£50 not bad - especially tickled by the little touches like the cute succulent nonchalantly perched in the middle of the table. Feng Shui Bucks Style.
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Just remember that ultimately these are friendlies and many won’t even be 100% match fit yet and playing shapes and positions not natural to them ie Grimmer.
Yeah it’s disappointing but we could be winning every pre-season game and then get thumped at Bradford.
My personal feelings is we have to trust Dodds. He deserved a full pre-season, he’s got it, he’s got to gel all those new recruits and he can only be judged, ultimately when points are at stake.
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But where would be the fun in that?
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The big one is Taylor Allen who was very successful as a left sided central defender in a three for Walsall last season having not played anywhere near the same quality in a two-man central defence throughout his career.
Quitirna and Tilley both played as wing backs last season.
You would consider those three as key components in the side so seems rather baffling that you want to play them in different positions.
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I feel for Dodds really. He’s got a very challenging start to the season. It must be incredibly difficult trying to integrate 15+ new first team players this calendar year and also be available to support the introduction of the academy - all whilst the fans are coming down on him like a tonne of bricks. It does all feel wrong though. The signings sound promising but all so unproven at the level.
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At least this pre-season (so far) should bring some realism to our expectations for the season.
I personally think we have recruited well but still have doubts in MDs capabilities as a manager (and at the moment also as a coach).
It’s absolutely right that we give him time but I think the consequences of doing so will be a fairly bleak late summer/autumn for us to watch.
I keep coming back to the loss of form of so many players in the latter part of the season and can’t get away from the thought that this would never happen under a manager like GA (for example).
If MD is a head coach, who do the players go to as their manager? For those who say that isn’t important, I am reminded of the comments made by Martin O’Neil about (I think) Andy Kerr.
He talked about always bigging him up in interviews to the press as his character needed that reassurance to perform at their best level and compared it to someone else in the team who he was happy to publicly criticise to stop him getting too arrogant.
That is a manager’s role and I’m not really sure if it’s in the Head Coach’s job description (if it is I’m not entirely sure how MD got through the sifting process…) and if not, who actually is there to do that?
Bartolo was an unused sub.
Just had a check. We lost to Notts County and Swindon last pre season. Drew witn Colchester and a Chelsea 11.
No point going overboard just yet.
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I guess it’s about the options. Dodds when he came in started with the 4231, then moved to 3 at the back when he felt we needed to grind out results. Maybe he’ll go back to the original plan.
As I say, last night the first half showed a very fluid formation where Grimmer was effectively in midfield, Quitirna hugged the touchline, and our midfield number 8 (name escapes me, perhaps the new lad from Brighton) dropped very deep to almost make a back 3.
We haven’t brought in any loanees yet. I think we’ll be playing three at the back with wingbacks once we have a full complement.
I know it’s only pre season but surely even competent League 1 players should easily beat Sutton. Let’s not forget they are in preseason as well. I too remember John Sutton. He had difficulty trapping a bag of cement. Hopefully our tartan brigade are a big step up from him.
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Forget all the “football manager in my mum’s basement” comments.
Simply put: it’s not Mike Dodds’ fault.
If you think it was a good idea when we were sitting in the top two to send squad players out on loan after Bloomfield left, only to bring in 10 or so random signings, then I don’t know what to tell you. It damaged squad harmony. Throw in a completely new head coach with a new way of working, and it’s no surprise Bloomfield walked away. That moment derailed our season.
The likely short-term loans of Taff, Butch, Hartridge, Hanlan et al made little to no impact. Chemistry matters though i,e friendship/senior heads. Bringing in so many new faces mid-season disrupted the flow. Changing the keeper (who couldn’t play it short), the shape, the entire approach from a 4-2-3-1 playing out from the back to what looked like a rigid 5-4-1—wasn’t just tactical, it was an identity shift.
Meanwhile, established players like Lubala and Pattenden were side-lined. Rumours swirled about Kone. Contract chat, rejected bids it all created noise. In the future, just reject the bid quietly and …stop talking publicly about moves and contracts. All the “Should Grimmer be captain? ect on here talk is nonsense. If the board had done none of this, we might be talking about Championship football right now.
Dodds has been made a fall guy in a wider data-led experiment. It may work this season, it may not. But this many squad changes? That’s either high-risk or a sign we’re going all-in for promotion.
Either way, I still believe we’ll do well. Maybe not go up, but let’s see what happens. Let’s enjoy the journey and stop pointing fingers at players, managers or staff. Some of you forget this is meant to be football an emotional rollercoaster we ride together.
COYB
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I think we just need to give the players time. Just remember that several of these players need to relocate to the area, move their family, have a number of different stresses that moving causes going through their heads while then trying to perform in tactics and/or positions that they aren’t used to. It’ll take a little while for all of those players to settle, make relationships and then gel together.
I agree that we should be competing and at least be on a level within these friendlies but lets just see where we are once the friendlies have finished? Dodds has his hands full, this summer will make or break his career as a football manager, he needs to start using all his skills to get everyone behind him and to get the team where the management team need the squad to be.
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Stevie Craig, very nice chap, did he score away in the Miracle of Torquay?
How could the board possibly be blamed for the Kone situation in January? It would’ve been his agent making stories, not our board members.
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miscommunicated not meant directly a board responsibility to control stories - more to do less chat - would have removed pressure from player who seems committed to club
feng bluey
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I can count plenty he made much worse. Starting with Kone, but also Hunphries, Low and Fred.
Maybe Udoh has found the style change beneficial, though..?
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I think we need an experienced striker to join the ranks