OTHER FOOTBALL

Victoria Swan

Key Player
For football club owners I can see that it's getting hard for them to ignore Cooper's record. A World Cup with the England unders, two runs to the play-offs in the Championship with Swansea, and now grabbing Forest by the lapels and dragging them from bottom-dwellers to nipping at the heels of Championship playoffs. As you say @CroJack, players seem to perform for him and his boring focus on defense leads to results. I can see lots of owners interested in him ... just not so much the fans in the longer term
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Interesting article. Points out that to stay you need to invest and you need to back a talented coach with better players. At this point, Leeds have panicked. The usual band of "salvation specialists" are going to be sought out to fill the position. Much better to stick with Bielsa and let him run the course. Any new manager is going to suffer the same resource impacts and shortages that Bielsa has faced, won't know the squad any better, has limited time to turn it around and if you've watched Leeds at all, the players are making fundmental mistakes on the field. The same players are going to salvage this season - they can do it under Bielsa or whomever. But it's these players that have to get it done.
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Bielsa gone and Leeds mourn. Listened to several of them on the radio today and the overwheming impression I got was that they'd rather have kept Bielsa even if it meant relegation. The man seems to be idolised there and with good reason. I am a fan and can only wish him well in the future.
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Watching Muff v Forest and half time it's 0-0. Great watching the two of them kick lumps out of each other and, let's face it, that's what's missing from our game. Our problem is twofold: 1) we don't make the most of our huge possession and 2) we are total crap OUT of possession. As a team we have no idea, or enough desire, to battle for the ball. A bunch of wimps as I've previously said.

Martin ironically asked should he sign 3 monsters at the back. One would help for sure but I grew up when the game was properly tough, far tougher than now, and you didn't have to be a monster to win the ball and physically hold your own. Without a great deal of thought players like Billy Bremner, Nobby Stiles, Johnny Giles come to mind and there were dozens of others of smaller or medium build who'd give you a right going over.

The football from this game is dire. We are a far better footballing team than either but, because we're so shite when we lose the ball, we lose too many games. I mean, a midfield of Grimes, Wolf, Ntcham, Paterson, Smith etc etc wouldn't fill me with fear let alone seasoned pros - nor would most of our defenders. And it doesn't help that Martin and his coaching staff don't seem to have a clue about how to coach defence. I suppose you can only work with what you've got and if you've got wimps then you perform like wimps. What we need is a bit of nasty in the team but I suspect that our tea lady has got more nasty than any of our defenders and midfielders. Of course I don't know the lady in question, so all due respect to her for the comparison.

As for Forest and Muff, I'm watching lots of endeavour and physicality but see absolutely nothing from either team to refute my belief that, if they do make the Premier League, they won't be coming staright back down.
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Martin doesn't need giants he just needs to have players play their natural positions and not some conjured up madness. Brad Cooper played the Naughton role well at the start of the season. We have the Burns kid on loan ... haven't seen him since his debut when he was good enough. Clearly the absence of Cabango was significant. Bennet has disappeared ... surely he should have been used in the absence of Cabango.

Neither Allen or Britton are big physically, but big hearted and never yielded an inch.
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Muff have been promoted courtesy of a superbly worked free kick finished off by Kiefer Moore with Brooksy watching. So Forest have to try through the play-offs but, for me, neither team will/would survive in the Premier League.

Neither Allen or Britton are big physically, but big hearted and never yielded an inch.
That's true and Muff manager, Scott Parker, who got his team playing in his image, was no shrinking violet. When the ball was there to win he usually won it and he wasn't a big guy. Think about the smaller/medium built players who didn't have the physical size to intimidate the opposition such as Keane, Ince, Souness, Tommy Smith, Perryman and many, many others. It's in the genes; you've either got the bottle or you haven't no matter how you're built. Some people call it character; some talk about attitude but, whatever you choose to call it, too few of our players have it.
 

CroJack

Key Player
Watching George Byers playing for Sheffield Wednesday against Sunderland in the 2nd leg of the League 1 play-offs. Unlucky not to score from an overhead kick. Did we let him go for free last summer?
 

CroJack

Key Player
Transfer market says that Byers left on a free.
Yes, that's why I'm asking in disbelief. According to TransferMarkt he was valuated at £1.2 m last summer. Why would we let a £1.2m player go for nothing? Couldn't we get let's say £200.000 for him?
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Yes, that's why I'm asking in disbelief. According to TransferMarkt he was valuated at £1.2 m last summer. Why would we let a £1.2m player go for nothing? Couldn't we get let's say £200.000 for him?
Clearly, there needs to be some recalibration of player selection, acquisition and release within the Club.

We pick up Piroe and Obafemi .... very good moves. However, Obafemi either comes crocked or woefully out of condition (can't remember which) but can't get a game until well into the season. We get Wolf, good move, but insist on playing him out of position so teacher's pet Paterson can get a game.

We pickup Ntcham but he either can't or they won't let him play 90. We release Byers on a free. We release Bidwell on a free - acquire Ogbeta as a replacement but don't use him. Dhanda becomes the missing man. Fulton get splinters from riding the bench. Smith does well at LWB/RWB when played out of position but is not deemed to have any value ... his contract expires. We send Benda away, pickup Fisher on a 4 year contract (WTF) and do not renew Hamer ... then I can't find the article @CroJack referred to in WOL but apparently Benda is leaving too.

We are looking forward but don't realize we are running backwards. None of it makes any sense.

Do we have a Director of Football now or don't we? We can't let Martin call the shots? We need somebody to think long term ... and managers, especially Martin, is not long term. Another season like this one and he'll have to go. I would say his honeymoon period is long ago dead and buried. If he doesn't get this lot playing with some passion and working butts off and winning from day 1, he's got to be on probation.
 

Behindthegoal

Key Player
Yes, that's why I'm asking in disbelief. According to TransferMarkt he was valuated at £1.2 m last summer. Why would we let a £1.2m player go for nothing? Couldn't we get let's say £200.000 for him?
I think he had a year left on his contract. So maybe the conversation goes:-
“George, you don’t figure in our plans (WTF?) so we’re looking to sell you on.”
”No thanks, I’m on good wages here.”
”Oh, OK, how about you go on a free? Then you can pocket a signing on fee. “
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
Contract dates: Swansea City - Detailed squad 21/22

Fulton is under contract until 2024. IMO, unless the player requests a transfer, it would be insane to lose him. And I can understand why he might want a transfer.

Unless Benda has a bad attitude (being set aside for Hamer and Fisher would give me an attitude), I see nothing in Fisher that rates him above Benda. I see nothing in Fisher that rates him above Woody, and I didn't think much of him.

Not giving Cullen, Whittaker, Garrick a chance during preseason makes no sense. Walsh had a history of problems coming in I've seen nothing in him to rank him above any other midfield player - especially Fulton and Dhanda.

I haven't see anything from Joseph that would rank him above Cullen or Whitakker.

The obvious players aside (Piroe, Obafemi, Downes), none of the players that we've acquired over the last few years have been improvements over existing stock.
 

CroJack

Key Player
1. It seems Dan James is coming back to the Championship.

2. This morning Watford stole Forest Green's manager. Rainbow will be mad.

3. If Stockport don't win tonight Wrexham have a good chance of earning automatic promotion in the next round. Wrexham have blossomed since
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought the club.

4. Wigan and Rotherham are back in the Championship. Sunderland and Wycombe are in the League 1 play-off finals.

5. Steve Cooper's Nottingham Forest play against Sheffield United on Saturday in their first leg play-off match. The stats point at Sheffield United as a winner.
 
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