| Forum Thread | Probably the biggest concern for me over the last two games.... at 22:29 17 Aug 2021
has been the complete change in approach from the positive signs we saw in the first game of the season. Against Morecambe, there were lots of very evident examples of things that had evidently been worked on over the summer, the blueprint ideas that Cook was clearly looking to impose- i.e. fullbacks pushed up high, CBs playing the ball out to CMs and they in turn spreading the play left and right to those fullbacks. Then when the opposition broke, the two CMs covering back to help the CBs, with the fullbacks up the pitch. On Saturday and, worryingly, even more today, a lot of our player stemmed from the CBs playing the ball between each other, out to the fullbacks and then down the line, or back inside to the CBs. And the entire back four sitting deep doing this. It is exactly what we saw with Lamberts team last year and offered so little penetration. You could almost say that its about the players reverting to their old habits and needing to gain more confidence in the style of play, but these players dont have old habits, they werent here and any habits they do have are the exact ones we want- its why they have been specifically purchased, at expense, to make sure we can get the best ones for that. So why has that happened? Has Cook seen something in the team that he doesnt like and has changed the approach, surely not at this point, given the players he has been able to bring in? Is it simply a different strategy away from home? IF so, why line up with the same formation? Its concerning as, for a manager who was so very clear about his approach, about the style he would play, and almost dogmatic about that, I wouldnt expect that to be happening at all. |
| Forum Thread | Barts "disrespectful" comments... at 21:12 22 Nov 2018
Having just commented publicly on the way the previous manager was disrespectful (justifiably it seems), isnt it then also disrespectful to imply that there were reasons for his early season form that he isnt prepared to talk about, but will "definitely tell the whole story at some point"? It clearly implies further issues with the previous management, but in not saying what they are, it leaves it open to inevitably negative assumptions by fans. He could have just said nothing at all. Instead, it strikes me as a little disrespectful to put a suggestion out there and leave it to social media to fill the gaps. |
| Forum Thread | Kenlock v Knudsen... at 11:37 16 Apr 2017
The problem I have with this is that we spent £300k on Knudsen, which may be a relatively small amount, but it happens to be the third highest transfer fee we have paid out in 5 years. I dont think anyone can really argue that he didnt make a particularly great impression last season and that, given his age, he was perhaps one for the future who needed time to settle. But at the same time, we had a player in our own academy who, to my admittedly untrained eye, looked to have more potential in his fleeting appearances than Knudsen did in the 40+ starts he was afforded. What we needed last year was a stop gap- a player who could come in immediately and perform at a strong level for two years whilst our own development player was slowly fed into the team. Rather than another player, at a reasonable fee, who also needed developing at the same time, at the detriment of the first team. It strikes me that we should have just stuck with Parr for 2 seasons, as a relatively cheap but capable left back. |
Please log in to use all the site's facilities | | olimar
|
Site ScoresForum Votes: | 321 | Comment Votes: | 84 | Prediction League: | 0 | TOTAL: | 405 |
|