We can't sign anyone

We can't loan anyone. This is what we've got. I wouldn't put any faith in things improving in January either. Our top target last January is making no impression in League 2. The board aren't going to suddenly buy players to change this.

The only person who can change this is the head coach. This mess isn't his fault but he's not helping. It's no good having ideals and a preferred system if the players at your disposal are incapable of playing that way. You play to their strengths, whatever they are, or you find a way to bring out their strengths. If you're open and expansive with inferior players you're going to get murdered, like we are doing. We need an extra midfielder, an extra defender, to get bodies behind the ball, not give the freedom of our half to the opposition. When we do that, it's not the players fault, it's the way they've been asked to play. The worst team in the world can get players behind the ball. We're not the worst team in the world, but we're not getting players behind the ball. That's the manager's tactics.

If he's not going to adapt he's no good to us. You can't play in a way that you would like to if we'd signed the players you wanted. You have to play in a way that suits what you've got. Lament a poor transfer window and owners who are about as much use as plastic dog sh*t and we'll definitely go down. Fight with what you've got and we might not.

 

I think the board have made it clear. Removing loan options have been the 'tweak' to the plan. We have also seen a conscious effort to not sign experience in terms of age and games in the championship. We have played semantics claiming experience can mean many things, but thats just to suit the plan not in my mind a genuine attempt to sign true championship experience. The question is will we be prepared to change the plan in January? There are free agents who would fit but perhaps not the salary and age model and lack the ability to recoup a fee in future. If the board intended to change the plan maybe we would see something but i dont think they are. Anyway whatever happens in Jan it will be too late. Then we will moan we lose £6M (or $7M) when we go down.

 

Do you mean play in a similar way to Hecky did after the team was sold from under him?

 

I think we have seen the last 4-5 championship managers for us given the game toolkit. All of which have failed.

 

It won't change in January. The January window is notoriously difficult when it comes to trying to bring in quality. No-one wants to let quality go in the middle of the season, even if they are currently not first choice, in case they are needed.

I am resigned to finishing 24th. I certainly don't see us climbing out of the bottom 3 at any point this season.

 

Only thing we can change really is our formation and go with wingbacks and three centre half’s it surely can’t make us any worse and the international break could give us time to implement it.

 

Yes I think we need to do that. As Hecky showed it can be slightly effective

 

Also no quality players want to join a team in the bottom 3, probably on sh1tt3r money than they are worth.

This is another disaster in a long list of self imposed disasters over the last decade.

 

I agree, just interesting isn't it?

 

It was daft seeing people slag him off when you have to try to defend what little you have if you are left with inferior players.

 

It was but I, and I presume you too, got shot down for it at the time and since. I think these group of players are inferior to the one he had. As such I think we are in big trouble and trying to scrape a points by any means necessary is the only way to go. But I also feel that will fail so part of me thinks Stendel may rather continue to do what he is doing. Making it clear he is not the reason we are going to be relegated. Personally I think he should resign but that's just me.

 

Out of interest, why?

 

My thoughts exactly. Was listening to Tony Pulis on the radio earlier talking about Liverpool and how to play against attacking fullbacks and although there are no direct comparisons in quality I think there are in the approach, particularly pushing the fullbacks high up the pitch.

We’ve seen it so many times this season where a ball in behind our fullbacks results in a goal.

Yes, our lads are young and inexperienced but IMO the way they are pushing on is borderline suicide in football terms. If we are he’ll bent on pushing fullbacks on then play 5 at the back or revert to a traditional back 4 and try to stifle the opposition.

We are so far behind pretty much every team in the championship from a quality perspective that we should approach our games in the same way that teams do playing against Citeh. Currently we approach every game to try and out score everyone!!

 

Damaging his reputation unfairly, he has been given a next to impossible task.

 

Playing negative football losing 1 or 2 nil every week and still getting relegated is just what we need.
I'd much rather lose having a go even though it looks like we're just not good enough.

 

I thought the way it was supposed to work was that the manager told the recruitment team the type of player he needed to play the way he wants to play. Wonder where Patrick Schmidt fits in?

 

But, like our squad, he's limited. He's inexperienced. He was chosen because he was felt to be the best option to implement a style the board had identified. Now the board have given him a squad who can't that play I can't have a go at him for not being able to change because, quite frankly, I dunno if he's any good either. This is as much a learning curve for him as any other. I remember you pissing yourself laughing at them announcing him and how mental it was bringing in a staff from the German conference north. This is what's been designed.

Hecky tried to change. He got lambasted for it from memory. Too defensive. Not making the most of Mallan or any of the other no mark 5 foot 7 attacking midfielders we had.

I remember our mate Keith saying recruitment is king. It's all well & good talking tactics & selections but if your players are ****, and you know they're ****, and they know they're ****, it must be pretty ****.

 

Hahaha, I love the King Keith analogy.

 

Just on that..... there is one team who are prepared to let quality go in Jan......US!!