Dry January

[RedNachos]

Let's face it, we could be sitting pretty in the play-offs if we had done better business in January.

Wells wasn't a bad buy and I'm not complaining at us signing him, but for me he is no better than Afobe, and not miles above Weimann and Diedhiou talent wise. 

Henriksen was crap when I saw him at WBA. Waste of space, walking misplaced pass. Panic buy100%.

Benkovic has a little ability and had we signed him permanently I would think it wasn't a bad bit of business. But right now he is no better than Williams, Kalas, Baker and Taylor Moore. Adds nothing.

We needed to add a bit of star power in January, had we done this I think we'd be in that magic 6th spot. Look at Mitrovic for Fullham when they went up. While other teams are improving from the window, we lost our best player.

Explain please Mr Ashton.

[Shaun Taylor]

18 minutes ago, RedNachos said:

Let's face it, we could be sitting pretty in the play-offs if we had done better business in January.

Wells wasn't a bad buy and I'm not complaining at us signing him, but for me he is no better than Afobe, and not miles above Weimann and Diedhiou talent wise. 

Henriksen was crap when I saw him at WBA. Waste of space, walking misplaced pass. Panic buy100%.

Benkovic has a little ability and had we signed him permanently I would think it wasn't a bad bit of business. But right now he is no better than Williams, Kalas, Baker and Taylor Moore. Adds nothing.

We needed to add a bit of star power in January, had we done this I think we'd be in that magic 6th spot. Look at Mitrovic for Fullham when they went up. While other teams are improving from the window, we lost our best player.

Explain please Mr Ashton.

Maybe Matt Smith would have been the answer for a couple of seasons 

[Fpcity]

Probably not playing to Wells strengths. LJ sets teams up for just lumping it up for a big man. 

[marcofisher]

Getting rid of Brownhill and not replacing him with a ball carrying midfielder who can find the net was a disaster.

Now we have too many options up front and nobody who can even move the ball from defence to attack. 

[Davefevs]

16 minutes ago, marcofisher said:

Getting rid of Brownhill and not replacing him with a ball carrying midfielder who can find the net was a disaster.

Now we have too many options up front and nobody who can even move the ball from defence to attack. 

The team picked yesterday did not match the approach / tactics we employed, or just as worryingly the way we recruit.

[BLRed]

The biggest error was signing henriksen instead of recalling Walsh and/or morrell as they would have provided our midfield with what we need on lesser wages.

[steviestevieneville]

The way we recruit does seem pretty scattergun and again brings back to , identity . Playing philosophy . Pick a system and style of play and recruit accordingly . It’s because of his ( clubs in the ******* bag bollocks ) that he can change formations 5 or 6 times a game but with it seems little direction. How can Lansdown not see it , or if he can . Challenge him on it. 

[marcofisher]

7 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

The team picked yesterday did not match the approach / tactics we employed, or just as worryingly the way we recruit.

Simply put, we do not have the quality there to play good football. Not defending Lee, who is ultimately responsible for the poor quality there in the first place, but you aren't getting any creativity off the centre mids we currently have. 

[weepywall]

37 minutes ago, paul_fox said:

Probably not playing to Wells strengths. LJ sets teams up for just lumping it up for a big man. 

Wells wont be a success here not with our style of play or lack of style of play.

[Davefevs]

3 minutes ago, marcofisher said:

Simply put, we do not have the quality there to play good football. Not defending Lee, who is ultimately responsible for the poor quality there in the first place, but you aren't getting any creativity off the centre mids we currently have. 

You don’t get creativity in midfield if you bang it back to front over their heads.

2 minutes ago, weepywall said:

Wells wont be a success here not with our style of play or lack of style of play.

Same comment as above really

[marcofisher]

2 minutes ago, Davefevs said:

You don’t get creativity in midfield if you bang it back to front over their heads.

Same comment as above really

What would be the point of giving it to Massengo or Smith really? Neither make a forward pass anyway, it is not their game. 

If we had a Walsh in midfield, would be a different story. 

[TonyTonyTony]

We have enough players. It’s the manager. 

[BigTone]

16 minutes ago, BOSRed said:

The biggest error was signing henriksen instead of recalling Walsh and/or morrell as they would have provided our midfield with what we need on lesser wages.

The biggest mistake was sending Taylor Moore out on loan. He had progressed leaps and bounds and could actually bring the ball out at his feet without the need for lumping it one.

[Top Robin]

FFS give Walsh and Morrell a try please....can't be any worse than that pile of poop yesterday

[steviestevieneville]

Just now, Top Robin said:

FFS give Walsh and Morrell a try please....can't be any worse than that pile of poop yesterday

They can’t play 

[Top Robin]

Just now, steviestevieneville said:

They can’t play 

Just testing you guys

[headhunter]

21 minutes ago, steviestevieneville said:

The way we recruit does seem pretty scattergun and again brings back to , identity . Playing philosophy . Pick a system and style of play and recruit accordingly . It’s because of his ( clubs in the ******* bag bollocks ) that he can change formations 5 or 6 times a game but with it seems little direction. How can Lansdown not see it , or if he can . Challenge him on it. 

If the balance of this season goes pear-shaped and we finish lower than last season then I reckon the *hit will hit the fan behind the scenes and it might be curtains for LJ or Mark Ashton.

I'm tired of the "players I can trust" garbage that LJ spouts after a dreadful display as one would think that with all the claptrap about player DNA and that other oft used phrase "our identity", those signed would have been thoroughly researched to ensure conformance. That is where I think Ashton's position is at stake with Teflon Lee saying it is the job of his principal colleague on the senior leadership team to sort out this side of the business.

He has had more money  and signed more players in a 4 year period than any previous manager and yet identity is one thing we lack save for the period August-December 2017 when the press was both visible and effective. 

My money is on Ashton being the fall guy as the Johnson family's inveiglement [ to entice, lure, or ensnare by flattery or artful talk ] of the Lansdown's steps up a gear - I can see Gary ending up as Director of Football! It's worse than the hold Dominic Cummings appears to have on Boris Johnson!!!

[And Its Smith]

It was obvious Wells was a bad signing when it happened as we don’t play to his strengths.  LJ has to find a way to play Wells and Afobe without losing the midfield battle.  

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, marcofisher said:

What would be the point of giving it to Massengo or Smith really? Neither make a forward pass anyway, it is not their game. 

If we had a Walsh in midfield, would be a different story. 

That’s not true.  Korey sprayed a couple of balls long to Eliasson and it was his forward pass that put Diedhiou clear to lay it off to Rowe to cross for the goal.  It was his pass v Southampton that put Pato in to assist O’Dowda.  It’s not the strongest part of their games but they do pass forward.

Massengo didn’t yesterday, but earlier this season he did.  If your one passing option if 40/50 yards away it ain’t easy.

1 hour ago, And Its Smith said:

It was obvious Wells was a bad signing when it happened as we don’t play to his strengths.  LJ has to find a way to play Wells and Afobe without losing the midfield battle.  

Our wide players are so passive when we don’t have the ball. Even if they just tucked in out of possession it would help.  You mocked by 4312 the other week saying it would get exposed wide.  Well, we played two wingers and we got exposed in  the centre (and wide too)....a far more critical part of the pitch....and those two did very little with or without the ball in their combined 162 minutes on the pitch.  Even with Eliasson in front him, Pereira had no support.  Don’t get me wrong, Eliasson with the ball is an asset.  But if you only get the ball to him a few times it is a wasted resource.  He didn’t receive one pass in his own half yesterday....because he doesn’t show for the ball.  Teams have sussed him out.

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

That’s not true.  Korey sprayed a couple of balls long to Eliasson and it was his forward pass that put Diedhiou clear to lay it off to Rowe to cross for the goal.  It was his pass v Southampton that put Pato in to assist O’Dowda.  It’s not the strongest part of their games but they do pass forward.

Massengo didn’t yesterday, but earlier this season he did.  If your one passing option if 40/50 yards away it ain’t easy.

Our wide players are so passive when we don’t have the ball. Even if they just tucked in out of possession it would help.  You mocked by 4312 the other week saying it would get exposed wide.  Well, we played two wingers and we got exposed in  the centre (and wide too)....a far more critical part of the pitch....and those two did very little with or without the ball in their combined 162 minutes on the pitch.  Even with Eliasson in front him, Pereira had no support.  Don’t get me wrong, Eliasson with the ball is an asset.  But if you only get the ball to him a few times it is a wasted resource.  He didn’t receive one pass in his own half yesterday....because he doesn’t show for the ball.  Teams have sussed him out.

Indeed...however OTOH I do think Eliasson could function as a left winger/left wide player in a 4-3-3. It maybe a bit of an issue down the left side though but the extra man in CM may buy us time- if we fielded the right combination of course.

Interested in your thoughts on Eliasson LW/Wide left in that setup.

[Mr Popodopolous]

3 hours ago, BOSRed said:

The biggest error was signing henriksen instead of recalling Walsh and/or morrell as they would have provided our midfield with what we need on lesser wages.

Henriksen has a sound record- check his Hull return and in a reasonable but ultimately lesser team than us- going on 17/18 and last year. Mind you he hadn't played for months...

More I see, the more I am coming round to the view that a lot of the players we recruit aren't necessarily the big problem here...

[marcofisher]

1 hour ago, Davefevs said:

That’s not true.  Korey sprayed a couple of balls long to Eliasson and it was his forward pass that put Diedhiou clear to lay it off to Rowe to cross for the goal.  It was his pass v Southampton that put Pato in to assist O’Dowda.  It’s not the strongest part of their games but they do pass forward.

Massengo didn’t yesterday, but earlier this season he did.  If your one passing option if 40/50 yards away it ain’t easy.

Korey would be suitable next to a ball carrier like Brownhill was. That one pass aside, neither of them are really capable of getting the ball in one way or another from the defence to that number 10 area. You can't have a player who breaks up play next to another player who tries to play very simple as well without moving forward with the ball and expect to play through the midfield. 

[BLRed]

41 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Henriksen has a sound record- check his Hull return and in a reasonable but ultimately lesser team than us- going on 17/18 and last year. Mind you he hadn't played for months...

More I see, the more I am coming round to the view that a lot of the players we recruit aren't necessarily the big problem here...

Recruitment in the main the last 2-3 years has been decent tbf. Who ever thought we’d get a front two of Wells and afobe considering those Cali reviews of players were turning us down under cotterill?

I think for a while the majority have realised it is the coach and his band of Merry men that is the real issue as there is zero identity and that’s comes acrosx as the players have no clue tactically what they should be doing. The phrase ‘over complication’ springs to mind. 

 

[Davefevs]

1 hour ago, JonDolman said:

Anyone think Weimann will be available next week?

               

Quite possibly, if he gets his two negative tests back.

1 hour ago, marcofisher said:

Korey would be suitable next to a ball carrier like Brownhill was. That one pass aside, neither of them are really capable of getting the ball in one way or another from the defence to that number 10 area. You can't have a player who breaks up play next to another player who tries to play very simple as well without moving forward with the ball and expect to play through the midfield. 

Yes...Brownhill was a “driver”, a “give and goer”.  I do get what you’re saying.

You'd assume that if he’s picked Smith and Massengo in there he knows their strengths and so should other players too, and they should be creating passing options.  Diedhiou needs to play 15 yards closer to the midfield.  He allowed himself to be marked by their CBs.  He didn’t come short, he didn’t drop into the space, he didn’t pivot with Pato, by coming short and allowing Pato to run in behind.  The only time he got within good distances he spun his man to get to Smith’s pass and we scored.

Theres no cohesion, there’s no partnerships.  Eliasson made 0 passes to Pereira yesterday (Pereira made 4 to Eliasson all in the opposition half).  No “get it and pop it off”.

Rowe made 0 passes to O’Dowda, got 3 back....2 on the corner of our own area.

Your full-backs and wingers should be having better combination of numbers than that, even if it’s fairly meaningless passes to move your opponents around.

We don’t work our opposition, they have it easy.

Paterson got 0 passes from Eliasson and O’Dowda.

Its a pretty damming set of statistics.  They aren’t the be all and end all, but they paint a picture of players making it hard for each other.

Palmer, not the silver bullet, makes himself available, okay too deep yesterday, but he had twice as many passes in 17 minutes than Eliasson did in 73 minutes.  There is an unwillingness to want to get involved in the game offensively or defensively.  It is a team weakness that gets exposed over and over again against teams that work harder than us.  Some of those teams are good teams (Leeds, WBA) whose work ethic is superb, other teams, less talented, but make up through endeavour.

[Lrrr]

'Wells wasn't a bad buy and I'm not complaining at us signing him'

You're not complaining (but seemingly not overly satisfied) about us signing a guy who'd scored 13 by the end of January 

[James54De]

funny. After deadline day most were saying they were very happy with how the window went. 

[Nibor]

49 minutes ago, James54De said:

funny. After deadline day most were saying they were very happy with how the window went. 

I though the window was pretty good, and still do.  The problem isn't the players, we have enough players of sufficient quality.  The problem is that the manager cannot pick a plan that suits them, coach them to it and stick to it.  He overthinks, second guesses, bombs some players out, sticks with favourites beyond reason, brings players in from the cold and expects an immediate miracle, and talks a load of waffle.  If he doesn't have the courage of his own convictions he can hardly expect the players to have faith.

[Fpcity]

58 minutes ago, James54De said:

funny. After deadline day most were saying they were very happy with how the window went. 

They were good signings if we had a manager who could utilise them as well as doing the same to the current squad 

[marcofisher]

3 hours ago, Davefevs said:

Quite possibly, if he gets his two negative tests back.

Yes...Brownhill was a “driver”, a “give and goer”.  I do get what you’re saying.

You'd assume that if he’s picked Smith and Massengo in there he knows their strengths and so should other players too, and they should be creating passing options.  Diedhiou needs to play 15 yards closer to the midfield.  He allowed himself to be marked by their CBs.  He didn’t come short, he didn’t drop into the space, he didn’t pivot with Pato, by coming short and allowing Pato to run in behind.  The only time he got within good distances he spun his man to get to Smith’s pass and we scored.

Theres no cohesion, there’s no partnerships.  Eliasson made 0 passes to Pereira yesterday (Pereira made 4 to Eliasson all in the opposition half).  No “get it and pop it off”.

Rowe made 0 passes to O’Dowda, got 3 back....2 on the corner of our own area.

Your full-backs and wingers should be having better combination of numbers than that, even if it’s fairly meaningless passes to move your opponents around.

We don’t work our opposition, they have it easy.

Paterson got 0 passes from Eliasson and O’Dowda.

Its a pretty damming set of statistics.  They aren’t the be all and end all, but they paint a picture of players making it hard for each other.

Palmer, not the silver bullet, makes himself available, okay too deep yesterday, but he had twice as many passes in 17 minutes than Eliasson did in 73 minutes.  There is an unwillingness to want to get involved in the game offensively or defensively.  It is a team weakness that gets exposed over and over again against teams that work harder than us.  Some of those teams are good teams (Leeds, WBA) whose work ethic is superb, other teams, less talented, but make up through endeavour.

I’m not going to judge on one game. But I think Eliasson knows he won’t be signing a new contract and won’t be here next season.

Part of having that many assists and a year left on your contract means it is guaranteed there will be significant high Champ/Prem interests in him.

One of the unfortunate effects of COVID, do you want to bust a gut and risk injury when you know you won’t be there next season? Bit of a lesser Lyle Taylor situation.

[RobintheRed Red]

8 hours ago, BigTone said:

The biggest mistake was sending Taylor Moore out on loan. He had progressed leaps and bounds and could actually bring the ball out at his feet without the need for lumping it one.

yes better than that bloke from Leicester.