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Post by captainblack on Sept 4, 2024 8:50:56 GMT 1
I can't see how he can blame Duff at this early stage. He might want to question the state of the squad though and the amount of injuries. Obviously as pissed off as the fans at what appears to be evidence that we're miles off being promotion contenders despite targets and assurances. I wonder whether he believes there were only two strikers in the entire world who would have improved the team. After our business this summer, I still thought (think) our team is good enough for about halfway up, maybe the fringes of the top 10. Talk of automatic promotion is laughable, not a hope with this team. A season of transition and stability (hopefully) beckons I’m afraid. I did not go last night and have just been too our two home games, but on what I have witnessed we are not going to be promotion contenders this season, we are all hoping for success, but I feel the squad is not strong enough at the moment. You just have to hope that players coming back from injury and we strengthen in January, that we could mount a credible push for promotion. |
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Post by Terrier Ramone on Sept 4, 2024 9:12:36 GMT 1
If all we can aspire to is a season of transition and stability Nagle & Co might have a nasty surprise when they try to peddle next year's season cards. That’s my main concern. Finish outside of the play offs (which is looking very realistic) and season ticket price hikes will go down like a lead balloon. We are on a bad run of defeats, however, we have won 3 out of 4 league games, have 42 games to play, we are sitting 5th in the league, in 2 of the 3 games we have lost we've had a man sent off, & most of the goals we have conceded have been penalties. Of course I'm not happy with the last 3 games but it's way too early to say finishing outside of the playoffs is looking very realistic. |
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Post by redshadow on Sept 4, 2024 9:15:39 GMT 1
Transition and stability! Clubs answer to everything going tits up.2 seasons at least its been same old same old tripe spat out, now followed by "have faith" "come back strong" we have a side based on shifting sand! With all the goodwill in the world how on earth does nagle see any thing other than exactly same scenarios occuring ominously the same as last season ? Couple more performances like the last 3 and shit will definately hit the fan.
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Tinpot
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Post by Tinpot on Sept 4, 2024 9:31:42 GMT 1
That’s my main concern. Finish outside of the play offs (which is looking very realistic) and season ticket price hikes will go down like a lead balloon. We are on a bad run of defeats, however, we have won 3 out of 4 league games, have 42 games to play, we are sitting 5th in the league, in 2 of the 3 games we have lost we've had a man sent off, & most of the goals we have conceded have been penalties. Of course I'm not happy with the last 3 games but it's way too early to say finishing outside of the playoffs is looking very realistic. I'm wondering what you've seen that makes you so confident of a top 6 finish. We're conceding a lot of penalties. That's not even a mitigation, let alone a good thing. Same for getting players sent off. 7 games in and we've had 2 convincing wins (one of those against Morecambe) and we're still yet to face anyone that has realistic ambitions of automatic promotion. We may turn it around, but the prospect of finishing 7th or below doesn't sound like excessive pessimism to me. |
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Post by prestonrues1 on Sept 4, 2024 9:34:32 GMT 1
After our business this summer, I still thought (think) our team is good enough for about halfway up, maybe the fringes of the top 10. Talk of automatic promotion is laughable, not a hope with this team. A season of transition and stability (hopefully) beckons I’m afraid. I did not go last night and have just been too our two home games, but on what I have witnessed we are not going to be promotion contenders this season, we are all hoping for success, but I feel the squad is not strong enough at the moment. You just have to hope that players coming back from injury and we strengthen in January, that we could mount a credible push for promotion. I will put a different slant on this . I have been to every game bar the Morcombe one. The Peterborough game was superb felt like we controlled the game when going infront and looked a very good team . The 2 home league games weren’t as good but , Stevenage we were by far the better team and deserved to win, Shrewsbury not as good but still just edged the game. The Rotherham game was a different matter they deserved the points we were tactically poor and played to their strengths by giving away silly free kicks in dangerous positions but still we were unlucky not to get something from the game and the ref played a huge part in this. The 2 cup defeats were very poor but the Walsall game was heavily defined by some atrocious ref decisions and a weaker team put out. The game last night was pretty irrelevant I don’t know why I bothered going it was a team of kids and players not in first eleven , not a big deal at all, I actually think we need to get out of that cup as quickly as possible. The meltdown on here is so overwhelming for me as it’s not as bad as folk are making out. Personally think we’ve made a huge mistake by not bringing another striker in but we will probably still make the playoffs this year , some town fans think we are too big to be only making the playoffs . Seriously take a look at attendances we aren’t in the 2 biggest average crowds tally in the league and we are one of the cheapest. The fans complaining about next seasons ticket prices already are the same ones complaining we are too big to be in the playoffs in div one. Can’t they see the 2 things go hand in hand. Support the club through thick and thin put some brass into the club and we will find success simple really. |
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Post by gledholt terrier on Sept 4, 2024 10:00:43 GMT 1
I like Duff.. but the 10 game rule applies to any manager. The decline is rapid and pressure is building already.... if we looked to have a plan then it would be a start. I hope it doesn't... but if this continues the way it's going then cartwright needs the bullet at the same time. Only at Huddersfield do decent managers and players turn into absolute horse shit. Yeah, I reckon getting rid of another manager after a couple of months is definitely the way to go. Let’s go all in and if the next one doesn’t win 75% of his games, he can sod off too. Jesus Christ. |
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Post by Detective Boyle on Sept 4, 2024 10:05:28 GMT 1
That’s my main concern. Finish outside of the play offs (which is looking very realistic) and season ticket price hikes will go down like a lead balloon. We are on a bad run of defeats, however, we have won 3 out of 4 league games, have 42 games to play, we are sitting 5th in the league, in 2 of the 3 games we have lost we've had a man sent off, & most of the goals we have conceded have been penalties. Of course I'm not happy with the last 3 games but it's way too early to say finishing outside of the playoffs is looking very realistic. We are carrying the same fragilities that we had last season. Mental weakness when the going gets tough, god awful passing ability and poor striking options. I don’t think we have enough to go away from home to top 6 contenders and win. Really hope I’m wrong and we put a run of convincing wins together but I look at how we can barely pass a football and I find it hard to be inspired. The next month will be a real test and a good indicator of where we will be finishing imo. |
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Post by Captainslapper on Sept 4, 2024 10:24:54 GMT 1
That’s my main concern. Finish outside of the play offs (which is looking very realistic) and season ticket price hikes will go down like a lead balloon. We are on a bad run of defeats, however, we have won 3 out of 4 league games, have 42 games to play, we are sitting 5th in the league, in 2 of the 3 games we have lost we've had a man sent off, & most of the goals we have conceded have been penalties. Of course I'm not happy with the last 3 games but it's way too early to say finishing outside of the playoffs is looking very realistic. Only 42 games to go and our reserves plus a few youth players lost an autowindscreens trophy game last night. ..relegation looks nailed on. If it wasnt for the referee we'd be 4 wins out of 4 in the games that actually matter, even though that 2nd half performance in Rotherham was pretty poor. So Im not really understanding the clamour to rule us out as a challenger and  those white flags. Not to say we havent got issues and the current form has clearly dropped off from the opening day at Posh...but think a bit of patience for a new manager and half a team of new players wouldn't go amiss, and maybe get back some of the key players ruled out just now. |
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Post by Terrier Ramone on Sept 4, 2024 10:31:32 GMT 1
We are on a bad run of defeats, however, we have won 3 out of 4 league games, have 42 games to play, we are sitting 5th in the league, in 2 of the 3 games we have lost we've had a man sent off, & most of the goals we have conceded have been penalties. Of course I'm not happy with the last 3 games but it's way too early to say finishing outside of the playoffs is looking very realistic. I'm wondering what you've seen that makes you so confident of a top 6 finish. We're conceding a lot of penalties. That's not even a mitigation, let alone a good thing. Same for getting players sent off. 7 games in and we've had 2 convincing wins (one of those against Morecambe) and we're still yet to face anyone that has realistic ambitions of automatic promotion. We may turn it around, but the prospect of finishing 7th or below doesn't sound like excessive pessimism to me. I do think we'll get a top 6 finish but the main point of my post was to say it is way too early to say it's looking like we'll not be in the playoffs. For me, both in pre-season & the first 4 games, I saw massive improvement in our effort, we were clearly playing to a plan & the team looked confident - I thought against Shrewsbury & Stevenage maybe too confident, which is why we started well in both games but looked poor when we were in front. All the new players looked good & a big improvement on what we had & Wiles looked like the player we thought we'd bought last year. Admittedly, the last 3 games have been really poor but I'm hoping that's the blip & the real us will come back really quickly. I also think the standard of football in this division is awful & we cannot continue giving away soft penalties/sending offs while getting nothing ourselves, it just can't keep happening. We needed a striker, for me personally, I would have wanted a different type of striker to what we have, a more physical type who can hold the ball & play in others. The jury is out on Wiles & Evans but they have shown they can play at this level & I think Hodge, Kane & Iorpenda will improve us. When our system has worked well though the key players have been Sorensen & Miller, if they play well, we look much better. So, to sum up, I'm more than annoyed at the last 3 games but there has been nothing shown in this division to date to make me think we can't get top 6, though we will have to pull our socks up. |
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Post by Tinpot on Sept 4, 2024 11:28:35 GMT 1
We are on a bad run of defeats, however, we have won 3 out of 4 league games, have 42 games to play, we are sitting 5th in the league, in 2 of the 3 games we have lost we've had a man sent off, & most of the goals we have conceded have been penalties. Of course I'm not happy with the last 3 games but it's way too early to say finishing outside of the playoffs is looking very realistic. Only 42 games to go and our reserves plus a few youth players lost an autowindscreens trophy game last night. ..relegation looks nailed on. If it wasnt for the referee we'd be 4 wins out of 4 in the games that actually matter, even though that 2nd half performance in Rotherham was pretty poor. So Im not really understanding the clamour to rule us out as a challenger and those white flags. Not to say we havent got issues and the current form has clearly dropped off from the opening day at Posh...but think a bit of patience for a new manager and half a team of new players wouldn't go amiss, and maybe get back some of the key players ruled out just now. After 24 months of damn near unmitigated shite, 2.5 decent performances is the norm, and the 4.5 shite performances is the blip... It's not about ruling us out of the promotion race altogether, and it's certainly not saying that we're relegation certainties. It's about looking at how good we need to be to get promoted from this division, how good we are, and seeing the size of that gap between the two. Patience with Duff? ABSOLUTELY!! His record in this division is a very good one and chopping and changing every few games hasn't exactly served us well up to now. I still think he is the best candidate to turn us around and get us promotion. I just don't think it's looking very likely to be this season. My preseason prediction of 8th looked unduly pessimistic as I walked away from The Weston Homes Stadium At London Road last month. Today, it looks like quite an optimistic assessment. |
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Post by townarentbest on Sept 4, 2024 11:31:44 GMT 1
That’s my main concern. Finish outside of the play offs (which is looking very realistic) and season ticket price hikes will go down like a lead balloon. How can finishing outside the play offs look ‘very realistic’ when we’ve 42 games left to play? Surely the only ‘very realistic’ thing is that we are actually in the play off places? Presumably because the results don't necessarily reflect the points we've obtained so far. I didn't watch last night but caught a bit of commentary whilst driving, but have seen every other game, and we're on a record so far of slightly more than 3 good 45min's in 14 of them (I don't include the first half v Walsall in that, the 0-2 was very much NOT a reflection of what was happening on the pitch). We've been reasonably consistently poor, not just compared to what we'd hope our standards are, but in comparison to the teams we're playing against, but we've managed to get away with it so far - that is highly unlikely to continue longer term, we need to step up and change our mentality. You can't play as crappy as we did v Stevenage and Shrewsbury against Bolton, Reading, Birmingham and Barnsley (no disrespect to Northampton, I know nothing about them) and expect to get much more than 2 points. |
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Post by townarentbest on Sept 4, 2024 11:42:17 GMT 1
We are on a bad run of defeats, however, we have won 3 out of 4 league games, have 42 games to play, we are sitting 5th in the league, in 2 of the 3 games we have lost we've had a man sent off, & most of the goals we have conceded have been penalties. Of course I'm not happy with the last 3 games but it's way too early to say finishing outside of the playoffs is looking very realistic. I'm wondering what you've seen that makes you so confident of a top 6 finish. We're conceding a lot of penalties. That's not even a mitigation, let alone a good thing. Same for getting players sent off. 7 games in and we've had 2 convincing wins (one of those against Morecambe) and we're still yet to face anyone that has realistic ambitions of automatic promotion.We may turn it around, but the prospect of finishing 7th or below doesn't sound like excessive pessimism to me. I'd throw Peterborough at that statement...we approached that game differently, no idea why we've lost our bottle since. Plus Rotherham...they've got promoted in their last 4 consecutive appearances in League 1...although I have a minor quandary here - I only really consider Rotherham based on their experience, and the fact they have more touches in opposition box, accurate crosses and corners than anyone else in the division, they have the second highest xG, and they have missed MORE "Big chances" than any other club...which surely will be a corner that will turn once they string a couple of decent results together. My quandary, is that Town have missed the second most number of Big Chances in the division, and whilst I assume Rotherham will turn it around, I see it more of a reflection of what we've failed to do in the transfer market. Do I think Danny Ward and Koroma are going to suddenly start converting all the missed Big Chances? No. They're NOT competent strikers at this level. Thats our simple failing. |
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Tinpot
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Post by Tinpot on Sept 4, 2024 11:43:01 GMT 1
I'm wondering what you've seen that makes you so confident of a top 6 finish. We're conceding a lot of penalties. That's not even a mitigation, let alone a good thing. Same for getting players sent off. 7 games in and we've had 2 convincing wins (one of those against Morecambe) and we're still yet to face anyone that has realistic ambitions of automatic promotion. We may turn it around, but the prospect of finishing 7th or below doesn't sound like excessive pessimism to me. I do think we'll get a top 6 finish but the main point of my post was to say it is way too early to say it's looking like we'll not be in the playoffs. For me, both in pre-season & the first 4 games, I saw massive improvement in our effort, we were clearly playing to a plan & the team looked confident - I thought against Shrewsbury & Stevenage maybe too confident, which is why we started well in both games but looked poor when we were in front. All the new players looked good & a big improvement on what we had & Wiles looked like the player we thought we'd bought last year. Admittedly, the last 3 games have been really poor but I'm hoping that's the blip & the real us will come back really quickly. I also think the standard of football in this division is awful & we cannot continue giving away soft penalties/sending offs while getting nothing ourselves, it just can't keep happening. We needed a striker, for me personally, I would have wanted a different type of striker to what we have, a more physical type who can hold the ball & play in others. The jury is out on Wiles & Evans but they have shown they can play at this level & I think Hodge, Kane & Iorpenda will improve us. When our system has worked well though the key players have been Sorensen & Miller, if they play well, we look much better. So, to sum up, I'm more than annoyed at the last 3 games but there has been nothing shown in this division to date to make me think we can't get top 6, though we will have to pull our socks up. I don't see anything there that suggests 7th or below seems unrealistic. That's not to rule us out of the promotion race. It's saying that a top 6 finish is far from nailed on. The division looks poor? Looking at our opponents so far (disregarding the 3 games against lower division sides that have yielded 2 defeats), that shouldn't be surprising. We've not played a serious promotion contender yet. Our opponents so far have been a couple of sides likely to be upper mid-table, a side that's likely to be lower mid-table and a nailed on relegation certainty. If we still think the division looks poor after we've played Birmingham, Bolton, Charlton et al then fair enough, but our toughest tests this season lie ahead of us. |
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Post by Tinpot on Sept 4, 2024 12:09:52 GMT 1
I'm wondering what you've seen that makes you so confident of a top 6 finish. We're conceding a lot of penalties. That's not even a mitigation, let alone a good thing. Same for getting players sent off. 7 games in and we've had 2 convincing wins (one of those against Morecambe) and we're still yet to face anyone that has realistic ambitions of automatic promotion.We may turn it around, but the prospect of finishing 7th or below doesn't sound like excessive pessimism to me. I'd throw Peterborough at that statement...we approached that game differently, no idea why we've lost our bottle since. Plus Rotherham...they've got promoted in their last 4 consecutive appearances in League 1...although I have a minor quandary here - I only really consider Rotherham based on their experience, and the fact they have more touches in opposition box, accurate crosses and corners than anyone else in the division, they have the second highest xG, and they have missed MORE "Big chances" than any other club...which surely will be a corner that will turn once they string a couple of decent results together. My quandary, is that Town have missed the second most number of Big Chances in the division, and whilst I assume Rotherham will turn it around, I see it more of a reflection of what we've failed to do in the transfer market. Do I think Danny Ward and Koroma are going to suddenly start converting all the missed Big Chances? No. They're NOT competent strikers at this level. Thats our simple failing. Peterborough and Rotherham I'd expect to be upper mid-table this time around. Must admit I like JK this season so far. If he keeps playing like this for the rest of the season I'll be more than happy. That word "if" is doing some heavy lifting though given his consistency to date. |
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Post by mosher on Sept 4, 2024 12:12:14 GMT 1
Has there been an improvement this season so far ? Great start against Peterborough. Then a steady decline in performances. Injuries haven’t helped but every team has them. Cause for concern ? Some as it’s upto Duff to improve them. He hasn’t in the last few games. Last seasons January transfer business really hasn’t worked out at all. Those players are just injured. Baulker unlucky for sure. I’m not sure we are top two material - we just lack quality and consistency up front. It says a lot (and fair play to him) that Koroma has been our most effective striker. It isn’t the “firepower” that Nagle talked about though. Nowhere near. At the moment it looks like we're in L1 to stay. Seems perhaps the summer business hasn't been as good as we'd hoped, they haven't brought in a proven striker, we're still getting injuries galore and the transfer net spend is about minus £4 million pounds at a guess. I'm amazed people aren't more pissed off tbh. It's not really the genuine shot at automatic promotion that we were led to expect, far from it in fact. Plus the biggest squad omission being the obvious one that everyone has known about since well before they tried to solve it in January by buying one injury prone striker and one from a Mickey mouse league. At least they've got the excuses lined up. It's all someone else's fault... Again. I see some are still toeing the line and blaming NW  I'm glad you said at a guess. The circa £3m January spend not count towards the cost of the squad then? Not a dig, but I keep seeing this figure bandied about (not just by you mate) as if what we spent in January doesn't count, even if it appears to be wasted cash. |
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Post by royrace on Sept 4, 2024 15:08:11 GMT 1
At the moment it looks like we're in L1 to stay. Seems perhaps the summer business hasn't been as good as we'd hoped, they haven't brought in a proven striker, we're still getting injuries galore and the transfer net spend is about minus £4 million pounds at a guess. I'm amazed people aren't more pissed off tbh. It's not really the genuine shot at automatic promotion that we were led to expect, far from it in fact. Plus the biggest squad omission being the obvious one that everyone has known about since well before they tried to solve it in January by buying one injury prone striker and one from a Mickey mouse league. At least they've got the excuses lined up. It's all someone else's fault... Again. I see some are still toeing the line and blaming NW I'm glad you said at a guess. The circa £3m January spend not count towards the cost of the squad then? Not a dig, but I keep seeing this figure bandied about (not just by you mate) as if what we spent in January doesn't count, even if it appears to be wasted cash. I just meant summer really, the priority was obviously different in January and Kevin provided the necessary funds, unfortunately they weren't spent well and didn't have the desired affect. The priority in the summer was to build a squad capable of automatic promotion, by all accounts we received £5M for Rudoni. I guess what I'm saying is perhaps we could have done more, particularly with strikers. Maybe they assessed the squad and got it wrong.... again. |
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Post by Wingman on Sept 4, 2024 15:23:25 GMT 1
I just meant summer really, the priority was obviously different in January and Kevin provided the necessary funds, unfortunately they weren't spent well and didn't have the desired affect. The priority in the summer was to build a squad capable of automatic promotion, by all accounts we received £5M for Rudoni. I guess what I'm saying is perhaps we could have done more, particularly with strikers. Maybe they assessed the squad and got it wrong.... again. This is a good point. Who assessed the squad? By this I mean Breitenreiter left and it was a little while before Duff came in, so who decided to release certain players, sell certain players etc? It won’t have been Duff for all of this (maybe partially the signings) so who deemed us to not need to act swiftly for a striker etc? |
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Post by Captainslapper on Sept 4, 2024 15:27:43 GMT 1
I'm glad you said at a guess. The circa £3m January spend not count towards the cost of the squad then? Not a dig, but I keep seeing this figure bandied about (not just by you mate) as if what we spent in January doesn't count, even if it appears to be wasted cash. I just meant summer really, the priority was obviously different in January and Kevin provided the necessary funds, unfortunately they weren't spent well and didn't have the desired affect. The priority in the summer was to build a squad capable of automatic promotion, by all accounts we received £5M for Rudoni. I guess what I'm saying is perhaps we could have done more, particularly with strikers. Maybe they assessed the squad and got it wrong.... again. No, think they assessed the squad and wanted another striker , and we had 2 practically in the door before, for reasons out of our clubs control, they both fell through at the last minute. A fair criticism would be that they didnt have a plan C ready and waiting after plans A and B failed,,,but maybe they looked at Healey and Bojan and decided someone better wasnt available?? Think signing good strikers is difficult unless youre paying well over the odds. Clubs just dont want to let them leave otherwise. The current issues up front are because Healey and Bojan are both out, but when theyre back, alongside the promising looking Marshall and Ward , whos probably 4th choice now, then its not the disastrous options some are making it out to be IMO. It's certainly a lot stronger I think than this time last season when warnock had us relying on Ward, then two kids in Harratt and huddlin as the only alternatives for the first half of the season. |
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Post by mosher on Sept 4, 2024 15:36:28 GMT 1
I'm glad you said at a guess. The circa £3m January spend not count towards the cost of the squad then? Not a dig, but I keep seeing this figure bandied about (not just by you mate) as if what we spent in January doesn't count, even if it appears to be wasted cash. I just meant summer really, the priority was obviously different in January and Kevin provided the necessary funds, unfortunately they weren't spent well and didn't have the desired affect. The priority in the summer was to build a squad capable of automatic promotion, by all accounts we received £5M for Rudoni. I guess what I'm saying is perhaps we could have done more, particularly with strikers. Maybe they assessed the squad and got it wrong.... again. Something definitely went wrong I totally agree. I think KN had the funds there and ready to spend, I think Mr Cartwright has (again) cocked up. I don't mean by being gazumped and then Luton pulling out, that's obviously not his fault, I mean by not having a 2nd option after Taylor. Obviously Taylor was the 2nd option after May, but once May had been snatched from under our nose, there should have been a back-up to the back-up being sounded out. Maybe there was, but Luton pulling out so late screwed that up too, we'll probably never know the ins and outs of our hunt for a decent striker. We all just know we're threadbare up front unless Healey and Bojan can sort out their fitness. If (and it IS a very big if) either (or both) of those two can stay relatively fit I believe Marshall and one of those two can shoot us to promotion. I posted at the end of the season that if Wardnock and Hoggy are still regulars then something has gone seriously wrong ... and here we are! |
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Post by mosher on Sept 4, 2024 15:40:03 GMT 1
I just meant summer really, the priority was obviously different in January and Kevin provided the necessary funds, unfortunately they weren't spent well and didn't have the desired affect. The priority in the summer was to build a squad capable of automatic promotion, by all accounts we received £5M for Rudoni. I guess what I'm saying is perhaps we could have done more, particularly with strikers. Maybe they assessed the squad and got it wrong.... again. No, think they assessed the squad and wanted another striker , and we had 2 practically in the door before, for reasons out of our clubs control, they both fell through at the last minute. A fair criticism would be that they didnt have a plan C ready and waiting after plans A and B failed,,,but maybe they looked at Healey and Bojan and decided someone better wasnt available?? Think signing good strikers is difficult unless youre paying well over the odds. Clubs just dont want to let them leave otherwise. The current issues up front are because Healey and Bojan are both out, but when theyre back, alongside the promising looking Marshall and Ward , whos probably 4th choice now, then its not the disastrous options some are making it out to be IMO. It's certainly a lot stronger I think than this time last season when warnock had us relying on Ward, then two kids in Harratt and huddlin as the only alternatives for the first half of the season. Put much more succinctly than my ramble |
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Post by Mastercracker on Sept 4, 2024 16:01:37 GMT 1
I just meant summer really, the priority was obviously different in January and Kevin provided the necessary funds, unfortunately they weren't spent well and didn't have the desired affect. The priority in the summer was to build a squad capable of automatic promotion, by all accounts we received £5M for Rudoni. I guess what I'm saying is perhaps we could have done more, particularly with strikers. Maybe they assessed the squad and got it wrong.... again. Something definitely went wrong I totally agree. I think KN had the funds there and ready to spend, I think Mr Cartwright has (again) cocked up. I don't mean by being gazumped and then Luton pulling out, that's obviously not his fault, I mean by not having a 2nd option after Taylor. Obviously Taylor was the 2nd option after May, but once May had been snatched from under our nose, there should have been a back-up to the back-up being sounded out. Maybe there was, but Luton pulling out so late screwed that up too, we'll probably never know the ins and outs of our hunt for a decent striker. We all just know we're threadbare up front unless Healey and Bojan can sort out their fitness. If (and it IS a very big if) either (or both) of those two can stay relatively fit I believe Marshall and one of those two can shoot us to promotion. I posted at the end of the season that if Wardnock and Hoggy are still regulars then something has gone seriously wrong ... and here we are! My complaint would be the message all summer has been talking about auto's and straight back up. We clearly needed to add goals, fans and club in agreement there. Fair enough Birmingham gazzump us on May's wages at the death, nobody is really at fault there. I could have £3b in the bank and I'd still think it wrong to pay him what Birmingham are allegedly paying him and nobody blames May at all for taking them up on it. We then move on to Taylor, and it drags on and on and on and on for weeks. It gets to the death and we have all this domino effect talk and it filtering down etc which is correct...but why not test Luton's resolve weeks ago with a serious bid for a permanent transfer. They paid £500k for him, they are offloading players to balance their budget, had we given them £2/2.5m 6 weeks ago for him would he be here now? I'd wager he might. We pissed around trying to do the best deal and cut it too fine. Would we have paid over the odds? Yeah probably for someone who's done nothing above L1 but sometimes needs must. Easy said, it's not my money. But if I did own a football club, especially one I'd bought into in my late 60s with seemingly money to burn I'd like to think I'd realise that you can't get value ALL the time. As a club we don't seem to be able to see this, no matter who's running the show. Taylor was not a young kid on loan from a top 6 club where they'd have probably said no to any money. He was at Luton, and like any footballer at 95% of clubs, would have had his price. Especially weeks ago, when Luton still had weeks to replace. |
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Post by royrace on Sept 4, 2024 16:42:31 GMT 1
I just meant summer really, the priority was obviously different in January and Kevin provided the necessary funds, unfortunately they weren't spent well and didn't have the desired affect. The priority in the summer was to build a squad capable of automatic promotion, by all accounts we received £5M for Rudoni. I guess what I'm saying is perhaps we could have done more, particularly with strikers. Maybe they assessed the squad and got it wrong.... again. No, think they assessed the squad and wanted another striker , and we had 2 practically in the door before, for reasons out of our clubs control, they both fell through at the last minute. A fair criticism would be that they didnt have a plan C ready and waiting after plans A and B failed,,,but maybe they looked at Healey and Bojan and decided someone better wasnt available?? Think signing good strikers is difficult unless youre paying well over the odds. Clubs just dont want to let them leave otherwise. The current issues up front are because Healey and Bojan are both out, but when theyre back, alongside the promising looking Marshall and Ward , whos probably 4th choice now, then its not the disastrous options some are making it out to be IMO. It's certainly a lot stronger I think than this time last season when warnock had us relying on Ward, then two kids in Harratt and huddlin as the only alternatives for the first half of the season. Problem is neither Healey or Radulovic can be relied upon, you can basically count them out. What I can't fathom is why there was such a huge gap between plan A and B. Also was anyone surprised when Luton weren't able to sign Canon? There were way more attractive options for him and he chose Stoke, who would blame him. Taylor is perfect for Lutons bench and that's where he was always likely to end up. Fixating on one player without a plan B in such an important position is stupid. We just needed an effective L1 experienced striker... And still do. |
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Post by royrace on Sept 4, 2024 16:50:16 GMT 1
Something definitely went wrong I totally agree. I think KN had the funds there and ready to spend, I think Mr Cartwright has (again) cocked up. I don't mean by being gazumped and then Luton pulling out, that's obviously not his fault, I mean by not having a 2nd option after Taylor. Obviously Taylor was the 2nd option after May, but once May had been snatched from under our nose, there should have been a back-up to the back-up being sounded out. Maybe there was, but Luton pulling out so late screwed that up too, we'll probably never know the ins and outs of our hunt for a decent striker. We all just know we're threadbare up front unless Healey and Bojan can sort out their fitness. If (and it IS a very big if) either (or both) of those two can stay relatively fit I believe Marshall and one of those two can shoot us to promotion. I posted at the end of the season that if Wardnock and Hoggy are still regulars then something has gone seriously wrong ... and here we are! My complaint would be the message all summer has been talking about auto's and straight back up. We clearly needed to add goals, fans and club in agreement there. Fair enough Birmingham gazzump us on May's wages at the death, nobody is really at fault there. I could have £3b in the bank and I'd still think it wrong to pay him what Birmingham are allegedly paying him and nobody blames May at all for taking them up on it. We then move on to Taylor, and it drags on and on and on and on for weeks. It gets to the death and we have all this domino effect talk and it filtering down etc which is correct...but why not test Luton's resolve weeks ago with a serious bid for a permanent transfer. They paid £500k for him, they are offloading players to balance their budget, had we given them £2/2.5m 6 weeks ago for him would he be here now? I'd wager he might. We pissed around trying to do the best deal and cut it too fine. Would we have paid over the odds? Yeah probably for someone who's done nothing above L1 but sometimes needs must. Easy said, it's not my money. But if I did own a football club, especially one I'd bought into in my late 60s with seemingly money to burn I'd like to think I'd realise that you can't get value ALL the time. As a club we don't seem to be able to see this, no matter who's running the show. Taylor was not a young kid on loan from a top 6 club where they'd have probably said no to any money. He was at Luton, and like any footballer at 95% of clubs, would have had his price. Especially weeks ago, when Luton still had weeks to replace. Exactly. They needed to make the deal happen and didn't, that's why they got the rug pulled, they were sat there waiting to be let down rather than taking control and either paying good money for him or looking elsewhere. Sometimes you over pay for a player because it's exactly what you need and it's worth more than the 'book' value of a player. Same in any deal. I remember us over paying for Wayne Allison. Jacko and Taff knew he was just what we needed so we over paid and in the end it looked like a bargain bearing in mind he kept us in the division. |
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Post by Captainslapper on Sept 4, 2024 16:58:32 GMT 1
Its possible Luton also had other irons in the fire than the Tom Cannon one, and they just didnt happen either.
very frustrating but guess it happens.
We might have had other options for all I know..or id imagine anyone else knows. Or we might not have done.
But clearly they wanted to sign a 5th striker..we know that..so it would be weird to think they werent looking or wouldn't have done if someone better was available and in budget.
I dont agree with counting Healey and radulovic out.
Bojans had a bit of a miserable time here since he signed in terms of injuries but prior to that wasnt particularly injury prone.
Neither was healey..think he had a bad injury a couple of years back but other than that hes generally been fit.
Bojans supposed to be back in 2 or 3 weeks isnt he? Dont know about healey..he was almost back for rotherham but had a set back.
In the meantime Ward and Marshall arent the strongest forward option in the division, but dont think theyre as bad as some are making out either.
Marshalls impressed me...young.. a little lightweight maybe, but he doesnt hide from the physical challenge and his general play( touch, vision, passing etc) is better than League 1 IMO.
Ward ..well he isnt anything special even at this lower level, but doesnt mean he wont do a job and chip in with the odd goal.
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goodbet
Jimmy Glazzard Terrier
Posts: 4,602
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Post by goodbet on Sept 4, 2024 17:19:17 GMT 1
I just meant summer really, the priority was obviously different in January and Kevin provided the necessary funds, unfortunately they weren't spent well and didn't have the desired affect. The priority in the summer was to build a squad capable of automatic promotion, by all accounts we received £5M for Rudoni. I guess what I'm saying is perhaps we could have done more, particularly with strikers. Maybe they assessed the squad and got it wrong.... again. No, think they assessed the squad and wanted another striker , and we had 2 practically in the door before, for reasons out of our clubs control, they both fell through at the last minute. A fair criticism would be that they didnt have a plan C ready and waiting after plans A and B failed,,,but maybe they looked at Healey and Bojan and decided someone better wasnt available?? Think signing good strikers is difficult unless youre paying well over the odds. Clubs just dont want to let them leave otherwise. The current issues up front are because Healey and Bojan are both out, but when theyre back, alongside the promising looking Marshall and Ward , whos probably 4th choice now, then its not the disastrous options some are making it out to be IMO. It's certainly a lot stronger I think than this time last season when warnock had us relying on Ward, then two kids in Harratt and huddlin as the only alternatives for the first half of the season. May went early in the window and Luton kept us waiting right until the last minute. There was plenty of time to look for a new backup plan after May was ruled out. Quite a lot of us could see what was in the offing but the club seemed to be nonplused. Healey and Bojan arrived in the January window and have yet to play enough to know if they will make the grade or not. |
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wigster
Andy Booth Terrier
[M0:0]
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Post by wigster on Sept 4, 2024 17:31:17 GMT 1
Its possible Luton also had other irons in the fire than the Tom Cannon one, and they just didnt happen either. very frustrating but guess it happens. We might have had other options for all I know..or id imagine anyone else knows. Or we might not have done. But clearly they wanted to sign a 5th striker..we know that..so it would be weird to think they werent looking or wouldn't have done if someone better was available and in budget. I dont agree with counting Healey and radulovic out. Bojans had a bit of a miserable time here since he signed in terms of injuries but prior to that wasnt particularly injury prone. Neither was healey..think he had a bad injury a couple of years back but other than that hes generally been fit. Bojans supposed to be back in 2 or 3 weeks isnt he? Dont know about healey..he was almost back for rotherham but had a set back. In the meantime Ward and Marshall arent the strongest forward option in the division, but dont think theyre as bad as some are making out either. Marshalls impressed me...young.. a little lightweight maybe, but he doesnt hide from the physical challenge and his general play( touch, vision, passing etc) is better than League 1 IMO. Ward ..well he isnt anything special even at this lower level, but doesnt mean he wont do a job and chip in with the odd goal. But Captain, Kevin Nagle actually said himself that the club had researched the whole thing extensively and concluded that Taylor was the ONLY target that fitted our brief, after the May fiasco. As for Ward (goodness me...) if the best that you can say is that he might "chip in with the odd goal" then fair enough, but then let's not talk about going for promotion this season. |
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Post by Captainslapper on Sept 4, 2024 17:31:32 GMT 1
Think Healeys done enough in his career to suggest he should be a success in league 1 when hes fit.
Bojans more of a mystery coming from the league he did.
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Post by Captainslapper on Sept 4, 2024 17:43:07 GMT 1
Its possible Luton also had other irons in the fire than the Tom Cannon one, and they just didnt happen either. very frustrating but guess it happens. We might have had other options for all I know..or id imagine anyone else knows. Or we might not have done. But clearly they wanted to sign a 5th striker..we know that..so it would be weird to think they werent looking or wouldn't have done if someone better was available and in budget. I dont agree with counting Healey and radulovic out. Bojans had a bit of a miserable time here since he signed in terms of injuries but prior to that wasnt particularly injury prone. Neither was healey..think he had a bad injury a couple of years back but other than that hes generally been fit. Bojans supposed to be back in 2 or 3 weeks isnt he? Dont know about healey..he was almost back for rotherham but had a set back. In the meantime Ward and Marshall arent the strongest forward option in the division, but dont think theyre as bad as some are making out either. Marshalls impressed me...young.. a little lightweight maybe, but he doesnt hide from the physical challenge and his general play( touch, vision, passing etc) is better than League 1 IMO. Ward ..well he isnt anything special even at this lower level, but doesnt mean he wont do a job and chip in with the odd goal. But Captain, Kevin Nagle actually said himself that the club had researched the whole thing extensively and concluded that Taylor was the ONLY target that fitted our brief, after the May fiasco. As for Ward (goodness me...) if the best that you can say is that he might "chip in with the odd goal" then fair enough, but then let's not talk about going for promotion this season. Ward will be our 4th choice striker when everyone's fit id have thought. How good is the 4th choice striker at Bolton, or Barnsley or Wrexham etc?? Would you rule them out as 'going for promotion' based on that? As for Nagles comments,,,I dont know what our budget was or what the specific brief was, but this is why I wish Nagle would give all the social media stuff a bit of break. Everything he says will be taken down and used against him in a court of expectation, if things dont pan out exactly how fans want it to. Which wouldn't be a problem but I think he tends to say a lot of off the cuff stuff that he might not have thought through properly. I dont think they want to sign someone who they dont think is better than what we have...Taylor must be in their view, but with the budget we have maybe they struggled to find others who fit that bill? |
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Post by rothwellterrier on Sept 4, 2024 17:47:19 GMT 1
At the moment it looks like we're in L1 to stay. Seems perhaps the summer business hasn't been as good as we'd hoped, they haven't brought in a proven striker, we're still getting injuries galore and the transfer net spend is about minus £4 million pounds at a guess. I'm amazed people aren't more pissed off tbh. It's not really the genuine shot at automatic promotion that we were led to expect, far from it in fact. Plus the biggest squad omission being the obvious one that everyone has known about since well before they tried to solve it in January by buying one injury prone striker and one from a Mickey mouse league. At least they've got the excuses lined up. It's all someone else's fault... Again. I see some are still toeing the line and blaming NW I'm glad you said at a guess. The circa £3m January spend not count towards the cost of the squad then? Not a dig, but I keep seeing this figure bandied about (not just by you mate) as if what we spent in January doesn't count, even if it appears to be wasted cash. People also don’t seem to mention the 8 million or so less in TV revenue we will now get compared to the championship. |
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Post by bluebeard on Sept 4, 2024 18:05:15 GMT 1
We have to give Mr Duff time but how long will fans stay patient, it could be 3/4 years before we are back in the Championship.
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those white flags.
