Danns is fucking ace....

I kid you not...but Danns could win the Fans player of the year award. At the very least I would expect him to finish in the top three. If you look at the fragmented season we have had and then break down the candidates, there are not all that many players that stand out.

The top three could all be loan players which is something I can't remember ever having happened before?

Danns is certainly far FAR better than Trotter and he seems to have proven to be a highly effective anchor and lynchpin all in one when he plays. I was mystified as to why he was dropped at all when it was obvious we'd need his strength and quality against Brighton but to replace him with another loanee who has been junk every time he steps on the pitch made it even more baffling. The theory that Dougie wants to look at players he might want to keep next term is negated by the fact we don't own Trotter and I sincerely hope we never do. The guy looks disinterested, unfit and frankly soft in the tackle, woeful in the pass and I cannot really see how he got to be a professional footballer at all based on his BWFC performances. 

I understand he was apparently good for Milwall but he can't have been THAT good or they'd have wanted to keep him especially given their own dire league position. He's a cast off from a team worse even than ours and that really should have told Dougie all he needed to know. I was willing to give the lad a few games before judging him because I knew next to nothing about him. Well, he's had a few games and I still don't know anything useful because I haven't yet seen him do anything right.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:Danns is certainly far FAR better than Trotter and he seems to have proven to be a highly effective anchor and lynchpin all in one when he plays. I was mystified as to why he was dropped at all when it was obvious we'd need his strength and quality against Brighton but to replace him with another loanee who has been junk every time he steps on the pitch made it even more baffling. The theory that Dougie wants to look at players he might want to keep next term is negated by the fact we don't own Trotter and I sincerely hope we never do. The guy looks disinterested, unfit and frankly soft in the tackle, woeful in the pass and I cannot really see how he got to be a professional footballer at all based on his BWFC performances. 

I understand he was apparently good for Milwall but he can't have been THAT good or they'd have wanted to keep him especially given their own dire league position. He's a cast off from a team worse even than ours and that really should have told Dougie all he needed to know. I was willing to give the lad a few games before judging him because I knew next to nothing about him. Well, he's had a few games and I still don't know anything useful because I haven't yet seen him do anything right.

Based on what I have seen of Trotter so far I would tend to agree with you. However... he is one of the top earners at Millwall and it is quite feasible that they may be contemplating relegation and are looking to offload the high earners.

Trotter looks overweight to me, but he could be just big boned. He doesn't quite look match fit and he was nowhere up to speed against Brighton. I'm not going to write him off altogether because I wasn't overly impressed with Joe Mason during his first spell with us.

Sometimes it takes players a few games to get match fit and Trotter could surprise us all but I still cannot for the life of me understand how he got a starting place ahead of Danns on Saturday.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:The theory that Dougie wants to look at players he might want to keep next term is negated by the fact we don't own Trotter 

I understand he was apparently good for Milwall but he can't have been THAT good or they'd have wanted to keep him especially given their own dire league position. He's a cast off from a team worse even than ours and that really should have told Dougie all he needed to know. I was willing to give the lad a few games before judging him because I knew next to nothing about him. Well, he's had a few games and I still don't know anything useful because I haven't yet seen him do anything right.

The theory's completely valid as although we don't own Trotter, he's out of contract in the summer so this was always going to be something of a trial period. He made it clear he wanted to leave Millwall, which is why he's with us, so can't quite agree with that part of your analysis.

You are right though so far he's looked poor, I hope there's no agreement already in place (doubt there is). It's a strange one given how he's performed for Millwall in the past, maybe it's gone to his head and his attitude isn't right a bit like Michael Ricketts ended up after he left us.

bwfc1874 wrote:

luckyPeterpiper wrote:The theory that Dougie wants to look at players he might want to keep next term is negated by the fact we don't own Trotter 

I understand he was apparently good for Milwall but he can't have been THAT good or they'd have wanted to keep him especially given their own dire league position. He's a cast off from a team worse even than ours and that really should have told Dougie all he needed to know. I was willing to give the lad a few games before judging him because I knew next to nothing about him. Well, he's had a few games and I still don't know anything useful because I haven't yet seen him do anything right.

The theory's completely valid as although we don't own Trotter, he's out of contract in the summer so this was always going to be something of a trial period. He made it clear he wanted to leave Millwall, which is why he's with us, so can't quite agree with that part of your analysis.

You are right though so far he's looked poor, I hope there's no agreement already in place (doubt there is). It's a strange one given how he's performed for Millwall in the past, maybe it's gone to his head and his attitude isn't right a bit like Michael Ricketts ended up after he left us.

Fair enough 1874, forgot he's out of contract in the summer, blame Diazepam and Codeine for non-functional synapses. I usually have a better memory than this.

I totally agree with the hope there's no deal in place. He's not good enough to have a small head let alone a big one like Ricketts did. At least Michael had some talent and made the England Team (albeit for 45 mins in a friendly) before he got the "I'm all that" attitude. Trotter has accomplished nothing to brag about as yet and looking at his fitness and performances I'd confidently predict he never will unless he wises up very very fast. 

Sadly I can actually see Dougie giving this guy a deal and saying "Well he hadn't played for ages and we now have all summer to get him fit and hungry again" because it seems our manager is hell bent on taking the opposite to common sense approach on everything right now. If we can I'd sign Danns permanently and pronto.

How would you rate Dougie's recruitment so far LPP?

bwfc1874 wrote:How would you rate Dougie's recruitment so far LPP?

Morning 1874. I'd say he's no better or worse than most managers in this respect. Some of his players are genuinely good, some shockingly bad. I think he seems better at finding loan signings than permanent signings but that may be down to finances and other clubs willingness to lend rather than sell making it a little easier to unearth a gem or two. 

In truth my beef with Dougie is largely the same one I had with Megson. We have talent in the squad, some of which he has unearthed but he has no clue how to get the best from it consistently. As a result we are in the bottom third of a table we really should be in the top six or eight of. He seems too stubborn to change systems that don't work and far too keen to change systems when they do. In another thread I said I'd like to post a sign on his desk where he can see it every day. It would say whatever you were planning to do this weekend stop and do the opposite.

Which of Freedman's permanent signings have played well?

Permanent or loan is completely irrelevant in this case, the judgement is on how he spots players. It's not his fault his hands are tied financially.

Good signings -

Medo
Beckford
Moritz
Danns
Dawson
Mason
Juke
Feeney
McNaughton

The likes of Hall, Wilkinson and White appear to be among our best youth players, can't really judge them until they play first team but so far so good.

bwfc1874 wrote:Permanent or loan is completely irrelevant in this case, the judgement is on how he spots players. It's not his fault his hands are tied financially.

Good signings -

Medo
Beckford
Moritz
Danns
Dawson
Mason
Juke
Feeney
McNaughton

The likes of Hall, Wilkinson and White appear to be among our best youth players, can't really judge them until they play first team but so far so good.

Which is exactly why I mentioned that fact in my post 1874, as such I believe it is extremely relevant because it's the way things will most likely be for some considerable time. Your list isn't one I'd argue too much with other than perhaps Mason who was poor first time around and Medo who has been a bit inconsistent (nothing to do with the error gainst Brighton, I don't actually blame him for that, he was unlucky) but that may be down to him not playing in a settled system that suits his strengths. 

I come back to my last post, Dougie can spot a decent player although I don't think he's any kind of genius that way. Sadly he simply seems unable to use the talent he has. Danns off for Trotter was for me just the latest example of that fact. For that reason he needs to go in the summer if not before in my opinion.

It was in reply to Nats post mate, i missed yours to be honest.

luckyPeterpiper wrote:

bwfc1874 wrote:Permanent or loan is completely irrelevant in this case, the judgement is on how he spots players. It's not his fault his hands are tied financially.

Good signings -

Medo
Beckford
Moritz
Danns
Dawson
Mason
Juke
Feeney
McNaughton

The likes of Hall, Wilkinson and White appear to be among our best youth players, can't really judge them until they play first team but so far so good.

Which is exactly why I mentioned that fact in my post 1874, as such I believe it is extremely relevant because it's the way things will most likely be for some considerable time. Your list isn't one I'd argue too much with other than perhaps Mason who was poor first time around and Medo who has been a bit inconsistent (nothing to do with the error gainst Brighton, I don't actually blame him for that, he was unlucky) but that may be down to him not playing in a settled system that suits his strengths. 

I come back to my last post, Dougie can spot a decent player although I don't think he's any kind of genius that way. Sadly he simply seems unable to use the talent he has. Danns off for Trotter was for me just the latest example of that fact. For that reason he needs to go in the summer if not before in my opinion.

No mention of Tierney there but I guess he didn't feature long enough to be memorable. I only saw him at the Burnley (away) match at the beginning of the season and he looked OK. I'll be glad when he's back  though as Ream is wasted at LB and I'd prefer him to Spearing in midfield unless Jay finds his radar.

I saw him a few times and he looked alright, comfortable with the ball and solid in a tackle and positional sense. Personally I prefer Baptiste at LB to Ream who I think is a good CB partner for either Wheater or Knight. 

Right now I'd say my first choice for CB's would be Wheater and Knight together but in the long term I'd like to see Baptiste and Ream there with a real Left Back like Tierney.

I did watch Tierney a few times at Norwich and he ain't the quickest, but he had decent positional sense and is pretty reliable. Solid if unspectacular signing from Dougie I thought. Shame for both he got injured so quickly or we wouldn't have had to endure all that palaver in the transfer window.
I thought Medo was a brilliant signing though. Where TF did he come from? Cheap too.