Adam El-Abd
So... it's a couple of games now that Dan Scarr has got the nod ahead of our captain.
Most on here said that GA would always play him as he made him captain and made a song and dance about signing him.
How do we think GA is managing the situation currently?
Is he telling Adam he needs a rest? Or is he saying your not as good as I thought so I'm dropping you for Scarr?
Thoughts please!!...
0
Comments
I think he's making the decision on a game-by-game basis, after looking at the attacking options likely to be used by the opposition.
I wouldn't be surprised to see Scarr and El-Abd rotate fairly often.
Not sure, really. I felt El Abd was growing into things quite well. I wonder if it was a horses for courses selection on Saturday, knowing that Colchester had the superhuman throw-in guy and wanting the aerial strength Scarr would give.
Saturday was the first time I saw Scarr - except when he played against us for Stourbridge last year, I guess. Honestly, I wasn't sold. Other than being good in the air, his distribution was very poor and he was caught out of position any number of times, especially in the first half. Not at all saying he's a bad player but I can see El Abd playing tomorrow. Wait and see, I guess, to find out how Gareth is viewing things.
Hmmm... yes, will be interesting to see how this one plays out.
I still think it was a bad choice making him captain without seeing him play in our team.... should have gone to JJ or beast imho...
I think we’re totally overplaying the captain thing. I would think that one of the benefits GA saw in El-Abd was his experience and ability to influence/control/organise his less experienced colleagues. From what I’ve seen he definitely has that.
What he lacks (I think) is pace do in games where the opposition forwards are quick I would imagine he is unlikely to be first choice to start.
To me, this is good and pragmatic and using the resources available to the best advantage. I’m actually quite encouraged by it all at the moment.
Yup. Me too. There seems to be flexibility in playing style and selection and we have a squad that allows both. It's quite refreshing.
If Ainsworth is picking players based on the opposition surely a head on a stick is more suited to the majority of league 2 games than someone with El-Abd's attributes.
El-Abd is by far the more accomplished of the pair at the moment which isn't really surprising given the experience of the two. His one big problem though is when the ball is coming across him from a cross. He doesn't appear to be able to get positioned properly or track the flight of the ball.
He does seem to be settling in a bit more though. Scarr is a decent option to have though.
I think the contrast between El-Abd and Scarr is really interesting . It's testament to Scarr's natural ability that he's coping as well as he is given he's only now started two league matches. He's a long way from the finished article but is surely showing enough talent to suggest he's going to be a more than competent player. But El-Abd offers a different set of skills and I agree with @bookertease, it's good to see us being able to choose the right pairing for the right game, and actually doing so.
Personally am a huge fan of Scarr and would rather have him in the team over El-Abd. He's far better in the air, a real threat at set pieces and seems to gel well with Stewart. A few positional errors yes however he's only played two games and I think he could develop into a real gem for us. There's a reason he's signed to Birmingham City.
Haven't seen Scarr play yet, with him only having played 2 away games, but I look forward to it.
@Wig_and_Pen makes a good point, one that has been a little overlooked, as people just hear he's come from Birmingham, a championship club.
He basically has experience of very lowly non league with Stourbridge, and a development squad of a championship club. So he's pretty inexperienced to say the least
Reckon he may well add to his experience this evening. And, with morale at Crewe a little on the low side, he'd be a good bet to score his first goal after coming extremely close on several occasions in his first/last two games.