Calum Macdonald

I don’t think we can rely on Shaw to do a full season covering left back, yeah he looks a really good prospect but how he takes to full time football is anyone’s guess.
I’m not convinced by Thornily at CB yet never mind left back.
Surely he’s got someone lined up.
 
I tend to agree. We can’t expect them to get all the ins and outs right no club ever does, but this error written all over it.
Maybe NC has not been able to move on the players he wanted to and in order to carry on recruiting with the salary cap he has had to start shifting one or two he would rather keep?
 
Pretty disappointed with this one. I suppose we just have to trust in NC.
 
Not good enough
Too lightweight
More physical strength needed.....
Shaw won’t play there either Critchley has gone on record after Barrow saying.....
Left mid is his preferred position....
The Accy Stanley guy can play there so can Ethan Robson.....
 
Did Hamilton sometimes play at left back before he came to us. If NC wants full backs to get forward when we are attacking then Hamilton’s speed would help in this. It also gives us some speed when defending.
 
I think that means Shaw and Husband are in front of CM at the moment and we may well still strengthen at left back and right back which are crucial positions in this system...we had a squad languishing in the bottom half of the table last year and you have to break eggs to make an omelette...some players were not going to make the cut under a new forward thinking manager...we are still 5 or 6 short that much is obvious
 
MacDonald only played 19 games last season, yet everyone is make him sound like a world beater. Tidy player but not going to feature every week.
 
None of our full backs are top notch at going forward.....
In Critchleys system.....
It’s paramount they have to be....
So I expect Howe also to be potted but he is also useless at defending
 
td53 said:
I'm a bit surprised but it's either to free up a place for a barn storming wingback or it's because Shaw has done so well and by letting MacDonald go and having Shaw as backup you effectively double the free spaces in the squad because Shaw doesn't count.

I think our love in with MacDonald was less about him (don't get me wrong, I rate him) bit more about the fact that when he played, it meant for once, Larry was playing a balanced side. He was popular because people wanted someone to play in his position.

He actually played his best games in left midfield not at full back and whilst we don't have a lot of left backs (how times change!) We certainly have a lot of options for either side of midfield.

Perhaps Critch thinks his development will be better suited to playing regularly in his better position than playing occasionally at full back... i.e. get the lad playing left midfield week in week out instead of being a slightly square peg in a round hole. He can play full back/wing back but he was far better with Husband behind him imo.
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TD.
But who is Winkey back-up for? Not Hubby because he's no attacking threat.
 
Insider said:
TD.
But who is Winkey back-up for? Not Hubby because he's no attacking threat.
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This is true.

There's an irony in that I think Bola was a completely pointless resigning last year and was totally wasted money, but an on form Bola would be very well suited to the role we need a left sided full back to play this year.

It's crazy, we had so many left backs and now the only player we have who looks like he could do the combination of attacking and defensive work required is Nathan Shaw who isn't a left back!
 
Blackpool-rocks said:
MacDonald only played 19 games last season, yet everyone is make him sound like a world beater. Tidy player but not going to feature every week.
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I agree he is a very tidy player and ok defensively, but doesn't possess that blinding pace to get beyond the last defender! He showed up very well against Peterborough last season, but they were very open and allowed us to play, but against the more defensive sides in League 1, and there are plenty of them, he rarely put in that killer ball into the box!
 
HodderSeasider said:
I agree he is a very tidy player and ok defensively, but doesn't possess that blinding pace to get beyond the last defender! He showed up very well against Peterborough last season, but they were very open and allowed us to play, but against the more defensive sides in League 1, and there are plenty of them, he rarely put in that killer ball into the box!
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He was also playing left midfield in that game. Or at least playing on left of a 5 in a very advanced role with husband covering from left of the central 3.

That's his best position.

Critchley isn't going to play him in advanced left sided position and as a left back in a 4, I don't think he's the same player.

I'm not sure Shaw is going to be the man, I'm positive Critchley is bringing someone in but what I've noticed about Nathan, from his FL trophy game and the pre season games is he gets a decent cross in and he gets it from a variety of positions. Shaw is also quite tall where as MacDonald isn't. If Thorniley is playing in the middle we're already a shorter than average left side of defence.

I really like MacDonald but I agree that he doesn't get the ball across as often as he checks back or plays it simple. He's tidy and capable and I hope he had a blinder at tranny and makes a real case for himself but I can see the logic that he doesn't quite fit the bill for what Critchley is doing.
 
TKL_Seasider said:
Always liked and rated McDonald, but the fact two managers with different styles seem to have decided he's not for them gives me a bit of pause. Hopefully the loan for Opoku can come off
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Agree, he's definitely a good footballer and better than Shaw in my opinion - but ours don't count
 
Probably best to wait and see who comes in and what the squad looks like in a few weeks. It feels like a lot of thought and planning is going into the squad building. I wouldn't say CM is a key player for us by any stretch. NC wants to bring more in, and can only do that by letting some out. Some are proving very hard to move on, I'm sure. CM will get more game time.
 
Disappointed about this as I think he’s a good un and can only get better. Started to go Tits up under Grayson when he inexplicably dropped him. Would be in my match day squad every week - good luck and hope to see him in a tangerine shirt again soon
 
I like him and can see him dropping down a league for a season doing him the world of good he's only 22 and we seem to be bringing in those a couple of years older he'll be back next year a lot stronger where we can trigger the extra year on his contract.
 
Marton Monorail said:
James Husband is and always was first choice LB and rightly so.......Calum McDonald is too lightweight still for me had one really good game against Peterborough and (such is the way with a lot of Blackpool fans) suddenly became the best thing since sliced bread.

He's OK and will benefit hugely from a full season in L2, but let's not pretend its a massive deal that he's gone.
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There's something in that. There's a tendency to bull up players not in the team regularly, because people forget about their weaknesses and focus on their strengths, while the exact opposite applies to those regularly in the team.
 
Barbarian said:
Let's hope CM isn't treated like Danny Coid.
Danny was a talented player, who could have become a top right sided defender, but the needs of the team at that time meant he was played out of position more than he should have, and that's how he picked up many of his injuries. However, that versatility also shows what a talented footballer he was. He definitely 'took one for the team'.
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Evening, Danny. 😉
 
Marton Monorail said:
James Husband is and always was first choice LB and rightly so.......Calum McDonald is too lightweight still for me had one really good game against Peterborough and (such is the way with a lot of Blackpool fans) suddenly became the best thing since sliced bread.

He's OK and will benefit hugely from a full season in L2, but let's not pretend its a massive deal that he's gone.
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How many "really good" games has Husband had at LB? I can't think of one. I'm shocked and disappointed in the news. He's better than Husband in every department except physically and in the air. Maybe Shaw will fill in at LB (he is a left midfielder naturally) but Husband's delivery was appalling half the time from left back. He's solid enough don't get me wrong but CMac fits into the formation and style of play much more efficiently for me and is a better player. Hope we have someone lined up because with the shouts of some on here we'd have Robson, CJ or Thorniley at LB!! Jesus Christ.
 
seasidemike said:
How many "really good" games has Husband had at LB? I can't think of one. I'm shocked and disappointed in the news. He's better than Husband in every department except physically and in the air. Maybe Shaw will fill in at LB (he is a left midfielder naturally) but Husband's delivery was appalling half the time from left back. He's solid enough don't get me wrong but CMac fits into the formation and style of play much more efficiently for me and is a better player. Hope we have someone lined up because with the shouts of some on here we'd have Robson, CJ or Thorniley at LB!! Jesus Christ.
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Husband goes under the radar because he's a proper defender, Callum Mcdonald has one advantage over JH in that he's a bit quicker, but JH has never been really consistently shown up pace wise either.

Having said that Husband struggles going forward, his storming run almost the length of the pitch for the 1st goal at Ipswich springs to mind, and it was his forward run that won the free kick on the edge of the area for Kaikais free kick against the cods, that's 2 assists off the top of my head.

Disagree also that Mcdonald suits the system better, Mcdonald is a wide midfielder by trade as much if not more than he is a LB, certainly most of his 19 games were played in a more advanced role (either wide left of a midfield four as a LWB when we played 3 at the back) NC's system usually is 4-3-3, the midfield 3 in that system are relatively narrow with attacking width provided by the front 3 Not by wide midfielders or wing backs.......Full backs will be expected to join in as with most modern systems but Husband is more than capable of doing that.
 
Marton Monorail said:
Husband goes under the radar because he's a proper defender, Callum Mcdonald has one advantage over JH in that he's a bit quicker, but JH has never been really consistently shown up pace wise either.

Having said that Husband struggles going forward, his storming run almost the length of the pitch for the 1st goal at Ipswich springs to mind, and it was his forward run that won the free kick on the edge of the area for Kaikais free kick against the cods, that's 2 assists off the top of my head.

Disagree also that Mcdonald suits the system better, Mcdonald is a wide midfielder by trade as much if not more than he is a LB, certainly most of his 19 games were played in a more advanced role (either wide left of a midfield four as a LWB when we played 3 at the back) NC's system usually is 4-3-3, the midfield 3 in that system are relatively narrow with attacking width provided by the front 3 Not by wide midfielders or wing backs.......Full backs will be expected to join in as with most modern systems but Husband is more than capable of doing that.
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You've made my point. I always saw MacDonald as an attacking left-sided midfielder and he did well in that role. However, in a midfield three everyone has to be able to distribute defensively as well and I haven't seen that in him. Still, a bit of a shock all the same.
 
I was rea
Loco said:
Disappointed in this one. Hopefully it means Shaw will get his chance.
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I was really impressed with Shaw and although Callum has potential I do not think he will be as good a player as Shaw will be.

I think we have to trust Neil as I am certain he is improving the side and has a good base on which to build
 
Critch seems to have the ability to see things in players that us spectators don't recognise. I make that statement based on what some of his signings have said about him in their interviews.
So for the time being I will let Neil get on with his job and trust in his knowledge of the game and his ability as a coach. 👍
(Neil if you do need some help however get in touch 😀 )
 
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