cumbria-saddler wrote:Richards was playing wide left, so would you expect a winger to complete as many passes as a central midfielder (eg. Murphy)? i wouldnt, being in CM you would probably expect to see the ball a lot more than someone who is playing on the wing. The same goes for the tackling stats, you'd expect a CM to do more tackles than a winger and Richards was playing on the wing in this game.
Phil, youve said that our most succesful spell this season has been when Marshall and Taundry have been in the middle together. Do you propose that Richards should start on the left everyweek, as he's played there the last two games which we have won?
To answer both your questions, No, you wouldnt expect a winger to neccessarily be involved as much as a centre midfielder, but to lose the ball a quarter of every time he saw it is still poor, which ever way you look at it - not to mention the fact he nearly cost us a second goal as morethanuknow pointed out above.
And no, I dont propose we keep him on the left - as proven above, he's a liability no matter where he plays on the pitch - he doesnt tackle, he doesnt track his man, he's slow and weak, but he can take the odd free kick - and like I said on sat, that is not enough to warrant a place in a team, especially a struggling team! You need 11 battlers, not 10 battlers and a passenger who might bag you a free kick.
Hopefully, with the return to fitness of Devaney and Jones, we might see one of them on the left, or Gray (who incidently rarely wastes a pass, and has made several crucial defensive interceptions while playing on the left.)
The fact that our central midfield has looked more solid now with Taundry and Marshall together is an indictment of Richards, not proof that he needs a better player alongside him like some would have you believe :shock: