The Gaffer

[tufcyellowarmy]

Young's a poor player vastly overrated by people who cannot see that his influence on a game is nowhere near the level at which his role in the team demands. Watch him start the game on Saturday and ask yourself what's going on in his mind?
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?=you ... &FORM=VIRE

The 'playmaker' takes two steps back and hoofs the ball as far as he can so that he finds touch; is he playing rugby? We start just about every game in this fashion and it reveals a lot.

As most games progress he loses his grip on the game; choosing 'Hollywood' attempts at switching play rather than the necessary discipline to retain possession and thus pressure on the opposition. He is not a commanding figure; either in playing style or vocally and that is so badly missing in this squad it hurts.

For Young's profligation with possession read McGinty; a hoof merchant whenever he loses his discipline. McGinty can head and tackle with the best of them, but the opposition can also pretty much rely on him to gift the ball back to them after he has done so; causing the team to be constantly out of position and losing it's shape.

I would replace them asap!

I wouldn’t dream to start with the phrase “any fool “ just in case some of our fellow posters aren’t actually fools . I will leave that honour to you Merse .
Firstly, Young is not a poor player !
Sure he may well be lacking in confidence , carrying an injury or just not relishing the dressing room under obergruppenfuhrers OWERS and KUHL. But he performedr admirably for us prior to his career threatening injury and in my opinion is still trying to get back to his former level.
The issue you make regarding the kickoff surely is obvious to any fool, oops I mean obvious to anyone that watches or plays football.
You see the tactic of punting the ball forward early doors from kick off in a high percentage of games at any level, just as you have rightly pointed out , so do we.
Managers instruct the players to do so to put the opposition under pressure from the off. I personally would prefer us to keep possession from the kick off.
Young is a scrapper and that is what we need along with a decent old head in the vein of Danni Racchi to pull the strings.
On McGinty I would say he is more raw than poor. But I will agree that he lacks confidence that onthe ball and looks hopelessly out of position sometimes which makes us vulnerable . Hopefully that can be dealt with by coaches no and experience.
I would keep them both unless something far better comes our way. There are far worse in the side to get shot of first !!!,

[kevgull]

My “yardstick” to our seasons success (not being relegated) is Reid. When I see his name on the starting lineup, I expect us to lose.

The day he’s back to being a squad player, will be the day that Owers has brought in enough quality to compete and then, put together a winning run.

[MellowYellow]

We did have a centre back last season (whom I thought had huge potential) who did not reach the magnificence of Torquay standards. Very versatile player able to play in central defence, central midfield and at right-back. He went by the name of Giancarlo Gallifuoco.

Whatever did happen to him ?

[merse btpir]

The issue you make regarding the kickoff surely is obvious to any fool, oops I mean obvious to anyone that watches or plays football.
You see the tactic of punting the ball forward early doors from kick off in a high percentage of games at any level, just as you have rightly pointed out , so do we. Managers instruct the players to do so to put the opposition under pressure from the off. I personally would prefer us to keep possession from the kick off.

How in God's name is being in possession in your right back position being construed as 'being under pressure'?

[Arrywithnobrain]

How in God's name is being in possession in your right back position being construed as 'being under pressure'?

It's far more under pressure than the opposition being in possession in their right back position: surely Merse Almighty you can grasp that when you are always slagging off Higgins who plays in the .... right back position.

[merse btpir]

The objective is to achieve and retain possession.......

There is nowhere anywhere on the park that being in possession is being under pressure compared to the opposition being in possession; not if you're a competent passer of the ball it isn't!

If you are in possession, the opposition cannot score.

[Southampton Gull]

That's actually a ridiculous thing to say. Any player in possession should be under pressure, nature of the game.

[tufcyellowarmy]

How in God's name is being in possession in your right back position being construed as 'being under pressure'?

I'm not the one to ask am I . Try any new ne of the dozens of managers past and present to get to the bottom of that one .
We could ask lugmeister on this forum as a m sure he would be able to sort that on his it once and for all .

[Arrywithnobrain]

You do spout a load of rubbish a lot of the time. Surely the objective is ultimately to score goals and hopefully score more than the opposition manage - possession merely being a means to an end rather than an end in itself. Unless one is the goalkeeper (and sometimes even then) the pressure of being in possession immediately in front of one's goal, one yard from the line, is arguably greater than the pressure of the opposition being in possession one yard away from their corner flag (you can substitute metres for yards if you prefer) and if you think differently then you have palpably never played the game outside your back garden. Some players don't handle pressure as well as others and some players make mistakes so there may be some tactical merit in testing the opposition in that regard, rather than risking the reverse: after all, you do hope that you will only get one opportunity in the whole match to exercise a kick off routine.
From the bold emphasis of "If you are in possession, the opposition cannot score" there is presumably some new immutable law of which only the Great Merse is aware that prohibits the scoring of own goals or were you thinking of some other game like rugby or hockey or Subbuteo .....

[arrywithanh]

That's actually a ridiculous thing to say. Any player in possession should be under pressure, nature of the game.

Agreed, give little time and force the errors, especially at this level

[gullsdiv2]

Has always frustrated me that we hopelessly punt the ball forward from kick off, only really works if you have a Blissett or Moore who can win the ball against the right back and our players can then react to the flick on, instead we just gift the opposition possession and they start an attack against us

[desperado]

Seems Gary Owers doesn't agree with Merse about Luke Young , quoted today as saying 'Luke Young
week in week out is performing to a very good standard" I think I will side with Owers.
I think he can play better , but if the other 10 put in the effort he does we wouldnt be in the bottom 4

[gateman49]

Arrywithnobrain was obviously at that famous match a few decades ago when Pat Kruse got his name into the Guinness Book of Records for all the wrong reasons. We had a period of 100% possession prior to the goal if I recall correctly.

[Plainmoor78]

That's actually a ridiculous thing to say. Any player in possession should be under pressure, nature of the game.

So the key to the game is to let the opposition have possession then?

[Southampton Gull]

Is that what you took from the post you quoted? Jesus!!