GrahamC

I think what happens with Bakinson is Nige reacts to certain situations, there was one just in front of me in the Dolman when he made no attempt whatsoever to put a challenge in, just after he was too weak in a tackle & was taken off. He isn’t my favourite but thought he was no poorer than others yesterday & could have stayed on, at least for another 10. I’d have moved Weimann up top for Martin & brought on Scott first, then O’Dowda for Bakinson afterwards.

The linesman in front of the Dolman was as bad as the ref. One blatant foul on Pring about two feet from him & he gave nothing. When we finally got a free kick after HNM was hacked down, he didn’t flag for that, either. Shit.

Much happier that Hull, Peterborough & Derby all lost, personally.

Yep, there was a pass in the first half that wouldn’t have looked out of place in park’s football. Yet with 5 minutes to go he was still busting a gut to get challenges in playing wide left. Great pro (& top scorer).

Look, he could well be the next big thing by 2024 but with O’Dowda, Scott or even Simpson sat watching it was incredible he came on & despite some saying he wasn’t any worse than others that is simply ridiculous, he looked a mile away on that evidence. If you look at my post history I tend to be pretty supportive & have seen the likes of Scott, Conway & Sam Pearson come in as youngsters & do ok. Not to highlight that he struggled hugely would be dishonest.

Or Scott, who has shown before he’s good enough. On what I saw I’d rather that Simpson came on & Tanner played in front of him.

I don’t want to knock the kid, but how much off the standard was he? Could see a case for taking him back off, so weak and letting his man go repeatedly. It was like playing with 10 men, not sure he made a single positive contribution.

Definitely should have left Weimann out ????

Terrible for both sides. Should have paid to watch as he barely made a decision.

As is the case of anyone who manages groups of people. I am in charge of circa 100, & expect a few of them cannot stand me, others are indifferent & some like me. That’s how life works.

**** me, tell me the manager that is universally loved. Alex Ferguson was incredibly successful, do you think everyone who played under him thinks fondly of him? There is no evidence at all of him naming players & “throwing them under the bus” substitutions happen all the time, those taken off early (Scott, Tanner) will continue to feature.

Football is full of stuff like that though, isn’t it? AD was ahead of his time, Tony Collins lived in Rochdale & he always referred to him as his “branch manager in the North” rightly pointing out how many more league clubs were nearer to his home than Bristol for scouting opposition & players. Not many others did this type of thing then.

He is currently playing for the 23s, Bell, Pearson, Janneh & Benarous didn’t get involved in midweek. All 4 are far more likely to be in the squad tomorrow than him.

Interesting. I must admit I would like to see Janneh in the match day squad, he got 2 v FGR which got him a brief sub appearance at Boro but he dropped back out soon after. He might be a bit raw, but he has pace (which we badly lack) & a bit of strength about him. Ideal sub.

There’s a thing called the internet. You can find out there.

I’m all for looking for positives but Bell went off injured then after 16 minutes! Not exactly the greatest sample size & I don’t know what it says about the side on that day if they “suffered” because a kid on his full debut lasted so little time. Hardly like losing Kalas, is it? I must admit I haven’t seen anywhere near enough of him to comment but would want a bit more to base it on than the first 15 minutes of one game. Having seen far more of him I do like the look of Conway, though.

This never happened. LJ’s longest run of league defeats was actually 8, but as there were 2 cup games in the middle of it, one of which was drawn & we won the other, so the most he actually lost consecutively was 6. GJ did lose 9 on the spin very early on but that included 2 cup ties, one for what became the JPT, the other was in the FA Cup, so 7 league games. The run GJ went on after that run though was truly incredible, just 4 defeats in 25 & promotion of course the following season & the play off final in the season after that. Two points therefore, GJ proved why you should stick with a manager with a track record & some people never let the facts get in the way of posting..

No to the OP. Pearson isn’t stupid, he knows he needs a home win soon but as has been pointed out many times before, you get the same points for an away win & prior to facing Bournemouth & WBA our record was W4 D4 L4, which exceeded my expectations. I said we’d finish 16th & if he achieves that he’ll have done ok.

Back on topic I doubt the squad will be all that different from the last few games, aside from the fact that Baker is out. If fit & healthy Bentley & O’Leary, Tanner, Simpson, Pring, Dasilva, Kalas & Atkinson will all be in it. So will James, HNM, O’Dowda & Scott, so will Martin, Wells & Weimann. That takes us up to 15, in all probability Bakinson will, so if Bell is also involved again then that only leaves one spot. With one of Vyner, Palmer or Janneh the likeliest to step in & either Sam Pearson or Benarous a possible wildcard. I’ll be very surprised to see a squad on Saturday with more than one of Janneh, Benarous or Pearson involved.

No, but that doesn’t suit certain posters relentless agendas.

Fair enough, it’s a point of view. I am of the opinion at least in Millen’s case and in the strange circumstances surrounding Coppell & his departure I could see the logic of it.

Spot on. I dislike Pulis intensely but his track record (then & since) pisses all over someone who was in charge of Oldham for 15 games once. I would actually argue Millen was the only logical appointment of those 3, he had been here as assistant for ages, had done an excellent job as caretaker post GJ & when Coppell walked unexpectedly he steadied us. Tinnion (never even been a coach) & Holden were shockers.

Not a fan. 3 from 7 is fine, with the concussion protocol as the exception for a 4th. Just an excuse to disrupt the game more, & as the original reason given for it was player fatigue due to Covid resulting in virtually back to back seasons, I don’t get the logic now. Probably is more down to the big clubs wanting it.

First time I have ever seen Baker & pace in the same sentence without the words “lack of”. Highly unlikely to be available anyway due to concussion protocols.

The final countdown by Europe, a song that I always find hilarious & also is sort of apposite. Remember having a conversation about it with a mate & we wondered once they had written the line “we’re heading for Venus” what went through their minds to possibly rhyme with it?