Phippsy speaks

[Kenilworth]

I just wish Nigel would stop going into games setting up not to concede. I'd rather he went into games setting up to score as many as possible.

I suspect the next three games will not follow that pattern as the fear of losing any of them will be a key factor as opposed to balls out going for the wins. NC will not set up a gamble of that nature at this stage with 10 games remaining. It's just not in his nature.

In Clough's mind he will be counting on getting Basham back in central defence and have The Beard marauding up the right flank, with Flynn as the key cover. He will believe that is good enough to make the difference and get sufficient points from these next three games at home.

The problem he will get is if we fail to score again in the first half or if Vale take a lead after we have kept the ball in the middle third for most of the half. Then it will turn as the frustration boils over.

 

[Superblades]

Wait till they see the s**t served up on sat that was served last night. Poor game.

I wish Phipps would keep off Twitter. A few years a go the pigs had Strapon doing exactly the same thing and most on here were saying "thank god our owner doesn't do that".

 

[Blade56]

Phipps has been a jolly bunny while we were going up the league and having good cup runs. I can imagine him fist and chest bumping every person he passes in the Lane.

Now things are getting a little sour how will he react? Do something about it, put some some substance on that fist bumping exterior or advise invisible sheik it's time to get a new toy, this ones broken?

 

[Deano's Shorts]

Bloody hell - them KPIs are getting everywhere !

Including more corporate management terminology in my posts is in fact one of my KPIs.

 

[sheffielder]

Hang on a minute, why is Jim getting a free pass for what's happened? He allowed Clough to sign most of these players (all who have signed this season are no better than we already had). He might be a nice guy and say the right things, however the Prince should have brought someone in to help with football side.

A squad that struggles to create chances / score goals with the likes of Murphy, Baxter, Flynn, McNuts, Scougall, Done etc etc in it has shackles on it and a lack of balance in the squad to allow them to do what they do best.

Let them off the leash and allow them to enjoy themselves, play with freedom and press the opposition high up. I promise you the fans will react well to that.

 

[sheffielder]

Bloody hell - them KPIs are getting everywhere !

KCI's for you pal, now getting learning CI will you!

 

[BushBlade]

I suspect the next three games will not follow that pattern as the fear of losing any of them will be a key factor as opposed to balls out going for the wins. NC will not set up a gamble of that nature at this stage with 10 games remaining. It's just not in his nature.

In Clough's mind he will be counting on getting Basham back in central defence and have The Beard marauding up the right flank, with Flynn as the key cover. He will believe that is good enough to make the difference and get sufficient points from these next three games at home.

The problem he will get is if we fail to score again in the first half or if Vale take a lead after we have kept the ball in the middle third for most of the half. Then it will turn as the frustration boils over.

Surely he will realise that draws won't be enough? With the defence back to full strength and having proper strikers he can be brave enough to instruct his attacking players to get into forward areas quickly and risk leaving us exposed a bit? Port Vale are shit, with the right tactics and application it should be as straightforward as Reading v Bradford. Now is clearly the time to go for it.

 

[232 Bramall Lane]

3 Home games. The Maths is simple. Winning 2 and losing one is better than 3 draws. So go for it!

 

[Kenilworth]

Surely he will realise that draws won't be enough? With the defence back to full strength and having proper strikers he can be brave enough to instruct his attacking players to get into forward areas quickly and risk leaving us exposed a bit? Port Vale are shit, with the right tactics and application it should be as straightforward as Reading v Bradford. Now is clearly the time to go for it.

That's logical but it's not the modus operandi that we have witnessed at any stage before now and I doubt very much that it will alter in the next three games. NC will bank on the players upping their level of performance in the existing framework - the fact that we seem incapable of getting more than one goal a game over the last 5 and are conceding at least 1 will ensure NC keeps the same ethos over these next few home games. He believes we are a gnats hair from turning the draws into wins and the defeats into draws. There is nothing cavalier about our Nige so I don't see any major alterations in approach or style for the next three fixtures, at least.

 

[pommpey]

Be nice to see Jp and Sal at the Lane this weekend.

Quite what they have to offer a team clearly down on morale and struggling to maintain even their current playoff status in a league of leeser-invested teams is beyond me. It's almost as if they've texted each other with a "MATCH THIS WKND?" "YEH" conversation.

Face it. Cluff has bought ... or has been placed in a position where he has had to buy ... pretty uninspiring squad players. Aside from Murphy, Brayford and Done, who would you keep if you were to have a clear-out? And the latest, Davies, seems like much of the same with even Blackpool fans, facing the U Bend of Championship life after being up with the great and the good recently, saying 'ta-ra'.

I am mindful of what people say about 'negative Nigel' and him having no plan-B. But if we are to look anything like a Championship side we need to be playing like a Championship club with players who look like Championship players. Murphy ... definitely, Done, yeah and possibly Brayford on a good day. What about the rest? We have not really had a consistent, reliable central defender since Maguire and before that Morgs and Jags occupied the shirts. Brayford may be a class above whatever else we have and Bob sometimes looks the part, but 'Championship'?

I know we have signed a busload of players and I know I keep banging on about it, but we are still a very long way from the sacred Game Changing Investment I imagined we'd be at, post Saudi arrival. And our current form is the material proof of that.

pommpey

 

[Rufus Smalls]

"Selahattin and I will be at the Lane this coming Saturday and Tuesday. In my view, there is time yet to cement our place in the play offs. We need to string together a row of wins and quickly. We have the players to do that and the heart and passion. We just need to pull together and get the job done. This is not beyond us."

This quote could almost be a veiled threat to Clough ?....... Read it again and put YOU at the end instead of us !

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Including more corporate management terminology in my posts is in fact one of my KPIs.

Think Kevin Peterson at CH is the last thing we need.

 

[TonyAgana]

Hang on a minute, why is Jim getting a free pass for what's happened? He allowed Clough to sign most of these players (all who have signed this season are no better than we already had). He might be a nice guy and say the right things, however the Prince should have brought someone in to help with football side.

A squad that struggles to create chances / score goals with the likes of Murphy, Baxter, Flynn, McNuts, Scougall, Done etc etc in it has shackles on it and a lack of balance in the squad to allow them to do what they do best.

Let them off the leash and allow them to enjoy themselves, play with freedom and press the opposition high up. I promise you the fans will react well to that.

In fairness to Phipps, Nigel did more than enough last season to convince him (and the rest of us) that he had the man-management capabilities and the pulling-power to create a strong squad. He earned everyone's trust and the board were happy to back him.

Some idiots still claim that the board "need to put their hands in their pockets" but the fact is, he has been backed. Unfortunately, Clough has taken too many gambles on players "returning to full-fitness" (crocks), made a complete switch to conservative football (rather than attacking our way away from the relegation zone) and he's been let down by some of last year's key performers.

Jim deserves a free pass this season but needs to be tougher over the next few months.

 

[itsinyerblood]

This quote could almost be a veiled threat to Clough ?....... Read it again and put YOU at the end instead of us !

There again it could be nothing of the sort.

 

[pommpey]

This quote could almost be a veiled threat to Clough ?....... Read it again and put YOU at the end instead of us !

Well, there is also 'somtimes knives do the talking'.

pommpey

 

[BushBlade]

Other than tweet shit, what does Jim actually do? Genuine question.

 

[pommpey]

Some idiots still claim that the board "need to put their hands in their pockets" but the fact is, he has been backed. Unfortunately, Clough has taken too many gambles on players "returning to full-fitness" (crocks), made a complete switch to conservative football (rather than attacking our way away from the relegation zone) and he's been let down by some of last year's key performers.

'Idiots'? How so?

I put to you that instead of buying this busload of benchwarmers and squad players, save for the better investments he has brought in like Brayford and Done - which are something like 'game changing', a more conservative but targetted buying policy bringing in players of pedigree would be more fruitful. We still don't know how much Cluff has spent on these residual players, Higdon, et al, all of whom we've had to Wiki to find out about them and none of them we have actually thought or believed to be a quality signing. We get this 'Brayford was '£1m' and Done was thereabouts, but tot up the rest why don't you and ask yourself the question if what he is alleged to have 'spent' on them would have not been better channeled into that mercurial Doyle replacement, a decent set of CBs or some sort of consistant pacey attacker to pair up with Done.

We lost Coady from last season who was that developing midfielder and lost Maguire at the back. Tell me who has replaced either of them, and then call me an 'idiot'.

pommpey

 

[pommpey]

Other than tweet shit, what does Jim actually do? Genuine question.

At least he 'engages with the fans', etc.

Yeah, me neither.

pommpey

 

[Kenilworth]

I'll bet Che and McNuts can't believe the amount of game time they are getting given the shit they are witnessing from the bench every game.
He makes his substitutions too late to affect a game and makes like for like changes instead of looking to alter the dynamics of the play with something a bit different. Maybe Che only gets a chance when Higdon gets back to fitness?

 

[cooperblade]

I wince every time I load up the league table and see the cavalry galloping up towards us with the bit very much between their teeth and the teams above us continuing to eek out results, consolidate their positions and edge away from us.

The going must have been heavy last night as the cavalry were struggling to raise a trot.

Take out Bradford who didn't play and the 4 teams directly below us got 1 point between them.

 

[TonyAgana]

'Idiots'? How so?

I put to you that instead of buying this busload of benchwarmers and squad players, save for the better investments he has brought in like Brayford and Done - which are something like 'game changing', a more conservative but targetted buying policy bringing in players of pedigree would be more fruitful. We still don't know how much Cluff has spent on these residual players, Higdon, et al, all of whom we've had to Wiki to find out about them and none of them we have actually thought or believed to be a quality signing. We get this 'Brayford was '£1m' and Done was thereabouts, but tot up the rest why don't you and ask yourself the question if what he is alleged to have 'spent' on them would have not been better channeled into that mercurial Doyle replacement, a decent set of CBs or some sort of consistant pacey attacker to pair up with Done.

We lost Coady from last season who was that developing midfielder and lost Maguire at the back. Tell me who has replaced either of them, and then call me an 'idiot'.

pommpey

I wouldn't call you an idiot for saying that we needed to replace Coady and Maguire. I reserve that insult for those who claim the board haven't backed Clough. And those who deliberately misread posts to support their agenda.

 

[Dkc]

The going must have been heavy last night as the cavalry were struggling to raise a trot.

Take out Bradford who didn't play and the 4 teams directly below us got 1 point between them.

Yes, someone else said that it's a little early to be "coming up on the rails". If you're going to put a late run for the play offs together, the last 5 games are ideal, not games 30-35.

I still think we'll make the play offs. If we do, we'll have a decent chance of winning them - especially if we perform like we did against Hull.

 

[pommpey]

I wouldn't call you an idiot for saying that we needed to replace Coady and Maguire. I reserve that insult for those who claim the board haven't backed Clough. And those who deliberately misread posts to support their agenda.

Do you think the (supposed) investment released by the board into the hands of Clough has been wisely spent?

Aside from what we know, Brayford, Done as standout 'bought' players who have capability and the ability to augment what was a basically understrength squad compared with last season, what other squad additions can you name who have made any sort of difference? How much did they cost?

pommpey

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Given the money we've spent since, it does make you wonder whether we could have gone for Coady in the Summer, if that deal was ever on. Coutts may well turn out to be a decent signing given an injury free summer and pre-season but yes, there needs to be a fair bit of pruning this summer wherever we are which does ask the question about a few signings.

 

[TonyAgana]

Given that my comment was:

Some idiots still claim that the board "need to put their hands in their pockets"

...I'm really not sure why you're asking me these questions so unless you can tell me, I'm just going to choose which bit I answer.

Do you think the (supposed) investment released by the board into the hands of Clough has been wisely spent?

As I stated, Clough has taken too many gambles. They could've worked but most haven't (so far) - there's more James Wallaces than Matty Dones - so no, not particularly.

Anything else I can help you with?

 

[Darthblade]

In fairness to Phipps, Nigel did more than enough last season to convince him (and the rest of us) that he had the man-management capabilities and the pulling-power to create a strong squad. He earned everyone's trust and the board were happy to back him.

Some idiots still claim that the board "need to put their hands in their pockets" but the fact is, he has been backed. Unfortunately, Clough has taken too many gambles on players "returning to full-fitness" (crocks), made a complete switch to conservative football (rather than attacking our way away from the relegation zone) and he's been let down by some of last year's key performers.

Jim deserves a free pass this season but needs to be tougher over the next few months.

He's been backed by the Board ..... but not until mid-January, which was about 4 months too late. By January any chance of automatics had long gone . Up until then our spending in the transfer market was virtually non existent and didn't address any of the many obvious deficiencies in the squad.
UTB & FTP

 

[TonyAgana]

He's been backed by the Board ..... but not until mid-January, which was about 4 months too late. By January any chance of automatics had long gone . Up until then our spending in the transfer market was virtually non existent and didn't address any of the many obvious deficiencies in the squad.
UTB & FTP

Fair points, DB. However, we were told the backing was there and it was up to NC to identify targets and spend it. The fact that the spending didn't address any of the obvious deficiencies in the squad isn't really the fault of the board but NC, isn't it?

 

[pommpey]

...I'm really not sure why you're asking me these questions so unless you can tell me, I'm just going to choose which bit I answer.

Well, you allude that those who say 'get you hands in your pockets' are 'idiots'. As I am one of those outspoken advocates, I assume you mean 'me'?

As I stated, Clough has taken too many gambles. They could've worked but most haven't (so far) - there's more James Wallaces than Matty Dones - so no, not particularly.

Gambles - forced by what, exactly? Would you say that Done and Brayford was a 'gamble'? We kind of know how much was spent on them. But the rest ... the 'undiscloseds', I assume are the 'gambles' you speak of? So, assuming for one dark minute that they are 'undisclosed' because they were someone else's team's unwanteds (as seems to be the case) or non-league hopefuls (as seems to be the case) one might assume that not a lot of moolah was spent on these 'gambles' at all. In fact, they are far from 'gambles', because perhaps te only gamble we face is paying their wages.

Anything else I can help you with?

Yeah. Keep up the facetious manner. It helps your case.

pommpey

 

[Jim Chimmerney]

Fair points, DB. However, we were told the backing was there and it was up to NC to identify targets and spend it. The fact that the spending didn't address any of the obvious deficiencies in the squad isn't really the fault of the board but NC, isn't it?

I've said elsewhere that I have a certain amount of sympathy on the transfer / injury front. He lost Maguire which, let's face it, was always going to happen and Butler and Collins haven't worked for whatever reason. Having said that, he's had plenty of time to address that, McCarthy aside which was a disaster.

He clearly wanted Brayford and O'Grady in the Summer and who knows, if they had come in then, and Wallace had paid off he might have had the squad he wanted and we could have seen a different picture. What hasn't worked is his plan B, if ever there was one, once these three key players weren't available.

We don't know what has gone on behind the scenes re Brayford etc, maybe he was given false hope early doors and ended up waiting too long but the fact is, we've had an ever-changing team / squad which has ended up helping no-one.

 

[Balham]

I've said elsewhere that I have a certain amount of sympathy on the transfer / injury front. He lost Maguire which, let's face it, was always going to happen and Butler and Collins haven't worked for whatever reason. Having said that, he's had plenty of time to address that, McCarthy aside which was a disaster.

He clearly wanted Brayford and O'Grady in the Summer and who knows, if they had come in then, and Wallace had paid off he might have had the squad he wanted and we could have seen a different picture. What hasn't worked is his plan B, if ever there was one, once these three key players weren't available.

We don't know what has gone on behind the scenes re Brayford etc, maybe he was given false hope early doors and ended up waiting too long but the fact is, we've had an ever-changing team / squad which has ended up helping no-one.

Collins and Butler were bombed out by October and Maguire left in August. That left a hole at centre half that was addressed (theoretically) for the month which Paddy McCarthy was commuting up on a Friday. Conceding stupid goals (along with the effort it take us to score one at the right end) has been the single biggest issue all fucking season and Clough has done practically nothing to sort it out. Maybe he's been told that he can't sign a centre half whilever Collins is on the books? I can't think of another reason for this particular myopia.