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Post by paulbeasley on Nov 23, 2017 0:29:58 GMT
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Post by CheltenhamYellow on Nov 23, 2017 6:48:04 GMT
Another excellent, and very fair, assessment Paul. Last night I went to watch Wolves vs Leeds. The level of football is on a different planet; we have a long way to go. And our star player of a couple of seasons ago was substituted midway through the second half having been totally ineffectual. A complete re-build is needed if we are to compete at a higher level.
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Post by uptheus on Nov 23, 2017 7:36:34 GMT
Agree about Henry, just think he thinks he's better than what he is. I'm surprised you've only just notice that he doesn't put the effect in and sometimes just stands there.
Martin is a liability as you say, but I'm not sure Williamson is much better, especially as he's not 100% fit.
I actually thought after the first 10mins of the game we started to knock the call about and looked the better team, but the 2nd and definitely the 3rd killed the game off as a contest. Second half we were the better team, and I felt if we'd got a 2nd before their 4th it might of been game on, but unfortunately that wasn't the case.
Onto Southend I guess for more ups and downs, but hopefully more ups!
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Post by charliesghost on Nov 23, 2017 12:10:24 GMT
Another excellent, and very fair, assessment Paul. Last night I went to watch Wolves vs Leeds. The level of football is on a different planet; we have a long way to go. And our star player of a couple of seasons ago was substituted midway through the second half having been totally ineffectual. A complete re-build is needed if we are to compete at a higher level. This is where club strategy becomes very, very important. We had a plan after Ashton took charge. Invest in the recruitment department, bring in bright young players, build a team to last and then trade off the top 1 or 2 player every season and then re-invest that in a bunch of new bright young players. And so on up the leagues and into the Championship. That model, mistakenly in my view, did not include simultaneously addressing the stadium situation.... but judged by its own terms it did work. Amazingly, come the sale of Johnson, the player trading model had brought in the following: Johnson - £2.5 million COD: £1.6 million Roofe: £2.25 million Lundstram: £700k MApp: £350k (apparently) = £7.5 million, set against a total initial cash investment (before the transfer fees started to come in) by Ensco of £6.6 million, after a purchase price of £4 million. So, in operating P&L terms, Ensco has made a profit of about £1 million. Under the previous model, that money - and maybe a bit more - would have been re-invested last summer in a serious attempt to take the squad to the next level. But this time it wasn't (although a perfectly reasonable budget was put in place). So there is just a big question mark over what the club really wants to be right now. Many fans are happy with a year of stasis, on the basis that there is a 'work in progress', but if there is, then what is it? Other fans simply feel that mid-table League 1 is decent for OUFC and that we don't need to plan to go any higher, as that would be out-stripping our potential. So talk of "re-building" is moot, really. Because there is no sense of what we are building for. To compete with the likes of Blackburn, Wigan, Charlton and co would have needed to see Ashton's model pursued and £1 million-£2 million invested last summer in exciting new signings.Or, to pursue a different strategy, we could keep things tight now and build for the future by investing in infrastructure (like Plymouth are doing).
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Post by manorlounger on Nov 23, 2017 13:12:08 GMT
Thank you Paul. We couldn't make the game due to family issues but managed to listen to Radox, it says something that Mrs Lounger and I said, almost in unison, so pleased we didn't make the trip up. Now, we are season ticket holders and have already paid for our seats so we are doing ourselves out of money but what of all those who buy a ticket on an ad hoc basis? Can't see many of them wanting to fork out when the offering is so poor. The club really needs to look at the whole recruitment process and start with the January window. We may not be at risk of relegation (yet) but attendances are going down and just as the half season ticket sales start, poor results come in.
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Post by oldman159 on Nov 23, 2017 13:43:06 GMT
One day Paul, you will get it wrong....one day.
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Post by monsieurgrumpy on Nov 23, 2017 15:01:56 GMT
Going to Roots Hall on Saturday with more hope than belief. While nothing can be taken for granted in football, especially with this team, I think I can safely predict that Southend will start the sharper team and close our defenders down quickly, looking for the inevitable mistake. After all, that's how they have played us in the games I have seen us play there since returning to the league. Thus it's no mystery why our recent record there has been so bad. And unfortunately, as you have observed above, this season's track record against sides that pressurise us in defence and midfield is more discouraging than ever.
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Post by nottsyellow on Nov 23, 2017 19:35:35 GMT
Thanks Paul, another fair and accurate write up. If Blackburn's wages are so excessive, over a certain % of turnover, why don't they get a Financial Fair Play penalty like QPR did? Ricardinho -I love watching him, he is a great footballer with natural skill, with an infectious enthusiasm, but at times he does not have a defender's brain! As left back what was he doing going out to a corner on the right? As you mentioned he only just got back to the six yard box, but worse than that he was on the goal line outside the post and playing the goal scorer onside. Surely he should have been on the left post where the ball went in or marking the goal scorer?
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Post by charliesghost on Nov 23, 2017 19:37:02 GMT
Going to Roots Hall on Saturday with more hope than belief. While nothing can be taken for granted in football, especially with this team, I think I can safely predict that Southend will start the sharper team and close our defenders down quickly, looking for the inevitable mistake. After all, that's how they have played us in the games I have seen us play there since returning to the league. Thus it's no mystery why our recent record there has been so bad. And unfortunately, as you have observed above, this season's track record against sides that pressurise us in defence and midfield is more discouraging than ever. We were pretty unlucky last season. Thought we were the better side. As their League position indicates they aren't any great shakes and if Pep can just (for once) shake things up a little and give them something different to look at WE have to have a chance. The latter is important as we must be one of easiest teams to scout in history at present. Even if just for the sake of it we need to try something different.
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Post by monsieurgrumpy on Nov 23, 2017 20:32:44 GMT
Going to Roots Hall on Saturday with more hope than belief. While nothing can be taken for granted in football, especially with this team, I think I can safely predict that Southend will start the sharper team and close our defenders down quickly, looking for the inevitable mistake. After all, that's how they have played us in the games I have seen us play there since returning to the league. Thus it's no mystery why our recent record there has been so bad. And unfortunately, as you have observed above, this season's track record against sides that pressurise us in defence and midfield is more discouraging than ever. We were pretty unlucky last season. Thought we were the better side. As their League position indicates they aren't any great shakes and if Pep can just (for once) shake things up a little and give them something different to look at WE have to have a chance. The latter is important as we must be one of easiest teams to scout in history at present. Even if just for the sake of it we need to try something different. Actually I missed the last few games there as they were evening matches. But in the Saturday games seen, Phil Brown had his team in our faces from the start. I recall the one all draw when they gave us a hard time first half but then ran out of steam. We got back into the match second half and Hylton equalised with a penalty. In a modern world of many uncertainties, all we can be sure of is taxes and Southend firing from the off.
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Post by paulbeasley on Nov 23, 2017 20:55:08 GMT
Going to Roots Hall on Saturday with more hope than belief. While nothing can be taken for granted in football, especially with this team, I think I can safely predict that Southend will start the sharper team and close our defenders down quickly, looking for the inevitable mistake. After all, that's how they have played us in the games I have seen us play there since returning to the league. Thus it's no mystery why our recent record there has been so bad. And unfortunately, as you have observed above, this season's track record against sides that pressurise us in defence and midfield is more discouraging than ever. We were pretty unlucky last season. Thought we were the better side. As their League position indicates they aren't any great shakes and if Pep can just (for once) shake things up a little and give them something different to look at WE have to have a chance. The latter is important as we must be one of easiest teams to scout in history at present. Even if just for the sake of it we need to try something different. So, so true.
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Post by bicesterox on Nov 24, 2017 13:05:21 GMT
Unexpectedly able to go tomorrow
Lets make some noise, back the boys, and hope to hell we can get a win
COYY :-)
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Post by paulbeasley on Nov 24, 2017 16:07:02 GMT
Unexpectedly able to go tomorrow Lets make some noise, back the boys, and hope to hell we can get a win COYY :-) Well let's hope you get to see an unexpected win then.
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