Match day thread: Lincoln 25th April 2026 (A)

Each to their own but that’s not for me. Huge cringe factor

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If Duff gets his way, we are probably going to have take an absolute financial beating on ending some players contracts early, or vastly reduced transfer fees. If we can find someone prepared to pay a fee. I hope ML is prepared to open his wallet again. Rice is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Also, if you’re angry with standards post Christmas, how about dropping Will Norris?

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I need to get a shift on with it as I want the data mostly ready before the next match. Then I’ll have to give it a couple of days for final enough data. Otherwise I’ll jump the gun and Fink will get MOTM next week or something and throw it all out. :rofl:

(I’ve been spending most of my time this week doing similar data crunching work but on a Shopify B2B store for my work). :grin:

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I’m mostly with you on the interview. I’m glad that someone is calling out the clown show, but it was a bit bizarre and scattergun. On Norris though, what choice does he have? Rice wouldn’t let him bring George back, Van Sas is a bit crap, and we’re left with that other bloke whose contract we extended for some reason but hardly anyone even knows his name let alone whether he’s any good in goal.

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It’s entirely possible he has spent the last 120 days or so attempting to address the issues behind closed doors. It’s difficult to change a culture in a short space of time, it can be a slow process, as illustrated in the first 18 months or so of Gareth Ainsworth’s tenure. There are several ways to effect change and if you don’t get the desired response, speaking publicly is one option.

I very much doubt those above him aren’t aware of these issues either. I suspect he’s in regular dialogue with them. I don’t recall him making any mention of budget in either of the post-match interviews.

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When he wears a non Lyle and Scott top then we’ll know that shit just got real.

Duff came to the club in September? If his issue is mentality or behaviours, the newer signings would have barely gad their feet under the door by the tine he came in, so surely he would have had plenty long enough to get them into shape, it can’t be built in because, they weren’t here before.

Then we look at those around longer, which isnt many, Harvie, Norris, Anders, from that January window.

Then the older ones like Fred or Jack, josh or Luke.

Ok, Vidigal has form, but we still signed him.

Im still not sure if im buying it all.

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I thought that was a telling passage of the interview - similar comments made around attackers (not) taking chances and people/(centre backs? (not) winning headers too.

I like Duff, but last few weeks he has clearly been very unhappy. Really hoping we aren’t in for another turbulent period ahead.

Wonder if he’ll be at the fans forum event this week?

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Fink won’t get MOM next week ;0)

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You could at least humour me here. :rofl:

Maybe the bistros of Marlow aren’t so great after all. Or Trilogy/whatever it’s called now. At least one player is known to like the odd night out there but they are adults.

I think it’s 50/50 whether Duff ends up on the winning side of the culture wars and gets to properly clear the decks.

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What would be cheaper for the club… getting rid of a whole squad of supposedly bad apple players (presumably paying them all off as no one will pay to sign such disruptive, lazy influences). Or … getting rid of one head coach who’s clearly lost the dressing room and isn’t afraid to lash out and blame anyone who isn’t himself?

So on one hand training and standards aren’t right.

But on the other hand we’re supposedly the better team quite often.

Surely if the behaviour and standards weren’t good we wouldn’t even be the better team that often.

Oh well, it’s given us something to discuss at what very much feels like the early petering out of a season for quite a rare time this last 15 years!

I personally don’t think it’s on Duff we do play good football but we haven’t taken our chances but equally we haven’t had sufficient strikers. We have lost loads of important players in particular Anders and Casey . Think pure frustration is the cause of his rant however on the other side he is very critical of the side he does say they are good players but maybe a little hard as well in public . I’m sure someone on here was talking about players being unhappy with Duff but not sure if there is anything going on .

Fink22

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A player on one hand that has such exquisite European pedigree that got @Midlander absolutely laundering his breeks.

Yet on the other hand genuinely doesn’t look like he could boss a defence made up of goons plucked out of the terrace.

Just listened to Duff interview with Matt.

What I didn’t have on my bingo card was the tidbit of information that “by all accounts” Josh Scowen training performances prior to his recent injury weren’t the best.

Given his commitment and workrate on the pitch come matchdays, i would have bet my house that Scowen would have been at the very top of the training performances for his entire career.

I’m very glad to hear Duff giving him the praise for his performance today and the last 6 weeks of training, but I was shocked for him to do so after letting that bit of information slip.

Maybe they are too good. The players are living the positives of being a footballer while strolling down Marlow High Street but not the life 5 minutes up the road at the training ground.

My view: if the decision I/we have to make is between Mike Duff and this squad of players then I’m choosing Duff every time. Yes, there are some good players and decent pros in the group, but there is so much chaff in there and I’m not at all surprised to hear that standards are poor in training and players are coasting. We all saw with Ainsworth that attitude trumps ability - IMO we have to give Duff a chance to install his standards over the summer.

And as someone said above, all of this is encompassed in the GK situation. Duff isn’t stupid - he sees what we all see and he knows that Norris isn’t good enough. And yet Duff is forced to play him every week because his other options appear even less up-to-standard. That is on our recruitment team, not Duff. They should work proactively with him in the summer to put it right.

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