I think under normal circumstances we could all agree that the manager should take the blame for his selection of the side he turned out, however given that he was only able to select the players from a very limited available pool then some leeway is necessary.
To say that Longs sending off was unnecessary is stretching it a bit, he made a challenge on the edge of the box that was deemed a foul, it wasn't a malicious challenge and it was a necessary one given that had he not made the challenge the player was through on goal. The referee deemed it a red card, but to most of us it was at most a yellow, I for one cannot blame a young player for making that challenge.
What was in my opinion indefensible is that a so called experienced manager then compounded the problem by making a knee jerk reaction and instead of waiting until half time, a minute or so away, changed the whole complexion of the game by robbing the midfield of its "enforcer" in Merrie and replacing him with a makeshift full back. Up until then the midfield was being dominated by our players and Gardner was playing well on the wing, the shift saw our dominance in midfield given up and any penetration we had on the wing lost as Gardner is hopeless as a holding midfield player.
The manager then went on to lay the criticism at the feet of the players, who rightly should take some, if not the majority, of the blame, but not in public, destroying any faith they have in a manager. Sheridan should take a leaf out of Arteta's book and take the blame in public to protect the dressing room and leave his criticism for the privacy of the training ground.
Spot on apart from the bit about Long's challenge
Having thought a red was ludicrous at the time I watched the highlight on the BBC's website & had Long not made the challenge their guy was through on goal & able to get a shot away as Obi was too far away - having denied a goal scoring opportunity it was a nailed on red
On the challenge itself, as the law's of the game stand it was a stupid and naive challenge. Players know if they make a challenge like that outside the area it is going to be a sending off. If he'd waited a couple of strides until he got in the penalty area & possibly even closed up a bit of ground on them then had it been judged a genuine attempt for the ball the ref would have only been able to give a yellow due to that double jeopardy ruling they introduced a few seasons ago. Outside the area it doesn't matter whether it was a genuine attempt for the ball, it's a sending off. It's not a new law, it's been there, at all levels for 3 & a bit seasons now so he should have waited a risked giving a penalty away.
Secondly as we were 2-0 up at the time against a non league side & this fella is a part time player I think a player engaging his brain knows that the risk of letting him have a shot at goal against a U21 international keeper is less than the risk of making that challenge where he did & knowing that we'll have to play with 10 men for 45+ minutes with the complete change in psychology for both sets of players & the match itself
But he didn't engage his brain, he lunged in & it started a chain of events that ultimately led to us losing 3-2
That said, to come out in public & say what he said about a young player, who's still wet behind the ears as far as professional footballers go regardless of the fact he may be 20 or 21, is unforgivable. Sheridan's right in what he said but you say it calmly, in private & tell him to learn from his mistake.
And I made the comparison with Arteta after Villa took them to the cleaners on Sunday. That's exactly how it should be done
Me & mate got a taxi from, & then to, the airport in Maribor with (amongst others) couple of fella's who have (or had) access behind the scenes at every Latics home game. Someone else in the taxi asked them who was the manager who gave the worse hair dryer treatment & they both said Martinez & that he could peel the paint off the walls. I was really surprised bearing in mind he would not say a word against his team in public even when they just be tonked 9-1 but that's what a manager should do
