so we are back to it , whilst we have had a decent pre -season, i personally tend to take the results with a pinch of salt we play a team who are one of many who have been splashing the cash. i had a quick look on one of there fans forums and to say they have high expectations is an understatement, so that team and the manager will be under a lot of pressure. from one of askeys interviews he views Holloway as a players in the style of morris , in his previous season he scored one goal and in the pre-season he has scored three goals, so on the basis of form i would expect him to start. personally i dont think playing payne on the left works , lewis has scored a goal so lets hope that boosts his confidence Okenabirhie is the real deal and will cause defenders to have nightmares and will get some goals, we also have eisa with pace to burn ,i hope alex gets some playing time as he looks a player with potential but i would expect Whalley to start my main concern is the midfield , we have been bossed about in two games and there seems lots of gaps for teams to run through, most of the new midfielders are attacking midfielders, which leaves Bryn morris and doug loft in a holding role, askey does not believe in a holding midfielder and favours a more fluid midfield , in the games i have seen ,Nolan is playing slighter higher and the wingers dont track back as deep as we got used to with Hurst, Askey has clearly brought his style of playing in the formations and the style of play that town produce. our defence to start with the same line up as last year, only concern from what i saw is they have beaten by players getting behind them and dragging the ball back and surprisingly we have conceded a few goals from set pieces i have not seen the loan keeper play but would assume Arnold will be the number two choice. dont know if any of the new players can take a free kick this season i think we will concede more goals but also score more we face a very tough start to the season as in the first month we will be playing some tough teams UP the Blues
A very good summary of where we are at the moment Zen. I am looking forward to seeing the new lads play and I think we will have some more end to end games this year. Askey was a forward and I always think that makes a difference to the way a manager sets up his team. Bradford are perennial underachievers in this league and we usually do well against them at the Meadow apart from last year's smash and grab raid. I do not expect a repeat of last year's start to the season but I will be disappointed if we are not in play-off contention come April.
thanks i am also looking forward to the new season, i agree with you about seeing more end to end football . Hurst was a former defender and as you say Askey is a former forward , let us see how that influences how town play. let us hope that we have an exciting and enjoyable season.
Great preview Zen As you say I also think we are going to see a bigger range of goals this season. Last year's clinical 1-0s were great when we were winning and shut the opposition out but it didn't always work and ended with us losing out. I think this year will also see us winning but the total tally might be slightly higher per game. Really looking forward to Saturday.
Thanks , on the same page as you about seeing a greater range of goals, i think we are going to see us been opened up more until the midfield get used to the fluid midfield system, however i am hopeful that we will be scoring more as well.
https://www.shropshirestar.com/spor...sbury-town-key-men-hand-in-transfer-requests/ i doubt if we will see them playing, i hope we can get as much as we can for them , i dont wont players playing for us who dont wont to play for us anymore, it is no surprise as i suspect they have been a target for hurst for some time .
This is really bad news (but not totally unexpected). Nsiala only has one year left but surely is worth a million at today's prices. We will basicallly have to let him go for what we can get. Nolan is a different story as he has two years left and was recognised as one of the best creative players in League 1 last season. I would hold out for two million for him in today's market and not let him go for less. Apparently a fairly derisory offer was made by text for the pair. I did have a lot of respect for Hurst based on what he did for us but his lack of focus at the end of the season, his ridiculous antics on the sidelines at the play-off final and now this all leave a bad taste in the mouth and show a lack of respect for our club.
unfortunately this is how many people conduct themselves these days ,we have the loan player who is supposed to be a playmaker but losing them will be a big blow.
I read about your two players today and thought what a fecking time to mess everyone about. There is simply no loyalty in football anymore. What you would like to happen is for the club to put both players in the dock and not play them anywhere for the rest of their contract. Basically bollox their career as they seem intent on doing it to their club who has paid their wages. Trouble is it isn't going to happen because in this league clubs cannot afford to. It's bloody blackmail. What really gets me is a player can show no interest in playing yet still get paid. They can be terrible playing wise and still get paid. What they can't be is sacked for being useless. No matter how bad they get paid but when it comes to moving on when a few extra quid are waved they basically can. It wouldn't happen in any other work place anywhere. Same applies to Managers.
i have no issue with players wanting to get as much money as possible in a career that could be ended by one bad injury and whilst this is how players ,managers and some clubs do business it it is not an honourable way to behave. it was no surprise to hear the players are leaving but Ipswich offer a low offer and the next day both put in transfer requests ,leaving the club very little time to bring in replacements , however i think the club were prepared for this and we have playmaker midfielder on loan. we also lost two other players to Coventry were they got a better offer,such is life Askey has stopped Toto and Nolan from training with the team i am sure they will be gone soon.
I can understand players wanting to go to a bigger club such as Ipswich that are playing on the championship, however wanting.to move to Coventry because of the obviously superior cash on offer is a little more frustrating as Coventry are one of these clubs that seem to live constantly on borrowed time and need finances looking at in more detail.
an entertaining game with town making a slow start , the midfield got bossed around for the first twenty minutes and town gradually got in the game, second half started the stronger ,a goal line clearance and two shoots hitting the bar stood between town and a draw. at times the players were not on each others wavelength and just games and the training ground will sort that out. we are playing a different style of playing football and the fans as well as the footballers will take time to get used to it.
I was a bit disappointed today, especially given a good crowd and atmosphere when we had pressure. As you say Zen we were a bit unlucky not to score but the defence and lack of cover from midfield was a big concern. Both our full-backs were poor today and we barely won a tackle in midfield. It could easily have been 3-0 to Bradford as they had two good candidates for miss of the season on the break.Lots for Askey to think about but we looked more balanced when Gillihead came on and Mr dependable Shaun Whalley was always a threat. I will be at Charlton next week hoping to see a more cohesive performance.
it is early days but the midfield is to easily by passed, i feel sorry for payne putting him out on the left side just does not work
Apart from a period of control by Bradford near to the start of.the game I think Town did play a good game. We had a good range of shots on goal and were unlucky not to have got point out of the game. Laurent, holloway and Coleman all looked good. Kennedy didn't look too bad either. Grant needs to.get up to fitness and beckles looked a tad over run at the start and needed more support from midfield. Payne looked a little lost out on the left of a 433? formation.
