League 1 experiences

[Safcfaninpeace]

How have yous found the 1st year at this level ?.

The past 4 years (can't believe I'm writing that ) have been eye opening let's say .

Been to more grounds too tick off the list but in general I've found it not as bad as I thought. 

Granted I've seen us win a lot more games seen some good displays but some awful ones also 

Standard of referres is Sunday league standard and I've been to some grounds I never thought I'd see is playing in at league level .

In total 5 years of our history at this level and I really need Saturday to go to plan to get out of this 

[Owl Rly]

Well, we’ve been here before a few times in recent history… so by all means it’s not the newest experience.

 

On this occasion I do want to say that I am staggered by the strength of the top seven. For Plymouth to get 80 points and miss out on the top six is pretty damn incredible for a point waterline. Considering we have the Championship hangover and mentality and hearing about it is always “the best league in the world” it is remarkably dire just how poor the standard of that league has been for the top six picture this season while we had a very fiercely contested league campaign and I feel Wednesday should have got automatic promotion (and fair to say that experience is shared by MK Dons and Sunderland fans… not sure Wycombe count). There’s always banana skins and poor performances against lesser sides so I guess none of that has surprised me in retrospect.

I can’t recall the refereeing standard being this bad before, but then it was fairly bad during recent seasons in the Championship. As the EFL is very much it’s own beast and things are different at different tiers, I’m curious if the Championship and League Two this season had quite the same problems with time-wasting. Time-wasting has been endemic in this league and maybe showcased by the poster boys of this in the anti-footballing Wycombe. Teams generally run down the clock with gamesmanship and there are no repercussions: referees buy the killing of momentum and wasting of time and are apathetic/uninterested in addressing it. Curious if anything will be addressed with it at a bigger level as it seems especially ridiculous this year.

Finally, I was really impressed with Sunderland and how they played against us. A lot of mobile and talented midfielders, commanding defenders (forgot how massive Batth was from his time with us), and a strike force that contains the massive and quick Stewart. I want to wish you good luck for the final, I think you deserve to go up following those performances, but oddly fear you’ll be shithoused by Wycombe. I know what their game is and why it works, I just can’t understand where the quality is there and staggered we lost twice to them this season. Best of luck.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Owl Rly
Spelling

[scilly owl]

6 minutes ago, Owl Rly said:

Well, we’ve been here before a few times in recent history… so by all means it’s not the newest experience.

 

On this occasion I do want to say that I am staggered by the strength of the top seven. For Plymouth to get 80 points and miss out on the top six is pretty damn incredible for a point waterline. Considering we have the Championship hangover and mentality and hearing about it is always “the best league in the world” it is remarkably dire just how poor the standard of that league has been for the top six picture this season while we had a very fiercely contested league campaign and I feel Wednesday should have got automatic promotion (and fair to say that experience is shared by MK Dons and Sunderland fans… not sure Wycombe count). There’s always banana skins and poor performances against lesser sides so I guess none of that has surprised me in retrospect.

I can’t recall the refereeing standard being this bad before, but then it was fairly bad during recent seasons in the Championship. As the EFL is very much it’s own beast and things are different at different tiers, I’m curious if the Championship and League Two this season had quite the same problems with time-wasting. Time-wasting has been endemic in this league and maybe showcased by the poster boys of this in the anti-footballing Wycombe. Teams generally run down the clock with gamesmanship and there are no repercussions: referees buy the killing of momentum and wasting of time and are apathetic/uninterested in addressing it. Curious if anything will be addressed with it at a bigger level as it seems especially ridiculous this year.

Finally, I was really impressed with Sunderland and how they played against us. A lot of mobile and talented midfielders, commanding defenders (forgot how massive Batth was from his time with us), and a strike force that contains the massive and quick Stewart. I want to wish you good luck for the final, I think you deserve to go up following those performances, but oddly fear you’ll be shithoused by Wycombe. I know what their game is and why it works, I just can’t understand where the quality is there and staggered we lost twice to them this season. Best of luck.

Excellent post. I agree that the refereeing has been sub standard, I’m convinced that some of the officials have never played football in their lives and are just doing it to get out of the house for the weekend.

The other modern day affectation that you didn’t mention was the hilarious sight of defenders with limited ball skills trying to play it out from the back with often calamitous results. Premier league defenders often come to grief with this pompous strategy so god only knows why third tier managers would instruct their defenders to give it a go.

 

[Nero]

The referees generally arent as fit the further down you go so many see time wasting as a plus. Its as simple as that. I was told that by an ex PL ref.

Other than that I think L1 standard of play has been far higher than last time we were here.

Championship seems to have got stuck in a rut since Covid. Nowt to fear if you make it.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Nero

[marshy]

Plus the lino's. I've seen them at Hillsborough 15 yards behind play from a quick break and sprinting, blowing out their arse, belly hanging out the shirt like they are running the line on a Sunday morning in the park having had a shedload of ale the night before. Ok, might be a slight exaggeration, but almost certainly way behind play and couldn't possibly give a correct decision.

 

[IWEDFM]

11 hours ago, Safcfaninpeace said:

How have yous found the 1st year at this level ?.

The past 4 years (can't believe I'm writing that ) have been eye opening let's say .

Been to more grounds too tick off the list but in general I've found it not as bad as I thought. 

Granted I've seen us win a lot more games seen some good displays but some awful ones also 

Standard of referres is Sunday league standard and I've been to some grounds I never thought I'd see is playing in at league level .

In total 5 years of our history at this level and I really need Saturday to go to plan to get out of this 

 

To be fair mate we've been down here a few times before and it was a whole lot worse. We played the likes of Rushden & Diamonds and DREW 0-0 at home. Now let that sink in

 

League One has certainly improved and it's almost like the land of the fallen giant with you lot, us, Bolton, Charlton, Ipswich all down here battling to get back up. It'll be interesting to see how Derby fare next season

 

 

 

 

[Minesapint]

I think it is fair to say the general level of football at this level seems better than expected.  I do wonder if this is something to do with the number of foreign  players in the game which means  British players who would have played at a higher level in years gone past now have to play at this level.  
With regards referees I find the standard well below what it should be. Surely League 1 is a stepping stone to the Championship and then Premier League. Instead it looks as though it’s a rest home for retiring officials.

The time wasting and players throwing themselves to the floor in the Hope of a foul is something the officials could stamp by applying the current rules but I wonder if they feel they will not be backed by their organisation 

Edited May 16, 2022 by Minesapint
Spelling

[royalowlisback]

We are quite used to this league, next season will be our 6th season in League One in the last 18 years or so  - there is no novelty, no new experiences and nothing that much to get excited about...

[wakefieldowl]

13 hours ago, Safcfaninpeace said:

How have yous found the 1st year at this level ?.

The past 4 years (can't believe I'm writing that ) have been eye opening let's say .

Been to more grounds too tick off the list but in general I've found it not as bad as I thought. 

Granted I've seen us win a lot more games seen some good displays but some awful ones also 

Standard of referres is Sunday league standard and I've been to some grounds I never thought I'd see is playing in at league level .

In total 5 years of our history at this level and I really need Saturday to go to plan to get out of this 

No doubt about it that you were the better side in both games. Im still confused why we didnt play our normal game against you. I think DM went all southgate and was too scared of sunderland, rather than making you scared of us.

However, good luck on saturday. For selfish reasons i hope you go up, as you will be a big threat next season to us !

You will win comfortably v WW

[runningaround]

7 hours ago, Owl Rly said:

Well, we’ve been here before a few times in recent history… so by all means it’s not the newest experience.

 

On this occasion I do want to say that I am staggered by the strength of the top seven. For Plymouth to get 80 points and miss out on the top six is pretty damn incredible for a point waterline. Considering we have the Championship hangover and mentality and hearing about it is always “the best league in the world” it is remarkably dire just how poor the standard of that league has been for the top six picture this season while we had a very fiercely contested league campaign and I feel Wednesday should have got automatic promotion (and fair to say that experience is shared by MK Dons and Sunderland fans… not sure Wycombe count). There’s always banana skins and poor performances against lesser sides so I guess none of that has surprised me in retrospect.

I can’t recall the refereeing standard being this bad before, but then it was fairly bad during recent seasons in the Championship. As the EFL is very much it’s own beast and things are different at different tiers, I’m curious if the Championship and League Two this season had quite the same problems with time-wasting. Time-wasting has been endemic in this league and maybe showcased by the poster boys of this in the anti-footballing Wycombe. Teams generally run down the clock with gamesmanship and there are no repercussions: referees buy the killing of momentum and wasting of time and are apathetic/uninterested in addressing it. Curious if anything will be addressed with it at a bigger level as it seems especially ridiculous this year.

Finally, I was really impressed with Sunderland and how they played against us. A lot of mobile and talented midfielders, commanding defenders (forgot how massive Batth was from his time with us), and a strike force that contains the massive and quick Stewart. I want to wish you good luck for the final, I think you deserve to go up following those performances, but oddly fear you’ll be shithoused by Wycombe. I know what their game is and why it works, I just can’t understand where the quality is there and staggered we lost twice to them this season. Best of luck.

to our previous incarnations i think 85 is super unlucky not to get but showed the strength this time, 1 - 5th deserved a tilt but thats the level now if you get out well every chance to consolidate up in champ, different from 10 years ago when sack a messiah it seemed and kicked on. It is something Rotherham need to master 

[WestBerksOwl]

7 hours ago, scilly owl said:

 

The other modern day affectation that you didn’t mention was the hilarious sight of defenders with limited ball skills trying to play it out from the back with often calamitous results. Premier league defenders often come to grief with this pompous strategy so god only knows why third tier managers would instruct their defenders to give it a go.

 

 

agreed .. it was heart stopping to watch at times. A Giraffe on ice skates had more poise and control than some of our defenders passing & receiving the ball around the 6 yard line