Littlemoor Lad Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 2 hours ago, Andy Barlow’s dietician said: I enjoyed the first half. We looked really compact and committed and the players were able to cope thanks to the strange lacklustre approach from Bournemouth. We should have been in front at half time, and Bahamboula looked by far the best payer on the pitch. Unfortunately, Bournemouth got a rocket at half time and that plus a couple of tactical changes from their coach (it seemed like HK was ripping into him pretty much every time he was on camera “my coat cost much more than yours did, wanker”) and the game was gone. In the 2nd half our frailties were exposed, primarily a lack of organisation at the back, no outlet up top, and most significantly a midfield not smart or capable enough to win 2nd ball and then get a pass away to get us going. We can live without a hold up centre forward as we have enough forward quality to get by without one (Chris O’’Grady ahead of Connor Macaleny anyone?). We do though have to be better defensively, so a RB and CB are needed, probably ahead of Pidge and any of our numerous right backs. Barnett is a fill in at LB; CBJ is good enough and I noted Badan made the bench today. Midfield is a right head scratcher. I think Garrity gets more grief than is probably deserved, but on balance I wouldn’t have him in the team. Same for Brice, who I see as the bigger issue. We need the Mtwambe position to be the best player in the team, and if we could get a good player, and leader, in to fill this place then I think with McAlmont alongside we can play either DKD or Whelan as the link to our quality front three. Take your pick of three from four up top, but for me (once fit) Rowe plays as of course does Bahamboula. Our very best team probably includes all four of them with Bahamboula and MacAleny wide and leaving out Whelan/DKD. We can only play all four if the changes described above have happened. I like thinking about the team and how to make it better. I expect though that we will probably only pick up a big forward and a not good enough midfielder in the window and so roughly carry on with what we’ve got to the end of this season. On that basis, we finish in the 3rd quadrant, but maybe closer to twelfth than nineteenth. Talk of playoffs is, I am afraid, absolute bollocks (however bad the league is). Harrogate, Walsall, and Grimsby results recently have told us that. p Great post but how many games are there left to play? They'll be plenty of opportunities to get back amongst the play off suitors, a couple of wins takes you there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Branston Pickle Posted January 9, 2021 Share Posted January 9, 2021 Yeah, results against certain teams might suggest they're not good enough for the playoffs, but then again they've won away at Exeter, Newport and Cambridge which suggests they can compete. League 2 is not a good league, and all it takes is a few wins on the bounce to be up there. Get a decent midfielder in, and actually change the tactics at home, and there's no reason why they can't be up there. People really underestimate how shit this league is. Carlisle are top ffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penrhyn Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 3 hours ago, Andy Barlow’s dietician said: Talk of playoffs is, I am afraid, absolute bollocks (however bad the league is). Harrogate, Walsall, and Grimsby results recently have told us that. Exeter, Newport, Cheltenham, Cambridge results beg to differ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oafc21 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 8 minutes ago, penrhyn said: Exeter, Newport, Cheltenham, Cambridge results beg to differ. I agree with Andy b on this, talk of the playoffs with this squad is pie in the sky, Grimsby have let in 10 goals in the last 5 games with 4 defeats, we could only give them their first point in 5?? The next 5 games I cannot see us getting 3points at most out of them, our midfield is shocking especially with garrity getting chosen as our main man We won’t get relegated and probably finish 14-12 in this toss league Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaddyexile84 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 4 minutes ago, oafc21 said: I agree with Andy b on this, talk of the playoffs with this squad is pie in the sky, Grimsby have let in 10 goals in the last 5 games with 4 defeats, we could only give them their first point in 5?? The next 5 games I cannot see us getting 3points at most out of them, our midfield is shocking especially with garrity getting chosen as our main man We won’t get relegated and probably finish 14-12 in this toss league It’s typical Latics - a great 45 minutes and we are world beaters and getting in the play offs we will get twatted in our next league game and everyone will say we are going down This team is not good enough for a promotion challenge and across a season that is being proven - the fact Garrity is being highlighted for one good half all season says it all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlemoor Lad Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 8 hours ago, Guy Branston Pickle said: Yeah, results against certain teams might suggest they're not good enough for the playoffs, but then again they've won away at Exeter, Newport and Cambridge which suggests they can compete. League 2 is not a good league, and all it takes is a few wins on the bounce to be up there. Get a decent midfielder in, and actually change the tactics at home, and there's no reason why they can't be up there. People really underestimate how shit this league is. Carlisle are top ffs. With you on all of that, we actually have some very decent young players right now and the signs are their developing a far better understanding as a group. We've already seen off most of the best sides in this league and have as much chance as those above us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBigDog Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 11 hours ago, Andy Barlow’s dietician said: We do though have to be better defensively, so a RB and CB are needed, probably ahead of Pidge and any of our numerous right backs. Barnett is a fill in at LB; CBJ is good enough and I noted Badan made the bench today. To be fair to Pidge, he had a very good first half. He had obviously been told to man-mark King and he did whilst defending resolutely at the back. However our ‘compact and committed’ team play seemed to disappear in the second half. and we looked lacklustre. Whether that was down to a Bournemouth change in tactics and approach, or simply a loss of application on our part, we reverted back to the poor team play of recent weeks. Kewell rightly praised the first half performance and its that level of play that we need for the full ninety minutes. I along with the majority of observers was surprised at the starting eleven - specifically leaving McAleny and Dearnley on the bench. And don’t forget that we were missing Rowe (what’s that all about?) and Grant up front with CBJ’s absence a big loss at the back. I don’t expect more than a couple of new faces this transfer window which means we will need to get the most out of what we have on the books. When all the squad are available (and I do not include Wheater as that will never happen) we have an okay team. Depending on the quality of any additions we could put out a good team that has a decent chance of competing at the top end of the table. Where we eventually finish will be determined by a number of factors. Bringing in some quality additions alongside returning better players can have a huge impact on this. A crucial few weeks ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Londonboy Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 49 minutes ago, TheBigDog said: To be fair to Pidge, he had a very good first half. He had obviously been told to man-mark King and he did whilst defending resolutely at the back. However our ‘compact and committed’ team play seemed to disappear in the second half. and we looked lacklustre. Whether that was down to a Bournemouth change in tactics and approach, or simply a loss of application on our part, we reverted back to the poor team play of recent weeks. Kewell rightly praised the first half performance and its that level of play that we need for the full ninety minutes. I along with the majority of observers was surprised at the starting eleven - specifically leaving McAleny and Dearnley on the bench. And don’t forget that we were missing Rowe (what’s that all about?) and Grant up front with CBJ’s absence a big loss at the back. I don’t expect more than a couple of new faces this transfer window which means we will need to get the most out of what we have on the books. When all the squad are available (and I do not include Wheater as that will never happen) we have an okay team. Depending on the quality of any additions we could put out a good team that has a decent chance of competing at the top end of the table. Where we eventually finish will be determined by a number of factors. Bringing in some quality additions alongside returning better players can have a huge impact on this. A crucial few weeks ahead. Agree starting on Weds at home to Mansfield. Hadn't realized to they are on such a good run. Lost only 2 out of their last 15 in all comps which is promotion form. Will be a good test as to where we are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Littlemoor Lad Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 3 minutes ago, Londonboy said: Agree starting on Weds at home to Mansfield. Hadn't realized to they are on such a good run. Lost only 2 out of their last 15 in all comps which is promotion form. Will be a good test as to where we are. Clough has completely turned them around but we need to take the 3 points here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LightDN123 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 13 hours ago, Lee Sinnott2 said: Saw Blacky in the gym a few weeks back. He was aiming for today's game as a comeback... Can he aim for the season after next as a come back ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Barlow’s dietician Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 9 hours ago, penrhyn said: Exeter, Newport, Cheltenham, Cambridge results beg to differ. I don’t think we will get near the play offs because we throw in too many bad performances. I agree, on our day, we are as good as any team, those results prove that. We have to close the gap on the top seven and it takes a higher % of win games to go from 15th to 7th than it does to go from 23rd to 15th. All teams lose their share of games due to some bad luck, coming up against an opposition who have a really good day, or having to go with a sub standard team due to injuries. The better teams don’t then waste points when things are (or should be) in their favour (ie we should have taken 6 points from Scunthorpe, Harrogate, Grimsby - we got 1). What I think we lack is that bit of grit and dog to get the 1-0 when we have to and keep the points ticking up (Shez knew how to forge a team to do this in his latter spells with us). I don’t think we will get near the playoffs because I don’t think we will sign the three key players we need to give us that kind of team. The next best thing is to keep winning a few, giving us all some enjoyment (Newport, for instance, was great stuff), and make sure we get the better players under contract for next season so we don’t start from scratch (again) HK has improved the players and the performances and on that basis should be backed to move us forward again next season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_Og Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 2 hours ago, Andy Barlow’s dietician said: I don’t think we will get near the play offs because we throw in too many bad performances. I agree, on our day, we are as good as any team, those results prove that. We have to close the gap on the top seven and it takes a higher % of win games to go from 15th to 7th than it does to go from 23rd to 15th. All teams lose their share of games due to some bad luck, coming up against an opposition who have a really good day, or having to go with a sub standard team due to injuries. The better teams don’t then waste points when things are (or should be) in their favour (ie we should have taken 6 points from Scunthorpe, Harrogate, Grimsby - we got 1). What I think we lack is that bit of grit and dog to get the 1-0 when we have to and keep the points ticking up (Shez knew how to forge a team to do this in his latter spells with us). I don’t think we will get near the playoffs because I don’t think we will sign the three key players we need to give us that kind of team. The next best thing is to keep winning a few, giving us all some enjoyment (Newport, for instance, was great stuff), and make sure we get the better players under contract for next season so we don’t start from scratch (again) HK has improved the players and the performances and on that basis should be backed to move us forward again next season. 100% agree. a side that has got to mid-January keeping a single clean sheet (and that against a team in rank bad form) needs more than a tweak to go on a promotion form run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100milesaway Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 I just don't get ! the managers thought patterns. So, we will go to bournemouth , defend like our lives depend on it. Give the ball to Bambi as an outlet, and let him run at them . But what is the point of that when we don't have a striker on the pitch for the bloke to pass to after he has opened them up ? It's been the same thing all season. I think that in Dearnley, Rowe and Mc Aleney we have 3 of the best finishers in the league. All 3 however are injury prone, and even when fit never seem to be on the pitch at the same time. If those 3 plus Bambi got on the pitch at the same time, the opposition wouldn't be too keen on swarming forward, AND dominating the game, as almost every team we have played have done. In Joe Royle's day, ( oh, what fantastic memories ) he would say that his team would do it's defending on the edge of the OTHER teams penalty area not our own. I think that our manager causes us lots of problems by over thinking everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlossopLatic Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 45 minutes ago, 100milesaway said: I just don't get ! the managers thought patterns. So, we will go to bournemouth , defend like our lives depend on it. Give the ball to Bambi as an outlet, and let him run at them . But what is the point of that when we don't have a striker on the pitch for the bloke to pass to after he has opened them up ? It's been the same thing all season. I think that in Dearnley, Rowe and Mc Aleney we have 3 of the best finishers in the league. All 3 however are injury prone, and even when fit never seem to be on the pitch at the same time. If those 3 plus Bambi got on the pitch at the same time, the opposition wouldn't be too keen on swarming forward, AND dominating the game, as almost every team we have played have done. In Joe Royle's day, ( oh, what fantastic memories ) he would say that his team would do it's defending on the edge of the OTHER teams penalty area not our own. I think that our manager causes us lots of problems by over thinking everything. Yet in the first half when we had Bambhoula upfront on his own we played our best football of the game. When Dearnley and Macleney came on they didn't really impact the game and they couldn't because we couldn't get hold of the game It's all very well saying attack attack attack you could have Christiano Ronaldo upfront for you but if you can't get him the ball he can't score. Now I don't blame our midfield for not controlling the game yesterday against a side 3rd in the championship. Where it is a problem is when they can't get hold of the game at home to Harrogate Town. We are not tactically too defensive infact we aren't at all the evidence shows us the opposite of that. The problem is in personnel we strengthen in midfield and defense not only will we stop shipping so many cheap goals but we will get more control in games and actually create more chances. You mention Joe Royles yes we were attack minded but we had the likes of milligan Henry and Redfearn who got of the ball in the middle of the park and defenders like Barrett Warhurst Jobson Irwin and Barlow who could not only keep the ball out our net but could step forward comfortably with the ball at their feet and start attacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
100milesaway Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 4 minutes ago, GlossopLatic said: Yet in the first half when we had Bambhoula upfront on his own we played our best football of the game. When Dearnley and Macleney came on they didn't really impact the game and they couldn't because we couldn't get hold of the game It's all very well saying attack attack attack you could have Christiano Ronaldo upfront for you but if you can't get him the ball he can't score. Now I don't blame our midfield for not controlling the game yesterday against a side 3rd in the championship. Where it is a problem is when they can't get hold of the game at home to Harrogate Town. We are not tactically too defensive infact we aren't at all the evidence shows us the opposite of that. The problem is in personnel we strengthen in midfield and defense not only will we stop shipping so many cheap goals but we will get more control in games and actually create more chances. You mention Joe Royles yes we were attack minded but we had the likes of milligan Henry and Redfearn who got of the ball in the middle of the park and defenders like Barrett Warhurst Jobson Irwin and Barlow who could not only keep the ball out our net but could step forward comfortably with the ball at their feet and start attacks. Yes, but surely when you are playing your best football of the game, you should actually score. And maybe we would have done if we had a recognized goal scorer on the pitch, not sat in the dug out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
singe Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 We need a leader to get hold of our midfield, and a leader in defence. The problem is our owner, Sporting Director Director don't like leader types anywhere near the first team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfatjoe1 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Great win for Crawley. Second smallest budget in the EFL, but that second half display was excellent. Good luck to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBigDog Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 47 minutes ago, bigfatjoe1 said: Great win for Crawley. Second smallest budget in the EFL, but that second half display was excellent. Good luck to them. Agree but how bad were Leeds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_Og Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 49 minutes ago, TheBigDog said: Agree but how bad were Leeds... They were so bad you'd almost think they threw it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobledgersheart Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 12 minutes ago, Dave_Og said: They were so bad you'd almost think they threw it They weren't averse to giving the old brown envelope many years ago according to one former League manager. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
League one forever Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 2 hours ago, singe said: We need a leader to get hold of our midfield, and a leader in defence. The problem is our owner, Sporting Director Director don't like leader types anywhere near the first team. That’s a great point Singe. Hard to imagine us doing anything of note without any leaders. Submissive teams don’t win promotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Barlow’s dietician Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 4 hours ago, singe said: We need a leader to get hold of our midfield, and a leader in defence. The problem is our owner, Sporting Director Director don't like leader types anywhere near the first team. This point is spot on. The evidence that Marco and or Mo can’t handle senior pros is overwhelming and is probably the biggest factor as to why I doubt we will make the team changing signings required for a playoff push. Add to that we haven’t got the money to bring in these type of players, although whether there are many really good ones actually ready to come in and do a job from day 1 is debatable anyway (ie there are 10 Chris Eagles/Dave Jones for every Chris McCann). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobledgersheart Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 15 hours ago, Andy Barlow’s dietician said: The evidence that Marco and or Mo can’t handle senior pros is overwhelming and is probably the biggest factor as to why I doubt we will make the team changing signings required for a playoff push. Can't help thinking it's a cultural thing with the two of them, losing face if someone disagrees with you and is proved correct. It's something you have to accept sometimes to progress. Heed good advice and ignore the yes men. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP1960 Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 17 hours ago, Andy Barlow’s dietician said: This point is spot on. The evidence that Marco and or Mo can’t handle senior pros is overwhelming and is probably the biggest factor as to why I doubt we will make the team changing signings required for a playoff push. Add to that we haven’t got the money to bring in these type of players, although whether there are many really good ones actually ready to come in and do a job from day 1 is debatable anyway (ie there are 10 Chris Eagles/Dave Jones for every Chris McCann). If they cant afford to bring in better players why are they here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_Og Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 2 hours ago, BP1960 said: If they cant afford to bring in better players why are they here? They thought the players they could afford to bring were better. But they weren't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.