Preston on Saturday

[cooperblade]

Took my young 'un for his first away game. He said afterwards "We've driven all the way to Preston for nothing". I said "That's what away games are all about".

For a moment as Slew's pass rolled invitingly across to Riise I was thinking what a great start to his away day career it would be. We were right behind the net and it was going to look great when Riise tucked it away. That miss summed it all up, if we've had any chance at all to fuck things up, we've taken it with both hands.

I still think we should stick with Adams but I do have concerns about how we've seemingly accepted relegation so easily. If we'd won on Saturday, we would still have had a squeak which is just incredible given how the season has panned out. Like the Cardiff game though, we looked devoid of fight and belief. Maybe it's all turned so rotten that it just can't change without major, major surgery. Even at the end of the game, only Quinny sank to the turf like it was the final chance gone (maybe he was just thinking about his error for the 3rd). It wasn't like we'd passed up one last opportunity.

Slew made a difference to the team, his pace gave us a genuine option for the ball played in behind. He's Billy Sharp-esque in the timing of his runs when, unlike Billy, he's got no need to go early. That's one for Cork to sort. I'm not sure he'll be the answer, just not convinced the ability is there, but he definitely gives us something we've been lacking and it was great to see him score.

Maguire struggled with Chris Brown a little bit I thought. Brown's strength and know how was just a touch too much for him on occasions. He'll learn how to deal with that sort of player with experience though, I guess you don't get many lumps like that in Academy football. Be plenty to practise on in L1 though, that fat pig Mellor down at S6 for one.

The main thing I can say about Philliskirk is that I thought it was McAllister! Didn't hear the announcement when he came on and assumed wrongly about who it was.

Lots to worry about but, hopefully, with all the noises about a major clearout some better times ahead.

 

[sitwell]

A major clearout sound good in principle ,but not just for the sake of it. We have to keep players who we can't replace with the amount funds available. If we could keep a perm 3 of Morgan , Monty ,Quinn, Williamson and Henderson as a spine and build around this we should have to much for most teams. Taylor ,Ertl ,Yeates and Evans might find their level unless we get offers ,and the rest should be shipped out apart from the young players abbviously who should be given a chance in pre-season.
Don't know if its just me but I am strangely looking forward to a different challenge and the optimist in me thinks this could be the turning point.

 

[Oreyt]

Don't know if its just me but I am strangely looking forward to a different challenge and the optimist in me thinks this could be the turning point.

Nah, me too.

 

[SwissBlade]

Your young un is wise before his time!

 

[cooperblade]

A major clearout sound good in principle ,but not just for the sake of it. We have to keep players who we can't replace with the amount funds available. If we could keep a perm 3 of Morgan , Monty ,Quinn, Williamson and Henderson as a spine and build around this we should have to much for most teams. Taylor ,Ertl ,Yeates and Evans might find their level unless we get offers ,and the rest should be shipped out apart from the young players abbviously who should be given a chance in pre-season.
Don't know if its just me but I am strangely looking forward to a different challenge and the optimist in me thinks this could be the turning point.

I agree we shouldn't clear out for the sake of it and I'd also like to keep a spine of 3 or 4 of names not too dissimilar from your list. I think we need to be wary of thinking that some of our players will improve by default just because they've dropped a level, wednesday's squad is full of players who should've been good enough for L1 but, for whatever reason, haven't.

A lot will depend on whether or not we have the financial muscle, whether it be fees or wages, to take some of the better players from other L1 clubs. Could we get Weston from Brentford or Taylor from Oldham for example? Add some players with pace and hunger who know the division to the likes of Morgan, Quinn, Lowton etc and we could be in good shape.

In the face of all available evidence, I do think Adams can do well for us in L1. I'd expect him to go out and try and win every game (which sounds daft but Irvine and Megson haven't done that) and he knows what is required in the lower divisions.

 

[sheffielder]

The team as it is should be more than good enough to get straight back up. It just needs a fresh start and challenge.
I am really looking forward to hopefully watching the club get back off it's knees and maybe we needed this to give us a reality check.

The thing that worries for me is when I nearly crashed the car on Saturday when Adams said he needed to do some wheeling and dealing for the new season. Memories flooded back to me of how we effectively swapped Bartley and Britton for Doyle and Collins.

We are going to lose a few big names, but remember nobody has any more these days so it might not be as bad as we think