Macs on for Fleetwood. V the Cod army away Nov 19th 22. 3.0'clock.

[DJBlu]

But for poor finishing we'd have battered them 6-1.
Better 4th official and that prick Rooney gets a red card. If you think luck got us that win then we deserved it. Evatt got the luck as the subs coming on any later we draw the game. We keep doing this so part of me thinks they might have something. It's frustrating because we would all like them to start games as we've ended some. If we remain in the playoffs going into Jan, I'd say it's a job well done.

Oh and Thomo. Shithousery award 2022.

[BWFC_Insane]

But for poor finishing we'd have battered them 6-1.
Better 4th official and that prick Rooney gets a red card. If you think luck got us that win then we deserved it. Evatt got the luck as the subs coming on any later we draw the game. We keep doing this so part of me thinks they might have something. It's frustrating because we would all like them to start games as we've ended some. If we remain in the playoffs going into Jan, I'd say it's a job well done.

Oh and Thomo. Shithousery award 2022.

Winning lots of late games isn’t a bad thing. Picking the wrong team from the start and having to change it is.

We need to get JDB, Sadlier and Dapo into their optimal positions as they are without doubt our best attacking players. In January I hope we can move a couple on and replace them as it’s clear to me that a promotion hopeful side needs better than Charles and Kachunga.

[officer_dibble]

Barrow on Tuesday. Ideal opportunity to start JDB and Sads.

[DJBlu]

Charles puts one or two away and the team selection is a moot point. The lad can finish but had a poor game and was rightly subbed. The worry is Kachunga. He helps Charles with the high press but offers nothing else. The defensive record is due to the team selection and I'd say the ones up top are helping as they're pressing and forcing the errors or the long ball. I don't know who else gives this energy up top?

[officer_dibble]

Kachunga has different attributes to the others but he’s not that much better at the press to keep him in the team as a non-goal scoring centre forward IMO.

Charles wanted taking out of the firing line weeks ago - weird how he is undroppable and nobody else is.

I’d start JDB and Sadlier up top Tuesday.

[TANGODANCER]

Just one for the Stats dept: How many of our current squad have actually played at a higher level? Seems to me that even with promotion to the Championship, a team that isn't dominating this league and struggling against Burton and Forest Green may soon be heading back down unless they severely strengthen numbers. Ambition is commendable, but it doesn't pay the Piper.

[TANGODANCER]

But for poor finishing we'd have battered them 6-1.
.

And thereby hangs the Auntie Fanny/Uncle Tommy " if" tale mate. Not Sherlocking, but it's why strikers are priceless (which I know you're well aware of). We need a predator.

[sonicthewhite]

But for poor finishing we'd have battered them 6-1.
.

And thereby hangs the Auntie Fanny/Uncle Tommy " if" tale mate. Not Sherlocking, but it's why strikers are priceless (which I know you're well aware of). We need a predator.

Prince Andrew is out of contract

[BWFC_Insane]

Charles puts one or two away and the team selection is a moot point. The lad can finish but had a poor game and was rightly subbed. The worry is Kachunga. He helps Charles with the high press but offers nothing else. The defensive record is due to the team selection and I'd say the ones up top are helping as they're pressing and forcing the errors or the long ball. I don't know who else gives this energy up top?

Charles is a poor player. He isn’t good enough if you want to get out of this division. Or at least he hasn’t been this season. His form early doors here was good but teams played higher defensive lines against us. As a number pointed out yesterday the work required in most of our games is back to goal and keeping possession to let moves build. Exactly the job JDB did for the first goal. But Charles loses it way way too much.

[DJBlu]

Charles is statistically the best goal scorer we have. 1 in 3.2 games. This is also pretty solid throughout his career.
JDB is 1 in 3.6 since signing. This is the best rate he's had in his career.
Baka is 1 in 4.09. Also the best he's had.
Kachunga is 1 in 24.5

[BWFC_Insane]

Charles is statistically the best goal scorer we have. 1 in 3.2 games. This is also pretty solid throughout his career.
JDB is 1 in 3.6 since signing. This is the best rate he's had in his career.
Baka is 1 in 4.09. Also the best he's had.
Kachunga is 1 in 24.5

I think he will score goals in certain situations but the one we face most of the time where a team sits in he doesn’t. And you can see that as he has one goal from open play in the league this season.

[Worthy4England]

Couple of things, JDB takes fewer minutes to score goals than Charles (as does Dapo) - Charles has had much more gametime, so I think he only "looks like fewer games per goal, because he's got a lot more play-time".

Other thing, I'm fairly sure this time last season, there was a pretty staunch defence of Doyle going on from certain quarters, who also only had 1 goal from open play.

It has looked tough for Charles this season so far, especially as he's "paired" with Kacha who is also not finding the net. I think if one of them were firing, it'd probably cover some for the other and there'd likely be convo around how one of them was playing the other in etc. But as neither are firing, you really have to look at (think it was Mar's view) that they're spending 60-70 minutes with the main thing being press high, helping the defence out by defending from the top and trying and shag them out a bit...

It's tough up top at the minute. Consequently joint top scorer Bradley, who has a better goal conversion rate than Dion and more goals + assists than anyone, is getting some bric-bats for not being Fossey. If Dion/Kacha were scoring, he'd probably get no push back as he'd be the icing rather than casting him as the cake.

[TANGODANCER]

Half the problem is surely that there is no real identifiable problem. This is just realistic life in the division. Would signing Harry Kane, Vardy or even Ronaldo guarantee goals? If you say yes, you're dreaming. It isn't just about about names and reputations ( I know were talking levels, but look at the amount of top class strikers we've had who haven't shone here, I give you Jared Borgetti as just one example) but about overall team performances, and in that light, how are we much different than those around us? Answer is, we're not. Keep panning lads who are trying and calling them useless and donkeys etc, won't make them play better. A bit of support might.

[Prufrock]

I mean signing Harry Kane in particular would obviously guarantee goals. Though not on Saturday tbf.

[Mar]

Half the problem is surely that there is no real identifiable problem. This is just realistic life in the division. Would signing Harry Kane, Vardy or even Ronaldo guarantee goals? If you say yes, you're dreaming. It isn't just about about names and reputations ( I know were talking levels, but look at the amount of top class strikers we've had who haven't shone here, I give you Jared Borgetti as just one example) but about overall team performances, and in that light, how are we much different than those around us? Answer is, we're not. Keep panning lads who are trying and calling them useless and donkeys etc, won't make them play better. A bit of support might.

I quite like to look back on some strikers to see whether perception meets reality. May just be a case of Allardyce wanting someone to fulfil the SKD role with better finishing attributes. As it stands Borgetti didn't quite have the same quality of heading as SKD so it's hardly surprising he wasn't picked first choice, but in terms of his stats...

Borgetti stats:

Premier League - 2 goals in 543 (1 goal in every 271.5 mins, e.g. 1 in 3)
UEFA Cup - 2 goals in 329 (1 goal in 164 mins, e.g. 1 in 2)
FA Cup - 1 goal in 175
EFL Cup - 2 goals in 127 (1 goal in 63.5 mins, 1 in 1

That's 1174 minutes played with 7 goals, coming in at a goal every 167.7 minutes. A goal for the equivalent of every 2 matches is a decent return.

Just like Jardel's 3 goals in 488 mins is a 1 in 162.


Perhaps its not a case of them not shining, but just a case of them not being as effective a foil as SKD.

[Worthy4England]

Thaks Mar - I thought I recalled Borgetti's stats (at hitting the onion bag) being pretty good. For comparison SKD I think was about 400 mins per goal (certainly the last three years) - before TD gets too excited, I wouldn't have replaced SKD with Borgetti

At the moment, we're 5th with a game in hand, that's better than I thought we might be doing, even though I don't think we're anywhere near what we're capable of. We spent half of last season saying things like, the difference between us and Rotherham/Wiggin was they were picking up points in a game we'd lose. We're now picking up points in those games...

[Mar]

Thaks Mar - I thought I recalled Borgetti's stats (at hitting the onion bag) being pretty good. For comparison SKD I think was about 400 mins per goal (certainly the last three years) - before TD gets too excited, I wouldn't have replaced SKD with Borgetti

At the moment, we're 5th with a game in hand, that's better than I thought we might be doing, even though I don't think we're anywhere near what we're capable of. We spent half of last season saying things like, the difference between us and Rotherham/Wiggin was they were picking up points in a game we'd lose. We're now picking up points in those games...

Maybe that was Big Sam's biggest flaw in that the SKD role was overly reliant on SKD. The stats are showing that we should get the ball forward and use the target man. We saw Les Ferdinand, Jardel, Borgetti, etc. being used as that main target man to cover SKD but there was no second option. Perhaps we just needed a different play style to get the ball forward fast so we could put someone up top with a little bit more of a clinical presence.

[Worthy4England]

Thaks Mar - I thought I recalled Borgetti's stats (at hitting the onion bag) being pretty good. For comparison SKD I think was about 400 mins per goal (certainly the last three years) - before TD gets too excited, I wouldn't have replaced SKD with Borgetti

At the moment, we're 5th with a game in hand, that's better than I thought we might be doing, even though I don't think we're anywhere near what we're capable of. We spent half of last season saying things like, the difference between us and Rotherham/Wiggin was they were picking up points in a game we'd lose. We're now picking up points in those games...

Maybe that was Big Sam's biggest flaw in that the SKD role was overly reliant on SKD. The stats are showing that we should get the ball forward and use the target man. We saw Les Ferdinand, Jardel, Borgetti, etc. being used as that main target man to cover SKD but there was no second option. Perhaps we just needed a different play style to get the ball forward fast so we could put someone up top with a little bit more of a clinical presence.

TBF, I think most supporters of other clubs would probably attest to SKD being the best at what SKD did...and thinking around the Prem at the time, they were probably correct. I reckon the only reason we held on to him was other teams didn't want to play with that level of reliance on one bloke...

[BWFC_Insane]

Charles fundamentally doesn’t fit the way we play. He’s not very good at the way we play. If we were playing like we did in his early days and the opposition were letting us then I think he’d be effective. But when there is no space behind the back line his game is too limited. He is after all a limited league one striker who can score goals if he gets in behind. But that requires early ball and teams to play a higher line - neither thing is happening.

Bod is a better all round footballer and more suited to how we are playing. The argument about goals is a bit moot if Charles isn’t currently scoring and he’s not.

For me we need a front three of Dapo, Bod and Sadlier. Charles and Baka can be the super subs.

I don’t really see how on form you can pick anything else nor in terms of effective attacking shape.

[Harry Genshaw]

I like Bod, as I like all our players but there's a little Andranik syndrome going on with him imo. He looks effective as a sub. When he's started games, I've frequently been disappointed.