whitey1980

I think fans can stomach poor performances if there is evidence of a plan, progress, and hope for the future. When that is not present, one frustrating performance just morphs into the next. At the start of the season the shape and style of the team was clear, but I would question the direction of the team at present. At this level you are always going to lose players and our losses have hit us particularly hard. The issue is that as has been highlighted above, the players brought in have not only been weaker than those replaced, but have actually made it harder for our better players to prosper as our shape and balance within the team has gone!! I really feel for LJ, as I don't think this is all at his door, and he has been forced to try and survive above and beyond his principles. We can only hope that he learns from the experience and returns stronger and more decisive for it. That after all was Dickov's major failing - his complete inability to learn from and develop beyond the mistakes of the second half of his first season.

I honestly feel people want to get behind the team.....it is very difficult when watching that tonight. The players need to get real if they are upset about being booed (not that I do personally) as the very least you can demand is effort. MK came out of the traps quickly wanting to win the game.....where we were mentally is another question altogether! If it was an isolated instance, they might have a point. ..

And we missed him tonight was the point made - apologies.

Totally agree with the three comments above. Relative quality has disappeared to be replaced by journeyman rubbish that has sapped enthusiasm. I remember madly driving down to Shrewsbury on a Tuesday night and heading back looking up the table thinking that we could be onto something with a fair wind this season....I wouldn't bother now. Our better players are not being used correctly. DP is lost out wide, Grounds has developed into a centre back and looks uncomfortable wider, Charlie Mac has been reduced to chasing lumps and Wes is running around like a headless chicken. God we miss Korey Smith and Kasunga must have been disciplined for his sending off at MK. We are better than that rubbish tonight...

Dunfield reminded me a lot of Danny Sonner (ex Sheffield Wednesday - apologies if spelt wrongly) runs like a footballer, but always arrives where he needs to be on the pitch about 2 seconds late!!

Fair point, but they did at times and were entirely bypassed for much of the game.....normally straight out of play! The midfield were narrow and poor in possession, but I can see that with the right team selection we will address those concerns. If the present incumbents remain at cenre half, I fail to see how we can build and bring our midfield into the game given their discomfort in possession. Consequently I felt like as we did tonight, our midfield just pushes on and we end up playing a game to which we are completely poorly set up to play.

Ad stargazer says above, the whole performance had the feel that they felt that they had done enough at the weekend. The improvement in the second half was headless and prompted as much by embarrassment as the additions I feel. JCH, Winchester and Dayton deserve praise for adding some enthusiasm and balance, but that was the sort of performance that kills a fan base. As I've posted elsewhere, the less said about the balance and distribution from our back four the better.....

One thing that has not been mentioned here is the abysmal distribution from the defensive third. I fail to see how we can play any constructive football with the back four set up as it was tonight. Any decent possession was hoofed away our negatively passed into inadvertently dangerous areas. Truly awful in the first half and headlessly showing some commitment in the second. It is rare to come out of a game of football with so little to be positive about. The team played like the relative strangers they looked like on the teamsheet!!

Truly appalling

Hmmm, would not surprise me if there is some milage in this story. Having neither been at MK to witness his performance or heard LJ's comments then I have no opinion on the game in question. That said, I was at Rotherham where JCH was publicly rollocked on the pitch for giving away the free kick leading to the match winning goal and was openly criticised by his manager. As I have said on a previous thread, I think the pair have an almost paternal element to their relationship and I think there is a good deal of respect between them. Consequently JCH responded well in that instance and came back strongly, but it would not surprise me if it could lead to a volatile reaction. I think LJ sees the obvious potential and gets understandably frustrated by his performance level at times - which could have led to a situation as described. .....or could of course be total bollocks!!! Either way, I think he has generally handled the player well, and I trust he will learn from the experience In the future if an altercation has taken place!

Kasunga deserved his dressing down on Saturday as an experienced professional who let his teammates down at a crucial time. It is a fair bet that there was more to the SS situation than merely footballing reasons (as a failed loan move elsewhere would also suggest) and he has handled JCH pretty well (albeit like many I hoped he would have kicked on a little more than he has this season) Dayton had been removed from the firing line due to his current form but he is a player who has earned the trust of his manager. This is unsurprising as he has always shown tactical discipline in the games I have seen and is a technically decent footballer. If LJ has criticised his current performance (which would be justified) then I trust the manager thinks that is the best way to challenge a player he knows well.

Dayton has clearly got ability - for a start he can genuinely shoot with both feet which is surprisingly rare at this level. His touch until recently has been very good and the ability to put the ball through as he did for the early Charlie Mcdonald chance at Walsall (as well as hitting the post from distance) show that he should be much more effective at this level. His crossing can frustrate, but he has delivered some excellent balls this year - many of which have gone unrewarded through no fault of his. That said he is clearly lacking in confidence (massively important for a winger - more so than most positions) and has also been a victim of us becoming a little more direct. Earlier in the season, when we had two sitting midfielders with Philly in the hole, he was an essential outlet given his ability to bring in and retain the ball. Subtly we have become a little more direct and his game has suffered. Throw in an injury, stick from the crowd and there are a number of reasons why he is lacking form and confidence. He needs some support - not being lambasted for being :censored:!!

Ridiculous as it sounds for a professional footballer, I thought he actually was a very poor striker of the ball. Despite his obvious gifts, he frequently scuffed his crossses and was often leaning back and sliced a number of chances to score - particularly at Brentford. The only times I remember him hitting the ball cleanly were at Anfield and the cross for Wes against Stevenage. Pace will buy him plenty of opportunities at this level but he needs to improve his end product enormously if he is going to survive at a higher level!

Absolutely fuming, not just about the red card but our complete inability to front up under tough defensive circumstances! Even on the occasions we successfully see out a game you get the impression it has been more through luck than judgement!! I haven't got the statistics, but our points given away from winning positions must be amongst the worst in the football league!

The only reason I mention the players listed is that they have gone on to play at a higher level than ourselves in the recent past. As such I do think that this is a major motivating factor for a player like Tarky who is 'left behind' so to speak. The criticisms of his play are pretty accurate in my opinion and I do think at times his much vaunted comfort in possession can be self indulgent. What characterised his early season carrying of the ball is that it led to a good and productive end product. Of recent weeks it has often been held onto for too long and has led to either a rash lunge or wasted pass. For all this I do not want to sound overly critical as I agree with a lot of what you say and I do think the player deserves massive praise for his improvement this season. In fact, I have never seen a player improve so much and I wish him well! That said, I don't see the guaranteed career projection that some feel is an inevitable progression. He has work to do and a lot to prove, as he has been bought on 3 excellent months of performance. As I questioned hypothetically, is that the true barometer of his level?

The next few years will be really interesting with regards to observing Tarky and his level of progress. He has clearly matured into an excellent league 1 centre half - I dare say motivated in part by the career trajectories of players such as Taylor, Furman, and most recently Mvoto. That said in his final month at BP there were clear signs of a lapse in form and application. He has always been vulnerable to a player who can slide off his shoulder, which caused issues when paired with Mvoto who had a similar flaw. Hence a routine straight ball or basic cross could cause real issues which players of their ability should have been capable of dealing with. Earlier on this season this had been (in the main!) addressed - as had a massive improvement in his conditioning - which made him stand out from the average given his comfort in possession. However of late we have conceded a number of goals that have been soft and in the second phase of play - as outlined by LJ! So who is the real Tarky? The collosus that peaked against Preston to burst onto the national stage - or the slightly error strewn, somewhat lazy and frustrating model that preceded it. I don't think he has ever been :censored:, but nor is he the sure thing to progress onwards and upwards that has been claimed by some. He must maintain the hunger that characterised his early season performances - I would fear for his development if he doesn't!! Time will tell I guess!

Whilst he was an absolute hero of mine, there was absolutely no way that Shez was turning that ship around. Dean Windass painted an absolutely sorry picture of our dressing room at that time at a sportsmans dinner I attended. He described Shez as increasingly frustrated and critical of his players - absolutely slating them on a regular basis. He also alluded to the fact that Shez himself might not have been in control of his demons at that time and the club was increasingly rudderless with powerful and irresponsible players (possibly himself included) running riot. As such the decision to appoint Royle makes perfect sense as an older and universally respected figure to try and rectify the situation......unfortunately by then it was too late! The decision to jettison Hughes smacks of England a'la KP at present - I think they had just had enough and trust between the team and management was non-existent. Whether you think the decision was right or wrong, that I feel must have been the main reason. It was a disaster it finished like that for Shez though as he deserved better. The team he built the season before, leading into and out of xmas, were playing the best football we had seen at BP at any point in the last 20 years. I also think as a few have alluded to, that was the point that we started to cut our cloth firmly for this level at management level. Penney was part of that decision and his signings reflected it. Hopefully finally now LJ can start to drag our club and hopefully our support onwards and upwards again!!

The Chesterfield boxing day win has been mentioned, but I always remember freezing my tits off at Cardiff in an FA cup third round defeat surrounded by mad German fans.....bonkers!!

Poor game between two poor sides on the day, was a shocker!! Felt it was worrying that we were so heavily reliant on the Grounds - Harkins axis down the left to create anything of note as I felt we were really unbalanced! Despite defending reasonably well on the whole, we are far too slow to react to, and in the second phase from, corners. In a game like today it was plainly the only way they were going to score! It could be worse though as I have felt, naively, that Bristol City must have enough to pull away from the base of the table.....not on that evidence!! Despite the horrendous conditions, was definitely 2 points dropped!

My earliest memories as a Latics fan........to think as a naive schoolboy that it was always going to be like that, ha ha!!! We were a serious side back then though, the performance against Arsenal, wow, just wow!!!!!!

A disaster waiting to happen. There is nothing wrong necessarily with a speculative transfer and investment policy if you have the spectator base to support it. They have neither the catchment area to support a massive upturn in support or any history of past achievement to suggest it may develop. Besides, on what I watched at Griffin Park before Christmas, I'm not entirely sure what they have spent that money on!! Out of interest, is their new stadium entirely privately funded?

Whilst I can see the value of having him back in the squad, my pride and love for my club means I will always have a hard time accept accepting back someone who doesn't want to play for us anymore. I don't blame him for leaving and wish him well. Time will tell whether his true performance level is the majestic early season performances that raised his profile, or the more underwhelming form of earlier years. Of late he has clearly been less impressive and I hope for his sake it is due to a turned head and lack of focus. Thanks for all your efforts Tarky, but move on for me!

Absolutely superb result with a run of very winnable games coming up! 5 of the next 7 at home from memory l think (stand to be corrected, ha ha!!)

So far so good!!

Back 4 looks iffy!