League One, 2022/23

[GhostoftheBok]

Derby, on the same points as us

Also worth noting that Derby are probably seeking fewer "solutions" than we are this window. They seem to want a first team forward and a bit of depth.

Their XG is consistently better than ours and their XGA varies between even and very slightly worse. They are getting the one-on-one and passing penetration they want.

They will feel they can outperform us in the second half of the season if they can get a centre forward who will create a bit of space around him and make those chances from 12 yards more clear-cut.

You can like or dislike that way of looking at football, but it's likely to form part of the calculations of teams at the minute.

Darren Ferguson is also very confident he can get Posh up into the top 6.

[officer_dibble]

I have to say if the playoffs started tomorrow I wouldn’t want to face Ipswich or Derby. We’ll find out more this weekend on Derby of course!

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Last 18 months we've often been very good at beating anyone except the best teams. This is a problem in the playoffs.

[DJBlu]

Last 18 months we've often been very good at beating anyone except the best teams. This is a problem in the playoffs.

Best we start practicing penalties then.

[Worthy4England]

Last 18 months we've often been very good at beating anyone except the best teams. This is a problem in the playoffs.

Just by way of comparison, Sunderland, last season got 17 out of 30 points v the other top 6 teams - so 1.7 ppg. We're at 7 from 7 currently - but I guess there's no better time than in the playoffs to show "cup team" credentials

[GhostoftheBok]

I was more confident last season that we'd win the play-offs (if we got there) than this; but it depends on the business we do.

I think we will probably have to do that calculation of "games vs top sides" again come the end of the season, starting this month.

[Worthy4England]

I was more confident last season that we'd win the play-offs (if we got there) than this; but it depends on the business we do.

I think we will probably have to do that calculation of "games vs top sides" again come the end of the season, starting this month.

TBF, we'll need to secure a play-off spot first. Then it's in the lap. We're capable of beating anyone on our day - just that we'd need a couple of them, if we were to make the play-offs...

[GhostoftheBok]

TBF, we'll need to secure a play-off spot first. Then it's in the lap. We're capable of beating anyone on our day - just that we'd need a couple of them, if we were to make the play-offs...

As I said in the other thread, it depends how many we lose to things like injuries and...eek...legal issues.

Newilliams has had real injury issues, Dempsey is in bother (and has his own injury worries), Dad Bod is currently out, we're not sure about Jones, Thommo is out currently, Iredale until next season, Sheehan will always be a worry now, Lee has a habit of breaking down late in a season...there is very much lap of the gods stuff going on.

Throw in that were only ever one James Trafford injury away from Dixon in goal and you've got a nervy set-up.

[boltonboris]

I wouldn't fancy us to win the play-offs as you have to play 2 games away from home to win it

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I think we will probably have to do that calculation of "games vs top sides" again come the end of the season, starting this month.

Agreed. Derby (h) 0-0. Plymouth (h) 0-0. Need more goals. Nowt new.

[Worthy4England]

TBF, we'll need to secure a play-off spot first. Then it's in the lap. We're capable of beating anyone on our day - just that we'd need a couple of them, if we were to make the play-offs...

As I said in the other thread, it depends how many we lose to things like injuries and...eek...legal issues.

Newilliams has had real injury issues, Dempsey is in bother (and has his own injury worries), Dad Bod is currently out, we're not sure about Jones, Thommo is out currently, Iredale until next season, Sheehan will always be a worry now, Lee has a habit of breaking down late in a season...there is very much lap of the gods stuff going on.

Throw in that were only ever one James Trafford injury away from Dixon in goal and you've got a nervy set-up.

Every year, there will be problems such as this, I would have thought. I doubt we're always in the worst position in the league for it (struggling to get any decent stats)...It will impact other clubs too in varying amounts...we roll out the injury list thing every year, like it only applies to us.

If it's significantly more impactful on us than other Clubs, then we need to look at why and what we can do to address it. I'm fairly sure Evatt did a piece just before Christmas regarding it in the BN, saying how much better we've been this year. He cited our style of play as being a contributory factor, which it almost certainly is, but that's our pick, to play this way - no one else has said we have to...So it's part of the management function, to sort it out.

[GhostoftheBok]

Every year, there will be problems such as this, I would have thought. I doubt we're always in the worst position in the league for it (struggling to get any decent stats)...It will impact other clubs too in varying amounts...we roll out the injury list thing every year, like it only applies to us.

If it's significantly more impactful on us than other Clubs, then we need to look at why and what we can do to address it. I'm fairly sure Evatt did a piece just before Christmas regarding it in the BN, saying how much better we've been this year. He cited our style of play as being a contributory factor, which it almost certainly is, but that's our pick, to play this way - no one else has said we have to...So it's part of the management function, to sort it out.

It is what it is. On our budgets we have to take risks we might avoid if we had more money. It's just the reality.

[Worthy4England]

Every year, there will be problems such as this, I would have thought. I doubt we're always in the worst position in the league for it (struggling to get any decent stats)...It will impact other clubs too in varying amounts...we roll out the injury list thing every year, like it only applies to us.

If it's significantly more impactful on us than other Clubs, then we need to look at why and what we can do to address it. I'm fairly sure Evatt did a piece just before Christmas regarding it in the BN, saying how much better we've been this year. He cited our style of play as being a contributory factor, which it almost certainly is, but that's our pick, to play this way - no one else has said we have to...So it's part of the management function, to sort it out.

It is what it is. On our budgets we have to take risks we might avoid if we had more money. It's just the reality.

Always. I certainly don't see us throwing money around willy-nilly at the moment, we're still paying Admin debts off as far as I know...

[GhostoftheBok]

Always. I certainly don't see us throwing money around willy-nilly at the moment, we're still paying Admin debts off as far as I know...

Nor should we. Though if some of the money from Dapo could go on slightly less risky signings than Iredale, Sheehan, Fossey etc for the summer then that would be great. Williams arrives on that list of risky ones. I'm hoping the other two we are after look a bit more like Dapo, Charles, or Morley. Just to save me wincing every time they hit the deck.

[Worthy4England]

I guess where I'm at, is, I wonder whether we'll be able to get the players of sufficient calibre to play the way Evatt wants to play in anything like the timeframe he suggests (and yeah we know he can be a bit OTT). We're heavily reliant on WB's and to date, we've probably got 1 that's ours, fairly new, by your calculation risky and that's it, in three years...we're clearly struggling on a 10 - there again, I'd say we had 1 with any class, not getting any younger and likely to break down once or twice a season, we have no goalkeeper. Every year, we roll out the broken-down list, as if it was just a bad twist of fate, rather than a function of us not being able to afford the right players to play the system we want to play.

I'm pretty happy with us being 5th overall, slightly above what I expected at the start of the season, but I am concerned about how fast we could get to the "realistically 1 or 2 slot" and still concerned with whether we can do it and deliver brand Evatt - Plymouth seem to be doing ok, with what appears to be moderate wage budgets (their 2022 accounts show wages +400k than our 2021 accounts when we were in League 2...)

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Plymouth seem to be doing ok, with what appears to be moderate wage budgets (their 2022 accounts show wages +400k than our 2021 accounts when we were in League 2...)

Could you just explain that as if you're talking to a keen but simple child?

[Worthy4England]

Plymouth seem to be doing ok, with what appears to be moderate wage budgets (their 2022 accounts show wages +400k than our 2021 accounts when we were in League 2...)

Could you just explain that as if you're talking to a keen but simple child?

Sure - Plymouth player wages and salaries in their 2022 accounts £5.4m. Out player wages and salaries in the accounts from a year earlier £5m - we haven't published our 2022 numbers yet...

[GhostoftheBok]

I think we're just gradually working on building that foundation of young(ish), reliable, sellable players. Very slowly, admitted.

If you look at generally fit players of a good age who are worth money - Johnston, Santos, Toal in that back line all stand out as guys who are worth £1m+ if we get to the Championship. Morley and Thommo in midfield are on that list, with Morley much more so as he's generally better right now and George just got hurt. Up top we had Dapo and flogged him. There's still Charles, but generally we are really lacking value in the most valuable area of any good side.

The rest of what we have isn't really worth much. Iredale, Jones, Williams and Dempsey all have a history of injuries that would stop any sane club spending real money on them.

Kachunga, Dad Bod, Lee, etc are all too old.

If we are trading our way up we have got to add young, talented attacking players as a matter of urgency; because that's where all the money is. There's this talk of Tshimanga, but the point to get him was 18 months ago - before his broken leg. Right now he'd probably have been in the £1m+ bracket. Now he'd be on the Iredale side of the list. Aaron Collins could have been worth big money to us and I'm struggling to understand why no proper contact was made there.

Wingbacks, as you say, is another issue; but that's tricky. Again, I was surprised we didn't make an approach for Corey O'Keeffe given we were struggling to find depth on that right side, but it may have been that that bizarre Fossey situation buggered us.

I think we've missed some obvious ones who we've been aware of and not done anything about, because we were chasing "ideal" stuff that didn't come off. We'll see if it comes off this month. Nlundulu seems to be on that list for Evatt.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Plymouth seem to be doing ok, with what appears to be moderate wage budgets (their 2022 accounts show wages +400k than our 2021 accounts when we were in League 2...)

Could you just explain that as if you're talking to a keen but simple child?

Sure - Plymouth player wages and salaries in their 2022 accounts £5.4m. Out player wages and salaries in the accounts from a year earlier £5m - we haven't published our 2022 numbers yet...

Thank you.

[GhostoftheBok]

Sure - Plymouth player wages and salaries in their 2022 accounts £5.4m. Out player wages and salaries in the accounts from a year earlier £5m - we haven't published our 2022 numbers yet...

Hence their fans calling themselves "Loan FC."

The issue is it's not sustainable. They've used the loan market very well indeed, but then their best player gets recalled and suddenly there is a scramble to once again find a star on no budget - having not made anything towards your infrastructure either.

I've been very impressed with their work this season, but I'd rather be us over the next 4-5 years.