Mags

Has the loss of Magnay had a big impact on and off the pitch ?

No

No

No no no no

Maybe

Possibly. As an outsider looking in he did appear to be a popular member of the group as well as being a very competent defender.

However - he has left because he wanted to live elsewhere and we weren't willing to meet his contract demands in the summer. This forum is forever living in the past. I'm not saying forget the past and our fine history as a club but how about we live in the present and look to the future for a change? People are still whinging about LJL ffs!

No

Thought this was going to be a thread about Fiesta, Men Only, Razzle and Mayfair.

Gutted

I honestly don't think so.

Overwhelmingly player of the year so obviously a big loss. Let's be realistic.

Quoted from psgmariner

Overwhelmingly player of the year so obviously a big loss. Let's be realistic.

yes, but....at full back overall we seem better equipped this year - aswad maggers and bignot,  vs  gregor, east and tait?

Can anyone comment on how Gregor has done compared to when East played at LB.  I had worries about Gregors lack of pace or not overlapping.  Would you stick with Gregor or play East

Quoted from Meza

Can anyone comment on how Gregor has done compared to when East played at LB.  I had worries about Gregors lack of pace or not overlapping.  Would you stick with Gregor or play East

Personally I would go with East certainly at home. When teams come and park the bus, Gregor's complete lack of pace means any time the ball is switched to the left the momentum is lost and the opposition easily get across in numbers to cover. If we had East bombing on we might get behind them more and stretch them.

No

Robertson is a far steadier defender than East but no comparison in terms of going forward.

Despite a lack of pre-season and his more natural defensive game, I've been highly impressed with how Robertson has pushed forward in the games he's played this season.  The biggest advantage East has over Robertson is he's much more comfortable on the ball.  Robertson never looks at ease and I feel would always favour giving it to someone else (nothing wrong with that - would much prefer honest players who know their limits than those who overdo it).  

I think it's fair to say the general consensus regards East going into the season was that he would be back up to the other two.  Since then East has established himself as the first choice of the three in my eyes.  

Regards Magnay.....I think we've upgraded on him in both East and Tait but we've not gelled yet so haven't quite seen it.  Magnay was superb up until Christmas but then his form levelled out and was poor on occasions.  He survived much criticism because he was held in such high esteem.  What Magnay was very good at doing was covering the back line and he made numerous goal saving challenges doing this.   Our current set-up sees the full-backs playing much further up field, almost as wingbacks, definitely not covering the centre-backs through the middle.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Robertson is a far steadier defender than East but no comparison in terms of going forward.

Despite a lack of pre-season and his more natural defensive game, I've been highly impressed with how Robertson has pushed forward in the games he's played this season.  The biggest advantage East has over Robertson is he's much more comfortable on the ball.  Robertson never looks at ease and I feel would always favour giving it to someone else (nothing wrong with that - would much prefer honest players who know their limits than those who overdo it).  

I think it's fair to say the general consensus regards East going into the season was that he would be back up to the other two.  Since then East has established himself as the first choice of the three in my eyes.  

Regards Magnay.....I think we've upgraded on him in both East and Tait but we've not gelled yet so haven't quite seen it.  Magnay was superb up until Christmas but then his form levelled out and was poor on occasions.  He survived much criticism because he was held in such high esteem.  What Magnay was very good at doing was covering the back line and he made numerous goal saving challenges doing this.   Our current set-up sees the full-backs playing much further up field, almost as wingbacks, definitely not covering the centre-backs through the middle.

He was caught well out of position for one of Macclesfield's goals.

Certainly missed defending headers/high balls that are pumped into the box to the LHS of the keeper..........possibly an issue looking at some of the goals conceded. Also good at talking and trusted by the other 3 defenders and the keeper...................I will now wait to be destroyed!

Don't know. Haven't seen East/Tait other than the Notts game.

Gregor adds balance to the side and we need a settled back 4 to insure maximum defensive solidarity, I'd say our strongest back 4 is: East Toto Pearson Robertson. East has a good touch, is comfortable on the ball and has good pace and an excellent touch. Pearson is Pearson, no explanation needed. Toto is pacey, is good on the ball, sometimes thinks he's a little too good on the ball and gets caught napping. Robertson is steady, solid, composed but lacks pace but isn't completely irrelevant from an attacking sense.  

Magnay scored and got sent off today

Quoted from fleabag1970

Has the loss of Magnay had a big impact on and off the pitch ?

Can't comment about off the pitch, but losing the classiest non-league defender you could wish to see is clearly a big loss on the pitch.

I didn't see Magnay make a mistake before Xmas last season.....now we're shipping goals to 'individual errors'. That's the difference this season (defensively).

First game of the season for me today . I thought east looked every bit as good as magnay

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

First game of the season for me today . I thought east looked every bit as good as magnay

East has already made a mistake which has cost us a goal.

Yes I think he is a loss, he was very vocal and a good organiser as well as being a good defender, and I think that might be a small part of the reason we are shipping so many more goals this season.
East is impressive (esp going forward) and Tait is certainly not a bad player

Quoted from 137

East has already made a mistake which has cost us a goal.

A mistake!

Firing squad for him!

East has done well but we still seem to get caught out on crosses to the right back position. Toto has been at fault there too, Nearly all of the goals we've conceded seem to have come from crosses to that side.

Quoted from toontown

Yes I think he is a loss, he was very vocal and a good organiser as well as being a good defender, and I think that might be a small part of the reason we are shipping so many more goals this season.
East is impressive (esp going forward) and Tait is certainly not a bad player

That was his quality. Always seems to have plenty of time. You need at least one player at the back who is a chess player and can see two or more moves in front. They don't have to be fast, just clever. Think back to Paul Futcher. Doesn't look like we have that sort of defender this season.

Quoted from gtfc98

East has done well but we still seem to get caught out on crosses to the right back position. Toto has been at fault there too, Nearly all of the goals we've conceded seem to have come from crosses to that side.

There's more to this than just the right back though.

The left side need to be doing more to stop crosses coming in if this is a reoccurring theme.

Quoted from Tommy

There's more to this than just the right back though.

The left side need to be doing more to stop crosses coming in if this is a reoccurring theme.

Definitely, we're not blocking enough crosses but the marking for the goal on saturday was particularly poor. Think we will be fine once we've kept one clean sheet though, need to get the monkey off their back so to speak.

Balls to clean sheets. Outscore the opposition and we'll be fine. Start burying all these chances and it won't matter. Do it the McMenemy way.

Clean sheets are great but Hurst places too much emphasis on them. All this talk of strikers win you games and defenders win you leagues is tosh. Put Akinde in our team last season and we'd have gone up.

Do you want the backtracking Mackreth of last season on the right wing or the more attacking Arnold? That's what it boils down to. The problem is that i think if we don't start converting our chances, Hurst's instincts will be to go back to a big target man and Mackreth like last season.

Results aside, this season has been far better in entertainment value.

We've scored more goals than FGR, but have conceded 4 times as many!

Clean sheets are very important because you can't always take your chances as a number of results this season have shown. Last season, Barnet scored loads more than everyone else but still had the third best defence in the division so free-scoring is never enough. The season before, Luton scored over a 100 goals, but had the joint best defence.

We'll be lucky to get close to promotion unless we tighten up at the back and start getting some clean sheets.

Quoted from ginnywings

Do you want the backtracking Mackreth of last season on the right wing or the more attacking Arnold? That's what it boils down to. The problem is that i think if we don't start converting our chances, Hurst's instincts will be to go back to a big target man and Mackreth like last season.

We need a balance.  

Personally I don't think we can afford both Arnold and Monkhouse in the wide positions.   That puts too much pressure on the central midfielders to cover two wings.  Covering one you can maybe afford, two - impossible.  

Get Arnold down the middle and Marshall on the flank.   Much more balance and you free up Arnold from a position where he's restricted in my opinion.  

Quoted from diehardmariner

We need a balance.  

Personally I don't think we can afford both Arnold and Monkhouse in the wide positions.   That puts too much pressure on the central midfielders to cover two wings.  Covering one you can maybe afford, two - impossible.  

Get Arnold down the middle and Marshall on the flank.   Much more balance and you free up Arnold from a position where he's restricted in my opinion.  

I really don't rate Arnold through the centre. He's much better out wide and that would also mean dropping one of Amond and Bogle which seems a bit daft. Can't PH just get him to track back a bit more!

I understand the points made about Barnet and Luton but another argument can be made about their success. They spent most of the game attacking and didn't need to defend as much. They also had strikers who were scoring for fun, one of whom has now moved on for 9 million. If you take the chances on offer, which we seem to create early in games, then the opposition goes onto the back foot. If you fail to take those early chances, as in the Macc game, their confidence grows, they get a foothold in the game and have something to hang onto.

I know clean sheets are important but not if you spend most of the game in their half. It's a fine balance for sure and one that Hurst has never got right to date.

Quoted from gtfc98

I really don't rate Arnold through the centre. He's much better out wide and that would also mean dropping one of Amond and Bogle which seems a bit daft. Can't PH just get him to track back a bit more!

He was unplayable in that role in pre-season.  I like Amond but of he and Arnold, I much prefer the latter.

Quoted from diehardmariner

He was unplayable in that role in pre-season.  I like Amond but of he and Arnold, I much prefer the latter.

Exactly. In pre season (which means nothing).

So how can you not rate him when bar the odd 10 minutes at the end of games he's never played down the middle for us?

4 pages on Carl Magnay since Saturday night, another 4 on LJL.

THE FISHY IS ACE.

Quoted from ska face

4 pages on Carl Magnay since Saturday night, another 4 on LJL.

THE FISHY IS ACE.

Don't forget the one on photography;How to take the perfect crowd snap.

Quoted from diehardmariner

So how can you not rate him when bar the odd 10 minutes at the end of games he's never played down the middle for us?

He's played longer than the odd 10 mins centrally. Why would you drop one of your best strikers to play your best winger out of position up front? It's not like he's a 19 year old learning the game, there's a good reason he's been played out wide his whole career.

Quoted from gtfc98

He's played longer than the odd 10 mins centrally. Why would you drop one of your best strikers to play your best winger out of position up front? It's not like he's a 19 year old learning the game, there's a good reason he's been played out wide his whole career.

Agreed the games littered with high scoring wide players who cut in and shoot, re Real Madrid Chelsea etc etc

Quoted from diehardmariner

So how can you not rate him when bar the odd 10 minutes at the end of games he's never played down the middle for us?

I thought I watched him play down the middle against Torquay and we all moaned because he dropped Amond? But maybe I was dreaming...

Arnold doesn't have the composure in front of goal when the pressure is on in a real match, in pre season he was fine but look at how many chances he fluffed against kiddie and then, if I remember rightly after missing them when he was clear thru against the keeper he bottled it and passed and the chance went begging. Similar problem in other games when he's had chances, incl torquay. I thought he was gonna b great up front this season havin seen him in pre season, I was wrong. Fantastic winger, not clinical enough to be centre forward tho

Quoted from bax

I thought I watched him play down the middle against Torquay and we all moaned because he dropped Amond? But maybe I was dreaming...

Yeah good point.  I forgot about that game, probably deliberately!   I'm not sure we can write off Arnold as a central attacker based on one performance, especially when from the whole team it was pretty poor until the 60 minute mark.

Despite a blistering pre-season and a good start to the season, Amond has disappointed me so far if I'm honest.  Especially the last few games he hasn't looked anywhere near as effective.  Nor has the partnership with Bogle shone through, which I really expected it to do so.    Before he was dropped, Amond looked quality and the creative link between midfield and attack we've lacked for god knows how long.  Since he returned, I've not seen the same player.

Don't get me wrong, I think Amond has a massive role to play for us.  Just at the minute I would prefer to see Arnold in attack alongside Bogle where he can influence the game far more than he can out on the right.  Added to that a proper winger can into the team and give his a better balance.

Quoted from toontown

Arnold doesn't have the composure in front of goal when the pressure is on in a real match, in pre season he was fine but look at how many chances he fluffed against kiddie and then, if I remember rightly after missing them when he was clear thru against the keeper he bottled it and passed and the chance went begging. Similar problem in other games when he's had chances, incl torquay. I thought he was gonna b great up front this season havin seen him in pre season, I was wrong. Fantastic winger, not clinical enough to be centre forward tho

How many one-on-one's did Amond miss before he finally scored against Kiddy?  

How many chances does Bogle need before he scores?

Both Amond and Bogle have fluffed countless chances this season.  It's the standard we're at.

Why do people think it's a good idea to try players in different positions as if it's some magic formula? Let's put a right back in centre mid, a winger up front and while we are at it, let's put Pearson up front as well. He's good in the air so it'll definitely work.

Arnold's not a winger.  Not in a 4-4-2 formation anyway.  Drifts in too much.  

I'm sure when he signed for us the player described himself as a striker.

Anyway, it could rumble on for ever.  I think Arnold's better centrally, others think he's better out wide.  Opinions, innit. Only one that matter is that of Paul Hurst.

Back to Magnay, did anyone see that piece on Sky Sports News the other day about the 3 ex-Chelsea players now at Hartlepool?  It was Magnay, Harry Worley and some ginger kid I don't know.  Anyway, it showed a clip from the show 'Football Icon' from back in 2006, when Magnay won it, and on the back of it a playing contract with Chelsea.  It was shocking, I couldn't believe it was him; bearing in mind his age now, he must have only been 17 or 18, but my God, he looked at least 35!  Something weird is going on with him, he now looks younger than back then, and has more hair!  He'll be doing one of those Regaine adverts next.  And Jesus, he had bad acne.

Quoted from Heisenberg

Back to Magnay, did anyone see that piece on Sky Sports News the other day about the 3 ex-Chelsea players now at Hartlepool?  It was Magnay, Harry Worley and some ginger kid I don't know.  Anyway, it showed a clip from the show 'Football Icon' from back in 2006, when Magnay won it, and on the back of it a playing contract with Chelsea.  It was shocking, I couldn't believe it was him; bearing in mind his age now, he must have only been 17 or 18, but my God, he looked at least 35!  Something weird is going on with him, he now looks younger than back then, and has more hair!  He'll be doing one of those Regaine adverts next.  And Jesus, he had bad acne.

The ginger kid is Neil Woods' nephew.

Probably a better manager