Based on what Grant said, who are we not seeing for a while?

[In the box]

I know on this forum we don’t do loosing to well . But it’s getting to the point where the question has to be .. why are we struggling to attract a striker that we can get behind and build a team around . Is it money or identifying one ?

[grayx]

I know on this forum we don’t do loosing to well . But it’s getting to the point where the question has to be .. why are we struggling to attract a striker that we can get behind and build a team around . Is it money or identifying one ?

There does seem to be a shortage of good proven strikers available throughout the leagues tbf, unless crazy money is paid. Blades, amongst many others, are also struggling to find one.

[selby]

 
  Due to the players we lost at the end of the season in Wood, Anderson, Olowu, the keeper, Street, and Ironside apart from Sharpe we are noticeably weaker down the spine of the team from back to front, playing at a higher level, again IMHO.
  Others will disagree with me and are entitled to do so, but that is how I see it.
  In the first half of last season we had Olowu with blistering pace for a defender who had an excellent half of a season and covered a lot of mistakes when paired with McGrath who has not got that cover this season and not the most composed on the ball under pressure, and lacks pace.
  We had Street whose pace and power upset defences and in Ironside one of the best link up front men I have seen play for us since Brown.
  Anderson and Wood were shot for pace, but had positional sense and physical strength making it hard for players to play against, and the keeper got noticeably better as the season progressed due to his confidence in Anderson and Bailey who provided that bit of pace Anderson didn't possess
   What played at the Orient was a keeper who was second fiddle all last season, two central defenders with no real pace wearing L plates  positionally, and a central striker nearing 40 yrs old who put the rest to shame with effort and movement chasing nothing coming out of a sterile mid field, and the only player who looked remotely division 1 class on the day.
  We need better.

[GazLaz]

  Due to the players we lost at the end of the season in Wood, Anderson, Olowu, the keeper, Street, and Ironside apart from Sharpe we are noticeably weaker down the spine of the team from back to front, playing at a higher level, again IMHO.
  Others will disagree with me and are entitled to do so, but that is how I see it.
  In the first half of last season we had Olowu with blistering pace for a defender who had an excellent half of a season and covered a lot of mistakes when paired with McGrath who has not got that cover this season and not the most composed on the ball under pressure, and lacks pace.
  We had Street whose pace and power upset defences and in Ironside one of the best link up front men I have seen play for us since Brown.
  Anderson and Wood were shot for pace, but had positional sense and physical strength making it hard for players to play against, and the keeper got noticeably better as the season progressed due to his confidence in Anderson and Bailey who provided that bit of pace Anderson didn't possess
   What played at the Orient was a keeper who was second fiddle all last season, two central defenders with no real pace wearing L plates  positionally, and a central striker nearing 40 yrs old who put the rest to shame with effort and movement chasing nothing coming out of a sterile mid field, and the only player who looked remotely division 1 class on the day.
  We need better.

I watched the whole game again yesterday. We were up against a better coached, better prepared team with more intelligent players in attacking positions. Every time Connelly dropped off the front line one of our center halves followed him and the space vacated was exploited by their midfield runners. The only player that looked anything like for us was Bailey. If Sharp was the shining light for some then god help us. He produced a couple of positive actions later in the game but is so easy to defend against when he receives the ball back to goal its untrue.

Sbarra doesn't fit into our style of play at all, he needs a really structured passing style in a team that recycles the ball with controlled possession.

Molyneux and Gibson were too high and wide too often. In games like that when we are struggling to cope, they should tuck in and reinforce the middle of the pitch a bit more.

I also think we struggle against teams that play 352/532 when they overload the channels. It just completely negates our attacking threat which tends to be pretty predictably from wide areas.

[Ldr]

Our play always seems to end up resembling an “M” high up the flanks then back to the holding mid, back up the other flank then back to the defence, it’s tedious

[GazLaz]

The lack of athleticism we have in the team is quite obvious as well.

I dont think its terminal. We have largely been good this season so far. Grant just needs to realise what his best team is. He said in his interview that "nobody knows the best X!", there's absolutely no excuse for him not to know it. He signed these players, he's with them every day. We have 4 centre halves that he rotates most weeks, how can he not know the best combination there? Do we look at any performance analytics to help find these solutions?

[Avsuptem]

Grant has said we don't have a 1st team and seemed to have a policy of viewing every game on a squad basis utilising all the subs and most of the squad in groups of games. It seemed like a brilliant approach at the start of the season but now it has all turned to crap.

[mpc123]

Our play always seems to end up resembling an “M” high up the flanks then back to the holding mid, back up the other flank then back to the defence, it’s tedious

thats been in the slump not pre. I think teams now know that we go down the wings where really a more creative AM will suit to give us a going through the middle option currently we dont look to have that option. Thats why the M as you mention seems to happen.

[Sammy Chung was King]

We are missing dynamism in the midfield, someone who is a goal threat just behind the strikers. We are a touch predictable at times, if Molyneux isn’t on it we are in trouble.
In January we will need a Street like signing, plus another up front, unless the ones we have start firing.

A few players really haven’t had opportunities to play enough to get a decent idea if they are good enough. Our fans tend to write players off very quickly. We are in a bad patch that we will come out of. We do need strengthening in a few positions and maybe a few going out to make that happen.

[mushRTID]

I dare say we are missing a Patrick Kelly, someone who can run with the ball and take out a few players with his runs.
He would only have got better too.
I hope we were in for him, and didn’t let him join a rival without attempting to sign him.

[selby]

  How long is long enough? we have been relegated recently and promoted, and have players here who were not good enough the last time we played at this level and others who have started games and have not been in a winning side for months apart from cup games.
  When playing in league games, a higher level and more tactical, we have not won.

[ForsolongaRover]

I dare say we are missing a Patrick Kelly, someone who can run with the ball and take out a few players with his runs.
He would only have got better too.
I hope we were in for him, and didn’t let him join a rival without attempting to sign him.

If we were in for him, it was kept pretty quiet. It seems rather a coincidence that Barnsley have signed 3 our young promising midfielder loanees without any press speculation linking them to us.

Instead GM seems to go for players that no other clubs seem interested in, although I give him credit for Gotts and Clifton even if in neither case does he seem to regard them as always the best option, putting Crew and Sabarra ahead despite their obvious shortcomings.

Obviously money is a factor, but dubious judgement does rather come into it. It is all very well having more than one option in a particular position, but spending your budget on 3 players of doubtful quality rather than splashing out on one with real talent ends up with, at the extreme, a bunch of duds! It was clear from their history that the only summer signings amongst the vital midfield and forward players with any kind of solid pedigree were Middleton and Gotts as has been shown. The best hope for the rest is to “give them time” (which I’m not sure we can afford) when evidence of even marginal improvement is difficult to perceive.

[GazLaz]

I dare say we are missing a Patrick Kelly, someone who can run with the ball and take out a few players with his runs.
He would only have got better too.
I hope we were in for him, and didn’t let him join a rival without attempting to sign him.

If we were in for him, it was kept pretty quiet. It seems rather a coincidence that Barnsley have signed 3 our young promising midfielder loanees without any press speculation linking them to us.

Instead GM seems to go for players that no other clubs seem interested in, although I give him credit for Gotts and Clifton even if in neither case does he seem to regard them as always the best option, putting Crew and Sabarra ahead despite their obvious shortcomings.

Obviously money is a factor, but dubious judgement does rather come into it. It is all very well having more than one option in a particular position, but spending your budget on 3 players of doubtful quality rather than splashing out on one with real talent ends up with, at the extreme, a bunch of duds! It was clear from their history that the only summer signings amongst the vital midfield and forward players with any kind of solid pedigree were Middleton and Gotts as has been shown. The best hope for the rest is to “give them time” (which I’m not sure we can afford) when evidence of even marginal improvement is difficult to perceive.

"splashing out on one with real talent" This is exactly how NOT to recruit.

[drfcsteve]

Grant has said we don't have a 1st team and seemed to have a policy of viewing every game on a squad basis utilising all the subs and most of the squad in groups of games. It seemed like a brilliant approach at the start of the season but now it has all turned to crap.

It’s an interesting approach but what we don’t seem to do is change the system or how we play depending on the opposition.

Grant did this well (usually mid match) at the back end of last season so not sure what’s changed.

How many times this season has he tried to replace 3/4 players at 70 odd minutes and just replaced them like for like with worse players. Yes they might be fresh legs but that’s not enough.

[Reg of the Rovers]

I think there's a few things that haven't worked this season - Sbarra isn't good enough and shouldn't be in the squad, Crew isn't playing well and looks disinterested and shouldn't be in the squad, McGrath looks unfit and looks yards off the pace, and shouldn't be anywhere near starting when any two of Grehan, O'Riorden and Pearson are fit. One striker doesn't seem to be working, Billy has been a revelation this year, working his socks off, but he looks isolated and frustrated most of the time - a change in formation would help.

We are in a really bad run of form and results, and bad runs of results cost managers their jobs. Grant need to show us now that he has a plan, can be flexible and responsive, and knows what combination of these players can start to get performances and results. Big big game on Saturday, at home against a team backed to be down the bottom end of the table. Got to win.

[ForsolongaRover]

I dare say we are missing a Patrick Kelly, someone who can run with the ball and take out a few players with his runs.
He would only have got better too.
I hope we were in for him, and didn’t let him join a rival without attempting to sign him.

If we were in for him, it was kept pretty quiet. It seems rather a coincidence that Barnsley have signed 3 our young promising midfielder loanees without any press speculation linking them to us.

Instead GM seems to go for players that no other clubs seem interested in, although I give him credit for Gotts and Clifton even if in neither case does he seem to regard them as always the best option, putting Crew and Sabarra ahead despite their obvious shortcomings.

Obviously money is a factor, but dubious judgement does rather come into it. It is all very well having more than one option in a particular position, but spending your budget on 3 players of doubtful quality rather than splashing out on one with real talent ends up with, at the extreme, a bunch of duds! It was clear from their history that the only summer signings amongst the vital midfield and forward players with any kind of solid pedigree were Middleton and Gotts as has been shown. The best hope for the rest is to “give them time” (which I’m not sure we can afford) when evidence of even marginal improvement is difficult to perceive.

"splashing out on one with real talent" This is exactly how NOT to recruit.

I think you need to justify such an irrational statement, because it's fundamentally illogical. There are numerous examples of why it is a good idea, so what's your alternative?

[GazLaz]

I dare say we are missing a Patrick Kelly, someone who can run with the ball and take out a few players with his runs.
He would only have got better too.
I hope we were in for him, and didn’t let him join a rival without attempting to sign him.

If we were in for him, it was kept pretty quiet. It seems rather a coincidence that Barnsley have signed 3 our young promising midfielder loanees without any press speculation linking them to us.

Instead GM seems to go for players that no other clubs seem interested in, although I give him credit for Gotts and Clifton even if in neither case does he seem to regard them as always the best option, putting Crew and Sabarra ahead despite their obvious shortcomings.

Obviously money is a factor, but dubious judgement does rather come into it. It is all very well having more than one option in a particular position, but spending your budget on 3 players of doubtful quality rather than splashing out on one with real talent ends up with, at the extreme, a bunch of duds! It was clear from their history that the only summer signings amongst the vital midfield and forward players with any kind of solid pedigree were Middleton and Gotts as has been shown. The best hope for the rest is to “give them time” (which I’m not sure we can afford) when evidence of even marginal improvement is difficult to perceive.

"splashing out on one with real talent" This is exactly how NOT to recruit.

I think you need to justify such an irrational statement, because it's fundamentally illogical. There are numerous examples of why it is a good idea, so what's your alternative?

If you think it’s irrational I can’t help educate you.