Regular Season Ratings

Martin gets a 7 from me.

We all know the issues we have. They're much the same as last year:- Possession without aggression, a dodgy defence, and a suicidal "pass it around the back" policy, which has led to far too many sloppy goals. Martin hasn't really addressed these issues.

I'm happy for him to stick with his possession strategy for the most part, but we should occasionally hoof a long ball from the back or attempt a fast cross / dash into the box on the break. This would make us far less predictable, keep the opposition defenders honest and would discourage opposition forwards from goal-hanging and feeding off our mistakes.

That said, Martin inherited a squad in disarray and low on confidence. We came 4th in a very competitive league. Our football is far more entertaining than many teams we've faced. We have a real shot at being promoted via the play-offs.

The real test of Martin would come either next year when we are being regularly beaten in the Premiership (let's face it, if we get promoted we're going to be in a relegation scrap) or next year in the Championship when our best talent leaves in the Summer.

 

Difficult to rate players when so many managed Messi moments and Ali Dia moments
Some didn’t play much but I’ve rated them when they did

Gavin Bazunu 7
Kyle Walker-Peters 9
Taylor Harwood-Bellis 7
Jan Bednarek 8
Ryan Manning 7
Flynn Downes 9
Will Smallbone 6
Stuart Armstrong 8
Adam Armstrong 9
Che Adams 7
Ryan Fraser 6
Jack Stephens 8
James Bree 5
Joe Aribo 7
Shea Charles 5
David Brooks 5
Kamaldeen Sulemana 4
Samuel Edozie 6
Sekou Mara 3
Joe Rothwell 4
Carlos Alcaraz ?
Alex McCarthy 6
Samuel Amo-Ameyaw 6
Tyler Dibling 7
Jayden Meghoma 8
Joe Lumley 8

Russell Martin 8

 

Maybe it’s because of the frailty of our midfield especially when Downes is out?

 

Depends whether you believe our poor performances are more down to obeying his instructions or poor decision making and execution on the pitch

 

I firmly believe a good manager - an 8+ - is able to adapt and change things when the tide turns against you. Very rarely has he done that. Yes he has set the team up well - and we took the lead 35 times - but from positions of strength we crumbled more often than anyone else in the top 6. You can argue if we had taken our chances we would have been out of sight- but if we had changed our system when under pressure the same is also true.

 

My thoughts …
Change things, maybe?
Change the system, not necessarily?
Bring on subs? Yes, but ours are inconsistent
I think we are fragile as a team and that causes us problems
I think we need leaders on the pitch, impact subs and more resilience

I understand that we’ll have to agree to differ on this and I might be wrong
That’s why I want another season in the Championship, to find out and fix it

 

See, now I put the personnel down to Martin as well. Because the people he brought in in January did not fix our soft underbelly. We didn't bring in leaders or warriors. We brought in two players Bournemouth fans describe as lightweight and luxury attacking options. We needed a solid garden bench and his response was to hire a pair of cushions.

 

To be fair the January transfer window came when we had been unbeaten since September and at that time the team was functioning very well and was barely conceding any goals.
The problems started when Downes was injured and Martin refused to use our only other 6 to replace him, perhaps we should've signed another experienced DM in hindsight.

 

I think only RM knew he didn't want to use Charles. He also took out Alcaraz - who for all his failings had a bit of bite about him - and replaced him with fluff.

 

I can understand why RM didn’t want to use Charles.
IMO the KEY role of our 6, under RM, is to receive the ball under pressure and retain possession or pass it onto a teammate. Having someone who can do that and defend, like Downes, is a bonus.
I have said a few times on this forum that Charles is the only player who makes me call out “man on” with regularity, because he is slow to move the ball and often takes an extra touch, which leads to him being dispossessed or hitting a hurried pass that may not be the best.
Smallbone isn’t a great defender but he is better at moving the ball, which is why I think RM has gone with him in that position.
We don’t know if the results would have been any different, had Charles been trusted to fill in for Downes, but for what it’s worth I think Charles would be better in a 2 defensive midfielder set up than being the only DM.

 

My issue isn’t whether he is good enough. My issue is that RM decided he wasn’t and didn’t replace him.

 

Yes Charles can’t play the Downes role, but maybe Martin should’ve realised what Charles does offer and change his role/system to accommodate whilst Downes was out when we were conceding goals for fun playing any old centre mid there

 

RM has made mistakes which he has acknowledged himself, mainly his use of players out of position which I hope he has learned from but the bigger picture is I believe that he has done more good than bad work with the squad this season.
I think that the players respect and love playing for him and his man management is very good and his style of football can be very effective and attractive when it is working well and to not give him any credit for that is a bit churlish i feel.

 

But if he had changed the system and it hadn’t worked, he’d have been called out for changing the system to accommodate Charles.
He’s made good and bad decisions throughout the season - it’s all part of the job.
If the forwards, in some of those games we lost when Downes was out, had taken more of the chances we created, the defence might not have come under so much pressure.
No one knows.

 

Agreed. The system does create chances, so isn't entirely at fault. I know we have scored a bucket load, but if we had say Vardy & Piroe then maybe we would have scored 3 bucket loads.

 

All this thread has done has remind me how many players had promising starts then didn't get starts.
Charles
Edozie
SAA

 

That’s where the Jan loan signings look bad. Rothwell and Brooks have produced great moments, but overall their average displays have been at the expense of minutes and experience for our own players

 

Edozie had some minutes but I was amazed not to see SAA. He was great against Norwich then didn’t feature. I think he would have had more impact than Sulemana.

 

You can’t get leaders on loan in January
Fraser and Brookes started really well and have faded, Rothwell is what can happen when options are limited
How do you get good players to sit on the bench of a Championship side?

I also note that criticisms from others are rather diverse
Playing more youth?
Needing better strikers?
Etc

Following a miserable season in the EPL we have created a new unbeaten record, been entertained, and got into the playoffs. As I say, that leaves me wanting to see more

 

That’s simply not true. There are always plenty of options in premier league reserves. We chose to go for lightweight options and no hardworking ball winners.