Next six games

After todays capitulation I honestly cannot see many points from the next 6 games.

Brighton H  1 point

QPR       A 0 points

Burnley A  0 points

Birmingham H 1 point

Leeds    H  0 points

Preston  A  0 points


By the end of October in my opinion we will be adrift at the bottom, the way things stand we have become Blackpool MK 11, and even the most optimistic supporter cannot fail to be alarmed at our situation.

Well get more than that but no way will be in the top half this season.

I know I keep banging on about this but given the way the club's being run at the moment (slashing the operating costs and not investing in the playing staff), anything other than relegation will be viewed as success by Gartside and Davies.

The fact of the matter is, we need someone to come in and buy the club as soon as possible because it's not like ED is suddenly going to say "You know what, sod it - here's another £10 million. Go and buy a couple of players" because he's made it clear that the well is dry.

So we will be in this boat indefinitely until someone buys the club.

And it doesn't look like anybody (Allardyce apart allegedly) is interested.

And the longer it drags on, the more chance there is that we'll end up in League One.

I think we can get more points than Martin thinks, the only game i can see us getting nothing from are the QPR and Burnley games

I'm at a loss to figure out if ED says "The well is dry", does this then mean he's going to bimble along until the Trotters goes under and he can redevelop Middlebrook? Seems a bit of a strange way to run a business.

Eddie and Fat Phil need to pull their fingers out and find an investor before we get relegated, they will get even less for their money then.

If we do get a new owner or investor, first person out of the door should be Gartside

I think the best thing we can do is play for a draw for the next 5 games. A point against Brighton seems very generous to me but I agree with the others down to Leeds. Preston I'd hope for a point.
Agree on the 2 point haul from next 6 games though, Martin.

As discussed pre-season, anything other than relegation would be a bonus and so far we've done enough to stay out of the bottom three - just.
Whilst I appreciate that we have nothing much in terms of additional resources and can't afford any injuries, I think we could do a lot better if we changed the system, even if this means using less established players to do so.
Specifically I'd like to see a defensive mid (Pratley or Spearing), a playmaker (Mavies with Dobbie in reserve) and 4 very quick and ideally skilful/predatory players in front of them.
IMO the days of the "big target man" a numbered - size is clearly not an issue if you look at the world's best forward lines, but we obviously can't field top forwards like Messi and Suarez or Da Silva and Aguero or any of the other midget forward lines that do most of the damage these days.
What these guys have in common with e.g. Bournemouth or Leicester is that they are quick, get forward in numbers, can all shoot reasonably well, have great movement and can keep possession.

Of our players, Wellington has the right idea and the potential - which is why he's an Arsenal player.
Feeney is OK when he has the freedom to drift inside and has shown he can score from the middle - but can't cross for toffee.

The other two have to have pace and movement IMO so it is surely worth a try to play two of our younger strikers alongside Wellie and Feeney?

I'd rather see the likes of Thomas, Clayton (when ready) Samazideh etc be given a shot at it - and given the freedom to express themselves because at least they'll get some experience if we lose - and we'd be no worse off than we are now.

But it looks like Neil is still aiming to bring in another established player rather than having a punt on the kids. And as they say in business "do what you always do and you'll get what you always get" - i.e. shit results and no advancement.

But

we need to stop playing Mavies so deep, he needs to be the man playing behind the main striker. His passing and carrying of the ball are miles better than anyone else we have and if he was further forward i think he would chip in with a few more goals, as long as he stays fit of course.

For the moment i would give Dobbie a go up front and have Wellington.Mavies and Clayton/Feeney behind him and then play Vela alongside Danns or Pratley when fit as the two holding players.

Before he got sent off - unfairly IMO - Spearing showed some of the commitment and skill he is capable of so what happened there? Couldn't he do a job in midfield until Pratley gets back? That would give Mavies the opportunity to get further forward.
Throw in someone with a bit of pace and trickery through the middle and we cold be on to something.

When is Pratley due to return?

finlaymcdanger wrote:When is Pratley due to return?

No idea, but we've missed him for sure. Problem is he's getting on a bit in footie terms which isn't great for a player whose game is based on mobility and work rate.

Norpig wrote:we need to stop playing Mavies so deep, he needs to be the man playing behind the main striker. His passing and carrying of the ball are miles better than anyone else we have and if he was further forward i think he would chip in with a few more goals, as long as he stays fit of course.

For the moment i would give Dobbie a go up front and have Wellington.Mavies and Clayton/Feeney behind him and then play Vela alongside Danns or Pratley when fit as the two holding players.

I'll agree with that...... can't quite see why Spearing and Vela are warming the bench so much to be honest.