Wotton and Walton the best midfield in Division 2

At the request of Greenjock I am starting a thread so I thought lets start off with something that everybody will agree with.
Since Wotton's return the side has become much more stable, well organised and difficult to beat.
There are complaints that they are not playmakers but how many Glenn Hoddle's grace division 2.
They say they pass the ball sideways or back too often. Well when we have the ball the opposition cannot score and besides David Batty and Ray Wilkins made careers playing this way.
Walton does have vision but he has had so much stick he has gone back into his shell where as before Christmas he was MOM on a number of occasions.
They will serve us well under CF next year.

The 2 of them together are far too immobile and are essentially the same player. Unfortunately with them in the centre of midfield there is very little ambition to push forward and on the rare occasions that they do, they struggle to get back. This is the reason that our midfield gets by passed and the long aimless balls get pumped upfield. Trouble is they are all we've got at the minute.

Only saw him play once but was impressed by Young's touch. What's happened to him ?

Tringreen wrote:

Only saw him play once but was impressed by Young's touch. What's happened to him ?

Good point. Not sure he's been given a real chance in the middle yet, maybe now we're essentially safe Fletcher will start to be a bit more expressive in his tactics and team selections.

Walton and Wotton are not a good match........not able to motor foreward and support the front men.

Walton blames everyone else when things go wrong for him......not up to it,not up to being Captain and not up to being in the team.

The future is players like Young....why isn't he in the squad at present ?

ZYPH wrote:

Walton and Wotton are not a good match........not able to motor foreward and support the front men.

Walton blames everyone else when things go wrong for him......not up to it,not up to being Captain and not up to being in the team.

The future is players like Young....why isn't he in the squad at present ?

I don't know the reason but maybe because he is too lightweight.
In this division you need people who can put there foot in and after seeing them get pulverised at Oxford it was obvious that our midfield just weren't up to the task.
You can have all the fancy dans you like but you need strength and that is something Young lacks.
I will concede that the two W's are not the most mobile but since they have been playing together we have looked a very solid unit.
This is division 2 we are talking about so we have to expect some limitations on what is served up.

gasser9 wrote:

ZYPH wrote:

Walton and Wotton are not a good match........not able to motor foreward and support the front men.

Walton blames everyone else when things go wrong for him......not up to it,not up to being Captain and not up to being in the team.

The future is players like Young....why isn't he in the squad at present ?

I don't know the reason but maybe because he is too lightweight.
In this division you need people who can put there foot in and after seeing them get pulverised at Oxford it was obvious that our midfield just weren't up to the task.
You can have all the fancy dans you like but you need strength and that is something Young lacks.
I will concede that the two W's are not the most mobile but since they have been playing together we have looked a very solid unit.
This is division 2 we are talking about so we have to expect some limitations on what is served up.

I thought that Young looked the only class act for us at Oxford. The ability to position himself, receive a pass and turn in one movement and look up for options. Trouble was, he had nobody to give it to

Good to see you don't just criticise Gasser.

I think either one of Wotton or Walton is enough. Both together are slow are predictable. I thought Young was the answer, and maybe he is with more experience. If Macdonald, or someone similar plays next season, then a creative midfielder with Wotton would be my idea. In fact if the funds are there, a younger version of Wotton and a creative midfielder.

Conor Clifford, is the man we need

the current 2 are awful, they dont do anything

monti wrote:

Conor Clifford, is the man we need

the current 2 are awful, they dont do anything

Now your talking Monti. Someone along those lines again from a Premier League club, oodles of potential and wanting to get games under their belt on loan.

Tringreen wrote:

Only saw him play once but was impressed by Young's touch. What's happened to him ?

I still think he's slightly overrated, he looked woeful when on against Hereford. Saying that, I have seen him for the reserves a couple times and he looks so much better in the middle.

Wotton is an average L2 player
Walton is just generally cack

Greenjock, this lad matches your description surely?

Tom Hitchock? LOL, that lad was absolute SHITE and he was a cocky little turd who loved getting into arguments with other players at training, I remember seeing Sean Reid give him a good yelling at up at marjons, so funny. Yet he's still rated our best player on football manager from the start of the season. Honestly that lad was utterly dreaful.

But agree about Clifford.

Hitchcock has just been signed by QPR. I think Young is going to be an excellent player and he's already the best crosser of a ball that we have at the club. He's going to have to get used to playing wide because he's not big enough to play in the middle unless we build a team around him which I wouldn't do because he's not that good.

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Hitchcock has just been signed by QPR. I think Young is going to be an excellent player and he's already the best crosser of a ball that we have at the club. He's going to have to get used to playing wide because he's not big enough to play in the middle unless we build a team around him which I wouldn't do because he's not that good.

Hitchcock's dad is goalkeeping coach at QPR I believe, he'll be out on loan to some non league club in no time.

Block4Green wrote:

Greenjock, this lad matches your description surely?

Tom Hitchock? LOL, that lad was absolute SHITE and he was a cocky little turd who loved getting into arguments with other players at training, I remember seeing Sean Reid give him a good yelling at up at marjons, so funny. Yet he's still rated our best player on football manager from the start of the season. Honestly that lad was utterly dreaful.

But agree about Clifford.

"Hitchcock has just been signed by QPR"

He may have been a bit bemused by the tinpot outfit he had just joined on loan Cobi. I was at the Shrewsbury game on the opening day of the season, and all I can recall about him was that he seemed much livelier than Feeney who partnered him up front, but they both looked lightweight. That pretty much summed up 90% of our squad at that time though.

As he is still only 19, I'm sure he wouldn't mind a 15yr old saying "Honestly that lad was utterly dreadful", about his first few games in professional football

So QPR have snapped him up? He must have something about him, unless it's just a case of his father being an ex-pro opening doors for him.

Greenjock wrote:

Block4Green wrote:

Greenjock, this lad matches your description surely?

Tom Hitchock? LOL, that lad was absolute SHITE and he was a cocky little turd who loved getting into arguments with other players at training, I remember seeing Sean Reid give him a good yelling at up at marjons, so funny. Yet he's still rated our best player on football manager from the start of the season. Honestly that lad was utterly dreaful.

But agree about Clifford.

"Hitchcock has just been signed by QPR"

He may have been a bit bemused by the tinpot outfit he had just joined on loan Cobi. I was at the Shrewsbury game on the opening day of the season, and all I can recall about him was that he seemed much livelier than Feeney who partnered him up front, but they both looked lightweight. That pretty much summed up 90% of our squad at that time though.

As he is still only 19, I'm sure he wouldn't mind a 15yr old saying "Honestly that lad was utterly dreadful", about his first few games in professional football

So QPR have snapped him up? He must have something about him, unless it's just a case of his father being an ex-pro opening doors for him.

Better be careful here,Jock. I seem to recall Cobi spending a lot of posting time last season telling the world how crap Joe Mason was.I bet Cardiff regret not listening to his advice,eh.

Walton and Wotton? No pace.I would say that this is definitely an area that needs to be addressed next season,wouldn't be surprised if Walton was on his way to make room for a new signing,preferably two.He does have talent [i seem to remember Benitez making a hefty bid for him when he was a youngster at Leeds] but has lost his way since-too much,too young? You can't honestly say that his stay down here has been a productive one,i think under normal circumstances,he would have been on his way last season if Argyle could have found a buyer,difficult on his wages though.Shame he got that bad injury when he was on loan at Sheff Utd-could have been a good move for all.

There seems to be a theme on Walton matters right now and mostly it is asking for opinions of his worth albeit this time it includes his pairing with Wotton. I wasn't going to bother putting an opinion on this one as gasser9 doesn't rate my thoughts much but then again do I care I thought so here goes.

I gave my opinion of Walton previously which is he is not even a footballer in my view. Don't like anything about him apart from his penalty taking but as this isn't American Football we can't just put him on for that event and take him off again. Wotton lacks ability and always has but he makes up for it with graft and heart. Two words slightly alien to Walton. There are no Glen Hoddles in this league but there are a few who seem to think they are he. Walton puts in occasional effort and reasonable performances. He shows occasionally some caring but none of it is enough nor consistent and he certainly isn't a Captain. He could not lead a dog in the right direction let alone a team of players.

The Defence should we keep them are good enough for this league and are gelling into a solid outfit. Bound to be some mistakes or else nobody would ever score against anyone else but generally theyh are now sound. Midfield is a problem and I do like Young who tries and tries even though sometimes his efforts are misplaced. There would never be a place in my side for Walton so as a pairing they just don't work. We need somebody to break up play in front of the Defence and spoil. That would be Wotton for me. We then need somebody to pick a pass and direct the play. It might be Young with more experience but I would make that position a priority for getting in a new face who can do a Friio job. Getting rid of Walton would allow money for this so it's goodbye to him from me.

Simon Walton was never the same player since his comeback from a serious injury.He now lacks the pace and aggression so essential to his style of play so will never lead from the front and will rarely if ever win MOM awards.Takes a good penalty and can score with either feet but I feel his best years are behind him,(sic).Same you could say for Paul Wotton......

Just one flaw in that argument Oddball if I may say so. Walton is how old? 25 I think so how the feck are his best years behind him? He hasn't peaked yet in football terms. Wotton at least has the excuse of years in. Please remember that Walton was shit before his injury which is why he was shipped out on loan for ever and ever. It was only because of his injury that he came back here and the fact we only had a few players left that he stayed.

SG dont think that POV is flawed at all.One could say that Simon peaked too early,because I cant see many clubs queueing up for his signature from the way he is playing at the moment.Hopefully Argyle will release him at the end of the season.Your POV seems to say that he still has his best years in front of him but is Sh*t nevertheless,Weird.

No I'm not. I am saying that he SHOULD have his best years ahead of him but that he is shit and isn't a footballer worthy of the name anyway. He must have peaked at 15 or 16 and it lasted all of a year. Once he really started playing football in earnest it became clear he was crap. He was pants before he was injured and is still pants now. Most players peak in their mid to late 20's. He is at that age now so if this is as good as he will ever get then he should hang his boots up and try something else for a living.

I'd forgotten how young he is. Still only 24? Seems so long ago we bought him. I know that it was a club record fee at the time, maybe still is, and I was thinking at the time that we were finally showing some ambition.

I'm not sure if it makes it better or worse that he is just 24. I honestly thought of him as only slightly younger than Wotton, maybe because he was out for so long and away on loan most of the time he was with us prior to breaking his leg. I do remember Sturrock going beserk when he got sent off once, and made it very public what he thought of Walton.

If it's true that he is staying on after this season on a reduced wage, read that on here or Pasoti recently, then do we need Wotton as well? At least nobody could accuse Wotton of lacking in passion for Argyle, but if they are to be our midfield pairing again next season I can't see our style changing too much.

gasser9 wrote:

Since Wotton's return the side has become much more stable, well organised and difficult to beat.

Such limited players as Wotton might be effective in a side full of non achievers and wimps who sit 35 (THIRTY FIVE) points behind their insignificant little neighbours down the road, but would be lucky to even get on the bench in side containing quality passers of the ball like Eunan O'Kane or high tempo, free scoring and mobile "engines" like Lee Mansell.

Someone told me the best way to get Wotton to get some speed in his boots was to chase him with a water pitcher ~ would that be right?

As for Walton, never heard of him; if he's THAT good what's his team doing scruffing around down the bottom all season then and why is he named after a prison in Liverpool?

merse wrote:

gasser9 wrote:

Since Wotton's return the side has become much more stable, well organised and difficult to beat.

Such limited players as Wotton might be effective in a side full of non achievers and wimps who sit 35 (THIRTY FIVE) points behind their insignificant little neighbours down the road, but would be lucky to even get on the bench in side containing quality passers of the ball like Eunan O'Kane or high tempo, free scoring and mobile "engines" like Lee Mansell.

Someone told me the best way to get Wotton to get some speed in his boots was to chase him with a water pitcher ~ would that be right?

As for Walton, never heard of him; if he's THAT good what's his team doing scruffing around down the bottom all season then and why is he named after a prison in Liverpool?

Never heard of him? He's from a big family who live up in them thar mountains.

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Sensiblegreeny wrote:

Just one flaw in that argument Oddball if I may say so. Walton is how old? 25 I think so how the feck are his best years behind him? He hasn't peaked yet in football terms. Wotton at least has the excuse of years in. Please remember that Walton was shit before his injury which is why he was shipped out on loan for ever and ever. It was only because of his injury that he came back here and the fact we only had a few players left that he stayed.

Oddball is saying his best years are behind him due to injury isn't he not anything to do with his age. Of course a player would normally be expected to peak at something like 25 to 29, strikers sometimes on the younger side and defenders sometimes on the higher side. I fail to see how Walton is going to get any better after his injuries and a mid table league 2 team is about his level now. Wotton is nothing like the player who skippered us to the league 2 title with a points record and a dozen or so goals from centre half in his peak years. His legs have almost gone, he is running on experience and know how to a large extent now and despite being what we needed now I fail to see how he will be much more than a bit part player next season if we want to seriously push for the play offs or promotion.