Clever Kevin

[Santos]

Lots of players injured and heavily disrupted team = run of defeats
Lots of players not injured and team more settled = run of victories

8th in the form guide, no prizes for guessing who is bottom.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

 

[Highbury_Blade]

Not so clever really when you consider it's the managers job to put a strong enough squad together to cope with when there are injuries.

Anyway idle speculation why the form has come back?

The return of Monty to the squad coupled with Williamson and Harper?

 

[implied]

Are we in form, or have we been lucky and got results while playing just as badly as before?

 

[Vistoma]

Are we in form, or have we been lucky and got results while playing just as badly as before?

The legendary golfer Gary Player once said, “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”

Don't over analyse it, enjoy winning

 

[SwissBlade]

Are we in form, or have we been lucky and got results while playing just as badly as before?

And during the bad run: were we just out of form or unluckier and not got results?

 

[implied]

And during the bad run: were we just out of form or unluckier and not got results?

It's not form, we've been really bad for most of the season.

 

[implied]

The legendary golfer Gary Player once said, “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”

Don't over analyse it, enjoy winning

The legendary comedian Tommy Cooper once said "Last night I dreamt I ate a ten pound marshmallow. When I woke up the pillow was gone."

And that has about as much relevance to the thread as your post

 

[Vistoma]

The legendary comedian Tommy Cooper once said "Last night I dreamt I ate a ten pound marshmallow. When I woke up the pillow was gone."

And that has about as much relevance to the thread as your post

In YOUR opinion, perhaps I should clear things with you first?

 

[implied]

In YOUR opinion, perhaps I should clear things with you first?

That doesn't even make sense!

 

[alcoblade]

we're a bang average side that is awful to watch. We've had some bad luck on and off the pitch which has made us look worse. We've lately had some luck that's made us look better.

If dull yet above averagely effective football is what you want, Kev's the man. If you want some entertainment from the >£10M we outlay in wages, change is necessary.

UTB

 

[Vistoma]

That doesn't even make sense!

Quite clearly I am saying that in your opinion it has no relevance in the post and that, in future, maybe I should ask you if what I intend to post meets with your "its relevant" criteria.

Not getting into an argument about it tho, if you want the last word you go right ahead and post another comment.

And with that I am leaving the forum as I am really fed up with the infighting and personal abuse that has crept in over the last few months.

(There is no personal abuse in this thread towards me by the way, Implied had never been abusive to me or anyone else that I am aware of)

 

[Pinchy]

Quite clearly I am saying that in your opinion it has no relevance in the post and that, in future, maybe I should ask you if what I intend to post meets with your "its relevant" criteria.

Not getting into an argument about it tho, if you want the last word you go right ahead and post another comment.

And with that I am leaving the forum as I am really fed up with the infighting and personal abuse that has crept in over the last few months.

(There is no personal abuse in this thread towards me by the way, Implied had never been abusive to me or anyone else that I am aware of)

Think again mate. There is a lot more good than bad on here though personal abuse is unpleasant. Where do you go? Have you seen the Teenage Illiterate Lager Drinkers site lately? Now that's abuse!

 

[lenners]

Perhaps Tuesday night is a more reliable indicator of where we're really at.
Peterborough was dreadful, Bristol sounded reasonable and Plymouth sounded dreadful again. Not a real indication of anything other than how poor the majority of the league is.

 

[Bristol Blade]

I kind of agree with you Len, though I do think things are looking up now and I'm not going to be miserable because we've 'only' beaten poor teams. I think the next five games will give us a much better idea of where we really are. If we manage 10 points from them then I think that should give us a good base to push on and consolidate a play-off place.

Next 5:
Forest - H
Palace - H
QPR - A
Leicester - A
Preston - H

 

[Santos]

I kind of agree with you Len, though I do think things are looking up now and I'm not going to be miserable because we've 'only' beaten poor teams. I think the next five games will give us a much better idea of where we really are. If we manage 10 points from them then I think that should give us a good base to push on and consolidate a play-off place.

Next 5:
Forest - H
Palace - H
QPR - A
Leicester - A
Preston - H

Forest generally don't have a good record against us at the Lane (I can think of two wins in the past decade, the most recent 03/04 i think, 2-1). We generally play well against them too. Should be a much better game than last season's fixture with Billy packing the defence. One of the most blatent depressing performances to watch. I don't think Warnock or Blackwell ever resorted to a performance like that. Still, it got them a result.

Has Warnock been slipping the fixture bloke a bit of money to make sure our games with Palace at home are around Xmas time so he can have a few days in Sheffield? 3 times in a row!! Out of all the games, this is the one where I think a slip up is likely. Warnock has always had the better of games over Blackwell.

Probably not a bad time to be playing QPR, Leicester & PNE although things can change very quickly.

I think come Xmas day we'll be in the top 8.

 

[implied]

Quite clearly I am saying that in your opinion it has no relevance in the post and that, in future, maybe I should ask you if what I intend to post meets with your "its relevant" criteria.

Not getting into an argument about it tho, if you want the last word you go right ahead and post another comment.

And with that I am leaving the forum as I am really fed up with the infighting and personal abuse that has crept in over the last few months.

(There is no personal abuse in this thread towards me by the way, Implied had never been abusive to me or anyone else that I am aware of)

No offence intended, it was just my not-so-subtle way of saying that I didn't understand the relevance of your quote. Educate me.

 

[Micalijo]

I kind of agree with you Len, though I do think things are looking up now and I'm not going to be miserable because we've 'only' beaten poor teams. I think the next five games will give us a much better idea of where we really are. If we manage 10 points from them then I think that should give us a good base to push on and consolidate a play-off place.

Next 5:
Forest - H
Palace - H
QPR - A
Leicester - A
Preston - H

If we get ten points from that lot I will be absolutely astonished and very happy

 

[DazBlade88]

I'll keep saying it, we're not a very good side. We're an average side. We are in a very poor league, so the results are going to be strange.

I don't mind being an average team, but it's sinfully boring to watch. I bought the ticket and travel for my dad to go to Plymouth yesterday as a present, and the first 87 minutes was punishment for both fans.

We had only FIVE shots, and it took 80 minutes before Larrieu made a meaningful save. That's pretty terrible considering we were playing against 23rd in the league who had shipped 4 against Barnsley in 45 minutes. I'd like to say they defended well, but they didn't have to because we were so crap going forward it was laughable to be honest.

I know it sounds negative, and I don't like being negative. But we just have to realise we're a mid-table team, and nothing more.

 

[DazBlade88]

I've just read the commentary on the BBC, and it was 41 minutes until we had a shot, and 87 minutes before Larrieu made a save.

 

[SwissBlade]

It shows how clinical we were then!

 

[DazBlade88]

It shows how clinical we were then!

It also shows what we might be capable of if we're a bit more positive...

 

[Ollessendro]

I'll keep saying it, we're not a very good side. We're an average side. We are in a very poor league, so the results are going to be strange.

I disagree with you here Daz. I think we have a good side, but having an awful manager. I look at the team sheet that comes out every week and think 'that looks pretty good'. I genuinly think that we have a good bunch of players and that we have one of the strongest first 11's in the league. However, devoid of any real tactics, lacking decent management and confidence we look very average (at best). I don't go week in, week out and hence don't see the shite what is being served up (like may of you guys) and this could alter my opinion. However, I still sincerely believe that we have a very good team and (albeit small) decent squad.

I had this debate with Fiery. He asked me to name how many players from out team would be pushing for the Championship best of squad. I came back with 5 or 6 names: Killa, Naysmith, Walker, Harper, Ward and Henderson. Fiery then said that maybe he was dazed by the shit that was being served up every week. Of course nobody 'won' the debate, becasue it's our opinions and we agree to disagree.

I am interested Daz. Do you really feel that we have a very average bunch of players? Or do you feel we have some talented players (or a good team) that is under achieving?

 

[Wards]

I agree, I think the players are genuinly quite talented as a group but we're far from getting the best out of them.

 

[DazBlade88]

I disagree with you here Daz. I think we have a good side, but having an awful manager. I look at the team sheet that comes out every week and think 'that looks pretty good'. I genuinly think that we have a good bunch of players and that we have one of the strongest first 11's in the league. However, devoid of any real tactics, lacking decent management and confidence we look very average (at best). I don't go week in, week out and hence don't see the shite what is being served up (like may of you guys) and this could alter my opinion. However, I still sincerely believe that we have a very good team and (albeit small) decent squad.

I had this debate with Fiery. He asked me to name how many players from out team would be pushing for the Championship best of squad. I came back with 5 or 6 names: Killa, Naysmith, Walker, Harper, Ward and Henderson. Fiery then said that maybe he was dazed by the shit that was being served up every week. Of course nobody 'won' the debate, becasue it's our opinions and we agree to disagree.

I am interested Daz. Do you really feel that we have a very average bunch of players? Or do you feel we have some talented players (or a good team) that is under achieving?

I've just had a look at the squad a bit more thoroughly:

We have Bunn, Bennett and Ikeme - None of which are brilliant keepers. This is obviously different with Kenny, but after a year out he might not be as good.

Then we have Walker, Geary, Morgan, Kilgallon, Fortune, Davies, Kallio, Stewart, Naysmith, Taylor and France. The three real top players there are Walker, Kilgallon and Naysmith. Kilgallon won't be here after January, neither will Walker (I believe?), and Naysmith is recovering from a long term injury so he might not be right for a while. Morgan is a good defender, but there is better to choose from in the league for me.

Midfielders - Little, Monty, Harper, Quinn, Williamson, Treacy, Reid. Not really much quality there. Harper has been poor since joining in my opinion, Monty does a good job as a spoiler and Williamson has been impressive in his appearances so far. Little is obviously very talented, but is too old to play for long spells. So, looking at that list - to me, we're not up to standard.

Up front - Ward, Evans, Henderson, Camara, Creswell. This is the area we're strongest in depth wise. All of these players would probably be selected in alot of squads in the league, given the opportunity.

It's not a terrible side, but it's not a good side. I'm still pretty sure that the team we have is capable of the top half, but the play-offs are a step too far.

Of course, this could all change in January depending on our transfer dealings.

 

[JohnDenver]

I had this debate with Fiery. He asked me to name how many players from out team would be pushing for the Championship best of squad. I came back with 5 or 6 names: Killa, Naysmith, Walker, Harper, Ward and Henderson.

I really think you overrate our players. Harper might have made the list for Reading four years ago, but the others simply aren't that outstanding.

What's more, our squad is very thin, overloaded with loanees, and lacking in flair.

They are good players, but compare them to West Brom's, Newcastle's, Boro's, and I think we'll see where we stand. A squad with a playoff chance. No more.

 

[mattbianco1]

Not so clever really when you consider it's the managers job to put a strong enough squad together to cope with when there are injuries.QUOTE]

Or a chairman telling his manager to sell to balance the books?

 

[implied]

Or a chairman telling his manager to sell to balance the books?

That argument fails when you consider how much we spent on Ched Evans.

 

[shorehamview]

Kilgallon may well be one of the best players in the division potentially, but at the minute he's struggling to be in the Top 50 of Pimped-Up Range Rover Sport Drivers From Leeds Called Matthew. At his best he's been excellent, but at the moment his general play and attitude are screaming "I'm off to the Toon before you get your decorations down!"

 

[Ollessendro]

I've just had a look at the squad a bit more thoroughly:

We have Bunn, Bennett and Ikeme - None of which are brilliant keepers. This is obviously different with Kenny, but after a year out he might not be as good.

Then we have Walker, Geary, Morgan, Kilgallon, Fortune, Davies, Kallio, Stewart, Naysmith, Taylor and France. The three real top players there are Walker, Kilgallon and Naysmith. Kilgallon won't be here after January, neither will Walker (I believe?), and Naysmith is recovering from a long term injury so he might not be right for a while. Morgan is a good defender, but there is better to choose from in the league for me.

Midfielders - Little, Monty, Harper, Quinn, Williamson, Treacy, Reid. Not really much quality there. Harper has been poor since joining in my opinion, Monty does a good job as a spoiler and Williamson has been impressive in his appearances so far. Little is obviously very talented, but is too old to play for long spells. So, looking at that list - to me, we're not up to standard.

Up front - Ward, Evans, Henderson, Camara, Creswell. This is the area we're strongest in depth wise. All of these players would probably be selected in alot of squads in the league, given the opportunity.

It's not a terrible side, but it's not a good side. I'm still pretty sure that the team we have is capable of the top half, but the play-offs are a step too far.

Of course, this could all change in January depending on our transfer dealings.

Ok thanks for that. Maybe I am seeing things through red and White tinted specs. However I still disagree with your last statement. I think the division is poor. Teams such as Leicester, Forrest, Watford, Swansea, QPR and Blackpool (all flirting with the play offs) do not look particularly good. Boro, Newcastle and West Brom stand out I will admit. Cardiff might be slightly better than the rest, but I am not convinced by them. I guess that leaves 2 or 3 play off spots. So why shouldn't we challenge for the play offs?

I can answer that question myself: Kebin Blackwell. I don't think we'll make the play offs this year and I put it down to him.

Back to the team. I think, ironically as it was our strongest area last year, that defence is our weakest area. The loss of Ehigou was a big blow. I know he was injured for a large part of the season, but he provided quality cover when Killa or Morgs was injured. Losing Naysmith has also had a major impact. We have brough 2 in, but neither are a patch on him. Couple this with Kilgallons loss of form and lack of interest then that's one of the reasosn why we are shipping goals.

Midfield is pretty much the same and up front we are the same if not stronger (IMO).

I really think you overrate our players. Harper might have made the list for Reading four years ago, but the others simply aren't that outstanding.

What's more, our squad is very thin, overloaded with loanees, and lacking in flair.

They are good players, but compare them to West Brom's, Newcastle's, Boro's, and I think we'll see where we stand. A squad with a playoff chance. No more.

I think you might be right John Denver. I don't get to the Lane every week, so I have to rely on a smattering of live performances, some tv games, the radio, opinions and reports. Also I take previous form and player histories into account.

The more I think about it to the more I see we way behind the relegated teams. However I still think that that team should be in the top 6 this year. If we had a manager who could get the best out of his players and play to their strenghts I think we could be in the top 4. I don't believe that any of the teams I listed above (in response to Daz) are better than us.

 

[mattbianco1]

That argument fails when you consider how much we spent on Ched Evans.

Why? Is he on massive wages? Equivelant to Ehiougu, Webber, Sun Jihai, Walker, Naughton, Carney, Bromby, Hendrie, & Howard all put together?

Sell 9 first team squad players then bring in Reid, France, Little & Stewart (ALL FOR FREE)

Then Taylor for a small fee & Evans for £750k

I garuntee that all bar Kyle & Kyle were earning same or more as Evans.

Lets say that they all earnt £100 per week. Selling 9 players on that saves you £46,800 a year.

Signing one back (Evans) is a saving of £41,600.

Not to mention the transfer fees received. What is it, £10m from Spurs?

Balancing the books...... YES!