LCFCJohn

Stopped at Gordona on the way to Cornwall last year. I was sitting with my feet out the drivers door and my daughter (18 months at the time) was standing showing me something, gust of wind blew the car door and wiped her out. Early hours the next morning she was being sick so off to Truro A&E we went at 4am…. After all morning there, nothing wrong with her head (our concern) and she had a sickness bug which proceeded to go round the family during the next few days. I dislike Gordano also….. As for your second paragraph, I never have been to Chieveley!

Fair. As others have found out, you decrease the quality and through not replacing as well and it’s a slippery slope. Same happened to Southampton when they were established. We were different as we just completely bombed with a squad that should have done much better.

Barnsley scored form the edge of the centre circle in their own half!

He was the next coming for you last season! Early days though, you were in a similar position last season and ended up nowhere near trouble so might happen again.

35+ years

In fairness, it looks like he hasn’t featured this season (in the league anyway) and he had that awful injury against us at the end of last season. I’m not even watching this game by the way but clearly he is coming back from a bad injury and not match fit. He might not recover properly but the pre-injury version of his would massively improve our side now.

How do Chelsea spend so much, sell hotels and the women’s team to fund it, to end up with the squad they have

Yeah, I’m just thinking back to when the far superior Amartey was picked over Soyuncu in 202/23. Clearly a correct call from Rodgers

No finger pointing. As I say, not liking a particular decision does not equate to not supporting the manager. If the others were performing at a high level, it would be understandable, if frustrating for those of us who want to see youth developed. But come on, they aren’t performing. Both Faes and Vestergaard are making regular errors that are costing us goals and points. They are being selected as they are paid more. It’s like in a regular work place when someone who has been in the company a long time gets a promotion over someone who has not been there as long even though they perform better. So I don’t see how we are improving our prospects this season and there’s no denying it’s a lack of long term planning.

Presumably if we are lucky enough to offload Faes, Okoli comes in and at best, Nelson is on the bench? And that is not considering the Souttar situation. We could shift Faes (or an another) and it doesn’t necessarily mean Nelson moves up from 4th choice. It’s not like he is next in line and knocking on the door let’s face it. If by management you mean Marti? Absolutely not. You can be supportive and overall positive about someone (Marti) and still question a particular decision or ongoing choice. It doesn’t mean it’s a negative view of him. If you mean Aiyawatt and Ruskin, yes they can get in the bin As I say, I have a similar feeling about this as with Rodgers where it was obvious to me this was going to end badly. Obviously it’s not the same, holding onto Rodgers saw us relegated. Letting Nelson slip through will cost us financially but not on the same level.

I have said it before, but when things moved to being able to name 9 substitutes around Covid time I think, this should have been implemented with a condition that the extra 2 places should be home grown, academy players under 21. By not doing so, it both doesn’t do anything to encourage youth players to be given a chance whilst also actively encourages hoarding senior players. Some of the big clubs actually do more to use this system in the way I am suggesting than we do which is disappointing. There’s no reason Aluko and Page couldn’t be on the bench to be given minutes if the circumstances are right.

Quite simply, if he isn’t ask good as Vestergaard and Faes, he has no future here anyway and we should cash in for what we can get, before his contract gets into its last year and before his stock drops any more.

I think we have just got it completely backwards with him. I’m not one for ‘start a team of kids’ but his situation is different. I’m usually balanced about things but this annoys me. I am sure we are going to end up regretting this and miss out on him. The most recent things I have felt this sure about and a strongly about are; Rodgers needed to go as we were going backwards so fast under him we were at risk of getting relegated. I said this to a Newcastle supporting mate when their takeover happened in October 2021! Aiyawatt is an incompetent nepo baby, also felt this for a long time. I trust my gut on these as history tends to evidence I am right when it comes to these feelings!

I think personally Ben would have preferred to be trusted and get the season under his belt. And you say I’m making assumptions. Isn’t thinking he will start from January an even wilder one on your part? Where is the sign he will be involved? He isn’t even making the bench! But what about the following? Should we go up, what will we do having no centre backs capable at PL level? We will have to buy 2 before thinking about anything else. You didn’t address the point about the fans. You’re honestly telling me people won’t be on his back the second he makes a mistake? The kids confidence will be crushed. His contract situation. Let’s say your assumption (that’s what it is), that Ben is just find with being left out the squad whilst Faes and Vestergaard stink the place out, his contract still doesn’t have long left and you’re honestly telling me you think he’ll turn down other offers to stay here with no guarantees of first team football? I don’t.

It’s not about not wanting that to happen. It’s about the realism of the situation and the longer it goes on, it could impact on future youngster committing. For me, the reason I want Nelson now to move on is for his own sake. The fact so many of our fans are banging on about the Huddersfield game tells me already that if he was brought into the first team, the minute he makes a mistake (the kind Faes and Vestergaard make weekly), he will not be given anywhere near the licence to do so without criticism that those two get and will be piled on by a large proportion of our fanbase. If our fans supported him, I’d say play him. But it’s only going to end badly so please just move him on.

If we could get a fee and his wages off the books a few months early, do it! Suggestions of Cartwright or Braybrooke being involved are unrealistic though so would we need to bring someone in, even on loan ourselves or go with what we currently have around?

Got to agree here. We have got it right with Monga but he’s about the only one. Page you could understand the starts were due to lack of signings at the time. But why he has been dropped from the bench is the disappointment. The big one is Nelson of course. If he is not good enough then fine, sell him and move on. But people don’t think that do they. The consensus seems to be he will be very good but just not yet, despite him proving himself in this league but apparently 45 minutes coming in from the cold in the cup is a more accurate reference than the time last season. I think people who justify his exclusion or so ‘he’ll get his chance’ etc, don’t really understand the implications on both him and on other young players like you say. There seems an assumption that these young players will just hang around as long as we want them to until we are ready. But they won’t.

I don’t agree with the point about Evans at all (the original point about make and break). However, there is make and break career wise and just at a particular club. Vardy is a great example and examples such as Semenyo as you say and plenty more who don’t fly onto the scene in the PL as a teenager. At the club is a bit different though. Take Nelson, he’s young so has plenty of time to make it to the top in his career so this year may not be make or break for him. But it could be in terms of a future with us as you’d have to imagine he will move on to play. In terms of Evans, maybe it could be the case in terms of his future at the club but a 17 year old Evans would definitely be more impatient than a 21 year old Nelson for wanting out at this stage.

I just meant in a not getting younger and more valuable way. We might have conceded the least goals on 23/24 but it was still 41, nearly a goal a game. It wasn’t a high bar with the next best at 43. Last season, Burnley (16), Leeds (30) and Sheffield United (36) all bettered this. Team like Watford (14th) and Hull (21st) only conceded 44. This season I think we are 4th in this metric. Burnley and Leeds also got to 100 points last season so if we had had the same season we had 2 years ago, last season, we wouldn’t have even got promoted. And we are decent at the other end (Vardy, KDH, Fatawu and Mavididi), so it was the defence that was our weakest area. I do agree with you about scoring goals this season and this is the concern. We have the same defence as as above, they aren’t these amazing defenders many make them out to be (I don’t include you in that as you haven’t said that), and we are a lot weaker at the other end. Whilst Faes and Vestergaard have been making many errors leading to goals conceded. It’s not surprise that the metrics show we are in a higher position than we probably should be which is a concern going into the rest of the season. Hopefully James is filling the KDH void. Fatawu seems to have added goals but we are missing the goals coming from the left wing as Mavididi has stated off poor and obviously don’t have a striker who can score.

Yep. I think people get carried away by how good we actually were. We were good. But the great sides at this level break 100 points like Nige’s side of 13/14. And what was particularly good came from our wingers and KDH. Ricardo and Winks as well. I was not impressed by our defence at the time and still aren’t.

97 points for what it is worth. But honestly that flattered us. We lost 11 games. Teams like Bristol City, Plymouth and Millwall beat us quite easily by completely bypassing our defence. Same move over and over again. They really weren’t all that. And they (particularly Vestergaard being older) are two years old than then.

Yeah I realise you hadn’t said that as such. The Nelson thing has become quite big naturally. Many people (like myself), like Marti and what he brings but don’t like this one thing. Given we don’t know details, we can’t exactly give him a pass on it and it does go down as a question mark. But that’s not a problem as it’s part of the discussion and someone isn’t always going to be perfect in every way. And as you say, forums are about that. So I was just picking up on not shutting down comments that question that aspect. Apart from the rare oddball after a bad result, nobody is questioning his job. If anything, he does put more pressure on himself in respect of seasonal goals with that particular selection issue as it is short term thinking and with short term thinking, is the need for results (promotion).

Likewise, it’s ok to discuss the manager and highlight one thing that is a concern, particularly if the review is otherwise very reasonable and positive.

Come on. There’s a bit of subjectivity and there’s the complete inconsistency that we get. I’ve seen similar or worse challenges against us since the one Ramsay was sent off for against Oxford for example. If you think the only issue with decisions currently is a bit of honest subjectiveness, you’re entitled to your option. I think most people would disagree mind.

Just posing the question really. Perhaps perfection is the wrong word. Consistency? This is the problem, even with VAR, decisions are inconsistent and often there is a leaning towards certain teams. I have no problem with the penalty at Swansea last week. Faes did dive in and from the angle the ref had, you can see why it was given when he doesn’t have the benefit of VAR. In the PL though, you just want consistent decisions. If the threshold for a penalty or handball is what it is, fine.