HAPPY BIRTHDAY 2 WES

[mozartfox]

3 hours ago, Vardinio'sCat said:

 

Don't you feel a bit of a twinge as you post that? I wouldn't describe you as a fan of his (at least not for the past 18 months or so), and the one about he picks the team is probably your favourite joke, even when we have all heard it a hundred times.

 

I appreciate this is a bit of an awkward thread, given the absolute pasting Wes gets on here. I am more than ready for him to step back myself, but I have never really had the heart to stick the boot in to him, largely because (funnily enough) he doesn't pick the team, or the tactics.

 

Hopefully we can all stop talking about his matchday performances soon, as I believe would have happened if Evans had stayed fit.

 

Ps I've always thought that at least one pacy(ish) CB in a pairing is better, and is often paired with a big, physically dominant traditional (and slow) stopper. So I'm not unsympathetic to your desire for more pace. I liked Drago and would have stuck with him, although I have heard subsequently that he didn't really endear himself to the club, so it was probably better that he went after all.

 

 

 

Some fair comments.  Do you not wonder why it is, some players make one mistake and they are dropped, whilst others keep their place despite dropping shocking clangers on regular occasions?  This seems particularly relevant in the center of our defense for the past 18 months.  All very strange.

[SheppyFox]

New 5 year contract being written up as I type.

[foxy boxing]

Should we make it a double Birthday/retirement celebration

[mozartfox]

37 minutes ago, SheppyFox said:

New 5 year contract being written up as I type.

And why not?  The last 4 years would be in the Championship.

[Japanfox]

Wes is a legend.  A blue and he hates forest.    HB Wes.   

[Analysethis]

What a privilege it must have been for Messi on this day!!

 

Wes is an absolute legend. What he and his team mates did for our club was nothing short of sensational but for me the way he skippered us we calmness and class gives us an insight to the man. Whatever autobiography or article I have read about the man all lead to huge compliments and a real affection for him. I just hope we convince him to stay on in some coaching capacity and phase him out of the first team over the coming months. He is 35 now and looking his age a bit and I wouldnt want him to be looked down upon like old Arsene did at Arsenal by staying that bit too long. He deserves 100% respect and the honour of winding down his career gracefully. 

[David Hankey]

Well done Wes and happy birthday for yesterday loyal servant.

[Dames]

I’m hoping that his Birthday has passed without news of a contract extension he might actually be leaving at the end of the season.

 

Don’t get me wrong he’s been a fantastic servant during our most successful time but its about time he moved on and we will be allowed to give 1 of the other CBs in our squad the chance to develop.  

[Vardinio'sCat]

16 hours ago, mozartfox said:

Some fair comments.  Do you not wonder why it is, some players make one mistake and they are dropped, whilst others keep their place despite dropping shocking clangers on regular occasions?  This seems particularly relevant in the center of our defense for the past 18 months.  All very strange.

 

I broadly agreed with you last year, that Drago and Maguire was the best pairing we saw, and I thought your points were fair comment then. But I saw some stuff more recently which slightly changed my view with regard to last season, although I cannot guarantee it was genuine info.

 

This year is slightly different, in that I'm reasonably confident that Wes is only really playing because Evans has struggled with getting fit and staying fit. Obviously there is Soyuncu too, and I expect to see more of him in the remaining games. I guess Caglar is being protected to give him the best possible chance of settling in well, and perhaps CP is waiting until we are mathematically safe before demoting Wes, because it has to happen before the end of the season, imho.

 

Obviously that is mainly speculation, and I know you see things differently. I just feel a bit sorry for Wes, and I know most of your criticism is directed at the selection as much as the player, but he often gets absolutely hammered on here, in the traditional FT way.

 

In terms of errors I think there is something to what you say, Wes has certainly been lucky that what I can only describe as 'trusted alternatives' haven't always been available this season, and maybe that was also the case last season, to a lesser extent.

 

My current hunch (with only hearsay to support it), was that Drago had already fallen out with someone at the club, before he got his proper chance through injury. So even though he played great, the bridges had already been burned.

 

 

 

 

[inckley fox]

He was awful on Saturday regardless of the goal but so were both DMs and the rest of the defence, bar Evans. If you watch that game back look out for how little comes from Chilwell's foraging runs, how often we were caught out because of them and how often he fails to put pressure on the ball as they slice through the left side of our back line. Maguire, Simpson, Mendy and Ndidi were all dreadful, so Morgan certainly wasn't alone.

 

Other than that, at 34-35 he's not only one of our greatest ever defenders, he's also been at the heart of one of the league's best defences nearly all season. A week ago he was one of our better performers and he was monumental in some of those Xmas games. If you look at all of our regular defenders, we concede less goals with Evans in the side, a lot more with Maguire in (1.4 compared to 0.8), but Morgan's presence hasn't been to any statistical detriment. You might even argue that he's outperformed Maguire for a lot of the campaign.

 

So yes, he's obviously on his way out, and perhaps the Wolves game is the clearest sign yet that the end is nigh - but I think we should be fair. To suggest that his selection has been seriously unjustified or that he's been our stand-out weak link is unjust.