The Red Knight wrote:I think Blinks gets a hard time on here and Newby is vastly over rated.
Raeyes, you say that "amazingly" Newby finds himself at part time Burton Albion but don't you think that says something about his ability to perform at this level that no one else has come in for him?
Also, the times that Newby got a chance in the team last year it was usually in a 442 formation where he got to play with a strike partner. How often was Blinkhorn given this opportunity? Not often and instead he had to battle for long balls from the back in a 451 formation against defenders that are much bigger than him with little support from midfield.
Once Blinks broke his duck at the end of December didn't he finish the season on 11 goals or something similar? That isn't a bad total for half a season in a team that wasn't exactly in great form.
Blinkhorn has more attributes to succeed in this league than Jon Newby does.
Will...not....bite....oh screw it; I can't resist. You, sir, are emitting noises from your rectal cavity.
Firstly, for pedantic reasons mainly, the majority of Newby's starts came in a 4-3-1-2 formation not, as you say, a 4-4-2. Whilst there may seem little difference between the two, as Carl Baker could be described as a floater (not particularly flattering, but hey), flitting between midfield and attack, I believe that there is a fundamental difference. You see it allowed us to play with, essentially, three central midfield players as opposed to two and, therefore, negates the need for wingers. The majority of the play, therefore, came through middle. It is a very different game from a 4-4-2 strategy which relied, perhaps, on Garry Thompson’s ability to get down the wing and whip balls in. Even in the 4-4-1-1 formation, Thompson’s crossing ability was tantamount to creativity – not the intricate passing through middle as the 4-3-1-2 demands - but Blinkhorn’s movement in the penalty area and his general intelligence on the field, was found out at this level.
It will not escape your attention that Newby occasionally partnered Blinkhorn also. Two of those games were away at Darlington and home against Rotherham. Newby scored a total of 4 goals in those two games whereas Blinkhorn scored one. Now I’m not saying Blinkhorn’s input wasn’t vital in those games (I think he and Newby worked extremely well together) but Newby’s goalscoring was, clearly, superior. I think he can justly feel hard done by (just as I think Michael Twiss can feel hard done by with regard to playing as a striker but, really, that is a different matter and I talk too much as it is) and, as Raeyes mentioned, perhaps the length of his contract was the defining factor as to why he wasn’t retained. That’s all speculation though; the hard facts, however, cannot be disputed and, in all competitions with the exception of the Lancashire Cup (because me having competitions between my most mouldy underwear attracts more viewers), they are:
Newby – 15 starts 10 goals
Blinkhorn – 41 starts 11 goals.
Please don’t assume that I am refusing to give Blinkhorn a chance this coming season, however. Shrimper raised some excellent points on the old board and, with the new signings and a year’s experience in the League under his belt he may well flourish. It is spurious, however, to say that, last season, Blinkhorn was undervalued and Newby was overrated, in my opinion anyway.
Anyway, back to searching for my invitation to a party hosted by the Blinkhorns. Must have got delayed in the post….
Posted: Thu Jul 03, 2008 7:59 pm
