LCFCJohn

For gas and electric, we have guys who are based in our village. There’s something reassuring about seeing their vans round the place and on their own driveways (I am not advocating banging their doors down, but it makes them visible and trustworthy). The biggest issue we had with the electrician was getting him to take payment!

Funny, I thought the only thing on the rise in that region was rubbish on the streets…

Yeah fair, I thought it was just a case of coming from a different point of view. Because yes, a striker supposedly at his peak, signed for over £20mill should be a better bet than an untested kid. Agreed regarding fans just accepting the decline and standards.

It’s about perceived playing football the ‘right’ way in general. Some fans can’t see past it. Vestergaard, free pass for endless mistakes because people perceive him to be this amazing ball playing defender. Maresca - yes was good for us and did the job and has gone on to better things. But are you allowed to point out actually, 11 defeats and goals conceded on a par with mid tables sides were actually pretty poor numbers? No, because it was Enzo and he played football the right way. Hermansen - again, was very good for us, no grudge against the guy. But Stolarcryk has been criticised over and over for not being Hermansen basically. Sometimes, just sometimes, particularly defensive players have to do, you know, that job as well! And defensive stats in the context of that season under Maresca are just as important to note as the attacking ones.

Could have been a pick up for us instead of Carranza in the summer as well… Well, he would have been at Stoke by that point I think, but had we been proactive and not sat on our hands all summer, we could have.

Agree we should definitely be doing better. I have also been patient with Daka and have said multiple times, I don’t think a player can just lose something like the ability to finish he showed in Europe. I also think he will go on to do well elsewhere if he can sort his head out. But that’s different to would you take any players from their side now, for the game at the weekend. And if you say you’d rather our options up front that are all busted flushes (here at least) over a young England U21 striker who has at least been finding the net often enough this season, I just don’t think you’re being entirely honest with yourself.

Nelson showed himself as a better ‘defender’ in one and a half games!

You wouldn’t take England U21’s striker Mubama who has 5 goals already over Daka, Ayew and Carranza? Interesting choice! I don’t think there’s much in the keepers. It’s a sad state of our left backs that Cresswell is easily a better option there. I’d take Wilmot at CB over Vestergaard and Faes. Not sure about the others. Ben Pearson has been around a while at this level and I think would make our team better in centre mid. Interestingly, when looking at the top goalscorers, I count 19 teams (unless I have missed or doubled up any) that have someone or more than one on this list. Nobody for us…. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/championship/top-scorers

I don’t think it really makes a difference. He’s so bad regardless!

I’m not sure if you were including the region within Eastern Europe but Scandinavia! I know VK and that. But also Hermansen was very good for us. Also Vestergaard bad, Schmeichel good etc. But if asked who the best strikers currently are (form aside) or over the last year, I bet Isak (Sweden), Gyokeres (Sweden) and Haaland (Norway) are the top 3 for many. Yes Kane, Mbappe as well. Despite a bit of joy from Denmark, we are terrible at using these markets.

It’d be good to know what is happening. We don’t seem to get short term injuries so I have resigned myself to Vestergaard and Faes until into the new year. Hopefully it doesn’t stall his career after the lay off last season.

I should have worded better. I don’t believe there was an initial intention to break the rules to gain. Incompetence saw us overspend and give large contracts out. The loop holes came after.

I don’t even think there was any intention to cheat the PSR rules in the first place. Just sheer incompetence and mismanagement. I still think Aiyawatt and Rudkin haven’t figured that wages are included. I can picture them getting really angry, not spending anything on transfers whilst making sales, whilst simultaneously doubling Luke Thomas’ wage…

Clearly a symbolic comment, based around the amount we has pissed away in transfer fees and wages on players not worth a fraction of it. He obviously wasn’t advocating a points deduction and embargo for that deal!

I never saw this but anyone saying this needs help! At least the Stolarcryk/Johansson one is down close and down to interpretation!

Ah yes, just in time for another transfer window as always….

Well we haven’t won at home since August… Although I have looked at your own away results and see you haven’t won away all season! Oh well, bring out the thread….

I was not actually being intentionally critical at all. I perhaps should have put ‘many’ rather than ‘any’. My point was, I find it hard to know what his level is/could be. I did say that his shot stopping in the early part of the PL season impressed me. He went to crap after and since his move but again, I did say it is hard to know if we saw a purple patch or if it is a combination of confidence, injuries, poor transfer. I suspect yes, much of the latter. But also a bit overrated by some of our fans due to the ball playing ability wooing people. I suspect he is a decent top flight keeper. He does have a glaring weakness with controlling his area and dominating. But this was Kasper’s weakness too. I suspect his mentality might hold him back as well as he doesn’t seem very confident. You need that as a top keeper I think. And by mentality, I am not saying he wasn’t a ‘good egg’ which he is, just that confident, winning mentality. In terms of the games pointed out, as I said at the start, any was harsh wording I accept. I think it also depends how we perceive things individually. I remember often feeling the finishing was poor in that league and therefore would see a save as ‘expected’. Others might see the same save as really good I guess. I mean after Ward, it was just good to see that the shots on target for the opposition want equal to goal conceded for us!

Yep, I agree with all this. And Cooper like you say, could lead to a worse success rate. Perhaps you could argue that Maresca being somewhat competent pulled up that window from poor as it has been before and after, to ok/decent overall. I was just pointing out balance. Maresca will have still had a big say. I also think he would have been very responsible for the Vestergaard renewal having built the defence around him.

So in summary, Maresca was responsible for anything good (Fatawu/Hermansen etc) but Coady, Vestergaard new contract nothing to do with him. Cooper, everything bad down to him. Presumable he had nothing to do with Bilal as that was a good piece of business…. See how it sounds? The manager has input or they don’t. It’s well known they do here. So I have no issue with Cooper taking responsibility and the flack for the terrible business done in the 2024 summer. By the same token, to claim Maresca would therefore have had nothing to do with Coady or the Vestergaard deal is incredibly biased.

I’m not sure what to make of him. I think sections of our fan base massively overrate players who are good on the ball, even if it is not their primary job (GK and defenders) and when they aren’t doing their primary job right (Vestergaard/Faes). I recall going into last season dubious about Hermansen as I just didn’t recall him making any game winning contributions in our Championship season, in the sense a GK should. Think Schmeichel time and time again. Obviously got pelters on here as he was the best keeper ever and going for £70mill! But then he did show that side in the early part of the season, Arsenal away sticks out. So I thought, yeah, he can actually shot stop as well. I never thought he was good at commanding his area mind. And now it’s gone wrong for him. Was the shot stopping ability shown early last season a purple patch? Or is it external factors, injuries and a bad transfer? Confidence in the drain? Really hard to tell.

Yes . You don’t have defend him for absolutely everything. Good coach, poor eye for a player. I guess you’re one of these who picks and chooses. So anything that went well was Maresca’s doing but things that are unpopular with the fans, Vestergaard for example, can no way be his fault? Presumably then, Skipp, Ayew and Reid had nothing to do with Cooper?

Exactly, look where we are despite the foundations Pearson built up. Without him, we are sitting in the bottom half of this league (best case), as we are now, moaning about the fact is it now 21 years and counting since we were last in the PL, thinking back to the MoN times, our best and most recent achievements.

Given our ‘manager led’ approach, I think it is reasonable to think most signings are, at least approved by, the manager. He has enough sway to have vetoed it at least. And not granted a centre back that suited. Again, we brought in a very expensive centre back for that level on huge wages. If Maresca has other targets in mind, why didn’t they happen? And as I said, he built the side around Vestergaard and signed off on a contract extension before jumping to Chelsea and leaving us lumbered with him. He was clearly a good coach. And he did speak out about standards at the club. But there is no evidence to suggest he had a good eye for a player. Our recruitment that summer was bang average overall. Better than completely shit before and after granted, but hardly good. Even the signings who have been overall good from that summer, Hermansen, Fatawu and Mavididi, still have question marks over their mentality and character.

Well for a start, he loved Vestergaard and built the side around him. Faes to a lesser extent. The only reason Vestergaard got a new deal and will be stinking the place out until the 2027 summer is down to Maresca. His system also caused us to be vulnerable. As well as playing ourselves into trouble, we were punished time and time again with Ricardo inverted into midfield and essentially having no right back. Opposition sides had the freedom of their left hand side to bypass us defensively. That was a tactical choice. He was also backed heavily and chose Coady as his defensive option.