Viking Supporters Co-operative

Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: Bentley Bullet on February 03, 2016, 07:27:16 pm

Title: Quality
Post by: Bentley Bullet on February 03, 2016, 07:27:16 pm
After watching what I thought was a great performance from Walsall's ex Rover Jimmy O'connor on Tuesday, it made me realise the quality we had in the side that bet L**ds at Wembley.

Reflecting on that, I wondered if any of the present side would get a game in front of this lot.......

1      Neil Sullivan   
2   James O'Connor   
21   Sam Hird   
3   Gareth Roberts   
22   Matt Mills   
26   James Coppinger
20   Paul Green   
19   Richie Wellens
23   Jason Price    
8   Brian Stock   
12   James Hayter
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Dutch Uncle on February 03, 2016, 07:30:36 pm
IMHO the only candidates might be Tyson or Williams over Price, and/or just possibly Hayter.

Stuckmann is better than Sullivan became in his last year with us, but not better than Sullivan in 2008

Coppinger in 2008 was unfortunately but unsurprisingly much better than Coppinger in 2016
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: IDM on February 03, 2016, 07:31:55 pm
I would possibly have Tyson and Williams over Hayter and the Afro, but generally speaking that was a very good side.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: DRNaith on February 03, 2016, 07:32:44 pm
I think Matt Mills and Sam Hird both would.

I know Sam had his critics but he dealt with balls as well with his feet as Jones did with his head.

Edit: just realised I've answered the reverse of the question. To answer the actual question, I agree with Williams and Tyson
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Bentley Bullet on February 03, 2016, 07:37:13 pm
I agree with Williams and Tyson over Afro, but not sure about Hayter.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Yorkiered on February 03, 2016, 07:39:57 pm
I don't get this Jimmy O'Connor worship from Tuesday night, a decent team would have been at least 2-0 up at half time. How Walsall are 2nd in the table I don't know because they were one of the worst teams to play at the Keepmoat this season in my opinion.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Bentley Bullet on February 03, 2016, 07:43:31 pm
Yorkie, Don't you think Jimmy O'connor would get a place in our current side?
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Yorkiered on February 03, 2016, 07:46:08 pm
He probably might at the moment but then so might a lot of people. It doesn't mean he had a good game on Tuesday.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: MrFrost on February 03, 2016, 07:48:55 pm
After watching what I thought was a great performance from Walsall's ex Rover Jimmy O'connor on Tuesday, it made me realise the quality we had in the side that bet L**ds at Wembley.

Reflecting on that, I wondered if any of the present side would get a game in front of this lot.......

1      Neil Sullivan   
2   James O'Connor   
21   Sam Hird   
3   Gareth Roberts   
22   Matt Mills   
26   James Coppinger
20   Paul Green   
19   Richie Wellens
23   Jason Price    
8   Brian Stock   
12   James Hayter

That midfield though.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Bentley Bullet on February 03, 2016, 07:50:02 pm
He probably might at the moment but then so might a lot of people. It doesn't mean he had a good game on Tuesday.
But I'm not talking about 'a lot of people', I'm talking about members of the team that beat L**ds at Wembley, of which Jimmy O'connor is one.

Glad you agree, despite not being impressed by him on Tuesday!
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: drfchound on February 03, 2016, 07:57:21 pm
JoC was class on Tuesday, much the same as he was against us last season too.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Bentley Bullet on February 03, 2016, 08:00:06 pm
JoC was class on Tuesday, much the same as he was against us last season too.

Thanks Hound, for restoring my faith in human football sense!
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: no eyed deer on February 03, 2016, 08:03:32 pm
Don't you think if we could replace a couple in that team, we would have won the league ?
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Bentley Bullet on February 03, 2016, 08:06:52 pm
A top quality striker and we could have been strong challengers in the Championship.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: MrFrost on February 03, 2016, 08:13:20 pm
A top quality striker and we could have been strong challengers in the Championship.

Heffernan looked every bit a Championship striker the second half of the first Championship season.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Chris Black come back on February 03, 2016, 08:18:47 pm
If we all keep quiet on this then BST might never come sniffing around this thread.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Bentley Bullet on February 03, 2016, 08:24:48 pm
I agree, but he didn't frighten teams enough to prevent them from going all out attack against us. More respected strikers like Sharp (for instance) often had two defenders marking him, thus taking the pressure off other players.

I doubt Heffs' scoring record would have been as impressive had he been as closely marked as a player of Sharp's (for instance) calibre.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Retdon1 on February 03, 2016, 08:47:50 pm
We needed a top quality striker in our first couple of seasons in the championship then when we got one in sharp, we know longer had the likes of mills and shackell. It's a shame we didn't have all these for 1 full season. I believe we would of reach the playoffs
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Bentley Bullet on February 03, 2016, 08:51:34 pm
Retdon1,
       
           My point entirely.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on February 03, 2016, 09:28:04 pm
Well.








Nah. f**k it...
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: DonnyBazR0ver on February 03, 2016, 10:23:49 pm
Agree with most about Tyson and Williams but, I think I'd stick with JJ and Hayter. JJ had many facets to his game and was intelligent enough to fit into the ethos.

There was quality right through that team coupled with the intelligence to apply a game plan.

JO'C had that intelligence that got him converted to CB a bit earlier than what liked because we missed a fantastic full back.

Sam Hird didn't get enough credit for his part in that success. McCullough is similar but Sam had that bit of extra pace to get us out of trouble when we needed it.

That team would walk this division and wouldn't need the play-offs.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: RoversAlias on February 03, 2016, 11:32:35 pm
I too would stick with JJ and Hayter up front, that entire team just worked so well together and the front 6 complemented each other perfectly. I think our top scorer in the league that season only had about 8/9 goals, but we deservedly got promoted and were in the top 3/4 for much of the campaign.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on February 04, 2016, 12:04:25 am
We were actually in the top 2-4 for the final 23 games of the season and never in the top 5 for the first 23 games of the season.

http://www.statto.com/football/teams/doncaster-rovers/2007-2008

Don't get me started on THAT one an all.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: mrfrostsdad on February 04, 2016, 12:41:31 am
I wouldn't have a single one of our current players compared to that team.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: RoversAlias on February 04, 2016, 01:46:54 am
Half the season then? Doesn't disprove my point at all. I know we had a tough time for the early months, but my point about that line-up working well together and us deserving to go up stands.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: BillyStubbsTears on February 04, 2016, 08:32:49 am
Alias

I wasn't questioning what you said. Apologies if it came across that way. I fully agree that we had a sumptuously talented squad. It was just baffling that it took us half a season to properly get into gear, and that we didn't secure automatic promotion when we were comfortably capable of doing so.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: normal rules on February 04, 2016, 10:42:25 am
No particular individual brilliance in that team IMHO, but as a team, they were superb.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Bessie Red on February 04, 2016, 11:55:43 am
I don't get this Jimmy O'Connor worship from Tuesday night, a decent team would have been at least 2-0 up at half time. How Walsall are 2nd in the table I don't know because they were one of the worst teams to play at the Keepmoat this season in my opinion.

I agree with Yorkie. He was one of my favourite players whilst he was with us but he looked very ordinary on Tuesday. If Tyson had played alongside Williams I believe we would have had a field day with their Centre Halves and won the game comfortably.
Title: Re: Quality
Post by: Sammy Chung was King on February 04, 2016, 11:08:23 pm
I'm not really putting the present players down, because it's a very good team we are comparing against, only Williams would make the starting line up, and a few would be good enough for the bench. Because we didn't have a great bench even back then, one or two that could change a game, but a few fairly ordinary players making up the rest of the bench, because injuries were also hitting us really hard back then.