What a difference a good model makes!

Here's how far we have progressed - so for all those who think our recruitment team havent been outstanding, this was the line up v Wigan in August 2020

First 11
Burge
McLaughlin
Hume
Leadbitter
Wright
Flanagan
Maguire
Scowen
Grigg
Power
McGeady

 

Christ, night and day isn't it?

 

But the club refused to sign a striker so therefore The model is a failure

etc

 

And here is another post from someone in 2021, when Ross slipped in training and did his back in

The season will be over before Stewart is up and running
Should of bought some one ready and bursting to play
Especially after getting rid of the two strikers


Looks familiar eh?

 

No the model is not a failure, Speakman and Co failed in getting some strikers in.

That balls up is now in our rear mirror and we have to make do and mend.

I sincerely hope I prove wrong and we continue to play well and bang goals in.

We have been playing some good football for a while now and some momentum has built up. Will it continue?

 

You've failed mate, no disrespect.

You've failed to acknowledge the signing of a striker from Leeds who's played and scored in the PL.

You'd have been happier with Simms who hasn't scored in the PL and has played about 15 minutes which was basically Lampard making a point to the club. Simms has also played less career games than Gelhardt despite having two years on him.

But you seem to have decided you know better than the club so I'll not try to change your mind.

 

We agree to disagree

 

You can't disagree that we've signed a striker mate, we obviously have.

We couldn't insist that Everton released Simms, they're desperate.

 

Loved the speakman podcast, we are in great hands

 

No hesitation or prevarication was there, and no attempt at BS despite him not getting his own way on everything.

He's admitted we could've done better but is obviously already planning for the summer.

It's so far removed from previous regimes it makes you think we've never really been a proper football club before ...

... shameful tbh considering the massive support we have.

 

Yep that was the bit i liked, we are all disappointed we didnt get a striker and he said the exact same. Im pleased we arent just signing folk for the sake of it, weve gone down that path many times

Loved how we are signing players for now but mainly with an eye on the future. Thats exactly what brighton are doing at the minute, they sign players and give them 6 months to settle before being given chances in the 1st team

 

It seems the loans are straight into the matchday squad while the signings are coaxed along gently.

If he's texting in French that shows how modern the club is, plus KLD is probably doing the same which must make it a pretty funky place to be.

 

Lot of pressure on the new lad from Leeds. If he hits the ground running, we have every chance of the play offs, but if we find he doesn't suit our style now that Stewart is injured we may go back to that fallow period where we had no strikers. The stats are pretty clear:

Goals per game (no strikers) - 1.1
Goals per game (Simms only) - 1.6 (small sample size)
Goal per game (Stewart available) - 1.7

There's a marked drop off when we don't have strikers. IF Geldhart can match Simms contribution (1 in 2) then we have a chance. If he gets injured or fails to fire, we potentially go back to playing with no strikers and our goal return drops off. It's no coincidence that our record in those games was poor - P9 W2 D4 L3 - I mean it's not terrible, but 1.1 PPG compared to 1.6 PPG when we had a strker available, or 1.7 PPG when Stewart is on the pitch is a noticeable drop off.

We have a huge 18 games coming up

 

If Stewart had been injured tomorrow we might've not even had Gelhardt, just a thought.

 

It's all fine margins. Would we have recruited Gelhardt if Simms hadn't been recalled? How would we be feeling if we had Simms, Stewart and Gelhardt all fit and firing?
People love to criticise the club, but 2 of those players were removed from the squad in circumstances beyond our control. To even consider replacing Stewart at 48 hours notice is a tall order, never mind actually pulling it off.

 

Speakman seemed to be suggesting clubs were trying to do a 'Grigg' on us ....

... thank f**k those days are gone.


We only have 18 games left so why lumber the club with a three year wage bill and having someone stinking the place out with a bad attitude.

We have some precious young talents that need nurturing, not subjected to fat lazy bastards like Danny Graham whining about football.

"A bad signing isn't just for Christmas"

 

Absolutely. Speakmann seems to be marmite amongst the fanbase - there is no middle ground seemingly - bit I'd be furious if we'd thrown big money at an average player like we did in previous regimes - this ownership model isn't just about the next 18 games, it's the next 10 years potentially

 

I'm sure some instantly dislike anyone at the club that displays a vocabulary beyond that of a 12 year old

 

That final sentence even I can agree with.

As trying to replace Kevin Phillips and his partnership with SNQ has never really happened.
I did wonder if Stewart and Broadhead might have given it a go... not to be.

 

Whereas dear old 'Get yer f**king foot in ffs Bobby Saxton' was a cult hero