Just wondered what peoples general feelings and thoughts are at the minute, seems its split alot are staying patient and are taking into account that were still a work in progress very much not the finished article and as has been said will probably/hopefully take another transfer window to finish this team/squad off as well as still trying to get olifinjanas, mcshanes, kilbanes, ghilas wages off the books. on the other hand seems like theres a fair few fans, who seem to think barmbys not up to the job, the systems awful, and arnt willing to have any patience or be positive about the team. i fall into category one for the record. and yes i will harp on about the boothferry park days and the drivel we used to watch back then, just wondering if alot of the negative crowd are the younger generation who only witnessed the prem years or started supporting us then, are grumpy old impatient doom merchants or basically wind up merchants. i think barmby has either had his hands tied by finances when its come to bringing players in, hence king on a loan instead of a proven championship striker or hes been very naive in selecting king, brady and stewart to perform consistently week in week out and provide a steady stream of goals/assists, if it is the latter then lets hope its a lesson learned for him and he addresses this in the summer. our current position is where probably 90 percent of us thought we'd finish this season , so to start throwing the toys out the pram is a bit of a rash reaction, lets finish the season strongly and hope the Allams are serious about a genuine push next season. get the big earners off the books, sign some experianced proven wingers/striker/strikers add some squad depth and quality and push on from there.
i think its the players attitudes who need looking at, no excuses for not wanting the game as much as pompey last night. everybody has poor displays, but should at least be up for the scrap, we looked like a team already on the beach, not one a win away from 6th. whatever team or system was put out, they should battle, and they didnt, not barmbys fault that he should be judged next season when hes shipped some of the lazy twats out and brought in his players...its just a shame such a great oppurtunity this season seems to have slipped away
I think we maybe shot ourselves in the foot with Koren. We were screaming for the management to give him a free central role instead of playing him on the wing. Now that the system plays around him, we have had to sacrifce a striker and are now having to 'fill korens socks' now he is injured or adopt a new system, hopefully 442, and get the players use to it. I would like to see the playoffs but think we will struggle, but am happy that we are still a strong championship side and not in a relegation fight. Hopefully summer will see us keep our players and add a few extra quality signings for an automatic push next season. I wont be jumping on any Barmby out bandwagons, if any develop, as he hasnt done a terrible job and this season can only be a good learning curve for him. Can anyone tell me if Garcia is still alive and if they think he should get a shot on the right?
I think a fully fit Garcia could have made a worthy contribution to the squad over the last 10 games. He gives 100%, can score at this level and he also has a lot of experience at this level. Its not over yet, Barmby's done a decent job upto now holding the squad together and keeping in touch - its a BIG test now as to how the players react to all the negative stuff from the last few games. MUST WIN GAME on Sat, draw or lose and I think the players have give up for this season.
agree we seem to have no plan b when the current system doesnt work, barmby was plonked straight in so has he had ample opportunity to test a back up system without affecting results? and i echo that about keeping players plus adding that bit extra that could see us become a top 6 side. garcia should of been utilised , not his biggest fan but has the experiance were currently lacking in the wide roles and could of been used to rest legs. out of interest what budget do you think we'l have next year i know this is an outlandish question due to the fact of the high earners on the books and the massive if we can offload them and what/who do you think can solve our current problems.
Also dont forget this isnt Barmbys team, yeah he didnt spend in Jan to make it his team but if the right player wasnt available why waste the money
When Pearson left City , we were in a promising position especially considering what NP had to contend with , regards restraints. Barmbys appointment was a minor gamble , but a gamble all the same and if being totally honest , Nicky has grabbed the bull by the horns and Kept the tigers on a steady course since Pearson left. NB has had moments where his management skills have blown Pearsons out of the water , but equally he has been curt and defensive at times - SAF can be the same when they are sitting top of the Prem so thats nothing to write about. Ive no insight to what financial restraints Barby had in JAN , but it was a window we were crying out for some additional bodies - who to get and who would come are two obstacles that again we cant really guess at. At the start of this season i was hoping for 7th-8th . By Xmas i was hoping for 3rd-6th but now it needs realistically evaluating back to 7th - 8th. This season hasnt ,by any stretch been a disaster , the only concern is keeping the younger genuine talent (at the back) in the club for next season , Next season will be Barmbys first as a non player and he may feel it easier to remove the shackles i believe he imposes on himself with regards to player loyalty in how he selects his squad and sniffs around the market. Im sure the Simpson thing is related more to Barmbys opinion of him as a player rather than a fresh through the door manager.
Agree with attempting to keep hold of back players. If I'm honest, I wouldnt cry about losing any of our wide/forward players as they are replaceable. I am not saying we should let them go as yes they are promising talented players, just that it would be more of a disaster to lose our back line
our wide players are too young and inconsistent been one of our weaknesses this year as well as a backup striker, got a full pre-season to sort it, as long as we keep the squad intact.
any idea when buszaky's contract runs out? George boyds deal has one year left to run. two players id love to see us sign and help solve the creativty/midfield goals problem
Nick needs a close season summer to make City 'his' team . we are still in with a chance of a play off place. Its been one of our best seasons ever. Sure we always want more but I'm not going to spit any dummy's out IF we dont make the play offs . Pompey beat Brum 4-1 and there not as poor as some think they are .. Looking foward to a good win on Saturday ...Come on City ...
maybe nick could have a look at this list, http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/spieler/vertragsende/basics_GB2_2012.html
I'm in both camps, I realise we're far from te finished article and we have to be patient with Barmby while he gets to grips with management, but we've come so close this season it's a huge shame if not criminal to throw the chane away without a fight. Sticking with the same players/formation/system is naive specially when it bring us just 1 win in 10 and the central figure that teams built around is out injured with no replacement. Bite the bullet and have a go at something else, win ugly for all I care just do something to try and reach those playoffs rather than sitting back and doing nothing and watching them fly by. If not then onwards to next season and hopefully what's happened these last 2 months or so has been a massive learning curve for Barmby and the team. I just hope it doesn't continue and end up with Barmby losing his job and the cretins we have in a majority falling out of favour with him and calling for his head. Barmby has a crucial part to play in this clubs future whether he's manager or not, he's a key influential figure behind the scenes and we don't want to lose him.
Myhill and Ricketts, cheeky bid for Hunt if wolves come down. Michael Owen may be tempted for a bag of chips as he dosnt need the cash and would prob want one last chance
We have to be realistic - we've never been favourites to go up this season but the fact that we are still close to the playoff positions and have a chance of squeezing in at the end has given the season purpose and kept us guessing. We could still make it up and that would be a fantastic achievement. However, if we don't win promotion we're bound to have to face up to some disappointment in the next few weeks and I suppose it might be less painful to fall short of the playoffs than get all the way to Wembley and then miss out. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Nick Barmby - he's the first to admit that he has a lot to learn but I'd love to see him have a real opportunity to develop a team capable of taking us into the Premier League with a genuine chance of staying there.
Spot on Bob - NB needs to be round the Club for some years. In his interviews he clearly doesn't believe in changing the system that he frimly believes in. How many times over the years have we seen City managers change the shape of the side only to come unstuck with a poorer result had they not tinkered with the set up. It is just a pity we haven't managed to get hold of a bigger man to do the donkey work as the lone striker be it a permanent in the Jan window or a loan. Would dearly like to win, even win ugly on Saturday if thats whats required if only to ensure that the season doesn't just fizzle out after such an good effort to date.
i remember the feeling coming away from the burnley game when we'd thrown away an opportunity. it really kicks you in the guts and personally i'd rather get played off the park and beaten 3-0 than chuck it away like that. i think of that feeling and that's why this season so far has been so frustrating because we've only been a sniff away from being genuine automatic contenders. do i think NB is ultimately the right man for the job? - yes do i think he's shown naivety and a stubborn streak bordering on arrogance? - yes (shoot downs welcome) from our current squad, only rosenior, mannone, koren and fryatt are ready for the premier league now. stewart, dudgeon, evans, brady/king (if they come in on a perm) and most controversially chester just aren't ready for the step up so that means if we were to get promoted this season then either a) serious money from papa allam or b) a really tough season and relegation there was a twitter post earlier on RT'd by the HCAFCfansite that was suggesting from inside information, NB had given the names of 4-6 players (good names) to the board for jan and been told no, however he had been assured that money would be available for them in the summer. call it wishwash but it ties up in the sense the only addition we made was king on loan. my mood for the rest of this season is one of hope but no expectation. it's safer. COYH
