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Tactics Tuesday: Is winning in third gear okay?
15 Plays3 days ago
Iain hosts Kev and Nic to explore whether winning without reaching peak performance is okay. Does Newcastle have no option but to play the first team or have we simply stopped trusting squad players because we havent seen them play recently?
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Transcript
Nervous without Michael
00:00:11
Speaker
Hello, and welcome to Daily New Festival. We are here to do tactics to say and the three of us are feeling a little bit nervous because there's no Michael to guide us through his specialist subject. um But going to find something to talk about.
Regret and Positivity: A Change of Heart
00:00:29
Speaker
And I felt a little bit a shame today actually after having lost it a bit on last night's podcast when I was questioning questioning the boys winning it at third gear and being worried about it because I then watched a fantastic YouTube video which showed all 67 goals that we scored in 2024.
00:00:54
Speaker
which has gave me up no end. So, um I'm in a more positive mood.
Is Winning without Playing Well Okay?
00:00:59
Speaker
However, I would like to explore with somebody who was quite vocally against my opinion last night, Kevin, and Nicholas, who I'm sure has listened to the podcast at 5am this morning and scored about nothing else all day, to see whether it's, is it all right, is it all right for news handle to win play against third gear, they're not really going all out. Is that all right? I'm nodding. So I'm going to come to you, Are you concerned at all when Newcastle managed to win and put away these things, but the performance is not really everything that you were hoping it might be?
Improving for Upcoming Challenges
00:01:48
Speaker
I feel like my answer is just going to be really to the point on this one. um
00:01:53
Speaker
Well, remember, we've got half an hour to fill before... So I'll try and make it last a half hour. Sorry. I don't know if I'm... I have not really thought about it until you've obviously just asked it before we've started recording. So um am I the only one that's happy that we're getting the results? Nope, I'm very happy. Even though we're... A little bit of context on it, right? Where I'm coming from, um' I'm delighted we are getting the results, although we didn't get a result against Bournemouth.
00:02:24
Speaker
Yep. That aside, um I'm accepting what you're telling me that was just a blink, but I've watched you play super well in that pre-Christmas run. Um, when they just match dressed there and it switched and then they, they had those three difficult way games where they were fantastic in all of them. Man United Tottenham Arsenal in control all of the way through, I thought.
00:02:51
Speaker
But even when we chose to go 5-5-0 and startle and let them have the ball and said, come on, try and score for that half of an hour, they never had a shot on target. So, yeah, it was squeaky bum time a little bit. However, I needn't be worried because we was the third defensive wall in front of us. Since then, I've been a little bit concerned. We went and watched them beat Wolves 3-0 and the result was fine. However, I saw Wolves carve out a lot of cancers, which better forward or more confident forward would have taken and made that a much closer game. We then saw what a confident team can do playing that sort of new tackle when Bournemouth absolutely destroyed it. Now, I think there was a little bit of that. I know we started really well against Southampton and then they scored, but we seem to revert back to that sort of panicky, have you met the rest of the team for 10 or 15 minutes before we got the penalty? Then it was fine. It was fine for an hour.
00:03:49
Speaker
But we east-right off again trying to control it. And I'm not sure we were in complete control. We scored the off-night goal. Dubravka made two or three very good saves.
Squad Management and Energy Conservation
00:03:59
Speaker
And if we didn't console, teams are not going to have stops on target. But I think we're giving them up when we're only one or two goals ahead. That's what concerns me, particularly because we're going to face Fulham. So I think they're another bonus, potentially. And then Arsenal, Man City away. Nottingham Forest.
00:04:19
Speaker
Liverpool away. I want to pick the points up that I know we can pick up in those games because I want to still be in the top four after we've played all of those difficult games. So that's the context I'm talking in. I've felt that we've really dropped off in the last three games, although the results have been pretty good. But you're not worried, are you worried, that that's actually our new level and it isn't high enough to be able to pick up many points up in these upcoming five or six games. Now you can give an answer. OK, now I can give an
Sustainability of Recent Form
00:04:55
Speaker
answer. That was a real long winded one. um i No, I still don't feel worried, really, um at all. Look, all teams have blips and obviously the Bournemouth game was a huge one um for us, obviously. um But also we watched Bournemouth at the weekend completely destroy a decent not on the forest side. So every team doesn't have their day.
00:05:18
Speaker
um Am I looking at Newcastle thinking they're out of not they're not out of third gear? um There obviously has been times where I thought, yeah, we're not really seeing the intensity that we're used to seeing, in particularly, like you say, before the um run of christmas other games before Christmas. But is it more of a case of, is it just a squad management little tactic? Is it game control? I don't know. It's a tough one to answer, really, because I don't feel worried about it.
00:05:47
Speaker
because we're still picking up the results and the points that obviously we need. um And like you say, the games that we've got coming up, these are games that we know we can win and know we can pick points up at. So I don't feel too worried at the moment. Is that the wrong answer? I'm if that's because you haven't bought Newcastle for anywhere near as long as I have.
00:06:07
Speaker
to experience
Newcastle's Potential with Current Squad
00:06:09
Speaker
all of the disappointments that these boys will feel like you for decade after decade. ah Well I have supported them all my life so I have been disappointed by them but I mean right now I don't feel disappointed by them. No I'm not disappointed by the matter so I'm not meaning that. Just maybe that's where my subconscious fear that I'm trying to manifest tonight is coming from? I think I think I can be Ian's therapist here. I don't think, I think Ian's just, he recognises what a great opportunity this season could be.
00:06:44
Speaker
with Man City dropping off, Liverpool was talking, I mean, Champions League is coming back, but it could be dropping off. I think Ian also recognises the opportunity of our squad. So we have Tino Liverpool, Lewis Hall, England's full backs. We have a midfield three, which is arguably the best in the Premier League. And we have arguably the hottest striker in Europe. and So I think Ian's looking at the opportunity Newcastle United have this year.
Managing Player Performance and Energy
00:07:08
Speaker
And this is why on yesterday's episode, I i didn't get to kind of defensive because I agree with Ian, this season could be an unbelievable opportunity if we can just keep them standards, keep a high intensity in just but law teams up with water and But once we expect to, we could really send a message to the rest of the Premier League and be like, look, we're here. you know Don't count us out. So I think that's where Ian's coming from. Personally, my my side of the um
00:07:35
Speaker
Not an argument, but my side of kind of what we're talking about in terms of not getting out of third gear is, I think we will look, we won an unbelievable run. It was, so was it nine or 10 games won? I think it was nine, nine won in a row, wasn't it? yeah And I think some things got to give when you go back on that run a form and rightly, like Ian mentioned, some of the teams top them away and mine out of the way. Don't get me wrong. They're not the teams they were last season or in previous Premier League seasons, but it's still very hard places to go. All traffic its still come on. It's iconic as much as we like to give mine out of a bit of grief.
00:08:05
Speaker
they are one of the biggest clubs in world football. So I think someone's got to give when you are putting in a run like that and you are putting a run together like that and and you are putting in the performances we were putting in. Something's got to give and I think tiredness will set in, fatigue will set in, we are playing at a ridiculous high intensity. So I think when players do look at games like Southampton and they maybe go 3-1 up they might think no chance of e-scoring too. Let's just conserve our energy. We've got Fulham at home. We probably know it's going to be a tough game. We've then got a semi-final of the cup. So I think the players are being quite sensible. I think Nick was close as well. I've listened, I took everything in. I'm trying to put everything together for the listeners. Nick was close as well about squad management. Joe Linton played against Bromley because we didn't really have another centre midfield at the coming in and start because obviously we we don't really have six, we have five.
00:08:55
Speaker
um so So again, it's a case of We have to try and manage a squad. Jolynt put against Bromley. played the game He's played every game, I think, Jolynt. He hasn't missed many or any. Fabian Shaw has only missed a couple of recently, obviously, you apart from his suspension at the start of the season due to illness. Trippie has missed through illness and injury. So I think we do have to manage. And I think if we are 3-1 up against Southampton, I think Ian's absolutely right. We could put the foot on the gas and go kill them 4, 5, 6, 1.
00:09:25
Speaker
like some, you know, very house teams have in the past. But we've got a huge semifinal coming up. Let's conserve energy. We know Southampton aren't going to hurt us. And if they do, as long as there's enough time
Squad Quality and Rotation Strategies
00:09:36
Speaker
left, we can probably put our foot on the gas and pull away again. And and I think that's why how sometimes leaves it till about the 85th minute to go that 5-5-0 formation or to bring Isaac off because he knows in them five minutes the game's done and we can just completely rest them. So I think it's a little bit of squad management. I think something's got to give from the massive, a momentous, a momentous, is that right? A momentous effort.
00:10:01
Speaker
put together um to get a record, equal in our club record, equal in wins and rolls. Something's got to give physically and fatigue and mentally. So I think that's playing a little part in these games against Southampton Wolves. And I also think Ian just recognises this massive opportunity we have this season with Man City not being on it. So many clubs not being on it, only with Liverpool.
00:10:21
Speaker
um So yeah, I think that's where we're all coming from, but I'm not overly concerned. I think it's a sign of a really good team when you can identify that you are in front and that you have enough in the bank where you can get yourself out of trouble if you do get into it. Granted, you never want to be in a position where you're 3-1 up and you've come back to 3-0, but yeah, I think we're trying to be a little bit clever and manage the the legs, the minutes and yeah the intensity we're playing at. I think I said I'm i'm a little bit, I'm a much more positive than I felt last night. that was just
00:10:55
Speaker
was be sheer panic coming out because we all me and we all and maybe be right We could lose the Fulham on Saturday and you might be absolutely bang on. Fulham's a tough game, some very good players, but again, I think Eddie Howell will have them ready for that. He will have them start well and if they don't, I think you'll have no problem making changes.
00:11:15
Speaker
100%. Well, what he said about putting team for the sword, I've watched those highlights back against Southampton. And I know we won't be won and then posted. So I said, we hit the post twice. We had a fantastic one through that he's that played with Bruno, little back heel. Oh, yeah. And fortunately was right over the keeper's head. So we got his hands up for it.
00:11:39
Speaker
So, I mean, we can't get a load of cancers. We could easily give out five or six, even though I felt we switched off a little bit towards the end. So, I think we might have identified an issue. We could talk about it in part two, which is, can we keep each starting line up straight by rotating? Or does Eddy actually only have a celestial weapon?
00:12:09
Speaker
and people on the bench will come on when someone's exhausted or injured. First, I'm going to ask Nicola to give us the Zenkaster advert, if you don't mind. Give us a taste of the Pringle Tingles. Oh, I like that. Lovely. Here at the Global Sports Podcast Network, we spent a lot of time selecting our delivery platform. Zenkaster came out the clear winner with 4K video recording from your phone and AI editing that automatically removes all those ums and ahs It is super easy to start a podcast that sounds great and is delivered efficiently. If you're ready to tell your story, check out the link in the show description to learn more about Zencaster. There you go. and Thank you very much. No problem. So yeah, so maybe, maybe we can keep things fresh by doing what, and not what our petter does, but learning what petters in that there's always two or three changes in rotational squad. Have we got the players
00:13:08
Speaker
where we could do that, or do we want to do that? That's possibly under strain because Harvey Barnes was injured, Callum Wilson was injured, Nick Pope's been injured. Now we've sold Al Maron as well. Are we spreading ourselves a little bit in to be able to do that? There's lots of questions to address there.
00:13:33
Speaker
ah address I think we would love to see Eddie rotate more but I completely understand why he doesn't and the example I'm going to use to hopefully try and explain it is that midfield three now I know we're not as strong as that in all positions but We've obviously got Tenali, Bruno and Joe Linton who when they are on it, I can't think of many midfielders and I'm going to get loads of stick for this, but I'm going to say anyway. um I can't think of many midfielders in the world that would take in when they are all on it and working together and interlinking.
00:14:03
Speaker
If there's not many in the world, I can't expect Longstaff, Miley and Willik to come in and be as effective. Now I know the different type of players and that would require maybe a slightly different style or a tweaking tactics or something like that. But I feel like the way we play with a high pressing, the understanding you
Challenges in Maintaining a Rotational Squad
00:14:21
Speaker
need with your partner in midfield or your partner at centre half.
00:14:25
Speaker
or the opposite full back if you're Tino and Lewis Hall. You need to understand when you're going to go, when you're not going to go, when to drop. There's times we've seen Tenali pretty much be like a centre half this season because one of us, the two full backs have gone and my centre half's gone and there's literally burning Tenali left at the back and I'm thinking, this takes a lot of understanding and trust in your teammates. So I feel like if you then start making a lot of changes with players who aren't at the level of the first 11,
00:14:51
Speaker
then you are going to struggle to kind of play that way. I think it's a little bit easier if you play Man City style. So take a attacker, keep a hold of the ball. um You can bring a lot of technically good footballs into that. Keep a hold of the ball and find the right time to go forward. But high pressing teams, I feel like it's such a split second. It just takes one person to be off the press or to be half a second behind on the press. and then all of a sudden our press is being beat and we're in trouble. So I think the style we play doesn't help in terms of being able to rotate. And I also think the drop off of quality from our first team is just nowhere near what we want it to be. and Even though I was sent a half circle of Botman burning Shaw, Shaw is integral I think to the way we attack, to the way we build up.
00:15:38
Speaker
and his passing range, his passing ability, his ability to get the ball in between lines of the pitch. and Even the way Shaw stops passing lanes when he's defending against the striker.
00:15:51
Speaker
Then if you lose Sean, bring him the cells. I like the cells, but it's just not the same, is it? So we haven't got the quality is my short answer. And personally to rotate it as much as we like. I think we have got the quality to rotate it in cups. So Birmingham, I would expect pretty much a second team and I would expect them to do just enough of a job to play well. But look, a Bromley, the Bromley game.
00:16:12
Speaker
We've made loads of changes and we still didn't really play that well. It was really hard to get any sort of fluidity in. One of the players who did play well in that game though was Lewis Miley and he's somebody who I think needs more minutes and is of the quality to be able to cover probably for any of the three of me. I think Joe Willett could cover Joe Linton.
00:16:40
Speaker
I don't mean for the whole thing. We're looking to give people a rest, we look to see that. They come off a bench, I think we've got the quality, but I thought, sorry, I thought you meant to rotate the squad for like a start on 11. I just think, I like Willock, but he's never going to give you what Joel Linton gives you or what Bruno gives you or what Tenali gives you. He's just that level below, I think. Yeah, agreed. Do you agree with that? I think that's very harsh on my predicted player of the season. Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Yeah, I mean, I agree.
00:17:10
Speaker
ah but I probably agree fully to be honest with all of that. I feel like we don't really have the quality um as what we have with our, obviously our start on 11 that we've seen obviously in recent weeks. I don't know if it's is like anyone else sort of, you know, when Eddie will go for a bit of a phase of when he makes some subs, he'll change like three or four at a time. I don't know. We could be three, four and a lot, but that's still sets a bit of panic in me because I do feel like the quality of football does drop off a little bit,
00:17:40
Speaker
Um, if not a lot. Um, and like Kev pointed out the Bromley game, I thought, yeah, he made what you pretty much changed the whole team, but I did think it lacked a lot of momentum and quality.
00:17:53
Speaker
um And that does panic me. So when you're talking about um being out of third gear, what does panic me is when there's a lot of changes all at once and we look like we belong um on a Sunday league team. um so We don't really play well at all. And, you know, if we want to be up there, like we've just said, competing with the big boys, getting into the Champions League and Europe every single year, we need to have that quality off the bench and be able to do what the peps do and, you know, Liverpool do and have, you know, a completely have two starting 11s of all the same quality. So yeah, I just don't think that a lot of our players are um of the same quality. So I do agree with Kev on that one.
00:18:31
Speaker
But that's not me saying that they're all bad. I'm just saying that.
Impact of Individual Performances
00:18:34
Speaker
I was just about to add to that. Yeah, I was going to say it doesn't mean that like, Willak's a bad player. Willak could come in for two games for Jolynn and you wouldn't miss Jolynn as much because Willak's a very good player. But if you are going to have like, ah we've we've got to come up and we play Liverpool on a Wednesday and we've got a Premier League game on the weekend. yeah It's not like on that weekend before we play Liverpool, we can rest to midfield free and bring in Rivers because I still don't trust them enough.
00:18:58
Speaker
to give us what they give us and like I say our style of play they need time to play together so we need to do that regularly and Willick just isn't getting the game time neither is Miley because the midfield three are so strong I think it's with EZAC as well obviously Wilson's injured at the moment I think if Wilson was fit you probably could give EZAC a rest and I think Wilson's good enough when fully fit when fully firing I know people have probably forgot how good he was um but Wilson ah think he did it didn't even season we finished fourth it was like wilson played and then he's actually then wilson played needs i think eddie hell wants to do it but he's only got the quality and very very minority position to do that and i think the only position he can do that regularly if he wanted personally for me is right back between tripier and tino i think both of them give you a similar amount with different qualities obviously but a similar amount of quality each
00:19:46
Speaker
And I also think if Wilson was fit you could do it with Isaac and Wilson. I genuinely don't believe that anywhere else in the pitch you could regularly rotate for a start at 11. I think Willak's a great player and if Joel didn't get a little knock and he needs two weeks off I think Willak is more than capable of coming and doing a brilliant job, maybe even keeping his place.
00:20:03
Speaker
after a couple of games to make Jordan work hard, but in terms of just rotating that whole squad like Man City 2 would just meld off it other than, like I say, a right back and striker, I think they have only two positions. And um I only mean striker with Wilson's fit, which, again, is much I'm not criticising them because I love Colin Wilson, but his body's letting them down. So, really, it's right back. Right back is the only new position where we could bring in either of them and it would be fine. Ben,
Player Dynamics and Performance
00:20:30
Speaker
I'm going to ask you straight away to do the yeah ESPN advert because on this last part, when we come up in part three, I'm going to make one or two observations and give you some players who I think could be given a chance in rotating the starting 11 more regularly. I'd like to hear what you think of that. I have got a killer argument though, so what now?
00:20:58
Speaker
Good. No, it's good. This is what we need to have. These are the discussions we love on the Global Sports Podcast Network. Speaking of a Global Sports Podcast Network, it's changing the face of football podcasting with dedicated daily content for every Premier League team, women's football, a dedicated Premier League wrap up. It comes in five different languages as well. This is your one stop shop for your daily football fix. Find the Global Sports Podcast Network wherever you find your usual podcasts. Brilliant.
00:21:28
Speaker
thank you very much yeah correct if from'm wrong kevin you're saying that tripier could come in peino and we wouldn't see any drop off in the ah or as a it will as a whole put in as a wholemi as anade as an adequate a fit will shrink becomes as an adequate replacement for easy yeah when fully fit but then you're strugglingling at his best When I'm struggling, I think Barnes isn't good enough for Gordon. I see I do like Willick, but he's just not on my level of M3. Long staff isn't. Miley's got potential, but not for me. Let me observe firstly how, for example, Emil Kraft came in after a long injury and was very, very good for three or four games. And then stepped back down because whoever he was replacing, Sarah came back. It was when Shah was suspended, wasn't it? Yep.
00:22:23
Speaker
And the shark came back, which is fair enough, but that that is how you rotate. I will observe one of the championship standard players that really is lucky to get a place on the bench up until this season is Jacob Murphy. And how has he grown into being one of the top assistors in the Premier League, simply because he's had the opportunity, I think, to who play in the first team. I would argue that Willett could do that. Longstaff did it for two or three seasons already, that Miley could step up and do that. And I'm not saying wholesale change the game, but you could give one of the three midfielders starting on the bench and bring one of those guys in, which I think over the course of five games means they'll all get a bad game off.
00:23:22
Speaker
which which could be really important. um So I think we've got the players and in the squad that we have no confidence in because it's aged since they played in the first team. But actually, me these guys are first team
Impact of Starting Status on Performance
00:23:37
Speaker
players. They were keeping some of the players in the team now out of the team. And I think that, for example, Lewis Hall's looked off his top levels in the last couple of games.
00:23:50
Speaker
that Matt Target could maybe do that job and left back. But we're not giving him any options to do it. I'm not saying change the back four. I'm saying have Lewis Hall on the bench if you need it. Give him a day off and have Matt Target playing at left back.
00:24:07
Speaker
ah think you point the bolt today i and i think we need to I think we need to be refreshed. Just that little seed of doubt in all the players that do get picked every time that they might he sitting on the bench because somebody else can come in for them, is enough to keep that basic level, that third year level, that slightly higher level than what they can think to when they're really making stupid mistakes in the last 10-15 minutes, happy and sharp, against Southampton, or all of them drop off and can't get bloody started against a former. That's why I think that that third year level drops when
00:24:48
Speaker
seven, eight, nine of the first teamers know that they're going to be fixed. And I just think that a little bit of more rotation would just fill that sleeve so that somebody else who I think has played his fixing start in the last three or four games, Anthony Gordon, ah lain but be my favourite player I but I don't think he's been on it as well as he has been, because he knows that nobody's going to come in for him. And I know Barnes and Dinges, but that's I agree with that point. When you look at the season we finished fourth, EZAC and Wilson just had to keep scoring until the other one couldn't. and It was brilliant for the team because we just had loads of goals in us. m and you do yeah You made a great point about Murphy, but I feel like relying on Eddie Howard to take
00:25:40
Speaker
Is he a championship player? I don't know. I mean, he wasn't great in the championship before he held, but let's just call him one for now. And Joe is going to be raging. Relying on Eddie Howe to take championship players in tournament or something like what he's done with Jacob Murphy, and like what he did with Sean Longstaff for a period last season, like he has done with Jamal Lacells when there was injuries to Botman in the Champions League, like he has with Emile Kraft. To keep relying on Eddie Howe to do this is is borderline, from an owner's point of view, silly. We do need investment. We do need players. yeah yeah we're not going We're not going to ask Eddie to do that indefinitely, are we? We've got 15 more Premier League matches. We've got two more games in the Carabao Cup. And then however far we go in the FA Cup, there's another game, maybe four more games in the FA Cup. That's how many games we need to keep the team fresh for, because I'm anticipating
00:26:35
Speaker
ah ah bit of a ah bit of a splash in the transfer market during the summer, which will completely refresh that sport. But I'm trying to get them refreshed in the last part of the season. If you bring craft in. I think giving some of these sport players who we know can do a job, give them a go, give our stars a rest.
Balancing Rest and Performance
00:26:57
Speaker
Let's just, I think the best way I can explain, if you bring, if you bring Kraft in, so let's say the Wolves game on the 3-0, if you bring, I don't even think Shah played, but let's just pretend Shah's playing against Wolves. You bring Kraft in. I love Kraft. I think he's done men since he's come in and actually he's completely changed my opinion on him. I think he's a very good player now, but if you've got a team sitting on the edge of a box at home with St James and we can't break them down,
00:27:23
Speaker
Shaw's a person to break them down. I think what I'd rather have Eddie try and do is start with the best 11, try and have the game wrapped up after an hour, and then bring on five players. So Kraft, I would trust Willick. Long staff, if we're three, four in love, I would trust him.
00:27:41
Speaker
yeah that kelly Kelly and Barnes, maybe bring on M5 subs once for games one after an hour. I'd much rather him see him do it, which I think he does try and do, but I don't. The Premier League is so difficult. I just feel like, again, I love craft, but if you bring craft in, you lose so much from Shaw. And I actually think with Shaw getting older,
00:28:03
Speaker
and when he does start a decline we're in big trouble because that is a that's a hell of a sign and you're going to need to be able to play with the ball at his feet and have his ranger passing and have his brain and be able to press like him and hit the odd worldy when you need it that's going to be a lot of money i'm i'm convinced i know shaw's had a couple of iffy games the last two or three you could argue and i wouldn't really argue with it um but you take away of them last two or three iffy games if he was 10 years younger man said he'd be banging on my door for 100 million Oh yeah, I know he's still fabulous, don't get me wrong. I just think that he's somebody who's third-year, is a tractor's third-year, not a Porsche's third-year, because he just spits off, he spits his off. You could rest these players as, so you could you could sub them off, yeah I genuinely believe you could sub them off and give them a bit more of a rest, but I wouldn't be comfortable with craft starting every now and then just to, because then imagine you lose that game at home,
00:29:00
Speaker
Wolves and you've broke Kraft, Willick and Barnes in, bondsing you'd be sat there as a fan thinking, what the hell have you done that for? We're on eight in a row. Just keep playing the winning players. What are you doing? So yeah ah I don't know. I think how can't win? I think you just have to go back with your own board. i and just I don't know if I would bring those three in together, but yeah the other alternative, of course, to gift them a rest, which I know teams do. You saw Cunha come on at halftime for Wolves.
00:29:29
Speaker
saw that Bournemouth, even with all of their injuries, always keep somebody on the bench to come on to spark things up in the second half. I don't know who it was you who came on against us, but they don't they don't have all of their first team out to start with. There's always someone on the bench that they can bring on better players. So maybe you could have started sitting on the bench to come on to crack at half time.
00:29:56
Speaker
I don't know. actually um did it get away with we didn't really work that We've only got a thin squad, but we've got a thin team.
Rest, Performance, and Season Goals
00:30:03
Speaker
And then we've got a load of subs that come on and don't get much game time. So they're probably not much fit anymore. I think Ian's convinced us actually. I think he's con convinced us that's a brilliant idea. You know how a left wing, if you play, if barns are fit, you could start with barns. I mean, imagine a fresh Anthony Gordon coming on for the last half an hour at a run against a tired full, but that's a great idea. That could definitely work. But there's a reason why these players aren't getting on.
00:30:27
Speaker
Good point. So just to take it out of context a little bit, we're not in training every day. We don't see what Eddie sees. There is a reason why these players don't get on. So there's a reason why Anthony Gordon starts ahead of Barnes every single game. There's a reason why, well, obviously there's a reason why ESAC starts ahead of everyone else of the game because he's the only option we've got. But there's a reason why, you know, Shah, yeah, there's a reason why Shah and Botman or, you know, Botman and Burn or whoever decides start before Kraft and everyone else. um There's a reason for that. And if you ask, I know I'm just going to put my two pence in and I'll shut up for the rest of the pod. But if you were to ask my opinion um on plays that you've mentioned like Sean Longstaff and I'm just going to say Sean Longstaff at the minute. Poor Sean. Yeah. But the last game he played for us and I can't off the top of my head think which one it was.
00:31:26
Speaker
He was absolutely, that's it. He was dire. And that's against a Bromley side. And now we're sitting there saying... And i'm not it's not and not nothing against Miley, but Longstaff is a 26-year-old, should be saying, I'll show you Miley. I'll show you where I'm headed, but you're right. yeah that you know that I mean, you're talking about, oh should we short start not show Longstaff ahead of an informed Jacob Murphy, I guess, at the minute? No, probably not.
00:31:54
Speaker
because he struggled against Bromley. but So that goes back to the point at the start of the pod of where we just haven't got the quality to bring on. And there's a reason why Eddie Howell waits so late in the game to try and bring an impactful sub on. And unfortunately, it either works or it doesn't work. And sort of nine times out of 10, we're sort of three goals up. So he has the space to bring it in. but Yeah, it's hard. It is a hard topic to discuss of squat rotation. I know. finally I agree with what you said. However, I mean, I think we've got short memories. I think Sean Longstaff scored quite a few goals arriving late in the book. He had a very good relationship with Miggy, with Vic, with Bruno, with Murphy. We've lost that by not playing him. So that's our stove. When they come on,
00:32:45
Speaker
look like they haven't played for a week for for six weeks because they haven't played for six weeks. And I just think that, yeah, I'm not meaning three or four games for each game at all. Do one or two players. We'll just get a game or two's rest for the team to get through the 20 games or so that we've got left to play the season. Maybe I'm just being really harsh. Maybe I'm just a really harsh man. If we get to We win the kind of outcome, but that'd be fine. But if we get to where we are knocked out of the semi-final of the FA Cup and take one point from the last three games in the Premier League to only qualify for the Europa Conference League instead of the Champions League, because our last three games are probably quite evident with the last game. But before that, we've got Brighton and Arsenal, so we need to be on it right away through to the end, I think.
00:33:40
Speaker
if we take a lot and have a disappointing end to the season because everyone's looking really, really knackered. I'll clear this back to you.
Consistency in Rotation and Best 11
00:33:50
Speaker
Anyway, I think that's a good place to end. Thank you very much indeed. I do have one little bit that I'd, that'll take us 30 seconds in if I talk to you. Yeah, you're all right there. Go on then. I can what?
00:34:06
Speaker
He was a bit of the expert, the expert. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. So if you remember earlier on in my season, and we were changing quite a bit and Eddie was asked does he know his best team? And his reply was, I could write my best team down on paper. But they're not performing well at the minute because there was a time when like Barnes and Gordon were rotating quite a bit. Tenali wasn't getting, Longstaff was getting picked in front of Tenali and he was getting questioned quite a bit.
00:34:31
Speaker
And he he said in the press comments, i caught I wish I found it, but it was a while back and he said, I could write my strongest 11 on paper, but they're not playing as my strongest 11 right now. That's a problem I have as a coach. I think that's put him off a little bit now that he's playing his strongest 11 or what he thinks is the strongest 11 and we are performing well, like nine in a row or 10 out of the last 11.
00:34:52
Speaker
He's going to be even more reluctant because of that moment when fans were saying, well, he doesn't know what the best 11 is. He was getting asked it in press conferences. So I can't remember when it was, but it'd be interesting to go back to that time and see and just kind of how we answered that question. But yeah, I just wanted to chuck that in. <unk> get a point through that Good is true. But I do think there's a lot of games to get through this season and it is a squad game. That's why it's 25 men in the squad. And if we've got 11 that we pick first every time and only three that we trust to come on, then we are Badly in need of a squad overhaul.
Wrapping Up and Listener Feedback
00:35:24
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. Yeah, I agree. Right. Thank you very much indeed, guys. I'm going to shoot. But I'm very interested to hear what all of our listeners think. And if there's anybody lurking on the subbench who you feel ought to be getting more minutes. His name's Lewis Miley for me. There you go. See you all next time. Every Club.
00:35:51
Speaker
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