10-03-2021, 02:41 AM
(09-03-2021, 07:42 PM)Salvatore Matrecano Wrote: There is nothing wrong with any of those players individually. As a collective though you have a bunch of ageing journeymen, all on high wages, none good enough for PL, none can ever be sold on for a profit and as we have found out all of them simply dont want it enough.
A team, or squad, is all about getting the right balance & we haven't got it, you're right when you say that one or two of Forest's dads army could do a job for us, under the right circumstances, the problem is we have to many, & in some cases the wrong ones.
You have to be very careful with older players, & do your homework on them, that's why I said, with regards the talk of a new contract for Murray that I personally wouldn't offer him one, but that I would trust Hughton's judgement on it, because he's done his homework on the player, he knows the player, he will know if he can go one more year, & I don't, which is why I couldn't make the call & o wouldn't offer the contract.
Take Arter, did we do our homework on him?
I mean he was on fire in 14/15, we all remember that, no doubting he was a good player on top of his game at the time, but he's been on a bit of a downward spiral ever since, when he got to the premier league he was in & out the side for the first couple of seasons (in his defence partly due to niggle & injuries) & by the end of 17/18 he was increasingly looking like a fringe player whose days were numbered, that was followed by a relatively unsuccessful loan to Cardiff, & though he got promoted out of this division, while on loan at Fulham last season he was hardly their star player & now he looks fairly surplus here, already.
A player we've seen can play, albeit a long time ago, but someone who there has been a lot of red flags for in recent years, did we check them out properly?
This is the sort of difference that I hope Hughton (& Brazil) will make, I hope, instead of just collecting names, & recommendations, they'll do their homework, check a players work ethic, his habits, his personality, his mood, hi state of mind, how he'll gel with the others, I mean I don't know about you, but aren't you sick of waiting for our players to gel?
We have rarely played as a team in the last half a dozens year, we've been primarily a collection of individuals. This summer I hope we address that, & start getting both the personnel & the balance right.