playing him in the hope that he’ll get better.

A mid table team possibly, but we need more than that.

Stats are meaningless. As he has proved. Call me old fashioned but I prefer my full backs to defend first and attack second.

I may be going out on a limb here but… …I don’t think he’s going to be Player of this Season.

Landed with a tailwind didn’t it?

How bad were the others?

That was a horrible evening all round. I was especially annoyed by those Derby fans who were allowed onto the pitch at the end just to stand there and goad us.

He may come good in the future. Or he may not. I’ve seen nothing yet that makes him warrant a place in the team. Certainly not what we need as a sub on Tuesday evening.

I don’t expect anything from statistics. And I get what I expected. So why does anybody publish them? And yes, Manning is not very good at defending. Or anything else for that matter.

He’s like the guest amateur player at a professional’s testimonial.

I saw that. It was out to our left wing and slightly forward. In rugby it would have been illegal.

According to Dante there are nine circles of hell. I make this number seven.

You know what I think about stats. This proves it.

Two games a week? The only way to get match fit is to play games.

No. Last night’s abject performance was entirely down to Martin. His starting selection never stood a chance. It was obvious from the kickoff that our team shape was a mess. Apart from the back four we had no cohesion. Smallbone and Rothwell in midfield were swamped by a team who were playing with understanding and purpose. It was a mess.

There was an instance towards the end of the first half when KWP made a lung-bursting run down the right wing almost to their goal line. Our only other player up in there half was Mara in the middle being marked by their entire defence. All the rest of our players were gently strolling upfield. No desire. No passion.