Getting more out of Crowley by telling him to do less
The former Notts County man was considered one of the best players in the division prior to his move to MK Dons
To get the best out of Dan Crowley, MK Dons interim head coach Ben Gladwin could ask him to get less involved.
The January signing from Notts County was lauded as one of the best players in the division for his performances at Meadow Lane this season, scoring four goals and providing six assists in 18 appearances. But since arriving at MK1, he has chipped in only a couple of assists for others in his 11 outings.
Coming into a faltering side, Crowley has gone from an attacking force to a midfielder dropping deeper and deeper to get on the ball, at the expense of his impact further up the field.
Though not afraid to pick up the ball in those dangerous defensive midfield areas for Dons, Gladwin believes to get the best out of Crowley, he may be forced to stay out of those deeper lines to hurt teams where it matters the most.
“When you have Dan's ability, but you see the team struggling to build up, he will naturally want to come and help,” Gladwin said. “It's our job to tell him to stay away, though there are moments when he can help the team a lot.
“We've got to find the balance not just for the team, but to ensure Dan feels like he is helping too. If he stands and waits behind the lines, and it never comes to him, we'll all be wondering why we haven't given Dan Crowley the ball. We've got to find the balance.”
Not only Crowley though, Gladwin admitted very few of his squad at the moment are living up to the standard expected of them, certainly from an outsider’s perspective. The head coach, who took over from Scott Lindsey following his sacking last Sunday, said one of his primary jobs while he is in charge will be to take the pressure off the players to free them up to do what they do best.
He said: “It's constantly talked about, as it should be: we have phenomenal footballers in the building. But they are not producing what, externally, everyone things they should be on the pitch, and that naturally creates anxiety.
“It's our job to take that off them, and to get back to learning and producing performances that everyone can enjoy and we can win games.”