What are we missing and what's to come... 21:57 - Sep 23 with 6865 views | _ | I think we need to look back on this question after the next 9 or 10 games. We've got off to a strong, steady start, we're very composed at the back and our un-fashionable players are really staking a claim for their positions. The last 2 away games we should have had 2 points and they are going to be up there among the hardest away games we'll have all season. They're out the way now and we've got some clearer roads ahead - at least on paper. I think this run of games coming up is where we should really put all the good things we've taken from the first set of games and really put the pedal to the metal and get at teams high up the pitch - especially our home games. Dyer and Routs are off the mark and have some much needed minutes under their belt and at home against the weaker teams they could really hurt them. Hopefully we'll see some calm in the ranks in terms of injuries and a run of games with an XI that we can start to describe as our best one. I think we can go 442 or 4411 in this league, especially at home ------------------- Mulder -------------------- --------------- VdH ---- Rodon --------------- Roberts ------------------------------ Olsson ---------------- Fer----- Grimes --------------- Dyer ------------------------------------- Routs --------------- Celina --------------------------- ------------------- McBurnie ------------------- And this is being really harsh on Naughton not picking him but on the other hand would make our bench really strong and with great options. No doubt Potter would rotate our forward 4 or 5 and this will bring great versatility. Every one can do a job for us on their day. I'm hoping there's some good days ahead. Throw Bony into the mix and I think we're well on our way to a promotion challenging squad, especially if Potter identifies some targets in January and we get them. (let's not hijack debate with that one comment though, eh!?) Bench/Squad: Nordvelt Declan John Carter-Vickers Naughton Fulton Carroll Byers Asoro Mckay Yan Dhanda Dan James If most are honest i'm sure you'll agree our squad is a pretty good one all in all and going in the right direction. There's a lot to like with the players listed above. | |
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 22:06 - Sep 23 with 4585 views | Oldjack | All we need back is Jeff | |
| Prosser the Tosser dwells on Phil's bum hole like a rusty old hemorrhoid ,fact
You Greedy Bastards Get Out Of OUR Club!
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 23:07 - Sep 23 with 4481 views | _ |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 22:06 - Sep 23 by Oldjack | All we need back is Jeff |
Totally forgot Jeff. Bench / starting XI even stronger. | |
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 23:11 - Sep 23 with 4466 views | Swanjaxs | Mid table is where we are looking at this season Chris, with perhaps a push for the play offs next season depending on funds 👠| |
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 23:50 - Sep 23 with 4408 views | _ |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 23:11 - Sep 23 by Swanjaxs | Mid table is where we are looking at this season Chris, with perhaps a push for the play offs next season depending on funds 👠|
I think we may all be pleasantly surprised. We've had a string of tough games and that goes back as far as Leeds where we showed true signs of being able to compete with the best. Leeds, Bristol City, Millwall away with ten men, Notts Forest, Stoke and Boro away. Won 1, Drawn 3, Lost 2. 6 points from those 6 games and that ratio will get you nowhere, I know that. But what I'm seeing develop is a team getting to know this division more and more and more, as Martinez used to always say. We've stayed true to our footballing beliefs and we're learning. If after the next ten games we're still outside the play offs I'll have to agree with you, but what I'm hoping to see from these games is SCFC picking the bones of the so called easier games. This is a chance to get some good points on the board and again, what I'm hoping for and think will happen, if we go into December and January in the top 6, I think the Americans will fund a promotion window. I'm definitely more an optimist than a a pessimist but I think Potter needs to get into his players this week for an all out onslaught come QPR on Saturday. [Post edited 23 Sep 2018 23:51]
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 09:17 - Sep 24 with 4296 views | BarryTownSwam | Early days I know, but we’re just 3 points off the play off places and 5 points from top of this league. We are competitive (which too many doom mongers said we wouldn’t be), have more than enough to stay in this league (which, again, too many doom mongers said we wouldn’t) and with s fee tactical tweets and returning players could easily push on to cement our place on the top 6. I’m very optimistic we’ll see a good run of points at some point soon. | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 09:58 - Sep 24 with 4244 views | _ |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 09:17 - Sep 24 by BarryTownSwam | Early days I know, but we’re just 3 points off the play off places and 5 points from top of this league. We are competitive (which too many doom mongers said we wouldn’t be), have more than enough to stay in this league (which, again, too many doom mongers said we wouldn’t) and with s fee tactical tweets and returning players could easily push on to cement our place on the top 6. I’m very optimistic we’ll see a good run of points at some point soon. |
Great post. Imagine we get the news Fer and Celina training today and ready for selection Saturday. A timely boost. | |
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 10:28 - Sep 24 with 4210 views | jack247 | What we really need when we get an ‘easier’ run is to be able to break down teams who are happy with a point and don’t really take the game to us, especially at home. But for an offside goal, we’d still be unbeaten away. With Montero coming on for 20 minutes, we may have turned a couple of those draws into wins. Away form is fine. Teams who try to frustrate us often manage it, because our best attacks come at speed and in numbers on the counter attack. Bony would unlock defences at will, Fer and Celina will certainly have their moments. I’d never start Montero, but as a game changer he is phenomenal. My only real concern is relying on that quartet plus Oli to win us games. Celina aside, they don’t have the best injury records. | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 10:45 - Sep 24 with 4189 views | _ |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 10:28 - Sep 24 by jack247 | What we really need when we get an ‘easier’ run is to be able to break down teams who are happy with a point and don’t really take the game to us, especially at home. But for an offside goal, we’d still be unbeaten away. With Montero coming on for 20 minutes, we may have turned a couple of those draws into wins. Away form is fine. Teams who try to frustrate us often manage it, because our best attacks come at speed and in numbers on the counter attack. Bony would unlock defences at will, Fer and Celina will certainly have their moments. I’d never start Montero, but as a game changer he is phenomenal. My only real concern is relying on that quartet plus Oli to win us games. Celina aside, they don’t have the best injury records. |
I don't think the defences in this league are particularly adept at parking the bus. I know it's not as easy as that but I honestly see this point here as a bit of a junction for us. Potter will be telling his squad you've played the 'best' this league has to offer and some of those away at the traditional bigger grounds etc and there's nothing to fear. I don't think we've held back per se but I do think there's more to come from us in an attacking sense. We could have gone for Preston but we opted to shore up, the Forest game was frustrating but I see them as a big competitor this season and Stoke and Boro were always horrible fixture's to look not so forward to. You would like to think confidence is pretty high, especially from the youngsters who are literally growing in front of our very eyes. They've been playing with one eye on caution, as is more than understandable taking your first steps in League football, but now with a good run of games in front of them starting at home against QPR, they can now start to express themselves a lot more. Something we are seeing with every passing game with Grimes for example. I think Dyer and Routs could have a big impact for us and I'm hoping they can really show this on Saturday if they play. A few games under their belts and a bit more confidence they'll need. They are still among our best attacking players in this league. What we also need is to start developing some partnerships on the pitch. If we can replicate the Rangel / Dyer effect for example with Connor, who's got the legs to get up and down we can hope for the best. | |
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 11:24 - Sep 24 with 4115 views | jack247 |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 10:45 - Sep 24 by _ | I don't think the defences in this league are particularly adept at parking the bus. I know it's not as easy as that but I honestly see this point here as a bit of a junction for us. Potter will be telling his squad you've played the 'best' this league has to offer and some of those away at the traditional bigger grounds etc and there's nothing to fear. I don't think we've held back per se but I do think there's more to come from us in an attacking sense. We could have gone for Preston but we opted to shore up, the Forest game was frustrating but I see them as a big competitor this season and Stoke and Boro were always horrible fixture's to look not so forward to. You would like to think confidence is pretty high, especially from the youngsters who are literally growing in front of our very eyes. They've been playing with one eye on caution, as is more than understandable taking your first steps in League football, but now with a good run of games in front of them starting at home against QPR, they can now start to express themselves a lot more. Something we are seeing with every passing game with Grimes for example. I think Dyer and Routs could have a big impact for us and I'm hoping they can really show this on Saturday if they play. A few games under their belts and a bit more confidence they'll need. They are still among our best attacking players in this league. What we also need is to start developing some partnerships on the pitch. If we can replicate the Rangel / Dyer effect for example with Connor, who's got the legs to get up and down we can hope for the best. |
That’s a fair post. I certainly agree with the young players confidence being high and the last paragraph about forging partnerships down the flanks It’s also fair to say that the first job is always to make a team hard to score against, once that has been established, and it arguably has been already, then you work on constructing better attacks. I don’t think that last bit will be easy. It would if we had the whole squad fit every game. Do agree that these teams don’t park the bus as well as we have been used to, but they still do it. Every team bar Leeds has done it to a degree at the Liberty. They came at us and it was our best game bar Milwall IMO (though Sheffield Utd was great too). Preston had a go when they were losing. I can see most teams adopting that attitude. Really interested to see how we deal with it. | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 11:29 - Sep 24 with 4109 views | Jinxy | There's no doubt that for the past 3 years we have been spiralling downwards. A lot of clubs would have continued to fall, but so far it looks like we've stopped the rot, stabilised and show encouraging signs of improvement. In 2009/10 we missed out on a play-off place h v Doncaster when Trundle virtually caught the ball in the 6 yard box before firing home! In my view, had we made the play-offs and even got promoted, it would have been too soon. We were still building, and building well at that. I feel the same about us now - possibly finish 8th or thereabouts, consolidate, don't have any negativity surrounding getting into the play offs and not progressing, keep Mr Potter out of the spotlight and push on over the next 1/2/3 seasons. Oh and attract young hungry players/purists to join "the project". So far, in the attacking third our interchanges show signs of promise, but are not yet the honed finished article that we know is achievable without highly paid and overrated superstars. More than the sum of our parts eh. I am really looking forward to watching us develop, where any mistakes we make (and we will) are not punished to the same extent than in the PL (this will encourage and endorse bravery on the ball). Onwards and upwards! | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 11:33 - Sep 24 with 4098 views | Jinxy |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 11:24 - Sep 24 by jack247 | That’s a fair post. I certainly agree with the young players confidence being high and the last paragraph about forging partnerships down the flanks It’s also fair to say that the first job is always to make a team hard to score against, once that has been established, and it arguably has been already, then you work on constructing better attacks. I don’t think that last bit will be easy. It would if we had the whole squad fit every game. Do agree that these teams don’t park the bus as well as we have been used to, but they still do it. Every team bar Leeds has done it to a degree at the Liberty. They came at us and it was our best game bar Milwall IMO (though Sheffield Utd was great too). Preston had a go when they were losing. I can see most teams adopting that attitude. Really interested to see how we deal with it. |
You're right there, esp 2nd paragraph. Sousa deserved more credit for locking the defense down at a brief time when we were leaking goals like a sieve after the club was abruptly disrupted by Mr Martinez. My dear old departed Dad used to say the best teams were built from the back, and I still think he was right. | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 11:46 - Sep 24 with 4065 views | jack247 |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 11:29 - Sep 24 by Jinxy | There's no doubt that for the past 3 years we have been spiralling downwards. A lot of clubs would have continued to fall, but so far it looks like we've stopped the rot, stabilised and show encouraging signs of improvement. In 2009/10 we missed out on a play-off place h v Doncaster when Trundle virtually caught the ball in the 6 yard box before firing home! In my view, had we made the play-offs and even got promoted, it would have been too soon. We were still building, and building well at that. I feel the same about us now - possibly finish 8th or thereabouts, consolidate, don't have any negativity surrounding getting into the play offs and not progressing, keep Mr Potter out of the spotlight and push on over the next 1/2/3 seasons. Oh and attract young hungry players/purists to join "the project". So far, in the attacking third our interchanges show signs of promise, but are not yet the honed finished article that we know is achievable without highly paid and overrated superstars. More than the sum of our parts eh. I am really looking forward to watching us develop, where any mistakes we make (and we will) are not punished to the same extent than in the PL (this will encourage and endorse bravery on the ball). Onwards and upwards! |
I’ve no problem whatsoever with a phased rebuild. In all honesty, we needed it. We’ve been stagnating on the pitch. I’m just not convinced our owners have the appetite for it. I genuinely think they are looking to minimise their losses as much as possible and won’t be overly concerned if that affects the footballing side of things. | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 12:22 - Sep 24 with 4023 views | jacksfullaces |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 11:46 - Sep 24 by jack247 | I’ve no problem whatsoever with a phased rebuild. In all honesty, we needed it. We’ve been stagnating on the pitch. I’m just not convinced our owners have the appetite for it. I genuinely think they are looking to minimise their losses as much as possible and won’t be overly concerned if that affects the footballing side of things. |
that is still my current view too, haven't seen or heard much to change my mind, other than it is essential remodelling in our particular circumstances. still don't think Jenkins should be overseeing it, but that is just a broken record now. am hoping the academy lads flourish in this league and don't get sold after a handful of decent performances. and as the OP has said, the next few games will now show whether we have the foundations of a competitive club at this level. competitive but not title winning would be the current bar I sense. but ultimately I still wonder how far the owners are prepared to let us drop in their business planning, in so far as they so any business planning. as everything they have done since arriving seems to be reactive. perhaps that is football. | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:05 - Sep 24 with 3904 views | SPboy | I don’t think we need to wait 9 or 10 games to see what we are missing. While many fans have been pleased to see the progress of youngsters & the enthusiasm that Potter has instilled, it is quite simple really we are lacking match winning quality. The quality to create chances & work the opposition defence. The defence is performing pretty well, but chipping in from the odd corner or set piece is missing from them. We lack an enforcer in midfield, someone with a bit of muscle & nous to chip in when Fer is absent. We are lacking creative advanced midfielders. Players who can pick a pass or actually hit a shot from outside the box. We are lacking a pacy forward thinking player with an end product. Not rocket science something that many fans can see but somehow not visible enough for the owners to actually do something about it | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:18 - Sep 24 with 3872 views | oh_tommy_tommy | If we could put our strongest 11 out for a run of six games I’d think we’d hit top 3 to be fair . [Post edited 24 Sep 2018 14:20]
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:39 - Sep 24 with 3810 views | shandyjack |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 11:29 - Sep 24 by Jinxy | There's no doubt that for the past 3 years we have been spiralling downwards. A lot of clubs would have continued to fall, but so far it looks like we've stopped the rot, stabilised and show encouraging signs of improvement. In 2009/10 we missed out on a play-off place h v Doncaster when Trundle virtually caught the ball in the 6 yard box before firing home! In my view, had we made the play-offs and even got promoted, it would have been too soon. We were still building, and building well at that. I feel the same about us now - possibly finish 8th or thereabouts, consolidate, don't have any negativity surrounding getting into the play offs and not progressing, keep Mr Potter out of the spotlight and push on over the next 1/2/3 seasons. Oh and attract young hungry players/purists to join "the project". So far, in the attacking third our interchanges show signs of promise, but are not yet the honed finished article that we know is achievable without highly paid and overrated superstars. More than the sum of our parts eh. I am really looking forward to watching us develop, where any mistakes we make (and we will) are not punished to the same extent than in the PL (this will encourage and endorse bravery on the ball). Onwards and upwards! |
this is exactly how i see this. No promotion this year, a medium term project with young hungry players and a young hungry manager, 3/4 years build up a solid squad ready for not only promotion but being competitive in the PL again | |
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:42 - Sep 24 with 3798 views | shandyjack |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:05 - Sep 24 by SPboy | I don’t think we need to wait 9 or 10 games to see what we are missing. While many fans have been pleased to see the progress of youngsters & the enthusiasm that Potter has instilled, it is quite simple really we are lacking match winning quality. The quality to create chances & work the opposition defence. The defence is performing pretty well, but chipping in from the odd corner or set piece is missing from them. We lack an enforcer in midfield, someone with a bit of muscle & nous to chip in when Fer is absent. We are lacking creative advanced midfielders. Players who can pick a pass or actually hit a shot from outside the box. We are lacking a pacy forward thinking player with an end product. Not rocket science something that many fans can see but somehow not visible enough for the owners to actually do something about it |
what would you like them to do? Put the club into financial jeopardy in the hope we can bounce straight back up. Personally i'd rather we took our time and did things right. Clubs with bigger budgets than us have thrown money at promotion and not gone up and put themselves close financial ruin | |
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:42 - Sep 24 with 3797 views | Joe_bradshaw |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 11:29 - Sep 24 by Jinxy | There's no doubt that for the past 3 years we have been spiralling downwards. A lot of clubs would have continued to fall, but so far it looks like we've stopped the rot, stabilised and show encouraging signs of improvement. In 2009/10 we missed out on a play-off place h v Doncaster when Trundle virtually caught the ball in the 6 yard box before firing home! In my view, had we made the play-offs and even got promoted, it would have been too soon. We were still building, and building well at that. I feel the same about us now - possibly finish 8th or thereabouts, consolidate, don't have any negativity surrounding getting into the play offs and not progressing, keep Mr Potter out of the spotlight and push on over the next 1/2/3 seasons. Oh and attract young hungry players/purists to join "the project". So far, in the attacking third our interchanges show signs of promise, but are not yet the honed finished article that we know is achievable without highly paid and overrated superstars. More than the sum of our parts eh. I am really looking forward to watching us develop, where any mistakes we make (and we will) are not punished to the same extent than in the PL (this will encourage and endorse bravery on the ball). Onwards and upwards! |
Couldn’t agree more. Excellent post. | |
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:45 - Sep 24 with 3789 views | jack247 |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:42 - Sep 24 by shandyjack | what would you like them to do? Put the club into financial jeopardy in the hope we can bounce straight back up. Personally i'd rather we took our time and did things right. Clubs with bigger budgets than us have thrown money at promotion and not gone up and put themselves close financial ruin |
If that’s what we are doing, great. If Levein and Kaplan are treating us like a bad debt for their syndicate, then not so great. You could easily argue either way at the moment. | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:48 - Sep 24 with 3783 views | shandyjack |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:45 - Sep 24 by jack247 | If that’s what we are doing, great. If Levein and Kaplan are treating us like a bad debt for their syndicate, then not so great. You could easily argue either way at the moment. |
that's the crux of it unfortunately, and the big elephant in the room. You have some who will be fully behind the owners, some who won't believe a word they say. Myself i'm down the middle and will wait and see. I agree with everything they did in the summer bar not getting in a CF. Next summer will be the test for them | |
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:48 - Sep 24 with 3781 views | jasper_T |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:45 - Sep 24 by jack247 | If that’s what we are doing, great. If Levein and Kaplan are treating us like a bad debt for their syndicate, then not so great. You could easily argue either way at the moment. |
If they just wanted to drain all the funds possible from the club why buy Celina and Asoro? Why turn down offers for McBurnie. They've been frugal/responsible no question, but there's no convincing argument for them trying to strip the club bare and offset their losses as much as possible. They could have easily done more. | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:54 - Sep 24 with 3765 views | jack247 |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:48 - Sep 24 by jasper_T | If they just wanted to drain all the funds possible from the club why buy Celina and Asoro? Why turn down offers for McBurnie. They've been frugal/responsible no question, but there's no convincing argument for them trying to strip the club bare and offset their losses as much as possible. They could have easily done more. |
If they were being responsible, they wouldn’t have signed Andre Ayew for a massive fee on huge wages when we looked more likely than not to go down. It would be flat out taking the piss to go into the season with no senior striker and no creativity in midfield. | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:58 - Sep 24 with 3763 views | shandyjack |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:54 - Sep 24 by jack247 | If they were being responsible, they wouldn’t have signed Andre Ayew for a massive fee on huge wages when we looked more likely than not to go down. It would be flat out taking the piss to go into the season with no senior striker and no creativity in midfield. |
It was a big gamble, and a massive mistake. They probably felt he was a sellable asset should we go down. | |
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What are we missing and what's to come... on 15:03 - Sep 24 with 3754 views | jasper_T |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:54 - Sep 24 by jack247 | If they were being responsible, they wouldn’t have signed Andre Ayew for a massive fee on huge wages when we looked more likely than not to go down. It would be flat out taking the piss to go into the season with no senior striker and no creativity in midfield. |
You think they should have given up in January, then? Terrible signing, obviously (even at the time) but spending to try to stay in the money league is understandable. Every club in the muck makes panic signings. Aren't they already being accused of worse than "taking the piss" with their transfer policy? If the evil American hedge fund just wanted to bleed the club of as much money as possible why would they care about a little more hostility from supporters? | | | |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 15:06 - Sep 24 with 3748 views | jack247 |
What are we missing and what's to come... on 14:58 - Sep 24 by shandyjack | It was a big gamble, and a massive mistake. They probably felt he was a sellable asset should we go down. |
They aren’t that naive surely. Sellable yes, but not at anywhere near what they paid for him, particularly on high wages. Their intentions will become clear over the next year or two. I hope you are right. | | | |
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