A Few Observations

[Inspiral_Carpet]

I drove home last night really disappointed. The lack of atmosphere at BP didn't help (do we need The Little Drummer Boy back? ) and the fact that despite it being warm everywhere else yesterday, Boundary Park was again living up to its Joe Royle-inspired nickname of Ice Station Zebra.

 

We played lots of nice football yesterday. Trouble was, it was from wing to wing. We've had our share of crab-like midfield players but for me, Kilkenny is miles away from being the creative player that we crave. He's young though and can only improve in that regard. His first touch is sublime and he protects the ball well. Shame he is injured as Shez must be dying to teach him a few more mercurial attacking skills.

 

Yesterday was Foreplay Football. Loads of fannying around but no penetration. We looked great stringing passes together but the two banks of 4 adopted by The Gas just dropped deeper and we could find no real way through. We had chances to draw and even win but once again, the break didn't come.

 

The reaction of the crowd was poor yesterday. Cheering Ricketts' substitution was ridiculous and there were no need for boos at the end. We shouldn't have lost though and I can understand why it happened.

 

I also think we have a problem playing two out and out wingers when we have Craig Davies. He likes to drift wide and some of our best work this Season has come from him taking on his man on the outside and cutting in. When Liddell is playing, he is strong and experienced enough to stop this happening on the right. Not so though for the youngsters like Smalley and Taylor. In my view, Taylor struggled at home against Swansea mainly because he had nowhere to go. If this is going to be the case, then I can understand why Shez initially played with a narrow midfield.

 

Two other things for me though that I noticed. Shez stayed away from Pitch-side. A good idea IMO as he is a sending-off waiting to happen.

 

Also, we never use the multi-ball System. How much time was wasted yesterday when the ball went into the waste areas at BP - or was on the corners of the pitch - an area where the ball-boys fear to tread? IMO, this is playing into the hands of teams like Bristol Rovers. They would have time-wasted if they had been holding on for a draw let alone a win. Let's face it, they never expected to get more than a point, nor did they set out to play for the win.

 

As we have seen ourselves, a succesful run can lead to great team spirit and the rub of the green. 14 matches undefeated now for Rovers which is a tremendous record. For me though, they looked a lightweight outfit and I think they will struggle once their bubble has burst. I'd be surprised if they finished top half.

 

Anyway, yesterday's result isn't the end of the World and we will play worse than yesterday and win. The expectation is higher this year. And so are we in the League table than we were after 3 matches last term.

[kellys_discopants]

Good post there....agree with pretty much everything...

 

Just on the Ricketts thing....when will people learn booing players aint gonna make em play any better, and booing him after 3 games is just a joke IMO.

[paulgard]

anyone on here thinks were top six material are deluded,we were crap yesterday and anyone who wants to come on here and say we were'nt are also deluded.i'll give you 5-1 we don't make top six,leeds will finish above us.everyone talking about what a good front line we have,well ricketts is crap tell me what he's done now in 3 league games,answer nash.midfield crap,defence were do we start,thomson not up to it if he was forest would still have him.gregan,well if he's not the most overrated player at the club then i don't know who is,spent most of the second half walking about not doubling up with thomson on their centreforward when we were attacking,so much wrong about his game,and the leftback could'nt pass water.struggle to finish in top half imo.cue the onslaught from those with blue tinted specs on.

[RoytonBlueLad]

anyone on here thinks were top six material are deluded,we were crap yesterday and anyone who wants to come on here and say we were'nt are also deluded.i'll give you 5-1 we don't make top six,leeds will finish above us.everyone talking about what a good front line we have,well ricketts is crap tell me what he's done now in 3 league games,answer nash.midfield crap,defence were do we start,thomson not up to it if he was forest would still have him.gregan,well if he's not the most overrated player at the club then i don't know who is,spent most of the second half walking about not doubling up with thomson on their centreforward when we were attacking,so much wrong about his game,and the leftback could'nt pass water.struggle to finish in top half imo.cue the onslaught from those with blue tinted specs on.

 

[dave_ragg1984]

anyone on here thinks were top six material are deluded,we were crap yesterday and anyone who wants to come on here and say we were'nt are also deluded.i'll give you 5-1 we don't make top six,leeds will finish above us.everyone talking about what a good front line we have,well ricketts is crap tell me what he's done now in 3 league games,answer nash.midfield crap,defence were do we start,thomson not up to it if he was forest would still have him.gregan,well if he's not the most overrated player at the club then i don't know who is,spent most of the second half walking about not doubling up with thomson on their centreforward when we were attacking,so much wrong about his game,and the leftback could'nt pass water.struggle to finish in top half imo.cue the onslaught from those with blue tinted specs on.

 

 

Just checking, is your glass half full or half empty?

[mattyoafc]

anyone on here thinks were top six material are deluded,we were crap yesterday and anyone who wants to come on here and say we were'nt are also deluded.i'll give you 5-1 we don't make top six,leeds will finish above us.everyone talking about what a good front line we have,well ricketts is crap tell me what he's done now in 3 league games,answer nash.midfield crap,defence were do we start,thomson not up to it if he was forest would still have him.gregan,well if he's not the most overrated player at the club then i don't know who is,spent most of the second half walking about not doubling up with thomson on their centreforward when we were attacking,so much wrong about his game,and the leftback could'nt pass water.struggle to finish in top half imo.cue the onslaught from those with blue tinted specs on.

 

Shutup if all your going to do is moan Surely there were positives to take away from the game on Saturday, don't worry it's early days we will get better, it happens with many teams. Have some optimism if you have such low expectations and keep on moaning don't bother coming watching us because when the team is playing badly we need more support not all critisism.......ROLL ON TUESDAY >>>> KEEP THE FAITH!

 

Obviously everyone on this board is deluded aswell as many fans from plenty of other clubs haha what a joke!

[real]

anyone on here thinks were top six material are deluded,we were crap yesterday and anyone who wants to come on here and say we were'nt are also deluded.i'll give you 5-1 we don't make top six,leeds will finish above us.everyone talking about what a good front line we have,well ricketts is crap tell me what he's done now in 3 league games,answer nash.midfield crap,defence were do we start,thomson not up to it if he was forest would still have him.gregan,well if he's not the most overrated player at the club then i don't know who is,spent most of the second half walking about not doubling up with thomson on their centreforward when we were attacking,so much wrong about his game,and the leftback could'nt pass water.struggle to finish in top half imo.cue the onslaught from those with blue tinted specs on.

 

we had 7 shots on target. they had 1. how many games do you expect to see where a team with 1 shot on target rather than a team with 7 shots on target goes away with the 3 points? I'm far happier being regarded as "deluded" by you than I would be if I was agreeing with you. You're not really a qualified judge, more of an unqualified idiot - but only because you couldn't put your name on the test paper.

KtF

[paulgard]

Shutup if all your going to do is moan Surely there were positives to take away from the game on Saturday, don't worry it's early days we will get better, it happens with many teams. Have some optimism if you have such low expectations and keep on moaning don't bother coming watching us because when the team is playing badly we need more support not all critisism.......ROLL ON TUESDAY >>>> KEEP THE FAITH!

 

Obviously everyone on this board is deluded aswell as many fans from plenty of other clubs haha what a joke!

silly me for thinking this was a site where you could voice your opinion and have a decent debate about it.for your information pal i've never slagged the team or an individual off when i'm at the match.on the 3 league games i've seen that is my opinion coming from my head not my heart.tell me the positves to take from the game instead of just saying there was,cos i did'nt see it.

[kellys_discopants]

anyone on here thinks were top six material are deluded,we were crap yesterday and anyone who wants to come on here and say we were'nt are also deluded.i'll give you 5-1 we don't make top six,leeds will finish above us.everyone talking about what a good front line we have,well ricketts is crap tell me what he's done now in 3 league games,answer nash.midfield crap,defence were do we start,thomson not up to it if he was forest would still have him.gregan,well if he's not the most overrated player at the club then i don't know who is,spent most of the second half walking about not doubling up with thomson on their centreforward when we were attacking,so much wrong about his game,and the leftback could'nt pass water.struggle to finish in top half imo.cue the onslaught from those with blue tinted specs on.

 

Nothing like abit of optimism

 

But seriously...guys...look weve had two poor results and people are posting this sort of tripe....remind me what sort of start did we have last season .. give it another 4/5 games and then see where we are ..

[RoytonBlueLad]

we have last season .. give it another 4/5 games and then see where we are ..

 

Sorted it

 

give it another 14/15 games

[kellys_discopants]

Fair enough Royton....either ones good for me....just think people are being to quick to criticise and definitely to quick to say well struggle etcetc off 2 results...

[RoytonBlueLad]

Definitely. Patience. This time last year we had one home win, one away defeat and one home defeat. Which is erm what we have now.

[paulgard]

we had 7 shots on target. they had 1. how many games do you expect to see where a team with 1 shot on target rather than a team with 7 shots on target goes away with the 3 points? I'm far happier being regarded as "deluded" by you than I would be if I was agreeing with you. You're not really a qualified judge, more of an unqualified idiot - but only because you couldn't put your name on the test paper.

KtF

you sound like a deluded red to me.

[real]

you sound like a deluded red to me.

 

yeah, right.

 

2 defeats and you're whining. you sound like a 12 yr old who's been sent to bed early. my dad's bigger than your dad.

[paulgard]

yeah, right.

 

2 defeats and you're whining. you sound like a 12 yr old who's been sent to bed early. my dad's bigger than your dad.

i'm calling it as i see it,are you telling me your happy with what you've seen so far then far play to you,if not then voice your opinion,don't be afraid.

[fleetwood Blue]

As soon as the team gels we will be flying up that league, how many new players has Shez brought in and your expecting miracles over night!

[real]

i'm calling it as i see it,are you telling me your happy with what you've seen so far then far play to you,if not then voice your opinion,don't be afraid.

 

I have been voicing my opinion, and I've been basing it on facts. You've started off by stating that anyone who doesn't agree with your "opinion" is deluded. Then you've said I sound like a manure fan, although you don't seem to be explaining why.

I'd associate moaning after 2 defeats with manure glory hunting fans. I'd associate watching the game properly, seeing how we actually played and what went well (and what didn't) with real football fans.

 

Happy with the way we played? Not completely, but there were clear signs that we are playing in the right way. I said the same last season after 4 games. You seem despondent, I wonder how you felt last season after 6 games with 4 points on the board? Or are you just calling it as you see the table?

 

Tell me; what positives did you see yesterday?

[oorwillie59]

I have been voicing my opinion, and I've been basing it on facts. You've started off by stating that anyone who doesn't agree with your "opinion" is deluded. Then you've said I sound like a manure fan, although you don't seem to be explaining why.

I'd associate moaning after 2 defeats with manure glory hunting fans. I'd associate watching the game properly, seeing how we actually played and what went well (and what didn't) with real football fans.

 

Happy with the way we played? Not completely, but there were clear signs that we are playing in the right way. I said the same last season after 4 games. You seem despondent, I wonder how you felt last season after 6 games with 4 points on the board? Or are you just calling it as you see the table?

 

Tell me; what positives did you see yesterday?

foreplay football a lot of fannying around without any penatration nearly peed myself but agree great thread some good points, i think we all need to calm down here. Given the number of new players it's going to take a bit of time to get to know each others game and gel into a effective unit, imo thats not to far off given a little time and a couple tweeks here n there it will come together, then light the blue tuch paper and stand back top six easy peasy

[paulgard]

I have been voicing my opinion, and I've been basing it on facts. You've started off by stating that anyone who doesn't agree with your "opinion" is deluded. Then you've said I sound like a manure fan, although you don't seem to be explaining why.

I'd associate moaning after 2 defeats with manure glory hunting fans. I'd associate watching the game properly, seeing how we actually played and what went well (and what didn't) with real football fans.

 

Happy with the way we played? Not completely, but there were clear signs that we are playing in the right way. I said the same last season after 4 games. You seem despondent, I wonder how you felt last season after 6 games with 4 points on the board? Or are you just calling it as you see the table?

 

Tell me; what positives did you see yesterday?

read the first line real,i said anyone who thinks were top six material are deluded,i did'nt say if you don't agree with me.as for the reds bit,7 shots to their 1 thats what they say even when they've played crap and NOT scored they still think they should of won.not calling it as i see the table,i just don't think we'll do anything this season reason being teams struggle the season after losing out in the play-offs, fact.i don't think this team is good enough,thats my opinion i'm not asking you to agree with me,christ if people posted on here and everyone agreed it would be pretty boring don't you think.as for real football fans i don't get that.the positves well c davies for one never stopped running and the steak pies were hot.

[footy68]

I for one think we are top six material. We've not been brilliant in the first 3 games and could have easily had 9 points. Once we gel we will be unstoppable. Incidently, the team which won the league last season had a worse start than us.

[real]

2nd Sept 2006. Played 6 games. Latics 22nd Blackpool 18th Scunny 20th. Tranmere were 2nd.

 

iirc it took a few more games before we began to seriously climb the table. Let's at least wait until the end of September before making predictions for the May 2008.

[Hometownclub]

There is way to much negativity about at the moment, it is still early days and the team will be best judged after 10 or 15 games.

I can see plenty of positives in our performances, but people also have a right to point out the negatives that they see as well.

Davies continues to be the most positive thing I can see at the moment, a really great buy who when he moves on will make the club some good money.

Kilkenny out for a month is a massive negative, but if Kalala and Allott are both fit then they will both play and I'm sure do a good job.

Lee Hughes joining up with the team this week is another positive, the sooner we get this lad match fit and playing the better. Hughes and Davies up front is a great prospect and one I am eagerly awaiting.

[oafc1955]

anyone on here thinks were top six material are deluded,we were crap yesterday and anyone who wants to come on here and say we were'nt are also deluded.i'll give you 5-1 we don't make top six,leeds will finish above us.everyone talking about what a good front line we have,well ricketts is crap tell me what he's done now in 3 league games,answer nash.midfield crap,defence were do we start,thomson not up to it if he was forest would still have him.gregan,well if he's not the most overrated player at the club then i don't know who is,spent most of the second half walking about not doubling up with thomson on their centreforward when we were attacking,so much wrong about his game,and the leftback could'nt pass water.struggle to finish in top half imo.cue the onslaught from those with blue tinted specs on.

 

Gregan....OVERATED!!!! Where the hell do you get that comment from, without his presence yesterday we'd have lost by a greater margin. For me he is the first defender on the team sheet.. no question.

 

Were you watching the same game!!!!!

[BlueJazzer]

Dont see the point of arguing amongst ourselves and slagging each other off over differing opinions. I agree that it is early days to slag the whole team off and write off any chances we have of promotion/playoffs, as a lot of people are saying. However, I also agree that there are a lot of people looking through blue tinted glasses.

Yes, booing players is out of order and does nothing for confidence, but lets face it, Ricketts has been a major dissapointment so far (IMO). Too lazy, not mobile enough, cant jump more than 3 inches? Very frustrating. Craig Davies runs his ass off for 90 minutes and if he finds his goalscoring touch (and he'd better, I got 66-1 on him finishing top scorer in league one!) he could well be the best buy we've made in the last decade.

 

Come on guys, lets not start cybershoving each other about it all, but at least be man enough to respect that other peoples opinions may not be the same as your own - and that is aimed at everyone, the doubters and the blue tints.

 

Keep the faith.......

[neiladamsheadband]

anyone on here thinks were top six material are deluded,we were crap yesterday and anyone who wants to come on here and say we were'nt are also deluded.i'll give you 5-1 we don't make top six,leeds will finish above us.everyone talking about what a good front line we have,well ricketts is crap tell me what he's done now in 3 league games,answer nash.midfield crap,defence were do we start,thomson not up to it if he was forest would still have him.gregan,well if he's not the most overrated player at the club then i don't know who is,spent most of the second half walking about not doubling up with thomson on their centreforward when we were attacking,so much wrong about his game,and the leftback could'nt pass water.struggle to finish in top half imo.cue the onslaught from those with blue tinted specs on.

 

this is early days yet - are you entitled to your opininon - so not going to have a go at anyone for that - i agree with one thing we were crap on sat - i dont know where shez got that was our best performance of the season from cause reading the report and his comments i was at a totally different game

 

illl take your 5-1 offer if it is still on the cards 20quid for me. we have a team of players who are not 100% fit and ricketts being one of em, along with Thomo and has proven now KK, Grregan is one of the best centre halfs in this league but if that makes him crap then hey ho.

 

why are the not fit i dont know - but we are a top six side and as the aseason goes on it will prove its self to be - we the players with that ability and football will be played - must admit tho sounds like you could be a relation of ronnie moore but thats again opinions,

 

thi is the place to voice your opinion and im gald you are not one of those prats in the NSM stand who slagged off ricketts from the 1st minute, the guy is not going to run round like a headless chicken, for the full lenght of time he is on the pitch and once those idiots realise that they may just take a step back and analyse what he is trying to do he has a fantatsic football brain and will get better as the season goes on(thats me with my rose coloured specs) (maybe why i thought we were crap) anyways time will tell

 

if we are all postive at the game, we can view our opinions on here because that is the pure beauty about our game.

 

dont forget £20 at 5-1 please top six finish