If you were our manager, who would you have played today?

I think Jay is a great leveller for this board. As you wade through the constant ***** posted on here very rarely do you stumble across well thought out arguments.

It's head **** this post for average numpty, coz he literally has no answer. It's asking too much for some on here to respond to such a well constructed post.

Keep up the good work. I think it's a case of "I called to listen to the voice of reason but got the answering machine"

 

Re: Did we start with 4-2-3-1 yesterday? I couldn't work out what the formation was!

Thats how we started though, isn`t it? With just one striker up front?
Yes he changed it when Paddy went off, but he only had Tudgay up front till then.

 

Re: Did we start with 4-2-3-1 yesterday? I couldn't work out what the formation was!

I'd argue we played 4 up front. Tudgay was the central striker, but Pedersen, McCourt and Cywka were all in close support.

Doesn't matter where they play, if you only have one recognised striker on the field at home and you fail to win, the manager is a numpty. I've read it enough times to know it must be true.

We've had a number of different team selections now. None of them match, there isn't a consensus. It wouldn't have mattered which team Mellon put out yesterday, even one of those above, if we didn't win Mellon was going to get it. We didn't and he did. 3 games he's had and he's *****. We're actually averaging a points per game record in those games that would see us finish in the top half of the table over a full season, but it doesn't matter, he's still *****.

Best of British to our next manager, he'll not last the season, unless, like Flicker before him, he can produce a miracle. I predict the first genuine calls for his head will come mid January. Maybe sooner if he's appointed this week.

 

Jay, I agree with your post entirely. We played an attacking line up with players most have been crying out to play. We started 4-3-3 switching to a 4-5-1 with cywka and pedersen tucking in when defending which I think in theory is a decent idea.

Butland
Wiseman Ramage Cranie Kennedy
Mellis Perkins Mccourt
Pedersen Tudgay Cywka

Yes, we could have conceded plenty but only due to the fact we went a little gung ho at times. I'm sure plenty were saying they would rather us play attacking football than all defensive. We did do and people then say we looked shocking at the back. We will look open and leave spaces if everyone is getting forward. We did everything to try and win the game, just lacked that little bit of quality in the final third. I cant see what else people wanted Mellon to do.

 

The road to League 1 is paved with good intentions.

Whilst the starting XI may have ben the best we could have mustered (our players out on loan notwithstanding) the formation and organisation was woeful.

Our right side - Wiseman had nobody in front of him other than Pedersen who looked totally bewildered by his role (and wasn't match fit imho) - it prevented Wiseman getting forwards, as there was no cover. Improved a little later on when Cwyzka was swapped over, but still pitiful imho.

If it was arranged so as to get Mellis and McCourt central then why wasn't the formation as per Brighton followed ? we were missing Etuhu, but to swap him for an unfit Pedersen was barmy.

Yeovil were ******* w@nk - they had one outlet (Miller), helped by the fact that Ramage had his worst 90 minutes as a professional footballer.

We're down with that sort of display.

 

Re: Did we start with 4-2-3-1 yesterday? I couldn't work out what the formation was!

I can't agree with that Loko mate. I didn't think there was anything wrong with our attacking play on Saturday. We created enough chances to win 3 games. There was nothing wrong with our finishing either, we just happened to be up against a 'keeper who was in stunning form and even when we beat him there was a Yeovil player on the line to knock it clear. Of course, Yeovil missed as many good chances as us - our defence was a shambles.

When I sat down on Saturday the first thing JLWBL said to me was that he couldn't remember the last time we started a game with such an attacking line up. "Aye, we'll probably get stuffed" I replied. We laughed. Not because what I said was funny, but because we both knew it could be true. Everyone has been crying out for an attacking line-up and when we get one the manager gets hammered for it. But people have got to accept, with the players we've got, if we're going to have a real go at the opposition we're going to leave ourselves vulnerable at the back. It was 1-1 on Saturday, but a much more representative scoreline that truly reflected the game would have 4 or 5 apiece. They fluffed their chances, their 'keeper saved ours. That's the type of game you get when we pick the attacking side that most people want.

I'm no football manager, I don't know what formation we should play. I was quite happy with what Mellon went with on Saturday and I'd read nothing from anyone else that made me think their team would fair any better. Then I read your post, had a think about it and concluded you were probably right. Maybe you should be our manager!? IMHO, your grievances are valid, but most people are slagging off the manager for doing exactly what they wanted him to do.

 

Re: The road to League 1 is paved with good intentions.

Can't argue with that, but I've seen much worse this season.

What Mellon is up against, and what Flicker was up against, and what our new manager will be up against, is that they'll pick a player to do a job and he'll be brilliant. All the crowd will be raving about him, the manager will be enthused and things will be looking up. He'll be given the same role the following week and be utter gash. Chris O'Grady apart, it's happened with just about all our players this calendar year. It doesn't matter what system you play, if your players are so inconsistent, you're not going to win a lot of matches. It makes the manager look stupid too. A player is asked to do a job that he's clearly shown he is capable of, but then completely fcuks it up.

Just about every player we've got has had at least one game in the last 12 months, often quite a few more, where they look top of the Championship bottom of the Premier League class. If they could do that every week they wouldn't be playing for us. But they can't, so they are. It's why Hemsworth gets in to so many arguments. He's seen them play really well once or twice, so argues that they're brilliant players. He can't accept that is the exception and the norm is that they're really very average. He does it for the cricket team too.

I don't envy our next manager at all. He'll pick a side based on what our players are capable of, but be shown to be a complete numpty when they fail to perform.

We've got a squad full of players who on their day are as good as owt in the division. What we need is half a dozen who give you the same kind of performance week in week out. Players like Hassell and Foster I suppose. Not the greatest, but the kind you can rely on. I liked Flicker, but I thought he was barmy for not recognising what this type of player brought to his side.

 

Re: Did we start with 4-2-3-1 yesterday? I couldn't work out what the formation was!

I agree with that, despite my line up being different(which it is most weeks), I was happy enough with the team selected and their keeper did pull off some special saves. We went gung ho for the 3 points leaving us exposed at the back, but then we get exposed when not taking the game to the opposition, this made it a open game end to end stuff.

What gets me is those that said the players didn`t care or put a shift in, to me they worked hard but just weren`t capable of coming out on top despite creating the chances. I can understand this from those that will beat Mellon with any stick they can find or those who slag the players constantly after defeat or even victory.

Jason Scotland came on and worked and played like he did at the end of last season yet without the goal IMO on Saturday.

 

Re: The road to League 1 is paved with good intentions.

Agreed, anyone managing a team on Football Manager will know that consistency is the key. No use if they turn it on once every 5 games.

 

Re: The road to League 1 is paved with good intentions.

Agree with you there. That's why I think we're on a downward spiral, irrespective of manager.

 

Re: The road to League 1 is paved with good intentions.

There's much to be said for a team of just above average, consistent players with a sprinkling of genuine ability.

It seems on Saturday we were awful - but had we stuck just one more of those chances away Mellon might be looking at the job. Such are the fine lines.

 

Re: The road to League 1 is paved with good intentions.

M'Voto's header goes in - genius substitution etc.

It would have been just papering over the cracks imho.

 

Good post. I think we all get upset and frustrated when we should be beating these teams. I actually think Mellon has done a good job with non consistent players. If Wilson got the job, I would still like Mellon to be No 2.
After watching Mellons set up and how we played first half at Burnley, I honestly thought we would bury Yeovil. What actually happened was abysmal. That was purely down to the players. We have to get OGrady back in and drop Pederson. What about Mvoto up front . Fetch Dagnall and RNL back. Play Kennedy for 45 and RNL 45. I would try Fox back in middle and rest Perkins.
Not a lot to choose from of good quality, but you cannot make cart horses into racehorses, only egg them on.

 

People keep posting that we haven't go an alternative to Kennedy on the books, yet Jimmy McNulty is our player, and his natural position is as a left back. It was Hill and Flitcroft who were determined that they would convert him into a centre back so that they could gloat about it for the next decade. I don't care what anyone on here says, Jimmy McNulty is a decent footballer at this level and he's light years beyond our current left back. In my opinion we need him and RNL back asap and i'd play them both on the left hand side for the foreseeable.