Dan Barlaser

It's hard isn't it because we don't know how far players are away from fitness. No idea if Hackney is days, weeks or months away from his return.
The 3 month timeline on o-Brien takes him to January but whether that is still on course, who knows?

Surely they are lining up a CM signing or loan in January to get straight in.
I know in the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter if the fans know when a player is due back or not but it is very frustrating not knowing when certain players are gonna be back.

Carrick said Hackney is expected back before Christmas so can’t be far away. I reckon his first game back will be Port Vale.
 
It's hard isn't it because we don't know how far players are away from fitness. No idea if Hackney is days, weeks or months away from his return.
The 3 month timeline on o-Brien takes him to January but whether that is still on course, who knows?

Surely they are lining up a CM signing or loan in January to get straight in.
Hackney should be back for Boxing Day. He got injured at Bristol City and was told to rest for 10 days. He did that but then aggravated it when he returned to training after 10 days.

I've been told central midfield is the number 1 priority in January and next summer.
 
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A real mix of impressive vision and basic errors.

Perfect evaluation. Some of the through balls be played last night were very good - he could have had 2-3 assists.
However, some of the short passes he gave away were pretty bad too.

50/50 for me. I like having him as a squad player - but don't want to see him starting every game.
 
He got most of his assists last season from corners and free-kicks. You can see he has the ability from a dead ball but we have nobody that can get on the end of things. The rest of his game isn't good enough to justify having a "dead ball specialist".

To be honest though. The majority of the squad is sub standard and he's no different. Crooks and McGree were both bought to play CM as well and deemed not good enough to do so and have been fortunate to find themselves in a new position which hides some of their poorer attributes.

Barlaser is not supposed to be first choice. If we get rid of him we have to replace him with someone else who isn't supposed to be first choice and that means buying someone else who will have major flaws. Doesn't make sense. Might as well keep him unless we can buy a first choice midfielder and he gets pushed further down the pecking order.
 
Perfect evaluation. Some of the through balls be played last night were very good - he could have had 2-3 assists.
However, some of the short passes he gave away were pretty bad too.

50/50 for me. I like having him as a squad player - but don't want to see him starting every game.
This is spot on. He should be a squad player used in certain games and situations - Preston at home being the prime example.
 
I am sure we can find a better player than Dan Barlaser. If Lewis O’Brien comes back soon there’s one straight away.

Mowatt was 3 times the player Barlaser will ever be too.
I can only remember Mowatt having one or two good games. Perhaps my memory is not as good as others, but he was not good enough for a place in the team most of the time he was here.

O'Brien - agree, he was probably our best signing of the off-season, and it is a huge disappointment that he is injured.
 
I think it’s time to drop Crooks back one personally and try him deeper if There isn’t any young lads capable. We can’t continue with Barlaser. It’s just not working. Crooks has been poor last couple of games too but a shift to what he says is his favourite position might just work for all parties right now
I don't see that at all. Crooks can't pass in tight areas, can't press effectively and every other tackle is a foul. He would be a liability playing that deep
 
I don't see that at all. Crooks can't pass in tight areas, can't press effectively and every other tackle is a foul. He would be a liability playing that deep
Just like Barlaser then. He’s a liability playing there too.

It’s not what I want either really but I just can’t for the life of me see how we keep persisting with Barlaser. He is dreadful. Hopefully Hackney is back
 
Just like Barlaser then. He’s a liability playing there too.

It’s not what I want either really but I just can’t for the life of me see how we keep persisting with Barlaser. He is dreadful. Hopefully Hackney is back
I'm not Barlaser's biggest fan, but not sure how you get dreadful from last night. Almost every single promising attack we had came from him initiating it. He was brave on the ball, played intelligently, and got us playing forwards.
 
He is terrible off the ball in defensive positions and is a liability with the ball in our own half. Would be a great player as the advanced MF in a central 3 but in our formation he has more downside than up for me.
Agree but would if be worth trying him in the no.10 role instead of Crooks when all midfielders are fit?
 
I slated him all last night in the match thread and I just think he's not good enough to be in a midfield 2.

We bought him in Jan when he had 10 or so assists and we're playing him basically center back, I reckon he'd be better in a midfield 3 which I don't think Carrick will ever change.
 
He got most of his assists last season from corners and free-kicks. You can see he has the ability from a dead ball but we have nobody that can get on the end of things. The rest of his game isn't good enough to justify having a "dead ball specialist".

To be honest though. The majority of the squad is sub standard and he's no different. Crooks and McGree were both bought to play CM as well and deemed not good enough to do so and have been fortunate to find themselves in a new position which hides some of their poorer attributes.

Barlaser is not supposed to be first choice. If we get rid of him we have to replace him with someone else who isn't supposed to be first choice and that means buying someone else who will have major flaws. Doesn't make sense. Might as well keep him unless we can buy a first choice midfielder and he gets pushed further down the pecking order.
Crooks and McGree were not brought in to be central midfielders, or certainly not as part of midfield two
 
I'm sure he is trying his best, but ultimately he isn't a top end Championship player. If our ambition is to be promoted then he shouldn't even be in the Squad, in my opinion. I recognise we have little choice right now due to injuries but midfield is certainly an area we need to focus on. Imagine if we lose Hackney this Summer, we'd need a complete rebuild in that area.
 
Crooks really shone in a mid-field 3 under Wilder.
I've always thought that, similar to Barlaser, he doesn't really have an obvious role in Carrick's system. Hence why he was replaced at the earliest opportunity by Carrick and then used as a Plan B striker for the second part of last season.

I do like Crooks, he just doesn't really fit the system. A useful player in the squad but shouldn't be a starter. Again, it comes down to the recruitment. We've brought in players who aren't ready for regular Championship football so now we are trying fill round holes with square pegs.
 
I really want DB to work out here, but he seems to not be able to do the nitty gritty part of the game well enough.

Reckon he was bought on his money ball stats?
 
Crooks really shone in a mid-field 3 under Wilder.
I've always thought that, similar to Barlaser, he doesn't really have an obvious role in Carrick's system. Hence why he was replaced at the earliest opportunity by Carrick and then used as a Plan B striker for the second part of last season.

I do like Crooks, he just doesn't really fit the system. A useful player in the squad but shouldn't be a starter. Again, it comes down to the recruitment. We've brought in players who aren't ready for regular Championship football so now we are trying fill round holes with square pegs.
Remember the Howson, Crooks, Mowatt 3. The most dynamic midfield in the history of championship football.
 
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