@mooneyman , surprised you're surprised?
Was he not in their development squad, nowhere near the first team? No chance of playing in the cup for them, so why not us?
The don’t think I’ve seen Scarr and Stewart together yet. I think this would be a better partnership. El Abd for a player who has so much experience seems to have so little positional sense.
I don’t believe that for a minute mjlondon. What did you notice as clear indications that banter about him on here or any other site was affecting his performance?
I'd venture it would be pretty foolish for any player to read anything posted on this forum (yes, even the pun threads which are hilarious) but social media and internet abuse does tend to make it more acceptable in public. I'm certain WdH hears comments made about him at games and everyone must know players will perform better in a positive environment.
Thankfully I haven't seen any direct social media abuse aimed at him like it was at Jamal Blackman last season.
WDH is arguably fifth choice centre half behind Stewart, El-Abd, Scarr and Jombati. We do not have the huge playing budget that say Luton have and therefore realistically we cannot have a class fifth choice centre half within the squad.
But for our injury list he would be benefitting from a further loan period at Aldershot where he was regularly putting in MOTM performances. It should also be remembered that he is still only 22.
I think most of the abuse give to WdH comes from those with black or white thinking. if he's not brilliant he must by definition be awful. The reality is his performances for us have not been at the levels shown by Pierre, Mawson, Stewart, Bates and McCarthy but he's been ok given the limited opportunities he's had.
I never saw that WDH was as bad as some made out. He is physically good but centre half is a learning position where players need time and experience to match themselves against different attackers each week - hence why so many struggle against Bayo as he is unique.
I think with game time and support he could be a decent player. I hope Mueller is the same.
We've had worse centre halfs than WDH, but we've been spoilt at centre back over the last few years, and it's not a position we can afford to "groom" someone in.
But WdH was apparently putting in 'Man of the Match performances' and I'm not sure the standard Aldershot are playing is that much different to League Two. Sometimes it must come down to training with the teammates you will be playing with and not another squad altogether.
Good points @Right_in_the_Middle. I’m not sure if taking your nickname in vain is calling you Righty but typing it (if the above is what you call your nickname) is a right pain, especially as I cannot see what I’m typing on this iPhone
Whether it was lack of match practice, unfamiliarity with his CB partner or other reasons (like not being that good, for example), he was pretty poor on Saturday.
Reverting to Dan Scarr for a moment, I have re-read the heading to this thread and, given the fondness of many players for social media, wonder whether he has in mind putting his feet up on Sunday to reduce the swelling and alleviating the boredom by tweeting at will. Sorry, tweeting freely.
@micra You are more than welcome to shorten my name. You have earned that right. Others (or one odious individual in particular) seem to think they can get familiar without gaining the respect and the understanding gained over time.
@HCblue I tend to get a bit defensive over WdH as I do see a decent player getting so close to proving himself. What, in your view, made his performance on Saturday so poor and was he poorer than the other more experienced defenders in the back four.
It's his general positioning (and body position). It's hard to even explain sometimes, but some players look natural and others don't.
Certain mistakes good players just don't make, even if they don't actually affect a game that much, they're the type of thing which show whether a player is up to it or not.
Comments
Surprised Birmingham have agreed to him being cup tied.
Maybe there are plans in place to extend the deal to the end of the season?
@mooneyman , surprised you're surprised?
Was he not in their development squad, nowhere near the first team? No chance of playing in the cup for them, so why not us?
Scarr looks decent but not Championship decent at the moment. Jason McCarthy was far better from the start and is now a championship player.
Scarr is league 2 at best, will probably be made perm in Jan.
But he is far better than WDH.
Scarr would be a great addition
so would soul
The don’t think I’ve seen Scarr and Stewart together yet. I think this would be a better partnership. El Abd for a player who has so much experience seems to have so little positional sense.
tbh Will De Havilland has never recovered from last season and the abuse he got here.
You say that like he got worse following the abuse....
it clearly affected him, but at the moment we have no other options.
I don’t believe that for a minute mjlondon. What did you notice as clear indications that banter about him on here or any other site was affecting his performance?
I'd venture it would be pretty foolish for any player to read anything posted on this forum (yes, even the pun threads which are hilarious) but social media and internet abuse does tend to make it more acceptable in public. I'm certain WdH hears comments made about him at games and everyone must know players will perform better in a positive environment.
Thankfully I haven't seen any direct social media abuse aimed at him like it was at Jamal Blackman last season.
his brother was posting here, so I would suggest he deffo knew.
But his performances were awful before any comments, and similarly awful after.
WDH is arguably fifth choice centre half behind Stewart, El-Abd, Scarr and Jombati. We do not have the huge playing budget that say Luton have and therefore realistically we cannot have a class fifth choice centre half within the squad.
But for our injury list he would be benefitting from a further loan period at Aldershot where he was regularly putting in MOTM performances. It should also be remembered that he is still only 22.
@mooneyman , wasn't he kept out of the Aldershot team near the end, as he missed a game and couldn't get back in?
Rest of your points remain though.
I think most of the abuse give to WdH comes from those with black or white thinking. if he's not brilliant he must by definition be awful. The reality is his performances for us have not been at the levels shown by Pierre, Mawson, Stewart, Bates and McCarthy but he's been ok given the limited opportunities he's had.
Spot on@mooneyman.
He was on the bench when he returned to Aldershot after several weeks out with ....surprise surprise....injury!
I never saw that WDH was as bad as some made out. He is physically good but centre half is a learning position where players need time and experience to match themselves against different attackers each week - hence why so many struggle against Bayo as he is unique.
I think with game time and support he could be a decent player. I hope Mueller is the same.
We've had worse centre halfs than WDH, but we've been spoilt at centre back over the last few years, and it's not a position we can afford to "groom" someone in.
Gasroom Catch 22...we want him to improve...but we don't want him playing.
That's what the loan system is for.
But WdH was apparently putting in 'Man of the Match performances' and I'm not sure the standard Aldershot are playing is that much different to League Two. Sometimes it must come down to training with the teammates you will be playing with and not another squad altogether.
Good points @Right_in_the_Middle. I’m not sure if taking your nickname in vain is calling you Righty but typing it (if the above is what you call your nickname) is a right pain, especially as I cannot see what I’m typing on this iPhone
Whether it was lack of match practice, unfamiliarity with his CB partner or other reasons (like not being that good, for example), he was pretty poor on Saturday.
Reverting to Dan Scarr for a moment, I have re-read the heading to this thread and, given the fondness of many players for social media, wonder whether he has in mind putting his feet up on Sunday to reduce the swelling and alleviating the boredom by tweeting at will. Sorry, tweeting freely.
@micra You are more than welcome to shorten my name. You have earned that right. Others (or one odious individual in particular) seem to think they can get familiar without gaining the respect and the understanding gained over time.
@HCblue I tend to get a bit defensive over WdH as I do see a decent player getting so close to proving himself. What, in your view, made his performance on Saturday so poor and was he poorer than the other more experienced defenders in the back four.
It's his general positioning (and body position). It's hard to even explain sometimes, but some players look natural and others don't.
Certain mistakes good players just don't make, even if they don't actually affect a game that much, they're the type of thing which show whether a player is up to it or not.