WHITTINGHAM

Isn't it obvious that Whitts is not our best defensive midfielder? Why does Malky persist with giving him that role? By playing him so deep Malky is virtually negating all of Whitts' attacking flair and goal threat. I just don't understand it. Also, if you play a lone striker such as Helguson who has no pace at all then surely Whitts needs to play much nearer to him in order to be able to play more accurate through-balls....and at the same time if Whitts plays closer to Helguson he's got a better chance of getting on the end of some of his knock-downs. It's not as if Whitts is a natural defensive player. Surely Gunnar is much more suited to that role anyway.

Isn't it obvious that Whitts is not our best defensive midfielder? Why does Malky persist with giving him that role? By playing him so deep Malky is virtually negating all of Whitts' attacking flair and goal threat. I just don't understand it. Also, if you play a lone striker such as Helguson who has no pace at all then surely Whitts needs to play much nearer to him in order to be able to play more accurate through-balls....and at the same time if Whitts plays closer to Helguson he's got a better chance of getting on the end of some of his knock-downs. It's not as if Whitts is a natural defensive player. Surely Gunnar is much more suited to that role anyway.

Whittingham is a very special player as an attacking midfielder. A defensive one is a criminal waste of talent IMO. Malky said when he came here he was going to build a team around Whitts what happened to that ?

Malky is playing too many players out of position,sell whitts said before he is over rated,we need to go to either a 442 or 433 plain to see 451 is not working

Isn't it obvious that Whitts is not our best defensive midfielder? Why does Malky persist with giving him that role? By playing him so deep Malky is virtually negating all of Whitts' attacking flair and goal threat. I just don't understand it. Also, if you play a lone striker such as Helguson who has no pace at all then surely Whitts needs to play much nearer to him in order to be able to play more accurate through-balls....and at the same time if Whitts plays closer to Helguson he's got a better chance of getting on the end of some of his knock-downs. It's not as if Whitts is a natural defensive player. Surely Gunnar is much more suited to that role anyway.

MM is wrong with his tactics we all see, he needs to sort it out..I just hope MM is able to change tact because we cant keep playing this way..

Malky is playing too many players out of position,sell whitts said before he is over rated,we need to go to either a 442 or 433 plain to see 451 is not working

I agree, there are positions in our squad that need strengthing but he would rather sign 32 year old Smith, Smith is a good player but he wont get into our first 11 when everyone is fit,.

Malky is playing too many players out of position,sell whitts said before he is over rated,we need to go to either a 442 or 433 plain to see 451 is not working

There's nothing wrong with 451, just the way Malky executes it. 451 is great if the midfield players can get up and support the striker. Unfortunately the current system and personnel/positons picked by Malky means that the midfield are not quick enough or have enough guile to support the front man. No wonder Kenny got pissed off. You'd think with 5 in midfield we'd be at least hard to beat, the wurzels put and end to that theory.

Isn't it obvious that Whitts is not our best defensive midfielder? Why does Malky persist with giving him that role? By playing him so deep Malky is virtually negating all of Whitts' attacking flair and goal threat. I just don't understand it. Also, if you play a lone striker such as Helguson who has no pace at all then surely Whitts needs to play much nearer to him in order to be able to play more accurate through-balls....and at the same time if Whitts plays closer to Helguson he's got a better chance of getting on the end of some of his knock-downs. It's not as if Whitts is a natural defensive player. Surely Gunnar is much more suited to that role anyway.

Whittingham is a very special player as an attacking midfielder. A defensive one is a criminal waste of talent IMO. Malky said when he came here he was going to build a team around Whitts what happened to that ?

Whitts has scored 20+ goals at Championship level for 2 out of the last 4 seasons which makes him a very special player at this level. He was out top goalscorer last season which given MM had him playing this deep role all the more remarkable, but for me his role is not as a defensive midfielder as that applies to our entire midfield 5 who all sit very deep.

MM uses Whitts as the link from the back 4 to the midfield / attack and he looks to use Whitts to set the tempo of the team. Problem is our opponents had this sussed by Christmas last season and so Whitts is faced with being immediately pressured whenever he gets the ball which invariable leads to him passing the ball straight back to Hudson/ Turner who when faced with no options are left to hoof the ball 60 yards up field.

If we are lucky enough for Helguson, or last season Miller, to get the ball to stick they are isolated as our midfield 5 are then left trying to make up the 40 - 60 yards and in my opinion this is why we scored 0 or only 1 goal in 60% of our games last season. Sadly and despite the millions that have been spent this summer nothing has changed and we look all to predictable.

We can all get frustrated with Whitts because we know what he can bring to the party but in my opinion his talents are being wasted as he is a far more effective player higher up the pitch. Under DJ we had front players with pace and excellent movement together with wide players bombing on providing Whitts the opportunity to play them in.

Under MM he is left with passing the ball backwards or sideways because of a lack of movement or a lack of bodies in forward positions.

Let's hope that like last season we can keep clean sheets in 32% of our games that way 1 goal in a game will get us a result and give us a chance of the playoffs.

Isn't it obvious that Whitts is not our best defensive midfielder? Why does Malky persist with giving him that role? By playing him so deep Malky is virtually negating all of Whitts' attacking flair and goal threat. I just don't understand it. Also, if you play a lone striker such as Helguson who has no pace at all then surely Whitts needs to play much nearer to him in order to be able to play more accurate through-balls....and at the same time if Whitts plays closer to Helguson he's got a better chance of getting on the end of some of his knock-downs. It's not as if Whitts is a natural defensive player. Surely Gunnar is much more suited to that role anyway.

Whittingham is a very special player as an attacking midfielder. A defensive one is a criminal waste of talent IMO. Malky said when he came here he was going to build a team around Whitts what happened to that ?

Whitts has scored 20+ goals at Championship level for 2 out of the last 4 seasons which makes him a very special player at this level. He was out top goalscorer last season which given MM had him playing this deep role all the more remarkable, but for me his role is not as a defensive midfielder as that applies to our entire midfield 5 who all sit very deep.


Let's hope that like last season we can keep clean sheets in 32% of our games that way 1 goal in a game will get us a result and give us a chance of the playoffs.

The problem is that it is boring football to watch. Would you want to watch a boring display every game ? It would be nice to see some attacking football with us scoring some decent goals and seeing teams off rather than sitting back on a 1-0 lead and playing negative football.

Isn't it obvious that Whitts is not our best defensive midfielder? Why does Malky persist with giving him that role? By playing him so deep Malky is virtually negating all of Whitts' attacking flair and goal threat. I just don't understand it. Also, if you play a lone striker such as Helguson who has no pace at all then surely Whitts needs to play much nearer to him in order to be able to play more accurate through-balls....and at the same time if Whitts plays closer to Helguson he's got a better chance of getting on the end of some of his knock-downs. It's not as if Whitts is a natural defensive player. Surely Gunnar is much more suited to that role anyway.

Whittingham is a very special player as an attacking midfielder. A defensive one is a criminal waste of talent IMO. Malky said when he came here he was going to build a team around Whitts what happened to that ?

Whitts has scored 20+ goals at Championship level for 2 out of the last 4 seasons which makes him a very special player at this level. He was out top goalscorer last season which given MM had him playing this deep role all the more remarkable, but for me his role is not as a defensive midfielder as that applies to our entire midfield 5 who all sit very deep.


Let's hope that like last season we can keep clean sheets in 32% of our games that way 1 goal in a game will get us a result and give us a chance of the playoffs.

The problem is that it is boring football to watch. Would you want to watch a boring display every game ? It would be nice to see some attacking football with us scoring some decent goals and seeing teams off rather than sitting back on a 1-0 lead and playing negative football.

I absolutely agree and I'm sure the majority of fans would prefer to watch expansive, freeflowing even swashbuckling football. But how many fans expect that before a game starts.

I thought with the signings we have made this summer that we would see changes, tactical changes both before a game starts and during games and of course roatation of players. Right now I really don't expect to see anything different and more importantly neither do our opponents.