Lee Cox goes to Stevenage on loan

[HongKong Green]

Yeah, we could watch McHugh not being quite tall enough, not quite fast enough, not quite good enough. And, of course, watch Cox being not quite strong enough, not quite accurate enough, not quite good enough.

Croll has been here for what - 4 training sessions and 2 matches with Nelson and we expect a perfect partnership? He's what 19, 20? and we expect him to have the experience to cope with one of the most experienced forwards in the division...?

If Cox was the answer, the question hasn't been who's the best midfielder at Home Park for two seasons?

2 matches?
He's been here 3 games now in fact, he started poorly and has gotten progressively worse.
In any case when he did play at centre half Mchugh was superb in that position if memory serves and I believe he was exceptional in that position for Bradford too. So, in answer to your question, no we can't expect Croll to have the experience to handle the divisions most experienced attackers, whereas I would expect Mchugh to.

I'm struggling to understand this 'Croll bashing'. The young lad has been down here for less than two weeks. In fact, in the Exeter game I thought he looked solid and composed, particularly considering his debut came about in a derby match. Against Leyton Orient he created the chance for our equaliser by taking the shot that led to Nelson's rebound. He didn't have his best game at Dagenham, but the whole team weren't exactly on top form.

There is a reason he has been on the bench in the Premier League this season; let's give him a chance before writing him off. I think McHugh has proven his worth at CDM and feel our midfield is stronger having him there, rather than shuffling him back in at CB and plugging the midfield with someone else.

 

[Mazza26]

Yep agree Hongkong....also the thing is....
McHugh hasn't looked all that great with Boateng missing. I'm not suggesting that Boeteng made him look good but it was almost a perfect fit. A bit like when Hartley plays with Nelson. Hartley isn't exceptional by any means but the combo is pretty decent. We miss the Nelson Hartley duo and to be fair I do see some talent in Croll but he is young and lacks confidence...he has turned up with barely a minutes notice and been thrown straight into a side that has a load of injuries...it's funny because even other loanies like Tanner and Oscar don't look particularly inspiring when they've been playing without our key players. The point is we need our injured players to return and a replacement for Boateng!

 

[HongKong Green]

Yep agree Hongkong....also the thing is....
McHugh hasn't looked all that great with Boateng missing. I'm not suggesting that Boeteng made him look good but it was almost a perfect fit. A bit like when Hartley plays with Nelson. Hartley isn't exceptional by any means but the combo is pretty decent. We miss the Nelson Hartley duo and to be fair I do see some talent in Croll but he is young and lacks confidence...he has turned up with barely a minutes notice and been thrown straight into a side that has a load of injuries...it's funny because even other loanies like Tanner and Oscar don't look particularly inspiring when they've been playing without our key players. The point is we need our injured players to return and a replacement for Boateng!

Yes agree completely. McHugh hasn't looked the same without Boateng. I think they both complemented each other well; McHugh getting stuck in and breaking up the opposition play, with Boateng providing the engine room and propelling us forward, linking defence to attack. I think getting Boateng back or finding a similar replacement could define the rest of the season (something I don't think Simpson/Threlkeld/Cox can provide).

Similarly with Nelson and Hartley, as you say. It seems they have been playing long enough together in the team that they seem to 'get' each other, developing a relationship that takes many games to develop. I don't expect Croll to be able to replicate this connection with Nelson (at least not immediately), or to replicate the commanding nature of Hartley that we are missing right now. However as a short term replacement, I think we could do much worse.

 

[up the line]

Struggling to understand this Croll bashing?
He was completely at fault for Dagenhams goal where his challenge epitomised his limpid, almost disinterested performance and he was run ragged (and beaten for pace)by cureton, a guy twenty years older than him. I'm struggling to remember him completing a pass across 3 games I've seen him in.
I don't give a stuff whether he's sat on the bench once for Palace and played twice for Harrow Borough. I'd like to see us make better use of the resources at our disposal. McHugh and Bentley are both centre backs employed by the club already so I'm confused why we had to bring in a 20 year old with literally NO league experience.
Of course we all hope he comes good, but even if he does he won't be here as part of a settled squad for much more than the blink of an eye.

 

[SWTT]

Yeah, we could watch McHugh not being quite tall enough, not quite fast enough, not quite good enough.

What the fudging fudge? You realise you typed McHugh there right? Carl McHugh? You wrote that about Carl McHugh?

 

[Penmaster]

Yeah, we could watch McHugh not being quite tall enough, not quite fast enough, not quite good enough.

What the flipping flip? You realise you typed McHugh there right? Carl McHugh? You wrote that about Carl McHugh?

Carl McHugh is decent centre half and it is the position he has made his career so far. It appears Coll has struggled but I don't think he can really be blamed for that. It seems bizarre to put him into the team with no previous experience when McHugh is able to do a job at centre half.

The question is, 'is Cox better (at the moment) than Croll? ' for me, yes he is definitely. The only logic I can see (at pointed out by someone else) is that if Adams wants to get rid of Cox then a spell out on loan will increase the chance of this happening. I imagine that Cox is on reasonable money given he played a lot of his career at L1 level.

 

[HarlHM]

Yeah, we could watch McHugh not being quite tall enough, not quite fast enough, not quite good enough.

What the flipping flip? You realise you typed McHugh there right? Carl McHugh? You wrote that about Carl McHugh?

My thoughts exactly. :lol:

 

[Green as Grass]

I really think there is more to this loan than meets the eye. I prefer Cox to both Simpson and Threlkeld as I suspect many on here do. He has been clearly frozen out this season and I wonder if it goes back to when Derek Adams was managing Ross County and Lee Cox was playing for their big rivals Inverness. Their paths would certainly have crossed during this period. I feel sure there is a personality clash here.

 

[Penmaster]

I really think there is more to this loan than meets the eye. I prefer Cox to both Simpson and Threlkeld as I suspect many on here do. He has been clearly frozen out this season and I wonder if it goes back to when Derek Adams was managing Ross County and Lee Cox was playing for their big rivals Inverness. Their paths would certainly have crossed during this period. I feel sure there is a personality clash here.

I didn't know that and I think you may have just made sense of it all.

 

[Deacster]

Yeah, we could watch McHugh not being quite tall enough, not quite fast enough, not quite good enough.

What the flipping flip? You realise you typed McHugh there right? Carl McHugh? You wrote that about Carl McHugh?

Yeah the post lost credibility at that stage and I lost interest.

 

[Deacster]

I really think there is more to this loan than meets the eye. I prefer Cox to both Simpson and Threlkeld as I suspect many on here do. He has been clearly frozen out this season and I wonder if it goes back to when Derek Adams was managing Ross County and Lee Cox was playing for their big rivals Inverness. Their paths would certainly have crossed during this period. I feel sure there is a personality clash here.

I didn't know that and I think you may have just made sense of it all.

Indeed, my other thought was that he just didn't rate him and Cox had an appearance related auto contract renewal which was low, which would explain his lack of game time even when we've been short.

 

[Mark Pedlar]

Yeah, we could watch McHugh not being quite tall enough, not quite fast enough, not quite good enough.

What the flipping flip? You realise you typed McHugh there right? Carl McHugh? You wrote that about Carl McHugh?

Yes and I stand by it. He did well in a 3 but was ALWAYS the one left out when we went to a 2. Why?

A good centre back needs to be either very quick (Nelson), good in the air (Coughlan) or just good (Hartley/Wotton). McHugh is none of those and as others have said, he's better in midfield than Cox.

 

[SWTT]

Yeah, we could watch McHugh not being quite tall enough, not quite fast enough, not quite good enough.

What the flipping flip? You realise you typed McHugh there right? Carl McHugh? You wrote that about Carl McHugh?

Yes and I stand by it. He did well in a 3 but was ALWAYS the one left out when we went to a 2. Why?

A good centre back needs to be either very quick (Nelson), good in the air (Coughlan) or just good (Hartley/Wotton). McHugh is none of those and as others have said, he's better in midfield than Cox.

What's him being better than Cox as a midfielder got to do with it? I agree with that. The idea that he's not a good centre back is a nonsense, it's that simple. Sheridan's and Adams' preferred pair has rightly been Nelson and Hartley, but that doesn't mean McHugh ain't any good.

 

[Quintrell Green]

I really think there is more to this loan than meets the eye. I prefer Cox to both Simpson and Threlkeld as I suspect many on here do. He has been clearly frozen out this season and I wonder if it goes back to when Derek Adams was managing Ross County and Lee Cox was playing for their big rivals Inverness. Their paths would certainly have crossed during this period. I feel sure there is a personality clash here.

I didn't know that and I think you may have just made sense of it all.

Indeed, my other thought was that he just didn't rate him and Cox had an appearance related auto contract renewal which was low, which would explain his lack of game time even when we've been short.

It strikes me that it must be a very limiting appearance related contract for a guy not to be able to play [say] 3/4 games, when he has not played at all this season. It was not as if he was regularly playing previously last season because of injury issues. I would not think that DA was small minded enough to exclude Cox because of past near Highland association. All very strange to me!

 

[Emu]

Yeah, we could watch McHugh not being quite tall enough, not quite fast enough, not quite good enough.

What the flipping flip? You realise you typed McHugh there right? Carl McHugh? You wrote that about Carl McHugh?

Yes and I stand by it. He did well in a 3 but was ALWAYS the one left out when we went to a 2. Why?

A good centre back needs to be either very quick (Nelson), good in the air (Coughlan) or just good (Hartley/Wotton). McHugh is none of those and as others have said, he's better in midfield than Cox.

I cannot agree with you on this one.
There is a fourth category, and this is intelligence. McHugh has this in abundance and this makes up for any deficiencies he might have.