Unfortunately, under present circumstance, he, neither the team have any other choice but to believe.
Small steps for both Taylor and the team towards the playoffs, but boy, did we need that win today!
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Ironically the three players that we generally have the most criticism for had good games Taylor Norris and Woodrow . We missed Woodrow on sat and he showed tonight how good he links the team together. Wonder if Norris had a rocket up his backside at the weekend from Duff because he commanded the box brilliantly tonight .
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I went for Taylor, who after all the stick and relatively poor performances, had a stormer tonight & didnât put a foot wrong, a truly redemptive moment. Norris was second for me & other than his early lapse also had a really solid game.
I thought the subs, especially Woodrow & Vidigal made a real difference.
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Norris for me. No amazing saves, but he was solid and looked a lot more assured.
Credit to Connor Taylor, but I honestly donât think he was any different to any other games heâs played. Heâs a solid enough defender, but we will still miss Casey and Anderâs in the coming weeks, as Allen and Taylor, decent though they are, arenât quite of the same quality. Truth is Taylor hasnât been anywhere near as bad as his critics seem to think, and those same critics are now getting carried away with the same solid performance heâs been putting in all season.
Taylor. The 90 minutes of non-stop running by Fred makes him a close second.
Didnât see the game as it was 3am where I am.
Seems Connor had a great game by the reports on here and elsewhere against one of the best teams in League One.
Iâve given him my vote, delighted for him.
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The top section of the grid at the start of this thread is a wonderful, colourful, and totally unexpected tribute to a young player who had been attracting a disproportionate level of adverse comment based on very little.
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I could be wrong, but werenât you calling for Skura to be recalled from loan and for Grimmer to play centre half instead of Taylor?
It was Jack Grimmer for me with a shout out for Taylor. Jack was a real leader last night and played very well against a very tricky wide man.
I donât think heâd be alone in that based on how Taylor was playing earlier in the season. I donât think youâd find too many people complaining if he keeps playing like he did yesterday for the rest of the season. Possibly only those desperate for a scapegoat.
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Fred won quite a few flick ons as well to be fair to him
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No, youâre not wrong. As a long time admirer of Declan Skuraâs occasional performances as a right sided central defender, I was delighted when he was recalled and that there was a possibility that he might be given another opportunity to prove himself.
I had got caught up in the virtually unanimous but ultimately ill-founded feeling among Gasroomers that Connor Taylor didnât have what it takes to succeed in the upper reaches of League One. You, to your credit, suggested that he was one of the better performers against Bolton Wanderers after he replaced the injured Dan Casey.
I did originally suggest on here the possibility of Jack Grimmer being moved inside but I subsequently commented on Dave Gardnerâs Facebook page that I thought Michael Duff would probably rather have a 6â5â player at right centre back than one of just 6â0â. And so it proved.
Connor Taylor did well the other day, particularly to set up the second goal but I do think people are getting a bit carried away with just one performance. He is trying his hardest and we should all back him on the pitch (as we should with every player) but he remains a pretty limited player. A decent last ditch defender with regards to blocks etc, but his positioning is questionable at times, getting caught in no manâs land too often, he has a lack of mobility and is pretty poor in the ball. He is not, and never will be, a top of the league 1 performer. I would be absolutely and utterly astounded if he starts next season as a first choice centre back. Sorry to be so negative but I do think a bit of balance is needed given some of the posts above.
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People arenât getting carried away with one performance, theyâre just trying to bolster the confidence of a young man whoâs had a tough time recently. On Tuesday he refused to hide and took full responsibility for his defensive duties, and even progressed the ball quite well. Time will tell if Connor can make the grade at the top end of League One, but while he shows the courage to try take the chances that injury has offered him, the majority will back him.
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Yes Taylor is limited, but at L1 level that is true of most players.
He deserves the plaudits for persisting & finding his âmojoâ in this game, maybe all he needed was a little faith & Duffâs arm round his shoulder?
The other issue for most players at this level is they are inconsistent. If they produced consistent 7/10 performances they would be in a Championship team not a L1 side. Do we have players that could be decent in the Championship? Yes we do - Morley, Henderson, CBM, Casey, Anders, Fred & Harvie fit that bill on form so far this season, I am less certain on Mullins, Grimmer & Junior for different reasons but they are all decent L1 footballers.
Where we need to upgrade if we are to make and stay in the Championship is first choice GK, LW & CF & back up RB, LB, CB, CF, RW, LW & CM. Some of our current squad or academy grads may come good & fill those positions but we will need to add at least 3-5 players over the summer if we want to be Championship ready.
As you say Connor was bringing the ball out of defence on Tuesday night, something I havenât seen him do before. With a little bit of confidence there is a player in there.
Good luck to the lad as he has had quite a lot of stick from most of us on here.
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Beautifully put. I think we are all well aware that, compared with Anders and Dan, Connor Taylorâs overall contribution to the team effort is relatively limited. I was particularly struck by the fact that the Cardiff players allowed him as much time on the ball as he liked and this made it quite easy for him to pick a straightforward pass. I doubt whether he will be allowed that amount of time on the ball in our remaining fixtures.
One swallow does not a summer make and I think @bluequarters is unlikely to experience the utter and absolute astonishment he alludes to regarding Connorâs position in the pecking order at the start of next season.
He came in, we were all worried, he did okay we were all relieved and praised him. Not sure thatâs carried away unless I missed the âheâs a Blond Maldiniâ post from someone.
âGinger Baresiâ I think it was. Mischievously put. And youâre absolutely right. The votes on Tuesday acknowledged an unexpectedly decent overall performance (under surprisingly little pressure) and a clever assist to put the icing on a fairly basic sponge cake.
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This season is either going to end in a memorable and successful finish. Or bitter disappointment at what might have been.
Despite our atrocious start, weâve put ourselves in play-off contention after a good season since. Even so there is real frustration at some of the throwing away of points.
It all goes to show, as I said back in September, that our squad was actually quite good just with a couple of holes for first half of season. Truly bonkers to think that some thought we were in a relegation battle.
The fact that our fourth choice centre back is now showing some signs of the form that made him player of the year at a fellow League One club last season is another justification for me at the strength of this squad.