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Newport v Rovers

Newport v Rovers
Posted by Ian
Rodney Parade
Saturday, April 6, 2019 - 03:00 PM
Until: Saturday, April 6, 2019 - 05:00 PM
(Adjusted for timezone: Europe/London)
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Jason Koumas / John Morrissey
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Whilst I agree that Mullin could be getting more game time as he seems more effective coming off the bench, I’m not too surprised as we are in a much better position (and have a better ST ahead of him) than say he’s been in the last few seasons with Morecambe and Swindon.

Little contradictory for me to say I know but I’m sure the coaching staff have had their reasons for not opting for him at times.
I would agree that Mullin's absence has not really hindered us.
 
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Norwood never seems to get substituted either. It sounded like he was ineffective at Oldham and there have been games where we’ve been well ahead or totally out of it and he could have been taken out of the firing line, but it doesn’t happen. Given how crucial he is for us, that surprises me a little.

Unlike Pringle and Dagnall, Mullin is contracted to Rovers next season, so it does baffle me that he’s being given no game time at all. Swindon, he ended up being mostly played on the wing, but their fans were generally positive when we bought him. Thought he’d done ok at Morecambe?
I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill here. The Pringle issue is a bit of a concern, but we are having a fantastic season irrespective of which of the sub strikers the manager prefers. Maybe Mellon simply rates Dagnall more highly than Mullin having now seen them both at close quarters ? In the case of Norwood, he is naturally very fit and it is obvious to see why you would want to keep him on the pitch, particularly in a game we are losing.
 

Boz

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Iain Hume
I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill here. The Pringle issue is a bit of a concern, but we are having a fantastic season irrespective of which of the sub strikers the manager prefers. Maybe Mellon simply rates Dagnall more highly than Mullin having now seen them both at close quarters ? In the case of Norwood, he is naturally very fit and it is obvious to see why you would want to keep him on the pitch, particularly in a game we are losing.
My remarks were made in the context of Sparky's regarding Jennings not being substituted. Both Jennings and Norwood are hard to replace, but in different ways. I don't think there's an obvious replacement for Jennings; take him off and we have to play in a different way, to match his work-rate and versatlilty. There are players at the club closer to Norwood in terms of role, but nowhere near as good. Where I do think there's an argument for taking off Norwood are those where we're winning comfortably, like Carlisle last weekend, or those where there is no hope of getting back into the game such as Mansfield away. Then you minimise the risk of him being unavailable for a game where his presence could make the difference.

Micky seems to prefer Dagnall to Mullin, for reasons unknown, but hasn't given Chris much game time either.
 
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Where I do think there's an argument for taking off Norwood are those where we're winning comfortably, like Carlisle last weekend, or those where there is no hope of getting back into the game such as Mansfield away.
Yes, I agree with that. However, Norwood probably wants to play every minute in the form he is in, and keeping him on the pitch helps to keep him happy and the goals flying in. Similar to Kane coming off the bench for Spurs a few months ago when the game was already dead.

Goal difference could also be crucial this season, and ours is not that great compared to several of our promotion rivals.
 

Boz

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Yes, I agree with that. However, Norwood probably wants to play every minute in the form he is in, and keeping him on the pitch helps to keep him happy and the goals flying in. Similar to Kane coming off the bench for Spurs a few months ago when the game was already dead.

Goal difference could also be crucial this season, and ours is not that great compared to several of our promotion rivals.
Yes, you're right. Just my in-built pessimism fearing that we might lose Nors for one of the key games coming up.
 

Ian

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You can also be a bit too cautious. Look at Kane. They weren't happy bringing him on incase he got injured and then is out for weeks injured in training. You just never know. Keep him on for the goals.
 

Ian

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