Dougall

Macseasider

Macseasider

Well-known member
The player that came and turned our whole season around. The "fan favourite". The man from Oz that was being lauded as too good for this league. First name on the teamsheet.

Now he's a substitute. Are we better without him? Bizarre management from Critchley who seems to really have his favourites - players he knows from youth level. I bet Dougall is wanting out already.
 
Macseasider said:
The player that came and turned our whole season around. The "fan favourite". The man from Oz that was being lauded as too good for this league. First name on the teamsheet.

Now he's a substitute. Are we better without him? Bizarre management from Critchley who seems to really have his favourites - players he knows from youth level. I bet Dougall is wanting out already.
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All total Guesswork of course. It’s actually possible he hasn’t quite been the same since he suffered with COVID. Have some patience man ffs.
 
Scaramanga said:
All total Guesswork of course. It’s actually possible he hasn’t quite been the same since he suffered with COVID. Have some patience man ffs.
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No club official has said that other than speculation on here. Yes he had 2 or 3 average games after he was off with the virus but he's been un-ceremonially dumped behind Stewart now it seems.
 
Macseasider said:
The player that came and turned our whole season around. The "fan favourite". The man from Oz that was being lauded as too good for this league. First name on the teamsheet.

Now he's a substitute. Are we better without him? Bizarre management from Critchley who seems to really have his favourites - players he knows from youth level. I bet Dougall is wanting out already.
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It wouldn't surprise me if a few will need some persuading to stay come summer. Madine, Robson, Dougall, Garbutt and Turton spring to mind.
 
Macseasider said:
The player that came and turned our whole season around. The "fan favourite". The man from Oz that was being lauded as too good for this league. First name on the teamsheet.

Now he's a substitute. Are we better without him? Bizarre management from Critchley who seems to really have his favourites - players he knows from youth level. I bet Dougall is wanting out already.
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Nonsense
 
62years&counting said:
I expect money will talk when it comes to Madine and Garbutt.
Pool will also need to replace Gabriel, Ballard, Simms and Embleton.
It could be a busy summer again!
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I agree it'll be another busy summer unfortunately. We have started giving 3 or 4 year contracts which should eventually help the squad settle down {though the question remains whether they're good enough of course}.
If Madine doesn't stay it'll be a shame and significant loss. We absolutely must bring in a forward to really bully defenders if he goes. I'd also love us to sign Gabriel but I can't see that either - but he's the level of player we should be aspiring to imo.
 
That's a pitiful response. But not surprising.
What’s pitiful is you assuming a player wants out cause he’s been on the bench for a few games.
 
Macseasider said:
The player that came and turned our whole season around. The "fan favourite". The man from Oz that was being lauded as too good for this league. First name on the teamsheet.

Now he's a substitute. Are we better without him? Bizarre management from Critchley who seems to really have his favourites - players he knows from youth level. I bet Dougall is wanting out already.
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I bet he is not happy I think his form dipped a bit but Stewart's not doing anything Dougall wasn’t doing .Being dropped won’t help him get back to his best .I thought it was a strange signing when he came as he does the same things well as Dougall does
 
Madine needs to prove his fitness before anyone will take him on.
I don't think Garbutt has quite lived up to the hype.
 
I don’t think Dougall has been quite right after he had covid. When he did come back he went straight back into the first team and he didn’t play great.

At the the time we didn’t have Virtue and Stewart but now we do I personally I think we have a better balance in the middle and on the bench is the right for him.
 
Seasidesupporter said:
I bet he is not happy I think his form dipped a bit but Stewart's not doing anything Dougall wasn’t doing .Being dropped won’t help him get back to his best .I thought it was a strange signing when he came as he does the same things well as Dougall does
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We've signed numerous players for the same positions who specialise in doing the same things, and that's the problem. All decent players in their own right but they don't complement each other. We've signed them because we think they're good, and haven't seemingly given much thought to how they'll fit in the team.
 
You can see Dougall is a first rate professional he will be back, he'll benefit from this break and take his opportunity.

He's not going anywhere.
 
Dougall not getting a game in front of Virtue is simply laughable...Dougall and Stewart should be in the middle with some flair in front of them...and how anyone doesnt see Gabriel and Garbutt are better footballers than Turton and Husband is beyond me...Turton, Virtue and Husband...you can get away with playing one of those 3 but not all 3 of them. We should never have changed both full backs yesterday unless there were injuries...I am sorry but that is just poor management and we need a settled back 4 sooner rather than later. If we finish outside the top 10 this season then it is simply not good enough and must be improved one way or another
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
It's interesting to compare the treatment of Dougall to Kai Kai
Dougall gets benched after playing superb
I initially assume it was rotation but its's clearly not
Kai Kai getting start after start despite rarely delivering
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Exactly the same with Ward...the number of times he has played well and lost his place in the first 11 is staggering
 
TANGERINETOWERPOWER said:
Dougall not getting a game in front of Virtue is simply laughable...Dougall and Stewart should be in the middle with some flair in front of them...and how anyone doesnt see Gabriel and Garbutt are better footballers than Turton and Husband is beyond me...Turton, Virtue and Husband...you can get away with playing one of those 3 but not all 3 of them. We should never have changed both full backs yesterday unless there were injuries...I am sorry but that is just poor management and we need a settled back 4 sooner rather than later. If we finish outside the top 10 this season then it is simply not good enough and must be improved one way or another
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Said the same on the podcast about the fullbacks Madness
 
I would expect Dougall to come back into the team on Tuesday if they want an extra player in midfield to match up with MK again.

It does feel like an expensively constructed squad to have gone from Robson to Williams to Dougall to Stewart for one CDM role so far though. Trying allsorts to see what works feels like all the 'Head of' roles that have been created on the football side around planning, scouting and recruitment aren't exactly coming up with new tricks to earn their keep. Just whatever falls into their lap through agents offering the club players as they've gone along. Mitchell getting a gig off a trial then being dropped as soon as someone shinier in Garbutt popped up being another example.
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
It's interesting to compare the treatment of Dougall to Kai Kai
Dougall gets benched after playing superb
I initially assume it was rotation but its's clearly not
Kai Kai getting start after start despite rarely delivering
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Correct. And the best football we've played this season was when Dougall and Ward were the 2 centre midfielders.

Tinkering and favourites seem to be his forte.
 
Not sure if the OP is referring to Kenny being dropped for Stewart or Virtue. There is no doubt Stewart should be a starter, he’s got class. Virtue should not be starting ahead of Kenny.

I do think NC wants to find Virtue a place in the team, as evidenced by his inclusion wide right, when there were clearly better options. Yesterday when Kenny came on, Virtue was put out wide again, when Gabriel was the obvious option to give us pace and an outlet.

I do think our problems are in midfield, with our lack of control and creativity. I think we need 3 central, with one designated holding player. Trouble is, that requires 3 at the back or 1 up front. My preference is 3 at the back, as we have nothing to lose at this point.
 
TimperleyTangerine said:
Not sure if the OP is referring to Kenny being dropped for Stewart or Virtue. There is no doubt Stewart should be a starter, he’s got class. Virtue should not be starting ahead of Kenny.

I do think NC wants to find Virtue a place in the team, as evidenced by his inclusion wide right, when there were clearly better options. Yesterday when Kenny came on, Virtue was put out wide again, when Gabriel was the obvious option to give us pace and an outlet.

I do think our problems are in midfield, with our lack of control and creativity. I think we need 3 central, with one designated holding player. Trouble is, that requires 3 at the back or 1 up front. My preference is 3 at the back, as we have nothing to lose at this point.
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Maybe our midfield problems start with Stewart picking the ball up far to deep let the centrehalfs do what he’s doing and get him picking it up higher up the field
 
poolfc said:
I would expect Dougall to come back into the team on Tuesday if they want an extra player in midfield to match up with MK again.

It does feel like an expensively constructed squad to have gone from Robson to Williams to Dougall to Stewart for one CDM role so far though. Trying allsorts to see what works feels like all the 'Head of' roles that have been created on the football side around planning, scouting and recruitment aren't exactly coming up with new tricks to earn their keep. Just whatever falls into their lap through agents offering the club players as they've gone along. Mitchell getting a gig off a trial then being dropped as soon as someone shinier in Garbutt popped up being another example.
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I do agree with that bit like a lad in a sweet shop which results in to many players in the squad and no chance the youth will get a look in. Not having a reserve team doesn’t help that either
 
Macseasider said:
The player that came and turned our whole season around. The "fan favourite". The man from Oz that was being lauded as too good for this league. First name on the teamsheet.

Now he's a substitute. Are we better without him? Bizarre management from Critchley who seems to really have his favourites - players he knows from youth level. I bet Dougall is wanting out already.
Click to expand...
Barnsley fans will disagree with the top good for this league stuff.

Was superb for them in this league, poor in the Championship. Step up was too much for him
 
Macseasider said:
The player that came and turned our whole season around. The "fan favourite". The man from Oz that was being lauded as too good for this league. First name on the teamsheet.

Now he's a substitute. Are we better without him? Bizarre management from Critchley who seems to really have his favourites - players he knows from youth level. I bet Dougall is wanting out already.
Click to expand...
We were crying out for him yesterday. All Critch had to do was take Virtue off and replace him with Dougall to make the defence more solid and then if he wanted to take Simms off, which I think was premature myself, he could have put Embleton just behind Yates and put Kaikai on for CJ.

With Madine out we have absolutely no other central forwards as back up, this needs sorting out for next season and we also missed Ward yesterday who could have played where Mitchell played as he looks most dangerous out wide.

Dougall and Stewart work better if they have another creative midfielder in front of them, but that means 433 and we aren't great at that. Stewart plays very deep and controls the game from there but he had no support yesterday because Virtue isn' the sort of player to give him that. If we are going to play 442 we need one of the 2 central midfielders to be creative but it also leaves us isolated defensively at times.
 
We will never do anything with Stewart and Virtue as a midfield two. The lack of possession and chances prove it. Don't understand why Critchley can't see it. If Stewart and Virtue/Dougall play, then we need to play 4-3-3 with a creative midfielder in front of them. Someone like Conor Ronan. The balance of this team is shockingly bad.
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
It's interesting to compare the treatment of Dougall to Kai Kai
Dougall gets benched after playing superb
I initially assume it was rotation but its's clearly not
Kai Kai getting start after start despite rarely delivering
Click to expand...
Hmmm. Dougall doesn't get played at say, full back though does he.
 
No surprise we had a run of clean sheets when the defence had Stewart and Dougall playing in front of them. The two stop the oppositions midfield from controlling the game. We possibly lose on creativity but there are other team members for that. The manager will always try to find a place for Virtue as his team selections have proven. Mitchell should be given more game time ahead of Kaikai and obviously Garbutt is needed for his dead ball delivery. Gabriel said in an interview he was looking forward to joining up with the Forest manager next season, So I imagine his game time will be limited now. Towards the end of the season, if nothing is at stake I would like to see some of the players not used previously given a chance to shine
 
Dougall definitely didn't look the same player after he returned from Covid.
I would 100% picked him ahead of Virtue and every game prior to that, but then I don't see him in training to know what is going on with him.

We need him back to his pre-Covid best, he would improve the entire team massively; two players of the quality of Stewart and Dougall firing on all cylinders would be more than good enough for a side looking to be successful in League One.
Over to Critch to find a way to make it happen.
 
I don’t think we can necessarily blame covid for Dougall’s drop off in form.
His performances against Oxford, Hull and Accrington, weeks before he contracted the virus, whilst adequate were well below those of his earlier performances.
 
BFC_53 said:
I agree it'll be another busy summer unfortunately. We have started giving 3 or 4 year contracts which should eventually help the squad settle down {though the question remains whether they're good enough of course}.
If Madine doesn't stay it'll be a shame and significant loss. We absolutely must bring in a forward to really bully defenders if he goes. I'd also love us to sign Gabriel but I can't see that either - but he's the level of player we should be aspiring to imo.
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We brought in a forward on a four year deal last season. That went well.
 
Scaramanga said:
Turton can go for me, not overly fussed about Robson either however I would like to keep Garbutt Dougal and Madine.
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I liked your "have patience" post but here I think you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater. We'll need all of these players during the run-in.
 
Dougall is miles ahead of Virtue. And a touch better than Stewart,

Neil is wide of the mark 95% of the time when it comes down to subs and impacting games. Stubborn in his approach. And then wild with his team selections.

Obsessive over Turton, Husband and Virtue and that is a massive reason why our ball retention is poor. Add Yates into that, who struggles to hold the ball up. It's a difficult afternoon every week if you have that many players who have poor touches/distribution.
 
southshore said:
We brought in a forward on a four year deal last season. That went well.
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Indeed, and it ended up costing the manager his job. It just highlights the absolutely necessity of doing your homework on players you want to bring in, because we are going to have to give longer contracts like that if we ever want a settled squad.
 
I was really impressed with Dougall when he joined, he was exactly what we needed. We then picked up Stewart, who also looks half decent, but you wonder about the 2 of them playing in the same midfield 4, as they look like similar players and - crucially - neither has goals in their locker. You'd play them both if you want to play 3 in the midfield, with a more attacking player in front linking up with the 3 forwards. But, we know that all season we've struggled with 4-3-3 and looked better with a conventional 4-4-2...

Re the possible full backs/wing backs/wide players, I see things in a pretty simple way. Turton and Husband are the best full backs defensively and generally offer a solid, but not spectacular level of performance on a consistent basis.
Gabriel and Garbutt could play as attacking full backs in 4-3-3 as they offer a lot more with the ball than Turton and Husband and Kenny and Kev would provide the defensive coverage for them as they bomb forward.

If you play 4 across the middle, i don't understand why Garbutt wouldn't be your left sided midfielder with Husband behind. I say that for the simple reason that with Garbutt you get quality of set-piece delivery which is always going to give you a chance in a game.
 
BlackpoolsFinest said:
Dougall definitely didn't look the same player after he returned from Covid.
I would 100% picked him ahead of Virtue and every game prior to that, but then I don't see him in training to know what is going on with him.

We need him back to his pre-Covid best, he would improve the entire team massively; two players of the quality of Stewart and Dougall firing on all cylinders would be more than good enough for a side looking to be successful in League One.
Over to Critch to find a way to make it happen.
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Dougall and Virtue are quite different midfield players. Dougall defensive, Virtue attacking and he is very likely to score. In truth they compliment each other and are both very important to the squad...
 
I'd have Dougall and Stewart playing together in centre mid. Stewart is sitting deeper and deeper since Dougall was left out. He is the go too man, everything seems to be played through him but teams have watched us and are pressing higher meaning Stewart is sitting far too deep. Dougall alongside him gives him that bit of freedom and there's no doubt he can pick a pass if there's good movement in front of him.

The spine of the team isn't bad with everyone fit, Centre backs, Ekpiteta, Ballard/Viking, centre mid Stewart and Dougall with Madine up front. While Maxwell is competent I'm not inspired with his control of the area. Contrary to quite a few I thought Turton was our best player on Saturday, he was solid and used the ball well. I'm still not sure about Mitchell, he's quick but I'm not sure where he fits in. He's not a great defender and not controlled enough to replace Ward.

CJ is a game changer, incredible pace though a little hit and miss but worth his place through his unpredictability which makes him a nightmare to mark. Garbutt always looks assured and a class above League1 and by far the best set piece man on the books. Yates is a willing runner and looks best alongside Madine. Simms is getting there, learning by the match but has to get that bit more physical. Pigott for Wimbledon could teach him a thing or two. Now he would be a great summer signing.

Virtue and Kai Kai have their moments but not enough to rely on, Husband is great to have on the bench for his versatility at the back covering a number of positions. I'd rotate Gabriel and Turton. Gabriel when we're at home supposedly on the offensive and Turton when you need that solidity.

We've got the nucleus and if we don't make the playoffs this season, I'd say we're only 2 or 3 quality additions from automatic next season.
 
Lewis_Winthorpe said:
Barnsley fans will disagree with the top good for this league stuff.

Was superb for them in this league, poor in the Championship. Step up was too much for him
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You talk out of your hole. My regional manager is a Barnsley die hard and he told me that he and his mates were very sad to see Dougall go and it was an excellent acquisition for us. Dougall who was a first teamer for Barnsley (having joined them in July 18) at the end of 2018 - start of 2019 before being seriously injured in March 2019 (played on with a broken leg). On return he struggled for pace and form thus was dropped and subsequently sold.

Why do you make shit up and type is as though it's fact? That's the 2nd time in 2 days I've pulled you up for making things up and passing it off as fact.
 
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If anybody should go, it’s the person not using the squad properly and not getting the best out of them with negative tactics. Imo.
 
Macseasider said:
You talk out of your hole. My regional manager is a Barnsley die hard and he told me that he and his mates were very sad to see Dougall go and it was an excellent acquisition for us. Dougall who was a first teamer for Barnsley (having joined them in July 18) at the end of 2018 - start of 2019 before being seriously injured in March 2019 (played on with a broken leg). On return he struggled for pace and form thus was dropped and subsequently sold.

Why do you make shit up and type is as though it's fact? That's the 2nd time in 2 days I've pulled you up for making things up and passing it off as fact.
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He wasn't sold. His two year contract finished and Barnsley didn't activate the one year extension on it.
 
Dougall is ten times the footballer Virtue is.

if NC doesn’t see the Stewart/Dougall axis working, then we need a new number 8. We know we need a proper playmaker

Ward has been as effective as anyone in there this season but seems to be out of favour again
 
Macseasider said:
You talk out of your hole. My regional manager is a Barnsley die hard and he told me that he and his mates were very sad to see Dougall go and it was an excellent acquisition for us. Dougall who was a first teamer for Barnsley (having joined them in July 18) at the end of 2018 - start of 2019 before being seriously injured in March 2019 (played on with a broken leg). On return he struggled for pace and form thus was dropped and subsequently sold.

Why do you make shit up and type is as though it's fact? That's the 2nd time in 2 days I've pulled you up for making things up and passing it off as fact.
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What?

A good friend of mine is a Barnsley season ticket holder and 2 of his mates who ive got to know well over the years.

All 3 said to me he was ok but couldn't cut it and they had better options than him.

And they all said he's a good signing at this level.

So if that's OK with you I'll take what my usually very biased Barnsley fan pal and his mates have said about him than you and your regional manager.

As for your other thing, I have no idea what you're on about but I'm flattered you have a thing for me but I don't date angry Celtic fans

poolfc said:
He wasn't sold. His two year contract finished and Barnsley didn't activate the one year extension on it.
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Oops Mac, seems your really reliable regional manager is wrong, so I'll take whatever you say with the pinch of salt it deserves😂😂😂
 
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