Hargreaves at CB - the FACTS

And maybe some crackers to go with that!?

Cheers for that, Jon.

You couldn't put up the stats for Leroy having MacChoker's team again, could you? I've seen that rot trotted out a million and one times.

Not only did Thommo get sent off so early but we also gifted the opposition two of the goals through Mansell's impetuous challenge and Brough's poor technique which cost us two penalties at Crawley.

Those who protest at players with passing ability being used in central defence need to take a look at some of the top sides in the world ~ particularly the Dutch and Spanish ~ and European Club Championship sides ALL of whom incorporate central defenders who place keeping possession as a priority.

No-one needs to worry about Hodges ability as a defender either, he's really very solid there and as for Hargreaves; whilst I concur he showed a certain tendency to be still getting to grips with his positioning, his jumping, heading and tackling were second to none and I agree with Jon that what really determined his return to the midfield was the necessity to restore his particular brand of "ratting" and exceptional energy to that department. Michael Brough actually had a very good reputation as a central defender at FGR where he was regarded as superior in that role than as a midfielder, and as you say; he stood out at Salisbury in that role.

I've always maintained the poor quality of our distribution from the central defenders has been the root cause of the "hoof ball" accusation and in my opinion the biggest culprit for that was always Steve Woods. Todd's record of keeping possession must be pretty poor too I would guess, whilst I personally would back Hodges to keep possession far more times than any other central defender regularly playing for us this season or last.

As a matter of interest it would be interesting to hear from anyone who holds views on exactly which BSP side plays the best quality "possession" ball out of defence on a regular basis, and to that end I would nominate Grays Athletic followed by Forest Green Rovers.................and look where they have finished in the league! Interestingly too, I was very impressed with the consistent and constructive build from the back play of another struggling side in the division below us ~ Fisher Athletic ~ when I saw them................another side to end up at the wrong end of the table. Then of course we have the "famed" Mansfield and York sides so much vaunted by Dave back in November as the sides who "play the game the way it's meant to be played"........................not much to write home about when looking at the league table there either then is there!

Now don't pretend that I'm extolling the virtues of "hoof ball" over cultured football because I am not, but don't complain about the quality of delivery from our central defenders and then castigate the manager for taking positive steps to improve it; and if you genuinely want to see such cultured and measured distribution you will damned well have to show enough patience to possibly write off a season (and whilst writing it off, still turn up in sufficient numbers so as not to put the club under undue financial pressure)whilst the new culture is put in place...................and the last football stadium I can envisage that allowance being given by the punters is Plainmoor!

We're NOT supporting a club or at a level where the players coming through the system are diligently schooled in the patient and cultured school of football..................in fact we're not currently supporting a club that is producing ANY players from it's system thanks to the wrecking operation imposed on it a few years ago.

We have had two seasons where the immediate requirement has been to (a) to initially arrest a slide into oblivion and (b) to achieve a return to Football League status as a matter of urgency. That the manager has fulfilled the first of those criteria is without doubt whilstBOTH those criteria could well yet be achieved within weeks.

High spirits as the engine light has been off for the last two days.

I wonder if we're over-emphasising the level of passing ability a defender needs in order to play the ball out of defence. Under Leroy we were lucky enough to find a motley crew of really quite exceptional footballers in our squad at the same time, for a variety of reasons - Aggy and Fowler due to injuries or under-appreciation (and McFarland!), Davey G due to his booze and discipline issues (who put in a good shift for one and half seasons with us - and what a one and a half seasons they were) etc...I wouldn't take away what Leroy did to mould that passing team but at the same time when you have a player of Aggy's quality, at that level, dropping to within five yards of the centre backs to receive the ball, turn, and spread play and start moves with expertly executed cross field or short passes, then it's not a huge ask for Taylor or Woods to slip that five yard pass to him.

Equally, any number of aimless punts down the channels turned into pure gold with Graham on form - remember the goal against Cheltenham at home where he ran onto a Woods 'ball' in the channel but simply lobbed the keeper on the volley on an outrageous angle approaching the by-line?

I rated Woods very highly and disagree with Merse on his level of ability, but I'm not sure he was necessarily that cultured. Equally, I'm not convinced that ball-playing centre backs are really that necessary to play football 'the right way' at this level if the rest of the team is set up correctly.

I think Pete has put his finger on exactly how the great Leroy got a team with Laurel and Hardy as centre backs to play like Brazil. Stan Woods and Oliver Taylor were not averse to hitting it long – and that was sometimes an effective weapon to turn a defence and get Kuffour and Graham running in behind them. This never became a dominating tactic because King Alex was always working himself into prime position to receive a short simple pass and get the team playing.

I would have Russell down as the greatest TUFC player I have ever seen – not necessarily the most skilful or flamboyant, but certainly the one who could make a team tick – and make other players look good.

Leroy’s achievements have been much belittled for whatever reason, but he did give us three seasons of brilliant football. I do include the relegation from League 1 in that – we were so unlucky not to stay up and staying up would have been an achievement to match going up in the first place.

Of course those three seasons all revolved around Alex Russell and it really went wrong for Leroy when Alex left and the wine turned back into water. We had two perfectly adequate midfielders by League 2 – or even by League 1 standards – in Hewlett and Garner. But they often had to drop deep to get the ball and did not possess the incredible ability that Russell had to develop the game from there. As a result, the 2005/06 team never really worked, despite having some very good players, because it was a Russell-centred team without a Russell. It took Cornforth and then Atkins coming in to realise that and quickly develop some alternative tactics that might just work.

We do not have a Russell now. Wroe was awful when he first arrived because he never worked to find space. He has improved tremendously but is still no Russell – you could not build a team around him. Hargreaves is a player I admire tremendously and he is a true inspiration to the team – but he’s no Russell either. If you could graft together the best bits of Wroe and the best bits of Hargreaves into one player, you would have someone you could build a team around in 2002/05 style. Players like that don’t grow on trees!

I can’t help thinking that the brilliant team of 2002/05 is a cause of a lot of the constant moaning and whingeing that irritates me so much. There is a generation of people who think that is the standard – nothing less is acceptable. It has the same effect as the 1965/68 team – I can remember people throughout the 70s and 80s moaning that we were not up to the benchmark standard of the Frank O’Farrell team.

I suppose my take is that the benchmark standard is nothing special. It doesn’t fill me with a craving to whine and moan continually whenever we are playing anything less than brilliantly. When a spell of sunlight comes along I enjoy it for what it is. If I got outraged every time we didn’t play like Brazil I would have been outraged for 35 of the last 38 years. It’s a shame people can’t enjoy special times for what they are – without letting that prejudice their view of normal times.