 | Forum
Reply | Ebbsfleet (H) match thread
at 09:27 9 Feb 2025
No, it's not good. A few games ago when we beat Yeovil i thought that was the blueprint for us to really push on, how wrong i was, yet another false dawn. I thought it signalled the end of defenders strolling around with the ball and slowing the game down. It was back with a vengeance this week though in both games and its sad to see a player like Beckwith constantly looking to turn back and play the safe ball. Hes another player alongside Allarakhia who looks like his natural game is being held back with the tactics deployed. It's the same stuff we saw under BBM and it relegated us, dot to dot football. McNultys attempt in his post match interview to bull Ebbsfleet up as worthy opposition was typical also, they are easily the worst team we've played all season. [Post edited 9 Feb 9:31]
|
| Forum
Reply | Ebbsfleet (H) match thread
at 04:06 9 Feb 2025
Absolute garbage performance yesterday, we all know McNultys limitations and his inability to change things up during a game. The squad he has assembled is designed to play one way and that's it. He won't change, he can't change and project 5000 will never be given a chance because people won't pay hard earned money to be bored to death. He takes the passion, desire and fun out of the game and the players body language tells you that, there was only one team pumped up to win the Derby game on Tuesday and that was Oldham, we looked frightened to death of losing it, tentative in everything we did and overplaying for the sake of it. The goalkeeper must have fired 25 long balls up to Mitchell over the last two games and he's hardly won one of them, even if he had he is normally isolated. What sort of tactic is that?
Having said all of that it's not a coincidence that this week's performances have coincided with playing on our cabbage patch of a pitch, it looks like it's collapsing in every area now, I've never seen it look so bad. The players don't look like they have confidence in their passing and control, it actually looks dangerous underfoot in certain areas and it's totally not conducive to how McNulty wants the team to play. I'll be very surprised if we fulfill our home fixtures at spotland this season to be honest. One last thing, the penalty shout was nailed on in the second half so we didn't get the rub of the green there. A depressing afternoon and a squad of players that is capable of producing much more than we have seen this week. The buck stops with the manager and his assistant and also those in the Boardroom. McNulty harping on in his post match interview about 'respecting the point' against the poorest team in the league speaks volumes, he's a coach not a manager and that's very evident from his relaxed demeanour in his post match interviews. Our club is merely a stepping stone for his own career, same as BBM. [Post edited 9 Feb 7:30]
|
| Forum
Reply | Oldham game
at 07:09 5 Feb 2025
Good post. McNultys post match interviews are full of excuses that don't stack up...excuses that are spoon fed him by the fella doing the interview, theyre obviously highly censored and no difficult questionsare allowed. Apparently we are a young team and that was one of the problems last night...Hogan, Gordon, Beckwith, Rowlands, East, Gilmour, Rodney, Mitchell, they've all played plenty of games at this level and higher and so have Allarakhia and Henderson on the bench. So it was a poor excuse . There was enough experience throughout the team to deal with a non league local derby, the players should relish games like that. The game was crying out for the introduction of Allarakhia throughout the second half and he seemed to be brought on as some sort of punishment with only minutes remaining. Allarakhia is a player that seems to have lost his way and gone backwards, he's a very talented footballer but it appears as though he's no longer at the forefront of the managers mind.
We more or less surrendered last night well before the final whistle, lacking in ideas, fight and desire. The team needs to man up and McNulty needs to stop making pathetic excuses for them. They looked frightened to death once Oldham got a foothold in the game. A Oldham team that are in a bad run of form and Jim highlighting their budget as a excuse for last night's performance is very poor. Everybody knows that if you stop Fondop you stop Oldham, we give him a goal on a plate in the first twenty minutes and let him have the freedom of Spotland all evening. The goal was simplicity in itself and very predictable before a ball had been kicked. We have to find a ruthless winning mentality from somewhere and McNulty as the manager needs to start sticking his chin out a bit and be more bullish, when you hear him speak it's like he doesn't believe his players are good enough and we should expect to be out fought by teams in the same league as us. The lot of them need to grow a pair and stop looking for excuses to fail. [Post edited 5 Feb 7:36]
|
| Forum
Reply | FA Trophy 5th Rd.. Worthing v Rochdale Match thread
at 06:55 2 Feb 2025
Not sure we even need to decide to target this competition as opposed to keeping a play off place. It's only another two more games and we are in the final of the FA Trophy. Looking at the league table and the size and quality of our squad we are very well placed to finish in the play offs. We have 3/4/5 games in hand on those around us and should be able to average at least one point per game from those.
The squad should be well rested since Xmas and you can see in the recent performances how that extra time on the training ground has benefitted the players. We now look much sharper and are playing further up the pitch at a much quicker tempo. The postponements look like they have bought McNulty time to tinker with the way he has set us up to play, especially out from the back.The players have bought into it and suddenly we have become a real threat going forward, especially on the wings. There's a lot to be positive about, the recruitment both before and during the season has been very impressive. The key to the outcome of the season lies with the manager i think, give the players a licence to attack our opponents then we can beat anybody. [Post edited 2 Feb 7:17]
|
| Forum
Reply | The voice of the fan in the boardroom
at 09:06 31 Jan 2025
Thanks for the best wishes, it's all part of life's rich tapestry isn't it. I'd do anything to help the club but it would have to be alongside people all pulling in the same direction. It would also have to be well away from the likes of Simon Gauge and Tony Pockney, i don't like them and hopefully they feel the same way about me. [Post edited 31 Jan 9:08]
|
| Forum
Reply | The voice of the fan in the boardroom
at 06:28 31 Jan 2025
That's the most heartening post i've seen on this forum for a very long time. The fact that you composed it adds even more weight to it and must give us all hope going forward. Thanks for posting. Unfortunately i don't have the mental capacity at the moment to allow myself to get involved with fans forums there are more pressing matters (family illness), the fog will clear though soon, it always does. Thanks to everybody who made the effort to turn up and pose the questions it's much appreciated. I wish i could have attended but I'll watch it back later today. [Post edited 31 Jan 6:39]
|
| Forum
Reply | The boy done good
at 14:51 25 Jan 2025
Very true that..short term so called Directors all trying to feather their own nest and aid and abetting Bottomley, the man who tried to kill our club. They all purport to be life long fans though, one was even called out by the EFL for his part in the saga and has the brass neck to sit in the Directors box. Then they wonder why some fans treat them with contempt. Some have been recognised by the club and made honorary members, the truth is they were all in cahoots with Bottomley and assisted him. Grindrod even went out to bat for Bottomley in a last minute attempt to stop him being voted off the board at the EGM, a proper rat and it wont be forgotten. [Post edited 25 Jan 14:54]
|
| Forum
Reply | The boy done good
at 12:35 25 Jan 2025
You're wrong, shareholders are quite entitled to voice their concerns in respect of individuals who are running the club. They can do that without the co-chairman threatening legal action, i'd be surprised if hes actually done that to be honest.That's what shareholders are supposed to do hold those running the club to account . Others might think Gauge has done a great job and they might view his financial input as a good enough reason to not hold him to account, i don't see it that way. When you're the captain of the ship, the buck stops with you, good leaders embrace that. |
| Forum
Reply | The boy done good
at 11:11 25 Jan 2025
Well since Simon Gauge became Chairman the club has regressed to the point of us losing our league status and coming within weeks of losing the club. Poor decision making from those in the Boardroom, poor managerial appointments and decisions from the top that contributed in us being relegated...who in their right mind would send the best player in the club ( Ethan Brierley) to train at a club that was under a transfer embargo? At a time when we desperately needed him on the pitch. That must have been ratified by the Chairman. In fact had it not been for fan intervention we would have had a con man from St Ann's, who really lived in a flat in Preston and a DJ from Norwich in charge of the club. Somebody at the club fell hook line and sinker for that one. Fan intervention also introduced the Ogden family to the club, that wasnt Simon Gauge's work.
I posted on here about 2 years ago that a EGM should have been called to remove him from his position, at the time he decided single handedly and without consultation to change the direction of the club. I've also officially contacted the Trust on two occasions to call a EGM in respect of Simon Gauge and his inability to run the club properly. As a member of the Supporters Trust I'm well within my rights to do that. To be honest the Trust have been as much use as a chocolate fireguard when it comes to shining a light on their relationship with Simon Gauge, they've now been rendered toothless and thats never been more evident since Murray Knight entered the boardroom. The biggest tragedy in all of that relationship is that we have recently lost possibly the best Trust Chairman that we could have wished for, certainly in the same mould as Col Cav. I suspect the fall out from that has been celebrated in the boardroom, one less person to challenge and hold them to account. The club isn't a dictatorship and if shareholders and fans have worries about how the club is being run then they should speak up and contact the Ogden family. I think they would want us to do that having invested millions in the club.
It's nothing personal in respect of Simon Gauge, he's a retired pilot with zero experience in running a multi million pound business, never mind a football club and it shows. The buck stops with him when it comes to us dropping out of the league, it was on his watch and legal threats don't work when your observations can be backed up by facts. If shareholders are concerned then they are well within their rights to ask for the removal of the Chairman, nothing he can do about that. If the fans hadn't have expressed their concerns several years ago in respect of how he club was being run it would no longer be here. The fans have also put hundreds of thousands of pounds into saving the club, it was never all down to Simon Gauge, or his family or whoever. [Post edited 25 Jan 11:30]
|
| Forum
Reply | The boy done good
at 12:16 24 Jan 2025
A local lad doing very well for himself, not just that but a Dale fan and former Director who was very instrumental a couple of years ago in saving the club from the clutches of Morton House. A fella who also put a awful lot of his own money into the club. Cameron Ogden and his family should be networking with the likes of Jamie, especially with his links to learning platforms and the NHS etc. The exact sort of bridges that the club should be building. This is a open goal but unfortunately there is nobody at the club with the savvy or gumption to pick up the phone and have a conversation. It's the reason why Cameron Ogden needs to look at how his club is operating and who is making the big decisions. I won't be at the forum but the question as to why Jamie is not still involved and attending on matchdays needs posing, is he afforded the same matchday hospitality invites as other ex Directors like Andrew Kelly, Graham Morris etc? If he isn't then why not? [Post edited 24 Jan 12:23]
|
| Forum
Reply | Another one gone
at 09:33 21 Jan 2025
I think there's a reason this style of play is embraced so warmly by the players also. A lot of the physical aspect and blood and thunder challenges is reduced, less crosses into the box means less heading of the ball. A slow tempo to the game and short passes between the defenders gives the players a opportunity to rest and reset. Statistics might prove that theory wrong but it's how it appears to me, it's very rare you see players coming off the pitch drenched in sweat and covered in mud. I call it dot to dot football, the coaches have taken the emotion and unexpected out of the game. The flare players who would get you out of your seat are now expected to be defenders also and their game suffers. Alarakhia is a great example of that and you can see the frustration in his body language. The young coaches can't veer away from the blueprint because it will jeopardise their progression in the game. Jim McNulty has a vested interest in keeping to the manual. Sometimes it looks great if the balls moved quickly but a lot of the times it's like watching paint dry. The games changed. |
| Forum
Reply | Pitch update
at 09:18 21 Jan 2025
It forecasts it to stop raining from lunchtime Friday right up to kick off, plenty of time for the pitch to be playable. |
| Forum
Reply | Forest Green away thread
at 08:07 18 Jan 2025
Looking at the league table and the amount of games other teams have already played we should now be really confident of finishing in a play off spot. I think the key is how we approach the games, take the game to our opponents like we did against Fylde and the results will look after themselves. If we over think the game and get embroiled in tactical nonsense...p*ssing about at the back and drawing our opponents on to us etc etc, we invite trouble and give our opponents a opportunity to play in our half of the pitch. I think the key is McNulty, i hope he embraces the challenge of finishing in a play off place and doesnt view it as pressure, because the league has opened up for us now and there's no doubt we have a good enough squad. The play off games then become a bit of a lottery as we all know. We are easily capable of winning two out of our next three league games and the Worthing game is now a fantastic opportunity to leave us only two wins from a trip to Wembley. We could be going to Wembley twice, we are more than capable of doing that and i hope the manager and players are already using the prospect of that happening as motivation for the upcoming fixtures. Let's take the game to FGR today and not die wondering. [Post edited 18 Jan 8:11]
|
| Forum
Reply | Pitch update
at 11:21 17 Jan 2025
Yes probably the best park in the Town but it used to be so much nicer and very well maintained. They had grass tennis courts also but I think they went a long time ago. |
| Forum
Reply | Pitch update
at 07:10 17 Jan 2025
I always thought the top of Springfield Park/ running track and pitches would have made a great location for a new stadium and sports village, you could even bring the golf course under the same umbrella and put a new access road in from Roch Valley Way or Bolton Road. Redeveloping the park also which is now looking tired and building a education/ residential complex with investment from the club, council, education, NHS, Government and grants. It's a massive footprint if you include the golf course and park and something that could benefit all parties. [Post edited 17 Jan 7:16]
|
| Forum
Reply | Pitch update
at 08:47 16 Jan 2025
Thanks for that. I was commenting on those at the club who are responsible for the day to day running of it. James question was in relation to which of our current Directors has the responsibility, i wasn't sure there was one. |
| Forum
Reply | Pitch update
at 07:50 16 Jan 2025
Yes, good idea that. Why not submit a question to the Trust to ask on your behalf at the fans forum. If there is a Director who is responsible then he will probably address the room and explain the amount of involvement the club have. I've never heard of a individual Director having responsibility for this but then again we are told very little when it comes to how the club is run. I'll be very surprised if any success the football in the community has is driven by any of our Directors. [Post edited 16 Jan 8:37]
|
| Forum
Reply | Pitch update
at 05:51 16 Jan 2025
No. They aren't governed by those running the football club thankfully and are grant funded by the EFL, PFA, Rochdale Council, National Lottery and other partners. They do some fantastic work and the job fair was a resounding success with about 600 people in attendance. I was surprised the football club didn't advertise the event on their social media platforms seeing as it was hosted at the club, I'm sure it would have been of interest to many amongst the fan base. Maybe they did and i missed it. [Post edited 16 Jan 6:05]
|
| Forum
Reply | Tonight’s games
at 21:53 14 Jan 2025
The less we play the more our play off chances increase. Good set of results tonight. [Post edited 14 Jan 21:57]
|
| Forum
Reply | Pitch update
at 15:55 13 Jan 2025
I don't think so, they said that they want to leave a legacy in the Town and being involved with the football club ties in with sport and recreation, education and health. A sporting complex which benefits the whole Town and brings thousands of people together every week or two to watch live football/ rugby is what the Town needs. Incorporate a sports hall, swimming pool , artificial pitches and classrooms etc and that would be a fantastic facility for the whole of the borough. |
| | TalkingSutty
|
Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 3563 | | Comment Votes: | 0 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 3563 |
|
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.