|
Post by nonameface on Feb 24, 2024 15:36:55 GMT
Dont worry lads, only Boro, Leeds, Preston, Norwich and Hull next!
Any points between now and April would be incredible.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 24, 2024 15:34:15 GMT
Can we stop with the inverted full backs now please
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 24, 2024 15:18:51 GMT
Manhoef is basically Shaqiri aint he.
Great vision, no real pace but nimble enough.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 24, 2024 11:03:15 GMT
Incredible form.
Right now I'd take winning 1 in 3!
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 20, 2024 6:42:54 GMT
Hughes lived off Pulis's backbone and didn't replace and it cost us, MON did wonders and should probably up there second to Tone in recent history and that's my opinion. Yeah I agree with most of that, however the point was, none of the managers bar Pulis really have gone on to do better AFTER their spell at Stoke. In fact, even TP is arguable given we were a team finishing 9th after TP, but he did well with Palace. You have to go back to Gary Megson to find a manager that did better at a higher level after leaving Stoke. That is 25 years ago. Not sure this is exactly balanced. Rowett did better before and after us. Since leaving Millwall they've dropped like a stone and could get relegated. Jones did better before and after us, just he got shown up at Southampton and Luton signed a quality manager. MON is neutral. He was the best long term manager we've had for years, integrating the youth like he did. Alex Neil did better before, Mowbray improved things and Beale has shown it's tougher than it looks. Schumacher did an outstanding job at Plymouth. He's learning lots right now.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 18, 2024 13:55:43 GMT
The numbers out of contract this season or on loan , is one reason that caused me to question RMs take on it , when he stated at the recent forum there wouldn’t be wholesale recruitment this summer .. just the numbers game , never mind decisions around quality , fit for purpose of players still in contract suggest the opposite ..unless his plan is to leave spaces in the squad for January recruitment ..or simply leave gaps awaiting announcements to FFP regs or FFP budgets ..ie less but better quality players ( not withstanding we could extend contracts , but honestly are any of them worth doing that .. Would have liked him to have been questioned further to clarify his statement Good news is the loan players have added very little this season and of those out of contract this summer only Thompson should be kept on.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 17, 2024 8:12:41 GMT
mental.
Schumacher should be given till at least the end of next season.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 16, 2024 20:27:25 GMT
Didnt watch the game so cant comment. His signing video shows him as someone who is grounded, probably easy to manage, calm and a similar kind of personality as Brown (possibly less driven).
Sounds like a good egg, based upon where we are that seems exactly what we need from a forward.
|
|
|
Bottom 3
Feb 13, 2024 22:17:03 GMT
via mobile
Post by nonameface on Feb 13, 2024 22:17:03 GMT
As shit as we've been i just don't get how we have been as bad as the current bottom 4. Very nervous about going down.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 11, 2024 16:59:52 GMT
Bonham
Junior, Mcnally, Wilmot, Hoever
Pearson, Burger
Baker
Junho, Cundle
Ennis
Junho and Cundle starting position to be narrow
Backline doesnt move Burger pushes into Baker space Baker pushes into Junho space Junho drifts to edge of box Cundle drifts to other edge
Defend 442 with Baker to the right of Pearson and Cundle to the left of Burger with Junho alongside Ennis.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 11, 2024 11:23:25 GMT
Yesterday first half reminded me of when we played Huddersfield last year before Warnock took over. Good players, just not looking joined up as a team or playing to their strengths. He signed and things changed for them. If we'd played like that second half I'd have be thinking we need a new manager to keep us up. Fortunately we did start to play better. We give up so many goals on the counter attack, or transition as it's called now that it's concerning. Especially when you can see from the Blackburn comments they were targeting it, especially on the left. "We knew that we'd find space on transition so there was an element of allowing Stoke to come onto us." www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68189963Other teams have done the same and we may need to play deeper for a period. Definitely can't play Gooch at left or right back either.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 11, 2024 11:09:06 GMT
going to bet a tenner each game we don't win.
It's very dirty, but it'll soften the blow if we get relegated.
if we stay up, happy days!
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 18:02:29 GMT
Is it right Schumacher looked up to him after one of the their goals today? Yep The sunday league goal where the centre backs showed they didnt want to win it.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 17:58:25 GMT
It doesn't help that they have to play full back too. From when Neil was sacked up until we beat Rotherham we had conceded 4 goals in 8 games and only 7 teams had conceded less than us in the league. Full backs for the most part sat deep throughout this time. Since the loss to Birmingham he has gone balls to the wall attacking with full backs, midfield and wide players all playing high up. This has resulted in 14 goal conceded in 4 games. The best part about this allout attack is that we have scored 3 in the last 4 games compared to 5 in the first 4 games since Neil left. So we dont even score more. Gallagher was on to something then?
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 17:57:02 GMT
Unfortunately you’re not going to get the response you want tonight. If we would have drawn the game today then I couldn’t agree more with what you’re saying. HOWEVER making a team which is on its arse go 3-0 up in 30 minutes and make them look like they are a league above where we are is indefensible. first half was possibly the worst half of football weve had this season. Second half gave lots of encouragement, we need to build upon that and as much as we want to let the players know how we feel, maybe being the 12th man again will help to keep us up?
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 17:52:38 GMT
I can only assume that Clarke must be the absolute pits ! Frankly we might as well give Wes and Junior the job. he is
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 17:24:53 GMT
we shouldn't have got rid of him. He did well. But... he's been and gone?!
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 17:15:26 GMT
Signed some decent players, we just dont have ageoup of players who want to play for each other and lack balance in the squad.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 17:13:52 GMT
Was hoping he would be alot faster. Looks technically decent with good passing vision though, but doesnt look like he will help us to stretch teams.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 16:57:07 GMT
Awful first half, decent second half.
Need to start MUCH better
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 16:21:55 GMT
Whatever was said at half time is what needs to be said from the start. We will lose this, but we look a lot more like an actual football team.
Johnson was a mint penalty taker before joining us. What gives??
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 15:49:30 GMT
We are screaming out for pace. Mahoef may be okay, but he looks average paced like Vidigal.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 15:40:13 GMT
go on Ennis!
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 15:17:43 GMT
Gooch is absolutely wank. Dont like him playing left back at all Like Junior playing right back though and with Million having signed it means he shouldnt get any starts.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 15:07:58 GMT
mental
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 10, 2024 13:32:37 GMT
just watched the press conference for this game and it's got to be said that Schuey comes across positive, maybe a little bit more quietly confident than previously. Great to see some of his responses and he doesn't hide at all. Gives me confidence for the rest of the season.
One gripe though. Who is the belter after Ange? Anges questions are fair, probing and reasoned. The guy after is just incredibly negative, trying to almost create a bad atmosphere. He should be banned from asking questions like the ones he did and just f-off up the vale.
|
|
|
Mmaee
Feb 8, 2024 19:14:19 GMT
via mobile
Post by nonameface on Feb 8, 2024 19:14:19 GMT
Chiquinho sent back from his loan and Mmaee training with the U21s - both signed in the summer. Makes you wonder what background checks and due diligence our recruitment team do…! Wonder who within the recruitment team is responsible for doing these type of checks and how much weighting they put on it. Mmaee looks technically very capable and with this happening it's obvious why he's not "made it" and so has been in poorer leagues. Wonder how well we knew of it and whether we felt we could extract better value.
|
|
|
Mmaee
Feb 4, 2024 18:19:03 GMT
via mobile
Post by nonameface on Feb 4, 2024 18:19:03 GMT
A piece of information that I think is relevant to this comes from one of those 'meet the player' nights back when Neil was in charge. I think it came the week after the Sunderland and Leeds home wins, so the mood was generally pretty positive. They did one of those daft games where a person in the audience asks a question and the three players (Pearson, Hoever and Tezgel) have to write another players' name on the whiteboard. The question was 'who gets the most fines?' and all three players answered 'Mmaee' in a flash, because he's always late for training. I tried not to think too much of it; Fuller was no model employee but his ability on the pitch cut him a little slack. I really, really wanted Mmaee to be cut from the same cloth. At the time, the jury was still out on Mmaee. I've felt a bit uneasy about so many posters really tying themselves to Mmaee since then. I suppose my point is that this is not a sudden thing that has only started since Schumacher arrived. After Schumacher arrived, we drew 0-0 at home with Millwall and he went way over the top with praise for Mmaee: “Absolutely. But again, you’ve got to get people in the right positions. The eights have got to score more goals, they’ve got to get forward and get into dangerous areas. I thought Ryan Mmaee, by the way, was brilliant. I know he didn't score but his all-round game today was excellent.
“He led the line for 90 minutes on his own. I think he gave the ball away once, maybe twice in the whole game, and he was a threat all the time and just the shots that he had unfortunately were blocked. If he keeps putting himself in those positions, he'll score the goals that were going to need.”Then you have the Sunderland game. Denis Smith was on the radio going bonkers at our strikers, saying at one point that you have to keep turning up and doing drills to improve your finishing, no matter how boring it gets. I think Denis knows plenty about what goes on at the club, so it wasn't a coincidence that after the game you had Schumacher say the following: "I've just said it's not good enough that we don't hit the target enough. The only way we can get better is by working on the training ground and taking it seriously because I think earlier on in the season, creating opportunities at this club was difficult. Since we've been here, that's changed. We've created a lot of good chances, got into good areas.
"Strikers have got to expect that they are going to get those chances, and midfield players too, and we have to make it count. So we have to concentrate every single day when we do it in training, when we work on things. We have to take it seriously because if you don't, when you come into the stadiums when the pressure is on, you're not going to get it right either."My guess would be that we're seeing a progression of management approaches from trying to bring him into the fold with praise and seeing if it affects his behaviour to calling it out publically. If that doesn't work, why wouldn't you move him on? He's not exactly backed it up with performances on the pitch. O'Neill came in and did the same with N'Diaye and Etebo beacuse they didn't buy into his vision and were more interested in their next move. I also get the impression that Schumacher values more pace in his centre forwards. On reflection, I would like to expand on this post a little more. I don't like posting tittle tattle and that particular anecdote about the meet the players evening is something that I've not really wanted to post at all. The things we write on here can and do make a difference to people at the club who, for all their footballint faults, are still human beings trying to earn a wage. It helps nobody to go making inferences from bits and pieces here and there without knowing all sides of the story, and can actually be incredibly destructive. What prompted me to write the above was seeing a number of posters whose views I genuinely respect being totally in thrall to Mmaee to the point that they've pilloried the manager over his 'treatment' for weeks. One even wrote yesterday that Schumacher could and should be sacked for what he has done to Mmaee! I'm sorry, but that is grossly unfair and, in my view, unjust. As per my above point about this board impacting real lives, Schumacher is a young manager who has given up a lot to be here. True, he's being well recompensed, but he uprooted a young family and left a functional club where he was adored. We know for a fact that his family use this board. It's simply not right that he should be accused of losing the dressing room because he has identified and attempted to remove a problem player after weeks of trying to bring him into the fold. What on Earth has Ryan Mmaee, of all people, done to become a martyr for people to rally around against the manager? Why go out to bat for a player who was acting up long before Schumacher arrived and who has shown only the briefest of glimpses of being a competent footballer at this level? Berahino did as much. So, too, did Bangoura and Imbula. All three arguably did more in a Stoke shirt than Mmaee to date. This isn't even on the same planet as, say, Rowett excluding Bojan. That's without getting into the fact that under our new structure, Schumacher is effectively the assistant to the real manager, Ricky Martin. His responsibilities are limited to putting the cones out at training, picking the first team and dealing with morale and atmosphere. His job is to implement Martin's vision of an aggressive pressing team that was announced in the summer and he's well within his rights to move on players who don't perform on the pitch and don't buy into the way he wishes to go about it. I'm sorry, but this has really bothered me for a while now. Two really good considered posts and as you say Schuey is responsible for managing the group of players morale. He's a young manager, comes across very well and long term here could be fantastic for us. He's also unlikely to have been in this situation before and so is more likely to make mistakes (which is allowed, we all make them!) and this could, not has, have made it more difficult for us until the end of the season. He's not afraid of taking risk and doing something carried more risk, but also more potential to progress. He could have managed it differently and waited until the end of the season before seeing the player go. We now appear to have another player who will be loaned out for the rest of their contract and we possibly needed to keep him on side till the end of the season. Prior to calling Mmaee out we were unlikely to be in a relegation battle, we are now and he's a better forward currently than Campbell, Lowe, Wesley and Gayle below we cut ties there. Our signings we've paid transfer money for had largely been good, but this now seems awful, again Dublin shouldn't be punished for it. Really concerned we are now similar to the season we got relegated from the premier League where the players were better technically than we'd had before and if results were okay we were fine, but they were far from suited to a relegation battle.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 4, 2024 16:29:02 GMT
Away from the pitch the club are doing the right things to drive sales. Online content and much better than it's been previously.
Thing is the core product is shit. Until the last few seasons I cant remember a time where I missed a match either on TV or at the ground, getting wound up when the missus double booked us. Now, I know whatever she books us up for is a better event and my weekend isn't ruined.
Club need to promote the academy more but showing their games live and talking to those players, like the Lowe video.
Also need the youth players to be getting more and more minutes off the bench. Sidibe looked decent at the start of the season, now where is he?
Minimum of 3 youth players should be on the bench for me. They are often good enough and if not they atleast keep us onside a bit.
|
|
|
Post by nonameface on Feb 2, 2024 7:46:06 GMT
That initial fee is probably used to pay off the difference in contract years Ennis had too.
|
|