Squad

My PNE supporting Step daughters ex partner has said that Ched Evans is excrement

Could we also take the captains armband off Macca and use it as an incentive to recruit a midfield or central defender who would be the leader on the pitch, a Paul Groves type player please. We have not had a decent leader on the pitch for far too long. I think Macca's game will improve if goalkeeping is all he has to concentrate on. I would make him the club's off field ambassador.

Quoted from cod_head_doug

Could we also take the captains armband off Macca and use it as an incentive to recruit a midfield or central defender who would be the leader on the pitch, a Paul Groves type player please. We have not had a decent leader on the pitch for far too long. I think Macca's game will improve if goalkeeping is all he has to concentrate on. I would make him the club's off field ambassador.

from what i could see on Saturday Morais has assumed the position as on field leader.Several times i could see him talking,pointing, and giving instructions

Quoted from forza ivano

from what i could see on Saturday Morais has assumed the position as on field leader.Several times i could see him talking,pointing, and giving instructions

Spot on. I noticed that. Great call on offering the arm band to 'a midfield general' to entice them here. Hopefully, Macca wouldn't throw his toys out.

Any plans that include the likes of Wright or Hanson are unfortunately too ambitious.

Even with any improvement of the backroom set up in the next few weeks to a month, the problems are deep rooted.  We're not suddenly going to see a miraculous recovery from injury in these players.  I've seen suggestions that Hanson simply didn't want to play for Holloway, if there's any truth in that suggestion I can't see Hurst really want that type of attitude in his dressing room.  

Wright hopefully can overcome his injury problems.  He's an explosive type player, one where effective S&C work will really pay dividends.  I believe we had something in the building under Holloway but it wouldn't surprise me if it was a cheapo option, nothing this season suggests we've done anything to cut out or improve on strains, niggles etc.  Of course the decision to furlough the groundsman can't have helped either. Taking into account the bad weather, the pitch is looking terrible at the minute and evidence of the lack of work done on it over the summer months.  Dread to think what condition the pitches at Cheapside are like...

To be honest then if Hanson has not been playing for Holloway for reasons other than injury, then as bad as that is, where we are in the table would put in the camp of not caring in the short term. If he can play and contribute at anywhere near the level he was when he first joined the club and before, then he could be exactly what we need to stay up.

If we were mid table I would probably have a different attitude, but to be honest, whatever we need to do to stay up is far and away above any other issues in the short term.

Let principles come into play in the summer when we have secured our league status.

UTFM

Whoever is signed I don't think there would be any room for thoughts of "oh we didn't need someone to play there." No-one has played so well that they have made their position their own.

I'd probably say the back four aren't bad but could use a bit of coaching in how to defend as a collective unit. And some competition, particularly at left back but also centre-back too.

In midfield, we either have quality with no mobility or mobility but no quality. Hewitt seems to get picked out by many for having good games but I don't think he's good enough personally. Great header the other day (awful miskick for their 1st goal though) and has had a good impact in some games where we've needed someone to battle in the middle, but I think he's very limited and we can do much better. Maybe keep him as an understudy to Hendrie?

Morais has looked to have real quality but has to be kept out wide on the right. He's a good old fashioned winger who hugs the touchline and wants to make half a yard of space and put a cross in every time he gets the ball. That obviously falls down when the forwards in the box are on their heels or not doing enough to make sure it's them getting first contact on the cross.

I think as someone else has said, M.Wright would benefit from playing 442 and having a partnership with a fullback, but sadly I just can't see him completing more than a couple of games before getting injured again, so can't plan for him being in the first XI.

With Hanson - I keep thining, at his age and stage of his career, it's probably his last chance playing league football. Yes he's been having injuries and in all honesty I don't know how serious they are, but I wonder if it just reaches a point where, at his age, he might just choose to play through the pain barrier for the sake of playing some games. I don't know if pain-killing injections are still a thing?

Quoted from Tommy

Whoever is signed I don't think there would be any room for thoughts of "oh we didn't need someone to play there." No-one has played so well that they have made their position their own.

I'd probably say the back four aren't bad but could use a bit of coaching in how to defend as a collective unit. And some competition, particularly at left back but also centre-back too.

In midfield, we either have quality with no mobility or mobility but no quality. Hewitt seems to get picked out by many for having good games but I don't think he's good enough personally. Great header the other day (awful miskick for their 1st goal though) and has had a good impact in some games where we've needed someone to battle in the middle, but I think he's very limited and we can do much better. Maybe keep him as an understudy to Hendrie?

Morais has looked to have real quality but has to be kept out wide on the right. He's a good old fashioned winger who hugs the touchline and wants to make half a yard of space and put a cross in every time he gets the ball. That obviously falls down when the forwards in the box are on their heels or not doing enough to make sure it's them getting first contact on the cross.

I think as someone else has said, M.Wright would benefit from playing 442 and having a partnership with a fullback, but sadly I just can't see him completing more than a couple of games before getting injured again, so can't plan for him being in the first XI.

With Hanson - I keep thining, at his age and stage of his career, it's probably his last chance playing league football. Yes he's been having injuries and in all honesty I don't know how serious they are, but I wonder if it just reaches a point where, at his age, he might just choose to play through the pain barrier for the sake of playing some games. I don't know if pain-killing injections are still a thing?

I am not having a go at you mate but I am laughing at "the back four aren't bad but could do with a bit of coaching in how to defend as a collective unit". I read that as the back four aren't bad except at the thing they're paid to do  

If it's true that Hanson didn't want to play for Hollowords he needs to get on the pitch and bust a b*llock for the rest of the season.

Some on here seem to have a huge amount of faith in him and he has delivered nothing for this football club. He has collected his cash and gone home laughing.

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

I am not having a go at you mate but I am laughing at "the back four aren't bad but could do with a bit of coaching in how to defend as a collective unit". I read that as the back four aren't bad except at the thing they're paid to do  

Ha, yeah, I get that probably sounds daft. I just mean I don't think they're that bad as individual players, and if they worked together as a solid unit we might be able to become a bit more robust. That said, I still think PH will bring in a left back and probably a centre-back too.

Interesting people point out the inexperience of Preston down our left side that other teams may target. Our left sided centre back is Pollock, so as promising as Pollock might be, that's two young and inexperienced players on the same half of our defence.