Elliot Watt

It is, we didn’t offer enough. Now your next question should be why.

 

Every player has their value, I have no issue with not bending over backwards to keep him. It’s not a prime Nahki Wells we’re talking about, he was decent but not irreplaceable and someone who will fire you to promotion.

Interesting side note, but going off Rogers comments on him and Parker’s tweet last night plus his story on Watt which at times seems almost sarcastic when mentioning clubs higher up I am wondering if Watt had an over inflated opinion of himself? I never met him so couldn’t comment but Roger and Parker I imagine will have had dealings with him so would be in a better position to know.

 

Did Parker write that?

Anyway back to the point…we won’t miss him!

 

Deliberate .MH made him an offer he had to refuse, called his bluff, got compensation in the process. That’s why imho.

 

Potentially runners up according to the bookies?

It’s wait and see.

 

He did.

 

A big article for him…… Not that I disagree with it by the way.

 

I honestly think that when it came down to it in the end, his options were quite limited. All the talk of there being interest from multiple clubs higher up the pyramid was nothing more than his agent trying to drum up some sort of bidding war that never materialised. Yes he'll have got himself a pay rise of some sort and will have less of a commute, but I wouldn't be surprised if Salford were the only club that made him a genuine offer.

 

And us of course!

 

Just read the Watt article in the T&A the bit I found strange was this comment by Watt.

“The big thing for me was I wanted a fresh start and also to play under a coach who I felt can improve me.
“The gaffer was a big part with the players he’s developed at Man United. I spoke to him and he was massive for why I chose to come here.”

Hasn’t he been keeping tabs on league 2 and Salford. ‘The gaffer’ will be lucky to last a full season.

if he wanted to improve as a player he would have been better staying out. Anyway, good luck to the lad he had some good moments for City.

 

I agree. Gilliead doesn't play the Hollywood passes that Watt does, but he has other attributes. He is Mr Perpetual motion; he has quick feet and can beat a man; he can pass and then move for a return much better than Watt could; he's a better tackler than Watt (admittedly that's a very low bar).
With Smallwood beside/behind him he'll have licence to buzz around in attacking central midfield as he likes to do (even when supposedly playing on the wing ). His big downside is that he lacks end product when playing further forward but that should be less of an issue if he's got goalscorers ahead of him.
I think, with all the skillful players we now have, that we are going to see a lot less need for the quarterback role that Watt liked to play. I think we'll see ball carriers, wingers running at defenders and lots of intricate interpassing to create chances. Gilliead fits as the midfield linkman in that system far better than Watt would

 

It will be interesting to see how Hughes envisages the line up with all the new faces at the club. I think there are players who will start every game barring injury such as Smallwood, Odusina, Walker, Chapman, Lewis and Angol. That leaves five places up for grabs in the starting eleven dependant on what formation he goes with, kinda exciting to see what develops.

 

Agree, something I have been alluding to for a couple of days. I’d add Ridehalgh to that list, steady and away Mr dependable who can wang in a cross.Dion if he arrives, I can see him being a 70 min man. As you say the rest up for grabs. A rich selection of choices all very keen to do well when they come on.
What I fail to see, at any time , is our youngsters breaking through?

 

I think Angol will be managed closely. He'll rarely play 90 mins and when we get into a period of Saturday/Tuesday for several weeks, I think he'll miss the odd one. We'll aim to keep him fit for 2/3 of games in a manner that we control rather than lose him for a 3 month period due to his hamstrings going.

 

I’d do what Cambridge did with Wes Hoolahan and let him miss Tursday games and monitor his minutes. I’d rather him not be available for 25% of games than getting injured and missing 75%.

 

Part of the plan in a nutshell for the entire squad, depending on opponents etc etc. It’s a proven Mark Hughes philosophy as someone pointed out a few weeks ago ( @Jordan ?)

 

Yeah I like Ridehalgh, very consistent and works well with a decent wide player.

 

Despite all the signings Angol is still pivotal to how successful we could be. You can tell Hughes rates him, with being a strong striker himself with great hold up player in his playing days, Angol brings some of those attributes to the game himself, albeit at a lower level.

 

He's not prolific, but he's mobile, got good technique and link up play, he's tall and pretty strong. He can run behind or come short. He's the ideal central, sole striker in a 4231.

 

It's a good job none of us had affinity with the current team, because Hughes is doing a fine job of dismantling the crap successive managers since Stuart left (second spell) have signed.