Enough of Commercial concerns for a while let’s have a Footie debate.
Coo - Baras - Pritchard - Spearitt - Kierney - Brownhill.
6 tremendous players this season - but what is the best combination and why ?
Personally i think sooner or later Kearney will get in and stay there. But for the moment i would go for;
Coo - Spearitt Pritch - Brownhill
Tom and Pritch played together when he had a good run of clean sheets, and i would like to see them get another run of games.
However, none of the options currently available to JV come close to matching the current Robinson/Stuart partnership for the Supporters Team 
Much as it upsets me to agree with Robbo I think his is right;
Coo - Spearitt - Pritchard - Brownhill
Coo; is a ‘right full back’ and playing in position is always a good start. Only concern is that sometimes he looks better coming forward than putting in hard crunching tackles. That said he is very skillful footballer and a definite good signing this season. Thought he was superb at Leek.
Spearitt; At the start of the season I would not have thought that Tom’s name would have been in the list. Don’t get me wrong he is incredibly reliable and a great lad too, but I thought he might struggle to get in the side this season. I have always believed Tom looks better at centre-half than right back. His work ethic is superb.
Pritch; Legend. He seldom has an off game. I think his distribution out of defence has improved this season, he is composed to the extent that he plays the simple ball out wide or through the middle. Concerned that sometimes he is going to get beaten for pace with some of the league’s quicker strikers but if this is the case he just needs to play a little deeper off them.
Brownhill; One of the best left backs at this level without doubt and a real asset going forward. Liam is another that rarely has a bad game and he is also one of the quickest we have on the pitch. Love to see him race up on the overlap, teams can’t deal with it.
So what of the Barras/Kearney;
Kearney; a good footballer and very versatile (which ironically may not help him this season to keep a steady place). I believe he is best in midfield (probably in the MacPherson type role) where he deals with the ugly stuff to allow Lloyd to push forward. Unfortunately I think Brown and Lloyd are still our best two in centre mid and with MacPherson now in the ranks it is concerning that Kearney may be restricted to the bench (due to his versatility) and for injury cover.
Barras; still a rock at the back, however I think the early season injury allowed Tom to get ‘up-to-speed’ with the pace of games and I think unfortunately that Tom & Pritch or Tom & Barras are the main options. Playing Pritch and Barras together may give too much away in terms of pace.
It is also about the combinations within the back four; Pritch is better on the left side of centre and has a good understanding with Liam. Likewise Tom (knowing the right back role) is developing a good relationship with Cav.
Above all we now have some cover and from the number of league goals conceded (and therefore our goal difference) it is obviously working.
As much as i like Pritch i think there is a bit of sentimentality where he is concerned.
Barras wasn’t good on Saturday but there have been very few occasions when you could say that in the last 20 odd games. Pritch is constantly exposed by his lack of pace.
Personally i would go for
Coo - Kearney - Barras - Brownhill
…about Robinson/Stuart being the best option?! ;D
Pritch is the best centre-half you will see at this level - that’s not even up for discussion. Now if i take my rose-tinted glasses off… he’s still the best.
Can’t agree with you Thomas I am afraid but then no two people see exactly the same thing. Barras is a great player who has forgotten more about football than most players will ever know! But, between the three of Barras, Pritch and Spearitt the last two win for me. Ironically I don’t think that Pritch had his best of games at Leek and we conceded two goals as we know. Partly why I am saying Spearitt and Pritch as the combination, I think Tom brings some additional pace into the centre of defence.
It is not a case of rose tinted specs, there are many ‘good lads’ that don’t always get selected. Pritch is as good a player now as ever and gives us an extra force up front from corners and set pieces to far more extent than either Barras (despite hitting the post at Leek) and Spearitt do.
I’m on the fence with the Pritch/Barras choice but I find it hard to believe that so many people think Spearritt is a better footballer than Kearney, especially when so many were criticising him at the start of season (quite rightly)
Kearney will be a far better player than Tom - and that is coming from someone who rates Tom very highly. Tom is the sort of player you need at every club - and even more so at this level - as he always has a smile on his face round the club etc, always makes the effort to talk to the fans, and on the pitch he plays anywhere that is asked of him - often to his own disadvantage (hence people criticising him for not being a good enough rightback/leftback/centre mid - a redundent argument as those aren’t his position!!). But Keanrey is ‘one for the future’, whereas Tom has experience at this level - infact more so than Tony, as Tony has only had 1 season at Unibond level whereas Tom has a few now. I know not everyone was watching Witton during Tom’s first season, but my personal opinion was that he was our best defender that year. Unfortunately up until a few weeks ago he never got a long enough stint in his natural position to build on that. Ironically now that he has had that opportunity - and taken it! - he has found himself pushed out again. But again it is credit to the lad that he’s got on with what has been asked of him, and it is very rare you see Tom mouthing off or complaining.
Very valid points Mark
I was one of those to criticise but much in the same way that Profitt is working hard to prove himself I believe that Tom did the same in the early part of the season. When Barras was injured at Lincoln Tom was brought straight back into the starting line up.
If any proof of the point was needed we conceded 3 goals in the opening 10 league games!!!
As Lloyd Grossman would say "let’s look at the evidence"…
Lincoln; Barras/Pritchard - Conceded 1 - Lost
Marine; Spearritt/Pritchard - Conceded 1 - Won
Stamford; Barras/Pritchard - Conceded 0 - Won
Kendal; Spearritt/Pritchard - Conceded 0 - Won
Eastwood; Spearritt/Pritchard - Conceded 0 - Won
Buxton; Spearritt/Pritchard - Conceded 0 - Won
Osset; Spearritt/Pritchard - Conceded 0 - Drew
Matlock; Spearritt/Pritchard - Conceded 0 - Won
Ilkeston; Spearritt/Barras - Conceded 0 - Won
Ashton; Barras/Pritchard - Conceded 1 - Won
Prescot; Barras/Pritchard - Conceded 1 - Won
Leek; Barras/Pritchard - Conceded 2 - Drew
Of the 6 conceded league goals the partnership of Spearritt/Barras conceded only 1 goal in the 6 games they started at the centre of defence. Since Barras/Pritchard have been the central pair we have conceded 4 goals in the games (the same pair also for the Lincoln game until TB went off).
Spearritt/Barras also (perhaps a little fortunately) kept a clean sheet at Ilkeston.
So the common denominator in all this would appear to be Tom Spearritt!!!
Knowledge is the bomb, I thank you!!!
Good debate this though and the most encouraging factor of the whole thing is just look at that list above and it shows the story of how well we have played this season so far!!!
Unfortuantly never the less all 6 of them are tremendus players, i would have to say.
coo, spearett, barass, brownhill
would love to include all of them in my desired defence but unfortunatly i believe pritchard lacks the pace that we need in this league personally i believe pritchard would make a far more better attacking midfielder any one agree?
kearny is all so at the time being a young and unexperianced player but will think he will be in my desired for next seasonand i can allways remeber his dismissal against telford last season.
And for the four i have picked for the first who can argue that these have had some wonderful appearences for the albion,
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pritchard would make a far more better attacking midfielder any one agree?[/quote]
No.
But again, everyone is entitled to their own opinion (even when they are wrong - joking)!
i would have coo - pritch - barrass - but im torn between brownhill and spearitt.
I don’t think pritch would be better off playing in attacking mid at all, why would he play better there?
I would say that Coo and Brownhill are the first choice fullbacks (although don’t forget about Royle) then any two from four, One opinion I do have though is after Christmas I would like to see Kearney and Spearitt played together a little more as a look at next years pairing?
Kearney and Spearitt as a pairing i think is definately something worth looking into, with a bit of practise and experience it could become worthwile to see them playing together and what they’re like working with each other.
Spearritt and Pritch kept five consecutive clean sheets, we won 4 and drew 1.
I can’t help wondering what more a central defensive pairing needs to do before being considered the first choice???
And Pritch weighs in with goals at the other end too… Has no one thought of Pritch as an attacking left-back? Brownhill would be much better upfront, and Warlow is surely a fantastic shot-stopper?! Before you know it some bright spark will be suggesting that Greg is a striker
has to be coo - spearritt - pritch -borwnhill, i think it was the rabbitwho mentioned it but with toms understandin of the right hand side of the game and pritch linking well with brownhill and then brownhill for me is just a great left back then that is what has to go!
Coo, Pritch, Spearitt, Brownhill for me. Pritch in Midfield !! do you want to kill him.
brilliant result and display from kearny and barass 2nite never thought of them to as a pair but it worked well done vince