Proud

[DaveF]

2 minutes ago, Rudolf Hucker said:

So might we. 

Indeed. But we aren't getting overly upset.

[petehinton]

4 minutes ago, Fordy62 said:

Pete, you’re about the same level as me. Please sum up in 2 sentences how we played. Thank you in advance. 

Brilliant game overall. Battled well, but their quality shone through in the end. Two poor goals conceded but they could’ve scored outside of those chances anyway. Would’ve been very fortunate to have got a point. 

[daored]

Just now, petehinton said:

Brilliant game overall. Battled well, but their quality shone through in the end. Two poor goals conceded but they could’ve scored outside of those chances anyway. Would’ve been very fortunate to have got a point. 

Just on train home with Leeds fan I know - said we were best team they’ve played this Swanson. Impressed with O’Leary

[slartibartfast]

29 minutes ago, DaveF said:

Honestly why do you bother watching? You're relentlessly negative, maybe if you did something else with your Saturday afternoons you might enjoy it more.

He was probably at the Kazam !

[joe jordans teeth]

9 minutes ago, Galley is our king said:

Just ignore the idiot, much happier when we lose, never appears on here when we win. 

He should just piss off if you ask me...

Sometimes you have to feed the fire

[And Its Smith]

9 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

Heard it all before. Many bright young managers have been flavour of the month and yet are now in obscurity.

Coyle at Bolton had a sharp rise. Gone. Di Matteo had a nice path, even won a CL gone. Let's see bow it goes when injuries bite there, let's see how an inevitable loss to Leicester impacts upon their wider form.

Tough mid season mid winter away games to (not checked fixtures) sides like WBA, Birmingham, Stoke, Cardiff..Northern or Midlands clubs. The rain, the heavier pitches.

He certainly has to continue doing it as won’t get a top job over just what he’s done before but no doubt in my mind he will be a top manager one day. Extremely early in his career 

[Mr Popodopolous]

1 minute ago, And Its Smith said:

He certainly has to continue doing it as won’t get a top job over just what he’s done before but no doubt in my mind he will be a top manager one day. Extremely early in his career 

He has made a top notch start, but has yet IMO to have faced adversity. A bit like Carrick last year, into this- he is starting to turn it around..game changing decision went in their favour.

[LondonBristolian]

I thought we looked good at times but need to work on our decision making at both ends. We were competitive against a team with some very decent attacking talent but didn’t quite do enough to threaten a second and made some choices defensively which made our lives harder. But we stayed in the game whilst showing why we may not quite be ready to challenge for the top six.

[BCFC31]

55 minutes ago, DaveF said:

We've got quite a likeable team at the moment, Pearson has done well. 

Why an earth would we want a " likable " team this isn't a personality contest....

[DaveF]

3 minutes ago, BCFC31 said:

Why an earth would we want a " likable " team this isn't a personality contest....

This might surprise you but I don't know any of the players personally. Obviously I meant the way they play, the effort they put in etc...

[cheese]

1 hour ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

Why are we proud? We never win these type of games or get a draw when other clubs do. Look at Ipswich……sorry but treading water again with the worst keeper we’ve had in 20 years plus. 

How's your guide dog bearing up?

[BCFC31]

Just now, DaveF said:

This might surprise you but I don't know any of the players personally. Obviously I meant the way they play, the effort they put in etc...

We are what we are workmanlike but lack the quality,  physicality and craft of alot of the other teams in this division mainly due to parachute payments, lack of funding and not being as big a pull as alot of other clubs In the leauge. We can produce and sell which is all well and good but that investment needs to be put in for a more ready made remedies sprinkled with some home grown talent personally I feel either we need a football man on the board or lansdown needs to sell the club to someone who can get us going on the pitch.

[frenchred]

1 hour ago, joe jordans teeth said:

A 2-1 defeat against a team just down from prem and more than likely heading back up and going down fighting is all we can ask,how this team has moved on from 3-4 years ago with little money spent in those years 

How easily pleased are you!

If you listened to Naismith interview on Rad Bris you may change your attitude, as does our club

He wasn't happy and neither should we be

[Fuber]

17 minutes ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

Mark Ashton like him or not has done a brilliant job. Their fans love him. Maybe Mark wasn’t the issue, again owner and Johnson spring to mind! 

All three were cumulatively responsible.

Ultimately - leads back to the owner.

As for comparing us with Ipswich, it's a similar situation to Luton. 

Let's wait and see Ipswich's accounts for this season. They lost £12m in 21/22 in League 1 with overall wage costs of £16.4m. God forbid what that'll be this season (and last) with barely any real material outgoings (11 in, 6 out; with over £4m net spent in fees)

McKenna is carrying that team - big time. They struck gold.

What'll be interesting is what happens when he gets poached, and future FFP if they miss out on promotion. I'd estimate 22/23 wages of £18m (up from £16.4m) and this season wages, with the (quite) expensive loans of Hutchinson, Scarlett, Williams, adding Taunzebe on a free? - with promotions clauses they're probably looking at around £24m per annum - wouldn't shock me.

It's same as when MA was with us - spiraling costs are fine as long as there is progress on the pitch, and people turn a blind eye until things go wrong. The key difference is that Ipswich have McKenna who has an all out attack style and he sticks to it.

Whereas we had a former player who was friends with the owner and thought he was Jose's better reincarnation.

[lenred]

10 minutes ago, frenchred said:

How easily pleased are you!

If you listened to Naismith interview on Rad Bris you may change your attitude, as does our club

He wasn't happy and neither should we be

No one’s said they are ‘happy’ have they? 

[Mr Popodopolous]

10 minutes ago, Fuber said:

All three were cumulatively responsible.

Ultimately - leads back to the owner.

As for comparing us with Ipswich, it's a similar situation to Luton. 

Let's wait and see Ipswich's accounts for this season. They lost £12m in 21/22 in League 1 with overall wage costs of £16.4m. God forbid what that'll be this season (and last) with barely any real material outgoings (11 in, 6 out; with over £4m net spent in fees)

McKenna is carrying that team - big time. They struck gold.

What'll be interesting is what happens when he gets poached, and future FFP if they miss out on promotion. I'd estimate 22/23 wages of £18m (up from £16.4m) and this season wages, with the (quite) expensive loans of Hutchinson, Scarlett, Williams, adding Taunzebe on a free? - with promotions clauses they're probably looking at around £24m per annum - wouldn't shock me.

It's same as when MA was with us - spiraling costs are fine as long as there is progress on the pitch, and people turn a blind eye until things go wrong. The key difference is that Ipswich have McKenna who has an all out attack style and he sticks to it.

Whereas we had a former player who was friends with the owner and thought he was Jose's better reincarnation.

On the flipside though, if they go up..just McKenna or? Gamble paid off in spades then.

Yet to see them being truly tested with a string of tough away games in the North and Midlands in mid winter, multiple injuries etc.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, joe jordans teeth said:

In all my years I’ve seen us go to places expecting to get beat and we have without even a whimper,doesn’t happen these days 

No, but we still get beat.

[Fuber]

2 minutes ago, Mr Popodopolous said:

On the flipside though, if they go up..just McKenna or? Gamble paid off in spades then.

Yet to see them being truly tested with a string of tough away games in the North and Midlands in mid winter, multiple injuries etc.

Luck is part of the game. Could go against them or...

Happened to others (Hudds etc).

[Major Isewater]

1 hour ago, Wanderingred said:

I’m pretty much just going through the motions right now.

Still have the job at the sewage works then ? 

[Wanderingred]

5 minutes ago, Major Isewater said:

Still have the job at the sewage works then ? 

That’s a far more accurate comment than you probably intended it to be.

[fisherrich]

1 hour ago, Galley is our king said:

Just ignore the idiot, much happier when we lose, never appears on here when we win. 

He should just piss off if you ask me...

He is a complete ***

[TV Tom]

If its not too much to ask I would like to go to one of these "big" teams one season and look like we might actually win the game

[Better Red]

2 hours ago, joe jordans teeth said:

A 2-1 defeat against a team just down from prem and more than likely heading back up and going down fighting is all we can ask,how this team has moved on from 3-4 years ago with little money spent in those years 

Last year we would have got beat 4- 0 at Leicester and 4-1 at Leeds.

We have improved year on year under Nige.

2 decent windows an say 4/5 decent players in on top of this squad and we will  be top 6.

[Merrick's Marvels]

1 hour ago, daored said:

Just on train home with Leeds fan I know - said we were best team they’ve played this Swanson. Impressed with O’Leary

A Swanson, eh. 

Typo or auto-correct? 

Either way, it's a beauty!

 

[Lack of Action Man]

3 hours ago, joe jordans teeth said:

A 2-1 defeat against a team just down from prem and more than likely heading back up and going down fighting is all we can ask,how this team has moved on from 3-4 years ago with little money spent in those years 

 

3 hours ago, Shauntaylor85 said:

Why are we proud? We never win these type of games or get a draw when other clubs do. Look at Ipswich……sorry but treading water again with the worst keeper we’ve had in 20 years plus. 

The initial two posts on this thread sum up our current situation for me. Some are happy to maintain the status quo. Others demand that we exceed it. 

Having had a bit of time to reflect on the game today, I maintain that we were beaten by a far better team and we were simply not at their level (or that of Leicester). 

However, we certainly should be aspiring to be at that level - and that will require consistently better quality of first team players. Those that we have currently simply are not at the level needed for a sustained top 6 push, and that's very disappointing in all honesty.

I rate Pearson and I also rate Tinnion in his back room role. But when Pearson comes out in the media and says that we would only bring in players who are better than those already here, and then you see the performance levels of some of those who have been brought in under NP... it doesn't add up.

If we are serious about going up, the 22(?) man squad we currently have isn't good enough and there is still plenty of (dare I say) dead wood to clear out. 

Edited October 7, 2023 by OddBallJim
Paragraph.

[Andy082005]

57 minutes ago, Better Red said:

Last year we would have got beat 4- 0 at Leicester and 4-1 at Leeds.

We have improved year on year under Nige.

2 decent windows an say 4/5 decent players in on top of this squad and we will  be top 6.

We’ve been saying “2 decent transfer windows” since 2016 

[grifty]

2 hours ago, BCFC31 said:

We are what we are workmanlike but lack the quality,  physicality and craft of alot of the other teams in this division mainly due to parachute payments, lack of funding and not being as big a pull as alot of other clubs In the leauge. We can produce and sell which is all well and good but that investment needs to be put in for a more ready made remedies sprinkled with some home grown talent personally I feel either we need a football man on the board or lansdown needs to sell the club to someone who can get us going on the pitch.

That is exactly what we are. We'd work really hard to press and harry, close the ball done, win it back and then put a 5 yard pass just out of reach of an attacker and have to do it all again.

We seem to have sacrificed attacking prowess for defensive stability. Every attack we have we seem to be heavily outnumbered and it's such hard work to get into a position for a good shot so we rarely get shots on target (only 2 today I think) whereas if you look at Leeds today, they often had 5/6 players pushing forward.

[robin_unreliant]

After a quarter of the season I think we are pretty much where we will end up, mid-table.....again.

We are the perfect example of a championship team. Can raise our game and play really well one game then play crap the next. Inconsistency is typical of this division and is the only thing you can honestly say we excel at.

No doubt there will be good days to keep us going but SL has basically ensured where we will end up by refusing to sanction any more signings.

It is hard to get excited about a season where you know we aren't gonna trouble the top six.

[Lack of Action Man]

2 minutes ago, grifty said:

That is exactly what we are. We'd work really hard to press and harry, close the ball done, win it back and then put a 5 yard pass just out of reach of an attacker and have to do it all again.

We seem to have sacrificed attacking prowess for defensive stability. Every attack we have we seem to be heavily outnumbered and it's such hard work to get into a position for a good shot so we rarely get shots on target (only 2 today I think) whereas if you look at Leeds today, they often had 5/6 players pushing forward.

Your first point I've bolded - absolutely spot on.

R.e. defensive stability - you say that, and yet we are prone to moments of utter madness/brainlessness  in defence. Naismith and Tanner both guilty of this in recent matches. I mentioned last weekend that I had never thought I would say it (based on how he was playing when he first broke into the team), but we really do miss Vyner. 

[Wokingham Red]

4 minutes ago, robin_unreliant said:

After a quarter of the season I think we are pretty much where we will end up, mid-table.....again.

We are the perfect example of a championship team. Can raise our game and play really well one game then play crap the next. Inconsistency is typical of this division and is the only thing you can honestly say we excel at.

No doubt there will be good days to keep us going but SL has basically ensured where we will end up by refusing to sanction any more signings.

It is hard to get excited about a season where you know we aren't gonna trouble the top six.

This nicely summarises my thoughts. We are a well enough run club to ensure a mid table finish on a consistent basis. But I really struggle to see how we’ll ever make that next step. Requires either a change of approach, change of ownership or a great big dollop of luck.