TyldesleyLatic

In my opinion, Gary Caldwell’s major failing is his lack of speed/mobility – He reads the game well, gets stuck in etc.. & does pretty much everything else to a decent enough standard for a club at Latics level/ambition
The major problem with Latics centre half partnership in my opinion is Alcaraz. Now he has the speed/mobility & is better on the ball but he seems to have little or no footballing brain. he reminds me very much of a primary school footballer in that he gets sucked in to wherever the ball is as opposed to paying any attention to whatever else is going on around him. Every time I see him play there are head in the hands moments but a few that stick in the mind are:

the game where him & Steve Caldwell nearly came to blows when Steve Caldwell quite rightly pulled him to task on about the 3rd or 4th occasion Alcaraz had deserted his post in the middle & left Caldwell trying to mark 2 players. The actual incident that sparked it was Alcaraz going to the left back spot to challenge a player that Figueroa was already marking
the game at Old Trafford. Aside from being a dumb challenge in general (although for my money Fletcher was “going down” before there was any contact), Latics centre half should not be 40 yards from goal, heading away from his penalty area to challenge an opposition midfielder down the left wing
the away defeat at Sunderland. I think its the 3rd or 4th goal which was a breakaway down the left wing. Gary Caldwell was covering the guy with the ball & Alcaraz was in the middle with a Sunderland player not far away from him when for some reason he decided to drift over to the area Caldwell was already in, leaving the Sunderland player free in the middle, the winger picked him out & he smashed it home

They’re not isolated incidents either – you wath any latics game back from last season & you’ll see Alcaraz doing that at numerous points during the game. If he irons that out of his game then he’d be a belter but for me it indicates a lack of a footballign nouse & that isn’t somet that’s easily coached

A centre half who did impress me on the few brief occasions we saw him last season was Piscu & i hope that he replaces one of them (Alcaraz or Caldwell) as a first choice centre half next season – although if I remember rightly Piscu was only signed until the end of the season so there’s no guarantee that he’ll even be at Latics next season

And I think that its a perfectly reasonable & acceptable policy for them to have
I do however think that the clubs needs to have some sort of limit or line in the sand when it comes to who or (to be more exact) how many are flogged off.

Going purely off newspaper speculation so far (& I know that’s hardly an accurate measure but stories will be started by agents or clubs hoping to spark a sale so it’ll be a good indication if not who the club are looking to sell but which players are trying to force a move) then the club could potentially be looking at saying toodle pip to N’Zogbia, Rodallega, McCarthy & Diame. All this would bring in a pretty penny but all have, if not all season then for part of it, been vital links for Latics & to have to replace them all & hit the ground running next season would be a hell of an ask especially when you also consider that Cleverley & Al Habsi have also gone

At a push i think the club should look to move on 1 or 2 players at the end of each season to keep the club aflot & to bring in new players but to possibly look at having to replace 6 is way too much in my opinion

I think you need to take a bit of a reality check Area51.
Every single one of those clubs you mention is a step up from Latics
Everton – will be expecting to challenge for a UEFA cup spot
Fulham – have played in European finals, finished in the top 10, are in Europe again next season & have a wealthy backer who puts his money where his not inconsiderable mouth is
Stoke – only wound up finishing 4 points above Latics but reached a cup final, are playing in europe next season & have a chairman willing to sanction (relatively) big money moves & (relatively) big wages
Aston Villa – didn’t have the best of seasons by their expectations but will expect to push for the UEFA cup spots next season & have a chairman willing to sanction £24mill moves for players
Sunderland – a mid season collapse this time out but still finished in the top half & have the financial backing to try & improve on that
Newcastle – Again finished above Latics & have the Andy Carroll money burning a hole in Pardew’s pocket to try & improve
Blackburn – I’ll probably give you that one as a kind of sideways step but purely coz I can’t get my head round their new owners who talk of pushing for the champions league & making moves for Kaka or whoever & then sack Allardyce & appoint Keen. If they put their money where their mouths are it makes em both bigger & more ambitious than Latics

For all Bobby’s talk of pushing for a top 10 finish next season, from past experience we know we have a chairman who is happy with surviving. Its likely that (whilst I agree they may make moves to try & retain N’Zogbia) our best players will be sold & cheaper replacements brought in. Nowt wrong with that if it ensures the club’s survival.
The club was sold to N’Zogbia as a stepping stone & in his eyes that will mean the chance to earn more money & in a team less likely to be in a relegaton scrap

The reporter was doing his job in trying to get a story for his paper
Alex Ferguson was doing his job by trying to ensure that the only focus ahead of their biggest game of the season is on the football & nto on what one of his players may or may not have done with a z list “celebrity”

The reporter knew exactly what he was doing with that question & he should accept any consequences of asking it.
Ferguson’s only mistake in my opinion was showing his irritation (& what he wanted doing about it) whilst the press were still about & he was miked up – so he’s wound up making himself look a bit of an mardy bum

There is no set amount of time that referees are instructed/supposed to add on for substitutions or cautions
The 30 second thing is a guidance more to clubs as to what they can expect to see added on for certain stoppages
What the referee is supposed to do is stop his watch & then start it again when he is ready for play to resume.

I myself thought 5 minutes seemed excessive but when you look at the substution of N’Zogbia that was made in time added on, that took over a minute & so the ref was spot on in adding the additional minute & 20 seconds on to the 5 minutes

I actually thought Mariner got a few big decisions wrong yesterday – Stoke should have been awarded 2 penalties (the first when Figueroa hacked someone down just inside the area & the second when Alcaraz jumped on to the back of someone – the 3rd claim they had was a good challenge) & Latics should have been awarded one for Pennant’s challenge on N’Zogbia

That 2nd half was exactly how football should be played every week – none of this cautious tippy tappy malarky, just end to end, fast, direct, full blooded, attack minded “proper” football

On the game as a whole, I thought Latics were the better side throughout but 2 really poor pieces of defending & switching off which is a regular occurrence cost the team dear.
Fair play to Bobby though who I’ve often accused of having no plan b or being able to learn from his mistakes – he had a big call to make at half time & he got it absolutely spot on