Have we finally got the balance right?

Between effective winning football, heart and desire and playing for the shirt, and a style that involves passing the ball about as opposed to just hoofing it up the field?

I don’t think the football is a pretty as Struber’s, it’s not as effective as Val’s but the players are clearly able to fight back from a deficit, unlike under MD’s reign.

Are we as good as the Stendel promotion season? Which of our current squad get in that team?

 

Results suggest strongly that we are better away now than Stendel's team, but not as good at home. Our home record in 2018-19 was W15 D8 L0. This season it's W9 D3 L5 so far. However, our away form is the best in my fairly long lifetime at W10 D6 L1. That's quite exceptional. In 2018-19 our away record was W11 D5 L7. One more away win will give us a higher points total away than in the whole of that season.

 

Player for player though, I’d say there are far more of Stendel’s team get into a combined 11 than Collins.
I think that is testament to how he’s got us playing as a team.

 

Maybe Roberts, definitely Connell; not too many more tbh. Cadden on the left maybe.

 

Davies vs Roberts
Dmitri Cavare vs Jordan Williams
Ethan Pinnock vs Donovan Pines
Liam Lindsay vs Mael de Gevigny
Adam Jackson vs Josh Earl
Dani Pinillos vs Nicky Cadden
Alex Mowatt vs Luca Connell
Brad Potts vs Adam Phillips
George Moncur vs Herbie Kane
Kieffer Moore vs Stan Cosgrove
Woodrow vs Cole

 

Roberts.
J. Williams.
Ethan Pinnock.
Liam Lindsay.
Josh Earl.
Nicky Cadden.
Alex Mowatt.
Adam Phillips.
Herbie Kane.
Kieffer Moore.
Cauley Woodrow.

 

That’s how I see it, although there is a case for Connell over Mowatt. They’re different types of player though, but I gave it to Mowatt with him offering more going forward.

 

Connell definitely needs to be in it for me. Incredible player, despite his mediocre performance today, and its clear how much we missed him earlier on in season when he was poorly

 

Yep thats a promotion winning side SD. Do agree with somehow getting Connell in there but as yve not done a subs bench ad have him as No1 substitute.

 

Out of these comparisons is this current team the youngest?

 

In but based on team. Not player v player
Goal
Robert's

Defence
Williams
Earl
Cadden

Midfield
Connell
Kane

Striker
Woodrow /Cole ? based on those seasons only. (45 minutes each lol. )

Out
Goal
Davies

Defence
Cavare
Lindsey
Pinilos


Midfield
Potts
Moncur

 

Strikers was hard for me to decipher because I've a suspicion Cosgrove will be one of our best signings...eventually. I couldn't put him in on recent form although he's a trier.

 

Collins and how we played annoyed the fk out of me start of season. It was awful to watch but i think he knew the limitations in the squad and adapted us to cope. Like having to play shepherd - a very raw player. He needed protection.

To have us in the position we are with crap pre season and losing some big players hes done well.

Still think we could have been out of sight now had we not been so negative but hey ho it is what it is. We could have easily been mid table instead.

Massive game v bolton and the games in hand.

yet again another exciting season with all the play for at an end of the table.

can you remember back in the late 80s and early 90s where we used to finish 12 every year and the fans said the board didnt want to go up - dennis the menace etc. long time since we had a mediocre run of the mill mid table season aint it.

last 30 years been an interesting period to be a reds fan for ups and downs. This season no different.

 

Not as good as Stendel’s side. As good as Duff’s, think we went out to beat the side as soon as we could under him. Hard to compare us to Struber as we were crap but in a league higher. Don’t think any side we’ve had since the Bassett XI can be compared to Ismael’s team. One of the most unique sides we’ll ever see.

 

Stendel 2019 34 games 67 points +31 GD
Duff 2023 34 games 66 points +26 GD
Collins 34 games 66 points +25 GD

In points terms incredibly close between the three managers. Stendel’s team were sat second after 34 games, whereas both Duff and Collins were/are fourth but with games in hand.

From the final 12 games Stendel’s team got a further 24 points to finish on 91, 3 clear of third place.
Duff’s team managed 20 points to end the season on 86 points, 12 points short of second place.
This year it’s looking like the total points for automatic will be just above 90 points.

Tuesday night is a massive game.

 

In 84, we were 6th (4 points from 3rd), 89 7th (2 points), 91 8th (goal difference), 95 6th (4 points). And there were at least a couple of years we were close to relegation until late on.