Mladen's All Stars

Red Herring O'Keefe. He's gash.

 

This should be pinned to the top of the board. Anyone wanting a moan about the players/ manager/ ground/ owners should read it because this is it in a nutshell.

What was once sport is now business. I remember folk welcoming football becoming a business because ‘businesses are well run and make a profit.’ For every business that does, there are dozens who aren’t well run or make a profit. For every visionary who knows his business, there are hundreds of chancers and snake-oil salesmen trying to make a quick buck, failing miserably and dragging everyone down with them. Before they walk away.

 

so basically one good signing out of that pile - the one that had been performing week in week out in the English football league before we signed him - everything else pure hit and hope speculation

 

Larkeche that’s a bit left field innit given it’s over 12 months since he was here

 

Agree with some of what has been said here, but I think one of the main differences between now and 5-10 years ago is that other clubs have wised up with their data/ recruitment models.

With James Cryne's model we seemed to be ahead of the curve and signed some great young players using the data approach. But now other teams with bigger budgets are spotting those same players, and they have the benefit of matching them up with quality experienced players. We're ending up with our 4th choice pick and lining them up with other 4th choice picks.

Obviously we've had a bunch of other issues over the last 10 years but the spreadsheet-bashing winds me up!

 

Watters at Bristol Rovers?

 

So rarely

 

Played many defence splitting passes from what I've seen mostly to o keffe when he gets forward. Problem with yesterday 1st half we played mostly in our own half. O keefe rarely ventured past halfway.

 

No, I’m not accepting that as I’ve already accepted he can spray a ball for the wing back. Similar to how Phillips can play a lovely cross field pass to Gent. That’s all well and good, but they’re not through the middle. We are a very sideways passing team, it’s almost as if it’s a requirement to go wide with the ball.

Also, Okeefe started in a flat back 4 yesterday, so was a full back.

 

Agree. I think that's the essence of the decline of the club. Conway ruined us and the 'new' board have been incompetent in their attempts to halt that decline. The only saving grace about this new board is that they are pumping millions in every year to keep the club going (although that in itself is testament to the fact of how badly the club was and is still being run). I posted an opinion last season where I suggested the decline at some point would bottom out - it doesn't appear to have bottomed out yet. Neerav in particular needs to get more of a grip on the running of the club otherwise he'll continue to fritter his millions away without thinking clearly.
I do think this coming summer window will be pivotal in telling us whether we have the chance of a crack at the Championship next season or will be L1 relegation material. There needs to be a complete and focused rebuild, deadwood needs shipping out and the squads across all levels seriously trimmed. At the same time, recruitment needs to be focused with a clear intent of building the team rather than, as you say, getting players in who can be sold off quickly for profit. The manager is key here. If they think Clarke is good they should stick with him and back him on tactics and with funds for strengthening. If they don't think he's good enough he should be sacked and a replacement brought in who they genuinely back. Neerav and co. will be spending more money doing all this I would think in the short -term (good manager and good players) but doing what they have been doing has been a false economy anyway - hence the hemorrhaging of money which will just continue if things don't improve. They must get the club on an upward curve from the summer and they need to sustain it. Its becoming more and more critical. The fans are leaving in droves, the atmosphere is toxic, season ticket sales will fall further - all because of the decline started by Conway and not stopped by the new board. The decline of the club needs stopping quickly. They need to take really positive action this summer. No messing about.

 

You usually do pass it sideways and bring your wingbacks into play when you play with them. Our best attacking threat this season.has been o keffe hence why he has so many assists.

 

Yeah, I get that, but his assists haven’t been purely down to Nwakale feeding him the ball have they?

 

To be fair, it doesn't matter whether you accept it or not, does it? You have expressed your doubts about this player consistently, and we have exchanged views, mine being contrary to yours. Perhaps I'm clutching at straws, but in my eyes he's just about the only player of genuine quality we have. But it's all about opinions at the end of the day.

 

Hang on a minute. I think you’re getting me mixed up with someone else. My reply about not accepting wasn’t even addressed to you at all, it was in reply to another poster, and I explained why, ie I’d already mentioned that he could pick out the wing back.

Where have I consistently expressed doubts about Nwakale? I’d like you to scroll though all of your and my posts and show me some examples of where this is the case.

 

That's because it IS a requirement to go wide with the ball.

You can't play a defence splitting pass through the middle when DKD is stood next to you on the half way line because he isn't a striker and Humphreys is playing wide left because he isn't a centre forward.

Our entire team is set up to play the ball to the flanks, in fact it's set up to play the ball almost solely to the right flank where you've got O'Keeffe and Philips to rub into the ball, get hold it up and slowly work it back into the middle.

Nwakali can't play defence splitting balls through the middle because we don't have any strikers, we have midfielders and wide men being called strikers on transfer deadline day to gaslight fans into believing we had signed some when we hadn't.
The only exception to the above is watters who largely stands with his back to goal making running onto a ball difficult and they've only started two games together anyway.

 

You’re all reading far too much into what I’ve written, and needlessly defensive of Nwakale, who I think is a really good player. I shouldn’t have to reiterate that because you’ll be struggling to find anything I’ve ever written to the contrary.

Here’s what I said :-
Nwakale is excellent at sitting and recycling the ball. From nice little touches to raking passes to overlapping wing backs. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him put anyone through on goal yet though.

I didn’t say he couldn’t play a though ball. I said I wasn’t sure I’d seen it, for whatever reason.

 

Should have pointed out as well, before others got involved. I actually said ‘played through on goal’. There is a big difference between that and finding the wing back high up the field.

 

I wasn't trying to argue with you or defend him, just giving my opinion on why it doesn't happen often. I personally haven't seen you criticise him much on here at all. Doesn't mean that you haven't or anything but I haven't seen it personally.

I'll add one more reason why I don't think it happens much though regardless of who plays in midfield and that's because with nwakali, Connell and Russell we have three players there who aren't very mobile. All got the same attributes, give them space on the ball and they can spray it around but none make fast runs up the pitch into space which again causes the strikers to drop deep to fill the void and again leaves the only outlet being wide.

Not trying to defend Nwakali because I didn't see much criticism of him from you, just highlighting why I believe we don't hit defence splitting passes very often these days.

 

Well I can promise you I haven’t. I’m probably one of the least critical posters on the board.

 

Nwakali’s a really good player. We just didn’t need him. We could’ve got away with a cheap back up for Connell or used a Russell, Benson, Hourihane, Yoganathan etc there when needed.

The wages would have been far better used on a striker.

We’re now in a situation where the managers trying to squeeze Connell & Nwakali into the same side which means Phillips & DKD have to play further forward than they should be which means we have too many players wanting to get on the ball & create & not enough runners in the side.