Viking Supporters Co-operative
Viking Chat => Viking Chat => Topic started by: SoundbiteBarmyArmy on March 07, 2026, 05:33:32 pm
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It’s dull. Same crap every week.
The club is dull as dishwater. Something needs to change.
What does Cliff Byrne do? He’s a defender by trade and all we do is concede goals.
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Oh boy, here we go again…
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It’s dull. Same crap every week.
The club is dull as dishwater. Something needs to change.
What does Cliff Byrne do? He’s a defender by trade and all we do is concede goals.
There is only one thing that is dull as dishwater. Its boring and predictable.
We lose, same message.
As he gone yet was my thought, but not Mccann.
I thought we played very well. Hanlan did well up top, which is encouraging.
Personally its just the odd thing, like reactions are slow and we clear the ball, we could clear it anywhere on the pitch but its always straight to their man. Personal errors not the managers fault, but really not much in it really.
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It’s dull. Same crap every week.
The club is dull as dishwater. Something needs to change.
What does Cliff Byrne do? He’s a defender by trade and all we do is concede goals.
No posts in almost 2 years
It must’ve been going well for a while
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Grant goes and we will drop like a stone.
Just like last time
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It’s dull. Same crap every week.
The club is dull as dishwater. Something needs to change.
What does Cliff Byrne do? He’s a defender by trade and all we do is concede goals.
There is only one thing that is dull as dishwater. Its boring and predictable.
We lose, same message.
As he gone yet was my thought, but not Mccann.
I thought we played very well. Hanlan did well up top, which is encouraging.
Personally its just the odd thing, like reactions are slow and we clear the ball, we could clear it anywhere on the pitch but its always straight to their man. Personal errors not the managers fault, but really not much in it really.
Not getting into the McCann in or out debate (it’s not a debate, he should see the full season) but I wouldn’t call our defending from set pieces/balls into the box “personal errors”. It’s the bread and butter for coaches.
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I thought this must be a thread about the Cookie Monster :laugh:
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I thought this must be a thread about the Cookie Monster :laugh:
Nothing gets past him though. Worth a start on Tuesday in the back line.
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Thought we were really good today, played as a unit & more threatening in & around their box. We were unlucky not to get at least a point, we made them look very average. Just needed that 2nd goal. Wouldn't change anything on Tuesday, formation or line up.
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It’s dull. Same crap every week.
The club is dull as dishwater. Something needs to change.
What does Cliff Byrne do? He’s a defender by trade and all we do is concede goals.
There is only one thing that is dull as dishwater. Its boring and predictable.
We lose, same message.
As he gone yet was my thought, but not Mccann.
I thought we played very well. Hanlan did well up top, which is encouraging.
Personally its just the odd thing, like reactions are slow and we clear the ball, we could clear it anywhere on the pitch but its always straight to their man. Personal errors not the managers fault, but really not much in it really.
Not getting into the McCann in or out debate (it’s not a debate, he should see the full season) but I wouldn’t call our defending from set pieces/balls into the box “personal errors”. It’s the bread and butter for coaches.
They are personal errors on the pitch though. Mols doesn't move at all, lets it go by him, thats not coaching. The balls that go across our box defenders just watch.
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No he hasn't, nor should he
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It’s dull. Same crap every week.
The club is dull as dishwater. Something needs to change.
What does Cliff Byrne do? He’s a defender by trade and all we do is concede goals.
There is only one thing that is dull as dishwater. Its boring and predictable.
We lose, same message.
As he gone yet was my thought, but not Mccann.
I thought we played very well. Hanlan did well up top, which is encouraging.
Personally its just the odd thing, like reactions are slow and we clear the ball, we could clear it anywhere on the pitch but its always straight to their man. Personal errors not the managers fault, but really not much in it really.
Not getting into the McCann in or out debate (it’s not a debate, he should see the full season) but I wouldn’t call our defending from set pieces/balls into the box “personal errors”. It’s the bread and butter for coaches.
They are personal errors on the pitch though. Mols doesn't move at all, lets it go by him, thats not coaching. The balls that go across our box defenders just watch.
Strikes me that with 3 central defender types, subconsciously think someone else is going take care of things. Perhaps just the one is needed, in order to know it’s their sole responsibility with the keeper (if they’re playing this high line) to look after the crosses.
On the other hand I think we played better today than we did v Huddersfield and Rotherham. And a bad day for Lee whose sensational goal barely gets a mention.
And thankfully McCann is still here, though I do think some of the hangers on, sorry backroom staff need to go (not Rennie BTW).
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Terry may as well have set his cash on fire this season with some of the headless recruitment. Squad is massive and the budget has been totally misused.
Warning signs were there when we fished out 2 new contracts to Westbrook and Close. Then sign multiple midfielders since.
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Thought we were really good today, played as a unit & more threatening in & around their box. We were unlucky not to get at least a point, we made them look very average. Just needed that 2nd goal. Wouldn't change anything on Tuesday, formation or line up.
Thanks Les for that sensible and rational report.
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Hope he doesn’t read this drivel he’s doing a top job
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Terry may as well have set his cash on fire this season with some of the headless recruitment. Squad is massive and the budget has been totally misused.
Warning signs were there when we fished out 2 new contracts to Westbrook and Close. Then sign multiple midfielders since.
Close plays and has been playing well. Whats the problem?
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We’ve lost to a decent side today. The signings brought in looked good on paper but just haven’t worked out. We miss a midfield which means we struggle to control games consistently.
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I’m a Grant and Cliff supporter but it’s very obvious that they haven’t considered quality over quantity.
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I’m a Grant and Cliff supporter but it’s very obvious that they haven’t considered quality over quantity.
Clearly missed the Lee goal then, and we didn’t win the League 2 Championship.
Christ alive we are in a higher division, we are trying to adapt against some big teams. We are trying to develop players who played for Gateshead, Halifax, Barrow, Hartlepool, or our own players like McGrath who at his worst is a mile ahead of Olowu’s worst. Simply because that’s all we can do. We don’t play in front of 18,000 crowds like Cardiff and Plymouth (not to mention several others).
We’ve come a long way since Sutton away. We are building slowly and survival this season will be a big block in the build.
So for Christ’s sake get real.
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McGrath miles ahead of Olowu?! I’ve heard it all now.
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McGrath miles ahead of Olowu?! I’ve heard it all now.
He said worst. And I agree. Yet mcGrath has looked like he is nervous as hell this year. Olowu always had major clangers in him and alot of the time was out with injury.
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He shouldn’t go anywhere but he does need someone challenging some of the decisions he’s making.
Not sure he’d accept that but we seem to sign players he doesn’t want or fancy often on multiple years. He’s total control of signing so it’s very wasteful of him.
I could sympathise with him if there was a DoF signing players he didn’t want and didn’t ask for but we know this isn’t the case.
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McGrath miles ahead of Olowu?! I’ve heard it all now.
He said worst. And I agree. Yet mcGrath has looked like he is nervous as hell this year. Olowu always had major clangers in him and alot of the time was out with injury.
we were patient with Olowu and he came good in the end. Yes he had a mistake in him but he had pace to recover. McGrath for me has struggled at this level. Lots of errors, poor distribution and no pace to recover. Yet he remains in the team week after week. I dont get that!
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He shouldn’t go anywhere but he does need someone challenging some of the decisions he’s making.
Not sure he’d accept that but we seem to sign players he doesn’t want or fancy often on multiple years. He’s total control of signing so it’s very wasteful of him.
I could sympathise with him if there was a DoF signing players he didn’t want and didn’t ask for but we know this isn’t the case.
That’s why I ain’t “in” or “out” on him, it should all come down to that discussion in the summer imo.
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He shouldn’t go anywhere but he does need someone challenging some of the decisions he’s making.
Not sure he’d accept that but we seem to sign players he doesn’t want or fancy often on multiple years. He’s total control of signing so it’s very wasteful of him.
I could sympathise with him if there was a DoF signing players he didn’t want and didn’t ask for but we know this isn’t the case.
That’s why I ain’t “in” or “out” on him, it should all come down to that discussion in the summer imo.
We had the DoF set up before McCann arrived with Copps, and Schofield in a head coach role. This was designed to provide some consistency in case of managerial turnover - after McCann and Moore had shafted us previously.
There was no investment on the field at this point, so we slide down the table with a non-league team.
Bringing a more experienced manager in was a sensible next step once Schofield had gone, but my understanding was that Grant only came on the basis that he had absolute control on footballing issues - so Copps went from a footballing oversight role to putting the balls out for the warm up.
Point being, we had a plan for oversight and consistency, Grant didn’t want this so he had full control - in which case he has full accountability. Bad recruitment, lack of identity or tactical plan etc etc are entirely on him. As above, irrespective of where we end up - I think we need a serious conversation about our recruitment plan and investment longer term, and what our tactical identity is supposed to be.
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The mistake was going down the DoF route at the same time as cutting the playing squad budget. We could also throw in the fact the DoF was Copps not someone with any record in the role.
Grant needs challenging whether it’s the owner Baldwin or his assistant someone needs to make him have a think before offering 2 year deals to players he doesn’t fancy. It’s Terry’s money so he’s best placed to point this out imo.
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Same arguments.
But it boils down to shocking recruitment in the summer, we simply dont have good enough players for league 1.
Big summer of recruitment needed
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McGrath miles ahead of Olowu?! I’ve heard it all now.
He said worst. And I agree. Yet mcGrath has looked like he is nervous as hell this year. Olowu always had major clangers in him and alot of the time was out with injury.
we were patient with Olowu and he came good in the end. Yes he had a mistake in him but he had pace to recover. McGrath for me has struggled at this level. Lots of errors, poor distribution and no pace to recover. Yet he remains in the team week after week. I dont get that!
Olowu’s potential was obvious, he’s a top of league one defender with potential to go further.
When McGrath leaves us he’ll end up in the National league.
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Our budget was relatively bigger and the margin of error much wider in League Two. Hopefully we remain in League One next season but that will be the same as this season - we don’t have any kind of budget advantage so we need to spend this and monetise talent far better. It’s not a great record the last 12 months really so you would hope some mindset change or strategic approach. If we go about business same as we have at this level, we are down next season.
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McGrath miles ahead of Olowu?! I’ve heard it all now.
He said worst. And I agree. Yet mcGrath has looked like he is nervous as hell this year. Olowu always had major clangers in him and alot of the time was out with injury.
we were patient with Olowu and he came good in the end. Yes he had a mistake in him but he had pace to recover. McGrath for me has struggled at this level. Lots of errors, poor distribution and no pace to recover. Yet he remains in the team week after week. I dont get that!
Olowu’s potential was obvious, he’s a top of league one defender with potential to go further.
When McGrath leaves us he’ll end up in the National league.
McGrath would get in any league 2 side right now.
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McGrath miles ahead of Olowu?! I’ve heard it all now.
He said worst. And I agree. Yet mcGrath has looked like he is nervous as hell this year. Olowu always had major clangers in him and alot of the time was out with injury.
we were patient with Olowu and he came good in the end. Yes he had a mistake in him but he had pace to recover. McGrath for me has struggled at this level. Lots of errors, poor distribution and no pace to recover. Yet he remains in the team week after week. I dont get that!
Olowu’s potential was obvious, he’s a top of league one defender with potential to go further.
When McGrath leaves us he’ll end up in the National league.
McGrath would get in any league 2 side right now.
He wouldn’t.
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All I will say is that Grant is very lucky he is at our club, as at almost any other he would have been sacked for that really poor run.
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McGrath miles ahead of Olowu?! I’ve heard it all now.
He said worst. And I agree. Yet mcGrath has looked like he is nervous as hell this year. Olowu always had major clangers in him and alot of the time was out with injury.
we were patient with Olowu and he came good in the end. Yes he had a mistake in him but he had pace to recover. McGrath for me has struggled at this level. Lots of errors, poor distribution and no pace to recover. Yet he remains in the team week after week. I dont get that!
Olowu’s potential was obvious, he’s a top of league one defender with potential to go further.
When McGrath leaves us he’ll end up in the National league.
McGrath would get in any league 2 side right now.
He wouldn’t.
He would get into plenty of league 2 teams.
He was a big part of a league 2 winning team only last season.
He has had a baptism of fire this year but we have a very good chance of surviving relegation whilst being in a stronger league.
Whilst he has had some very poor games, it doesnt help by having a non-existint midfield in front of him (which i think have gotten away with murder this season whilst the defence gets hammered)
He is still young and has lots of improvment infront of him.
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McGrath miles ahead of Olowu?! I’ve heard it all now.
He said worst. And I agree. Yet mcGrath has looked like he is nervous as hell this year. Olowu always had major clangers in him and alot of the time was out with injury.
we were patient with Olowu and he came good in the end. Yes he had a mistake in him but he had pace to recover. McGrath for me has struggled at this level. Lots of errors, poor distribution and no pace to recover. Yet he remains in the team week after week. I dont get that!
Olowu’s potential was obvious, he’s a top of league one defender with potential to go further.
When McGrath leaves us he’ll end up in the National league.
McGrath would get in any league 2 side right now.
He wouldn’t.
He would get into plenty of league 2 teams.
He was a big part of a league 2 winning team only last season.
He has had a baptism of fire this year but we have a very good chance of surviving relegation whilst being in a stronger league.
Whilst he has had some very poor games, it doesnt help by having a non-existint midfield in front of him (which i think have gotten away with murder this season whilst the defence gets hammered)
He is still young and has lots of improvment infront of him.
He did say any. He wouldn’t get in them all.
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It’s dull. Same crap every week.
The club is dull as dishwater. Something needs to change.
What does Cliff Byrne do? He’s a defender by trade and all we do is concede goals.
There is only one thing that is dull as dishwater. Its boring and predictable.
We lose, same message.
As he gone yet was my thought, but not Mccann.
I thought we played very well. Hanlan did well up top, which is encouraging.
Personally its just the odd thing, like reactions are slow and we clear the ball, we could clear it anywhere on the pitch but its always straight to their man. Personal errors not the managers fault, but really not much in it really.
Not getting into the McCann in or out debate (it’s not a debate, he should see the full season) but I wouldn’t call our defending from set pieces/balls into the box “personal errors”. It’s the bread and butter for coaches.
They are personal errors on the pitch though. Mols doesn't move at all, lets it go by him, thats not coaching. The balls that go across our box defenders just watch.
Mols was quite close to the goal line and he would have been aware that Byrne was marking there player behind him, unfortunately he wouldn’t have been aware that Byrne had let their player go. You were watching Mols, so you must have seen his the reaction on his face! It was shocking defending by Byrne.
The original post questions the management team and given the amount of goals we have conceded, second worse defensive in the league, it does beg the question who is the defensive coach and what is being worked on in training. Well clearly is not working.
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Having turned down an offer of £500k for McGrath we’d be very naive to ‘ditch’ him now.
He’s still very young & probably playing slightly above ‘his level’ right now however, this season can only make him more aware of what he’ll face again next season (I’m not having this we’ll be relegated rubbish) & he’ll think on that, work even harder during the close season & if the club wants to progress then he needs a ‘better & wiser’ head alongside him next season than he’s had since we ‘lost’ O’Riordan.
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23 next month. He’s no youth player any longer.
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For me I go back to when GM said we were going for two players in each position after last seasons injury's. That's all very good in principle however when you only have a certain amount of budget what you end up with is a squad full of average players and that's what we've got. Mols looks like he's found his level and Bails as much as we love him isn't a championship player imo. The rest are all bottom end league 1 at best so it's no surprise that's where we are.
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In total agreement with that wing commander
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We’re constantly talking about how good our medical department is now (no arguments here, must’ve spent a fair whack and Rennie has a great CV) so we can surely afford to have a smaller squad now?
Having a bigger squad has hindered us if anything… It’s given McCann more temptation to rotate the squad on the regular, to try find solutions, rather than building with some stability.*
*our best spells under him have been when naming the 11 was a piece of piss.
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Having a big squad is needed for promotion pushes where you need to hit a level every week. A smaller higher quality group might fall short of promotion or top 6 but be nowhere near the drop because they’ll get 3pts regularly. A low quality large squad isn’t much use imo.
But the way Grant has been recently I’d be worried if we had a small squad. He seems to find reasons not to like players he’s signed. Apparently we can afford it with Pearson, Hanlan, Robinson, Haks, Middleton, Ajay, Maxwell, Gotts, Westbrooke, Sbarr, Broadbent, Hurst, Close and probably a few more all been players he’s signed or offered extensions to finding themselves out of favour at various points.