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They have a shortage of strikers, but despite having players out on loan, B team players, youth players etc - they get granted special dispensation from Spanish Football Federation to go out and sign a striker outside the window.
They then pay release fee for Leganes striker (and ex-Middlesborough man) Martin Braithwate. Braithwate is Leganes top scorer this season with 10 goals as they fight relegation.
They are 19th in the table, 2 points away from safety.
All players in Spanish league have a release clause. Leganes can do nothing to stop this transfer as it has been met.
They also can't sign anyone else because it is outside the window.
So they just have their best player taken away, so mega club Barcelona can get a striker to cover a few games whilst others are injured.
What a grubby situation, from a club who act like they are the good guys but seem to gt involved in more and more of these grubby situations.
I've joined the Labour party, and trying to follow the candidates in the leadership election and come across this from Nandy, who up until this point had been impressing me.
Questioned about whether Christopher Worton, a multiple child rapist who now identifies as a woman should be able to serve his sentence in a women's prison basically says "trans-women are women, and should be able to serve sentence in a women's prison" - what's worse for me is that you hear this rubbish and the audience all applauds.
This after her and RLB signed that Trans-Pledge thing the other day which says that any critics of Trans ideology should be expelled from the party.
Looks like Labour is happy to carry on burying itself down rabbit holes which affect 0.01% of the population and tie itself in knots over it.
If this Trans pledge becomes policy I'll be sending back my membership card - it's just utter bollox
...that could easily switch systems during the game today, think we actually looked better second half when we were 4 at the back as allowed Garbutt and Judge to affect the game in more forward positions.
Keane dropping in left us looking similar to our better spell at back end of last season in the Championship
For those who think the manager isn't good enough, then they won't disagree with this.
And for those who place the blame purely on the players, and the quality of the squad - is there any reason why you would want Lambert to be the man that leads the overhaul of the squad?
Our best bet is to get someone in now, see if there is a new manager bounce and then go from there - with that manager being able to overhaul squad if they deem necessary.
I just can't see how this turns round, and I can't see letting Lambert have another go at it, after what will be 2 seasons of utter failure is the right thing to do
Fascinating article on The Athletic about Barrow, managed by Ian Evatt, and how they are trying to play.
Basically taking inspiration from Pep and playing great football in the National League, currently 7 points clear at the top of the league with one of the smallest budgets in the league.
It's the sort of stuff I'd love to hear our manager talking about here, and like Unstableblue with a Technical approach....just a small snippet below here
Then there are what Evatt describes as the “non-negotiables”. Some are quite intriguing. For example, when Barrow play a 4-3-3 formation, their winger on the opposite side of the pitch to the ball has to stay high and wide even when they’re not in possession. “He cheats,” Evatt says. “Our centre-forward occupies their two centre-halves. And so it always gives us that out ball — bang, counter-attack.”
Another relates to the psychological side of the game. “At half-time, our players have to run in. That’s non-negotiable. It sends that mental message that we’re relentless. And you’ll see that tomorrow.”
One non-negotiable is absolutely fundamental to how Barrow play. “Regardless of what the opposition do [when Barrow have a goal-kick], whether they’re pressing high or not, my players have to show [for the ball]. Then, it comes down to decisions.
“If teams do commit bodies to stop us playing out, we will try and be brave, even if it means using the keeper [to create an overload] or the midfield players rotating. But we have this set plan where we [the three centre-halves] will go into the six-yard box as you are allowed to do now and the wing-backs will then stay high and wide.
“The midfield players will probably suck their midfield players in towards our goal if they’re going man-for-man and pressing high, and then we’ve got that opportunity to go bang, straight into Quigs [striker Scott Quigley], a bit like Ederson does with [Sergio] Aguero at times. And then, it’s more or less four-v-four. But our structure, how we look to play out, is non-negotiable.”
It is fascinating to listen to and feels like a ballsy way to set up at non-League level. Even though there are an increasing number of clubs trying to play football these days — Evatt and his staff list eight or nine in the National League — there is still a higher proportion that prioritise brawn over brains.
“It’s massively ballsy,” Evatt says, nodding. “But what is football? What do you believe in? I believe that football is there as an entertainment industry. Supporters work hard, 9-5, five or six days a week, to be able to afford to come to football. If my team are just going to set up to win games by set pieces and long balls, it’s not what I would want to spend my hard-earned money to watch.”
That said, Barrow’s own supporters had to be “re-educated” about the new style of football they were seeing and that process is ongoing, as The Athletic discovers 24 hours later. “When we first started, there were moans and groans — and there still are one or two when we recycle the ball. ‘Get it forward!’ ‘Get it in box!’” Evatt says, mimicking a northern accent.
Within the National League, managers and clubs have generally been very complimentary about the way that Barrow play. Yet there is also some curious post-match feedback at times that leaves Evatt and Atherton slightly baffled.
“When you go and speak to some managers, they say: ‘We’d love to play how you play but I haven’t got the players.’ Hang on a minute, your budget is three times what mine is — if you want to play football, recruit footballers. It’s that simple. Then coach them. Teach them. Improve them,” Evatt says.
“I don’t believe there are any footballers brought up to be physical, play for set pieces, direct. Nobody sets out to play that way. People do it because they think it gets them results. It might be OK for some teams and some managers to put up with that. I couldn’t sleep at night if I was going about trying to win football matches that way. I want my teams to be possession-based, attacking and free-scoring.”
....but this may be worse as we played pretty well for a half
Makes it more obvious how far away we are at the moment - the league table looks dreadful. How much longer can this dreadful run go on for? Surely something has to give
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