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Reply | National League Cup Groups
at 14:46 2 Oct 2024
..and the frightening thing is, money talks, wave enough money under the noses of the bean counters and they would sell their granny. The fans (paying customers) won't get a say in the matter. |
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Reply | National League Cup Groups
at 10:15 2 Oct 2024
That was a crowd in the 400s, the same sort of crowd that Oldham had at their fixture last night. I'd be surprised if we beat that attendance. It was £1 at Oldham to enter the ground for season ticket holders last night. [Post edited 2 Oct 10:17]
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Reply | National League Cup Groups
at 09:38 2 Oct 2024
The money that the clubs receive for competing in the competition isn't a lot, i did see the figure quoted but can't remember the amount, maybe something like 80k. That's a benefit i suppose but also has to be weighed against staging the games and opening up the stadiums, paying matchday staff etc. Having some sort of competitive games might be a benefit in respect of giving squad and youth team players a game but i suppose that could be achieved by organising behind closed door games against neighbouring clubs which we seem to do anyway. If it was cost effective and the positives outweighed the negatives, then why have quite a few clubs decided not to compete in the competition? McNulty didn't seem in favour of it when he spoke at the last fans forum. Anyway, it's a game of football and some fans will watch it in preference to staying at home and watching television. [Post edited 2 Oct 9:41]
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Reply | National League Cup Groups
at 07:01 2 Oct 2024
There will have been an acceptance by the clubs hosting the games that very few fans will attend. If given the choice i reckon most clubs would opt to play the games behind closed doors and not bother opening the stadiums and save on the costs and hassle associated with staging the games. |
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Reply | National League Cup Groups
at 06:42 2 Oct 2024
It's a pointless competition. The non league clubs are being used by the big clubs near the top of the pyramid to provide game time to their young/ fringe squad players. They have paid National league clubs money ( not a lot) to legitimise a concocted competition in an attempt to make the games competitive. Many clubs have seen it for what it is and opted out. The big clubs pulled the rug on FA Cup replays and now want to start imposing themselves on National League Clubs to benefit themselves. It needs boycotting, well looking at last night's attendances that's already happening. Most fans won't want to legitimise the competition by attending. [Post edited 2 Oct 6:43]
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Reply | National League Cup Groups
at 22:05 1 Oct 2024
Exactly, it's all very bizarre. Finding tonight's fixtures and results isn't easy, they aren't listed on the Sky App, not sure about the BBC
Halifax attendance..292. [Post edited 1 Oct 22:17]
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Reply | National League Cup Groups
at 21:46 1 Oct 2024
The National League Clubs have received a payment each to compete in these games i think, probably enough to cover hosting the games. It's designed as a sweetener from the big clubs to compensate the small clubs after the decision to end FA Cup replays. It also gives the big clubs a opportunity to give their fringe and younger players a taste of men's football. They also expect the fans to turn up and pay to watch B team/ reserve players in a meaningless contest. It's a bit like when the big fat butcher throws out some bones for the stray dogs to fight over, we should all be grateful. [Post edited 1 Oct 21:50]
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Reply | National League Cup Groups
at 21:32 1 Oct 2024
It seems as though red cards in this competition don't count in respect of league games and i think the National League teams have to field a minimum of four first team players for a minimum of fifteen minutes...something like that anyway. It's all very bizarre. There's been some Micky Mouse competitions down the years but this one wins the gold medal. [Post edited 1 Oct 21:36]
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Reply | National League Cup Groups
at 21:06 1 Oct 2024
Oldham won 2-1..a first team player sent off and another one went off injured. Attendance of 455, £1 entrance for season ticket holders. Described as a terrible night by one Oldham fan. |
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Reply | TODAY V BRAINTREE TOWN
at 14:11 1 Oct 2024
Bloody hell, are you Jim's dad? We are more than capable of finishing in the top seven this season, then it's the lottery of the play offs, at that point we have as much chance as the other teams. The best team will have already have been promoted. We are capable of winning games home or away, we have players who are L2 standard and we can win promotion this season, I'm sure the players will believe that. [Post edited 1 Oct 14:50]
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Reply | TODAY V BRAINTREE TOWN
at 14:02 1 Oct 2024
Agree with that but it's not a tactic that hasn't been around for decades. It's one that most home teams encounter. They normally get around it by passing the ball quickly, getting it out wide and switching play, midfielders making runs into the box. The last couple of games has seen our defenders cautiously passing it between each other up to the halfway line, the pass to the wide player is declined in preference to giving the ball to the central defender who then rolls the ball around the floor backwards and forwards whilst perusing the options ahead of him. Everybody in the ground then waits in frustrated anticipation until he eventually decides to kick the ball up to nobody in particular or a player who has two defenders marking him, or straight through to the goalkeeper. Those are the tactics that are employed, they must be because we see them too often to be accidental. If they're intended to draw the away team out then they don't work, as we've seen over the last eighteen months. They are counter productive and assist the away team, it's easy to play against for a half decent team. We have a lot of talented forward and midfield players, give them the ball quickly and let them express themselves, instead of relying on the likes of EEL/Sassi/Ferguson to instigate attacks, it's ridiculous really. [Post edited 1 Oct 14:07]
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Reply | TODAY V BRAINTREE TOWN
at 13:48 1 Oct 2024
Yes, we started our home games playing much more progressively but the last two home games seem to have regressed to what we saw last season. I'll be happy if it's just a figment of my imagination but i don't think it is because others are of the same opinion, we'll see. |
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Reply | TODAY V BRAINTREE TOWN
at 12:11 1 Oct 2024
Not sure, the Woking game is the only example we have at home up to now and we didn't see it replicated many times last season, we saw the opposite if we're being truthful. So if that's the plan, it's not working James. The managers interview after the Solihull game spoke of X stats and controlling the game..we had our first shot on target in the 87th minute and our performance was a replica of so many that we've seen since the start of last season. Faffing about with the ball, gifting our opponents daft goals with schoolboy defending etc. The manager glossed over all that though, this was followed up with another poor performance in the next home game. We know what everybody prefers James but its becoming obvious that for some reason they aren't capable of producing a level of performance at home that we should expect from a squad full of good players. I accept we can throw in the odd poor performance but it's been poor at home for too long now and our performances this season are starting to regress, rather than progress. The last two home performances have been very poor, irrespective of what Jim's stats tell him or what he prefers. You don't need coaching badges to know what poor looks like, the fans aren't daft. Different circumstances now to last season, the manager has a good squad of players at his disposal. It's only right that we should all expect to see better home performances. [Post edited 1 Oct 12:28]
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Reply | TODAY V BRAINTREE TOWN
at 11:04 1 Oct 2024
The importance of how we perform at home this season can't be under played, its vital.Taking the game to the opposition and looking to score goals from the first minute to the last should be the blueprint of every home fixture, run our opponents ragged. Draws aren't good enough, our currency needs to be wins. We don't have enough time to see how games pan out and engage in pointless tactical battles, waving X and possession stats around in order to justify how we should have won the game, nobodys interested Jim.
The away games will look after themselves, we'll win enough of them over the season. If McNulty can instill a 'no fear' style into how we play at home then i think we have a real chance of doing the unthinkable this season and turning the three year plan into one. If nothing changes then i think a great opportunity will be missed and come next May we will once again be pointing the finger at our home form and not converting draws into wins. I have so much confidence in the current squad and i don't think we've seen the best of them yet, they have to be given the freedom to perform though especially at home.
This league is wide open, let's not die wondering in home games by strolling around trying to produce tactical masterclasses instead of taking the game to our opponents and forcing them to defend for their life. Bravery, urgency, tempo, no fear...all words that need to be permanently pinned up on the dressing room walls and incorporated into the team talk at the start of every home fixture. I'm not sure if Jim's personality will stretch that far though, he'd feel the need to insert the word 'caution' before everything else. [Post edited 1 Oct 11:25]
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Reply | TODAY V BRAINTREE TOWN
at 07:45 1 Oct 2024
They have actually James but i refuse to believe the style of play we employ at home brings much enjoyment to anybody. There is a bigger picture than what the manager and players enjoy, there's also the paying public to take into consideration and the need to attract floating fans and wanting them to come back for more, even bring their friends. Home performances have hurt the club, the constant feeling and frustration when leaving the ground that these players are capable of much more than we've just witnessed. It can't just be me who seems to nearly always leave the stadium feeling that way? Maybe it is just me and the players aren't as good as i actually think they are, i need to lower my expectations and accept what's served up. A talented squad of players but still not capable of dominating and exciting home performances. [Post edited 1 Oct 9:22]
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Reply | TODAY V BRAINTREE TOWN
at 05:52 1 Oct 2024
Agree with this post. We all know what the players are capable of but when playing at home is the manager getting the best out of them? Are the tactics employed by the manager holding the players back and over complicating their natural game? It's a definite yes from me. I always have the feeling that we are playing with the handbrake on and i don't subscribe to the theory that the away teams are dictating to us the way we have to set up and play the game. The last two games at home are worrying because when you analyse the chances we created and the times we worked the opposition goalkeepers we hardly registered.
We've all watched football long enough to know that we should have lost both those games and if McNulty is honest with himself he will admit that. The hope was that with more expansive players available and better quality we would see a more progressive and exciting style of football at home but it hasn't taken long to revert to what was served up last season. McNulty doesnt want a open expansive game, he wants a tight, tactical battle and it often looks like watching a training ground exercise, keeping the ball for keeping its sake, normally in negative areas of the pitch, slowing the game down and killing any momentum both on the pitch and in the stands. It's boring to watch and sterile, safe,uninspiring football and i think it's designed to keep us in the game as long as possible, the mindset and tactics which should apply to the visiting team not the home team. I think he's got the balance right away from home but as you rightly point out, to get out of this league we need to be winning most of our games at home and playing with bravery, that bravery needs to come from the manager and his assistant. The players look like they are bogged down with a style of play that they have to adhere to and it's one that is impacting on their natural game, in particularly both wide men and Rodney. The home displays killed us last season and apart from the two friendlies and Woking when the Ogdens were in attendance the tactics look the same. We all know what we are watching and if McNulty can't change things at home then I think the home form will really hurt us. Scoring so early against Braintree was a invitation to keep them on the back foot and go and get another goal, instead we reverted to type and let them off the hook.
Does McNulty have that ruthless, killer instinct that you need, or is he happy to fall back on the coaching manual and possession stats, that's how it appears. The players will know and you can see the frustration in their body language. We can't stumble through games like we have done in our last two fixtures, good teams don't do that when they're playing at home. It's not the players, the finger needs pointing at the manager when it comes to our home displays but unfortunately I don't think he's capable of changing things, they've been replicated for too long to the point were we are struggling to increase attendances. I think yet again our home form will prove to be our downfall this season and it's not down to the players, we know what performances they are capable of and we know the individual flair we have in the team. If you want entertainment you are better going to the away games.
I hope the manager is open to change and will look at implementing a plan during training over the next couple of weeks, being proactive rather than reactive to the next home loss, do it now after a fortunate win. The warning signs are there with performances at home and now is the ideal time for McNulty to sit down with the players and devise a strategy that suits them and causes maximum pain to our opponents. He's got three weeks to do that now before our next home game. To try doing that further down the line after losing more games is poor management because we'll never get those points back. [Post edited 1 Oct 7:01]
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Reply | TODAY V BRAINTREE TOWN
at 18:48 28 Sep 2024
Yes, a difficult situation for the manager and the team, the midfield has been decimated. By hook or by crook we won the game, the players found a way and the manager used his subs well. Hopefully we'll look back on it as a very important three points come the end of the season. |
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Reply | TODAY V BRAINTREE TOWN
at 18:25 28 Sep 2024
A ugly win, excellent three points though. McNulty wants us to play like that at home, the tempo was the same as the Solihull game, slow and ponderous. It's a world of difference from what we saw against Salford and Carlisle in the pre season games and also against Woking. He'll point to the three points but against the better teams in this league we won't get away with it. Braintree will be wondering how they failed to win that game. |
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Reply | Rochdale sign Hogan
at 22:41 27 Sep 2024
Yes, it's Ferguson in the starting eleven if he's doing ok, i'm happy we have a experienced replacement as another option though if needed. I think this will prove to be a good signing, he's been promoted twice out of this league with Stockport and Salford so he knows what's required. He was voted in the National League team of the year in 2021. Most fans identified the need for a experienced central defender during the Summer recruitment, i would have preferred a younger (experienced) long term option but beggers cant be choosers going into October. Anyway let's hope Ferguson goes from strength to strength and makes the shirt his own, it will be interesting to see how McNulty views things, bearing in mind he states that he bases selection on what he sees on the training ground. [Post edited 28 Sep 10:22]
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Reply | Rochdale sign Hogan
at 20:42 27 Sep 2024
Depends who is the best player, if Hogan is the best option in the club then play him every game. I've not been impressed with any of our central defenders for a long time to be honest. Ferguson has now played three games this season and he's done very well but he hasn't been the managers first or even second choice and he sees him in training every day. He deserves to play tomorrow but if Hogan is a improvement then that's great. If we are to return to the EFL within three years then we will have to be constantly looking to improve all areas of the team, not just the centre of defence. [Post edited 27 Sep 20:43]
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