21 points from 11 games, and we are back on track IMHO

[Rodger Wylde]

2 hours ago, areNOTwhatTHEYseem said:

 

Wouldn't a playoff place be 'on track' for us this season?

 

After the absolute car crash of last season, the mass exodus of expensive signings, and having to recruit half a squad of freebies and loans, I'd take that.

 

Many of us were genuinely concerned that we were about to plummet through this division at the start of the summer, so it seems odd to be turning out noses up at a playoff place.

I suppose it depends what your track is.

 

We seem to think a play off place is the be all and end all without ever actually aspiring to a top 2 finish.

 

A bit like Arsenal when all they wanted to do was finish in the top 4.

[NorthernOwl]

7 minutes ago, Rodger Wylde said:

I suppose it depends what your track is.

 

We seem to think a play off place is the be all and end all without ever actually aspiring to a top 2 finish.

 

A bit like Arsenal when all they wanted to do was finish in the top 4.

 

If Arsenal fans had aspired to win the league would they have done so? Remind what happened when their manager who kept delivering top 4 moved on?

 

Fans can aspire to whatever they want. Doesn't make it realistic.

 

We can sack Moore and bring someone else in but we still won't finish top 2.

[FreshOwl]

Forget about top 2. It’s not even worth a conversation 

 

Play offs would be a huge achievement this season 

[Dutch McLovin]

I don’t see anything from Moore to suggest we’ll get that many points. 
 

Player wise I fully think that’s achievable 

[areNOTwhatTHEYseem]

2 hours ago, Rodger Wylde said:

I suppose it depends what your track is.

 

We seem to think a play off place is the be all and end all without ever actually aspiring to a top 2 finish.

 

A bit like Arsenal when all they wanted to do was finish in the top 4.

 

We can aspire to a top two finish, but it's a very big ask given the state of the club in recent seasons. Given the context, I wouldn't be disappointed with a top six finish this season.

[Tommy Crawshaw]

5 hours ago, Andy W said:

If you look at our side, and compare to the other teams you mention, I would suggest top 2 is already a no go.

I don't actually think we will be top half 

 

I don't think there are any outstanding teams in the current top 6.

MK Dons, Plymouth and Wigan finished 13th, 18th and 20th in this division last season. Sunderland failed in the play offs. Rotherham and Wycombe finished several points behind us last season.

 

With our squad automatic promotion shouldn't be out of the question but we need a positive mindset from the coach to go for it. I'm not sure we have that.

[Guest Andy W]

28 minutes ago, Tommy Crawshaw said:

 

I don't think there are any outstanding teams in the current top 6.

MK Dons, Plymouth and Wigan finished 13th, 18th and 20th in this division last season. Sunderland failed in the play offs. Rotherham and Wycombe finished several points behind us last season.

 

With our squad automatic promotion shouldn't be out of the question but we need a positive mindset from the coach to go for it. I'm not sure we have that.

Must say I was impressed by Plymouth.

I agree the mindset is wrong..coach praising performances that are poor doesn't help

[Guest Andy W]

4 hours ago, NorthernOwl said:

 

If Arsenal fans had aspired to win the league would they have done so? Remind what happened when their manager who kept delivering top 4 moved on?

 

Fans can aspire to whatever they want. Doesn't make it realistic.

 

We can sack Moore and bring someone else in but we still won't finish top 2.

Agree...we do not have the current players, nor the werewithall to get better ones. Changing the manager is pointless, and aspiring means diddly squat...I assume most aspire to promotion and ultimately PL. How the heck can we do that in anything resembling the near future??

We cant, we are a middle table L1 team with a set up to match.

Its only the fans that set us apart really, and they deserve so much more

[pat blondeau]

I think expectations were too high this year from a lot of fans after the summer window. 
 

7 of the starting 11 on Saturday were already at the club last season and part of a squad which finished bottom of the championship.

 

Go through the signings this summer and how many look like quality acquisitions:

 

BPF started well but has made some mistakes recently and is not even guaranteed as number 1.

Brown and Johnson were released by Huddersfield and Boro and you can see why now.

Hunt was released by Bristol City.

Shodipo is surplus to requirements at QPR even though Odubajo is starting there every week.

Wing has been poor so far.

Gibson no idea, I’ve barely seen him play.

Sow and Corbeanu I knew very little about when we signed them and neither have really convinced so far in a league game.

Kamberi and Berahino looked like desperation signings when we needed to find a striker at the end of the window.

 

The only two signings I’d call successes so far are Gregory and Adeniran.

 

Does anyone geniunely think this squad of players is good enough to go up automatically whoever is in charge?

[Guest]

33 minutes ago, pat blondeau said:

I think expectations were too high this year from a lot of fans after the summer window. 
 

7 of the starting 11 on Saturday were already at the club last season and part of a squad which finished bottom of the championship.

 

Go through the signings this summer and how many look like quality acquisitions:

 

BPF started well but has made some mistakes recently and is not even guaranteed as number 1.

Brown and Johnson were released by Huddersfield and Boro and you can see why now.

Hunt was released by Bristol City.

Shodipo is surplus to requirements at QPR even though Odubajo is starting there every week.

Wing has been poor so far.

Gibson no idea, I’ve barely seen him play.

Sow and Corbeanu I knew very little about when we signed them and neither have really convinced so far in a league game.

Kamberi and Berahino looked like desperation signings when we needed to find a striker at the end of the window.

 

The only two signings I’d call successes so far are Gregory and Adeniran.

 

Does anyone geniunely think this squad of players is good enough to go up automatically whoever is in charge?

 

So 7 of the 11 that started in the Championship last season is a bad thing? 

Yes we were relegated but a big proportion of the blame for that was put on the fact that we were deducted 6 points - enough to keep us up, and we kept failing to pay our players and had poor managers.

 

Most teams in this division, if not all, would have Bannan and Iorfa in their team. Palmer has played many seasons above this level, Dunkley was a star man for a promoted team at this level a couple of seasons ago. Paterson is a strange player but if available on a free he would get a Championship club easily.

 

As for the signings, yes hunt was released by Bristol City, he was probably on a decent contract with them, he had lower end Championship opportunities. Likewise Johnson.

 

Gregory is scoring at a good rate, on target for a decent tally despite us playing players in positions that don't suit them around him and so disrupt our attacking play.

 

Shodipo is developing as a player with his best years to come but he had a really good season in helping a team into the top 6 at this level. To compare him with Odubajo at QPR when the two play in completely different positions is not reflective of anything. 

Adeniran had a good second half of the season in the Championship with Wycombe, pretty sure they would have taken him back.

Wing likewise, was one of Rotherham's better players last season.

Byers had decent Championship pedigree.

Peacock-Farrell did OK at Leeds in the Championship, he wouldn't entertain a move to a run of the mill League One team on loan.

 

I don't expect us to run away with this league, most don't but I do think those that think play-offs would be a remarkable season and see us a bottom half team are setting the bar too low. 

 

We are still in touch but the performances have been poor. Points gained on the pitch we were better than the likes of Rotherham & Wycombe last season and we have taken players that were regular starters in their teams yet they look like they have a way of playing and have started better than we have.

Did anyone really expect us to be 7 points behind Wycombe & Plymouth after 12 games, a team with no budget to speak of who got less Championship points on the pitch than us last season and a team that finished 18th in League One last season? 

 

Do you think Wigan have better players than us? They looked distinctly average against us but have a settled side in terms of formation and starting 11.    

 

 

 

 

[pat blondeau]

3 minutes ago, hirstyboywonder said:

 

So 7 of the 11 that started in the Championship last season is a bad thing? 

Yes we were relegated but a big proportion of the blame for that was put on the fact that we were deducted 6 points - enough to keep us up, and we kept failing to pay our players and had poor managers.

 

Most teams in this division, if not all, would have Bannan and Iorfa in their team. Palmer has played many seasons above this level, Dunkley was a star man for a promoted team at this level a couple of seasons ago. Paterson is a strange player but if available on a free he would get a Championship club easily.

 

As for the signings, yes hunt was released by Bristol City, he was probably on a decent contract with them, he had lower end Championship opportunities. Likewise Johnson.

 

Gregory is scoring at a good rate, on target for a decent tally despite us playing players in positions that don't suit them around him and so disrupt our attacking play.

 

Shodipo is developing as a player with his best years to come but he had a really good season in helping a team into the top 6 at this level. To compare him with Odubajo at QPR when the two play in completely different positions is not reflective of anything. 

Adeniran had a good second half of the season in the Championship with Wycombe, pretty sure they would have taken him back.

Wing likewise, was one of Rotherham's better players last season.

Byers had decent Championship pedigree.

Peacock-Farrell did OK at Leeds in the Championship, he wouldn't entertain a move to a run of the mill League One team on loan.

 

I don't expect us to run away with this league, most don't but I do think those that think play-offs would be a remarkable season and see us a bottom half team are setting the bar too low. 

 

We are still in touch but the performances have been poor. Points gained on the pitch we were better than the likes of Rotherham & Wycombe last season and we have taken players that were regular starters in their teams yet they look like they have a way of playing and have started better than we have.

Did anyone really expect us to be 7 points behind Wycombe & Plymouth after 12 games, a team with no budget to speak of who got less Championship points on the pitch than us last season and a team that finished 18th in League One last season? 

 

Do you think Wigan have better players than us? They looked distinctly average against us but have a settled side in terms of formation and starting 11.    

 

 

 

 

I’d say 7 of the starting 11 on Saturday being already here last season is a reflection the summer window wasn’t as good as plenty on here thought.

 

The team that started Saturday was what we already had last year with Hunt, Brown, Wing and Gregory added in

[Guest]

Just now, pat blondeau said:

I’d say 7 of the starting 11 on Saturday being already here last season is a reflection the summer window wasn’t as good as plenty on here thought.

 

The team that started Saturday was what we already had last year with Hunt, Brown, Wing and Gregory added in

 

Yes, and plenty of clubs at this level would happily have Bannan, BPF, Hunt, Wing, Gregory, Iorfa, Palmer, Paterson in their sides, so despite getting relegated we had a decent base of players for this level. Adeniran would start if available, Shodipo and Corbeanu not getting games is more a reflection of the manager not knowing what formation or side to go with rather than them not being good enough - Shodipo proved to be plenty good enough for top 6 for a full season at this level last season.  

[Ian_D]

20 hours ago, Rodger Wylde said:

Need 27 points from 11 games to be back on track.

 

21 from 11 and that's a play off place.

I would say 22 from 11 is on target for an auto place. Expand that to the end of the season and its 92 from 46. Not going to happen, mind.

[Tewkesbury]

8 hours ago, pat blondeau said:

 

The only two signings I’d call successes so far are Gregory and Adeniran.

 

Does anyone geniunely think this squad of players is good enough to go up automatically whoever is in charge?

To be fair, Gregory was given 8 games in his best position and a formation change to start scoring.

How many of the rest would be playing well if given the same chance?

[Buck Rogers]

It'll be 33 points when Moore unleashes the Windass.

 

Partenered with Gregory, the goals will flow as our wingers are finally unwrapped out of their factory sealed boxes and pepper the opposition's penalty box with relentless pressure.

 

 

[pat blondeau]

1 hour ago, Tewkesbury said:

To be fair, Gregory was given 8 games in his best position and a formation change to start scoring.

How many of the rest would be playing well if given the same chance?

Yes that’s a fair point, even though the majority of the signings have been disappointing so far they’ve not really been given a run of games by the manager in their preferred position 

[Tewkesbury]

6 minutes ago, pat blondeau said:

Yes that’s a fair point, even though the majority of the signings have been disappointing so far they’ve not really been given a run of games by the manager in their preferred position 

If this list had been done last week, Gregory would have been top of the failures, just the 2 rebounds at the start then nothing in 8 games.

He had 2 games up front without taking a shot. 6 without a goal. 

He was also released with a year left on his contract and only played 9 games last season, so wasn't exactly setting the world alight at his old club.

[Tommy Crawshaw]

12 hours ago, pat blondeau said:

I think expectations were too high this year from a lot of fans after the summer window. 
 

7 of the starting 11 on Saturday were already at the club last season and part of a squad which finished bottom of the championship.

 

Go through the signings this summer and how many look like quality acquisitions:

 

I think our squad is more than capable of being around the top of this league. Whether the coach is able to get them there is the question.

 

As you say the bulk of the starting 11 is still here from last season. They were good enough to stay in the Championship if it wasn't for the points deduction.

 

As for the new players, I think most would say we've improved the squad from last season.

 

In the forward/wide areas we lost Rhodes, Kachunga, Reach and Harris. They were replaced with Gregory, Berahino, Kamberi, Corbeanu, Johnson Shodipo and Sow. We have better options in attack this season.

 

Likewise in midfield. We have exchanged Pelupessy, Shaw and Brown for Wing, Byers and Adeniran.

 

I would say the squad looks better than last seasons.

Edited October 19, 2021 by Tommy Crawshaw

[Tewkesbury]

7 minutes ago, Tommy Crawshaw said:

 

I think our squad is more than capable of being around the top of this league. Whether the coach is able to get them there is the question.

 

As you say the bulk of the starting 11 is still here from last season. They were good enough to stay in the Championship if it wasn't for the points deduction.

 

As for the new players, I think most would say we've improved the squad from last season.

 

In the forward/wide areas we lost Rhodes, Kachunga, Reach and Harris. They were replaced with Gregory, Berahino, Kamberi, Corbeanu, Johnson Shodipo and Sow. We have better options in attack this season.

 

Likewise in midfield. We have exchanged Pelupessy, Shaw and Brown for Wing, Byers and Adeniran.

 

I would say the squad looks better than last seasons.

But you can't play them all at the same time.

 

To keep Gregory in a two up top, you can't play Kamberi, Corbineau, or Sow. Shodipo may play a bit on the left if we go 433 and Berahino either left or sharing the 10 with Paterson.

Either way, no wingers, or players shoehorned out of position.

So we can only play 2 of the 6 at once, not even that once Windass gets back.

 

I'm fully expecting Kamberi, Corbineau and Shodipo to leave in January as there's no place for them in this 352.

[Beany71]

12 hours ago, pat blondeau said:

I think expectations were too high this year from a lot of fans after the summer window. 
 

7 of the starting 11 on Saturday were already at the club last season and part of a squad which finished bottom of the championship.

 

Go through the signings this summer and how many look like quality acquisitions:

 

BPF started well but has made some mistakes recently and is not even guaranteed as number 1.

Brown and Johnson were released by Huddersfield and Boro and you can see why now.

Hunt was released by Bristol City.

Shodipo is surplus to requirements at QPR even though Odubajo is starting there every week.

Wing has been poor so far.

Gibson no idea, I’ve barely seen him play.

Sow and Corbeanu I knew very little about when we signed them and neither have really convinced so far in a league game.

Kamberi and Berahino looked like desperation signings when we needed to find a striker at the end of the window.

 

The only two signings I’d call successes so far are Gregory and Adeniran.

 

Does anyone geniunely think this squad of players is good enough to go up automatically whoever is in charge?

Didn't a lot of our fan base say DC got us relegated with the points deduction and that the team would/should have stayed up? If that's the case surely the 7 are Championship material and therefore a bacbone that should be near the top of league 1.