OneSizeFitz

11 hours ago, Boyyou said:

Never understood the bizarre reaction of some of our fans to ex players. It didn't work out here for Banks but he quickly got some stick (and his dad) making it hard to settle - sounds familiar with some of our current crop!

He has twice won promotion from the National League and once from League 2. Who's laughing now?

He got stick because he spent most of the time floating around midfield not creating anything and pulling out of tackles...

6 minutes ago, nzlatic said:

If the rumours are true about McGahey getting a new deal then I’m guessing it would be because he sees in him a mental strength that others don’t have. So would rather have him as a back up for central defence or defensive midfield. Even if he is limited as a player. 
 

 

I might be in a minority of one here, but I don't think he's that technically limited... He's strong, decent in the air, and not hopeless with the ball at his feet (for a defender). Spent several seasons playing regularly in League One / League Two and still only 28. So added to the 'personality', can see why Mellon might keep hold of him. 

I've defended MM so far, but that interview did feel a bit like the ramblings of a defeated man... 

2 hours ago, deyres42 said:

Derek Adams came to mind but possibly too similar in character to Mellon.

 

Lot of respect for the job Simon Weaver has done at Harrogate, he would probably be my number one choice.

 

Don't know enough about the lower leagues to know who is up and coming or who is ready to step out of the academies.

After harping on about us needing a young progressive manager with fresh ideas for the last six months, those are interesting suggestions...

1,500 games managed between them, and one of them's been working in the same job (with his dad as chairman) for 15 years. 

3 hours ago, nzlatic said:

He’s only 27, has played in a couple of different positions, has been promoted twice from this league, was loved by Hartlepool fans and I can’t imagine he’ll be on a massive salary. It’s not worked out for him here at all but I’d be surprised if he’s still here by August. 

He'll go to Gateshead and turn into Lothar Matthäus... 

The number of players not on that list is depressing... 

Dan Langley joins Scunthorpe on loan for their playoff campaign... 

1 hour ago, spanishfly said:

Let's say every team in the Premiership or Champions League uses it. Who wins the Premiership/Champions League? As I`ve said before competitive advantage comes via other aspects. You`ve got to learn to ignore the marketing hype.

 

From what I have heard we have spent an eye watering amount of money on recruitment so far. I`m presuming that's on salaries rather than fees. I`ve been told we were second only to Wrexham (on player spending) when they were around. 

 

Wrexham were promoted a couple of years after their "new money" came in and got their processes bang on, as they are now also riding very high in League 2 in their first season. 

 

I`ve read that we are approaching 2 years of new ownership. We don't look ready for promotion from a poor league and certainly don't look ready to even hold our own in League 2, never mind do well like Wrexham. Everyone keeps mentioning how off the pitch it's a fantastic turnaround. Great. In football at this level it's primarily on the pitch that ultimately matters. We appear to have wasted a pile of the new owners money; that can't be right. Lots of our players are nowhere near what is required. That's a major concern and should be the sole focus now for the board. We have to be promoted next season if things aren't to fizzle out. 

But if using data as part of your approach to scouting were such "nonsense", because football is such a "simple game", then surely a competitive advantage would come from not using it at all? Which brings us back to my original question... 

Statistics and data are helpful evidence in informing decisions when it comes to recruitment. They shouldn't be relied upon as the sole source of information, but they help to make the decision-making process more efficient and objective. That's not me falling for "marketing hype"; it's evidenced by the fact that every professional club in the country will use them to some degree.

4 hours ago, deyres42 said:

Another ready made excuse for him.

He's not wrong though, is he...? 

3 hours ago, spanishfly said:

Thanks. Did we watch the dross we signed then, after they had, presumably, impressed on statsbomb? It's nonsense. Football is still a very simple game; if only people would let it be.

Which of the best teams in the world don't use data as part of their scouting process, do you suppose? 

1 hour ago, nzlatic said:

Yeah seems massively unfair on us. We could have had a lot riding on that game (might still I guess!) but get left with just 38 hours between matches. 

It's a bloody shambles. Almost as if scheduling a 46-game season to finish in mid-April wasn't a terribly sensible idea... 

7 hours ago, BP1960 said:

 

Wages are a major problem, I read ours was £1.5m pa for the playing squad alone.

 

Works out at ~£30,000 a week - with a squad our size, that feels very plausible...

On 3/29/2024 at 9:45 PM, PeteG said:

Speaking of wages, it's interesting that the number of staff employed has only gone up by about 4 despite now having to run the North Stand 7 days a week coupled with the fact we were told under the previous regime we had no scouts, no sports scientist, no ground staff etc. etc. Another load of lies or have we not really employed all these backroom staff and scouts we've been told about.

On 3/30/2024 at 10:54 AM, PeteG said:

I was referring to the football staff. Apparently we had no sports scientist, physio, catering for players, scouts, analysis staff etc. etc. before the take over which is know was lies.

Physios and scouts "run[ning] the North Stand 7 days a week", are they...? 

It's quite simple really. A striker of Norwood's age will never score 30 goals a season at this level. But it's a reasonable expectation for Norwood to have scored 30 goals this season at this level. And he hasn't lived up to that reasonable expectation to score 30 goals this season, so he's underperformed and it's largely his fault we're 9th. And we know that this is what the club expected of him when they signed him because they never came out and said it.

Case closed.

16 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

See above

I give up... 

1 hour ago, deyres42 said:

2 in 3.

So 30+ goals over a 46-game season? Not sure how that "reasonable expectation" tallies with your earlier contention that a 34yo scoring 30 goals is never going to happen, Rob... 

2 minutes ago, deyres42 said:

I can't imagine whoever signed him did so thinking 17 goals would be an acceptable haul.

Okay, so what would a reasonable expectation have been? 

1 hour ago, deyres42 said:

A 34yo isn't scoring 30 goals.

He's got 17 in 37 so far, but apparently hasn't performed and isn't living up to expectations. If it's so unthinkable for a 34yo to score 30 goals, what are these expectations that he apparently isn't living up to?

Gardner pressing really well and winning the ball back on several occasions. 

5 minutes ago, mcfluff1985 said:

Sheron on the bench watching McGahey must be fuming

I think he's playing alright... 

Actually not playing too badly. Dallas and Sutton struggling, but otherwise doing okay... 

1 hour ago, deyres42 said:

late April Fool's contender

Feels entirely plausible to me that someone like Salford could throw £50k at us for him... 

Second half has been even worse than the first... 

8 hours ago, yarddog73 said:

I honestly haven't seen anyone on here whose suggested Mellon should be replaced so can we please stop with all this Mellon Outers shite.

 

I also think most can recognise that we are punching above away from home and under performing at home, on that basis why can't we debate our poor form on our own patch and Mellon's inability to react to it, it's a problem particularly if we want to attract new fans and it could well prove an achilles heel to our season if we finish 4th or 5th. Being disappointed and voicing displeasure doesn't necessarily mean we want Mellon out, I'm as disappointed as the next man, I have no interest in chopping and changing managers again but i think it's critical that Mellon and Brabin need to find a way to make us a better watch at home.

May I direct you to the title and first post of this thread... 

Let's say we'd brought someone in that immediately tried to transform this lot into a progressive, passing team midway through the season.

How long do we reckon it would have been before the main stand were yelling at them to "stop that tippy tappy rubbish" and "gerrit forward"... and for posters on here to call for us to play 4-4-2 and "hit the big man".

Mellon's improved our form considerably, to the extent that we're near the top of the form table, and should be on course to make the playoffs. To slag him off for not having us play like Barcelona whilst doing it feels a little bit unfair to me.