3 games in - the players

[HarryBosch]

Cisak - Seems prone to the odd mistake & punches too much (don't remember him doing this yesterday though?) but happier with him than Brill. More mobile, more decisive.

 

Lee - picked up where he left off, solid so far, could do a bit more going forward

 

Black - never been a fan and haven't seen any improvement on last season so far

 

M'Voto - not the player we had on loan so far but glad he's here. Seemed to need a few games to get going last season so hopefully he kicks on now.

 

Diamond - not sure. Looks great at times and his distribution is quite good but can be error prone it seems. Massively at fault for the pen at Yeovil.

 

Morais - he had a good spell first half against Carlisle & showed glimpses yesterday but not living upto his billing so far. Maybe try him in the middle alongside Wesolowski?? Need creativity there and he seems a bit wasted on the wing (especially when Lund never gets the ball to him)

 

Furman - a big loss if he's out a while although he been nothing better then workmanlike in the 1st 2 games.

 

Lund - :censored:.

 

Taylor - i'm convinced he plays poorly until the transfer window shuts so he doesn't have to go . Someone commented yesterday he plays like he thinks he's in the school playground. As ever, needs more end product.

 

Smith - not impressed & feel quite sorry for him. Can't control the ball, wins very little in the air for a big man, was shoulder charged by a midget at one point yesterday. Looks knackered 10 minutes in. Has missed sitters in all 3 games. Hope PD takes him out of the firing line & starts Parker at Scunthorpe.

 

Reid - Awful against Sheff U, a revelation since. Working his socks off but getting piss poor service. I think he could be our most important player this season but we're wasting him at the moment.

 

Parker - our best new signing. Fast as f**k, enthusuastic, will try something different. MUST start against Scunthorpe whether on the right or partnering Reid.

 

Winchester - has been good when he's been on. Not sure what his best position is but I'd start him on the right instead of Lund and stick Morais in the middle to try and create something.

 

Mellor - looked promising for the short time he was on against Carlisle.

 

Millar - not seen enough to judge.

 

Dickov - very unusually for a happy clapper like me I came away yesterday questioning whether he was the right man for the job as it was a shocking 2nd half performance and he did very little to try and change it. His comments on Latics Player have restored a bit of faith though & at least he could see it the way we did (unlike his esteemed predecessor). He should be given time but the pressure must really be on - our next 4 games are all tricky until an "easy" one against Stevenage.

 

To balance the negativity, I reckon we'll win at Scunthorpe :lol: :lol:

Edited August 14, 2011 by HarryBosch

[RobOAFC]

Cisak - Seems prone to the odd mistake & punches too much (don't remember him doing this yesterday though?) but happier with him than Brill. More mobile, more decisive.

 

Lee - picked up where he left off, solid so far, could do a bit more going forward

 

Black - never been a fan and haven't seen any improvement on last season so far

 

M'Voto - not the player we had on loan so far but glad he's here. Seemed to need a few games to get going last season so hopefully he kicks on now.

 

Diamond - not sure. Looks great at times and his distribution is quite good but can be error prone it seems. Massively at fault for the pen at Yeovil.

 

Morais - he had a good spell first half against Carlisle & showed glimpses yesterday but not living upto his billing so far. Maybe try him in the middle alongside Wesolowski?? Need creativity there and he seems a bit wasted on the wing (especially when Lund never gets the ball to him)

 

Furman - a big loss if he's out a while although he been nothing better then workmanlike in the 1st 2 games.

 

Lund - :censored:.

 

Taylor - i'm convinced he plays poorly until the transfer window shuts so he doesn't have to go . Someone commented yesterday he plays like he thinks he's in the school playground. As ever, needs more end product.

 

Smith - not impressed & feel quite sorry for him. Can't control the ball, wins very little in the air for a big man, was shoulder charged by a midget at one point yesterday. Looks knackered 10 minutes in. Has missed sitters in all 3 games. Hope PD takes him out of the firing line & starts Parker at Scunthorpe.

 

Reid - Awful against Sheff U, a revelation since. Working his socks off but getting piss poor service. I think he could be our most important player this season but we're wasting him at the moment.

 

Parker - our best new signing. Fast as f**k, enthusuastic, will try something different. MUST start against Scunthorpe whether on the right or partnering Reid.

 

Winchester - has been good when he's been on. Not sure what his best position is but I'd start him on the right instead of Lund and stick Morais in the middle to try and create something.

 

Mellor - looked promising for the short time he was on against Carlisle.

 

Millar - not seen enough to judge.

 

Dickov - very unusually for a happy clapper like me I came away yesterday questioning whether he was the right man for the job as it was a shocking 2nd half performance and he did very little to try and change it. His comments on Latics Player have restored a bit of faith though & at least he could see it the way we did (unlike his esteemed predecessor). He should be given time but the pressure must really be on - our next 4 games are all tricky until an "easy" one against Stevenage.

 

To balance the negativity, I reckon we'll win at Scunthorpe :lol: :lol:

 

Seems reasonable view on the squad, however disagree with the bit about Smith. He wins alot in the air, but players just go infront of him and fall down win a freekick as ref thinks Smith has been aggressive due to his size( this happened alot against Sheff Utd). Wasn't at Yeovil game so cant comment on what he missed their, but can't remember him missing any sitters at BP? There was one in early stages against Carlisle but he was offside on that occassion so not counting as a sitter..

[JoeP]

Cisak - Seems prone to the odd mistake & punches too much (don't remember him doing this yesterday though?) but happier with him than Brill. More mobile, more decisive.

 

Black - never been a fan and haven't seen any improvement on last season so far

 

Diamond - not sure. Looks great at times and his distribution is quite good but can be error prone it seems. Massively at fault for the pen at Yeovil.

 

Cisak - glad I'm not the only one to see he's prone to the odd mistake!

 

Black - I wasn't a fan last year and would have preferred Evina at left-back this year, but I think he's been one bright spot in the opening matches. Put in one excellent cross yesterday (from which Smith missed badly!) and made a couple of crucial tackles and interceptions and did the same against Sheff United. Doing OK in my eyes.

 

Diamond - didn't have a great game yesterday, but doesn't take kindly to losing I would imagine, and seems up for the fight. Like Black, not doing too badly.....

[HarryBosch]

Cisak - glad I'm not the only one to see he's prone to the odd mistake!

 

Black - I wasn't a fan last year and would have preferred Evina at left-back this year, but I think he's been one bright spot in the opening matches. Put in one excellent cross yesterday (from which Smith missed badly!) and made a couple of crucial tackles and interceptions and did the same against Sheff United. Doing OK in my eyes.

 

Diamond - didn't have a great game yesterday, but doesn't take kindly to losing I would imagine, and seems up for the fight. Like Black, not doing too badly.....

 

Just remembered the highlight of the game yesterday was Diamond loudly telling the linesman to f off

[the_mighty_bosh]

Smith - not impressed & feel quite sorry for him. Can't control the ball, wins very little in the air for a big man, was shoulder charged by a midget at one point yesterday. Looks knackered 10 minutes in. Has missed sitters in all 3 games. Hope PD takes him out of the firing line & starts Parker at Scunthorpe.

 

Reid - Awful against Sheff U, a revelation since. Working his socks off but getting piss poor service. I think he could be our most important player this season but we're wasting him at the moment.

 

 

Going on yesterday and highlights from the other games I actually agree with most of what you've said (even Lund so far, although as I said elsewhere he needs more time). But...

 

Smith won almost every 50/50 ball in the air in the yesterday and was chasing balls down well into the 2nd half. He's missed sitters but will eventually take some of the many chances he gets/will get.

 

Reid does work his socks off but doesn't get himself in positions to benefit from any service there is. Maybe it's because the team is playing too deep as a whole for him to get into the box regularly but from what I've seen of him I don't there's much more to come from him. Obviously I'd like to be proven wrong.

 

One way or another, I can't see Smith and Reid working as a partnership and if it's a choice between the two I'd play Smith as I think he offers a more effective option to the team than Reid does.

[razza699]

 

 

Smith - not impressed & feel quite sorry for him. Can't control the ball, wins very little in the air for a big man, was shoulder charged by a midget at one point yesterday. Looks knackered 10 minutes in. Has missed sitters in all 3 games. Hope PD takes him out of the firing line & starts Parker at Scunthorpe.

 

 

I think its a confidence thing with this lad, he controlled everything when the pressure was off in the friendlies. Although there is no way on earth he should be our 1st team striker. We should have signed him to develop him abit like we did with Porter for a few games, but instead due to our piss poor wafer thin squad he is playing on the front line having his confidence shot.

 

I keep harping on but why the hell havent we sorted a loanee out yet from the prem , there is some cracking young strikers in there desperate for first team football

[TheBigDog]

Going on yesterday and highlights from the other games I actually agree with most of what you've said (even Lund so far, although as I said elsewhere he needs more time). But...

 

Smith won almost every 50/50 ball in the air in the yesterday and was chasing balls down well into the 2nd half. He's missed sitters but will eventually take some of the many chances he gets/will get.

 

Reid does work his socks off but doesn't get himself in positions to benefit from any service there is. Maybe it's because the team is playing too deep as a whole for him to get into the box regularly but from what I've seen of him I don't there's much more to come from him. Obviously I'd like to be proven wrong.

 

One way or another, I can't see Smith and Reid working as a partnership and if it's a choice between the two I'd play Smith as I think he offers a more effective option to the team than Reid does.

I'd try Reid and Parker up front at Scunny.

[beag_teeets]

I didn't go to Yeovil but been to the 2 home games so my ratings are:

 

Too early to make a judgement, the players aren't upto speed yet but 3 games in 2 weeks with one of those going into extra time will have a good impact on the lads and increase their fitness.

 

We were never going to be one of the high flyers this season but after seeing the first few games I can see the green shoots of something reasonably good.

 

Cisek looks ok

 

Black looks like a young full back, which is good as that is what he is

 

Lee is doing ok, we know there is more to come from him, not sure this is his best position though.

 

Mvoto appears to take games to warm up, till then he should z row it more

 

Diamond will run through brick walls, looks like he might have done this a few too many times already, coaching staff need to calm him down and remind him to z row it.

 

Taylor will come good

 

Morais will come good

 

Furman playing with injury, hope he's not out too long

 

Lund too early to pass judgement, young kid in a side he doesn't know

 

Wesloejiwsdjoa Promising

 

Reid Clearly this season's boo boy, can find the net from 12 yards, getting better each game

 

Smith is making a massive step up, looks like he can do it though, has tired toward the end of games which is to be expected, will get the required fitness soon. Reid and Smith need time to build their partnership and he needs a goal.

 

Parker is quick

 

Winchester looks like he is starting where he left off, we will have a job hanging on to him soon, good work all round on this one, use him sparingly and the latter half of the season if we still have him could be well worth watching

 

Mellor promising.

 

I'm far from hitting the panic button, would have liked to start the season a bit better, we were never going to get anything out of the blades game but we more than matched them if not slightly shaded the first half, their goal killed us though. Carlisle, we had the chances to win that, easily but thems the breaks. Yeovil, from the commentary on latics player, same as the blades game which is disappointing but again, we should have been ahead at the break which would have changed the result (duh).

 

Fortunately the games are coming thick and fast, the players can run round with their tail between their legs or they can write off the last few games and put a shift in. They also need to remember that this is a team game, no one in this side can win the game on their own, there's a reason why they are getting changed with the other 10 players and all work in the same clothes. They had better get it right by Saturday, I'm not losing again to Dale.

 

The wide midfielders need to provide a bit more cover for their fullbacks and the central midfielders need to work out who is going to be the enforcer, sounded like Yeovil got at us down the centre, clearly we missed Furman, both Lund and Weslojodjjsdkf were only in their second latics game, the one before that they had Furman shielding the back 4, they should have realised that with him injured then he wouldn't be there, words needed in their lugholes.

[Ak's11]

Cisak - Seems prone to the odd mistake & punches too much (don't remember him doing this yesterday though?) but happier with him than Brill. More mobile, more decisive.

 

Lee - picked up where he left off, solid so far, could do a bit more going forward

 

Black - never been a fan and haven't seen any improvement on last season so far

 

M'Voto - not the player we had on loan so far but glad he's here. Seemed to need a few games to get going last season so hopefully he kicks on now.

 

Diamond - not sure. Looks great at times and his distribution is quite good but can be error prone it seems. Massively at fault for the pen at Yeovil.

 

Morais - he had a good spell first half against Carlisle & showed glimpses yesterday but not living upto his billing so far. Maybe try him in the middle alongside Wesolowski?? Need creativity there and he seems a bit wasted on the wing (especially when Lund never gets the ball to him)

 

Furman - a big loss if he's out a while although he been nothing better then workmanlike in the 1st 2 games.

 

Lund - :censored:.

 

Taylor - i'm convinced he plays poorly until the transfer window shuts so he doesn't have to go . Someone commented yesterday he plays like he thinks he's in the school playground. As ever, needs more end product.

 

Smith - not impressed & feel quite sorry for him. Can't control the ball, wins very little in the air for a big man, was shoulder charged by a midget at one point yesterday. Looks knackered 10 minutes in. Has missed sitters in all 3 games. Hope PD takes him out of the firing line & starts Parker at Scunthorpe.

 

Reid - Awful against Sheff U, a revelation since. Working his socks off but getting piss poor service. I think he could be our most important player this season but we're wasting him at the moment.

 

Parker - our best new signing. Fast as f**k, enthusuastic, will try something different. MUST start against Scunthorpe whether on the right or partnering Reid.

 

Winchester - has been good when he's been on. Not sure what his best position is but I'd start him on the right instead of Lund and stick Morais in the middle to try and create something.

 

Mellor - looked promising for the short time he was on against Carlisle.

 

Millar - not seen enough to judge.

 

Dickov - very unusually for a happy clapper like me I came away yesterday questioning whether he was the right man for the job as it was a shocking 2nd half performance and he did very little to try and change it. His comments on Latics Player have restored a bit of faith though & at least he could see it the way we did (unlike his esteemed predecessor). He should be given time but the pressure must really be on - our next 4 games are all tricky until an "easy" one against Stevenage.

 

To balance the negativity, I reckon we'll win at Scunthorpe :lol: :lol:

 

Am i watching the same smith as you?

[lancy lad]

Am i watching the same smith as you?

I totally agree with you, Smith won every header versus Sheff Utd and Carlisle - cant comment on Yeovil because I wasn't there.

 

Also the bit where Reid was :censored: against Sheff Utd and a REVELATION since????

 

I thought he was very average against Carlisle although he did try harder but a revelation???

[the_mighty_bosh]

I'd try Reid and Parker up front at Scunny.

 

I'd like to see how it would work. One things for sure is that our default tactic on Saturday was to launch the ball long to Smith, which is good but doesn't get the most out of Taylor and Morais currently. Having Reid and Parker up top might get us playing on the ground and getting the best out of the team.

[opinions4u]

I think Parker brings much needed energy.

 

The rest off the team needs to get the same vibe going.

[razza699]

My only worry is if we start Parker and he is tired come 60 minutes then we have no plan B or any spark off the bench , I imagine this is Dickovs worry also

[slystallone]

Now the anger has subsided after travelling all that way to watch us get beat 3-1 (& I've sobered up now too!), I think I'm a bit more able to evaluate the game.

 

We were the better side in the 1st half again; just as we were in the Sheff Utd & Carlisle games. But, the worrying thing appears to be that if we don't score in that half whilst we're on top, we seem to fall apart 2nd half and concede. Once we do; heads go down and we might as well stop there.

The 1st Yeovil goal unfortunately sums up the way we've started the season. It was never a free-kick in the first place, then they take a pretty poor kick that luckily rebounds off our wall straight to one of their lads (Upson wasn't it?) and he just swings and puts his foot through it - could have gone over the stand or nestled in the top corner. Unfortunately for us it was the latter. Heads went down and the game was over.

 

The starting X1 that we have is lower table stuff really if we're all honest & the young lads we have to replace any injuries or suspensions we get will see us in the relegation places. Not because they are terrible players (they're not, Winchester, Tarky & Mellor all look promising) but because they're very young and very raw & when they come up against bigger, older & more experienced players I think they'll stuggle week in, week out.

 

I had said a few weeks ago that IMO we were only 1 or 2 players short of being competitive - I've changed my mind on that front and think that figure is now more like 4 or 5 now. The priority is someone in the CM position who is capable of putting their foot on the ball and looking to boss a game, because it wouldn’t matter if we did manage to sign the much talked about 'Star Striker', we don’t create enough for them to have a chance.

 

Anyway, onwards we go and hopefully we get it right tomorrow night……as I wouldn’t want us going into the 'Dale still looking for a win, short of confidence and out of sorts. I couldn’t stomach another loss to them.

[lancy lad]

My only worry is if we start Parker and he is tired come 60 minutes then we have no plan B or any spark off the bench , I imagine this is Dickovs worry also

That is why I would possibly start with Smith and Parker and leave Reid to come on if nothing is happening. I appreciate people's concern with Smith having good chances and missing them but he is a young lad who has stepped up a few divisions and I think once he bags one or two that will help his confidence.

 

Incidentally whats happened to Bembo Leta?

[Butter]

This squad is probably up there with the weakest i've seen in my time watching Latics.

Staying up will be a huge achievement, even if we do bring in a few new faces.

Get what you pay for and all that.

[oafcprozac]

This squad is probably up there with the weakest i've seen in my time watching Latics.

Staying up will be a huge achievement, even if we do bring in a few new faces.

Get what you pay for and all that.

 

 

What squad? Seriously?

 

It's the weakest I've seen in 25 years of following the club…even weaker than the team that began the 03/04 season, even that team had experience like Holden D, Mini-Shez, Murray, Eyres, Eyre in it…..as I keep banging on the team Stitch started with on the opening day of '98 was full of kids but again even then we had Kelly, Garnett, Sinnot, Dux, Reid and Orlyggson who all started that day and Whitehall came off the bench…whichever way we look at it..the situation we find ourselves in is seriously :censored:ed up.

 

Lose tomorrow and Saturday and I believe the natives will become restless….

Edited August 15, 2011 by oafcprozac

[HarryBosch]

That is why I would possibly start with Smith and Parker and leave Reid to come on if nothing is happening. I appreciate people's concern with Smith having good chances and missing them but he is a young lad who has stepped up a few divisions and I think once he bags one or two that will help his confidence.

 

Incidentally whats happened to Bembo Leta?

 

you'd drop Reid?

[lancy lad]

you'd drop Reid?

Yes. Looking at the build up to the goal on Saturday on TV (I wasn't there) he looked like he had a key part in the move that lead to the penalty, however football is obviously all about opinions.

 

And when you said since the Sheff U game he has been a revelation I nearly spat my fooking cornflakes out. I was there against Sheff U and he was utter :censored: and I went against Carlisle and he was marginally better than :censored:.

 

Like I said I am not knocking your opinion but you also saw it that Smith never wins a header (I dont know where you sit)which I really dont get because he won every header in the 2 games I saw.

 

So................ whether I am right or wrong doesn't matter, my opinion is Matt Smith given a run will do okay. I also think Parker is the right type of player to buzz around him and given a run I think could also create goals for himself rather than rely on service.......... One with pace, one with height.

 

While Reid has scored 2 penalties I really dont see much of an improvement on last season and he has had plenty of chances to impress, and he definately wont score many from self creation and will rely constantly on it being put on a plate or penalties.

 

We also need to do something very different to what we did for the last 20 games or so of last season and first 3 of this season.

 

By the way I am not getting on Reid's back (not just yet), I just think we need to do something different!

[opinions4u]

Let's not rule out a Reid / Parker partnership up front with Smith brought on with 20 mins left when we need to be more direct.

 

Parker's pace could be key to getting a bit more going our way in the final third.

[HarryBosch]

Yes. Looking at the build up to the goal on Saturday on TV (I wasn't there) he looked like he had a key part in the move that lead to the penalty, however football is obviously all about opinions.

 

And when you said since the Sheff U game he has been a revelation I nearly spat my fooking cornflakes out. I was there against Sheff U and he was utter :censored: and I went against Carlisle and he was marginally better than :censored:.

 

Like I said I am not knocking your opinion but you also saw it that Smith never wins a header (I dont know where you sit)which I really dont get because he won every header in the 2 games I saw.

 

So................ whether I am right or wrong doesn't matter, my opinion is Matt Smith given a run will do okay. I also think Parker is the right type of player to buzz around him and given a run I think could also create goals for himself rather than rely on service.......... One with pace, one with height.

 

While Reid has scored 2 penalties I really dont see much of an improvement on last season and he has had plenty of chances to impress, and he definately wont score many from self creation and will rely constantly on it being put on a plate or penalties.

 

We also need to do something very different to what we did for the last 20 games or so of last season and first 3 of this season.

 

By the way I am not getting on Reid's back (not just yet), I just think we need to do something different!

 

if I'm wrong about Smith and you're wrong about Reid we'll be flying in a few weeks

[beag_teeets]

None of our striking combinations are a partnership yet and the best strikeforces are based upon understanding of each others game and movements. To get the best out of any of the possible combinations we need to give them time to form a partnership and after 3 games it looks like Dickov is hoping that Smith and Reid will do this. To chop and change now would be counterproductive and put us back to square one.

 

There are signs that with a run of games Smith and Reid will give us a formidable front line, if I was a defender I wouldn't want to have to deal with those two. Reid's run with the ball on Saturday showed good promise, I for one wouldn't be look to hit the big change button.

[lancy lad]

if I'm wrong about Smith and you're wrong about Reid we'll be flying in a few weeks

That will do me!

[the_mighty_bosh]

If we are going to stick with 4-4-2 and start with Smith (best choice at present imo) then I wouldn't play Reid or Parker alongside him, I'd play Morais. Parker might have more pace than Reid but did as badly as Reid in anticipating Smith's headers and I doubt he would hold the ball up as well as Reid if he did. Morais has a better 1st touch than both and has the pace and trickery to get away from markers. Having someone like Winchester on the right would probably make us more disciplined defensively too.

[slystallone]

None of our striking combinations are a partnership yet and the best strikeforces are based upon understanding of each others game and movements. To get the best out of any of the possible combinations we need to give them time to form a partnership and after 3 games it looks like Dickov is hoping that Smith and Reid will do this. To chop and change now would be counterproductive and put us back to square one.

 

There are signs that with a run of games Smith and Reid will give us a formidable front line, if I was a defender I wouldn't want to have to deal with those two. Reid's run with the ball on Saturday showed good promise, I for one wouldn't be look to hit the big change button.

Agree Beags,

Reid was better again on Saturday; as he was better Vs Carlisle than he was Vs Sheffield Utd. In other owrds, He's getting better, fitter & sharper with every game - and whilst I was really in the doldrums by the time we scored on Sat; his run to set up Parker was the highlight of the game for me.

That kind of direct running at (dare I say it Reid knockers?) Pace troubles defenders.

With Reid getting better with every game, and Smith gaining more know-how & experience with every professional game he plays; I feel sooner rather than later their striking partnership will click. Because that's the key; neither of them, nor Parker (or Brooke or Bembo too) can do it all on their own. Partnerships are key; and it's really early days for all of our ones, all over the pitch.

Fingers crossed it clicks sooner rather than later like.

 

 

I dont disbelieve he wont give his all for Oldham, but it doesn't change the fact that he is garbage

Oh, and while we're doing, Slurms - that's big hairy balls. Diamond is far from garbage; to date he's been our best player and withstanding his bad mistake for the 3rd goal on Sat; he's been pretty darn faultless for us so far. But, nothing like writing off a player after less than 3 games eh (before he'd even kicked a ball for us wasn't it?) Poor form that.....