AGAIN. Ding ding Round 4. So, here we are again with this seasons most played team. Record so far isn't actually as bad as it looks if you take matches over the standard 90 minutes plus injury. It has been 2 - 1 there, 1 - 1 there and 1 - 1 here. I therefore smell an upset and it's our turn to do the deed. We can do this and I'm sure Leeds will be running scared this time......... Unfortunately will only be watching from a seat at the Club this time as a bit soon for me to be venturing to the ground. I will however have a glass half full at least in my hand. COYG
Lucozade obviously. We could get a result if we play at our best for 90 minutes and get a little payback for some of the bad refereeing decisions we seem to be our norm. I forgot to mention that we played 6 minutes of extra time on Wednesday and there wasn’t time to restart after their equaliser. There were no injury stoppages that we could remember and only the normal round of substitutions. We looked at each other in shock when the board went up . Ian Foster made the same point. Where did 6 minutes come from?
It's a news avalanche this morning. Adam Forshaw will not be in the squad on Saturday due to his hamstring injury. It's funny isn't it when this club signs some 32 year old midfield player you've never heard of you think "why on earth have they done that". Then you see him play and suddenly it feels like a disaster when he's unavailable. Guilty as charged there. Neither will Darko Gyabi, who can't play against his parent club.
Another game against a premier team having a seasonal rest from the top league....the 4th game this season against Leeds....of the previous three we have only lost one within 90 minutes. Leicester, Leeds & Southampton were the three relegated clubs from the big time...at present 1st, 2nd & 3rd in this league....their only real challenger being Ipswich... who came up 2nd from Div one last season.....you know who I mean the best team in the division that year although they weren't the team that got 101pts ? There is mention that their manager might start this one with his strongest line up ....seeing he cannot depend on extra time to blitz us with his top attackers as we tire. How does a club with one of the lowest budgets in this division reach the dizzy heights of the Premiership....when the top three clubs this season have been handed riches for their failure...to help them survive being relegated ? PS.....not sure if I want Argyle to get to the top league....other than through developing their own stars from their academy.
Ask Luton or Brentford. The answer in our case is carefully and professionally. Remain financially sound at all times. Stay in this league this season and take the higher TV revenues from 2024/25. Boost game revenues by increased commercial activity: record sales in the new club shop, pre-match activities (there's now a band playing behind the grandstand before every fixture), summer concerts, advertising on the big screen, events in the hospitality suite, Argyle TV and we now seem to have acquired those electronic advertising boards around the pitch. Develop young players and sell them on at a profit. Improved football infrastructure: the academy and new training facilities and gym at Harpers Park. Perhaps increasing ground capacity when (and if) the time is right. Crucially, at the right time, bringing in new investors who have the same ideals. Remember there is no Magic Bullet. Remain financially sound at all times. Nobody says it will be easy as it requires doing things better than other clubs. It's not impossible, just very very hard.
I'd always seen Bournemouth as a Div1/Div2 team (just like Brentford)......Bournemouth have reached the summit twice now....they owe so much to Eddie Howe's management...and didn't Newcastle come alive with him at the helm......of course there had to be some money involved I realize that. I was down the Valley the Saturday they got promoted as champions....All the league winning stage etc was out of site before the final whistle.....but they could have set it up after about 12 minutes seeing the they had raced into a 3-0 lead. They where so impressive ...quick thinking and accurate fast passing leaving Charlton player sitting on their backsides and completely out of their depth....I felt so sorry for them....my grandson at the time (nearly 19 now and at Durham Uni) looked quite glum about it all.....Bournemouth just looked the finished article....ok they had come into some money to help....but without Eddie Howe it wouldn't have happened. In hindsight comparing with the present day Argyle...Schumacher was a dwarf.....Ian Foster might be the man especially if the Academy takes off....the problem is will I be around to see it. But of course with success comes the temptation to move on to bigger and better things which you cannot really complain about....But Schumacher seems to have moved just for the short term gain of 30 bits of silver.
Very poor start from Argyle and we were 0-1 down before we even started playing. The first goal was a shocker. Leeds have a throw-in under the grandstand mid-way into the Argyle half. As usual, it should be 20 players in a 20 yard square but it’s not. Gnonto is lurking 15 yards behind Gibson, who’s the deepest defender in the centre circle and onside. As a CB, you’d expect the left FB or WB to tuck in behind you but Miller is another 15 yards away behind Gnonto, almost on the opposite touch line. Perhaps he’s expecting he’ll get the ball and a clear run into the Leeds half but the ball loops out of the crowd scene to Gnonto whose able to get a free run in on the Argyle goal. 0-1. Miller is doing very well going forward but he and others need to do their jobs in defensive situations. Gradually Argyle came to life and had a strong spell after half time but in the end Leeds were too good. Let’s not forget we won’t play them every week and they’ve scored 2 from 2 shots on target. We’re making silly mistakes and look precisely what we are: like a team playing a new way with several new players. Foster has bemoaned the lack of “time on the grass” in training due to a densely packed fixture list, the associated travelling and very wet weather. It’s clear to see he’s right. That’s what I think Forshaw can bring when he’s on the pitch: the experience and credibility to organise the others.
As you know I watched this on the tele but it was a big screen. You are right notdistant we did not get a toe hold on anything for the first 25 minutes and to be honest looked like we were bricking it. Their first goal. Yep throw in and all that but when it came to the player who booted it up in the air he knew exactly what he was doing. He looked up and saw Gnonto in an acre of space and just directed it in his direction. Class showing Gnonto put it away. For the rest of the half after the first 25 minutes we began to get a grip in the game and kept the ball better even to the point of almost creating a couple of opportunities going forward. Half time at 1- 0 we were still in this. Second half and we were going 50/50 with them and having as much of the play as them. I would go so far as to say we even dominated for about 15 minutes or so and could have put one away. The surprise for me was how one sided the Ref was for most of the match and he did seem to give them everything and often from a nothing challenge. They kept falling down and wasting time. Ampadu being probably the biggest culprit for that. So, here we have a squad of players worth many times more than the one they are playing and having to resort to that. Some call it game management but I have other more colourful names for it. There was one challenge, yes a foul but not exactly the worst I have seen, where Gnonto actually screamed so loudly the seagulls on the Hoe took off in fright. 2 minutes later he was running around with both legs intact seemingly without a care in the world. Their man James who had come on as a sub won the prize for the most blatant dive you could possibly do and yet still get a free kick and not be booked. If they show it on highlights which they probably won't then be warned not to split your ribs laughing. I'm not cribbing at losing the game because Leeds were the better side over 90 minutes but they spoil their class with antics like that.
Just watched the 2 minute video and I saw no evidence that Argyle ever got over the half way line from what was shown.....poor selection of content and rather bias....ok only one team was going to win this game....it would have been nice just to know that Whittaker and co where actually playing. I don't feel that Hazard did that well with either goal.....how long before Cooper is back.
I don’t think anyone’s suggesting we deserved to win this. Unsurprising as the have a squad in which the best two of theirs or maybe their best one is worth more than our entire squad. Nevertheless . It was game of 4 quarters. The second and fourth were pretty even. They were utterly dominant in Quarter One and we gave them something to think about in Quarter Three. Overall, there was a lot of effort but not many clear chances for either side. The galling thing is that we gave them their first goal and to gift a goal to a side as good as Leeds is asking for trouble.
I’ve mentioned Dan James before. I first saw him when he went to Man Utd. In this day and age, all players will go down now and then if they think they can get away with it. Dan James though is different: diving is an integral part of his game. Some might say his entire game is built on cheating. You are right Sensible, he should have been carded. It was truly pathetic. One minute he’s standing there and the next he’s up ended himself like a duck upending itself to feed. His legs retracted like a fighter jet’s wheels after takeoff. If refs don’t book players for that sort of blatant attempt at cheating it’s no wonder diving is endemic in the game.
