IceStationLatic

I had concerns as soon as I read Dunn describing Barnsley being in a false position. Smacked of bigging up vulnerable opposition in attempt to keep focus, when telling our guys we're going to win as they are vulnerable fodder - if we do X and Y... might be preferable! Not that I'm an expert. But how come for everyone else, and whenever we play, the table never lies.... Yet when we play a team even lower than us - guess what, they're in a 'false position'...and we play like they're in a higher position. You can bet LJ didn't tell Barnsley to sit off us due to the threat of Poleon's pace or Rasulo's through balls. He'll have said we're where we are in the table for a reason, we don't score much for a reason, and we're poor at home for a reason..., so get stuck in and press high. He got a team that had lost eight league games on the bounce to be more motivated and fired up than us - despite being on the verge of the sack!!

Player of the Season so far. No contest.

So basically it's like the hot girl who you dated and she sold you down the river with a dream. Then she left, let's say to go to a different Uni, in perfectly amicable and pre-agreed circumstances. In our case, we got what we wanted and agreed in his contract - money. But while some fans just love to hate and love any excuse to spew insults for 90minutes at another human being, sometimes even our own players, or even own fans as witnessed in the first half st Chesterfield. I guess it makes them feel better for some reason, letting out that anger. I'm not sure why. I'm not sure what that says about these ppl as a person or their emotional wellbeing.. But anyway, back to the hot girl, although you parted on logical terms - you still feel a sense of bitterness and exploitation because of the good times and that dream... Today will be a good test for the moaning acoustics!

Jos-eph Mills. He gotta play. Or North Stand fans are gonna moan, moan, moan, every day.... Sorry that NatWest advert has been on TV a lot!

Even though we scored two goals to win today when we went back to 4-2-3-1/4-4-1-1

Ironically the chant that got us going today - purely by drowning out the negative vitriol

He had a strong game today

In fact he used it quite effectively to roll Leighton Baynes and break clear to set up the goal... He's definitely put on weight this season though. It doesn't look good - smacks of slimming down to get a deal and then reverting to type.

Isn't there a bit of an over-reaction here. By negative feedback loop, wasn't he just talking about the PA system needing a bit of a tweak?

True to a point - but how often would we have the chance to make money off a manager, usually it's the opposite. And we thought at the time we had a good group of players tied down to contract for another boss to work with. But the Kelly fiasco/gamble/CV entrapment has shafted us.

It wasn't just him that decided to leave though was it. Corney is happy to make money of players and managers. We have to, to survive. He wouldn't have been applying, while his stock was high, if that wasn't the case. And him and Corney certainly wouldn't still be mates... This isn't Corney bashing. Just the obvious. It's business.

So are we intimating that Johnson's recruitment was better? The failure from the Kelly appointment, and the contacts that never materialised, has caught up with us in recent weeks. Hence the loan mission necessary under Dunn and the consequential instability that will breed (eg good loanees leaving) alongside injuries... We ain't going to land any proven players in January, especially if we are in trouble, so we might have to see if Dunn can spot an unwanted diamond a la Johnson... Can Dunn attract the likes of Korey Smith, Forte, and Kelly...?...Ched Evans? Sorry.

Grimsby's crowds halved as they stuttered in L1 and L2 amid disgruntled fans feeling they should be higher than they were and constant scrapes with relegation and mid-table mediocrity. The chairman had been involved with the club spanning their drop from the second tier to non-league in a decade. They made a catastrophic error in appointing a youth team boss - Neil Woods - over Russell Slade (who got them to the L2 play-offs - a one-off), genuinely implying the arrogance that if they did get relegated to the Conference then they'd bounce back. Crowds have only picked up thanks to an impressive project promotion initiative that raised £100k for players and more fans involvement via the Trust, plus plans for a new ground gathering steam. But the biggest factor is geography. It's quite a way to Scunthorpe and Hull, and Lincoln and Boston - who are both non-league too. They will always have a big catchment area of fans to call on. there are quite a few Liverpool fans that way and some glory-supporting kids, but given it takes the best part of 40minutes' driving just to be within reach of another city - Blundell Park is still the option for live football and getting involved in a bit of community pride (there's been a couple of visits to Wembley in the FA Trophy and play-offs that will have hooked some kids into going with dad etc) We, however, do not have that. And there's still empty seats to be filled st City....

^ a very good point. We've got too many players holding positions and zones. Any formation needs fluidity.

I think because relegation is the easiest, most obvious excuse to stop going and break a habit - the stand going down was a good one as well... There's ppl saying they're on the edge after today...but they'll keep coming back for torture until a suitable straw to break the camel's back. And once they're gone, unless we instantly jump back up and are winning every week, it's very, very hard to get them back.

Revitalise?!!! Rubbish. If anything it'd take us a step closer to being the next Stockport. We'd lose another 500 fans, be even less of an attractive investment proposition, and find L2 even tougher to get out.

Mentioned it before but 4-2-3-1 is only going to work if our full-backs are on fire and bomb up the pitch. Then a team defending deep is stretched, creating more space for our midfielders and crucially Winchester. If we don't have that, or just want to be more ambitious particularly given we don't have two strong wingers, you okay 4-3-1-2 with Winchester behind Higdon/Fuller and Poleon. The two midfielders either side of Kelly can either run with pace to 'break the lines' (Lee Johnson), like Croft and Winchester did in these positions against Liverpool, or they sit and we rely on the full-Backs for the width (2-3-3-2). I just think we looked at Burton's stats and saw they don't concede many but also don't score many. We bigged them up and got carried away with their league position. We played to be solid and edge ahead, and backed ourselves (particularly after looking solid on Sat) to hang on and, if anything, be more threatening on the break when they came out for an equaliser. But it went tits up.

Staggering bollocks from the OP. We were solid, didn't look like conceding, and demonstrated further evidence that we're improving. Rochdale played well and were solid themselves. I'd say we edged it 60-40 but lacked the composure, and Poleon holding his run better, to create better chances. Miles, miles better than Doncaster in terms of a team performance and shape. Four points from two away games. Now it's crucial we improve at home.

El Allocated Seatingico

El Flat Capico

Could it just be that he's got a bad attitude, like that City loanee who expected to be picked every week and stormed off, and has thrown the toys out the pran with regards not being picked... Total guesswork mind. I've got to say he looked bright and switched on for one-twos etc when he came on at Doncaster - but also, he nearly got sent off with his first touch a la Bove.

I think the only way to fit Winchester in, like Baxter and like Philli, is to play a 4-3-1-2 with said type of player bring the one behind the two. With two up top, enough space is left in 'the hole'. I do think Phili would be okay as one of the two strikers as well, though, if he has someone in the hole intelligent enough to provide good through balls to him and Poleon or Forte, for example. Philliskirk hasn't got pace but he can read the game really well - hence he gets into positions to be able to get plenty of shots away and anticipated the flick-on to score v Fleetwood etc He's no world beater but I'm embarrassed at the stick he's getting when so many of his team mates are flattering to deceive and performing more poorly than him.

Spot on. And they shouldn't. But it was/is/will be a unique toxic association with Evans in the modern social media age, which their camp predicted and knew Sheff U acting quickly was the only chance of tackling. Even if he is cleared, he may struggle because of the history and 'circus' around him - unlike other footballers, guilty of crimes, who still play today.

Aye true. But I got impression from the press that they (Camp Evans and his missus' dad) were more angry with Sheff U. The dad reportedly warned and pleaded that they just had go public with the deal as soon as he came out of prison - but the club delayed thinking criticism would wane... With us it was more of an expected deja view. You're right that he doesn't owe us anything, but he may well have admired the club's determination (more than Sheff U) to get the deal over the line. Not that that will necessarily lead to anything though...!

Um, the deal was offered, agreed and signed. Just like it was at Sheffield United. But in both cases a delay in announcing it, both clubs naively thinking the storm would blow over or could be tackled, proved its undoing.