Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: ravenrover on January 04, 2024, 04:06:18 pm
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Signed
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW2l1V6UFPo
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Very good interview, seems to have a good character and personality about him - one I think we, the supporters, can truly get behind.
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Great news! Welcome Jay and good luck
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Good interview. Good luck to him, hope he does well
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This means nothing but, just looking at his clips, how comfortable he is in posession and the size of him gives me belief that he will improve us. After what GM has said regarding the recruitment I just can't see this one being a disaster.
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Finally a signing worthy of the name .. :scarf:
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In the same way that Faulkner is - he looks a unit for his age!
Left sided centre halves are hard to recruit for too
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Can we just use his dad’s song and change it to jay? Easy enough.
Sounds like he’s going to get plenty of opportunity
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GM seems confident he can go straight into the first team squad saying he's going to get plenty of game time.
Without the bigger picture in McCanns head, it's a bit foggy where we're going but, you'd hope this is succession planning beyond Anderson, Wood and then maybe Long and Olowu.
I think we'd all like to see Faulkener get his chances very soon but, either way I hope we can find a secure combination at the back, with back up, so Bailey can be released into midfield.
Possibly two more to come then? At least one midfield?
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Good luck to him
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An aggressive defender who will throw his body at the ball. Not bad at playing with the ball at his feet either. Think he's ready for first team football but don't break up a winning defence currently.
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I hope he gets more of a chance here than his Dad did! Mcgrath Senior was signed shortly before Michael McIndoe arrived, scuppering his chances as first-choice left-winger.
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Crikey I hadn’t realised he was John McGraths kid. Making me feel old. He seemed to be here for years but never got a look in due to McIndoes surprise signing and subsequent form (and indestructibility when it came to injuries)
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If he plays as well as he interviews we have signed a gem. Remarkable composure in one so young.
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I hope he gets more of a chance here than his Dad did! Mcgrath Senior was signed shortly before Michael McIndoe arrived, scuppering his chances as first-choice left-winger.
I recall that Dad was totally left footed, he would not even touch the Ball with his right foot, quickly got found out!
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I hope he gets more of a chance here than his Dad did! Mcgrath Senior was signed shortly before Michael McIndoe arrived, scuppering his chances as first-choice left-winger.
I recall that Dad was totally left footed, he would not even touch the Ball with his right foot, quickly got found out!
Mcindoe was about as one-footed as Heather Mills so I doubt they had anything against mono-footed players per se.
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A good player. Did very well for Pats when they had Joe Redmond out injured.
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Honest question. Is he better than faulkner.
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Honest question. Is he better than faulkner.
I genuinely think he’s odds against to be better than Faulkner. He may be better on the ball but Faulkner will be a pretty good player I think. This lad, the jury’s out.
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Honest question. Is he better than faulkner.
I genuinely think he’s odds against to be better than Faulkner. He may be better on the ball but Faulkner will be a pretty good player I think. This lad, the jury’s out.
i think bobby is a quality defender but most teams seem to want defenders that can play out of defence, do you think bf can improve enough on that part of his game
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Until we all see him play, none of us really know how good/bad he is. Just let’s wait and see.
The question I ask myself is can he possibly make our defence worse than it has been, at times, this season and the last 2 seasons?
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Club PR today on him signing is….”knows the club”.
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We either trust Grant or we don’t.
He says he’s ready to come in and make an impact.
He’s better qualified than us.
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Club PR today on his is….”knows the club”.
A fellow Exploding Heads fan?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0l3Fum29xA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0l3Fum29xA)
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It’s very encouraging to have two quality young CBs. Great signing. In Grant we trust.
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Just been thinking about something DBR wrote on the Romours section:
I'm just wondering whether we're looking ahead and relaunching a development u23 squad next season with all the young talent we have coming through.
So, I came up with this side:
Ben Bottomley. 21
Will Flint. 17. Bobby Faulkner. 19. Jay McGrath. 20. James Maxwell 22
Sam Straughan-Brown.17. George Broadbent.23. Liam Ravenhill.21/Jack Degruchy.20
Tavonga Kuleya.19. Jack Goodman18. Kyle Hurst. 21
It does make you wonder!
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Something in the water at St.Pats at the moment.
He's the third of their FAI cup winning squad to come to England recently, after Carty & Adam Murphy joining Bristol City.
All three are under 21 internationals too, I believe.
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Just been thinking about something DBR wrote on the Romours section:
I'm just wondering whether we're looking ahead and relaunching a development u23 squad next season with all the young talent we have coming through.
So, I came up with this side:
Ben Bottomley. 21
Will Flint. 17. Bobby Faulkner. 19. Kay McGrath. 20. James Maxwell 22
Sam Straughan-Brown.17. George Broadbent.23. Liam Ravenhill.21/Jack Degruchy.20
Tavonga Kuleya.19. Jack Goodman18. Kyle Hurst. 21
It does make you wonder!
I think it makes sense when you consider something like 3-4 over 23s can also play which will help the injured players comeback sharp. The squad numbers can be made up with the better u18s too so I don’t see it as a squad depth issue.
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Also, they won’t be playing every week either.
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Welcome Jay. Good luck lad.
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6’odd, left footed centre half. Had a season in one of the most scouted and watched leagues by EFL clubs. If he’s remotely half decent he would have had plenty of offers.
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6’odd, left footed centre half. Had a season in one of the most scouted and watched leagues by EFL clubs. If he’s remotely half decent he would have had plenty of offers.
He may have done
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6’odd, left footed centre half. Had a season in one of the most scouted and watched leagues by EFL clubs. If he’s remotely half decent he would have had plenty of offers.
Just to help me understand, do you mean Rovers must have done exceptionally well in beating off lots of other clubs to sign this lad, or do you mean he probably isn’t even remotely half decent?
Genuine question.
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6.3 brick shithouse young but mature left footer, likened to a Kieron Sadlier quality of signing who loves to get stuck in and is, according to our GMC, good enough to slot straight into the team sounds like a fantastic signing to me. Just what we need.
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Yes, St Patrick’s supporters tell me that both of these young players we have signed give 100% every time they play. They’re both great competitors (their fans said ‘fighters’
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6’odd, left footed centre half. Had a season in one of the most scouted and watched leagues by EFL clubs. If he’s remotely half decent he would have had plenty of offers.
Rovers shouldn't sign any players who want to play for Rovers.
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Must admit Gaz’s logic is compelling on this so slightly worried but we have to trust GM if he thinks there is scope for improvement
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6’odd, left footed centre half. Had a season in one of the most scouted and watched leagues by EFL clubs. If he’s remotely half decent he would have had plenty of offers.
Rovers shouldn't sign any players who want to play for Rovers.
"I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member."
Groucho Marx
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Must admit Gaz’s logic is compelling on this so slightly worried but we have to trust GM if he thinks there is scope for improvement
What bl**dy logic!
The manager has given him a two & a half year contract & has stated that he believes McGrath is ready for first team football NOW.
But hey, the oracle has stuck his negative boot in YET AGAIN on a player HE’S never seen kick a ball so clearly GM has wasted the boards money hasn’t he.
Jeez.
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Maybe we (as fans) could do this the old-fashioned way and just wait to see whether he's any good or not?
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Must admit Gaz’s logic is compelling on this so slightly worried but we have to trust GM if he thinks there is scope for improvement
What? Really?
Last time I looked, Grant McC had played over 500 games as a professional footballer, had over 30 international caps, has had eight years as a manager and all the requisite coaching qualifications.
I’d trust his judgement 100% over and above some self-appointed bar room bigmouth who happens to watch a lot of football on TV.
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6’odd, left footed centre half. Had a season in one of the most scouted and watched leagues by EFL clubs. If he’s remotely half decent he would have had plenty of offers.
I don’t understand this comment.
Are you expecting us to fight off top 10 League One clubs to get the most desirable players?
Besides, if you watch McCann’s interview he said he did have other offers.
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So…. Big question…does Jay start v Harrogate?, if so what’s the formation around him?
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
If you’re including Long & Anderson in those 6 centre halves you’re deluded. I very much doubt either will wear a Rovers shirt again.
Plus, Owen Bailey is not ‘a natural’ centre half just a bl**dy good footballer who can adapt his game. If he’s in your 6 then it suddenly becomes 3.
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
I don’t think we do need that many. Certainly seems McGrath has come in to compete for a starting place, though I don’t see him starting immediately. Of the rest:
Bailey - Has to start and we as a team have been more effective when he plays at the back rather than in midfield. Form says he has to be counted as a centre half and our first choice at that, so to me that only leaves one other place up for grabs.
Olowu - Very inconsistent but plenty of potential. Rumoured to have attracted interest from Wigan but patchy form probably means this isn’t the optimum time to cash in. I’d rather he stayed to develop here, but would understand if we let him go.
Anderson - I don’t think he’s quite the write off that others do, but the days of him being an automatic pick are probably gone. If we decided to offload I’m not sure where to as he’s under a decent term contract, so does that mean he stays?
Senior - The arrival of McGrath surely makes him a left back now and only emergency cover at centre half.
Wood - I really wanted this to work but thus far it clearly hasn’t. At his best he’d be a great influence on our younger players, but we haven’t seen that. Out of contract at the end of the season and I’d envisage he stays until then. Probably on decent wages.
Faulkner - I want to see him in and around the team rather than shipped out on loan. Has to be one we keep rather than try to sell.
Long - The most likely to be made available for transfer, but given his very limited game time are there likely to be takers?
So as it stands we’re stuck (for want of a better word) with more centre halves than we require. I could understand if we tried to move one or more on, and of those we have the one I’d be most keen to keep is Faulkner due to his potential. Obviously that’s on the assumption that we wouldn’t even entertain selling Bailey who is the best player at the club. Elsewhere there has to be some room for experience in the squad so surely at least one of Anderson and Wood stays.
The rumour mill has us linked with another young left sided centre half on loan. I don’t think we need this at all.
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
If you’re including Long & Anderson in those 6 centre halves you’re deluded. I very much doubt either will wear a Rovers shirt again.
Plus, Owen Bailey is not ‘a natural’ centre half just a bl**dy good footballer who can adapt his game. If he’s in your 6 then it suddenly becomes 3.
Think what Gaz meant is do we need to be paying wages to 6 centre halves?
Also, do you honestly believe that Tom Anderson will never play for the club again despite having 18 months left on his contract?
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Agree with all that Jonathan.
Stick with Bailey and Olowu for now as it seems to be working. Long and Wood will be off in the close season I'm sure.
The question marks are Anderson and Faulkner really - Anderson clearly isn't the player he was and can't be relied on to play every game, and would perhaps be let go in the summer if we hadn't extended his contract to 2025 last season.
Faulkner is now probably competing for the same position as McGrath, so not really sure where that leaves him. I don't think he's ready to be first name on the team sheet every game and made captain as some seem to think, but it seems he'll develop into a decent player if he plays enough games. Do we crowbar him in at someone else's expense? Or do we find him a loan? If it's the latter, it needs to be a good enough level to be worthwhile, but he needs to be playing every week as well. Not straight-forward I wouldn't have thought.
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Agree with all that Jonathan.
Stick with Bailey and Olowu for now as it seems to be working. Long and Wood will be off in the close season I'm sure.
The question marks are Anderson and Faulkner really - Anderson clearly isn't the player he was and can't be relied on to play every game, and would perhaps be let go in the summer if we hadn't extended his contract to 2025 last season.
Faulkner is now probably competing for the same position as McGrath, so not really sure where that leaves him. I don't think he's ready to be first name on the team sheet every game and made captain as some seem to think, but it seems he'll develop into a decent player if he plays enough games. Do we crowbar him in at someone else's expense? Or do we find him a loan? If it's the latter, it needs to be a good enough level to be worthwhile, but he needs to be playing every week as well. Not straight-forward I wouldn't have thought.
Only thing I’d question is whether Faulkner is competing with McGrath. I’d have had Faulkner down as challenging for the right sided centre back spot. In any case my personal preference would be that he stays and competes in the first team squad now he’s fit. He’s one that we’ve brought the youth system with genuine potential, and it’s time we felt the benefit of that. He can be a very good player at this level I’m sure.
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Maybe he and Faulkner are being planned to be the way forward for the future.
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I can see McGrath starting with Bailey
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With mcGrath coming in, will we revert to a 3 back?
Sure McCann said went to a 2 due to not having the bodies.
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I hope not with the players we have four at the back suits us better
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Now we’re playing 4 at the back we need 2 in the team and 2 back ups that are specialist centre backs and just as good. At the moment it’s Bailey and Olowu plus 2 others depending on who is available. We’ll review this in summer I guess depending on who stays.
For me Bailey is an excellent centre back. That’s his position and hopefully he’ll captain the club for a few years as we climb the leagues. He’s a backup midfielder, though I wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually turned out to be great there too. So far he’s been exactly what we needed in central defence so there he stays.
Olowu seemed good to begin with but has had some extremely poor games making horrendous howlers. But he now seems good again.
That leaves 2 spaces. Faulkner stays here and gets games. Plus one other. Presumably that’s McGrath.
Anderson could be paid off, that’s an option depending on cost. Even if he’s fit we can’t rely on him any more. I’m not sure he’s ever properly fit and that’s the main reason his form nosedives and it makes the rest of the defence nervous.
Wood is not the answer next season, injuries will always be a problem now. Better getting a younger CB. We’ve now got one.
Long I feel a bit sorry for as I’ve barely seen him play.
The full backs can fill in when needed. Spend all other funds elsewhere.
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John McGrath and a young Jay lived for a bit just behind my elderly Auntie Rona in Warmsworth. They were very nice and helped out my auntie quite a bit so hoping Jay has developed a right nasty streak in his youth and gives us some mettle at the back.
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John McGrath and a young Jay lived for a bit just behind my elderly Auntie Rona in Warmsworth. They were very nice and helped out my auntie quite a bit so hoping Jay has developed a right nasty streak in his youth and gives us some mettle at the back.
Would you have preferred him to push your Auntie over at corners?
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Ha! No think he carried her shopping in quite a few times as did John. Very nice people.
Think John played for Daggers in the Conf final against us but as already posted very unlucky we then bought a dazzling left footed Scot.
Good luck Jay and hope he can bring something great for us at the back.
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I hope he gets more of a chance here than his Dad did! Mcgrath Senior was signed shortly before Michael McIndoe arrived, scuppering his chances as first-choice left-winger.
I recall that Dad was totally left footed, he would not even touch the Ball with his right foot, quickly got found out!
Mcindoe was about as one-footed as Heather Mills so I doubt they had anything against mono-footed players per se.
If my mate coached him at Sprotyrover Crusaders he would have consistently made him play out on his weak side to make him use both his feet!
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Think it’s likely that he will come in and probs play along side Olowu and have Bailey just infront as the number 6.
Faulkner as the backup option atm.
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Selby probably best to answer the question right or left for Faulkener?
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Selby probably best to answer the question right or left for Faulkener?
Faulkner has to be on the right hand side. Seen him a couple of times on the left and he’s looked shaky.
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Faulkner has played both right and left, mostly with nobody tackling in mid field in front of him whatever side he played, because that was how it was then.
Still got a couple of goals and assists and MOM though, can't think pf many who have done that.
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Very good thread this looking at all the permutations.
As said above, Long is the unknown quantity really having just not had enough game time, for such a long time. Agree Wood isn't the future. He'd have to get back fit now and put in some good 90min performances to regain our confidence.
Generally, you would look to pair an experienced CB with a young un, yet we've seen Bailey, particularly in these last couple of games, be the one who organises, making the calls, keeping Olowu and others on their toes. A very calming influence beyond his years.
If we take Bailey out of defence, who are the best combinations?
Anderson and Olowu?
Olowu and Faulkener?
Olowu and McGrath?
Anderson and McGrath?
Faulkner and McGrath?
The latter obviously more risky with less experience and game time together.
Once in a blue moon someone exceptional like Matt Mills comes along who has ability beyond their years so you wonder and hope, McCann has seen some of that in McGrath.
Faulkener, we know has the heart of a lion and will relish the physical challenges put against him, but yet we haven't seen enough of him to be sure he can sustain a disciplined and structured approach over a period of games. Can he stay calm enough for long enough? I really hope he can.
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6’odd, left footed centre half. Had a season in one of the most scouted and watched leagues by EFL clubs. If he’s remotely half decent he would have had plenty of offers.
McCann has said he had lots of offers including Championship clubs.
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And he came here? that is a big WOW
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The Championship clubs were not offering first team football. He would have been a ‘development’ signing.
Has anyone actually seen the lad play, yet? And I don’t mean clips on YouTube or a host of stats about him.
GM has seen something in him, so that’s a start, surely. Also, we have to measure these 2 signing against what is financially possible, given how many players we’ve got taking a wage and only performing on the physio’s bench!
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Am I right in thinking that Faulkner is out of contract in the summer? I’m sure I read that. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
If he is, there’s a lot of presumption’s that he stays. The lad has been messed around by the club quite a lot. Wouldn’t surprise me if he sought opportunities elsewhere to be honest.
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I hope he gets more of a chance here than his Dad did! Mcgrath Senior was signed shortly before Michael McIndoe arrived, scuppering his chances as first-choice left-winger.
I recall that Dad was totally left footed, he would not even touch the Ball with his right foot, quickly got found out!
Mcindoe was about as one-footed as Heather Mills so I doubt they had anything against mono-footed players per se.
If my mate coached him at Sprotyrover Crusaders he would have consistently made him play out on his weak side to make him use both his feet!
I was exactly the same with my grandson.
I was naturally a left-footer as a kid but persevered with my right until I was just about equally as crap with either.
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I see McCann says in his interview a couple of Championship ss well as lower league teams were interested in McGrath
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Cramby, the club have another years option on his contract, and in fairness have been good with him while injured.
Now that is behind him he is straining at the bit to get back and fight for his place and is relishing the competition and doesn't expect anything given.
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Very good thread this looking at all the permutations.
As said above, Long is the unknown quantity really having just not had enough game time, for such a long time. Agree Wood isn't the future. He'd have to get back fit now and put in some good 90min performances to regain our confidence.
Generally, you would look to pair an experienced CB with a young un, yet we've seen Bailey, particularly in these last couple of games, be the one who organises, making the calls, keeping Olowu and others on their toes. A very calming influence beyond his years.
If we take Bailey out of defence, who are the best combinations?
Anderson and Olowu?
Olowu and Faulkener?
Olowu and McGrath?
Anderson and McGrath?
Faulkner and McGrath?
The latter obviously more risky with less experience and game time together.
Once in a blue moon someone exceptional like Matt Mills comes along who has ability beyond their years so you wonder and hope, McCann has seen some of that in McGrath.
Faulkener, we know has the heart of a lion and will relish the physical challenges put against him, but yet we haven't seen enough of him to be sure he can sustain a disciplined and structured approach over a period of games. Can he stay calm enough for long enough? I really hope he can.
No idea who is the best combo but to respond to your question, my huge preference and gut feeling would be Faulkner and McGrath
I’d like to see the others move on in the not too distant future.
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Hope we don’t revert to 5 at the back just because we’ve a lot of centre half’s. Think we just need to get to 4 players we want to talk us forward in that position and then pick based on form.
For me the 4 are in no particular order Bailey, Faulkner, Olowu and McGrath. Also I think there’s potential in Bailey playing right back which he often basically was when playing the back 3.
I like Sterry but a back 4 with Bailey and Senior at full back and potentially two physically dominant 6’3 centre halves in Bobby and Jay would be interesting. I’d be trying to go that way next season if GM thinks Bobby and Jay look like the real deal.
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It wouldn’t take a genius to realise that we are not going to be carrying all the current first team centre backs after this window.
Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Faulkner, McGrath and Long, with the lad Flint in and around the squad.
That is a huge cost we are carrying on our modest wage bill.
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We either trust Grant or we don’t.
He says he’s ready to come in and make an impact.
He’s better qualified than us.
My thoughts entirely, if he's good enough for our manager, he's good enough for me.
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If the consensus is that Bailey has been our best centre half, would moving him out of that position be wise?
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It wouldn’t take a genius to realise that we are not going to be carrying all the current first team centre backs after this window.
Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Faulkner, McGrath and Long, with the lad Flint in and around the squad.
That is a huge cost we are carrying on our modest wage bill.
Is it just me who finds the Richard Wood situation a bit strange?
It was supposed to be a minor calf strain and he’s only played 2 games since early September.
Never been injury prone his whole career.
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If the consensus is that Bailey has been our best centre half, would moving him out of that position be wise?
Probably not but it’s an option over the course of a season that might work out. Would expect it to be Bailey and one other for now
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CBcb, I would be surprised if Long is in the mix now.
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Cramby, the club have another years option on his contract, and in fairness have been good with him while injured.
Now that is behind him he is straining at the bit to get back and fight for his place and is relishing the competition and doesn't expect anything given.
ok. Thanks for clearing that up. Great news.
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
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That reads like you’re lumping a lot of these errors onto GM, Gaz, but he’s inherited this shambles. I don’t think you mean it that way, rather we, as a Club, have been shambolic in our planning and actions, which is fair. Trouble is, what’s the manager supposed to do - put up with it or do something about it. If he leaves it until the summer (when most will be gone), we may be back in the Conference (or whatever they call it now).
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That reads like you’re lumping a lot of these errors onto GM, Gaz, but he’s inherited this shambles. I don’t think you mean it that way, rather we, as a Club, have been shambolic in our planning and actions, which is fair. Trouble is, what’s the manager supposed to do - put up with it or do something about it. If he leaves it until the summer (when most will be gone), we may be back in the Conference (or whatever they call it now).
Obviously Grant isn’t responsible for what’s gone before, but the club is. We can’t just rely on managers to steer the ship.
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
Of course 7 isn't ideal, but nobody should forget we've been victims of circumstance with long term injuries which had forced the manager of the day to recruit to fill gaps.
Take Faulkner out of the equation. Then take Wood out (yes, we can debate the merit of that) and Bailey who wasn't recruited as a centre half and your left with 4, who were recruited by different managers. Four isn't unreasonable to support the team through the course of a normal season to provide competition and cover.
McCann has probably made some decisions and to get from A to B, for a short time, we have to carry more players than necessary in that department.
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
Don't forget Madger.
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Cummings was a decent player until injury struck, Madger had a spell where he was on fire (and then looked like he’d never kicked a ball before)
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
McCann hasn’t signed the 7 centre halves though, he’s maybe signed 2 of them. So if you were manager and had the opportunity to bring in players you thought were better would you say, oh no I can’t do that as I already have 6 centre halves who are shite that the last manager signed.
And every manager on the planet makes good and bad signings, so yes of course he made bad signings even the best managers on the planet do that.
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
McCann hasn’t signed the 7 centre halves though, he’s maybe signed 2 of them. So if you were manager and had the opportunity to bring in players you thought were better would you say, oh no I can’t do that as I already have 6 centre halves who are shite that the last manager signed.
And every manager on the planet makes good and bad signings, so yes of course he made bad signings even the best managers on the planet do that.
No he hasn’t signed them all but it’s certainly not a positive sign for the clubs recruitment system when you have to say “we’ve got 6 centre halves, 5 arent good enough, let’s sign another”.
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I’d say the club’s ’recruitment system’ has quite a task on its hands, due to limited finances.
We seem to be working with one hand tied behind our backs, constantly. Trying to find good quality, robust players for next to nothing must be a bit of a headache, at times.
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I’d say the club’s ’recruitment system’ has quite a task on its hands, due to limited finances.
We seem to be working with one hand tied behind our backs, constantly. Trying to find good quality, robust players for next to nothing must be a bit of a headache, at times.
You could say the same about most clubs in League One & League Two. Our recruitment (amongst other things) has seen us tumble from League One play-off hopefuls to bottom half League Two in the space of two and a half years, it’s very difficult to argue that it hasn’t been shambolic in that period. The recruitment of the summer has shown more positive signs but if that’s solely down to McCann then there are still structural improvements that we need to make to ensure it doesn’t return to the shambles of before when he leaves (and these may already be in place, or being set up).
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
McCann hasn’t signed the 7 centre halves though, he’s maybe signed 2 of them. So if you were manager and had the opportunity to bring in players you thought were better would you say, oh no I can’t do that as I already have 6 centre halves who are shite that the last manager signed.
And every manager on the planet makes good and bad signings, so yes of course he made bad signings even the best managers on the planet do that.
No he hasn’t signed them all but it’s certainly not a positive sign for the clubs recruitment system when you have to say “we’ve got 6 centre halves, 5 arent good enough, let’s sign another”.
You're missing the context of how we've ended up in this position.
Looking at who signed, when and by whom, considering the injuries we had at the time, it's not difficult to understand there's some mitigating circumstances.
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When the best defender at the club is a midfielder, some really pointed questions need to be asked about our recruitment strategy.
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
McCann hasn’t signed the 7 centre halves though, he’s maybe signed 2 of them. So if you were manager and had the opportunity to bring in players you thought were better would you say, oh no I can’t do that as I already have 6 centre halves who are shite that the last manager signed.
And every manager on the planet makes good and bad signings, so yes of course he made bad signings even the best managers on the planet do that.
No he hasn’t signed them all but it’s certainly not a positive sign for the clubs recruitment system when you have to say “we’ve got 6 centre halves, 5 arent good enough, let’s sign another”.
I agree
We’ve made some dreadful signings, mainly when we were shopping with no cash.
Now we’ve got some cash I don’t think it’s unreasonable to replace the poor signings we made earlier.
It’s certainly not McCanns fault, and if you or I were him you’d be doing exactly the same if you were able to do so
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
McCann hasn’t signed the 7 centre halves though, he’s maybe signed 2 of them. So if you were manager and had the opportunity to bring in players you thought were better would you say, oh no I can’t do that as I already have 6 centre halves who are shite that the last manager signed.
And every manager on the planet makes good and bad signings, so yes of course he made bad signings even the best managers on the planet do that.
No he hasn’t signed them all but it’s certainly not a positive sign for the clubs recruitment system when you have to say “we’ve got 6 centre halves, 5 arent good enough, let’s sign another”.
I agree
We’ve made some dreadful signings, mainly when we were shopping with no cash.
Now we’ve got some cash I don’t think it’s unreasonable to replace the poor signings we made earlier.
It’s certainly not McCanns fault, and if you or I were him you’d be doing exactly the same if you were able to do so
McGrath doesn’t look like the signing of a team with cash.
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
McCann hasn’t signed the 7 centre halves though, he’s maybe signed 2 of them. So if you were manager and had the opportunity to bring in players you thought were better would you say, oh no I can’t do that as I already have 6 centre halves who are shite that the last manager signed.
And every manager on the planet makes good and bad signings, so yes of course he made bad signings even the best managers on the planet do that.
No he hasn’t signed them all but it’s certainly not a positive sign for the clubs recruitment system when you have to say “we’ve got 6 centre halves, 5 arent good enough, let’s sign another”.
I agree
We’ve made some dreadful signings, mainly when we were shopping with no cash.
Now we’ve got some cash I don’t think it’s unreasonable to replace the poor signings we made earlier.
It’s certainly not McCanns fault, and if you or I were him you’d be doing exactly the same if you were able to do so
McGrath doesn’t look like the signing of a team with cash.
Does it not?
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
McCann hasn’t signed the 7 centre halves though, he’s maybe signed 2 of them. So if you were manager and had the opportunity to bring in players you thought were better would you say, oh no I can’t do that as I already have 6 centre halves who are shite that the last manager signed.
And every manager on the planet makes good and bad signings, so yes of course he made bad signings even the best managers on the planet do that.
No he hasn’t signed them all but it’s certainly not a positive sign for the clubs recruitment system when you have to say “we’ve got 6 centre halves, 5 arent good enough, let’s sign another”.
I agree
We’ve made some dreadful signings, mainly when we were shopping with no cash.
Now we’ve got some cash I don’t think it’s unreasonable to replace the poor signings we made earlier.
It’s certainly not McCanns fault, and if you or I were him you’d be doing exactly the same if you were able to do so
McGrath doesn’t look like the signing of a team with cash.
Does it not?
No, he will be on below average for a L2 centre half.
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If you have cash you can still sign players who are good that don’t cost a fortune.
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
McCann hasn’t signed the 7 centre halves though, he’s maybe signed 2 of them. So if you were manager and had the opportunity to bring in players you thought were better would you say, oh no I can’t do that as I already have 6 centre halves who are shite that the last manager signed.
And every manager on the planet makes good and bad signings, so yes of course he made bad signings even the best managers on the planet do that.
No he hasn’t signed them all but it’s certainly not a positive sign for the clubs recruitment system when you have to say “we’ve got 6 centre halves, 5 arent good enough, let’s sign another”.
I agree
We’ve made some dreadful signings, mainly when we were shopping with no cash.
Now we’ve got some cash I don’t think it’s unreasonable to replace the poor signings we made earlier.
It’s certainly not McCanns fault, and if you or I were him you’d be doing exactly the same if you were able to do so
McGrath doesn’t look like the signing of a team with cash.
So when McCann said that the board had given him money to get the players he wanted was he lying? Or a bad judge of player? Or so poor a manager he can't see what we need?
https://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?topic=289718.msg1279816#msg1279816
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
McCann hasn’t signed the 7 centre halves though, he’s maybe signed 2 of them. So if you were manager and had the opportunity to bring in players you thought were better would you say, oh no I can’t do that as I already have 6 centre halves who are shite that the last manager signed.
And every manager on the planet makes good and bad signings, so yes of course he made bad signings even the best managers on the planet do that.
No he hasn’t signed them all but it’s certainly not a positive sign for the clubs recruitment system when you have to say “we’ve got 6 centre halves, 5 arent good enough, let’s sign another”.
I agree
We’ve made some dreadful signings, mainly when we were shopping with no cash.
Now we’ve got some cash I don’t think it’s unreasonable to replace the poor signings we made earlier.
It’s certainly not McCanns fault, and if you or I were him you’d be doing exactly the same if you were able to do so
McGrath doesn’t look like the signing of a team with cash.
Does it not?
No, he will be on below average for a L2 centre half.
He’s 20?
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Does he se McGrath and Bailey as the first choice pair then? That means Bobby is well down the pecking order. Do we need 6 centre halves!?
Do you mean we shouldn’t have signed McGrath GazLaz?
Have we made another mistake?
If he’s better than what we already have, yes we should have signed him. If not, we shouldn’t! Is there a plan to get rid of some of the other lads? Wood, Anderson, Olowu, Bobby, Bailey, Long, McGrath, that’s actually 7 sorry. No man on the planet can tell me the team 19th in the 4th division should have 7 centre halves on the payroll. Does that scream good recruitment/ planning to you? Screams one guess after another to me.
Grant must think that a fair few of the lads aren’t good enough even though Wood, Anderson, Olowu and Bailey have been given contracts in the last 12months ish and Long and Bobby within the last 18 months.
It’s impossible to be confident with any signing we make of this ilk. “Trust Grant” will be the cry, and he did bring in some good players in his previous stint, but for every Sadlier, Herbie Kane and Wilks there was a Paul Taylor, Shaun Cummings and Rian McLean.
McCann hasn’t signed the 7 centre halves though, he’s maybe signed 2 of them. So if you were manager and had the opportunity to bring in players you thought were better would you say, oh no I can’t do that as I already have 6 centre halves who are shite that the last manager signed.
And every manager on the planet makes good and bad signings, so yes of course he made bad signings even the best managers on the planet do that.
No he hasn’t signed them all but it’s certainly not a positive sign for the clubs recruitment system when you have to say “we’ve got 6 centre halves, 5 arent good enough, let’s sign another”.
I agree
We’ve made some dreadful signings, mainly when we were shopping with no cash.
Now we’ve got some cash I don’t think it’s unreasonable to replace the poor signings we made earlier.
It’s certainly not McCanns fault, and if you or I were him you’d be doing exactly the same if you were able to do so
McGrath doesn’t look like the signing of a team with cash.
So when McCann said that the board had given him money to get the players he wanted was he lying? Or a bad judge of player? Or so poor a manager he can't see what we need?
https://www.drfc-vsc.co.uk/index.php?topic=289718.msg1279816#msg1279816
He was using his head and not doing a Ferguson by publicly criticising what he has available. But I very much doubt they the budged had changed by much if at all .
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Our wage bill must be amongst the biggest in the league. Purely on numbers, our squad is massive.
The budget isn’t the problem it’s how it’s been spent over last 3 years
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If the club wanted to turn the season around and I mean REALLY wanted to turn the season around in this window they would.
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The best thing to spend any money on in this window is to pay off the ten players that he’s never going to pick to play.
Let’s start next year with a squad that he actually wants.
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Our wage bill must be amongst the biggest in the league. Purely on numbers, our squad is massive.
The budget isn’t the problem it’s how it’s been spent over last 3 years
The budget is good this season with the size of the squad and the signings made.
But last year and especially that Wellens / McSheffrey L1 relegation squad, the budget will have been pitiful.
This team is average this year, but it would easily still beat that season’s team in a game.
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Our wage bill must be amongst the biggest in the league. Purely on numbers, our squad is massive.
The budget isn’t the problem it’s how it’s been spent over last 3 years
The budget is good this season with the size of the squad and the signings made.
But last year and especially that Wellens / McSheffrey L1 relegation squad, the budget will have been pitiful.
This team is average this year, but it would easily still beat that season’s team in a game.
I agree and that’s the point I was making earlier when people were saying we had a load of. Enter halves, and we should t sign anymore.
We need to sign more, if we already got a load who aren’t good enough then even more so
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We must have the biggest underperformance relative to budget this season in L2. Y a long way I’d imagine.
The fact we have 7 centre halves shows we have a decent budget we’re just choosing to spend it on poor signings.
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McCann had to do this though, he needs the summer to get rid of all the players that aren’t his.
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McCann had to do this though, he needs the summer to get rid of all the players that aren’t his.
Agree. I’m not saying it’s all his fault, although we should be more consistent.
There were comments saying how we’ve poor players because of limited budget but that’s not true we’ve just wasted it and that pre dates McCann.
Hopefully next season we hire a better medical/ fitness team and allowing a smaller and better quality squad.
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McCann had to do this though, he needs the summer to get rid of all the players that aren’t his.
Getting rid of players is something we are poor at. Obvious ones will be released but we have a bad habit of giving contracts to players when we shouldn’t and struggle moving players on that are under contract.
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I agree with that Gaz, we are too loyal to players, I’m unsure if the club believes this endears themselves but in reality it does little to attract the right players
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McCann had to do this though, he needs the summer to get rid of all the players that aren’t his.
Getting rid of players is something we are poor at. Obvious ones will be released but we have a bad habit of giving contracts to players when we shouldn’t and struggle moving players on that are under contract.
The Anderson one was just bizarre. Cops was involved then because it was before McCann. Stinks of jobs for the boys or just rose tinted glasses on a player who’s been here a while.
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McCann had to do this though, he needs the summer to get rid of all the players that aren’t his.
Getting rid of players is something we are poor at. Obvious ones will be released but we have a bad habit of giving contracts to players when we shouldn’t and struggle moving players on that are under contract.
The Anderson one was just bizarre. Cops was involved then because it was before McCann. Stinks of jobs for the jobs or just rose tinted glasses on a player who’s been here a while.
2.5 years for Anderson. 3 years for Taylor.
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McCann had to do this though, he needs the summer to get rid of all the players that aren’t his.
Getting rid of players is something we are poor at. Obvious ones will be released but we have a bad habit of giving contracts to players when we shouldn’t and struggle moving players on that are under contract.
The Anderson one was just bizarre. Cops was involved then because it was before McCann. Stinks of jobs for the jobs or just rose tinted glasses on a player who’s been here a while.
2.5 years for Anderson. 3 years for Taylor.
Sentimental decisions. McGrath didn’t need to be 2.5 years either. 18months with an option seems more realistic for this type of player. Helps if your dad is the managers: “head of recruitments” mate though I suppose.
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Gaz is right on sentimental decisions.
But I also think there is a strange irrational fear from the club (and sometimes supporters) that if we let a player go and that player subsequently goes on to do semi-decent somewhere else then that is really bad.
As good as he’s been for us, I doubt Cambridge fans are debating whether they should have let Joe Ironside go. Because his time with them naturally came to an end and he was ready to drop a level.
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Gaz is right on sentimental decisions.
But I also think there is a strange irrational fear from the club (and sometimes supporters) that if we let a player go and that player subsequently goes on to do semi-decent somewhere else then that is really bad.
As good as he’s been for us, I doubt Cambridge fans are debating whether they should have let Joe Ironside go. Because his time with them naturally came to an end and he was ready to drop a level.
There are so many traps/ biases that you can fall into around those situations. Thats just human nature. Eliminating it would be a net long term positive for us.
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PNE fans now fretting that Whiteman won’t sign his deal and leaves for nowt in summer. Very bad result for us.
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Solid debut. Lovely left foot on him, big unit.
Not sure if he was at fault for the goal or not but looks an upgrade on Anderson and Olowu.
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Very good debut I thought, impressed me.
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Distribution pretty good as well.
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It was Nixon almost marking the guy that scored, but we had allowed them to cross the ball also.
Thought he looked a solid, did little wrong and got stuck in where needed, could be a good signing, let’s see.
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This kid looked the business to me. Very impressed.
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He reminds me of a left foot version of Matt Mills.
Very impressed with his first showing for us.
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Excellent today very vocal, heard him shout for a few headers
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The one real positive from another forgettable afternoon.
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He reminds me of a left foot version of Matt Mills.
Very impressed with his first showing for us.
I said exactly the same earlier. Particularly watching him aim for the long cross field pass
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Fits right in. Enjoyed watching him today.
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Has he smashed into anyone tonight? I mean like a proper tackle against any of Wigans big lads
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Looks like we have a very good player on our hands. Be hot property if he carries on how he’s started. Defo a league if not 2 above us.
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Looks calm and in control, looks like he could of been playing there all season, slotted in well and can string a pass too.
Missing link to me is a fit and strong defender who will put their body on the line to play next to him.
Wish GM would tell us what's the score with giving Faulkner a run out. If he never plays we will never know.
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2 very good games. Looks a great signing.
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Is he a thunderbas**rd?
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Is he a thunderbas**rd?
Cultured I would say
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Is he a thunderbas**rd?
Cultured I would say
I like cultured, but we do need a thunderbas**rd
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Looks calm and in control, looks like he could of been playing there all season, slotted in well and can string a pass too.
Missing link to me is a fit and strong defender who will put their body on the line to play next to him.
Wish GM would tell us what's the score with giving Faulkner a run out. If he never plays we will never know.
Almost scored with a very good header too.
He will be a threat in the opponents box from free kicks and corners.
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Contributed to the goal being out of position and Wyke capitalised on the space he left. Olowu could have perhaps done better but he was on his own centrally and the crosser had all the time in the world to pick out Wyke. Olowu was exception in general tonight though. He gets plenty of stick but he was very good on the ball.
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Contributed to the goal being out of position and Wyke capitalised on the space he left. Olowu could have perhaps done better but he was on his own centrally and the crosser had all the time in the world to pick out Wyke. Olowu was exception in general tonight though. He gets plenty of stick but he was very good on the ball.
He was pulled put of position trying to cover for Rowe who had wandered, the space the crosser had was criminal.
I am firmly in Joe Olowu camp but by his own standards he wasn't great tonight.
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Slotted straight and had looked right at home. How long’s his contract???
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2.5 years
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I’d just like to apologise to Matt Mills on behalf of the rovers fans that compared McGrath to him. Fair hair is where the similarities end.
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Knows the club.
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I’d just like to apologise to Matt Mills on behalf of the rovers fans that compared McGrath to him. Fair hair is where the similarities end.
Should have been screaming at Rowe to sit in all afternoon. Wasn’t helped by the fact he was abandoned by what should be an experienced pro
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I’d just like to apologise to Matt Mills on behalf of the rovers fans that compared McGrath to him. Fair hair is where the similarities end.
Doesn't help he's playing next to a LB whose legs went 2 years ago and a CB with the attention span of a 2 year old
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Rowe should never be at lb.
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Poor today. Got dominated
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Rowe should never be at lb.
Out of necessity isn’t it?
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Rowe should never be at lb.
Out of necessity isn’t it?
Maxwell was on the bench, if he’s not fit he shouldn’t be on the bench, I said it last game Rowe should not play left back, goes on walkabouts too many times
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Did Maxwell not play vs Harrogate?
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Rowe should never be at lb.
Out of necessity isn’t it?
Maxwell was on the bench, if he’s not fit he shouldn’t be on the bench, I said it last game Rowe should not play left back, goes on walkabouts too many times
He shouldn't play at all he's gone and has done for a few years now
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Olowu was horrific today. He’s meant to have physical attributes. A player like Madden should not winning duels against him.
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McGrath has played 3 games, in 2 of them he’s played very well. I don’t understand the slagging off after a bad game.
Olowu has gone at the game, it’s no coincidence that whoever plays next to him has a v poor game.
McCann makes the full backs push on which puts massive pressure on the centre halves.
We’ve got to go back to 3 at the back for me.
Bailey. Wood. McGrath.
Nixon/sterry. Maxwell
Close. Craig.
Molyneux. Ironside. Adelekum.
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McGrath has played 3 games, in 2 of them he’s played very well. I don’t understand the slagging off after a bad game.
Olowu has gone at the game, it’s no coincidence that whoever plays next to him has a v poor game.
McCann makes the full backs push on which puts massive pressure on the centre halves.
We’ve got to go back to 3 at the back for me.
Bailey. Wood. McGrath.
Nixon/sterry. Maxwell
Close. Craig.
Molyneux. Ironside. Adelekum.
Olowu was much better that JM at Wigan and better than him today…
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Midfield is still a major problem. Teams walk through us.
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McGrath has played 3 games, in 2 of them he’s played very well. I don’t understand the slagging off after a bad game.
Olowu has gone at the game, it’s no coincidence that whoever plays next to him has a v poor game.
McCann makes the full backs push on which puts massive pressure on the centre halves.
We’ve got to go back to 3 at the back for me.
Bailey. Wood. McGrath.
Nixon/sterry. Maxwell
Close. Craig.
Molyneux. Ironside. Adelekum.
Olowu was much better that JM at Wigan and better than him today…
In your opinion maybe mate, but for me McGrath was the better player on both games.
Olowu has lost all confidence, panics on the ball, and causes the rest of the side to panic.
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Olowu is one of a number who regularly shits himself on or off the ball. You could understand if the crowd was constantly on the backs of players but given how poor we have been, it’s been remarkably supportive. Players need to stop soiling themselves and start imposing themselves on games.
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McGrath has played 3 games, in 2 of them he’s played very well. I don’t understand the slagging off after a bad game.
Olowu has gone at the game, it’s no coincidence that whoever plays next to him has a v poor game.
McCann makes the full backs push on which puts massive pressure on the centre halves.
We’ve got to go back to 3 at the back for me.
Bailey. Wood. McGrath.
Nixon/sterry. Maxwell
Close. Craig.
Molyneux. Ironside. Adelekum.
Olowu was much better that JM at Wigan and better than him today…
In your opinion maybe mate, but for me McGrath was the better player on both games.
Olowu has lost all confidence, panics on the ball, and causes the rest of the side to panic.
I was about to say the same. I think Olowu causes chaos and panic in that area of the pitch.
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McGrath got away with two almighty b*llocks today, both occasions it resulted in a Stockport player being in on goal, both times Jones got a save in
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Rowe should never be at lb.
Out of necessity isn’t it?
Maxwell was on the bench, if he’s not fit he shouldn’t be on the bench, I said it last game Rowe should not play left back, goes on walkabouts too many times
Three of the goals today came from right wing crosses, and the two in the second half were balls played into an area vacated by Rowe which gave the winger bags of time to pick out his cross into the middle.
All five goals scored from six yards out.
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Madden gave both our CBs a spanking, gave them their milk and put them to bed. Just too experienced for them to handle
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Olowu was horrific today. He’s meant to have physical attributes. A player like Madden should not winning duels against him.
No more horrific than anyone else in red and white, last ditch tackles stopped a couple of certain goals.
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Only the fifth goal was scored by a player who Olowu was responsible for.
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Olowu missed a crucial header just before the 2nd goal highlight starts.
And we’ve seen Mo Faal make more headed clearances from corners than Olowu this season.
Flakiest defender the club has had. And we’re stuck with him. Fed up of his “oh well” body language after conceding goals for the last 3 seasons.
Let’s not forget the Notts County attempt at putting his body on the line.
It’s not an argument for him if he has a good game as it will just be followed by a bad one.
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Pointing fingers at individuals will get us nowhere. Collectively, McCann has to come up with a plan to make us harder to beat. He won't do though because he obviously believes he should be at a higher standard than he is at and he won't want to be seen as though he is setting up that way against any League Two team. The players are so disconnected in every position and you sit and watch absolutely none of them trying to organise each other. There is a culture at this club where nobody takes any responsibility for being so appallingly sh!t and this is shown by the window being 3 weeks in and the same areas we are so blatantly crying out to be strengthened have been forgotten about. But its ok, we will sign another striker.
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Olowu was horrific today. He’s meant to have physical attributes. A player like Madden should not winning duels against him.
Madden is an experienced centre forward with a great leap on him. He wins aerial duels against centre backs for fun.
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Olowu missed a crucial header just before the 2nd goal highlight starts.
And we’ve seen Mo Faal make more headed clearances from corners than Olowu this season.
Flakiest defender the club has had. And we’re stuck with him. Fed up of his “oh well” body language after conceding goals for the last 3 seasons.
Let’s not forget the Notts County attempt at putting his body on the line.
It’s not an argument for him if he has a good game as it will just be followed by a bad one.
We’ve a few players that are a problem, sadly Olowu is right up there at the top of the problem list.
He is shocking.
How he gets ahead of giving Faulkner a chance I don’t know.
I can see most of our players seem to be right out of the same mould, so similarly weak,and passive. Perhaps Faulkner doesn’t get in because he’s all blood and guts and we couldn’t possibly have that could we.
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I’ve watched quite a bit of FACup football over the last few days.
Lots of goals scored from crosses into the six yard box and from free kicks and corners.
Some very good teams conceding them.
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Come on Hound. Not many clubs concede 5 goals at home multiple times a season. Was it only Birmingham that have lost more than us in the last 3 years?
There are certain players who have been common denominators over the horror show of the last 3 seasons and 3 managers. So we can point the finger.
We are currently 4 places lower than last season. Let’s look at where last year’s regular players ended up.
Ro-Shaun - N. Ireland (non-league standard)
Mitchell - Harrogate 3rd choice
Barlow - Regular sub for Eastleigh in the NL
Agard - No club
How many of the current players doing up for expiry get a minimum League 2 move?
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Olowu missed a crucial header just before the 2nd goal highlight starts.
And we’ve seen Mo Faal make more headed clearances from corners than Olowu this season.
Flakiest defender the club has had. And we’re stuck with him. Fed up of his “oh well” body language after conceding goals for the last 3 seasons.
Let’s not forget the Notts County attempt at putting his body on the line.
It’s not an argument for him if he has a good game as it will just be followed by a bad one.
We’ve a few players that are a problem, sadly Olowu is right up there at the top of the problem list.
He is shocking.
How he gets ahead of giving Faulkner a chance I don’t know.
I can see most of our players seem to be right out of the same mould, so similarly weak,and passive. Perhaps Faulkner doesn’t get in because he’s all blood and guts and we couldn’t possibly have that could we.
Strange how you always jump on Olowu, but give others a free ride, he was probably at fault for one goal, not all five, have a look at the left back position first
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Come on Hound. Not many clubs concede 5 goals at home multiple times a season. Was it only Birmingham that have lost more than us in the last 3 years?
There are certain players who have been common denominators over the horror show of the last 3 seasons and 3 managers. So we can point the finger.
We are currently 4 places lower than last season. Let’s look at where last year’s regular players ended up.
Ro-Shaun - N. Ireland (non-league standard)
Mitchell - Harrogate 3rd choice
Barlow - Regular sub for Eastleigh in the NL
Agard - No club
How many of the current players doing up for expiry get a minimum League 2 move?
I agree that we concede plenty of times from balls into our six yard box.
So do other teams. I don’t know the actual stats because I don’t take a lot of notice of how many times they do it.
What I do know though is that we don’t defend those situations well but better teams than us are doing it on a regular basis.
People were saying how bad we were to concede that Wike goal for Wigan but then accepted the header by Bailey as a good goal when it was almost a mirror image of the Wigan one.
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My friend, 5 headed goals two of them from corners (set pieces) that surely the defence is drilled on time & time again on defending i.e marking ‘the big fellas’, picking up runners into the box, watching videos of the opposition on set pieces the list should go on so that you have a well drilled ‘unit’ which will give you every opportunity to clear the ball on such occasions, not every time of course, but tell me something.
When a free kick outside the box or a corner is given against us, what are you thinking as our opponent looks to deliver the ball into the box? What’s your gut feeling?
Because I for one am sh**ting myself, every time. I’ve been anxious in the past of course because obviously it is a huge opportunity to score but these days I can barely watch!
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The very worst thing about yesterday was this.
When the first goal went in, I didn't feel anything.
Not disappointment.
Not anger.
Not hope that we could turn it round.
Just a sort of, "Ah well, that was inevitable" dullness.
I go to football to feel some stronger emotion than I get in most of the week. I've very, very rarely not engaged at matches. I'm on the edge of my seat. I'm the one where, when we are 2 down with 5 minutes left, I'm thinking "If we can grab one now..."
But not this season. Week after turgid week we look clueless, passionless, disorganised and worst of all, we look as though there's no spirit or pride.
I can cope with limited players. I can cope with mistakes. What I can't cope with, is a total and utter lack of heart. The feeling, more weeks than not that getting f**ked all over by Division 4 sides is just one of them things. Not something that anyone at the club seems to care too much about.
McCann's demeanour in the post match interview summed it up. A sort of anaesthetised emptiness as though what happens, happens.
It really feels like everything needs to be gutted at this club and for us to start from scratch. Starting with players who f**king hurt like hell when they let themselves down.
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First half we relied on Craig marking a player at the back post who must have been a good foot taller than him
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First half we relied on Craig marking a player at the back post who must have been a good foot taller than him
And it happened time and time again, but we never addressed it
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Yep, I mentioned that yesterday.
Number 11, main target for far post corners.
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The very worst thing about yesterday was this.
When the first goal went in, I didn't feel anything.
Not disappointment.
Not anger.
Not hope that we could turn it round.
Just a sort of, "Ah well, that was inevitable" dullness.
I go to football to feel some stronger emotion than I get in most of the week. I've very, very rarely not engaged at matches. I'm on the edge of my seat. I'm the one where, when we are 2 down with 5 minutes left, I'm thinking "If we can grab one now..."
But not this season. Week after turgid week we look clueless, passionless, disorganised and worst of all, we look as though there's no spirit or pride.
I can cope with limited players. I can cope with mistakes. What I can't cope with, is a total and utter lack of heart. The feeling, more weeks than not that getting f**ked all over by Division 4 sides is just one of them things. Not something that anyone at the club seems to care too much about.
McCann's demeanour in the post match interview summed it up. A sort of anaesthetised emptiness as though what happens, happens.
It really feels like everything needs to be gutted at this club and for us to start from scratch. Starting with players who f**king hurt like hell when they let themselves down.
Word for word this is how I feel. Id love to bring my son to games when he is older but imagine going it now? If your kids are at the age where they want to start getting into football games can you imagine taking them to the eco power? My brother attempted to start taking my neice and nephew, bought them season tickets and they now point blank refuse to go. Thats how bad we are that kids who have no idea what is going on are recognising its tripe and not at all enjoyable.
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We either trust Grant or we don’t.
He says he’s ready to come in and make an impact.
He’s better qualified than us.
Pleased I trusted Grant with this one.
What a player we could have on our hands. Another good performance today, been our best player now over the last 3-4 weeks.
A bit of shithousery creeping in too.
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Tremendous today. This kid's going to make us a lot of money.
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Another Matt Mills in the making.
Whichever GM decides to play as his pair of central defenders when all are fit (& yes, given Woods is team captain) you can’t leave out McGrath. I say that even though I would also say ‘Big Tom’ is back to playing the stalwart we love to see & for me was MOTM today.
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He was good again, but a bit sloppy with the ball today, and at times was slowing us down holding the ball for too long, but overall very good.
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He’s also got a shot on him.
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What I like about this guy is that game to game you can see progression. Also that he appears to have all the necessary attributes (physicality, drive, courage, intelligence, skills) and therefore his ceiling is high.
He is improving game on game but has a lot of improving left in him and his confidence also seems to grow by the game.
Be interesting to see how far he can go.
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He's not average to a bursting run into the box and unleashing a thunderbolt of a shot as well!!!
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He’s also got a shot on him.
He’s got a header on him as well, when attacking he always seems to out leap whoever is marking him. If he can get his direction tuned in we’re going to see some great headed goals from him.
Nearly got a stunner yesterday with the last touch of the game.