| Sky Sports News 10:56 - Jul 31 with 7364 views | Dale92 |
Just done a piece on their league 1 preview, they have us 3rd bottom with Wimbledon and the obvious 2 to go down. Said our signings are worrying, they had Accy safe :/ |  |
| This is the One, I've waited for |
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| Sky Sports News on 11:00 - Jul 31 with 5494 views | fitzochris |
Our signings aren't worrying, it's the lack of signings that is the worry. |  |
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| Sky Sports News on 11:14 - Jul 31 with 5435 views | scarrow |
I'm the most pessimistic I've been for a few years. The lack of defensive signings is v worrying. The players signed I'm quite happy with but we still look shambolic defensively. I fear ssn might well be correct. |  |
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| Sky Sports News on 11:25 - Jul 31 with 5403 views | Ancoats_Blue |
My expectations are definitely lower than the start of the last 2 seasons. But then again I thought Hill would learn lessons and we'd be far more comfortable than we were.
This may be naive but I fully expect Bury and Bolton to go down if they complete the season. That leaves 2 places and I think there could be another mad scramble for the 50 point mark with 7/8 teams vying to fill those spots. I think we'll be in that dogfight but I'm a bit better prepared for it now. I'll take 5th bottom as a finishing place, anything better is a bonus. |  | | |
| Sky Sports News on 11:45 - Jul 31 with 5346 views | D_Alien |
Even with a 12pt deficit to clear, i don't see Bolton finishing in a relegation place. Last season, Blackpool finished 10th with 62pts and I'd expect Bolton to at least match that total (i.e. 50pts+ in credit)
I've no expectations about Dale, other than bottom half. Much will depend on not arsing about at the back, and how long the fan's patience will last if we do and BBM doesn't change it. If not, John Smallwood's wish for more noise at COA could come true
[Post edited 31 Jul 2019 11:49]
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| Sky Sports News on 12:12 - Jul 31 with 5230 views | diver |
Is this the same lot who tipped Bradford City for promotion last season? |  | | |
| Sky Sports News on 12:35 - Jul 31 with 5107 views | soulboy |
Why all this pre season pessimism? Surely looking at the players that have left the club and the ones BBM has brought in our squad is now stronger. |  | | |
| Sky Sports News on 12:36 - Jul 31 with 5099 views | funkkk |
Hard to argue we wont be in a dog fight. The least enthused I've felt going in to a season in years. |  | | |
| Sky Sports News on 12:47 - Jul 31 with 5041 views | fitzochris |
| Sky Sports News on 12:35 - Jul 31 by soulboy |
Why all this pre season pessimism? Surely looking at the players that have left the club and the ones BBM has brought in our squad is now stronger. |
We're woefully short on depth. BBM's faith in the youth graduates is admirable (and may even pay off) but they got a chastening off Hyde last night and the general consensus is that they're not ready.
I’m behind the team 100% but I do fear we are a couple of injuries or suspensions away from trouble. | |
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| Sky Sports News on 12:51 - Jul 31 with 5014 views | Yorkshire_Dale |
When SSN see Oxford Utd have signed Ben Woodburn from Liverpool on a season long loan you can see why we are placed lower down the league. | | | |
| Sky Sports News on 12:55 - Jul 31 with 4999 views | Scunnydale |
| Sky Sports News on 12:51 - Jul 31 by Yorkshire_Dale |
When SSN see Oxford Utd have signed Ben Woodburn from Liverpool on a season long loan you can see why we are placed lower down the league. |
Yeah, that's a signing that really caught my eye. |  | | |
| Sky Sports News on 13:01 - Jul 31 with 4958 views | VivaDonaldo |
| Sky Sports News on 12:47 - Jul 31 by fitzochris |
We're woefully short on depth. BBM's faith in the youth graduates is admirable (and may even pay off) but they got a chastening off Hyde last night and the general consensus is that they're not ready.
I’m behind the team 100% but I do fear we are a couple of injuries or suspensions away from trouble. |
Whilst I get what you're saying here, a team full of youth players doesn't equate to how they would do surrounded by members of the first team. | | | |
| Sky Sports News on 13:06 - Jul 31 with 4931 views | fitzochris |
| Sky Sports News on 13:01 - Jul 31 by VivaDonaldo |
Whilst I get what you're saying here, a team full of youth players doesn't equate to how they would do surrounded by members of the first team. |
No, it doesn't, but it does demonstrate how they would fair collectively (albeit in a one-off game) against sub-standard opposition when compared to what they would face at League One level.
As I say, a reliance on youth may pay off. I'm not committing an Alan Hansen here. | |
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| Sky Sports News on 13:18 - Jul 31 with 4879 views | D_Alien |
| Sky Sports News on 12:35 - Jul 31 by soulboy |
Why all this pre season pessimism? Surely looking at the players that have left the club and the ones BBM has brought in our squad is now stronger. |
Is it pessimism, or simply realism?
I don't say we'll be relegated, and i see our continued presence in L1 as an indicator of success. It's going to be a fine balance that BBM got right at the back end of last season. I'm not in the "trust in X manager" brigade - i just turn up and see what happens. There's bound to be many twists and turns (hopefully leading to goals!) but a confident start would do us no end of good. Shipping goals by trying to play Champions League football around our own penalty area will have the opposite effect
[Post edited 31 Jul 2019 13:19]
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| Sky Sports News on 13:24 - Jul 31 with 4847 views | ChaffRAFC |
Been thinking this week about where we are at this minute in time and have come to the conclusion that we will have a very tough season.
Incomings:
Robert Sanchez - we've no idea what he will be like but seems to like rushing out. It's almost like he was playing as a keeper on FIFA pro clubs where they come out all the time coz they're bored.
Eoghan O'Connell - High hopes for this guy, good player, hopefully works out well but will depend on who he is next to.
Rhys Norrington-Davies - I like the look of this guy, good crosser of the ball and seems comfortable.
Jimmy Ryan - Massively important signing and we have to hope he is over his injury worries because we can't rely on MJ playing that defensive midfield role.
Rekeil Pyke - Looks more involved than last year and has impressed me a bit so far since returning.
OUTGOINGS INCLUDING LOANS:
Jordan Williams - Wasn't good enough
Brad Inman - Talented, scored goals but not hard working enough. Luxury player and rightly released.
Joe Bunney - Not good enough
Ethan Ebanks-Landell - Massive reason why we stayed up. McNulty only played ok next to him as well. We will miss him massively.
Rory Holden - Wasn't up to it unfortunately.
Ethan Hamilton - Another massive reason we stayed up with his work rate and knack or scoring goals. Too good for us unfortunately, hard to replace.
Andy Lonergan - Absolutely brilliant while on loan, kept us in a lot of games and vital to us picking up points under BBM.
Kgosi Ntlhe - Think we will miss him, and he's not been replaced yet either. Played really well in the second half of the season.
So in conclusion, I think the squad is weaker than the end of last season at the minute, and it has less depth. And we still have players who aren't going to contribute enough like Andrew, Dooley, Wilbraham and Delaney in the squad of senior players.
The key issues to improve on last year are:
We need to improve 100% in defence. We conceded an embarrasing amount of goals last season relying on the likes of Jim and Delaney. They have to be better and we need to better protect them in midfield. Hopefully O'Connell and Ryan will go some way to aiding this.
Goals from more attacking players other than Henderson. Rathbone chipped in with a few goals but only 10 goals between Andrew, Wilbraham, Pyke, Done and Gillam isn't enough. Hopefully with Done and Camps playing further forward they can support Henderson and I'm hoping Pyke can also contribute. Worth noting that Hamilton, Ebanks, Williams, Inman and Ntlhe contributed 15 league goals last season that we don't have this season. If Henderson has a season where he only scores 15 goals, we will struggle massively and that's too much to ask of him on his own.
The goalkeeping situation last season was borderline insane. Lillis, Moore, Norman (worst ever Dale keeper for me, worse than Dickens) on a rotation was horrific to watch.
This all has to be improved on for us to have a chance of staying up.
I think Sky Sports may well have our position right but a couple of big additions on loan could make me a little more optimistic I suppose. |  |
| If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor |
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| Sky Sports News on 14:05 - Jul 31 with 4652 views | Nigeriamark |
D3/D4 podcast have us as 19th with Bury, Bolton, Wycombe, Southend ( money problems), AFC Wimbledon below us. They have Accy at 18th
All have lack of signings and have let a number of good players go
They reckon an injury to Henderson is all it will take for us to be in real trouble.
I would imagine this podcast have more in depth knowledge than SSN so I hope they are correct [Post edited 31 Jul 2019 14:08]
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| Sky Sports News on 14:15 - Jul 31 with 4607 views | ChaffRAFC |
| Sky Sports News on 14:05 - Jul 31 by Nigeriamark |
D3/D4 podcast have us as 19th with Bury, Bolton, Wycombe, Southend ( money problems), AFC Wimbledon below us. They have Accy at 18th
All have lack of signings and have let a number of good players go
They reckon an injury to Henderson is all it will take for us to be in real trouble.
I would imagine this podcast have more in depth knowledge than SSN so I hope they are correct [Post edited 31 Jul 2019 14:08]
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Not The Top 20 podcast also have us to finish 22nd though and i'd see them as more knowledgeable than SSN as well.
I think what MAY save us is that I see the league as a weaker league this season. The likes of AFC Wimbledon, Wycombe, Accrington, Southend, Gillingham have lost decent players this season and the likes of Tranmere as well so could be very tight down the bottom half like last year. | |
| If I hadn't seen such riches, I could live with being poor |
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| Sky Sports News on 14:18 - Jul 31 with 4590 views | Shun |
I’m usually very optimistic but even I’m fairly worried. I don’t think we’ll go down, but I think we’ll be worried about it all season. The way BBM rallied the troops to great effect last season gives me a bit of hope - it shows that the players want to play for him and/or he’s good at motivating a tight group of players in difficult circumstances. Remember, when he took over our first XI was pretty fixed for the rest of the season, so having a smaller squad might not be as harmful as we think.
I’m really pleased with the signings we’ve made but, like fitzo said, there just haven’t been enough of them. I’m quite excited about a midfield of Ryan at the base, with Camps and Rathbone ahead of him - it’s clear to see how much Camps’ form has suffered from not having a defensive midfielder for the past few years.
And like DA, I can see Bolton surviving. But all the teams who struggled last year I can see struggling again, minus Gillingham due to their new manager. [Post edited 31 Jul 2019 14:27]
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| Sky Sports News on 14:26 - Jul 31 with 4561 views | Scunnydale |
| Sky Sports News on 14:18 - Jul 31 by Shun |
I’m usually very optimistic but even I’m fairly worried. I don’t think we’ll go down, but I think we’ll be worried about it all season. The way BBM rallied the troops to great effect last season gives me a bit of hope - it shows that the players want to play for him and/or he’s good at motivating a tight group of players in difficult circumstances. Remember, when he took over our first XI was pretty fixed for the rest of the season, so having a smaller squad might not be as harmful as we think.
I’m really pleased with the signings we’ve made but, like fitzo said, there just haven’t been enough of them. I’m quite excited about a midfield of Ryan at the base, with Camps and Rathbone ahead of him - it’s clear to see how much Camps’ form has suffered from not having a defensive midfielder for the past few years.
And like DA, I can see Bolton surviving. But all the teams who struggled last year I can see struggling again, minus Gillingham due to their new manager. [Post edited 31 Jul 2019 14:27]
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Exactly this.
A couple of decent (not necessarily spectacular) loan or permanent signings in the right areas would help ease my concerns.
As others have said, I also fear an injury to Hendo. | | | |
| Sky Sports News on 14:28 - Jul 31 with 4551 views | Yorkshire_Dale |
This season with this small squad there will be no place for passengers........someone mentioned that Matty Gillam did n't look interested playing with the kids last night. That can't happen, the Senior pros must help the kids and I'm sure this is the case.
We are not relying on the kids but we WILL need them as back-up.
Oh, and no silly red cards (we did very well on this last season) | | | |
| Sky Sports News on 15:20 - Jul 31 with 4408 views | Ancoats_Blue |
| Sky Sports News on 11:45 - Jul 31 by D_Alien |
Even with a 12pt deficit to clear, i don't see Bolton finishing in a relegation place. Last season, Blackpool finished 10th with 62pts and I'd expect Bolton to at least match that total (i.e. 50pts+ in credit)
I've no expectations about Dale, other than bottom half. Much will depend on not arsing about at the back, and how long the fan's patience will last if we do and BBM doesn't change it. If not, John Smallwood's wish for more noise at COA could come true
[Post edited 31 Jul 2019 11:49]
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If Bolton achieve last seasons average points and GD that's 50 points and +22GD. That would have been enough to stay up on GD last season, who knows this year.
Bolton's remaining senior players have begun proceedings to be released from their contracts. Assuming the senior players all leave they're left with youth team players and free agents until January so I personally think they'll struggle! [Post edited 31 Jul 2019 15:22]
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| (No subject) (n/t) on 15:29 - Jul 31 with 4377 views | scarrow |
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| Sky Sports News on 15:47 - Jul 31 with 4311 views | isitme |
A line up of:
Sanchez
McLaughlin
O'Connell
NcNulty
Norrington-Davies
Ryan
Rathbone
Camps
Pyke
Henderson
Done
Lillis
Keohane
Williams
Morley
Dooley
Andrew
Wilbraham
Is steady but there is no depth behind them and we need another first choice centre back and probably a pacy forward. |  | | |
| Sky Sports News on 15:56 - Jul 31 with 4259 views | DaleiLama |
Normally a glass half full sort, but I also start this season with a feeling of trepidation.
We survived last season on the back of some attritional (largely defensive) play post-Hilly, also benefitting from the rub of the green a few times and a midfield which chipped in a few extra goals. We have what looks like a weaker defence, a midfield from which a lot is expected and not a lot of proven extra firepower up front to speak of as yet.
Big test of the squad and the manager to get the sum of the parts to be greater than the whole. My guess is we'll be on the blower for loans as soon as the next window opens and we are in the thick of the danger zone. Hope I'm wrong! [Post edited 31 Jul 2019 15:56]
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| (No subject) (n/t) on 16:07 - Jul 31 with 4194 views | DaleFan7 |
| Sky Sports News on 15:47 - Jul 31 by isitme |
A line up of:
Sanchez
McLaughlin
O'Connell
NcNulty
Norrington-Davies
Ryan
Rathbone
Camps
Pyke
Henderson
Done
Lillis
Keohane
Williams
Morley
Dooley
Andrew
Wilbraham
Is steady but there is no depth behind them and we need another first choice centre back and probably a pacy forward. |
I don't think the squad is any better or worse than it was last season, just smaller, which it needed to be. There were some useless players in the squad last season (Williams & Inman)
I think the season hinges on 2 players;
O'Connell being good enough to mask others deficiencies (a la Dawson, though I don't expect it to be at that level.
Henderson not getting injured - We all know if he gets a long term injury we're down. There isn't another player in the squad capable of scoring consistently, regardless of what positions they are in.
I think there's 2 spots to avoid. I'm of the opinion Bury and Bolton will go down. Their squads are decimated and the season starts in 3 days, Bolton haven't been playing friendlies so will struggle from that too. They may build average squads but I think it'll be too late for them both to do so. [Post edited 31 Jul 2019 16:12]
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| Sky Sports News on 16:59 - Jul 31 with 4009 views | rochdale_ranger |
A lot will be based on us carrying the momentum from the back end of last season and players like wilbraham performing as well as they did and not getting injured. I think we are capable of staying in this league. We are always favourites to go down. If efl decide to get rid of Bury who will replace them? |  | | |
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