Makes the May transfer look like a stupid move....Jones has put pressure on himself by pissing May off and then letting him go......should have kept him for at least half the season an re-address the move in January.....if we were challenging for promotion he wouldn't have gone.......
Leyton Orient first home game will be a better indication of where we're at than a friendly hopefully.
What about Wigan away......or is that another "freebie" ?
Yeah I don't understand that approach.
We should be ready to go for Wigan. We have known it was likely we would be a league 1 team for 24/25, we had a manager in place with a decent track record, plenty of time to make the right signings and part ways with the players who we didn't want. We also had plenty of games with Jones for him to determine what needed to be done.
This squad should be more than ready by Wigan away, and the goal should be 3 points and 3 points only. Anything else is poor planning, and low ambition. You can't throw away potentially 6-9 points at the start of the season like we did last time.
No one has said anything about league games being freebies, or not being ready to go, apart from Golfie who quoted a post saying a league game will be a better indication of how good we are than a friendly.
One of the most well known adages in football is that you wait 10 games to get an idea what the table might look like at the end of the season.
That is not the same as saying the first ten games are freebies, unless you’re determined to read posts and put a particular slant on them.
Makes the May transfer look like a stupid move....Jones has put pressure on himself by pissing May off and then letting him go......should have kept him for at least half the season an re-address the move in January.....if we were challenging for promotion he wouldn't have gone.......
The club is what matters, and we can't have a situation of the tail wagging the dog, much as I loved the time that Alfie was with us and his input with the goals, he wanted to go, sure we could have kept him till January and had an unhappy player on our hands and still have lost him January, you can't say he would have stayed if we were top 6 at the time, you just don't know. We can only trust that Nathan knows something we don't regarding the signings and sales, I am sure all will prevail come next May...
Agree it's a friendly and not a great indicator by itself, but the real question is whether there any emerging issues with the squad. There have been obvious ones in previous pre-seasons and they nearly always turned into real issues when the season begun. (Pre-season optimism and 'wait and see' tend to paper over them).
Namely and in no particular order: Stockley being unable to play up front by himself, a high pressing system with slow players with bad engines, a leaky defence, lack of quality in midfield, depth in certain positions, etc.
We can argue whether the Wimbledon game is a great signifier or not, but the real question is whether there are issues with this squad already revealing themselves.
After Saturdays game. Which manager and fans would be happier at where their team is in preparation for the new season. Friendlies are there to het ready for the season, so yes they are important.
Issues for me is that NJ rationale of creativity via wingbacks, but neither Ramsay or Small have played many minutes there, particularly together. Do you push both forward at the same time or just one on the side where play is? Haven't seen a strategy to feed them without their backs to goal.
Three CBs needs one to bring ball out or a CM to drop and receive. Pass sideways, back again then hoof is all I've seen. I'd build the defence round Zach.
Positives, despite our top three strikers being crocked, Godden is a nuisance while TC and Kanu look dangerous and up for it. Mannion looked competent despite conceding two.
Issues for me is that NJ rationale of creativity via wingbacks, but neither Ramsay or Small have played many minutes there, particularly together. Do you push both forward at the same time or just one on the side where play is? Haven't seen a strategy to feed them without their backs to goal.
Three CBs needs one to bring ball out or a CM to drop and receive. Pass sideways, back again then hoof is all I've seen. I'd build the defence round Zach.
Positives, despite our top three strikers being crocked, Godden is a nuisance while TC and Kanu look dangerous and up for it. Mannion looked competent despite conceding two.
Must admit I was impressed with the distance Mannion was getting on his kicks.
Makes the May transfer look like a stupid move....Jones has put pressure on himself by pissing May off and then letting him go......should have kept him for at least half the season an re-address the move in January.....if we were challenging for promotion he wouldn't have gone.......
The club is what matters, and we can't have a situation of the tail wagging the dog, much as I loved the time that Alfie was with us and his input with the goals, he wanted to go, sure we could have kept him till January and had an unhappy player on our hands and still have lost him January, you can't say he would have stayed if we were top 6 at the time, you just don't know. We can only trust that Nathan knows something we don't regarding the signings and sales, I am sure all will prevail come next May...
he didn't want to go he loved it at Charlton but he knew early on NJ didn't fancy him and NJ wouldn't even discuss it ... source Alfie May NJ created the situation where AM knew he wasn't wanted so had to look elsewhere , all the other stuff is bullshit and bluster NJ wasn't overly keen on him as a player and he engineered a situation where AM had to go
Makes the May transfer look like a stupid move....Jones has put pressure on himself by pissing May off and then letting him go......should have kept him for at least half the season an re-address the move in January.....if we were challenging for promotion he wouldn't have gone.......
The club is what matters, and we can't have a situation of the tail wagging the dog, much as I loved the time that Alfie was with us and his input with the goals, he wanted to go, sure we could have kept him till January and had an unhappy player on our hands and still have lost him January, you can't say he would have stayed if we were top 6 at the time, you just don't know. We can only trust that Nathan knows something we don't regarding the signings and sales, I am sure all will prevail come next May...
I may have this wrong but didn't Alfie become unsettled only after Jones had made it clear that he wouldn't be a first choice starter & a few strange substitutions one especially when he had already scored twice in the game. All this stuff about being nearer to his family, was his family with him in Cheltenham or back up north ?
Most of us would have liked to keep AM, however if NJ thought Godden and Ahadme fit his style of play better than AM then I am happy the board have backed that decision. For too long the club has attempted to drive the recruitment strategy, now the manager is driving it based on how he wants to play and the type of players he wants.
If it all goes wrong then we can blame NJ but for now he has simply created a squad to fit his way of playing and I am glad he has been allowed to do that.
Ooh AHH is spot on, his brother told us he was happy to see out his contract, this is all on Jones
It was great having a goal scorer like Alfie but, let’s be honest, as a team it seemed we were shit half the time and flirted with relegation. Changes had to be made even if they were going to be unpopular. If Nathan identifies having a player like Alfie weakens us in other areas of a winning gameplan then we either trust his judgment or we don’t and chance whether we have a repeat of last season. We often hear criticism about player loyalty or the lack of it sometimes but TBF which fan actually doesn’t want to see their team win games and have some success and quickly forgets the players we’ve moved in in order to get it ? - I can’t recall anybody giving a shit about the players SCP or Bowyer got rid of when they built their promotion winning teams and saying we should have kept them.
Makes the May transfer look like a stupid move....Jones has put pressure on himself by pissing May off and then letting him go......should have kept him for at least half the season an re-address the move in January.....if we were challenging for promotion he wouldn't have gone.......
The club is what matters, and we can't have a situation of the tail wagging the dog, much as I loved the time that Alfie was with us and his input with the goals, he wanted to go, sure we could have kept him till January and had an unhappy player on our hands and still have lost him January, you can't say he would have stayed if we were top 6 at the time, you just don't know. We can only trust that Nathan knows something we don't regarding the signings and sales, I am sure all will prevail come next May...
I may have this wrong but didn't Alfie become unsettled only after Jones had made it clear that he wouldn't be a first choice starter & a few strange substitutions one especially when he had already scored twice in the game. All this stuff about being nearer to his family, was his family with him in Cheltenham or back up north ?
Who knows the whole truth around Alfie May and his personal life... He always came over as fine playing wherever he was required, all players have their "preferred" position, but have to be flexible surely, in the end he moved which happens all the time, and we move on as well...
Ooh AHH is spot on, his brother told us he was happy to see out his contract, this is all on Jones
It was great having a goal scorer like Alfie but, let’s be honest, as a team it seemed we were shit half the time and flirted with relegation. Changes had to be made even if they were going to be unpopular. If Nathan identifies having a player like Alfie weakens us in other areas of a winning gameplan then we either trust his judgment or we don’t and chance whether we have a repeat of last season. We often hear criticism about player loyalty or the lack of it sometimes but TBF which fan actually doesn’t want to see their team win games and have some success and quickly forgets the players we’ve moved in in order to get it ? - I can’t recall anybody giving a shit about the players SCP or Bowyer got rid of when they built their promotion winning teams and saying we should have kept them.
There definitely was around Semedo. It was very similar to the Dobson debate - he’s our player of the year vs his lack of ability on the ball holds us back, we’ll miss him vs promotion teams don’t need a ball winner like him, he’ll look better in a stronger team vs he’s part of the problem etc.
Both groups were then proven correct when we won the league and Semedo got promoted in 2nd with Wednesday.
Most of us would have liked to keep AM, however if NJ thought Godden and Ahadme fit his style of play better than AM then I am happy the board have backed that decision. For too long the club has attempted to drive the recruitment strategy, now the manager is driving it based on how he wants to play and the type of players he wants.
If it all goes wrong then we can blame NJ but for now he has simply created a squad to fit his way of playing and I am glad he has been allowed to do that.
Option 1 - Let manager choose the players - When he gets sacked or leaves after 6 months, you're then stuck with a load of players the next person might not want if he wants to play a different style. Option 2 - Have a DoF/recruitment team - The danger then is that you end up with the wrong sort of players for the next manager.
To me it seems that the crucial thing is to have a consistent style of football, and then appoint players AND a manager/head coach who also plays the same style. Thus if Jones leaves or is sacked, don't recruit someone who likes a patient 4231 system, as then you'll have the wrong players for it.
Has NJ ever played anything other than 3-5-2 for 90 minutes? That is a worry.
If we are matched up, do we have two forwards who can outplay three big lumps? Yes if we can get in behind but if they drop deep, how likely? Even if we get Miles back, his forté is not getting on the end of crosses.
Has NJ ever played anything other than 3-5-2 for 90 minutes? That is a worry.
If we are matched up, do we have two forwards who can outplay three big lumps? Yes if we can get in behind but if they drop deep, how likely? Even if we get Miles back, his forté is not getting on the end of crosses.
Has NJ ever played anything other than 3-5-2 for 90 minutes? That is a worry.
If we are matched up, do we have two forwards who can outplay three big lumps? Yes if we can get in behind but if they drop deep, how likely? Even if we get Miles back, his forté is not getting on the end of crosses.
Comments
One of the most well known adages in football is that you wait 10 games to get an idea what the table might look like at the end of the season.
We can only trust that Nathan knows something we don't regarding the signings and sales, I am sure all will prevail come next May...
Namely and in no particular order: Stockley being unable to play up front by himself, a high pressing system with slow players with bad engines, a leaky defence, lack of quality in midfield, depth in certain positions, etc.
We can argue whether the Wimbledon game is a great signifier or not, but the real question is whether there are issues with this squad already revealing themselves.
Friendlies are there to het ready for the season, so yes they are important.
Three CBs needs one to bring ball out or a CM to drop and receive. Pass sideways, back again then hoof is all I've seen. I'd build the defence round Zach.
Positives, despite our top three strikers being crocked, Godden is a nuisance while TC and Kanu look dangerous and up for it. Mannion looked competent despite conceding two.
NJ created the situation where AM knew he wasn't wanted so had to look elsewhere , all the other stuff is bullshit and bluster NJ wasn't overly keen on him as a player and he engineered a situation where AM had to go
But, as usual, believe what ever suits your narrative.
If it all goes wrong then we can blame NJ but for now he has simply created a squad to fit his way of playing and I am glad he has been allowed to do that.
He always came over as fine playing wherever he was required, all players have their "preferred" position, but have to be flexible surely, in the end he moved which happens all the time, and we move on as well...
Both groups were then proven correct when we won the league and Semedo got promoted in 2nd with Wednesday.
Option 2 - Have a DoF/recruitment team - The danger then is that you end up with the wrong sort of players for the next manager.
To me it seems that the crucial thing is to have a consistent style of football, and then appoint players AND a manager/head coach who also plays the same style. Thus if Jones leaves or is sacked, don't recruit someone who likes a patient 4231 system, as then you'll have the wrong players for it.
If we are matched up, do we have two forwards who can outplay three big lumps? Yes if we can get in behind but if they drop deep, how likely? Even if we get Miles back, his forté is not getting on the end of crosses.
Leaburn, Aneke and Ahadme should do it 😅