nzlatic

My view on the players listed (or not) in the Chron today: Fulton - don't keep Burn - don't keep O'Connell - don't keep Higdon - sign for season to compete with Cassidy Dummigan - sign for season to be 1st choice Rasulo - sign for season as a bench impact player. Whether he or MK Dons would accept this is another thing Yeates - sign for season Fuller - don't keep. Unless Higdon doesn't stay and his wages are cheap enough Eckersley - keep if cheap Wellens - sign for season as long as fitness ok Murphy - keep and put him straight in the team alongside Higdon or Cassidy Lafferty - re-sign for the season as 1st choice left back new signing - centre back with a bit of experience and a lot of balls J Wilson - sell if needed

How does it explain the attitude of the players in the last 12 months?

Depends whether it's constructive or not

The point I was making was in his last 13 games (similar to the time Dunn has had in the job) this squad got a point per game, a goal per game and conceded 2 per game. That's actually slightly worse than Dunn's return. How the :censored: we were still in the play offs when Johnson left says more about the league than it does about our form or what Johnson was doing with this team. If Johnson had have stayed it would have taken a big turn around in form to keep us in the play offs. That wasn't just a blip, it was about two and a half months of bad results including some shockers like mk Dons and Yeovil. Yes we're obviously in the :censored: and Dunn has a lot to do to prove he's the one to get us out of it. But this team goes into hiding when things get tough, and it's been doing it long before Dunn got here.

Last season we had an average start, then had a great run from the end of August to end of November, then after the Rochdale game we had 4 wins, 1 draw and 8 defeats. 13 for, 25 against. All under Johnson. So the rot had well and truly set in and this group of players were delivering similar to what they are now long before he left.

No I don't think he did deserve to be dropped. But we dominated the game, won and higdon and Winchester both played really well.

Totally agree that higdon and poleon should have had more game time together but it was higdon not being allowed to play against Sheff Utd that broke the partnership. He then played Winchester in behind higdon at Swindon which worked really well so a bit harsh to criticise Dunn for those changes.

No that's the odds for 0-0. In a moment of unusual positivity yarddogs thinks we're on for a draw! ?

It feels like when I was a kid they picked the matches based on possible upsets or matches between 2 heavy hitters. Maybe I'm wrong. Just in case anyone was in any doubt they pick these ties based on anything other than pure ratings... Chelsea and Man Utd at home against League 1? No Eastleigh vs Bolton, Oxford vs Swansea, Salford/Hartlepool vs Derby. I get why they do it, they pay money for the rights so want to maximise ratings, but just another example of the sad sellout. 7.55pm Friday 8 January Exeter City v Liverpool – live on BBC 1 12.45pm Saturday 9 January Wycombe Wanderers v Aston Villa – live on BT Sport 2 5.30pm Saturday 9 January Manchester United v Sheffield United – live on BT Sport 2 2pm Sunday 10 January Chelsea v Leyton Orient or Scunthorpe United – live on BT Sport 2 4pm Sunday 10 January Tottenham Hotspur v Leicester City – live on BBC 1

If Higdon was available to sign permanently he'd be in the team ahead of Cassidy all day. He's on a big wage though so can't see it happening.

Can't see Higdon staying on after his loan ends so all about trying to get as settled a side as possible for me.

I'd pick Coleman and tell him he's got a run in the side. But he'll probably stick with Cornell. ... ... ... ... Coleman ... ... ... ... Dummigan... Dieng... J Wilson... Mills ... ... Kelly ... ... Wellens ... ... ... Poleon ... Jones ... Yeates ... ... ... ... ... Cassidy ... ... ... ...

Propped up by Sky tv money isn't it?

Wasn't one appointed specifically for that? Did one of the BBC phone ins with Corney I think. Presume he's not achieved anything yet though?! Edit: just seen deyres post... that's the guy. All sounded very positive when he was first introduced, not much since.

Sigh. We just can't catch a break.

The glory times can be back soon. I have a good feeling about Shrewsbury away in January.

http://www.owtb.co.uk/index.php/topic/47813-ft-gillingham-3-3-oldham/?p=806667 That's the one I was on about. If that link works. Whilst I'm linking back to happier times, I'd forgotten about Lafferty. Wonder if he's back from injury and an option for us in January? Looked decent.

Can't see it doing much for the confidence of those who missed chances either. Football certainly has a way of kicking you when you're down sometimes.

Thanks. I was at that game so I'd be worried if you thought it was anything other than :censored:ing dog:censored:. I'll have a look and try and find what I was talking about.

I dunno Harry, in a moment of extreme boredom (probably while listening to the Crewe game) I was reading back on the board to see what the general feeling about Dunn was in the first few games he took charge. And you definitely didn't think he took us backwards from the off!

Barnsley was the very next match after the 2 wins though. 1st half we were bad, 2nd we were better and if dummigans shot had gone in instead of an inch wide then we would have had 3 wins and Southend might have been a different game. As it was, that didn't happen, Barnsley scored on the break and we were back to square one. Yeates is our player, not a loan. As is Fuller so not sure where we're sending him back to. Wellens has had about 20 mins on the pitch but you're writing him off. Fulton - agreed. Higdon probably will go back now Cassidy is fit again. But he did a decent job and scored a few goals. The last sentence reads like when we're :censored: it's Dunn's fault but if he has a fully fit squad and we start winning then it's the players doing well not Dunn?! He's a couple of months into his first job. He's probably making mistakes all the time. He might yet learn from them and do well, he might not. Just don't see how some people can be so 100% sure he won't turn it around.

No noticeable change? Is that really true? Things were looking up with 2 wins on the trot and a good 2nd half recovery against Barnsley until a last minute goal means defeat, confidence drops again and 2 :censored: performances follow. Dummigan and Wellens to come back in hopefully gives us a boost going forward. Then he's close to having a full squad to pick from for the first time. Still too early to judge for me. We don't need to change 18 players by the way, one or two in could make a massive difference to the rest.

Vendetta is strong, but I'm pretty sure you've said elsewhere that there's nothing Dunn could do that would make you back him. Which is vendetta territory! Also, when you talk about how he's behaved is that how you think he's behaved? Are you able to back up what you've accused him of with facts or just your opinion? I went to Swindon away and that was far from dire, boring football. I also went to Barnsley at home where for most of the 2nd half it was far from dire, boring football. Gillingham away (I didn't go) by all accounts was far from dire, boring football. He's had us playing well in patches, just far too small and far too infrequent patches. And to call you on the :censored: player clear out comment, he hasn't said that has he? He's questioned some attitudes. Which is completely fair.

Didn't we throw the kitchen sink at Southend and concede 5? We threw everything at Barnsley and lost in the last minute. Confidence is at rock bottom. Are we suggesting that Dunn sends them out to draw 0-0? That's ridiculous. It's far too simplistic to say "well that team attacks, why can't we?" We clearly have a deep rooted confidence problem. And there's no patience for even a slow up turn in form should it happen. We'd need about 2 months of winning, attacking football before a lot of people would think it anything other than a fluke. What's the answer though? Is there even a realistic answer? I don't think Dunn will be sacked but if he is would any of the realistic candidates mentioned on here unite and excite the fans? Can't think of any. I think Dunn will be here to the end of the season at least. And I'd like to see if he can do any transfer deals when the window opens. One thing he said resonated with me - about players coasting because they think they've made it because they have a contract in league 1. I don't want to be a home for the lower league unloved who are just happy to have a contract and a hug off the manager. I'd rather us sign hungry players who want to succeed and play at a higher level. We're a selling club, as just about any other club is but none of them play like they're being scouted, Kelly apart. That's an attitude thing, not a coaching thing.

So what's his motives then seeing as you're so clued up on what he's done to get where he is now?Just to clarify, he didn't get the job in the summer so talked his way into a playing contract just so he could work from the inside to destabilise Kelly's position leading to him getting the sack and Dunn being the only one who could take it on? That your take on it? So what's he doing now then? Because if he's so clever and scheming for his own benefit the surely he could see he's got a great out without damaging himself or his managerial career? All he needs to do is resign blaming the lack of funds, players not getting paid, stand not being finished, club generally in turmoil. Instead he keeps going, talking as if he's here for he long term (he's risking personal failure more the longer he carries on), dropping great players because he doesn't like them (although as soon as they're back from injury they're back in the team), not playing our outstanding youth team players (despite 4 or 5 being in the squad yesterday) and generally making sure the players are instructed to do no attacking whatsoever. That is seemingly what you think is going on. So why is he doing all that? What's his motive now? The football isn't great, confidence low, results awful. No denying it. But the players need to stand up and take some responsibility. It doesn't all lie at Dunn's door despite you having a personal vendetta against him.