To be fair, you had a spat with him at a game, just before he left we had started the season brilliantly but he wanted a couple of signings that the Stains scuppered and he lost heart. He clearly got on with Karl, maybe because he knew how to deal with him but had he been supported properly when we were in the PL and then after, we probably would have had another season or two in the PL. Fortunately, that never happened and the stains own greed led to their downfall thanks to VB.
I have said this before. Had I been Sadler and just bought the club I wouldn't have gone for grayson, I would have gone straight for Ollie and Charlie as player coach, but that's just me. We will never know if that would have worked or not, but I have a feeling they would both be still here in charge if he had.
Going back to the original points, I thought Ballard had an excellent debut on tuesday and I think Ekpetita is going to be a real asset. he is improving with every game. Woodburn looked like he needs a couple of weeks of training to get up to speed with the tactics, but his is a more complicated role than a centre back.
I don't think we will see Husband playing again unless we are desperate. I think NC wants to go with Gabriel & Garbutt as wing backs but there is a question mark over Gabriels defending abilities and Turton is not a wing back. If he wants to keep with a 433 he then needs cover defensively if the full backs are bombing forward so Williams or Dougall will be essential in the holding role.. My only concern with 433 is that playing wing backs leaves you exposed at the back so a 532 or 523 would work better with wing backs as you then have 3 central defenders.
we had a really good squad back in 2008 to 2012 and they gelled brilliantly. It was a mix of younger players and experience and some really shrewd purchases like Evatt, Barker, Charlie, Vaughan, Morell, Wes, GTF, Crainey, DJ, Dobbie, Baptiste, Brett etc., The NC way is never going to be like that, he has gone for young talent and I have to say that if he has his way Husband, Turton and Maxwell could all be on the sidelines soon so the team will be really young. It's a brave way to do things and he clearly believes in it. I am not convinced personally as I think we have missed out on signing some experience. Tony Parkes was instrumental in recruitment, he had been in coaching for years before he came to us and was far more experienced than NC and he didn't have all these shiny coaching badges, he had nous, a feel for the game and years in the PL, Championship and League 1 and was a decent player before that. NC is a classroom coach and then a developmental U18 and then U23 coach with no player CV to talk about. I know who I would rather have as coach for us out of those two.
However, SS has tied his sail to the mast and it is seen as a progressive appointment. It could be, but the more I think about it and look at the squad I think if it doesn't click and work then it will be an absolute car crash and we will be relegated by March.
I want NC to be brilliant, for SS to be vindicated, I want that more than anything but deep down I can see the red and blue lights heading for a tangled wreckage.
