Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Where fellow sufferers gather to share the pain, longing and unrequited transfer requests that make being a Wanderer what it is...

Moderator: Zulus Thousand of em

Post Reply
User avatar
BWFC_Insane
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 36010
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:07 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by BWFC_Insane » Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:06 am

LeverEnd wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:53 pm
Problem tonight was not the starters but the bench. The subs were the obvious ones but they made us weaker. I can't help thinking that if Doyle had stayed on we'd have had a better chance of winning. Kachunga may come good but right now he just doesn't seem to fit.
I'm amazed that anyone thinks isgrove was anything less than superb, as was Dapo. I like Doyle but I'd like to see a powerful striker offer a different threat. Hope Baka is back soon.
Think this is true. Look at the bench and we don’t have any option you feel would have unlocked them.

We are heavily reliant on the superb Dapo, Jones and MJ. All three playing well above this level. But don’t have replacements for them. And lacking quality off the bench. Obviously injuries haven’t helped that scenario.

But last night ideally we wanted another forward and midfield player to bring on towards the end just to see if they could find a way through. But we had more or less a league two bench, plus Kachunga who isn’t really fit yet and certainly hasn’t hit his form.

User avatar
The_Gun
Passionate
Passionate
Posts: 3147
Joined: Tue May 22, 2018 9:54 am

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by The_Gun » Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:21 am

Overall it was undoubtedly a very good performance last night, and we can rightly feel harshly done by, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. Only four shots on target is pretty poor given our dominance, and I think at present we're too reliant on Dapo to conjure up some magic. We need to get better at breaking down teams who set up in that fashion, although I do think John and Sheehan would have both helped in that regard.

User avatar
BWFC_Insane
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 36010
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:07 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by BWFC_Insane » Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:33 am

The_Gun wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:21 am
Overall it was undoubtedly a very good performance last night, and we can rightly feel harshly done by, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. Only four shots on target is pretty poor given our dominance, and I think at present we're too reliant on Dapo to conjure up some magic. We need to get better at breaking down teams who set up in that fashion, although I do think John and Sheehan would have both helped in that regard.
For me considering how Burton played we created a lot. But it’s just the final ball at times. I’d come back to though if we had a player like Jones or Isgrove or Dapo who had better end product they’d not be here past January. That’s the thing we are in league one. We are playing well above league one standard overall but it’s the end product in terms of the final ball or pass. And that is probably a reflection of where we are financially. I don’t think there is anything to worry about. We will more than hold our own in this league and the games are a great watch. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? If we were to go up now we’d find ourselves against teams with huge resources and I suspect would be straight back down. Better to enjoy playing well in league one for now.

User avatar
The_Gun
Passionate
Passionate
Posts: 3147
Joined: Tue May 22, 2018 9:54 am

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by The_Gun » Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:44 am

BWFC_Insane wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:33 am
The_Gun wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:21 am
Overall it was undoubtedly a very good performance last night, and we can rightly feel harshly done by, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. Only four shots on target is pretty poor given our dominance, and I think at present we're too reliant on Dapo to conjure up some magic. We need to get better at breaking down teams who set up in that fashion, although I do think John and Sheehan would have both helped in that regard.
For me considering how Burton played we created a lot. But it’s just the final ball at times. I’d come back to though if we had a player like Jones or Isgrove or Dapo who had better end product they’d not be here past January. That’s the thing we are in league one. We are playing well above league one standard overall but it’s the end product in terms of the final ball or pass. And that is probably a reflection of where we are financially. I don’t think there is anything to worry about. We will more than hold our own in this league and the games are a great watch. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? If we were to go up now we’d find ourselves against teams with huge resources and I suspect would be straight back down. Better to enjoy playing well in league one for now.
I really enjoy watching us play, and haven't felt as positive about us probably since we were in the Prem, but you always have to look forward. I'm not confident we'll get promoted, but we should surely be aiming for that? If we come straight back down so be it, but as long as we're not over-extending ourselves that's fine.

Dapo may well not be with us past January, because he has now added more end product, and again that's fine because he'll make us good money. That's how you progress as a club. We have to aspire to bring in or mould players who are better than this level, not just accept that we are a League One side and that's how it is.

LeverEnd
Legend
Legend
Posts: 9969
Joined: Fri Dec 21, 2012 11:18 pm
Location: Dirty Leeds

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by LeverEnd » Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:54 am

Thankfully I don't think many teams will be as effective at spoiling/stifling as Burton.
...

Whitesince63
Hopeful
Hopeful
Posts: 74
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2018 11:58 am

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by Whitesince63 » Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:55 am

BWFC_Insane wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:29 pm
Whitesince63 wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:24 pm
I just don’t see in Doyle what you do Insane, I’m really sorry. Last season he only actually scored 12 goals from open play, the rest were penalties. That’s not fox in the box stuff to me and one of those 3 this year was also a pen. Tonight he never got into the game and when he did get his big chance he fluffed it. Look, we were absolutely brilliant tonight but for me we just never really looked like scoring. It was hard because Burton just parked the bus and got bodies in there but had we had a Super John or an Andy Walker, or even an ALF you’d have expected a goal rather than hoped for one like we did tonight. For me Doyle’s not the answer and I’d be amazed if he gets into double figures this year, even with penalties. IE was wrong in my opinion not to recruit another striker when others did, including young loanees and I just hope that we can stick around the top half until January when he can hopefully put that right but for the moment I’m not convinced by our attacking options and think it needs improving. I take that we’re a job in progress and with our resources it will take time to build the squad so let’s hope that the likes of Doyle and Kachunga can prove me wrong and deliver what we would like them to after all.
You can keep saying this so tell me which striker available on a free in league one should we have signed? And then tell me their careers goal record vs Doyle’s….

I didn’t say we should sign a L1 striker who’s on a free, I said an alternative to Doyle, be it a permanent or loan striker who offers something different. IE indicated he did try to get a forward in but his targets just didn’t come off so hopefully we make do until January when maybe we can get someone in. Of course we might not need to if Baka turns out to be the answer and it’s just a shame he wasn’t available last night. I don’t dislike Doyle and he’s obviously a good player to have but he’s not a target man, he doesn’t hold the ball up and bring others into play so when we’re attacking and firing balls in from the wing, we don’t actually have a target to aim at, same from corners and set pieces. Like I say we’re a work in progress but nobody can deny after watching last night what a good team IE is building. We just need that extra option up front if we really want to challenge this season.

nicholaldo
Passionate
Passionate
Posts: 2360
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2018 8:23 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by nicholaldo » Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:00 am

BWFC_Insane wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:33 am
The_Gun wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:21 am
Overall it was undoubtedly a very good performance last night, and we can rightly feel harshly done by, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. Only four shots on target is pretty poor given our dominance, and I think at present we're too reliant on Dapo to conjure up some magic. We need to get better at breaking down teams who set up in that fashion, although I do think John and Sheehan would have both helped in that regard.
For me considering how Burton played we created a lot. But it’s just the final ball at times. I’d come back to though if we had a player like Jones or Isgrove or Dapo who had better end product they’d not be here past January. That’s the thing we are in league one. We are playing well above league one standard overall but it’s the end product in terms of the final ball or pass. And that is probably a reflection of where we are financially. I don’t think there is anything to worry about. We will more than hold our own in this league and the games are a great watch. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? If we were to go up now we’d find ourselves against teams with huge resources and I suspect would be straight back down. Better to enjoy playing well in league one for now.

It's a particular problem, though, when our style of play is heavily reliant on the delivery from the winger / overlapping full-back. The good thing is we are often dominant enough to ensure Isgrove and Jones have plenty of opportunities to cross from the right hand side. It's just frustrating that they require so many before we get a good one.

I agree it's just a reflection of where we are, but I'm not quite as willing to right it off as a non-issue.

User avatar
Worthy4England
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 32273
Joined: Wed May 16, 2007 6:45 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by Worthy4England » Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:10 am

LeverEnd wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:53 pm
Problem tonight was not the starters but the bench. The subs were the obvious ones but they made us weaker. I can't help thinking that if Doyle had stayed on we'd have had a better chance of winning. Kachunga may come good but right now he just doesn't seem to fit.
I'm amazed that anyone thinks isgrove was anything less than superb, as was Dapo. I like Doyle but I'd like to see a powerful striker offer a different threat. Hope Baka is back soon.
As unpopular as this might sound, I thought Dapo was looking more knackered than the other candidates when Kachunga was bought on (not surprisingly he'd still have been my motm). I'd have been tempted to swap Dapo for Kachunga and keep Doyle going.

User avatar
BWFC_Insane
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 36010
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:07 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by BWFC_Insane » Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:11 am

Whitesince63 wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:55 am

I didn’t say we should sign a L1 striker who’s on a free, I said an alternative to Doyle, be it a permanent or loan striker who offers something different. IE indicated he did try to get a forward in but his targets just didn’t come off so hopefully we make do until January when maybe we can get someone in. Of course we might not need to if Baka turns out to be the answer and it’s just a shame he wasn’t available last night. I don’t dislike Doyle and he’s obviously a good player to have but he’s not a target man, he doesn’t hold the ball up and bring others into play so when we’re attacking and firing balls in from the wing, we don’t actually have a target to aim at, same from corners and set pieces. Like I say we’re a work in progress but nobody can deny after watching last night what a good team IE is building. We just need that extra option up front if we really want to challenge this season.
We've got a target man who's injured. I would like another option but I think the reality of what we'd get would be either a young player on a loan or a free transfer. And the sorts of players we can afford will be in the same bracket as the ones we have. The player IE missed out on was in his words another 'versatile forward' so I doubt he'd be much different to Kachunga, Delf, or Baka. You are talking about two things - either a proven goalscorer or a target man. I think a target man would be achievable but they'd not have Doyle's goal record as we've seen with Baka. And you'd have to ask how much difference it would make. But another man who has Doyle's goal scoring record - I don't see us magicking one of those up. So you either say we need to sacrifice Doyle's goals (and he was and is our top scorer however you want to disregard his goals) and get someone who offers a more all round game OR you have to get these sort of versatile forwards in around Doyle as we have done.

I don't really think just throwing a different striker on last night was the issue - though Baka would have given us something different perhaps, it may have played into Burton's hands if we went longer. But really it was trying to break down a team sat deep and we got into some excellent areas but the final ball or our numbers in the box at times wasn't quite there. I'd say though that I've watched teams that cost 100's of millions face teams like that and struggle more than we did. Ultimately we were robbed by two absolutely shocking decisions. If you have to score 3 goals a game to get 1 its tough. Not sure I'd over analyse something like last night. We'd have won the game if the officials were competent and ultimately if a side does what Burton did the main thing is patience and concentration and not conceding. More times than not if we do what we did last night we'll win.

User avatar
BWFC_Insane
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 36010
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:07 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by BWFC_Insane » Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:12 am

Worthy4England wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:10 am
LeverEnd wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:53 pm
Problem tonight was not the starters but the bench. The subs were the obvious ones but they made us weaker. I can't help thinking that if Doyle had stayed on we'd have had a better chance of winning. Kachunga may come good but right now he just doesn't seem to fit.
I'm amazed that anyone thinks isgrove was anything less than superb, as was Dapo. I like Doyle but I'd like to see a powerful striker offer a different threat. Hope Baka is back soon.
As unpopular as this might sound, I thought Dapo was looking more knackered than the other candidates when Kachunga was bought on (not surprisingly he'd still have been my motm). I'd have been tempted to swap Dapo for Kachunga and keep Doyle going.
Got to say I said exactly the same in the ground last night. Obviously he was having a superb game but my view was 'he's dead on his feet' and I thought Doyle looked fresher and still was a threat in the box. One of them where you take Dapo off and score its genius don't score and you get pelters.

User avatar
BWFC_Insane
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 36010
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:07 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by BWFC_Insane » Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:15 am

nicholaldo wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:00 am
BWFC_Insane wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:33 am
The_Gun wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:21 am
Overall it was undoubtedly a very good performance last night, and we can rightly feel harshly done by, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. Only four shots on target is pretty poor given our dominance, and I think at present we're too reliant on Dapo to conjure up some magic. We need to get better at breaking down teams who set up in that fashion, although I do think John and Sheehan would have both helped in that regard.
For me considering how Burton played we created a lot. But it’s just the final ball at times. I’d come back to though if we had a player like Jones or Isgrove or Dapo who had better end product they’d not be here past January. That’s the thing we are in league one. We are playing well above league one standard overall but it’s the end product in terms of the final ball or pass. And that is probably a reflection of where we are financially. I don’t think there is anything to worry about. We will more than hold our own in this league and the games are a great watch. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? If we were to go up now we’d find ourselves against teams with huge resources and I suspect would be straight back down. Better to enjoy playing well in league one for now.

It's a particular problem, though, when our style of play is heavily reliant on the delivery from the winger / overlapping full-back. The good thing is we are often dominant enough to ensure Isgrove and Jones have plenty of opportunities to cross from the right hand side. It's just frustrating that they require so many before we get a good one.

I agree it's just a reflection of where we are, but I'm not quite as willing to right it off as a non-issue.
Its not a non-issue but its again unrealistic to think we'd find a better player with more end product than either of the two mentioned.

You can argue as some have we'd have won with John on the pitch as he's our best 'crosser' of the ball and Gordon had a lot of chances to get a ball in (and they weren't bad) but he tends to just fire it behind the back four rather than look for anything a little more cultured. Not that I'd criticise Gordon he was excellent and for me that was the most complete LB performance of the season - be it he or John. Its just about the quality in the final third.

If you want to be picky last night we had a lot of corners they were all relatively pants. Definitely missed Sheehan on set pieces. I mean in a game like that a set piece goal - and you're off. And its most likely way of scoring but all ours were poor.

User avatar
Dave Sutton's barnet
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 28435
Joined: Sun May 14, 2006 4:00 pm
Location: Hanging on in quiet desperation
Contact:

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by Dave Sutton's barnet » Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:17 am

nicholaldo wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:48 pm
The officials will rightly face the brunt of the criticism but the best teams, when being so dominant, take that out of the equation.

Our build up play, positioning, and work rate were outstanding, as they often are. The problem, in my opinion, is that we weren't quite good enough to make it count. Afolayan was a genuine threat but our only proper one.

The above is an observation rather than a criticism, though. Evatt is extracting plenty of value from the players he has.
Pretty much where I’m at.

If we’d scored, we’d have gone third. We didn’t, so we’re 12th. That’s a dramatic difference but could sum a lot of our season up. As HG & W4E note, we have to be working their keeper more - we had near 75% possession but only four efforts on target.

There is much to be happy about - dominating teams with good passing football, fans behind the team, exciting players, commitment to attack. There were fears preseason that there weren’t enough goals in the team and despite a flurry of early goals (and indeed goalscorers) it’s now settling into a worrying succession of zeroes.

As LE noted, the subs tell the tale. Only one before the 87th minute suggests a lack of options. For the record, I get that we miss Baka but I bet Burton would love to play against that type of physical striker.

User avatar
officer_dibble
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 13819
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 9:33 pm
Location: Leeds

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by officer_dibble » Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:20 am

Maybe Sheehan was a bigger miss - his shooting outside the area and set pieces might have added more than Lee (who was superb btw).

Who knows. It’s going in the right direction though?

User avatar
BWFC_Insane
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 36010
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:07 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by BWFC_Insane » Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:22 am

Dave Sutton's barnet wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:17 am
nicholaldo wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:48 pm
The officials will rightly face the brunt of the criticism but the best teams, when being so dominant, take that out of the equation.

Our build up play, positioning, and work rate were outstanding, as they often are. The problem, in my opinion, is that we weren't quite good enough to make it count. Afolayan was a genuine threat but our only proper one.

The above is an observation rather than a criticism, though. Evatt is extracting plenty of value from the players he has.
Pretty much where I’m at.

If we’d scored, we’d have gone third. We didn’t, so we’re 12th. That’s a dramatic difference but could sum a lot of our season up. As HG & W4E note, we have to be working their keeper more - we had near 75% possession but only four efforts on target.

There is much to be happy about - dominating teams with good passing football, fans behind the team, exciting players, commitment to attack. There were fears preseason that there weren’t enough goals in the team and despite a flurry of early goals (and indeed goalscorers) it’s now settling into a worrying succession of zeroes.

As LE noted, the subs tell the tale. Only one before the 87th minute suggests a lack of options. For the record, I get that we miss Baka but I bet Burton would love to play against that type of physical striker.
Indeed on all points. But I think we have to accept that we've probably 14 or so players capable at this level and the depth in the squad isn't there. But that's ok - we're building. An entertaining season and 12th would be fine by me and a huge improvement on where we've been.

Its a tough situation when some fans seem to genuinely think we can sign Daniel Sturridge and I suspect that FV and their professionalism and all round feel good factor has blinded some to the fact that we are working with a small budget with owners who aren't here to bankroll signings and in a league where 6 or 7 teams probably are paying considerably more for their players than we are.

I think its about building rather than galloping. I'd happily watch this team - we're far superior to last season at any point.

User avatar
Mar
Icon
Icon
Posts: 5123
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2004 12:23 pm
Location: Bolton

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by Mar » Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:08 am

BWFC_Insane wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:22 am
I think its about building rather than galloping. I'd happily watch this team - we're far superior to last season at any point.
I think we're as good as last season's team at the moment, with some good signings to make the step up. Unfortunately, at the moment we aren't able to make use of all the new recruits as we would've liked.

The team we finished with last season:
Gilks, John, Baptiste, Santos, Jones, Williams, Thomason, Afolayan, Sarcevic, Isgrove, Doyle

Isn't far away from:
Dixon, Gordon, Johnston, Santos, Jones, Williams, Lee, Afolayan, Sarcevic, Isgrove, Doyle


Bakayoko, Johnston, Kachunga, Dixon, Gordon, Sheehan, Amaechi seem to be astute signings/retentions for improving the squad. We're very much still a work in progress.

I think the most disappointing thing for me is that we're clearly having a lot of the ball, we're a very good side but somehow Doyle is not thriving. I suspect its a result of the low block that we're up against due to our dominance in matches and thats making it difficult for him to get clear cut opportunities. He's playing well, but not a step up from his previous club in terms of goal returns. Hopefully that comes about.

User avatar
Worthy4England
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 32273
Joined: Wed May 16, 2007 6:45 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by Worthy4England » Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:15 am

nicholaldo wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:00 am
BWFC_Insane wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:33 am
The_Gun wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:21 am
Overall it was undoubtedly a very good performance last night, and we can rightly feel harshly done by, but there's still plenty of room for improvement. Only four shots on target is pretty poor given our dominance, and I think at present we're too reliant on Dapo to conjure up some magic. We need to get better at breaking down teams who set up in that fashion, although I do think John and Sheehan would have both helped in that regard.
For me considering how Burton played we created a lot. But it’s just the final ball at times. I’d come back to though if we had a player like Jones or Isgrove or Dapo who had better end product they’d not be here past January. That’s the thing we are in league one. We are playing well above league one standard overall but it’s the end product in terms of the final ball or pass. And that is probably a reflection of where we are financially. I don’t think there is anything to worry about. We will more than hold our own in this league and the games are a great watch. Isn’t that what everyone wanted? If we were to go up now we’d find ourselves against teams with huge resources and I suspect would be straight back down. Better to enjoy playing well in league one for now.

It's a particular problem, though, when our style of play is heavily reliant on the delivery from the winger / overlapping full-back. The good thing is we are often dominant enough to ensure Isgrove and Jones have plenty of opportunities to cross from the right hand side. It's just frustrating that they require so many before we get a good one.

I agree it's just a reflection of where we are, but I'm not quite as willing to right it off as a non-issue.
Do you think we had markedly better crosses from the left? Coz I'm not sure we did last night (albeit Dapo probably more likely to score one himself)

User avatar
Dave Sutton's barnet
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 28435
Joined: Sun May 14, 2006 4:00 pm
Location: Hanging on in quiet desperation
Contact:

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by Dave Sutton's barnet » Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:16 am

Mar wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:08 am
I think the most disappointing thing for me is that we're clearly having a lot of the ball, we're a very good side but somehow Doyle is not thriving. I suspect its a result of the low block that we're up against due to our dominance in matches and thats making it difficult for him to get clear cut opportunities. He's playing well, but not a step up from his previous club in terms of goal returns. Hopefully that comes about.
Interesting idea on Doyle. He’s scored at this level in bad teams, but maybe their badness helped as the opponent weren’t entrenched? Either way, we should see soon as we will be playing teams (eg Ipswich, Sunderland) whom I wouldn’t expect to camp in against us.

User avatar
BWFC_Insane
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 36010
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:07 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by BWFC_Insane » Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:17 am

Mar wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:08 am
BWFC_Insane wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:22 am
I think its about building rather than galloping. I'd happily watch this team - we're far superior to last season at any point.
I think we're as good as last season's team at the moment, with some good signings to make the step up. Unfortunately, at the moment we aren't able to make use of all the new recruits as we would've liked.

The team we finished with last season:
Gilks, John, Baptiste, Santos, Jones, Williams, Thomason, Afolayan, Sarcevic, Isgrove, Doyle

Isn't far away from:
Dixon, Gordon, Johnston, Santos, Jones, Williams, Lee, Afolayan, Sarcevic, Isgrove, Doyle


Bakayoko, Johnston, Kachunga, Dixon, Gordon, Sheehan, Amaechi seem to be astute signings/retentions for improving the squad. We're very much still a work in progress.

I think the most disappointing thing for me is that we're clearly having a lot of the ball, we're a very good side but somehow Doyle is not thriving. I suspect its a result of the low block that we're up against due to our dominance in matches and thats making it difficult for him to get clear cut opportunities. He's playing well, but not a step up from his previous club in terms of goal returns. Hopefully that comes about.
We're playing far far better than at any point last season. We've taken a huge step forward. Players have stepped up.

Also no idea where this notion that the only player who can score a goal is Doyle. He's scored 3. How about others step up?

Considering the number of corners and free kicks we had last night where was Santos - massive unit - rarely gets on the end of anything. Wheater or Beevers would be getting double figures or close. Has he even scored yet?

The team as a whole is playing outstanding stuff - levels above anything last season and I think when teams come like Burton did we probably need to maximise set plays and also work on our delivery into the area. I don't personally think the issue is the central striker and if you're going to put the pressure on a single player to deliver goals - you'll never ever find anyone who can live up to that at our level.

Whitesince63
Hopeful
Hopeful
Posts: 74
Joined: Sun Apr 29, 2018 11:58 am

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by Whitesince63 » Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:40 am

Maybe I’m missing the point here but I really don’t agree with criticism of the crosses. Last night we put in some seriously good crosses but nobody got anywhere near them. That’s our problem, whether it’s low and blocked or high and we lack height. Doyle is a good player when he has space but for me lacks the slickness in enclosed spaces. We certainly lack a target for crosses to be aimed directly at. It’s not even about the target man himself being prolific, it’s about creating chances for others and occupying defenders like SKD used to and even the washing machine did if he ever had anyone near enough to him to benefit under Parkinson’s lamentable one up top stuff.

Last night we proved again that we are arguably one of the best creative footballing side in L1 but sadly one that lacks punch. When Baka is fit I very much hope he can provide that and create the opportunities for the likes of Doyle and Sheehan, time will tell but I hope IE plays Baka as well as and not instead of Doyler. My view is that the board should do everything to get us up this year. I’m not saying break the bank just ensure we invest to succeed where we’re weak and for me that’s up front. We celebrate the likes of Dapo and Rico and so we should but if we want to keep them we need to get back in the Championship this year. From there we can stabilise but once we settle for life in L1 as some on here suggest, we run the risk of losing our best players. Maybe we need to do that and bring in some transfer cash but selling your best players is rarely a route to a higher league position.

User avatar
BWFC_Insane
Immortal
Immortal
Posts: 36010
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:07 pm

Re: Will made to measure suit us? V Burton at the Unibol 8-0'clock Monday.

Post by BWFC_Insane » Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:55 am

Whitesince63 wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:40 am
Maybe I’m missing the point here but I really don’t agree with criticism of the crosses. Last night we put in some seriously good crosses but nobody got anywhere near them. That’s our problem, whether it’s low and blocked or high and we lack height. Doyle is a good player when he has space but for me lacks the slickness in enclosed spaces. We certainly lack a target for crosses to be aimed directly at. It’s not even about the target man himself being prolific, it’s about creating chances for others and occupying defenders like SKD used to and even the washing machine did if he ever had anyone near enough to him to benefit under Parkinson’s lamentable one up top stuff.

Last night we proved again that we are arguably one of the best creative footballing side in L1 but sadly one that lacks punch. When Baka is fit I very much hope he can provide that and create the opportunities for the likes of Doyle and Sheehan, time will tell but I hope IE plays Baka as well as and not instead of Doyler. My view is that the board should do everything to get us up this year. I’m not saying break the bank just ensure we invest to succeed where we’re weak and for me that’s up front. We celebrate the likes of Dapo and Rico and so we should but if we want to keep them we need to get back in the Championship this year. From there we can stabilise but once we settle for life in L1 as some on here suggest, we run the risk of losing our best players. Maybe we need to do that and bring in some transfer cash but selling your best players is rarely a route to a higher league position.
The flaw in this is that we've just come up from league 2 and as it stands haven't the budget to compete with the top 8 or 9 in this league. Evatt has said he wants it that way and for us to overperform. Its also clear we'd not have the budget in the championship either at this stage.

Yes we might lose some players but so what? We are in the position of a trading club. Sign on a free sell for a fee. That's how we'll be operating now. I'm not convinced the reality of moving towards being 'sustainable' as we surely must has sunk in yet. In our last accounts we made a loss of around £3m and clearly need to get as close to break even as possible as there isn't an ED able to just write the next cheque. The club can't make big losses. So absolutely we need to buy low, sell high and develop players.

If we are good enough to go up then that's great but we'd find a bigger problem in the next level and going up doesn't guarantee you keep your players either.

The point is that the priorities for our club have to be stabilising it, putting a good product out on the pitch and staying out of financial trouble. If we can do that and go up then its great. But if its not this season we will go again next time. As FV have said once we hit the championship we're probably at a point they need further investment and again, finding that in this environment is incredibly difficult.

In the last decade we've seen the club slip to the brink of extinction. The climb back is underway but we're not Bournemouth. We're not bankrolled. We're not bankrolled even like our noisy neighbours. So the climb may necessarily be a more steady one with peaks and dips. I do see a fair set of similarities to the 90's and for me its about building and growing the club now. That will mean selling and trading but not doing that well historically is partly why we ended up nearly not having a football club at all.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Google [Bot], sonicthewhite and 95 guests