I'm not convinced by that to be honest. How many times did we make fightbacks last season when the game looked dead? You should surely do everything you can to win each game and if it means upsetting those who have underperformed then so be it, if they have anything about them (which someone like Sweens clearly has) then they'll come back fighting the next game. We won on Friday by all accounts because we have decent forwards and they're shit in defence, I think too many people are trying to over complicate why we won.

I think it's a poor attitude to take though. 'we're not going to get anything from this so I won't bother upsetting any of the players'. If we'd had that attitude at home last season we'd have been relegated with about 15 points! Turner has to manage these players and unfortunately sometimes you have to do things they won't like for the greater good of the team. Confidence is obviously important but if this comes as a result of sacrificing your chance of winning games then I don't think you have got a sensible balance.

CT had as bad a game as the players, thats about it.

I can see the point you are trying to make here ADG and there is probably some truth in the argument that CT knows that to withdraw a struggling player will ultimately result in that player been seen as a 'weakness' in the team. He also maybe persists in playign that player to give them opportunity to put things right (which collectively, they did on friday).
Lets be honest, against Norwich we were truly dire. I cant remember leaving a game so early before. I think most managers WOULD have made some changes for the Oldham game but CT maybe wanted to bollock them behind closed doors and see the reaction. It was obviously a wise move given the outcome on Friday so credit to CT for that.

I would also say that when you argue "If the crowd had had their way, Sweeney, Collins and Hartley would never play for pools again, and Behan would be in the reserves now" this is too simplistic. Surely most fans must be impressed with Collins and Behan this season Sweeney has been disappointing (again) and I think in all honesty would benefit by being dropped. Hartley just looks as if he is being played out of position and I would hope most fans could see this. im sure he would be a great centre half. However it could be argued that Ct is giving him plenty of time to see if he can be molded into a regular left back which does make sense (providing of course he is a better option than Austin)

in a way I agree with what Dibbs is saying, but I think a managers job is to see when things aren't working and make the correct changes - if a players confidence takes a slight knock by this then the managers job is to restore it and build the player back up.

It applies in the sports/team games I take part in, so it should apply double in the professional environment.

I take the point about criticising individuals - any manager with a bit of common sense would avoid doing this. It is counter-productive and can only result in the mentioned players feeling persecuted and having their self-confidence further affected.

Common sense also tells you that you should avoid knee-jerk reactions. Behan had a stinker against against Norwich but he clearly realises this himself and didn't need it pointed out by the manager. Leave him in the team and he will be busting a gut to make up for it in the next game - which he did on Friday. Sensible management from CT.