Ask yourself this..

[Barney]

Firstly, i'd like to point out I think the signings so far have been decent, but ask yourself this..

Whilst travelling home from Swindon, or after watching it wherever, a game in which our defence leaked 3 goals in the space of 10 minutes, could you ever envisage being 4 days to go till the start of the new season and still without any new signings at CB?

No, me neither, and yet here we are, 4 days to go, without any new CB's..

Not pointing the blame at anyone but I find it quite extraordinary given how many games and points we lost as a result of our abomination of a defence last season.

 

[Stretch]

Fair point made mate and I largely agree but I would add that with Collins in the side I honestly don't think we would have leaked 3 in 10 against Swindon nor leaked as many from set pieces as we did last season. Whether we would have been promoted is impossible to say but I do believe we work have been better organised defensively.

We still need at least 1 CB though.

UTB

 

[Barney]

Fair point made mate and I largely agree but I would add that with Collins in the side I honestly don't think we would have leaked 3 in 10 against Swindon nor leaked as many from set pieces as we did last season. Whether we would have been promoted is impossible to say but I do believe we work have been better organised defensively.

We still need at least 1 CB though.

UTB

I don't like moaning and I much prefer to post about positive things like Che coming on leaps and bounds as I have been doing but essentially there's no getting away from the CB issue.

 

[Ben_1982]

So should Adkins have done a Clough and panic bought? Chill out the CB(s) are probably on route

 

[siblade]

Firstly, i'd like to point out I think the signings so far have been decent, but ask yourself this..

Whilst travelling home from Swindon, or after watching it wherever, a game in which our defence leaked 3 goals in the space of 10 minutes, could you ever envisage being 4 days to go till the start of the new season and still without any new signings at CB?

No, me neither, and yet here we are, 4 days to go, without any new CB's..

Not pointing the blame at anyone but I find it quite extraordinary given how many games and points we lost as a result of our abomination of a defence last season.

You think we need some CB's? You've not mentioned this before

I thought the board were to blame for not letting NA know that he needed some

I'm sure it's all in hand and it will be sorted one way or another, maybe it will be loans hence the delay.

 

[Barney]

So should Adkins have done a Clough and panic bought? Chill out the CB(s) are probably on route

No but I don't think it's unrealistic to believe it was perfectly reasonable to expect at least 1 new CB in the timeframe he has had since assessing the squad to now.

If he had have bought one in that timeframe from assesing the squad to now, would we be sitting here saying it was a panic buy?

Did we call the Billy Sharp, Connor Sammon and Martyn Woolford signings panic buys?

So why would signing a CB have been a panic buy?

 

[Pinchy]

Firstly, i'd like to point out I think the signings so far have been decent, but ask yourself this..

Whilst travelling home from Swindon, or after watching it wherever, a game in which our defence leaked 3 goals in the space of 10 minutes, could you ever envisage being 4 days to go till the start of the new season and still without any new signings at CB?

No, me neither, and yet here we are, 4 days to go, without any new CB's..

Not pointing the blame at anyone but I find it quite extraordinary given how many games and points we lost as a result of our abomination of a defence last season.

I understand your frustrations, mate, and share your views about centre-backs - I think the overwhelming majority do.

On the other hand, I find it impossible to believe a manager of quality and experience isn't right on this particular case. I expect good news sooner rather than later. I bet Max and Magic Mike are conducting house to house enquiries as we speak...

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Fair point made mate and I largely agree but I would add that with Collins in the side I honestly don't think we would have leaked 3 in 10 against Swindon nor leaked as many from set pieces as we did last season. Whether we would have been promoted is impossible to say but I do believe we work have been better organised defensively.

We still need at least 1 CB though.

UTB

Depending on Kennedys knee/s we may need three.

 

[Barney]

You think we need some CB's? You've not mentioned this before

I thought the board were to blame for not letting NA know that he needed some

I'm sure it's all in hand and it will be sorted one way or another, maybe it will be loans hence the delay.

I'm sure I mentioned on that post that I didn't know who to blame but suggested it could be the board for not pushing it enough with Adkins, can't remember fully though but I take your point mate

 

[blade.i.am]

Defending isn't just about what the back four do. Too many times last season we gave away possession too easily further up the pitch. Hopefully, with a more attack minded manager we will not be as exposed at the back. Would agree it's an area we need to strengthen in case of injuries and I'm sure Adkins is aware of this.

 

[Blade in Brid]

Fair point made mate and I largely agree but I would add that with Collins in the side I honestly don't think we would have leaked 3 in 10 against Swindon nor leaked as many from set pieces as we did last season. Whether we would have been promoted is impossible to say but I do believe we work have been better organised defensively.

We still need at least 1 CB though.

UTB

Agree with comments about Collins. Apart from one mistake thought he was pretty solid against Hull.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

I'm sure I mentioned on that post that I didn't know who to blame but suggested it could be the board for not pushing it enough with Adkins, can't remember fully though but I take your point mate

Looks like the tea lady didn't mention it when she took the biscuits in during the interview.

 

[Barney]

I understand your frustrations, mate, and share your views about centre-backs - I think the overwhelming majority do.

On the other hand, I find it impossible to believe a manager of quality and experience isn't right on this particular case. I expect good news sooner rather than later. I bet Max and Magic Mike are conducting house to house enquiries as we speak...

I hate being negative but sometimes it has to come out to make myself feel better. I'm sure NA is on the case and I hope to look back on this thread in laughter and call it an unnecessary concern.

 

[siblade]

I'm sure I mentioned on that post that I didn't know who to blame but suggested it could be the board for not pushing it enough with Adkins, can't remember fully though but I take your point mate

I don't disagree that it's an area that should have been strengthened by now but I just can't believe that NA didn't know this or hasn't tried to address it. I think we just have to wait and trust that they know what they are doing, they'll certainly get pelters for it if it goes badly and they haven't brought anyone in.

 

[Barney]

I don't disagree that it's an area that should have been strengthened by now but I just can't believe that NA didn't know this or hasn't tried to address it. I think we just have to wait and trust that they know what they are doing, they'll certainly get pelters for it if it goes badly and they haven't brought anyone in.

The bit in bold is entirely what my point was just worded more precisely by yourself.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

The bit in bold is entirely what my point was just worded more precisely by yourself.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

We've been waiting and seeing since Vas made his debut.

Been along time since that Sunderland game and that was the last time we started a season showing intent.

 

[cooperblade]

We've been waiting and seeing since Vas made his debut.

Been along time since that Sunderland game and that was the last time we started a season showing intent.

What about when we beat Leicester 4-1 with a few new signings in the side and went on to win promotion to the Premier League?

 

[cooperblade]

Fair point made mate and I largely agree but I would add that with Collins in the side I honestly don't think we would have leaked 3 in 10 against Swindon nor leaked as many from set pieces as we did last season. Whether we would have been promoted is impossible to say but I do believe we work have been better organised defensively.

We still need at least 1 CB though.

UTB

Collins played when we conceded 5 at Swindon in the league though. Don't think him and McEveley are the answer. I hope we bring in 2 centre backs before the window closes and I hope that they can build an understanding quickly.

I find it interesting that so many people are very patient about us making these signings. The likely reaction if Clough hadn't made any defensive signings would have been so different (even if he'd brought Collins back into the fold).

 

[him behind you]

I totally agree that on last season's performances we desperately needed better CB's than we had in the team. However maybe, just maybe, the utilisation of Collins and a new approach might just have reduced the urgency in NA's eyes. Sure I remember NC saying they didn't practice defending set pieces and accepting that we were poor because we were too small. One thing's for certain, we'll find out very soon.

 

[blade too long]

yes we were clown like at Swindon defensively, but down to lack of a leader, Collins isnt quick , but organised, the others were young and in need of direction , with it they can make it , and will get better

look how we fell apart in the relegation year when Morgans leadership went

just 1 leader pulling the strings makes a world of difference
for everything we do positively we have 100 or so fans that can find 100 negatives, we are such a paranoid set of fans

 

[Pedro Verde]

Stop panicking FFS. Adkins says hes going to address the issue its more important that he gets the right player/s in and sometimes it takes time or movement elsewhere in the market to make this happen

 

[blade too long]

I think the negative fans have a list of concerns written by the side of their computer, then once they are addressed they move onto the next one, till that goes

relax , itll all come out in the wash

 

[LoughboroBlade]

I'm not going to lie – this scenario was unthinkable after that defensive farce at Swindon. Perhaps the downside of being unbeaten is that Adkins might not have learnt everything about us – you perhaps learn more about teams from defeats – but he's reviewed last season and spoken about the need to be better defensively, so this doesn't seem to me to be something Adkins is blissfully unaware of.

I didn't expect to see Collins back in. Then again, I didn't expect to see McFadzean a) play for us again, or b) play for us at left-back. What I would say is that while individually both struggled at times, the McEveley-Collins partnership is a new one, as when they played together McEveley at that stage was still at left-back. A large part of a decent defence is how well your middle two operate as a pairing – we've seen both play well for us before alongside other players, perhaps we'll find that together they are a very solid combination. Truth is, we have no idea if that will happen though. Which is why I'm still a bit worried about it...

I predict we've already got someone lined up to come in towards the end of the window.

 

[blade too long]

plus 15 opening minutes at swindon apart we didnt defend too badly , towards the end of the season up to losing Brayford to injury in the first leg , why dont people realise this had a great effect on the outcome ,he was the experienced organiser we had and we lost him at the vital moment , arent we a lucky club, we were winning 1-0 up to him going off

 

[Wards]

I can only pray that we score at least 3 a game

 

[pommpey]

The current setup - resembling last year's setup - clearly isn't the answer. I don't get this 'forgive me for moaning' stuff either. We have a decent manager (once again, mind) yet people are blithely saying 'Chill out - Nige will have CBs in the pipeline'

Collins - Too slow and inconsistent
McEveley - Not a CB
Kennedy - Injuty prone
Brayford - Not a CB
Alcock - Not a CB
Basham - Not a CB

That is basically the tale of the tape, isn't it? And in the highlights I have seen there seems to be a marginal improvement in the outfield, but the three goals we have let in against better pedigree teams (which is where we should be aiming to match) have all been in the 18 yard box and as a result of clear defensive frailty.

Look - fellers ... we can be all positive and optimistic as possible and ignore the shortcomings. We have done that - twelve months ago. All we have signed are attackers. Yes - we need them, but I think it is universally understood that the centre of the park needs a box-to-box playmaker and the central defence needs at least two - if not three - options.

pommpey

 

[Barney]

The current setup - resembling last year's setup - clearly isn't the answer. I don't get this 'forgive me for moaning' stuff either. We have a decent manager (once again, mind) yet people are blithely saying 'Chill out - Nige will have CBs in the pipeline'

Collins - Too slow and inconsistent
McEveley - Not a CB
Kennedy - Injuty prone
Brayford - Not a CB
Alcock - Not a CB
Basham - Not a CB

That is basically the tale of the tape, isn't it? And in the highlights I have seen there seems to be a marginal improvement in the outfield, but the three goals we have let in against better pedigree teams (which is where we should be aiming to match) have all been in the 18 yard box and as a result of clear defensive frailty.

Look - fellers ... we can be all positive and optimistic as possible and ignore the shortcomings. We have done that - twelve months ago. All we have signed are attackers. Yes - we need them, but I think it is universally understood that the centre of the park needs a box-to-box playmaker and the central defence needs at least two - if not three - options.

pommpey

I guess some, me included don't want to come across like negative bastards as i'm sure I have done at points during the last few months but at the same time I want to voice frustrations, hard balance sometimes I suppose but the situation remains the same, we need centre backs however we look at it because as you rightly point out, we probably only have one proper CB in Collins and theres question marks over his ability.

 

[William Henry Foulkes]

Thing is we have got several new CBs.

It's a new season, with a new manager. From what I have seen the players have been coached, organised, and motivated differently, and so far are much improved individually and collectively.

Alongside that there seems to be a new more attacking approach outscoring not outdefending the opposition. In which case it's the quality going forward you focus more on, and that is what we have done so far.

We do need to buy or loan in - not least bc what happens if Collins or McEveley get injured - and Adkins has said we are looking, but I don't think it's anything like as big an issue as it was at the end of last season.

There are (relative) weaknesses, limitations, and imperfections, but these are Division 3 players: if they didn't have those then they'd be playing higher up.

The real test will be Satdi of course - but an undefeated pre-season with goals in every game has to be a good start.

 

[Barney]

Thing is we have got several new CBs.

It's a new season, with a new manager. From what I have seen the players have been coached, organised, and motivated differently, and so far are much improved individually and collectively.

Alongside that there seems to be a new more attacking approach outscoring not outdefending the opposition. In which case it's the quality going forward you focus more on, and that is what we have done so far.

We do need to buy or loan in - not least bc what happens if Collins or McEveley get injured - and Adkins has said we are looking, but I don't think it's anything like as big an issue as it was at the end of last season.

There are (relative) weaknesses, limitations, and imperfections, but these are Division 3 players: if they didn't have those then they'd be playing higher up.

The real test will be Satdi of course - but an undefeated pre-season with goals in every game has to be a good start.

Fair comments but who are these CBs? Look a few posts up, pommpey, rightly in my view, points out the fact that if we look at it, we have very few indeed.

 

[TonyAgana]

6-5, we're gonna win 6-5...