Cully wrote:geoffwhiting wrote:I thought this was an awful decision by Hutchings today, bringing in Gilmartin in such a game as this. OK, Ince may have been at fault in some instances lately, but he's also saved a darned sight more than he's conceded, so he could have been retained for this game and might have done well. If not, he could have been dropped and Rene eased back in with an easier game next week. It was absolutely obvious that we would come under massive pressure away at St Mary's today, and the last thing Rene needed was to come in and get a sackful hammered past him. Whether any were his fault or not is not the issue, he still conceded five, and that's something Ince has not done all season.
So how is Rene's confidence tonight? Shot to pieces probably, after getting his chance and seeing five hit the net and numerous others going past him and being cleared off the line by defenders?
He shouldn't have been exposed like this, so for me it was a crazy piece of judgement on Hutchings's part, to expose Rene to all of that on his comeback. :x
Geoff I don't understand your reasoning in your post. The facts are:- Ince has been playing poorly for the last few games I have seen. He has made basis mistakes like poor judgement which have cost us goals. To say 'that he's saved a darned sight more than he's conceded' and he 'might have done well' for this game is quite frankly pointless. At what stage does a manager drop a player, Ince has had his chance and it was not before time that he was dropped. All goal keepers save more than they concede, it's their job, if you had seen Gilmartin in any of his previous games you might have had a different view. No one is denying that Ince has great experience but he is clearly failing in the fundamentals of keeping, he rarely catches the ball, instead he has started to punch the ball even when unopposed and his judgement and anticipation is extremely poor especially when it involves his defenders around the edge of the box. Rene Gilmartin is 22 years old and
has plenty of experience in the first team, to suggest he needs protecting from the big games and only plays in the 'easier' games is quite frankly ludicrous. I'm sure he realises that he is part of a team and that he won't be expected to shoulder the blame for the 5 goals conceded, unfortunately that is not the case when it comes to supporters who haven't seen him play and instead conjure up a raft of 'reasons' why he both he and the management are at fault.
Apart from all that I agree that Hutchings makes awful decisions :D
Actually, I agree with both of you, contrary though that may sound! :) Ince should be making his retirement plans as his form, this season, has deteriorated. I agree with Cully that it is time Gilmartin had a run in the team although I would suggest that 25 games spread over 5 years hardly qualifies as "plenty of experience" (q.v.). On the other hand, I agree with Geoff that yesterday was hardly the best time to bring in a rookie 'keeper. Gilmartin was always going to be on a hiding to nothing in the eyes of some posters on here. He could play an absolute stormer and keep out the full force of, say, the Barcelona forward line, keeping a clean sheet in the process, and still the likes of Latviancheese, Metfanwy and MOG would slag him off. Their minds are made up and nothing will change them. I do love closed minds! :mrgreen:
A better solution would have been to drop Ince once we were safe from relegation and tell Gilmartin that the shirt is his, no matter what, until the end of the season, thus taking any extra pressure off him. Bring back Ince for the last match, at home to MK Franchise, to let the fans bid him a fond farewell and 'thank you' for his service to WFC. He can then retire back to Trinidad and his football coaching school for deprived kids. In the meantime, Gilmartin will have gained valuable experience and the management will be able to decide whether he is good enough or not for a new contract for next season. However, I do appreciate that this might constitute intelligent and constructive team management and, therefore, would not fit in the scheme of things at Bescot.