Our two main problems

[Carlton Blade]

In one word.. Desire..

But why would you run your blood to piss, and put your body on the line, risking your future employment for a club that doesn't give a fuck if you're a united player or not after May..

Note: professional footballers coming out of contract don't put 100% in, and that means they don't win many games, see John lundstram for an example.

And its funny as soon as the embargo kicked in, we started losing..

Think about it..

I have. We've beaten the bad teams, lost to the better teams. In a hard run of games we've lost 3 by 1 goal and 1 by 2 (where we missed loads of chances to kill the game in the first 15 minutes)

You're over thinking it. The things we got away with against the dross we aren't getting away with anymore.

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

I still don't believe we received any real bids for him

Absolutely this.

It's not like there isn't tons of game tape of his inability to press, tackle, track runners - all of which are top of the JD for Premier League midfielders...

No one in the PL is bidding for him. He'll end up scurrying back to mainland Europe and one day being a pub quiz question...

 

[Sean Thornton]

I have. We've beaten the bad teams, lost to the better teams. In a hard run of games we've lost 3 by 1 goal and 1 by 2 (where we missed loads of chances to kill the game in the first 15 minutes)

You're over thinking it. The things we got away with against the dross we aren't getting away with anymore.

Got away with? You mean attacking a bit more than we are now?

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

I have. We've beaten the bad teams, lost to the better teams. In a hard run of games we've lost 3 by 1 goal and 1 by 2 (where we missed loads of chances to kill the game in the first 15 minutes)

You're over thinking it. The things we got away with against the dross we aren't getting away with anymore.

There's also 30+ games on film for the good coaches (and the better teams have this) to scheme against us.

Again the better teams/coaches evolve their system, formation, tactics through the season. We are playing the same way as we did game 1.

Like the NFL. The better teams are constantly adding new plays, adjusting their schemes. We're simply doing the same things and acting surprised when teams play us and out manoeuvre us. For fucks sake even Wrexham out schemed us...

 

[Carlton Blade]

Got away with? You mean attacking a bit more than we are now?

I mean games like Stoke. Similar performance to Saturday but we got away with a win because the opposition gifted us goals. The better teams generally make less mistakes and force more.

PH preaches a brand of football based on safety first and winning in the margins. The margins are slimmer against better teams and sometimes things go against you and you lose when you try to win games by one

 

[Sean Thornton]

There's also 30+ games on film for the good coaches (and the better teams have this) to scheme against us.

Again the better teams/coaches evolve their system, formation, tactics through the season. We are playing the same way as we did game 1.

Like the NFL. The better teams are constantly adding new plays, adjusting their schemes. We're simply doing the same things and acting surprised when teams play us and out manoeuvre us. For fucks sake even Wrexham out schemed us...

Pretty much spot on although l’d suggest we weren’t as defensive as we are now.

 

[Carlton Blade]

There's also 30+ games on film for the good coaches (and the better teams have this) to scheme against us.

Again the better teams/coaches evolve their system, formation, tactics through the season. We are playing the same way as we did game 1.

Like the NFL. The better teams are constantly adding new plays, adjusting their schemes. We're simply doing the same things and acting surprised when teams play us and out manoeuvre us. For fucks sake even Wrexham out schemed us...

We definitely play a very fomulaic brand of football. We are also almost wholly reactive, letting the opposition dictate the terms of the game

The best performances I've seen under this manager are QPR 2nd half and Forest 2nd leg, both away last season. We went out to impose our will on the game and forced the opposition to change what they want to do.

 

[Gin&Juice]

Needs a shake up. Not a Ten Haag playing the same team, Hecky as picked them too often.

Brooks can be a wildcard off the bench, Coulibali earned his place two weeks ago and McAtee gives us an extra dimension.

 

[Sean Thornton]

I mean games like Stoke. Similar performance to Saturday but we got away with a win because the opposition gifted us goals. The better teams generally make less mistakes and force more.

PH preaches a brand of football based on safety first and winning in the margins. The margins are slimmer against better teams and sometimes things go against you and you lose when you try to win games by one

Good points. The margins are slimmer still when Plan B is a hoof to McBurnie.

 

[Carlton Blade]

Good points. The margins are slimmer still when Plan B is a hoof to McBurnie.

At least we already know how this story ends if nothing changes

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

We definitely play a very fomulaic brand of football. We are also almost wholly reactive, letting the opposition dictate the terms of the game

The best performances I've seen under this manager are QPR 2nd half and Forest 2nd leg, both away last season. We went out to impose our will on the game and forced the opposition to change what they want to do.

Exactly this. Formulaic is being very generous. At the risk of courting further controversy, I'd offer that we're now seeing how important McGoldrick was to playing this way. He used to make Norwood, Berge, Fleck, the WBs look so much better with his constant movement and always showing for the ball. For all his strengths Ndiaye doesn't do this (yet).

But the big thing for me is the lack of evolution in how we play. Cultivating Doyle, McAtee, Coulibally, Arblaster, Bogle (in the RCM role)- surely by 30 games in we Could/Should have had one/most of those in our first choice XI? Evolving how we use Ndiaye and picking a CF who dovetails with our best player as opposed to picking McBurnie/Sharp just because... Clearly Jebbison's style would suit Ndiaye better but we've done nothing to develop that - so 30 games in he's hardly developed.

It's all very short term and blinkered which is why we've ended up down this Cul de sac with no where to turn.

 

[ShockingBadBuy]

The margins are slimmer still when Plan B is a hoof to McBurnie.

And non-existent when hoofing it at Billy Sharp.

 

[finlaytheblade]

Would be interesting what Bergs stats are !
Dean Hammond took us for a ride getting an extra year ! Atkins kept saying his stats were OK! Yet we could see his legs had gone.
Berge has no such excuse being a young man ! Just so frustrating .watching him turn out match after match and not really get involved.

 

[Sean Thornton]

At least we already know how this story ends if nothing changes

Mightily pissed off at full time, l get in the car and hear his whiny RS interview where he pointed out he’d said earlier in the week how Luton would play and what their strengths were. They did, he admitted, did exactly that while he stood and watched it unfold. And did nothing to combat it.

 

[Zeblades34]

You'd have to say we've got to stick with lowe at lwb but for me baldock, doyle and mcattee come back in and we drop berge and fleck to bench. Can't believe doyle has only played 17 minutes after his performance against spurs

 

[SwissBlade]

Yeh accept it’s a risk but he does come inside with his runs and he presses defenders much more than Berge. If he attacks the right side of MF like Ndiaye does the left we could get the ball forward much quicker.
As Carl Asaba points out playing from the back with Lowe and Bogle sitting so deep it takes us 12 passes to get upfield giving any side ample time to mark up every United player.
The bigger risk is doing the same again and hoping it works next time (Einstein's explanation of insanity). Berge, whatever his role is cause I can’t see it just lays the ball to the simplest pass (usually sideways or backwards). Occasionally he does something special which frustrates the fans even more when he doesn’t even try. Berge’s version of dominating MF (which he should be doing) is sprinting 30/40 yards to a defender then pulling up 2 yards from his man and pointing his feckin toe in the direction of the ball. The likes of Monty dint pull up until he was 2 yards past the man / ball.

I don't think anyone is saying don't do anything. But even if we kept things the same, we'd certainly not get overrun every game. Berge is out of form, he's not become a poor player overnight. He's got experience in variious leagues and he's reliable enough to do a job. What he lacks, currently is a set of balls and the nouse to read the game when we're getting overrun. Which is incidentally what Bogle and Lowe also lack. So i struggle to see the positive in bringing Bogle inside in the hope that he might all of a sudden become a different type of player and be an improvement on an international midfielder.

Bogle is also out of form and confidence, he doesn't need to be put into a position where he could potentially get hauled off after 20-30 mins

Perhaps we should just try and get the players playing to their strengths and elimitating the weaknesses in their current positions

Carl Asaba also said pre match that it was negative to talk about exploiting an oppositions weaknesses and that we should focus on oursleves being a very good side...

 

[Sheff de party]

Exactly this. Formulaic is being very generous. At the risk of courting further controversy, I'd offer that we're now seeing how important McGoldrick was to playing this way. He used to make Norwood, Berge, Fleck, the WBs look so much better with his constant movement and always showing for the ball. For all his strengths Ndiaye doesn't do this (yet).

But the big thing for me is the lack of evolution in how we play. Cultivating Doyle, McAtee, Coulibally, Arblaster, Bogle (in the RCM role)- surely by 30 games in we Could/Should have had one/most of those in our first choice XI? Evolving how we use Ndiaye and picking a CF who dovetails with our best player as opposed to picking McBurnie/Sharp just because... Clearly Jebbison's style would suit Ndiaye better but we've done nothing to develop that - so 30 games in he's hardly developed.

It's all very short term and blinkered which is why we've ended up down this Cul de sac with no where to turn.

I said it at the time and have said it every week - letting Didzy go was madness. He was already our player, loved the club and wouldn’t have needed much cash.

He’d come on after 70 minutes and either create a goal or help us see out a win. And if he’d been injured or past it, it would still have been worth what was a very small financial risk.

 

[Sheff de party]

Would be interesting what Bergs stats are !
Dean Hammond took us for a ride getting an extra year ! Atkins kept saying his stats were OK! Yet we could see his legs had gone.
Berge has no such excuse being a young man ! Just so frustrating .watching him turn out match after match and not really get involved.

His stats are completely misleading because his pass completion rate will be so high.

Anyone can stroll around and make ten yard passes backwards. He cannot tackle, cannot head the ball and cannot seem to put in a single performance where he looks interested for 90 minutes.

I am amazed people defend someone who looks disinterested and unadventurous. Unfortunately, he is also apparently undroppable and that’s the only weapon we have.

 

[djbaldken]

Lack of competition we’ve got 2 quality players for every position and the best squad in the league

I agree with not getting the players on the ball , it’s crackers that we now play ndiaye as a striker he is a 10 and should play there alongside berge only hecky can’t see that

Less than a couple of weeks ago you insisted ndiaye was a striker and should be played as such!
make yer fuckin mind up

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

Heckys tactics are the issue. We had a team on Saturday that I wouldn't change one of their lads for ours. Same against Millwall & Blackburn yet they're turning us over. We don't create anything and it's all so predictable. This run of form has been coming for months, we've been shite for a while. We started the season really well and that's why we're still where we are.

 

[ancientblade]

Mightily pissed off at full time, l get in the car and hear his whiny RS interview where he pointed out he’d said earlier in the week how Luton would play and what their strengths were. They did, he admitted, did exactly that while he stood and watched it unfold. And did nothing to combat it.

think youve hit the nail on the head there hecky did absolutely nothing saturday when things were going wrong dont like slating the bloke with the position hes got us in but i just dont think hes a good enough manager to make crucial decisions in games if plan a isnt working i also commented on another thread about the players not busting a gut for him and feel these cautious negative defensive tactics are not liked by the players as well

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

I said it at the time and have said it every week - letting Didzy go was madness. He was already our player, loved the club and wouldn’t have needed much cash.

He’d come on after 70 minutes and either create a goal or help us see out a win. And if he’d been injured or past it, it would still have been worth what was a very small financial risk.

I guess the logic was - he'd keep Ndiaye out of the team so whatever wage we'd offer would be high for a second choice player.

However, like you, if we'd got c20 games out of him this season, it's have been worth it. He literally made us tick. He was the real 'Rolls Royce' unlike the Sunshine Bus who's masquerading as one...

 

[Sean Thornton]

think youve hit the nail on the head there hecky did absolutely nothing saturday when things were going wrong dont like slating the bloke with the position hes got us in but i just dont think hes a good enough manager to make crucial decisions in games if plan a isnt working i also commented on another thread about the players not busting a gut for him and feel these cautious negative defensive tactics are not liked by the players as well

More importantly l’d guess there’s a lot of truth in your last sentence. Watching them come off at full time after a bad result, to a man they look gutted. And not because they are worried about a on/off club sale.

 

[FallowfieldBlade]

Less than a couple of weeks ago you insisted ndiaye was a striker and should be played as such!
make yer fuckin mind up

I’m not sure I did ?

He’s looked the best when he gets on the ball the most which would be behind the striker

 

[djbaldken]

I’m not sure I did ?

He’s looked the best when he gets on the ball the most which would be behind the striker

Feb 23rd 2023:
For me there is no better forward than ndiaye at pressing and starting on the front foot
also Feb 10th 2023 : he has all the characteristics of a striker

 

[FallowfieldBlade]

Feb 23rd 2023:
For me there is no better forward than ndiaye at pressing and starting on the front foot
also Feb 10th 2023 : he has all the characteristics of a striker

You got me there baldy what I meant was ndiaye could play the false 9 role

Not the Jon parkin and Neil shipperly combination that hecky has them playing

 

[Sheff de party]

I’m not sure I did ?

He’s looked the best when he gets on the ball the most which would be behind the striker

I think he looks best as an out an out striker. But there’s no point putting him there if he never gets the ball.

 

[djbaldken]

You got me there baldy what I meant was ndiaye could play the false 9 role

Not the Jon parkin and Neil shipperly combination that hecky has them playing

what you meant your royal emptiness was, you ve no idea what you mean.

 

[BladeByChoice]

Fleck, Berge thread closed.

 

[Nagima]

Where do I start? There are so many things not right at the present time. Hecky is slow to make changes and there are concerns about how he reads the game. At times starting selections have been head scratching.

The team is unbalanced and the best squad in the championship is BS. So many players have glaring deficiencies. Midfield has been a real weak point. Berge is not putting enough effort and hides from the game. That lack of desire limits the effectiveness of the team. Fleck Berge Norwood does not work.Ndiaye McBurnie does not work. We are over reliant on Ndiaye.

I would pick.

Wes
Baldock
Anel
Egan
Clarke.
Osborne
Doyle
Norwood
McAtee.
Ndiyae
Jebbison.

Osborne if fit would be a better option than Lowe.