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Post by Neshead on Mar 27, 2021 18:33:47 GMT
I’m not sure what we can glean from that result. It was unexpected looking at the team selection but Colchester were shockingly poor. If they had a forward with a first touch we’d have been in trouble. Still, it’s three points. One of the worst teams i've seen us play yet still had enough clear cut chnaces to put 3 or 4 past us. Thought the overall quality of the game was shocking although the pitch didn't help. Very little to choose between the sides.
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Post by rahicscissorbudget on Mar 27, 2021 19:32:15 GMT
Was that the same formation as usual?
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Post by Lethal Jizzle on Mar 27, 2021 20:55:10 GMT
Was that the same formation as usual? Changed from a 352 after about 5 minutes to our usual
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Post by Hobhead on Mar 28, 2021 7:14:03 GMT
That long winning run probably lulled is in to thinking the team is better than it really is. After the shit start by McCall and the summer recruitment, mid table is probably what we deserve. True, but the starting 11 since the January window should be enough to beat most, if not all, teams in this division. The problem is the massive over-reliance on Cooke and the lack of serious midfield competition. With a fully fit squad I think an unlikely tilt at the play-offs was realistic. For all the doubting of T and S over the last few weeks they certainly deserve to be given a shot and with contracts offered to the right players and a couple of intelligent signings next season should be one to look forward to, especially if the pubs stay open. I agree. The framework of a good team is in place, a few bolt ons and we could easily have a promotion winning side. Another window like January and we’re worth backing in my opinion.
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Post by Neshead on Mar 28, 2021 7:24:09 GMT
True, but the starting 11 since the January window should be enough to beat most, if not all, teams in this division. The problem is the massive over-reliance on Cooke and the lack of serious midfield competition. With a fully fit squad I think an unlikely tilt at the play-offs was realistic. For all the doubting of T and S over the last few weeks they certainly deserve to be given a shot and with contracts offered to the right players and a couple of intelligent signings next season should be one to look forward to, especially if the pubs stay open. I agree. The framework of a good team is in place, a few bolt ons and we could easily have a promotion winning side. Another window like January and we’re worth backing in my opinion. We're not there yet, yesterdays win against arguably the worts team in the division doesn't change anything about our under strength squad. Probably 4 or 5 players away from being proper automatic contenders. What i liked about yesterday was the willingness to drop players not performing, Trueman said Crankshaw and Vernam wouldn't have started anyway despite their injuries, Watt too who had been poor for a number of weeks. Donaldson showed yesterday what decent hold up play and movement off the ball does, something we'd lacked from Cook and Rowe and is something we should be looking at in a new striker when Donaldson goes. Defensive wise i thought at times we were all over the place, still not sure what FCD does and the winger had Wood on toast at various times in the game. As for the keeper position not sure who i'd give it to.
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Post by edin on Mar 28, 2021 8:01:19 GMT
I agree. The framework of a good team is in place, a few bolt ons and we could easily have a promotion winning side. Another window like January and we’re worth backing in my opinion. We're not there yet, yesterdays win against arguably the worts team in the division doesn't change anything about our under strength squad. Probably 4 or 5 players away from being proper automatic contenders. What i liked about yesterday was the willingness to drop players not performing, Trueman said Crankshaw and Vernam wouldn't have started anyway despite their injuries, Watt too who had been poor for a number of weeks. Donaldson showed yesterday what decent hold up play and movement off the ball does, something we'd lacked from Cook and Rowe and is something we should be looking at in a new striker when Donaldson goes. Defensive wise i thought at times we were all over the place, still not sure what FCD does and the winger had Wood on toast at various times in the game. As for the keeper position not sure who i'd give it to. Donaldson was immense in the 10 role where he isn't in a position to miss from 4 yards
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Post by Hobhead on Mar 28, 2021 8:28:44 GMT
I like Cook’s finishing but the rest of his game isn’t up to much. Then again, I suppose when it comes to strikers finishing is king but I still think we could do better.
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Post by Hobhead on Mar 28, 2021 8:32:37 GMT
I agree. The framework of a good team is in place, a few bolt ons and we could easily have a promotion winning side. Another window like January and we’re worth backing in my opinion. We're not there yet, yesterdays win against arguably the worts team in the division doesn't change anything about our under strength squad. Probably 4 or 5 players away from being proper automatic contenders. What i liked about yesterday was the willingness to drop players not performing, Trueman said Crankshaw and Vernam wouldn't have started anyway despite their injuries, Watt too who had been poor for a number of weeks. Donaldson showed yesterday what decent hold up play and movement off the ball does, something we'd lacked from Cook and Rowe and is something we should be looking at in a new striker when Donaldson goes. Defensive wise i thought at times we were all over the place, still not sure what FCD does and the winger had Wood on toast at various times in the game. As for the keeper position not sure who i'd give it to. It’ll be interesting to see how Watt responds to being dropped. I like the lad but he really needs to calm down a bit. Hopefully it should come with a bit of time and experience though.
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Post by Neshead on Mar 28, 2021 8:48:47 GMT
I like Cook’s finishing but the rest of his game isn’t up to much. Then again, I suppose when it comes to strikers finishing is king but I still think we could do better. It's a difficult one. His goal scoring rate since signing is decent but I'm not sure he's that striker that gets you promotion. I noticed Doyle scored again yesterday, 16 for the season. What you got to ask is which one gets you promoted. Same with Vaughan. If you pick either of those two over Cook then I'd suggest Cook isn't the answer.
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Post by tetchyarse on Mar 28, 2021 9:20:57 GMT
We're very lucky Colchester are fucking terrible. Nice to get a win and nice to finally see Don play well but we're still miles off deserving anything other than a mid table league 2 finish. That long winning run probably lulled is in to thinking the team is better than it really is. After the shit start by McCall and the summer recruitment, mid table is probably what we deserve. The first 11 is good enough to beat anyone in this division, as we've seen. The problem is that there's nothing beyond the first 11. Evans will be on a wedge and will never be anything more than a squad player. The summer will be key. Everyone they signed permanently in Jan was an upgrade on what we had before. Do the same again and it should be a good season. I'd like to see a plan B to 4231, but at this level I'm a big believer in picking a formation and bloody sticking with it. Let the opposition worry about us, not the other way round. As for strikers, we had the best two in the league with Doyle and Vaughan and let them both go for free. Imagine Vaughan in this side, we'd be going up. Letting him go in the summer was just stupid. That's Rhodes for you, settling for mediocrity. Kkkkkkurtis, the player McCall reckoned was going to fill his boots, still hasn't scored a goal this season. But having binned off Doyle and Vaughan it's going to be a while before we attract another striker of their quality. I'd keep Cook as a squad player, if wages are sensible, he's been decent but we need an upgrade for our first choice striker.
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Post by Lethal Jizzle on Mar 28, 2021 9:33:30 GMT
We're not there yet, yesterdays win against arguably the worts team in the division doesn't change anything about our under strength squad. Probably 4 or 5 players away from being proper automatic contenders. What i liked about yesterday was the willingness to drop players not performing, Trueman said Crankshaw and Vernam wouldn't have started anyway despite their injuries, Watt too who had been poor for a number of weeks. Donaldson showed yesterday what decent hold up play and movement off the ball does, something we'd lacked from Cook and Rowe and is something we should be looking at in a new striker when Donaldson goes. Defensive wise i thought at times we were all over the place, still not sure what FCD does and the winger had Wood on toast at various times in the game. As for the keeper position not sure who i'd give it to. It’ll be interesting to see how Watt responds to being dropped. I like the lad but he really needs to calm down a bit. Hopefully it should come with a bit of time and experience though. What is it you like about him? I'm struggling to make a case for him. The midfield looked far more balanced without him yesterday and he just keeps going backwards and is becoming more and more of a bottler. This last half dozen games he's been as bad as Wright and Akpan were.
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Post by Neshead on Mar 28, 2021 9:42:11 GMT
It’ll be interesting to see how Watt responds to being dropped. I like the lad but he really needs to calm down a bit. Hopefully it should come with a bit of time and experience though. What is it you like about him? I'm struggling to make a case for him. The midfield looked far more balanced without him yesterday and he just keeps going backwards and is becoming more and more of a bottler. This last half dozen games he's been as bad as Wright and Akpan were. Football is all about fitting a position with the skill to go with it. And at the moment I'm trying to work out what Watt brings to the table. Reminds me of the sort of player where everyone raves about them but the end product never really fits a certain position. And I'm someone who thinks he can play higher than he does. I think I've mentioned this a few times but he isn't a central defensive midfielder, its the same scenario when Cooke was used in that position by BowyerS. I think his natural position is further forward, problem is I can't see him playing instead of Cooke. If he's going to play at a higher level in the middle he has to reach the standards of Lee Evans or Josh Cullen when they were here and he's nowhere near that currently.
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Post by Hobhead on Mar 28, 2021 9:44:53 GMT
It’ll be interesting to see how Watt responds to being dropped. I like the lad but he really needs to calm down a bit. Hopefully it should come with a bit of time and experience though. What is it you like about him? I'm struggling to make a case for him. The midfield looked far more balanced without him yesterday and he just keeps going backwards and is becoming more and more of a bottler. This last half dozen games he's been as bad as Wright and Akpan were. I think at the minute he’s a bit of a mess but there’s promise there. He is more than capable of hitting the Hollywood ball but needs to pick his moment better. If he can be coached and helped to realise when to play it and when not to that alone would be a huge improvement in his game. His decision making is immature. No matter what’s happening his head never drops, he’s always willing and keeps trying to make something happen. He can tackle and never tires. Considering his age I think there’s plenty to work with there but if anything I think he’s been played a bit too much. A spell on the sidelines would probably be good for him. His career could go either way for me but there’s definite potential.
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Post by Neshead on Mar 28, 2021 9:48:32 GMT
What is it you like about him? I'm struggling to make a case for him. The midfield looked far more balanced without him yesterday and he just keeps going backwards and is becoming more and more of a bottler. This last half dozen games he's been as bad as Wright and Akpan were. I think at the minute he’s a bit of a mess but there’s promise there. He is more than capable of hitting the Hollywood ball but needs to pick his moment better. If he can be coached and helped to realise when to play it and when not to that alone would be a huge improvement in his game. His decision making is immature. No matter what’s happening his head never drops, he’s always willing and keeps trying to make something happen. He can tackle and never tires. Considering his age I think there’s plenty to work with there but if anything I think he’s been played a bit too much. A spell on the sidelines would probably be good for him. His career could go either way for me but there’s definite potential. Funny, I think his head has dropped the last few games. His body language looks like a lad who needs a game or two away to get his fire back. Notice his usual shouting and swearing has all but disappeared. There is a good player there but we said that about Billy Knott.
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Post by tetchyarse on Mar 28, 2021 10:00:31 GMT
I think at the minute he’s a bit of a mess but there’s promise there. He is more than capable of hitting the Hollywood ball but needs to pick his moment better. If he can be coached and helped to realise when to play it and when not to that alone would be a huge improvement in his game. His decision making is immature. No matter what’s happening his head never drops, he’s always willing and keeps trying to make something happen. He can tackle and never tires. Considering his age I think there’s plenty to work with there but if anything I think he’s been played a bit too much. A spell on the sidelines would probably be good for him. His career could go either way for me but there’s definite potential. Funny, I think his head has dropped the last few games. His body language looks like a lad who needs a game or two away to get his fire back. Notice his usual shouting and swearing has all but disappeared. There is a good player there but we said that about Billy Knott. There was and is a good player in Knott, but he had his well documented mental health issues and it all went south for him. I like Watt too, he's the stronger of the two. What he needs is an experienced head to teach him the cynical side of the game. Someone like Gary Jones in with him, choochoo.
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Post by Lethal Jizzle on Mar 28, 2021 10:13:54 GMT
Watt has gone from looking like a player who wasn't on the same wavelength as these players being a level above to not looking on the same wavelength being a level below. He's only 20 so he can be worked and being in a sitting 2 isn't him, his short passing is so poor he can't play any further forward. It's a real conundrum.
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Post by Neshead on Mar 28, 2021 10:15:13 GMT
Funny, I think his head has dropped the last few games. His body language looks like a lad who needs a game or two away to get his fire back. Notice his usual shouting and swearing has all but disappeared. There is a good player there but we said that about Billy Knott. There was and is a good player in Knott, but he had his well documented mental health issues and it all went south for him. I like Watt too, he's the stronger of the two. What he needs is an experienced head to teach him the cynical side of the game. Someone like Gary Jones in with him, choochoo. Knotts mental problems aren't the reason he is now playing in non league. It's because he could lnt perform consistently enough to warrant a place in a team.
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Post by Hobhead on Mar 28, 2021 10:16:03 GMT
I think at the minute he’s a bit of a mess but there’s promise there. He is more than capable of hitting the Hollywood ball but needs to pick his moment better. If he can be coached and helped to realise when to play it and when not to that alone would be a huge improvement in his game. His decision making is immature. No matter what’s happening his head never drops, he’s always willing and keeps trying to make something happen. He can tackle and never tires. Considering his age I think there’s plenty to work with there but if anything I think he’s been played a bit too much. A spell on the sidelines would probably be good for him. His career could go either way for me but there’s definite potential. Funny, I think his head has dropped the last few games. His body language looks like a lad who needs a game or two away to get his fire back. Notice his usual shouting and swearing has all but disappeared. There is a good player there but we said that about Billy Knott. You might be right but one thing’s for sure, it’s much better discussing the merits of a player like Watt and wondering whether he’ll make it or not than it is watching a spent force like Evans dragging a tyre around the pitch. Give me young possibles over burnt out husks any day if the week.
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Post by Hobhead on Mar 28, 2021 10:18:11 GMT
There was and is a good player in Knott, but he had his well documented mental health issues and it all went south for him. I like Watt too, he's the stronger of the two. What he needs is an experienced head to teach him the cynical side of the game. Someone like Gary Jones in with him, choochoo. Knotts mental problems aren't the reason he is now playing in non league. It's because he could lnt perform consistently enough to warrant a place in a team. Knott was another with a piss poor footballing brain. All the talent in the world isn’t worth a wank if it’s hooked up to a hamster in a wheel. Plus he’d retreat into his shell at the first hint of the crowd being pissed at him. The first groan at a poor pass and his bollocks would retract into his intestines.
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Post by bantam147 on Mar 28, 2021 10:35:04 GMT
I like Cook’s finishing but the rest of his game isn’t up to much. Then again, I suppose when it comes to strikers finishing is king but I still think we could do better. It's a difficult one. His goal scoring rate since signing is decent but I'm not sure he's that striker that gets you promotion. I noticed Doyle scored again yesterday, 16 for the season. What you got to ask is which one gets you promoted. Same with Vaughan. If you pick either of those two over Cook then I'd suggest Cook isn't the answer. Our inability to get a tune out of Doyle, and to a lesser extent Vaughan, is an embarrassment. As for Cook, he's understated, but he can finish. I'd keep him, but I'd like to think we can bring in a stronger one. Novak and Donaldson, swapped out for 1 top drawer striker, with Cook and Rowe in and around the mix too, is what we need for that striker berth. We need a class wide player - a properly class one. Probably a loan, but a quality loan, like the lad who Bolton have on loan (from West Ham I think). At least 1, maybe 2 central midfielders of real quality. 2 full backs. And a keeper. There's still a fuck ton to do, despite January being more positive than normal.
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