God we missed Schneiderlin

[NickG]

you could put a strong argument for him being our most important and consistant player this season.

 

We haven't played without Lambert to see how well we can manage with Papa/Connolly/Barnard/Antonio etc.

 

But we clearly miss Schneiderlin's quality as soon as he is out.

[Glasgow_Saint]

Well the team/AP need to be able to adapt and FAST!

 

Football is a squad game and players will be in/out during a season - this happens at every club!

 

We need to be able to cope and if we failed to beat Oldham at home because Schneiderlin was out, then we have problems.

[Barry the Badger]

His ability to switch the ball out to the wings quickly and confidently was desperately needed last night.

[L1Minus10]

Lack of decent cover in Central midfield. If you look at our forwards - the back up is Connolly and Waigo, whereas in CM it's Wotton and James.

[NickG]

I don't think it is so much a criticism - just that he is that good you are never going to have a back up CM of that quality.

[The9]

I don't think it is so much a criticism - just that he is that good you are never going to have a back up CM of that quality.

 

I'm not entirely convinced by Schneiderlin's ability overall, but the deficiencies when he is NOT there are easy to see. He keeps things ticking over at a consistent pace and that doesn't allow the opposing defenders to settle, which helps create uncertainty. Wotton's more rigid style was like a full stop in a sentence.

 

 

 

And then play went on, with the defence already reorganising and few openings created.

[Glasgow_Saint]

I don't think it is so much a criticism - just that he is that good you are never going to have a back up CM of that quality.

 

Plenty of options that should suffice for a game or two in L1.

 

AP is paid the big bucks to shuffle the pack in these scenarios.

 

James is more than good enough for L1, Wotton is too, Gillett? How about Lallana or puncheon in CM?

 

You might not be able to replace his quality on a like for like basis, but you should be able to cope for a few games.......

 

Each time one of our key placers is out or plays badly the whole team seems to be far less effective.

 

You have a 1st 11 but you can never expect this 11 to play every week - thats why we have a squad.

[Window Cleaner]

I don't think it is so much a criticism - just that he is that good you are never going to have a back up CM of that quality.

 

 

 

True but then most thought that Puncheon could play CM at a similar level.

Obviously not the case because if he could then we'd just make a straight Puncheon/Antonio swap whenever Hammond or Schneiderlin aren't available.

I guess that was the theory behind the January signings.

 

Morgan is deceptive, his positioning and reading of the game make it look effortless but when someone else has to do it it's not so apparently easy.

[The9]

We just need someone that can pass in there. Why he didn't play Lallana or Puncheon in the middle I'll never know. Home to a poor Oldham side and needing to win, yet we try two poor defensive midfielders. Very poor decision, and very obvious result.

 

Because they could have spent 45 minutes battering us due to a lack of defensive midfielder for all we knew - and notably DID have chances when we didn't have one in the last 20 minutes.

 

You don't send a side out to attack and leave yourself exposed, you send a side out to win. When it becomes evident that we need a goal more urgently, you adjust the team accordingly.

 

I can't fault Pardew's choices last night at all once the nature of the play became obvious and that Wotton was slowing us down too much, we completely dominated throughout and were just unlucky that the ball didn't bounce for us in the box.

[scott_saints]

 

James is more than good enough for L1, Wotton is too, Gillett? How about Lallana or puncheon in CM?

.

James is good enough for L1, but not for a L1 team trying to get promoted. Same with Wotton. Same with Gillett.

 

In the summer we need to ship out the obvious ones, bring in two CM's and one RB.

[West End Saint]

Morgan is quality we will do well to hang onto him he can clearly play at a higher level.

 

We lack decent/quality cover in centre mid and we need a quality right back if we can bring people in for these positions and can hang onto the rest of the team we are going up.

[david in sweden]

you could put a strong argument for him being our most important and consistant player this season.

 

We haven't played without Lambert to see how well we can manage with Papa/Connolly/Barnard/Antonio etc.

 

But we clearly miss Schneiderlin's quality as soon as he is out.

 

 

a good point, but MS has to learn that this is football and not boxing.

two red cards for the same type of offence in such a short time is ominous for the future.

It isn't a matter of questioning his ability, or skill but playing with 10 men isn't fair to the rest of the team.

 

He must learn to control himself even in provocative situations.

Sadly... I recall the David Prutton outburst(s) ..and the fall-out afterwards..no more of that thank you.

Edited 21 April, 2010 by david in sweden

[The9]

a good point, but MS has to learn that this is football and not boxing.

two red cards for the same type of offence in such a short time is ominous for the future.

It isn't a matter of questioning his ability, or skill but playing with 10 men isn't fair to the rest of the team.

 

He must learn to control himself even in provocative situations.

Sadly... I recall the David Prutton outburst(s) ..and the fall-out afterwards..no more of that thank you.

 

I'm still more annoyed about Crouch getting sent off at Palace and being suspended for the last match than Prutton and the ban he got for not very much really with the ref in the way.

[Saint_clark]

I'm not sure we missed him as much as we have previously. Just look at the shot stats.

Oldham threw abso-f*cking-lutely everything in front of the ball.

[The9]

I'm not sure we missed him as much as we have previously. Just look at the shot stats.

Oldham threw abso-f*cking-lutely everything in front of the ball.

 

If we'd been 2-0 up at half time from simple quick passing moves that didn't stall in the centre of the park we wouldn't have needed to throw everything forward - and risk being caught on the counter. I know which I'd prefer.

[david in sweden]

I'm still more annoyed about Crouch getting sent off at Palace and being suspended for the last match than Prutton and the ban he got for not very much really with the ref in the way.

 

...it might not have been very much of a foul, but the way he disputed the decision got him a ten match ban !

 

Thats the bit I recall. If MS continues to do that he'll be real bait for refs in future.

[Arizona]

We missed Morgan, but I don't think that was the problem last night. Don't forget he did play in the home game against Swindon and Orient, when we were just as poor as we were last night. We didn't score at Yeovil either whilst he was on the pitch. Games like the JPT final showed that we can play well without him.

 

Last night's main problem was mostly the final delivery. Puncheon's crossing was terrible, Lallana never really got going. That and the fact that Seaborne kept hoofing it every time.

 

If he does leave in summer, I'd be disappointed, but he is not as important as Lambert, Lallana or Fonte IMO. Our problem is the Wotton and James are very poor. We've had players in recent years like Oakley and Safi who have played that role just as well.

[The9]

...it might not have been very much of a foul, but the way he disputed the decision got him a ten match ban !

 

Thats the bit I recall. If MS continues to do that he'll be real bait for refs in future.

 

I wasn't talking about the foul. That ban for Prutton's overreaction was massively disproportionate and was due to the FA overreacting, mostly due to the way other teams had harangued referees.

 

No-one's going to tell me yelling at a linesman (and lightly shoving a ref out of the way to do so when you probably haven't even realised he's the ref because you're looking through him to the linesman) is worse than recklessly fouling, or punching or elbowing an opponent with intent to injure, etc, and they're rarely more than 4 match bans.

 

Anyone know what ban Roy Keane got for deliberately trying to ruin Alf-Inge Haaland's career, as detailed in his autobiography ?

 

Agree that Schneiderlin needs to calm down in those situations, but it's exactly the kind of unexpected flashpoint that's very difficult to control.

 

Crouch's sending off was still much more devastating to us in terms of being able to stay up, it took away our attacking outlet in a game where we were going to be up against it and meant having to change our entire style of play as we didn't have a tall bloke who could hold it up to play it to.

[The9]

We missed Morgan, but I don't think that was the problem last night. Don't forget he did play in the home game against Swindon and Orient, when we were just as poor as we were last night. We didn't score at Yeovil either whilst he was on the pitch. Games like the JPT final showed that we can play well without him.

 

Last night's main problem was mostly the final delivery. Puncheon's crossing was terrible, Lallana never really got going. That and the fact that Seaborne kept hoofing it every time.

 

If he does leave in summer, I'd be disappointed, but he is not as important as Lambert, Lallana or Fonte IMO. Our problem is the Wotton and James are very poor. We've had players in recent years like Oakley and Safi who have played that role just as well.

 

Seaborne's "hoofing" was very controlled and almost always found Lambert, and he didn't do it much in the second half, when you could argue we should have been doing it more urgently. I thought he was massively improved yesterday.

 

Having said that, Hazell had everything covered in the air anyway, including from crosses, though I do wonder if we could have just got someone in the flight path of one of his many random arm-flailing leg waving header-away lunge-jumps that we may have got a penalty.

 

It also kind of annoys me that people focus on two "high profile" incidents like Puncheon's poor cross towards Barnard in the first half and one pass off the pitch, and ignore his workrate, murdering of the left back all game long and ability to keep and use possession in the final third, and the large number of passes he did complete. He can also score from nothing.

[Smirking_Saint]

Morgan is our best player, by a country mile.

 

Very good player, very organised, great passer of the ball and has added the steel to his game his position needed. And he is only 20 !!

 

The problem is he seems to have a bit of a temperament issue, and so if worked out by other teams will just be wound up and wound up.

 

As for his importance to the team, our dull spot mid season coincided with his injury, and when he was sent off against yeovil i just knew our season was over, he is that important.

 

We cannot replace him, but need someone with more quality than we currently have to step in.

[The9]

Morgan is our best player, by a country mile.

 

Very good player, very organised, great passer of the ball and has added the steel to his game his position needed. And he is only 20 !!

 

The problem is he seems to have a bit of a temperament issue, and so if worked out by other teams will just be wound up and wound up.

 

As for his importance to the team, our dull spot mid season coincided with his injury, and when he was sent off against yeovil i just knew our season was over, he is that important.

 

We cannot replace him, but need someone with more quality than we currently have to step in.

 

I don't agree with this by any stretch. I also think he is more easily replaced at this level than any of our attacking players - just not by Wotton. A match-sharp Lloyd James probably would have filled in much more competently, but he was out of practice, just as Schneiderlin was when he came back against Orient a few weeks back, when he was bloody terrible.

 

Plus he played against Brentford and Exeter in those draws, and was only noticably missed against Wycombe until last night.

[ottery st mary]

I think we missed God on the night more than Spiderman....

[Smirking_Saint]

I don't agree with this by any stretch. I also think he is more easily replaced at this level than any of our attacking players - just not by Wotton. A match-sharp Lloyd James probably would have filled in much more competently, but he was out of practice, just as Schneiderlin was when he came back against Orient a few weeks back, when he was bloody terrible.

 

True, but when he ticks we tick. And if i remember rightly we struggled in that game.

 

I have seen Lambert be completely annonamous more than once this season, we were without Fonte for the first half of the season and still got wins.

 

I seriously believe we will woe the loss of MS, make no mistake, he is our best player and will easily play at a higher level. He has more potential than anyone in our current squad.

 

Without him watch us struggle to break down any of the remaining 3 teams in our season.

[Arizona]

Seaborne's "hoofing" was very controlled and almost always found Lambert, and he didn't do it much in the second half, when you could argue we should have been doing it more urgently. I thought he was massively improved yesterday.

 

Having said that, Hazell had everything covered in the air anyway, including from crosses, though I do wonder if we could have just got someone in the flight path of one of his many random arm-flailing leg waving header-away lunge-jumps that we may have got a penalty.

 

It also kind of annoys me that people focus on two "high profile" incidents like Puncheon's poor cross towards Barnard in the first half and one pass off the pitch, and ignore his workrate, murdering of the left back all game long and ability to keep and use possession in the final third, and the large number of passes he did complete. He can also score from nothing.

 

Part of the reason I think his hoofing was poor was the fact that it clearly wasn't working against Hazell. If Lambert was up against Chris Perry, I could understand him doing it, but he wasn't and it never worked.

 

I'm not focusing on any specific incident with Puncheon, but his delivery was generally poor, both from open play and set pieces. Would have liked to have seen Antonio replace him after an hour or so to try something a bit different.

[Fitzhugh Fella]

you could put a strong argument for him being our most important and consistant player this season.

 

We haven't played without Lambert to see how well we can manage with Papa/Connolly/Barnard/Antonio etc.

 

But we clearly miss Schneiderlin's quality as soon as he is out.

 

We certainly miss him when he is on song, but for me he reamins, rather like Matt Oakley, an enigma.

He needs to develop his consistency and control his impetuosity.

[Window Cleaner]

He needs to develop his consistency and control his impetuosity.

 

 

 

He needs decent referees who will put an end to him getting kicked and elbowed all the time.

 

He needs to be out of League 1, same for Lallana.

[The Mac Attack]

Schneiderlin is in my eyes one of the most over rated players at the club. He puts in a great deal of Average performances the occasional good one but is repeatedly raved about by some supporters. Our midfield is lacking in many areas imo, central midfield lacks a good ball winner. Puncheon after a good start when he joined is now proving to have the touch of Terry Hurlock but without the hard tackles. Creativity is limited to anything Lallana chooses to do. We need two good midfielders to come in this summer if we want automatic promotion because sides will play for a draw against us and we need a second means of creating chances other than a long direct ball floated up to the back post.

[AndyNorthernSaints]

James is good enough for L1, but not for a L1 team trying to get promoted. Same with Wotton. Same with Gillett.

 

In the summer we need to ship out the obvious ones, bring in two CM's and one RB.

 

Agree. Look at what hapens when Morgan is out. We either need a better player than him or a reliable back up midfielder who can get stuck in but also pass.

[The9]

True, but when he ticks we tick. And if i remember rightly we struggled in that game.

 

I have seen Lambert be completely anonymous more than once this season, we were without Fonte for the first half of the season and still got wins.

 

I seriously believe we will woe the loss of MS, make no mistake, he is our best player and will easily play at a higher level. He has more potential than anyone in our current squad.

 

Without him watch us struggle to break down any of the remaining 3 teams in our season.

 

We struggled in that match until half time, as would any team with one of their players regularly passing to the opposition like Schneiderlin was. It's not his fault, he'd been out injured, but I'm not quite sure what point you're making when you say "if he plays badly the team do poorly", but using an example in which we won the match.

 

Obviously if we have a lot of players doing badly we'll lose - see last season - but that doesn't mean they're all potential world-beaters - which seems to be your logic.

[saintsmike25]

Morgan probably alongside Lambert and Lallana is our best player. But what makes him that extra bit special is he CAN be better than both Lallana and Lambert. Lambert at 28 hasn't got that many years left and is playing on top of his game. Lallana will always be a good goal scoring midfielder whose main fault is his lack of pace and strength but he could make it at a premiership side and is a poor mans Joe Cole.

 

But Morgan? he's the perfect defensive midfielder, superb passing ability, positional sense. Puts his foot in, reads the game perfectly, technically one of the best players in league one. I'll be shocked if we keep him. He's captained France u19 which says something about his talents. But most of us know HE can and will improve, imagine if he takes more shots? just adds a little attacking to his game he would be the perfect midfielder. I can see him playing for a top top side in a few years. It's no wonder Arsene Wenger was looking at him. Top player.

[The9]

Agree. Look at what hapens when Morgan is out. We either need a better player than him or a reliable back up midfielder who can get stuck in but also pass.

 

I actually think James is good enough to be the fill-in player and if it hadn't been for a couple of months without a start he'd have been a lot more effective there - but if the nature of the beast is that we need someone who can come in and be effective as cover WITHOUT regular match practice, then what we need to be doing is buying someone better than Schneiderlin and Hammond so that one of *them* is the covering player. It's the only way to continually improve, and not IMPROVING the squad, just adding to it, was the reason we dropped out of the Prem in the first place so you'd hope we'd have learned that lesson.

[Smirking_Saint]

Morgan probably alongside Lambert and Lallana is our best player. But what makes him that extra bit special is he CAN be better than both Lallana and Lambert. Lambert at 28 hasn't got that many years left and is playing on top of his game. Lallana will always be a good goal scoring midfielder whose main fault is his lack of pace and strength but he could make it at a premiership side and is a poor mans Joe Cole.

 

But Morgan? he's the perfect defensive midfielder, superb passing ability, positional sense. Puts his foot in, reads the game perfectly, technically one of the best players in league one. I'll be shocked if we keep him. He's captained France u19 which says something about his talents. But most of us know HE can and will improve, imagine if he takes more shots? just adds a little attacking to his game he would be the perfect midfielder. I can see him playing for a top top side in a few years. It's no wonder Arsene Wenger was looking at him. Top player.

 

Exactly this,

 

Makes me wonder what games people actually watch at times. I know football is all about opinion but everyone i know whose footballing knowledge i respect says the same thing. And i see it too.

 

Morgan is too good for this league and as i said before, when he plays well, we play well and when he is poor, we are poor. Not too hard to understand that statement is it really ??

[Smirking_Saint]

We struggled in that match until half time, as would any team with one of their players regularly passing to the opposition like Schneiderlin was. It's not his fault, he'd been out injured, but I'm not quite sure what point you're making when you say "if he plays badly the team do poorly", but using an example in which we won the match.

 

Obviously if we have a lot of players doing badly we'll lose - see last season - but that doesn't mean they're all potential world-beaters - which seems to be your logic.

 

My point is that MS was not at his best, and we stuttered and stammered, although we made it too victory it was one of our poorer performances.

 

As for Schneiderlin, potential world beater ?? No i probably won't put him in that bracket yet but with the right coaching etc he could end up and a top level club, and would not be surprised if he leaves come summer to even a PL club.

 

The fact that you can't see schneiderlins obvious talents baffles me.

[Andy Durman]

I think we missed God on the night more than Spiderman....

 

Very good and I totally agree.

 

Sometime you just need a little lady luck!

 

11 against 11

[doggface]

Ms is a good player, no doubt he was missed last night.

 

We are very short in centre mid & I would expect 2 new players in this area in the summer.

 

I have seen little speculation linking him elsewhere and I know he is happy here so expect him to stay.

 

I'm more worried about RL & lallana, both seem happy hear but a big offer from a west brom or Newcastle for example I'm sure both would find tempting

[alpine_saint]

A pity that just as I am convinced about his value, he plays his last match for us.

 

No way is he going to stay

[Genk]

Well the team/AP need to be able to adapt and FAST!

 

Football is a squad game and players will be in/out during a season - this happens at every club!

 

We need to be able to cope and if we failed to beat Oldham at home because Schneiderlin was out, then we have problems.

 

I agree, at the moment we may have a very good starting 11 in this league but we need two or three further additions in the midfield area of good quality in order to win games such as last night. It was evident we were missing Schneiderlin and I can see AP bringing in a few more players in the summer to sure up the squad.

 

At the back I feel we have adequate resources, aswell as upfront but the midfield area of the squad is weak, especially in the centre.

[The9]

My point is that MS was not at his best, and we stuttered and stammered, although we made it too victory it was one of our poorer performances.

 

As for Schneiderlin, potential world beater ?? No i probably won't put him in that bracket yet but with the right coaching etc he could end up and a top level club, and would not be surprised if he leaves come summer to even a PL club.

 

The fact that you can't see schneiderlins obvious talents baffles me.

 

I think he's better than Wotton, Gillett and James in his position and we miss him when he's not there, but I don't think he's even Prem quality yet, he has the odd noticably poor game and I think a fair few other Saints players are better in their positions relative to our opponents than he is in his.

[Andy_Porter]

Morgan is our best player, by a country mile.

 

Very good player, very organised, great passer of the ball and has added the steel to his game his position needed. And he is only 20 !!

 

The problem is he seems to have a bit of a temperament issue, and so if worked out by other teams will just be wound up and wound up.

 

As for his importance to the team, our dull spot mid season coincided with his injury, and when he was sent off against yeovil i just knew our season was over, he is that important.

 

We cannot replace him, but need someone with more quality than we currently have to step in.

 

100% agree.

 

In the Summer Pardew and the scouting team should be looking for a midfielder to compliment Schneiderlin in midfield and Hammond should be made cover for the two of them with James continuing as our utility man.

 

I don't agree with this by any stretch. I also think he is more easily replaced at this level than any of our attacking players - just not by Wotton. A match-sharp Lloyd James probably would have filled in much more competently, but he was out of practice, just as Schneiderlin was when he came back against Orient a few weeks back, when he was bloody terrible.

 

 

If Schneiderlin was so easily replaced with a player from this league then I don't see why we shelled out so much on Hammond who is rather poor in comparison.

 

As for a match fit Lloyd James replacing him, we looked lost at Leeds when Schneiderlin was out and James had to come in to replace him. James is a very good midfielder at this level but he's still not at Schneiderlin's level.

[AndyNorthernSaints]

100% agree.

 

In the Summer Pardew and the scouting team should be looking for a midfielder to compliment Schneiderlin in midfield and Hammond should be made cover for the two of them with James continuing as our utility man.

 

 

 

If Schneiderlin was so easily replaced with a player from this league then I don't see why we shelled out so much on Hammond who is rather poor in comparison.

 

As for a match fit Lloyd James replacing him, we looked lost at Leeds when Schneiderlin was out and James had to come in to replace him. James is a very good midfielder at this level but he's still not at Schneiderlin's level.

 

James did not play well in a poor team performance at Leeds. I think the game was too big for him on the day. Lambert and Connolley did not get any decent service that day.

[Window Cleaner]

James did not play well in a poor team performance at Leeds. I think the game was too big for him on the day. Lambert and Connolley did not get any decent service that day.

 

 

 

Anyway comparing Schneiderlin to James, Wotton,Hammond or any other hack midfielder in the lower leagues is just pointless.

 

He's a class youngster who's developing his game to suit our League 1

status.

 

He needs to leave and play some real football somewhere with a manager who

knows what he's doing on the cultured footballing front.

[Legod Third Coming]

Well the team/AP need to be able to adapt and FAST!

 

Football is a squad game and players will be in/out during a season - this happens at every club!

 

We need to be able to cope and if we failed to beat Oldham at home because Schneiderlin was out, then we have problems.

 

No, we only have problems if we don't bring in a replacement which I'm sure we will.

[Window Cleaner]

No, we only have problems if we don't bring in a replacement which I'm sure we will.

 

 

 

Like we did in January you mean.

[Legod Third Coming]

Like we did in January you mean.

 

Very few players moved in January. Maybe Pardew wanted one (Danns? - I don't know many of these players) but the deal was not right? Maybe Puncheon was intended to do the job but he quickly realised he couldn't?

 

Put it this way, with his record who would I trust to make the right choice about what we need - Pardew or the clowns who claim they could do his job on here... hmmm tough call.

[Legod Third Coming]

Anyway comparing Schneiderlin to James, Wotton,Hammond or any other hack midfielder in the lower leagues is just pointless.

 

He's a class youngster who's developing his game to suit our League 1

status.

 

He needs to leave and play some real football somewhere with a manager who

knows what he's doing on the cultured footballing front.

 

Spoken like a true fan...

[Window Cleaner]

Spoken like a true fan...

 

 

 

It's not about beingf a fan or not, it's about not wanting to see real talent

frittered away in a sh*t league where sooner or later it will get kicked and punched out of him(them)

 

I honestly think Lallana and Morgan are wasting their time,energy and youth in this awful division and think that they should be allowed to leave (providing we get a decent offer) to show what they can really do elsewhere. I have never been sad to see good young players moving onwards and upwards to exploit their talent to it's capacity. Then again I like football and not just SFC and some of the opposition in this League don't play football insomuch

[Window Cleaner]

Very few players moved in January. Maybe Pardew wanted one (Danns? - I don't know many of these players) but the deal was not right? Maybe Puncheon was intended to do the job but he quickly realised he couldn't?

 

Put it this way, with his record who would I trust to make the right choice about what we need - Pardew or the clowns who claim they could do his job on here... hmmm tough call.

 

 

 

I'm not APs biggest fan really, he has done an adequate job but could have done better (in my opinion).I'm not really fussed whether he stays or goes to be honest.

[grammy]

A pity that just as I am convinced about his value, he plays his last match for us.

 

No way is he going to stay

 

Thank god you are very rarely right about anything Alps. Lets hope that continues!

[Legod Third Coming]

It's not about beingf a fan or not, it's about not wanting to see real talent

frittered away in a sh*t league where sooner or later it will get kicked and punched out of him(them)

 

I honestly think Lallana and Morgan are wasting their time,energy and youth in this awful division and think that they should be allowed to leave (providing we get a decent offer) to show what they can really do elsewhere. I have never been sad to see good young players moving onwards and upwards to exploit their talent to it's capacity. Then again I like football and not just SFC and some of the opposition in this League don't play football insomuch

 

I can only conclude you don't bother turning up to games?

 

I have seen us play more football in this league than Burnley have played all season.

 

I have seen Messi kicked to sh*t in La Liga.

 

Good footballers can play good football anywhere or sit on the bench at Arsenal.

 

I have seen very few teams in this league play scrumball. What differentiates this league and the Premiership is most often simply pace and quality of final ball.

 

Tell me how Lallan has suffered from expressing his talent in this league? Tell me how Schneiderlin has suffered by learning his trade here?

 

How much better a footballer is Walcott for training with his team-mates?

 

I'm not a football fan and then a Saints follower.

[saint-crinny]

For me, when at full strength we have one excellent CM (Morgan), and one average (Hammond). When Morgan is out that leaves us with an average CM and then take your pick from Wotton and James - neither are great options.

 

I applaud Hammond as someone who works hard, but he doesnt have any creativity about him and next season, hopefully we can bring in another quality CM to play alongside Morgan. Hammond would be a great squad player in L1.

 

Shame we didnt get Danns if the rumours were true.