Time for change

[old_eastender]

I don't mean the manager, although he does need to get his head out of the sand when it comes to certain players.

DROP Martin & Weimann, DON'T ask James to effectively play in a midfield 2, he has not got the pace to do that.

Play Wells up top supported by Bell, have Ayman Benarous on the bench.

My team for MUST WIN game against Barnsley (assuming Williams still out)

 

                        Bentley

Tanner  Atkinson Kallas  Dasilva

    Massengo    James    Pring

                          Scott     

                  Bell           Wells                   

 

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2021 by old_eastender

[P'head Red]

5 minutes ago, old_eastender said:

I don't mean the manager, although he does need to get his head out of the sand when it comes to certain players.

DROP Martin & Weimann, DON'T ask JAMES to effectively play in a midfield 2, he has not get the pace to do that.

Play Wells up top supported by Bell, have Ayman Benarous on the bench.

My team for MUST WIN game against Barnsley (assuming Williams still out)

 

                        Bentley

Tanner  Atkinson Kallas  Dasilva

    Massengo    James    Pring

                          Scott     

                  Bell           Wells                   

 

 

 

 

He's not going to start Scott and bell together, too green. 

[old_eastender]

2 minutes ago, P'head Red said:

He's not going to start Scott and bell together, too green. 

"green" maybe, in terms of few 1st team games, but they would give 100% effort & commitment, something sadly lacking from some "anything but green" players!

[Red Army 75]

Barnsley playing today 12-30 kick off for anyone interested. And with only 1 victory so far this season. Next week is a big game for us. We then don’t play at home until Nov 20th. With no mid week game gives the walking wounded a rest

[Mr Hankey]

I’m not sure i fully understand the hype for Sam Bell. Genuine question, is he good enough to be playing for a championship side, or is it more so hopeful thinking because of his dad? Albeit in limited minutes, nothing has ever stood out about him to me apart from being fast, which as Semenyo has proven you need alot more than that at this level.

I dont think he has scored many goals in the youth side, let alone first team. If we are going youth (which i dont believe is the current answer) i would much sooner have Conway, Britton (if not injured) & Pearson ahead of Bell.

[And Its Smith]

1 hour ago, old_eastender said:

I don't mean the manager, although he does need to get his head out of the sand when it comes to certain players.

DROP Martin & Weimann, DON'T ask James to effectively play in a midfield 2, he has not got the pace to do that.

Play Wells up top supported by Bell, have Ayman Benarous on the bench.

My team for MUST WIN game against Barnsley (assuming Williams still out)

 

                        Bentley

Tanner  Atkinson Kallas  Dasilva

    Massengo    James    Pring

                          Scott     

                  Bell           Wells                   

 

 

 

 

Thanking the heavens you aren’t the manager!

Bell not good enough yet

Pring has never played central midfield

Kalas and Atkinson the wrong way round 

[Negan]

50 minutes ago, old_eastender said:

"green" maybe, in terms of few 1st team games, but they would give 100% effort & commitment, something sadly lacking from some "anything but green" players!

Do you remember how last season ended? whilst it was great to see the youngster get game time we couldn't win because of the lack of experience and quality. All well and good saying they'll show 100% effort and commitment but they aren't yet championship quality. Weimann can't be dropped imo, we need his energy and pace. Agree with Martin not starting, would like to see us go with a more free flowing, attacking forward line so Wells and Weimann could work. Just feel like Nahki has been given so many chances to earn a starting spot as a striker and he never takes it... 

[GrahamC]

11 minutes ago, Mr Hankey said:

I’m not sure i fully understand the hype for Sam Bell. Genuine question, is he good enough to be playing for a championship side, or is it more so hopeful thinking because of his dad? Albeit in limited minutes, nothing has ever stood out about him to me apart from being fast, which as Semenyo has proven you need alot more than that at this level.

I dont think he has scored many goals in the youth side, let alone first team. If we are going youth (which i dont believe is the current answer) i would much sooner have Conway, Britton (if not injured) & Pearson ahead of Bell.

It’s like the England cricket team, you are a far better player when you aren’t playing then when you are..

The posts saying we should play Bell, Benarous, Britton are naive in the extreme.

There is a strong case for Scott to be an important squad player, though his game time will need managing, but this is fanciful stuff.

[And Its Smith]

1 minute ago, GrahamC said:

It’s like the England cricket team, you are a far better player when you aren’t playing then when you are..

The posts saying we should play Bell, Benarous, Britton are naive in the extreme.

There is a strong case for Scott to be an important squad player, though his game time will need managing, but this is fanciful stuff.

Absolutely. I’ve not seen anyone say Benarous should be playing but if they are then that’s insane. Potentially completely kill his confidence and set him back massively to throw him in. Anyone backing Britton can’t have seen him play. Pretty sure Pearson knows a bit about football and it’s clear he agrees that Britton isn’t near.  Bell has shown very little to me. Against FGR he was a rabbit in head lights

[marmite]

5 minutes ago, Negan said:

Do you remember how last season ended? whilst it was great to see the youngster get game time we couldn't win because of the lack of experience and quality. All well and good saying they'll show 100% effort and commitment but they aren't yet championship quality. Weimann can't be dropped imo, we need his energy and pace. Agree with Martin not starting, would like to see us go with a more free flowing, attacking forward line so Wells and Weimann could work. Just feel like Nahki has been given so many chances to earn a starting spot as a striker and he never takes it... 

If we do drop Martin, which I think we should, someone must tell Bentley not to just lump it up the middle.  We need to start bringing it out from the back and not play back passes which result in another long hopeful punt. We are so predictable and easy to read, no wonder teams know how to beat us.

[And Its Smith]

1 minute ago, marmite said:

If we do drop Martin, which I think we should, someone must tell Bentley not to just lump it up the middle.  We need to start bringing it out from the back and not play back passes which result in another long hopeful punt. We are so predictable and easy to read, no wonder teams know how to beat us.

The players can’t seem to play it out from the back. As soon as they get the ball they panic 

[Numero Uno]

In a game where the Ashton Gate crowd not famed for its support when things are going badly WILL, let’s be up front about it, get on the players backs for every misplaced pass, missed tackle etc. it seems a fantastic idea to throw the kids in………..

Edited October 24, 2021 by Numero Uno

[tin]

20 minutes ago, GrahamC said:

It’s like the England cricket team, you are a far better player when you aren’t playing then when you are..

The posts saying we should play Bell, Benarous, Britton are naive in the extreme.

There is a strong case for Scott to be an important squad player, though his game time will need managing, but this is fanciful stuff.

Spot on, as usual.

Personally, I’d like to Benarous involved because a) he can play wide right and we have nobody fit who can currently play that role, b) his confidence must be high after that hat-trick v Watford. Making a senior debut against a struggling Barnsley side might offer the spark to lift the doom and gloom at the Gate. 

[Waconda]

                                                                Bentley

                                               Kalas     Atkinson     Baker/Pring

                                Tanner                                                             Pring/DaSilva

                                                       James     Massengo

                                                                 Palmer

                                                    Wells                   Weimann

 

Coach and organise this side properly and they would finish in the top 10. - IMO

 

[Fpcity]

Out of the younger players then Britton is the one I'd have on the bench. Even just bringing him on for the last 15 mins when Martin is tired. At least he's physical so the ball wouldn't keep coming back plus he seems to have a goal scoring instinct. Obviously Pearson doesn't think he's ready but there's not really another option unless you want COD up top who offers nothing 

Edited October 24, 2021 by paul_fox

[REDOXO]

34 minutes ago, marmite said:

If we do drop Martin, which I think we should, someone must tell Bentley not to just lump it up the middle.  We need to start bringing it out from the back and not play back passes which result in another long hopeful punt. We are so predictable and easy to read, no wonder teams know how to beat us.

We can’t pass that is evident by our possession stats and just watching them try and retain possession. I believe they call that empirical and anecdotal evidence. Bentley boots the ball because of this. Yes it comes back but if he knocks it to one of ours it will go long within four touch’s same net result but ensuring we do not lose the ball in our own final third!!

[Red-Robbo]

When we slate younger players because "Pearson watches them in training and says they aren't ready" we have to remember this is the same Pearson who hooked off George Tanner over a mistake on 30 minutes and then put on a near-35-year-old defender who made considerably worse howlers.

I sometimes wonder if his opinion on the supposed fragility of our young players and the supposed reliability of the old crocks he's recruited is to be trusted.

[RobintheRed Red]

2 hours ago, old_eastender said:

I don't mean the manager, although he does need to get his head out of the sand when it comes to certain players.

DROP Martin & Weimann, DON'T ask James to effectively play in a midfield 2, he has not got the pace to do that.

Play Wells up top supported by Bell, have Ayman Benarous on the bench.

My team for MUST WIN game against Barnsley (assuming Williams still out)

 

                        Bentley

Tanner  Atkinson Kallas  Dasilva

    Massengo    James    Pring

                          Scott     

                  Bell           Wells                   

 

 

 

 

Sounds OK or louis Britton on bench Martin and weinmann not working.

[steviestevieneville]

2 hours ago, old_eastender said:

I don't mean the manager, although he does need to get his head out of the sand when it comes to certain players.

DROP Martin & Weimann, DON'T ask James to effectively play in a midfield 2, he has not got the pace to do that.

Play Wells up top supported by Bell, have Ayman Benarous on the bench.

My team for MUST WIN game against Barnsley (assuming Williams still out)

 

                        Bentley

Tanner  Atkinson Kallas  Dasilva

    Massengo    James    Pring

                          Scott     

                  Bell           Wells                   

 

 

 

 

Pring in a midfield 3 , seriously ? . I agree Martin & wiemann are running on empty but along with Wells they’re the best goal threat we got . 
I totally agree with NP saying we won’t sign unless better than what we have. I’ve always thought that. Unfortunately for Lansdown though , I think he needs that player in January to stave off any threat of relegation & to give Martin a rest 

[Red Army 75]

Thought the Barnsley game was on the red button. Obviously not 

[Davefevs]

4 hours ago, old_eastender said:

I don't mean the manager, although he does need to get his head out of the sand when it comes to certain players.

DROP Martin & Weimann, DON'T ask James to effectively play in a midfield 2, he has not got the pace to do that.

Play Wells up top supported by Bell, have Ayman Benarous on the bench.

My team for MUST WIN game against Barnsley (assuming Williams still out)

 

                        Bentley

Tanner  Atkinson Kallas  Dasilva

    Massengo    James    Pring

                          Scott     

                  Bell           Wells                   

 

 

 

 

I said a few weeks ago that I thought we might need to evolve the 442/4411 into something a bit different to get it to really work.

I wasn’t expecting it to evolve into 532 or 5212….one off games, that’s fine, but I don’t think we have a squad for it really, so I saw the back 4 evolving.

My main areas of concern were:

- how do we keep 2 up top because that is key to how we drilled the press pre-season

- how do we screen the centre-backs

The second point is that we don’t have a true Defensive midfielder so would probably require James to do it and sacrifice other aspects of his game.  Williams could play it too when fit.  Vyner if need be.

I honestly feel that if we played Kalas with Atkinson / Baker as a 2 and James sat in front, we actually could have license to get our full-backs on a bit to make up for lack of wingers.

Not that the exact formation matters but for help trying to explain it, I probably see more a 4132 (than your 4312).  Those 3 could be made up of any of the likes of Massengo, Scott, Williams (if not DM), Palmer, O’Dowda, Pring (if not LB) etc.

Yes, it’s looks a bit theoretical, but having 4 lines (defence, defensive midfield, midfield and forward lines) stops our midfielders having to shuttle run between defence and attack when we play long ball.  It gets us closer to loose balls from defensive headers.  What we want is the likes of Massengo and Scott getting on the ball facing forward not backwards.

[sh1t_ref_again]

3 hours ago, Red-Robbo said:

When we slate younger players because "Pearson watches them in training and says they aren't ready" we have to remember this is the same Pearson who hooked off George Tanner over a mistake on 30 minutes and then put on a near-35-year-old defender who made considerably worse howlers.

 

Of course he could have left Tanner on, he had already been skinned once, made a sloppy pass and looked to be struggling, he could have then gone from bad to worse and totally destroyed his confidence, of course you would then be beating a drum saying why did NP not take Tanner off, could see he was having a mare.

[Red-Robbo]

5 minutes ago, sh1t_ref_again said:

Of course he could have left Tanner on, he had already been skinned once, made a sloppy pass and looked to be struggling, he could have then gone from bad to worse and totally destroyed his confidence, of course you would then be beating a drum saying why did NP not take Tanner off, could see he was having a mare.

 

I don't think we can say - based on a few incidents - that Tanner would have had "a 'mare" throughout the match.

Against the decent forward line of Bournemouth he was our best player. 

At any rate, using up a sub to bring on Danny "desperately underwhelming" Simpson WAS a mistake.  When has Simpson ever looked impressive for us? Never.

Perhaps if he a decent defender on the bench, your argument might hold some water. 

[Cornwall red]

Having watched the last 3 matches, I am certainly thinking now the team whatever formation are likely to be heading for relegation.  As the Sunday papers say, the defence is woeful and attack non existent. The league position as last year is starting to drop towards the bottom but a lot earlier. A team that cannot win at home for nearly a year are unlikely to secure their place in the Championship. I think we are the only team in the championship, league 1 and league 2 not to have won at home. I hope I am wrong with my prediction but having watched the team for 63 years , it’s not looking very hopeful.

[mozo]

I tried changing things up by wearing some new socks (with a red trim) for the WBA game. Won't be doing that again.

[sh1t_ref_again]

26 minutes ago, Red-Robbo said:

 

I don't think we can say - based on a few incidents - that Tanner would have had "a 'mare" throughout the match.

Against the decent forward line of Bournemouth he was our best player. 

At any rate, using up a sub to bring on Danny "desperately underwhelming" Simpson WAS a mistake.  When has Simpson ever looked impressive for us? Never.

Perhaps if he a decent defender on the bench, your argument might hold some water. 

The point I am really trying to make is NP, can be dammed if he does or dammed if he does not. Tanner has been superb since he has come in, but still young and inexperienced so needs to be protected. There may also be more to it, perhaps he was struggling with a knock or had been unwell, maybe he had not carried out an NP instructions.  I am not a fan of Simpson, but expect him to come on and use his experience and not make school boy errors. FWIW, I thought Dasilva was far worse than Tanner, but guess NP did not see the need to swap him out

[Red-Robbo]

57 minutes ago, sh1t_ref_again said:

The point I am really trying to make is NP, can be dammed if he does or dammed if he does not. Tanner has been superb since he has come in, but still young and inexperienced so needs to be protected. There may also be more to it, perhaps he was struggling with a knock or had been unwell, maybe he had not carried out an NP instructions.  I am not a fan of Simpson, but expect him to come on and use his experience and not make school boy errors. FWIW, I thought Dasilva was far worse than Tanner, but guess NP did not see the need to swap him out

I think it is impossible to say NP didn't make a cock-up there.

I think the biggest mistake with Simpson was not including him in the released list this summer. Strikes me, Nige us living in the past with his ex- Leicester players. Only James still has what it takes at this level, really. 

[sh1t_ref_again]

Just now, Red-Robbo said:

I think it is impossible to say NP didn't make a cock-up there.

I think the biggest mistake with Simpson was not including him in the released list this summer. Strikes me, Nige us living in the past with his ex- Leicester players. Only James still has what it takes at this level, really. 

Those 3 signings were about leadership between players and trying to change a dressing room culture, which is why maybe he sees Simpson as important, 

[Johnr1986]

My team for Barnsley

 

                      Bentley 

     Tanner  Kalas  Atkinson  Dasilva

                        James

         Massengo      O’dowda/Scott 
                      
                      Palmer 

           Wells              Weimann

 

 

Obviously Williams In for O’dowda or scott when fit, plenty of energy around palmer should allow him to play with freedom and create for wells who we all know with the correct service will score at this Level. 

 

[Davefevs]

2 hours ago, Johnr1986 said:

My team for Barnsley

 

                      Bentley 

     Tanner  Kalas  Atkinson  Dasilva

                        James

         Massengo      O’dowda/Scott 
                      
                      Palmer 

           Wells              Weimann

 

 

Obviously Williams In for O’dowda or scott when fit, plenty of energy around palmer should allow him to play with freedom and create for wells who we all know with the correct service will score at this Level. 

 

I know it won’t happen but i really wouldn’t mind seeing:

                   Bentley

Tanner | Kalas | Atkinson | Dasilva

                    James

      Scott | Massengo | Pring

               Wells | Weimann