What I find strange is that Joe Low and Caleb Taylor seem like an excellent pairing, Harvie and Grimmer are improving as the games come and go...but we still struggle to keep a clean sheet. I know it's exciting but...
You see, I don't find that strange at all. I completely understand the swooning over Aaron Morley playing in that deep-lying role. He's great with his head up, looking to pick out a runner, but he's not anywhere near as good as Josh at screening the defence and snuffing out danger before it gets as far as the back line. So I think while we choose to play Aaron deep and Scowen in a souped-up Bloomfield role, we'll concede goals of the type we've been conceding (see Cobblers, Rovers). And that's probably a fair price to pay. And I'd guess that's probably true whichever centre-back pairing you choose.
Got to feel for Butcher and I hope we can keep him happy. He changed us last season when he joined. He was the part of the jigsaw that we were desperately missing. He went quietly about his work but was so effective. Never got the praise I feel he deserved. Now he is 4th choice behind a couple of loan players. I know how I'd feel if I was him but I really hope we can keep him happy. He was excellent vs Villa. Same applies to Bakinson.
Where do Leahy, Vokes and Hanlan stand now when they come back too?
I think Morley is arguably better on the ball than Scowen, which is pivotal when playing out from the back. Scowen can be box to box and do any job, and the 3rd player (more often than not Humphreys) gets a bit of a licence.
On the other hand, Scowen is brilliant at reading the game, anticipating danger and mopping it up. I agree with @our_frank that having him in front of the back four again would make us more solid in defence.
@thecatwwfc it is a long season and we are only just into October. There will be plenty of opportunity for everyone as the games pile up. We will soon be playing FAC, Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and League as the pitches get soggier and the day get shorter.
There will be quite a few established players who won’t get many games this season with the quality and depth of the squad. Three loanees , Taylor, Morley and Humphreys are Championship quality and will play lots of games.
The extraordinary thing about Josh Scowen is that, despite now having a more advanced role, he still seems to pop up almost as frequently as ever in our own box when we are under pressure. And, as @BlueBoy commented yesterday, he wins the ball in the air remarkably often for someone of his stature.
Didn’t we do well against that onslaught of corners late on in the game yesterday. Despite Low and Taylor only having played together a couple of times.
I just realized that through a quirk of scheduling (and Mansfield game getting postponed) we have only played 3 at home, and 5 away. That makes our start look all the better!
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What I find strange is that Joe Low and Caleb Taylor seem like an excellent pairing, Harvie and Grimmer are improving as the games come and go...but we still struggle to keep a clean sheet. I know it's exciting but...
I would hardly call it well earned @micra but I will try to enjoy it!
You see, I don't find that strange at all. I completely understand the swooning over Aaron Morley playing in that deep-lying role. He's great with his head up, looking to pick out a runner, but he's not anywhere near as good as Josh at screening the defence and snuffing out danger before it gets as far as the back line. So I think while we choose to play Aaron deep and Scowen in a souped-up Bloomfield role, we'll concede goals of the type we've been conceding (see Cobblers, Rovers). And that's probably a fair price to pay. And I'd guess that's probably true whichever centre-back pairing you choose.
You could be right @our_frank and to be fair, the winning and the drawing is quite exciting!
Good points. I think I would still prefer Josh at the 4 and Morley as more of an 8 type player, but it's a bit of a win-win right now.
Got to feel for Butcher and I hope we can keep him happy. He changed us last season when he joined. He was the part of the jigsaw that we were desperately missing. He went quietly about his work but was so effective. Never got the praise I feel he deserved. Now he is 4th choice behind a couple of loan players. I know how I'd feel if I was him but I really hope we can keep him happy. He was excellent vs Villa. Same applies to Bakinson.
Where do Leahy, Vokes and Hanlan stand now when they come back too?
I think Morley is arguably better on the ball than Scowen, which is pivotal when playing out from the back. Scowen can be box to box and do any job, and the 3rd player (more often than not Humphreys) gets a bit of a licence.
On the other hand, Scowen is brilliant at reading the game, anticipating danger and mopping it up. I agree with @our_frank that having him in front of the back four again would make us more solid in defence.
The answer is... we need two Scowens.
@thecatwwfc it is a long season and we are only just into October. There will be plenty of opportunity for everyone as the games pile up. We will soon be playing FAC, Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and League as the pitches get soggier and the day get shorter.
There will be quite a few established players who won’t get many games this season with the quality and depth of the squad. Three loanees , Taylor, Morley and Humphreys are Championship quality and will play lots of games.
The extraordinary thing about Josh Scowen is that, despite now having a more advanced role, he still seems to pop up almost as frequently as ever in our own box when we are under pressure. And, as @BlueBoy commented yesterday, he wins the ball in the air remarkably often for someone of his stature.
Didn’t we do well against that onslaught of corners late on in the game yesterday. Despite Low and Taylor only having played together a couple of times.
I just realized that through a quirk of scheduling (and Mansfield game getting postponed) we have only played 3 at home, and 5 away. That makes our start look all the better!