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Autumn News

Discussion in 'Plymouth' started by Plymborn, Sep 2, 2021.

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  1. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    Okay summer has past us by and autumn is upon us....dark last night by 8pm.

    Only the second day of September I know....but no sign of the sun this month and the chill in the bathroom has had Mrs Plym demanding the heating on tomorrow first thing for her to get prepared for the day.

    We're being told that the planet is warming up and each month and year we set new temp/rain/or no rain records.....but I think we're missing out in NW Kent.....since the beginning of August I can count the days I've sat in the garden on one hand....it just ain't happening.....cloud cover is in the priority without hardly any rain.

    I generally live in shorts betweem May and early October....but not this year....quite often by 5pm i've put on long trousers and found some socks....it can be quite depressing knowing that winter is getting nearer yet we're doing winter things already.

    Even the footie news isn't cheering me up....no last minute signings when our squad size is suggesting that there should have been and that is not taking into consideration our injury list..luckily for us Jephcott is self isolating in the international gap so possibly will not miss a game...which would have left us with only one experienced striker...to face Sheff W which will be a hard game even with a full squad available.
     
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  2. notDistantGreen

    notDistantGreen Well-Known Member

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    It is what it is Plym.

    It isn't like going into a shop and taking something off the shelf. These are negotiations with real people (and their agents) involved. People tell you one thing and then end up doing another with monotonous regularity.

    The club nearly went bust once and it's determined not to do so again. Players are looking for £400k a year to play in League 1. Clubs that overpaid for players who have not got into their teams are looking to transfer that loss on to the next klutz.

    It's a tough game but from what I've seen, the ones we have brought in, the defenders, Broom, Houghton are strong additions. Garrick looks promising. In the previous round, Hardie and Ennis were superb signings.

    Perhaps this tells us what we already knew. Strikers are the hardest to come by and you need to find new ones before releasing the old. I was I think in a minority but I said at the time that Byron Moore and Dom Telford were still useful on the bench.

    We are where we are despite the club's best efforts so let's make the best of it.
     
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  3. sensiblegreeny

    sensiblegreeny Well-Known Member
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    Watched most of the England game this evening. I say most because I couldn't get excited about it really. It was a bit like watching paint dry in the first half with more back passing than forward play. I nearly didn't watch the second half if honest. But I did and it became a 4 - 0 thrashing out of nowhere really. I see after the game there were a lot of complaints once again about monkey chants and crowd behaviour. It's all so predictable isn't it in certain countries, Until they throw one out for a very lengthy period then I can't see it stopping anytime soon. One further comment however, I thought Sterling was ill advised to take his shirt off and make some sort of gesture in front of the home supporters. He was kind of asking for a reaction and he got one. He got booked for the shirt strip but I think maybe the FA should sanction him for the unwise rest of it. He must have known it would provoke. When you get the reaction you are expecting then somehow complaining later seems a bit OTT in itself. Anyway good result but not that good a game.
     
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  4. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    I watched the first half....but not the second....because Mrs Plym was sitting down for a rarish telly evening.....so we found some travel program to watch together.....fair enough.

    The Hungarians are well known for their racism.....when I think about it I cannot remember seeing coloured Hungarians in the crowd.....there must be some....but there not evident.

    I don't think throwing a country out of a competition will achieve anything.....how do you vet a crowd coming through the turnstiles......okay you can stop people who are known to be members of right wing organizations etc if you've got the technical equipment to recognize them at the gate.....but generally there not the only ones who on the night with a few embibings with their mates before the game can think it funny to wind up a black player or two with the usual actions....noises....bananas etc.....how do you deal with it ?

    Do you have dozens of stewards on stand bye to remove those who make the noises etc....not easy.....maybe the only way to stop it on the night is the team that is being subjected to the abuse to some of their players just to leave the field... get changed and leave....then we will see how officialdom deals with it.....will they fine the home nation or the away nation for the actions of their supporters....or the country who fail to complete the match by leaving the pitch.

    FIFA would need a backbone to sought that lot out.....there generally too busy rearranging the brown envelopes amongst themselves to notice whats happening on the pitch.
     
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  5. notDistantGreen

    notDistantGreen Well-Known Member

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    The pathetic thing is that Hungary are under a fan-ban applied by EUFA but FIFA decided not to be bound by that. Having been made fools of for their generosity Hungary should now be thrown out of the World Cup. We need to get tough with these despicable thugs.

    Sterling's tee shirt related to someone he knew personally who'd passed away, not racism. Unwise perhaps but we'll meant.

    On the football side, which has been relegated to second place by the racism, I thought it was a superb performance by England. Neither Germany nor France could Hungary in the Euros and since then, their Star No 10 has returned from injury. England hardly gave then a chance and could have scored 6. Indeed they would have if Kane was on top form.
     
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    Last edited: Sep 3, 2021
  6. sensiblegreeny

    sensiblegreeny Well-Known Member
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    I realised that Sterling's T-Shirt wasn't a racism thing but how were the Hungarians supposed to know what it was for. Not the place for any kind of gesture and I still say he was wrong to do it. As for the who comes through the turnstiles you can't control well that's why you throw the Country out of competitions. It gives the so called supporters no platform to perform on. They did it to England some years back when we were banned for a lengthy period from everything. Our FA couldn't control who came to games either but they still got punished. Fining the FA involved or getting them to play in empty stadiums is no deterrent.

    As for the game itself well I think it was a great result for England but I didn't think the performance was. Hungary were poor and offered very little except defending with a wall of players. You can only beat who you are playing against I know but as a spectacle it wasn't up to much.
     
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  7. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    Hungary are not one of the shabbiest team around at the moment.....they're joint second in Englands group....and during the summer drew 1-1 with France and 2-2 with Germany.
     
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  8. sensiblegreeny

    sensiblegreeny Well-Known Member
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    Well I thought they were shabby in this game and they offered very little in attacking intent. Think they tried for a draw and when they let one in it all went tits up for them.
     
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  9. notDistantGreen

    notDistantGreen Well-Known Member

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    England must have been good because when asked "what has gone wrong with Hungary?" even Roy Keane said "nothing, England have just been too good for them".
     
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  10. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    Yes that could answer the question of "why they offered so little in attack"....England dominated every phase of the game......and come the second half we reaped the rewards of our play.

    So when Roy Keane praised England possible through "gritted teeth"....then something must of been going right for England.
     
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  11. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    Been browsing through...."transfer markt.co.uk".....hundreds of listed free agents.

    I clicked on forwards valued under a £1million....and obviously even some of them would want more wages than we would be prepared to offer....but here is some that might be interesting.

    1.....Connor Wickham. .....28yrs old
    2.....Kazaiah Sterling...... ..22yrs old
    3.....Nicky Ajose.................29 yrs old
    4.....Demba Ba..................36 yrs old
    5.....Kieran Agard..............31 yrs old
    5.....Greg Stewart..............31 yrs old
    6.....Anthony Stokes.........33 yrs old
    7.....Craig Davies...............35 yrs old
    8.....Jordan Hamilton........35 yrs old
    9.....Alan Bull.....................33 yrs old

    Even Carlos Tevez at 37 yrs old now valued at £900,000 is available.

    Of course this listing might be out of date after the transfer frenzy on the last day (not including Argyle of course).
     
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    Last edited: Sep 4, 2021
  12. notDistantGreen

    notDistantGreen Well-Known Member

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    I think our limit have one less digit than your £1,000,000! And then some.
     
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  13. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    Had planned to go to the "new" Plough Lane ground to watch the Wimbledon v Argyle game on the 18th September......checked out the meeting pub in the PASALB travel guide...,the Leather Bottle in Garrett Lane.....a large pub with a food and beer garden at the rear, serving Youngs beers.....sounds nice.

    But there is a problem....Mrs Plym has been given the date for her left hip operation and it is the following Thursday 23rd......and we both need to isolate before that date....so footie is out....I don't need to be meeting in a pub or at the footie ground during the period leading up to the op.

    So I'll have to wait until....Charlton...20th November.....and then....Gillingham...19th February...next year....for my annual fixes.
     
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  14. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    I see the Welsh U21's won 4-0 in Bulgaria.....all the goals coming from strikers...one of them scoring an hat-trick.....maybe Jephcott isn't needed anymore.

    Jephcott has played....6 times at U19 and 3 times at U21...and is yet to score a goal.
     
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  15. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    Ryan Lowe has said this morning (Fri 10th) that he is still looking for a striker on the free market....and is doing all the homework required.....there are plenty out there but they must be the right fit for us.....he also reminded us that his phone is still ringing all the time.....excuse me if I have a little yawn at this moment.
     
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  16. notDistantGreen

    notDistantGreen Well-Known Member

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  17. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    So Ryan Lowe's favour has fallen on Kieran Agard released this summer by MK Dons....31 yrs old....he has buckets of experience having played 378 games and scored a commendable 106 goals......not been over used during the last two years because of a mixture of injury and being out of favour with his manager.....he has been given a short contract until January.

    With Ennis being hopefully available by November Agard has a limited time to impress....I hope Lowe gives him a fair crack of the whip.....assuming at 31 he is still fit and injury free now to do a job for us.....he might be what we need as an alternative when things need changing.....if he delivers I hope he will get an extension until the end of the season....having four experienced strikers personally is the bare minimum a team should have anyway.

    I notice from my earlier post (last Saturday) of available free strikers he was on my list as one of them.....having been at MK Dons for nearly five years this might be the break that will kick start his career again.....and make Lowe look like a genius.
     
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  18. notDistantGreen

    notDistantGreen Well-Known Member

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    Past results are no guide to future performance. He does look as if he has the knack though.......

     
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  19. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    Head and either foot....just need to supply him the opportunities.
     
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  20. sensiblegreeny

    sensiblegreeny Well-Known Member
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    Wot no "he's a load of crap then"......... No "Another crock who nobody wanted"........ I can't believe what I'm reading. Plym has somebody stolen your keyboard? Even pasoti is 't going into meltdown. What on earth is this world coming to.
     
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  21. Plymborn

    Plymborn Well-Known Member
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    Lowe missed the boat during the transfer window in his quest for the perfect striker to fit his plan A....his only playing system.

    So he needs back-up up front......okay he's brought in a couple of players that can cover to a certain degree.....but someone with goal scoring experience was lacking.

    Kieran Agard has scored goals...also has more experience than the rest of the strikers put together......31 yrs old isn't too old.....with 378 games behind him it would be amazing if he was injury free.....okay MK Dons manager didn't fancy him....so his last two years have been rather quiet....first injuries in the first year and out of favour during the second season.

    Maybe not the ideal player that Lowe dreamed of.....but a contract until January doesn't tie him down at all.....and then we're into the January transfer window....maybe Agard would have impressed enough to be offered a contract until the end of the season.....if he hasn't then goodbye and Lowe can then find someone during the window....hopefully without being so picky.
     
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