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Post by Claremont Gas on Jan 29, 2023 9:50:24 GMT
People will read the headline and think I am being dramatic ... maybe a little.
However if you witnessed that debacle yesterday and think about what has happened in this window you might share my nervousness a little more.
No need to talk any more about Morecambe or Accrington really other than we looked like a team in the bottom four and clueless about how we scrap our way out in both fixtures.
Some Flashing Red lights for me ....
1. Manager says he works two windows in advance - No way because he is scrabbling around in his knee jerk way to bring people in so very late again, telling us that's where the value is ... Teams like Plymouth didn't think so .. Dan Crowley who ran the show yesterday is proof that if you have a good scouting network then value is constantly available.
Value is only there if you are waiting on calls from your mates regarding young academy players - we have no real scouting set up.
2. It was obvious we would miss JR but so little done to replace - however Ward looked decent in his cameo yesterday so maybe he is the answer. Has been available for a while though as he was leaving Blackpool even before the window opened.
3. Quansah aside, the whole defensive unit is not up to L1 faster pace and cutting edge - Hoole, Connolly, Gibbons, Grant are all good lads but as a group aren't strong enough...we cant carry all of them.
4. Our Captain is a fab leader but slows the pace down way too much ... Loses the ball a lot as well. Hopefully Ward and Finley are first choices now. Other midfielders haven't got going and its already passed half way and we are carrying them at times.
5. Three at the back with wing backs leaves us exposed again and again ... other teams know this and play to it.
6. Teams below us have all strengthened - some more dramatically than others and yet we seem far weaker with only two real days left.
I say two days because I doubt very much is being done today so its really under 40 hours to get stuff done... JB says we need five - he is right but its five minimum not aspirational and settle for three.
An experienced CB to replace Connolly is vital .... A LB is vital .... A creative midfielder is ideal and a replacement for Loft would be great. We have wasted one Loan on a Keeper who has come from shipping goals in L2 to so say be the pivotal point in L1 - Awful decision to play him yesterday just ridiculous.
No way is this intended to be a swipe at JB - He has his ways and moments of madness but I think he is good for our club and now is a real test for him. He 100% has the backing of Wael emotionally and financially.
This season was all about maintaining L1 status - that's all i hope for and expect and we have a head start over the bottom four but many more gutless clueless efforts like yesterday will see us in a real scrap come end of February / March. Lets hope we have the right guys in the Quarters to see us through it.
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Post by playtowin on Jan 29, 2023 10:48:58 GMT
All season we have had teams come right through the middle of our team and score goals.
JR made a difference but he is out for a while.
Joe needs to find a formation that works best for our squad. That makes us strong defensively but dangeroys going forward.
First difference from our success last year.
Chasing down opposition defenders when they try to bring the ball out.
Collins' energy and pace upfront made it a nightmare for centrebacks.
This was backed up by the 3 behind allowing opposition little time on the ball.
This seems to have vanished this season in favour of trying to have possession more.
That didnt work out well for Garner so why copy it ? Seems crazy.
We literally played Garnerball yesterday.
Thats a quick way to lose the fans Joe.
Quansah looks comfortable on the ball and pacey BUT based on that 1 game (so harsh) cant tackle.
Definitely contributed to 1 of the goals conceded by attempting a tackle on the edge of the box that the Morecambe player just walked through.
The problem though is the lack of bite in central midfield.There were many a time Morecambe could amble through the centre of the park unchallenged.
So in what remains of the window and available free agents afterwards.
We need a high energy stopper in midfield.
A central defender who is strong and good in the air.
A battling wide forward thinking midfielder...not a light weight winger.
So in short connor Taylor ,Elliot Anderson and a fit Rossiter.
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Post by Topper Gas on Jan 29, 2023 10:54:45 GMT
When did Barton ever say he works two windows in advance, I thought that was TW's nonsense?
Managers probably work 2 weeks in advance in January, as it just seems a mad scramble to sign who's available.
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Post by The Equaliser on Jan 29, 2023 11:02:12 GMT
You’re being dramatic 👍🏾
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Post by woolavingtonpirate on Jan 29, 2023 11:04:06 GMT
I agree with some of that but Gibbons was by far our best player yesterday. Also thought Loft did more on the short time he was on the pitch than Coburn did all game. We missing a player or two, when we get the players in hopefully Connolly will regain some confidence/form, don't think we need to start replacing so many.
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Post by Topper Gas on Jan 29, 2023 11:04:52 GMT
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Post by Gas1977 on Jan 29, 2023 11:09:54 GMT
Crikey people need to calm the f**k down! We’ve had a fantastic year so for the sake of a poor month we can’t start saying we’re going down. Full trust in the Board / JB to bring in a few additions and we will be back firing soon. UTG
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Post by gasheadbatesy on Jan 29, 2023 11:22:03 GMT
People will read the headline and think I am being dramatic ... maybe a little. However if you witnessed that debacle yesterday and think about what has happened in this window you might share my nervousness a little more. No need to talk any more about Morecambe or Accrington really other than we looked like a team in the bottom four and clueless about how we scrap our way out in both fixtures. Some Flashing Red lights for me .... 1. Manager says he works two windows in advance - No way because he is scrabbling around in his knee jerk way to bring people in so very late again, telling us that's where the value is ... Teams like Plymouth didn't think so .. Dan Crowley who ran the show yesterday is proof that if you have a good scouting network then value is constantly available. Value is only there if you are waiting on calls from your mates regarding young academy players - we have no real scouting set up. 2. It was obvious we would miss JR but so little done to replace - however Ward looked decent in his cameo yesterday so maybe he is the answer. Has been available for a while though as he was leaving Blackpool even before the window opened. 3. Quansah aside, the whole defensive unit is not up to L1 faster pace and cutting edge - Hoole, Connolly, Gibbons, Grant are all good lads but as a group aren't strong enough...we cant carry all of them. 4. Our Captain is a fab leader but slows the pace down way too much ... Loses the ball a lot as well. Hopefully Ward and Finley are first choices now. Other midfielders haven't got going and its already passed half way and we are carrying them at times. 5. Three at the back with wing backs leaves us exposed again and again ... other teams know this and play to it. 6. Teams below us have all strengthened - some more dramatically than others and yet we seem far weaker with only two real days left. I say two days because I doubt very much is being done today so its really under 40 hours to get stuff done... JB says we need five - he is right but its five minimum not aspirational and settle for three. An experienced CB to replace Connolly is vital .... A LB is vital .... A creative midfielder is ideal and a replacement for Loft would be great. We have wasted one Loan on a Keeper who has come from shipping goals in L2 to so say be the pivotal point in L1 - Awful decision to play him yesterday just ridiculous. No way is this intended to be a swipe at JB - He has his ways and moments of madness but I think he is good for our club and now is a real test for him. He 100% has the backing of Wael emotionally and financially. This season was all about maintaining L1 status - that's all i hope for and expect and we have a head start over the bottom four but many more gutless clueless efforts like yesterday will see us in a real scrap come end of February / March. Lets hope we have the right guys in the Quarters to see us through it. I was there yesterday, and as bad as we were, this is a huge over reaction. Even the best teams in the world go through spells of underperforming. Was bound to happen at some point, and this is as good as anytime to show our weakness, while we can still address them. Have the 1st 26 games counted for nothing, and our season is now on slope to relegation? Far from it. Maybe a new chant for us should be “Grand old Duke of York”. Anyway It’s nearly cider a clock 🍏. Utg. |
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Post by gasandelectricity on Jan 29, 2023 11:31:41 GMT
No chance are we getting relegated even if we don’t sign anyone else.
Bobby Thomas is probably the only player out of the leavers we will truly miss with Barton’s selections and playing style. Everyone else we’d have expected to have left or wasn’t a huge surprise. We have the Quansah to Thomas and I’m sure he’ll end up an improvement.
Grant Ward can’t be a step back on Westbrooke.
Every extra signing gives us a shot at climbing the table as opposed to falling down it.
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Post by alanrg on Jan 29, 2023 11:40:50 GMT
Reading Bristol Live report on outgoings I wonder if it might be Evans
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Post by oldie on Jan 29, 2023 11:40:59 GMT
No chance are we getting relegated even if we don’t sign anyone else. Bobby Thomas is probably the only player out of the leavers we will truly miss with Barton’s selections and playing style. Everyone else we’d have expected to have left or wasn’t a huge surprise. We have the Quansah to Thomas and I’m sure he’ll end up an improvement. Grant Ward can’t be a step back on Westbrooke. Every extra signing gives us a shot at climbing the table as opposed to falling down it. On paper I think that's probably right. So the only other variable is team set up and tactics. |
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Post by Topper Gas on Jan 29, 2023 12:19:47 GMT
Reading Bristol Live report on outgoings I wonder if it might be Evans Posted that above, I'm struggling to think who else he'll offload, I doubt he'll fall out with Coutts and he's not going to bin Connolly after paying a big fee in the summer. |
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Post by Claremont Gas on Jan 29, 2023 12:32:43 GMT
Reading Bristol Live report on outgoings I wonder if it might be Evans Posted that above, I'm struggling to think who else he'll offload, I doubt he'll fall out with Coutts and he's not going to bin Connolly after paying a big fee in the summer. Just read it and think you are right... Coutts / Evans - Spring to mind but Most likely Evans.... Very possibly Hoole? Cannot see that he will own up to McCormick being a disaster so far and also Connolly really struggling . |
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Post by GasAttacK on Jan 29, 2023 12:43:16 GMT
Would love to see Coutts off the wage bill, and although it pains me to say it after last season, I think it's time for Evans to move on as well.
McCormick has been relegated twice from L1 but performed pretty well for both teams at this level, so I'm not sure why he looks like a shadow of the player he was.
Three of our midfield, Coutts, Finley & Evans, were released by Fleetwood and Crewe. They're smallish clubs at this level and Crewe have since been relegated, but they decided Coutts, Finley, and Evans weren't good enough and it looks like they were right.
Wouldn't be sorry to see Connolly, Coutts, Finley, Evans, or McCormick leave to be honest. I think we need better. Whether we can get them is another thing altogether.
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Post by Topper Gas on Jan 29, 2023 12:52:32 GMT
Would love to see Coutts off the wage bill, and although it pains me to say it after last season, I think it's time for Evans to move on as well. McCormick has been relegated twice from L1 but performed pretty well for both teams at this level, so I'm not sure why he looks like a shadow of the player he was. Three of our midfield, Coutts, Finley & Evans, were released by Fleetwood and Crewe. They're smallish clubs at this level and Crewe have since been relegated, but they decided Coutts, Finley, and Evans weren't good enough and it looks like they were right. Wouldn't be sorry to see Connolly, Coutts, Finley, Evans, or McCormick leave to be honest. I think we need better. Whether we can get them is another thing altogether. There's zero chance of JB spending £100K+ on a player in one window then releasing him in the next window, I also can't see McM could take much blame for yesterday's hammering. |
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Post by TAGas on Jan 29, 2023 13:03:48 GMT
The players I think he would be referring to would be Courts, Evans, Connelly and Hoole imo
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Post by socrates on Jan 29, 2023 13:12:57 GMT
Last season we switched to 4231 around Christmas and it worked because we had the right players for that formation and not the 3 at the back wing backs formation.
I can’t understand why Barton hasn’t really used that formation this season we still have the players for it we could use corburn as the striker then we’ve got the likes of Sinclair , Collins Evans , loft Marquis etc all capable of playing in one of the three attacking midfield / inside forward roles behind/ around him.
this season so far has been very much like the first half of last season in that Joe is constantly chopping and changing everything and he doesn’t seem to know his best formation or team and whilst we’ve done ok and are mid table I really think that a settled side with a settled formation that suits the players we have is the way forward from here on.
The season isn’t over there’s still play off places for grabs and we’re not definitely safe either.
It’s a big few days until the window closes and once it does it’s time to stop experimenting and build a bit of solid backbone and consistency and put the pre season type experimenting to bed.
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Post by gasandelectricity on Jan 29, 2023 13:13:13 GMT
Didn’t really rate Coutts at L1 level tbh. Evans has been poor this season. McCormick has disappointed so far.
Hoole is still young though and I don’t see any issues with Finley. He might not be perfect but L1 is about his level and on his day he’s a cracking Midfielder.
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Post by woolavingtonpirate on Jan 29, 2023 13:20:50 GMT
Yes definitely Coutts, Evans is out of sorts but there's a good player there, when he's confident and played in his correct position. Madness to suggest Connolly and Hoole, two very promising young players who will go on to do very well. I would keep Evans, bring him on as sub and play him in his best position, will allow him to get his confidence back. I think it's similar with Mccormick, we just aren't getting the best out of him for some reason?
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Post by baggins on Jan 29, 2023 13:37:06 GMT
All season we have had teams come right through the middle of our team and score goals. JR made a difference but he is out for a while. Joe needs to find a formation that works best for our squad. That makes us strong defensively but dangeroys going forward. First difference from our success last year. Chasing down opposition defenders when they try to bring the ball out. Collins' energy and pace upfront made it a nightmare for centrebacks. This was backed up by the 3 behind allowing opposition little time on the ball. This seems to have vanished this season in favour of trying to have possession more. That didnt work out well for Garner so why copy it ? Seems crazy. We literally played Garnerball yesterday. Thats a quick way to lose the fans Joe. Quansah looks comfortable on the ball and pacey BUT based on that 1 game (so harsh) cant tackle. Definitely contributed to 1 of the goals conceded by attempting a tackle on the edge of the box that the Morecambe player just walked through. The problem though is the lack of bite in central midfield.There were many a time Morecambe could amble through the centre of the park unchallenged. So in what remains of the window and available free agents afterwards. We need a high energy stopper in midfield. A central defender who is strong and good in the air. A battling wide forward thinking midfielder...not a light weight winger. So in short connor Taylor ,Elliot Anderson and a fit Rossiter. Again, it's a total lack of midfield. I don't know what's happened to Evans but his performances have been shocking. Coutts doesn't do much either. |
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