Most liked posts in thread: Liam Ridehalgh

Looks like the same manager that benched him let automatic promotion slip, got the sack and then Ridehalsh was brought back in for play offs.
Most of tranmere fans praise him.

 

Honest question: did you think Morecambe's promotion team was much better?

 

He certainly gives us options of reverting back to a standard back 4 but not as a “wingback”.

 

I think whether or not be is first choice will be down to the way we set up. The "initial" one year contract is probably down to fitness concerns and the injury he was carrying at the backend of last season clearing up.

 

A decent back line that lacked an individual with any pace could not defend crosses, corners that cost us goals and on top of that added only a few goals to our goal for column. I would like to see an addition(s) that will improve us in these areas.

 

Me too. Ridehalgh, Gilliead are 2 players I dont mind but they are the 2 players in our first 11 that need improving on before anyone else.

 

I'd say because Ridehalgh is steady nothing more, we do need better to progress, Foulds looks to be on his way and Odour doesn't look to be a natural LB! Think he'll be deployed as a winger. A better LB needed in my opinion

 

Because Ridehalgh isn't good enough as I've said multiple times on this thread already.

 

You can say it as many times as you like…it doesn’t make you right. I have said myself it will probably for back up, but a left full back isn’t a priority at the expense of other positions as yet.

It’s already been said by the club we will be going for a smaller squad yet you want multiple left backs , why when we have three or perhaps four on the books already capable of playing in that role.

 

Or poor application to the coaching?
You can take a horse to water………?

 

So it’s NOT a priority after all and it wasn’t our weakest position either. It’s was the left side of the front three …we had no decent left sided outlet for half a season.

 

Explain how in terms of fouls per match, Ridehalgh was better than Halliday - if LB is such a weak spot.

You might have considered as "clearly our weakest area" plenty disagree.

Let's not pretend that the defence were at fault for the failure. If you concede less than a goal a game, you should be going up. They did their job, more or less, as good as any defence. It would be madness to have got rid of him.

 

You seem to be obsessed with that statistic. I personally couldn't care less how many fouls he gives away as there are more accurate criteria to judge a fullback on. Interceptions, tackle success rate, passing accuracy, chance creation, assists, cross completion, dribbles completed just to name a few. How does he rank in these areas?

And you're right defence is not where we fell down, attack is. And as a modern day fullback he is part of that and didn't contribute anywhere near enough in that department nor never looked like doing so.

 

There is where we disagree re LB

 

He’s not my god what a comment

 

Nope. That might have been the case earlier in the season. But we had settled in a 4231 formation, with Gilliead and Smallwood as DMs and Chapman, Walker and Banks playing behind Cook. We were winning games with that formation and lineup and really starting to look like the autos were on the cards. Then Chapman got injured and it all went to pot. MH tried other options on the left but all were hopeless, so he he switched back to the diamond out of necessity. The loss of an adequate deputy on the left was a much bigger problem than Ridehalgh at left back. It basically cost us auto promotion.

 

Bang on Kev. Why waste the budget on a left back we don't need when what we need is pacey support for Andy Cook, a younger version of Adam Clayton and a replacement for Scott Banks. A few key signings and we shouldn't be far off where we need to be.
It was interesting that City and Leyton Orient scored the same number of league goals last season but Orient conceded nine fewer. As frustrating (and disappointing) as it was last season we weren't far off from where we need to be, a few key additions plus possibly a couple of contracted players moving on and we'll be good to go.
Personally once I've had my Ashes cricket fix I'll be ready to go again, full of hope and expectation.

 

Not you Wilsden