nzlatic

Ignoring the negative bits you've plucked out of today's game, it's surely fair to say the Higdon/Poleon partnership represents clear progress?

Gills 2-1 Latics (HT 2-0) Poleon 5750

Given we weren't asking for applicants does anyone actually think interim means anything other than permanent manager until results/performances are so :censored: we have to sack him?

The club realised they made a mistake appointing him. I think that's clear from what happened. Then they did something about it. It wasn't ideal how they handled it but in the circumstances what else could they have done? If we'd have been winning games I don't think he would have been sacked and Dunn would have had to go elsewhere for a managers job. Whether Dunn will work out or not I've no idea but I've got more confidence in him than I did Kelly. What the club did wrong mainly was give Kelly the job in the first place.

Good luck to him, hope it works out.

Are you having it that he was the right man for the job and shouldn't have been sacked?

I don't understand your point at all. You said he was the same as Kelly, I disagreed as he's played at a higher level and has access to those managers as contacts or for advice. Most of the top coaches you're talking about will have worked their way up from the bottom in coaching positions. How many other League 1 managers have there been that haven't played that high, and have no 1st team coaching experience at that level either? I don't blame Kelly for going for the job, but other than the fact that neither have been managers before, they are poles apart. Dunn has had 3 games. He's unbeaten - so that's one positive right there. Whether he'll be any good or not remains to be seen but to write him off after 3 games is bizarre.

One played his whole career at the top level under several well respected managers. The other peaked at York City. Yep, they're the same.

A goal, an assist, hitting the post, holding the ball up, winning headers, being in position for other chances. Doesn't mean anything if you don't run about like Paul Warne.

Port Vale 0-1 Latics (HT 0-0) Higdon 4176

This is the key, it's like the attitude is we're losing so we may as well go for it. When we're not losing we want to hang on to it. That's where the problem is - lack of intent. Either that or they're just scared stiff of losing.

To be fair to him, all he's saying is that 1 up front can work and can be attacking if it's played right. Which is true. The other side of the argument seems to be that 2 strikers is the only way of attacking and scoring.

Latics 1-2 Wigan (HT 0-2) Higdon 4798

Comments from a Sheff Utd supporting mate... "Good god - :censored:e. Sounded great when he joined, scored plenty in Dutch prem - looks unable to move now. When he does move he'll commit horrific fouls." Sometimes it doesn't work out at a particular club, as some of the comments on here about players who've gone on to much better things will prove. He's experienced, has a history of scoring and should provide a much needed physical presence up front. So provided he's fit he could be just the sort of player we need. We might even score a headed goal.

My worry when Kelly took over was not about his coaching ability/credentials but his man-management. How often do we here about players looking great in training then it just not translating to performance on the pitch? After so long in the same division the fans are desperate for some success and the players can probably smell that. So there could easily be a certain amount of fear and restriction when they play. This would make sense based on the games I've seen in 2015. And this is why when Johnson left I wanted some experience. You can have all the badges in the world, but how can the board know whether or not someone in their first job would be able to motivate the players in tough times? On paper we have a pretty decent squad, but on the few times I've seen them there's something not quite right. I don't think it's tactically, they just don't look like they're excited or enjoying it or free to go for it. Not writing off the new set up though as it's early days, with an addition up front and Kelly back from injury we might see an improvement. But it just feels like we're missing a trick by having novices in all the coaching positions.

It's not the result that pissed people off, its the intent. Or massive lack of it.

After all the negativity I think it's worth throwing in a positive about Saturday - Dieng's bit of skill after Connor Brown booted one off the line in the 1st half. It's on the Player extended highlights after 4m 45. He traps one that came down with snow on it then ghosted past a rovers player. Absolute quality.

I wasn't committing the ultimate crime and criticising Winchester, just the formation and the tactics! You can't be defensively sound and good on the counter attack with a 4-4-2 with no natural defensive midfielder. Hopefully we'll put that to bed and play a formation to suit our strengths. Not sure about the atmosphere in the away end as I was sat in the posh seats but it sounded a bit flat which is very unusual. A good striker signing this week could lift everyone. Feels like it's needed.

For those saying we played 1 up front, what position was philliskirk playing? Just because strikers aren't holding hands doesn't mean they aren't playing in a pair. Philliskirk was playing deeper that's all. My issue today was just a complete lack of attacking intent. Jones and Winchester barely tried anything other than sideways passing on the half way line. On 85 mins croft had the ball out wide on a break and Winchester and Jones were completely static in the middle. No attempt to get forward. The tactic of channel balls in the 1st half sometimes had poleon and philliskirk in decent positions but there was just a complete lack of support from midfield. Same when we did some good switches of play out wide. Yeates would get the ball in a decent position but have no options. Lack of movement, lack of intent, lack of any interest or excitement at all. Liam Kelly can't come back soon enough. With him sitting it might allow our creative players to get forward and actually try and score. 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 or whatever you want to call it does not work without someone playing that role. And a striker. A proper striker that's a threat. Please.

Couldn't the council be approached to contribute to pitch maintenance if there was a groundshare? Would be good for the town surely to have both teams playing at the main stadium.

A personal favourite (as I grew up in Doncaster) is the Tut'n'Shive in town. Not far to walk from the train station and taxis nearby to get to the ground. Good booze, great jukebox and they show football too. Not sure about near the ground as that was all wasteland when I were a lad.

1 season in League One (17 goals) Rest of career in Championship or Premier League (where he got 10 in 31 games). If (and it's a big IF) he signs and he's fit it'd be a massive coup.

I know the general trend on here is to take the piss out of badges/clipboards/tactics/marginal gains and to say that it's a simple game, just attack, score goals etc. But is that not suggesting that the likes of Paisley/Ferguson/Shankly/Ramsey weren't using the most modern information and techniques available to them at the time? I never watch sky analysis but caught a bit of Gary Neville talking about Chelsea on sky sports news the other day. He used the technology to show from quite a way back how the knock on effect of one player being out of position earlier in the move lead to Everton scoring eventually. I would have thought that modern methods of backing up instructions with visual aids would benefit a footballer at any level. No matter how "thick" fans think they might be.

What did Paul Clement have to teach Cristiano Ronaldo?

Explained the situation to 2 separate people now (not oafc fans), both of whom said that if he thought he'd dropped a bollock with Kelly then getting Dunn in as a back up if it went tits up was a really good bit of business.