Ekpiteta being destroying by Critchley

He was good when Keogh played alongside him. He was OK last season when he was playing in a back 4. Don't forget he's scored goals for us as well.

The back 3 system exposes his frailties, and he just shouldn't be played there again.

Our very average opponents have sussed out the weaknesses (and it's obvious to all of us), and if our defenders are pressed they panic.

Ditch this stupid 3-5-2. How come with 5 in the middle, we fail to do anything with the ball?
 
Ollygon said:
He was good when Keogh played alongside him. He was OK last season when he was playing in a back 4. Don't forget he's scored goals for us as well.

The back 3 system exposes his frailties, and he just shouldn't be played there again.

Our very average opponents have sussed out the weaknesses (and it's obvious to all of us), and if our defenders are pressed they panic.

Ditch this stupid 3-5-2. How come with 5 in the middle, we fail to do anything with the ball?
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One of the most basic requirements of a 3-5-2 is that you have wing backs that suit the role. Of today's starting X1 there was nobody who you'd say is a 'natural' wing back.
 
He should've been put on the bench a couple of games ago. He can't use the ball and every tackle looks like a last ditch challenge. Play Casey, Pennington and Husband in the back 3. Play Lyons on the right and Thompson on the left, I'm sure that would be an improvement.
 
straightatthewall said:
He's good at what he's good at. Which is being a defender who heads, tackles and blocks. Consistently asking him to do things he's not good at will consistently end up with him not doing things well. It's really not hard to work out.
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But he also goes to ground too early and commits fouls when not needed. Sheff U away; he lost us 2pts and was the last decent performance of an Appleton team but felt like a defeat to every player left on the pitch.
 
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He’s never been excellent,and he shouldn’t be in the team either when you have a better all round defender than him on the bench.
If he starts the next league game against Wigan I’d be astounded to be honest,don’t like criticising our players but he’s a liability.
 
Richo said:
He’s an excellent defender if played to his strengths.

Now devoid of confidence due to be tasked to be a ball playing centre half which ever supporter knows he’s not.
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Agree with the second statement, but recently he has made some stupid elementary mistakes which are costing the team dearly. Sorry but he needs dropping.
 
Dark_Side_of_the_Lune said:
But he also goes to ground too early and commits fouls when not needed. Sheff U away; he lost us 2pts and was the last decent performance of an Appleton team but felt like a defeat to every player left on the pitch.
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Sure. But do we have any players who are perfect at what their job is? Being pedantic, I could point out that as an attacker, Messi isn't great in the air...

And why aren't you watching the Proms...
 
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If ww wanted to have a ball playing CB then we should f ing well buy one, his tackle for the penalty was terrible, take him out of the firing line for now.
 
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It was clear in previous games that Marv was struggling. His confidence has gone and I genuinely feel sorry for him. That said he shouldn't be first choice in this team and although the window shuts next week he may actually benefit from a loan out to one of the better L2 teams - I'm sure there would be interest. He needs a reset. As far as Critchley is concerned he needs to urgently review his tactics and selections. We need a striker but other areas look strong to me despite yesterday's result. He needs to have a fundamental rethink about how he can get the best out of this team.
 
Richo said:
He’s an excellent defender if played to his strengths.

Now devoid of confidence due to be tasked to be a ball playing centre half which ever supporter knows he’s not.
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That’s not the reason he dived in like a school kid. What was the excuse last season then. ????
 
I love Marv, he's proven how good he can be but I'm afraid he just isn't good enough at the moment. Every game he makes a blooper, we've got away with it for the last few games but didn't yesterday. I still don't think he is the issue though, the tactics and midfield are woeful and exposing him. It may sound melodramatic but we have 4 days to save our season. If Sadler doesn't invest in players capable of playing Critchley's system, we may as well accept mid table now. Bitterly disappointing.
 
Richo said:
He’s an excellent defender if played to his strengths.

Now devoid of confidence due to be tasked to be a ball playing centre half which ever supporter knows he’s not.
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You are right to some extent ,but I believe that I could do a better job of distribution then Marv .He is suppose to be a professional and should do better.
 
straightatthewall said:
He's good at what he's good at. Which is being a defender who heads, tackles and blocks. Consistently asking him to do things he's not good at will consistently end up with him not doing things well. It's really not hard to work out.
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He looked like a good defender when giving away the pen yesterday, to be fair.

🤦🏼‍♂️
 
Epo needs a competent RB next to him. He sendings off last season were down to him covering that side more than he should need to.

NC's selections make other players worse than they would normally be.
 
fcblackpool said:
Epo needs a competent RB next to him. He sendings off last season were down to him covering that side more than he should need to.

NC's selections make other players worse than they would normally be.
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Yet Ekpiteta won the Player of the Season under Critchley's watch?
 
Playing a back 3 puts Marv in the pivotal central ball-playing role.
Nobody shows for him, he tries to find the right ball, but he's quickly exposed as the rabbit in the headlights.
Franz Beckenbaur he ain't!
We need to move it quickly from the back through to midfield - we're soooo slow at the moment.
His stupid sliding tackle yesterday was another all too-frequent, moment of madness.
Play Penny & Casey as CBs - and give him a week or two to reset on the bench.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
What difference does that make?

You said that "NC's selections make other players worse than they would normally be."

The fact of the matter is (based on recent history) that the overwhelming majority of our players have performed better under Critchley than anyone else.
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Answer the bloody question
 
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