A view on Rawlinson...

[Piethagoram]

 

[liampie]

i think connell rawlinson would be fine in the right game.

he still has a big part to play in our squad, but games like mk dons, wrexham [as we saw last season] and those bigger games where quicker, more creative teams play. he might not be the best option to play. his awareness falls short, along side his lacking pace in these types of games. its the accrington stanley, grimsby town type teams, where you need someone with no fear and can be physical that he thrives in.

i wished luke williams would acknowledge that we need to try something different if a game comes which does not suite rawlinson to start. maybe as a sub things would be different but certainly not to start. there are games he will be fine and there are games that he should not be near the starting 11.

[Piethagoram]

Tuesday night may give a chance to both Tipton and Macari to start, as a back 3 with Chicksen

[Piethagoram]

I think Notts had already identified the Centre back shortcomings. Social media filled with rumours of Stevenage's Terence Vancooten and Drogheda's Conor Keeley. neither of which Notts landed

[DangerousSausage]

1 hour ago, Piethagoram said:

I think Notts had already identified the Centre back shortcomings. Social media filled with rumours of Stevenage's Terence Vancooten and Drogheda's Conor Keeley. neither of which Notts landed

I believe Keeley is out of contract in December, so the club may have another go then.

[menzinho]

He wasn't that bad over the course of the whole game, it's probably his first game where he's made a big mistake all season. Lots questioned Brindley after his performance v Sutton, now he's probably one of the first names on the team-sheet. Players are going to have off days every now and again. At the same it's good we're not over reliant on him either, we've got good competition for the CB roles now, I hope both Macari and Tipton get play against Wolves and show what they can do.

4 hours ago, DangerousSausage said:

I believe Keeley is out of contract in December, so the club may have another go then.

And we've only signed Macari until January too, makes me think getting Keeley is still plan a. 

[TheSkipper]

Others are to blame, not just Connell Rawlinson, but it was his responsibility to mark the MK Dons player closely. There’s a point where he looks back towards the ball, and I think that’s when he realised the mistake he had made. I don’t think anyone needs to launch a hate campaign because Rawlinson will own this, but it’s for Luke Williams to realise he’s not always the best option.

[lambleypie]

Connell Rawlinson often receives a significant amount of negative criticism, some of which is understandable, but some is not. This is why I avoid social media; fans are quick to cheer for a player one moment and then turn on them the instant a mistake is made. Defensively, Rawlinson could have performed better, as could other players. Aidan Stone shouldn’t have been beaten; it was a well-placed strike, but it seemed as though he waited for it to happen before reacting. Stone is by no means largely at fault; my point is that everyone could have performed better, yet only Rawlinson is criticised.

[allardyces tash]

Connell Rawlinson found himself caught between two hard places and lacked the speed to return to a defensive position. Ideally, someone else would have had the foresight to move forward and attempt to close the gap, allowing Rawlinson to stick with his man. It’s a team error.

1 hour ago, menzinho said:

And we've only signed Macari until January too, makes me think getting Keeley is still plan a. 

Indeed, I share your thoughts. It would be quite pleasing to think that we’ve secured a deal to bring him on board. While I don’t doubt that Connell Rawlinson could perform well in certain matches, the addition of a stronger, quicker defender would certainly be welcome.

[Fozzy]

15 minutes ago, allardyces tash said:

While I don’t doubt that Connell Rawlinson could perform well in certain matches, the addition of a stronger, quicker defender would certainly be welcome.

Certainly would, but I don’t think Keeley is blessed with pace either. Can see two centre halves being on the shopping list for January, any other recruitment will only be because of long term injuries.

I like Rawlo, he’s a no nonsense, old fashioned centre half and I would rather have him up against a strong centre forward than any of our other defenders. The issue is his lack of pace. Yesterday, he should have seen that nobody was moving towards Harvie and gone himself, he had to gamble really and hope that he could either make the tackle or force a misdirected pass.

[Richo]

Doesn’t think quick enough now he’s up against slightly better players . I was disappointed that they didn’t upgrade the defence during the transfer window 

[Nay123]

Massive mistake by the manager not bringing someone in  that was ready to play from the off. Rawlinson was court out on the right lods of times last season and in pre season friendlies I don't blame Rawlinson its father time catching up.

[Piethagoram]

@Nay123 saying "Massive mistake by the manager not bringing someone in  that was ready to play from the off."

Notts did try but no deals were completed forever reason...

My earlier comment: "I think Notts had already identified the Centre back shortcomings. Social media filled with rumours of Stevenage's Terence Vancooten and Drogheda's Conor Keeley. neither of which Notts landed"

[Joshua]

We often fall into the trap of blaming individual players instead of the team as a whole. Yes, Connell Rawlinson made a poor judgement early on and wasn’t in the best position when marking, but no one else had the foresight to cover the gap. This is something we should instruct our faster players to do. I also believe that Luke Williams recognises that Rawlinson has a role within our squad but should perhaps consider which teams he would be most effective against. Richard Brindley in the centre of the back three works well, but we need to practise for situations when the defence is split like this; someone else can provide cover.

[Chris]

I really think there's a time and place for Connell, however there are things we can do to limit the aspects of his defending which can be caught out.

The inconsistencies in things like this sometimes baffles me, as I remember when Enzio Boldewijn was labelled lazy. People, including some of the former managers, defended him. Whilst some fans took it too far. There's no excuse or reason why Enzio couldn't defend and towards the end of his time I do feel he made significant improvements.

My point then was that we defend and attack as a team, where Enzio was just a luxury player that I always did feel we would improve further without him at the club.

This doesn't mean I didn't like him or appreciate him as a person. It's similar to how I felt about how we relied heavily on Cal Roberts. Making him our focal point of a threat, made predictable and less creative elsewhere.

Yet the point here, I need to make, is that Rawlinson does have a role to play. He's a good player, who has a lot of heart and does prove his worth more than he makes mistakes. It's just that for me his mistakes get picked up on by some of those fans who take to criticising our players too far. It then persuades more and then, before you know, few people see that it's all about how to get the best out of players we have until their contracts end.

I personally think we need to be tighter, avoiding 'man marking' and just zonal mark or have some recovery style tactics where capable players look for the gaps which hasn't been picked up. There will be games Rawlinson's height and physical approach will give us strength. Whilst we lack the cover trusted to come in, we need to figure out how he can do what he does, without worrying about his pace. Defend as a team, just like we win as one.

[OoooooTommy]

I absolutely agree, Connell Rawlinson has a role in this squad but we need someone to alleviate the pressure off him when the teams have pace or are more energetic. I believe Rawlinson can manage against quality teams, it all hinges on their playing style and he might have assumed someone else was behind him. I don’t think he’s the type of player to shy away and feel defeated, but one who will persist in trying to give his best and I wish some fans would recognise this when they criticise him.

[Fozzy]

Tom Williams has highlighted the goal on his Twitter feed and it definitely looks like Crowley needs to shoulder just as much blame. Wrong pass choice and wrong place to press immediately afterwards. This opened up the field for Harvie, and forced the choice onto Rawlo as what to do.

[Piethagoram]

 

[Piethagoram]

I think I am out on my own here.. Rawlinson is the only player in  position to see what is happening  and fails to move to close down the space.

[NottsCountyKev]

I believe Rawlinson needed to fall back before making the run, but I think their player would have outpaced him. He demonstrated a decent amount of technical skill as well. We shouldn’t be too critical of him. Maybe Williams will reconsider which matches Rawlinson starts once the loan signings have acclimatised?

[theMagpies]

As for Connell Rawlinson, I concur with those who acknowledge his shortcomings without holding them against him. We’re aware of his weaknesses and understand that he will occasionally falter. However, over the season, he will get more right than wrong, and it’s up to Williams to keep the errors to a minimum. Even the MK Dons manager recognises that every player makes mistakes and encourages moving on from them.

[CliftonMagpie]

I don’t think Connell Rawlinson should bear the brunt of the blame. The issue of having three centre backs and wingers who often find themselves in attacking positions is a tactical challenge. This naturally makes it harder for the centre backs to mark effectively. While it’s a significant talking point, there’s no need to dramatise the situation. We played well for the most part and should accept this as part of the game. It’s time to move forward and focus on our next match.

[Ohh Tommy Johnson]

It's an interesting discussion.  I don't see enough live matches to form an opinion, and generally take the view that all the players will make mistakes, but some are more obvious than others and so commented on. We seem to react more to a chance given up / goal scored against than a chance missed at the other end.  If Macca had put away one or two of his chances (from the highlights at least 1 should have been put away), then we would have won the game, just as much as if Rawlinson had closed down the MKD player.  Mistakes are made all over the pitch, it seems unfair to highlight certain players.

[The Heff]

Blaming Connell Rawlinson may seem easier, but there are multiple explanations for what truly went wrong, and no single comment can be fully accurate. It's all about idealistic thinking, based on different scenarios. While it's great for discussions, points can be shaped to fit one's own thoughts, similar to why I don't dwell too much on statistics since they can be interpreted in various ways.

[AmericanPie]

It appears that acquiring a dependable centre-back could alleviate some of the pressure on Connell Rawlinson. There might be an appropriate time and situation to put him in the starting lineup. However, it's important to remember that Rawlinson is a valuable member of the team who, despite sometimes making costly mistakes, consistently performs well.