After our poor exit in the FA Cup last night to lower league opposition I think it has highlighted the plain fact that we do lack strength and depth in the squad. Yes it was a nothing game as far as Im concerned (others will strongly disagree) but the fact is that we do not have adequate replacements for the players that didn't play! Skuse, Chambers, Gherks, Murphy! Only one win in the last 9 games proves that we are lacking in certain areas and if we are to make a serious push for the play-offs surely Evans must act now and allow some cash to be spent. I am not suggesting that we spend millions on new players but maybe a couple of astute loan signings or even a permanent bargain signing or 2 from the lower leagues. Millwall is now a crucial game for us and if we do not get a decent result ie WIN then our season will have gone completely off the boil which is a damn shame after all the hardwork up to now. The next couple of weeks will define our season and its now up to Evans to back the manager IF he wants a top 6 finish. The mood music is not encouraging that's for sure with Mick complaining about the FFP rules so I'm not holding my breath on seeing many new faces before the end of the window. We are currently in the best position in the league since the days of Joe Royle so I say lets go out and bring in some players that can help us achieve the finish we all want!
the posting was heading in a similar direction on the Preston thread Warky. imo i'm all for a couple of decent signings,permanent or loan,but it needs to be quality to improve us not just supplying back up. i too say Millwall is must win. we need to get back on track and not into a losing habit,i'm enjoying this season,first in a while,and i want to see us acheive a top 6 finish. Mr Evans must have a few quid knocking around,speculate to accumulate Marcus.. c'mon........
I'm sorry but I dont see how Tunnicliffe still gets a regular game or indeed our friend Nouble (Although he has been scoring of late). Wordsworth isn't good enough for this level and Hyam needs a rest before his form nosedives any further. We need some legs for Skuse if you get my meaning! Skuse doesnt have pace but thats not his game, we need a combative player alongside him with a box to box up and down ability. Someone like Norris but who knows what he's doing! Oh and a pacey tricky winger would be handy too! I'm sure Mick has a few surprises up his sleeve but we desperately need some reinforcements as last night proved only too well!
I think we need to look on it as a long term project,the Club was at its lowest point in my memory when MM came in and he did wonders to dig us out of a hole with the very real threat of relegation looming.Perhaps with the good run at the end of last season peoples' expectations were too high for this season. The fact is Johnny the overall quality in the squad isn't great(MM's biggest strength is getting a group of players to work hard for each other and grind out results).A few of the recent performances have highlighted that. We have few players you could call exceptional at Championship level and how many would really hack it if we did get to the Premiership? Fully agree with Mad adds666, any addition to the squad must be an improvement on what we've already got .For too long we've had two lads who can jump 3ft rather than one who can jump 6 if you get my meaning?-the goalie slot being a good case in point,both ok but neither is the best we've had in recent years.
We don't have any strength ANYWHERE, not just in depth. We are a very mediocre team, with probably only 4-5 players that i would keep - the rest are just not good enough, and that also includes the manager. He's done fantastic up to now, but he's reached his pinnacle with us, and he has no clue tactically. How many points have we lost from winning positions? This is not just the fitenss coaches, but also the tactics of the manager. He does not know how to win games when we are behind, and to make matters worse, we are now throwing away points when we are ahead. If we survive this season (and trust me, we will slowly fall away and struggle) then he has to go at the end of the season. He will never get a team out of this division - unless he has some arab billionaire backing him. Tactically, i actually preferred PJ - at least he tried new systems and formations, where as MM is just a one trick pony - have 11 men huff n puff and not lose the game. His comment about getting draws away from home is always fantastic sums him up - he has no ambition, and i'm now seriously fed up with him. I think i read somewhere that in his time at Ipswich, he has brought in 27 players, which shows that he's been given the chance to bring his players in.
We have no strength in depth because there is no money to be had, ME backed the last two halfwits with cash and lots of it but in return we ended up with players who were high earners but in the main absolutely useless. Last night we fielded a 35 year old who hasnt played since last season, ( thats 9 months ) and 3 young lads from t he academy 2 of which havent even been on bench before who didnt get on. ME practised very poor judgement in his 2 previous managerial appointments but he did back the idiots with cash most of which was squandered, so I can see his point. The big question is, how long will MM and his staff stay here when they realise that the investment needed to move the club forward is not forthcoming? We watch developments with interest.
Last 3 I think you will find. Jim started squandering the cash, roy went totally mad, PJ didnt spend alot on transfer fees but did on wages.
When we don't get a win from our next three fixtures, we could be looking at ourselves in the bottom half of the table. I think it's about time you took your c0ck out of McCarthy's backside so you can see his incompetances. He's not the man to take us forward - and in fact i'd even go as far as saying that i'd prefer Martin and JET in my team as opposed to Tunnicliffe and Anderson (and Skuse, and Hunt and Tabb)
I actually agree with stretchy's opening line. There isnt a lot of 'strength' around the field, individually the players we have with the exception of Cresswell (possibly Hunt and SEB when they're at full match fitness) wont be making anyone envious. Gerken Skuse and Anderson came from a relegated team. Berra was also from a relegated team McGoldrick was a (admittedly decent) League 1 striker who previously hadn't shone in the championship. Tunnicliffe and Veseli - ok they have Manchester United training, but no experience of first team football. Doherty and Adekunle - Youth Players Lee - Brought in primarlly as a coach Tabb - only good signing on paper Murphy - doesn't count, pretty much ours anyway None of that is a criticism of the summer transfer policy but I don't think we should be surprised when we're not tearing any team apart. Taking away the core of the impressive players this season, (Gerken, Murphy, Cresswell, Chambers, Skuse) was always going to make a game against high flying league 1 side more difficult then it needed to be, and that showed.
In case it has escaped your notice Stretchy this team that Mick inherited was being thrashed on a regular basis and relegation was a very real possibility in fact I would say certainty! Before he arrived we were shipping goals like no tomorrow! Mick has been with us 14 months and in that time he has stablised the club, made us far harder to beat and made us more competitive. When your house has fallen down you dont start on fixing the roof before you have built solid foundations! There clearly was very little money to spend in the summer and so Mick had to bring in players on frees and had to make do for the most part on what he already has at the club. So just tell me why you expect us to be higher than we are given that this is pretty much the same team as last year? Oh and the fact that Mick took Wolves, a club that was in a far worse position than us, and turned them into Champions of this league and kept them in the Prem for 3 seasons running, seems to have escaped your notice! I agree that Mick has reached as far as he can go with this team so it is now vital that we get some investment so that we can push on. Your comment about wanting Mick out (yes you are entitled to your opinion) although it is completely ridiculous! We have the right manager in place and now all we need is for Evans to back him with some serious funding!
I kind of agree with Stretchy in the fact I dont think there is too much quality in the squad but we have a manager who has got more out of them then anybody else could (IMO) Now if he can keep that standard up for the rest of the season I will be amazed but I wouldnt expect him to be able to. Organisational skill and motivation can get you 75% of the way and its highly important but other than McGoldrick we dont have any game changes and therefore it will be difficult in certain matches and the lack of depth only adds to the problems. I will continue with my thought that a top half/ top ten finish this season is a step in the right direction and anything over that is a blessing
I'm with JWM and TB on this. Mick has done wonders with what he's had to work with and he could take us further if the players are made available to him to improve the team. Sure he may be a one trick pony in terms of tactics but if he had the right players to play his way we would get much better results. Of course, nobody knows what goes on behind the scenes so it is hard to know whether it is Mick's fault because he's requested the players he's brought in or if it's because of financial constraints put on him by Marcus. Either way it's difficult to point the finger at who's in the wrong. Like TB, I'm still looking at a top half finish and I would see that as progress.
On a more amusing note I see Villa have taken Grant Holt on loan for the rest of the season. Wouldn't it be fantastic if he scores the winner against Norwich when they meet in March
I think we have had a much better and enjoyable season than we have had for a good few years and the fact that we are still talking about the play-offs just goes to show the improvement Big Mick has made....................Cheer up you moaning lot....
Nice post Weighty.... Trouble is that some of our supporters expect automatic promotion this year after a season of struggle last year. They also expect us to compete with the big boys in this league on next to no money!
Just to put further perspective to this debate why is it that teams like Forest, Bournemouth, Huddersfield and Brighton have all managed to invest far more into their squads? They are all supposedly similar sized clubs with the exception of Bournemouth! Mick has done a superb job on limited resources and it's all very well saying that he is sometimes slow to change things but let's be honest, most of the time he has very few options off the bench to choose from! We have a very small squad and Mick is getting every last ounce of effort from these players but as Tractorbhoy rightly says, Organisation, hard work and desire can only get you so far! If we are to achieve what we all want then the time has come to start showing some ambition in the transfer market Anyhoo we seem to be going around in circles with this! I suppose the doom mongers will be out in force if we lose on Saturday away at Millwall!
Maybe those teams are not losing as much money as we have been doing yearly. Either that or they are not scared of punishment.
To be honest SD I would sell Creswell and spend the money on building a decent squad of players! It's all very we'll having a decent left back but not much else!
Would you trust Mings as a replacement LB, or would we be looking in the market again for another gem?
