Jump to content

Monty13

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    5,481

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    8

Posts posted by Monty13

  1. Posted

    1 hour ago, Google Bot said:

    With the players available we've always looked far more fluid and see the system for what it is.  It seems that we've now found our confidence after a torrid 2 year period and it's paying dividends in regards to our ability to not give the ball away or looking like sheep in the headlights

    Long may it continue, and i'm so pleased for Wagner who's come under some really harsh criticism and good on the club for sticking with their man.  It seems that he has changed tact across this season and we're now playing a higher quality of football and it's great to see us passing it around with flair.

    However, it needs pointing out that as good as things are, we're in a precarious position due to the importance of players like Gunn, Sarge, Sainz and Sara.  Losing either one of those could have quite a negative impact.  But that's the cards as dealt.

    I’d add Kenny to those 4 and probably Stacy as well. Losing any one of those 6 on their current form could be enough to derail us.

  2. Posted

    2 hours ago, Yobocop said:

    I don’t think it’s any coincidence our change in fortune has been since our injured players have come back in particular Josh Sargent 

    When many said our poor form had nothing to do with the injuries, perhaps can eat their words a bit now?  

    Why’s everything so black and white?

    Who actually thought our form was “nothing to do with the injuries”?

    The issue people were questioning wasn’t that we were worse because we had injuries, it was that we were so poor with a few key injuries we were producing relegation form.

  3. Posted

    Goreham said it was due to a lack of match fitness that decision was taken, wasn’t clear if that was coaching team’s assessment or Hanley’s or both. Can’t say I disagree, he’s been rushed back and looks way off the pace. 

  8. Posted · Edited by Monty13

    On 12/03/2024 at 10:25, cambridgeshire canary said:

    Meanwhile his brother is at Oxford.. Did anyone predict the different ways their careers have gone?

    I always thought Jacob looked better when he played personally, which I know at the time back then was not the popular opinion. However I didn’t think he looked that much better.

    I’m far more surprised by the gap between them than Jacob being the more successful.

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    34 minutes ago, hogesar said:

    Good post @Feedthewolf

    I personally think Knapper wanted an easier ride and that would have been us missing out on play-offs quite comfortably, Wagner moving on and him being able to shape a whole squad around his ethos. Instead, we're in the play-offs 

    I also think that's why he made a pretty suicidal decision in my book to loan out Idah and bring in SvH.

    I suspect you're not far wrong with the renewal offerings - I think Sorensen will be offered something due to his covering of multiple positions and a good age but if he'll want it or not will depend on who else is interested.

    I'm a little concerned if SvH is the sort of striker Knapper think's is suitable for us trying to push for promotion from the Championship. But, he has to be given time and opportunity to build a squad to his own "specification". I'm recording my doubts now but would love to be proven wrong.

    I therefore think we're looking to sell Idah. If he scored a good amount of goals before the end of the season Celtic may commit a decent fee which we can use to help rebuild.

    Rowe then seems the obvious next target but depends how Sara finishes the season two. At least one of those two will move on assuming we're not promoted.

    I think it’s Sargent that’s going to be in high demand in the summer if we don’t go up, which really creates a big problem up top.

    Barnes too old, Idah wants away, so does Aboh by all accounts and SVH not showing any signs yet of being a replacement for either Sarge, Barnes or Idah.

    I’ll be sad to see Rowe off in the summer but if it happens he’s the one I’m least concerned about from our marketable players personally.

  11. Posted

    Unless I’m being dumb, there’s some Hull fixtures missing somehow ,Coventry playing Hull but not the other way round.

    All in our hands, some very similar run ins.

    Cant see West Brom falling given they have probably the easiest one, be very surprised but stranger things have happened.

    Likely a straight three way race between us Hull and Cov for the final spot then. I don’t see why we couldn’t win that, just need to pick up some away points, Boro really did screw us.

  12. Posted

    1 minute ago, DraytonBoy said:

    A serious attempt to stay up requires a major upgrade in the squad with maybe 10 additions assuming all the 'core' players mentioned by Monty actually stay, even then it will still be hard.

    Perhaps a bigger question is, are we happy to keep Wagner for a tilt at Premier League survival?  

    If we sold any of those players on promotion we’d deserve nothing having failed to learn from past mistakes.

    Agree hard, very hard. I think there’s definitely a path to build a competitive team, but still a small chance we can survive.

    A lot would depend on Attanasio and his group.

  13. Posted

    5 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

    Premier League standard 

    Gunn

    Rowe

    Sainz

    Sargent 

    Sara

     

    Borderline

    Kenny

    Nunez

     

    Basically we would need to sign an entire back 4 

    Agree on that. Although I think Stacy could do a job, maybe Duffy considering we’ll be backs to the wall most games anyway and he’s by far the best we have at last ditch defending. Maybe Dimi gets a new contract although he’s far too much of a liability IMO. However you’re right, defence is where we’d primarily need to be spending wisely.

  15. Posted

    Yes genuinely.

    This season has been all over the place. You can blame who you like for that, Webber, Wagner, injuries or maybe a combination or something different. However for me we do have some real quality players.

    Keep hold of Sargent, Sainz, Gunn, Rowe and Sara and that’s the core of a team that can fight against relegation. 

    You don’t need 11 stars to survive in the PL, you need a good coach, a bunch of guys who can do a good enough job and a few players who can change a game.

    Get a summer right and you can give yourself a chance, it’s still a small chance, but it’s possible with the core we have.

    • Like 4

  17. Posted

    6 minutes ago, Fen Canary said:

    I half hope Leeds go up, spend £100 million quid on players and then finish bottom, just so this nonsense about Farke having no responsibility over those top flight campaigns can be put to bed.

    I loved Farke while he was here, but this rewriting of history seemingly giving him all the credit for the promotion campaigns while giving all the blame to Webber for the ones that followed I find tiresome 

    Why’s everything black and white? I don’t see many people (well maybe Lakey) thinking Farke was completely blameless, doesn’t change the fact he was given a pile of **** and asked to bake a cake.

    • Like 1

  18. Posted · Edited by Monty13

    14 hours ago, Mason 47 said:

    We'd have gone down in the 2nd Farke season even if we'd paid Emi a bazillion £/pw and had him for that year.

    Probably, didn’t make it any less stupid.

    Mine would be touting our best players for sale on promotion and then selling our star player pretty much guaranteeing relegation before a ball was kicked, and that was then the catalyst for everything that happened that season and after. 

    • Like 2

  19. Posted

    2 minutes ago, king canary said:

    I feel a bit sorry for Knapper with January in that he was put in tough position.

    On January 1st we were 13th and in average at best form having just lost to an average Millwall side who got reduced to 10 men. I was of the opinion January was ripe for consolidation and preparing for a proper promotion push next season by clearing out some dead wood. By the end of the month we'd picked up wins over Hull and West Brom and found ourselves 8th and in with a decent chance of top 6 which changed the plans.

    I don't think it would have been good to have thrown out pre existing plans and gambled on a short term resurgence at that point but we probably could have done with a loan or two who could have hit the ground running and added something straight away- not a big ticket guy like Carvalho at Hull but maybe someone like Mikey Johnston who ended up at West Brom or Sarmiento who went to Ipswich.

    The only thing I’d say, because I generally agree with all this. Is that Wagner was vocally warning about the number of bodies and that’s proved to be correct.

    Plus for a club that’s been pushing the top 6 message for so long to do nothing when we were and are actually competing for it was poor IMO. I agree 1 (maybe 2) good loanee could prove to have been the difference.

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    What’s your thoughts on our January transfer window given our current squad situation @Parma Ham's gone mouldy?

    I’ll be honest I thought Knapoer had done pretty well, some deadwood gone, youth out on loan and a striker at a cut price with a very decent pedigree and lots of potential.

    The Idah situation was a weird one short term, but long term it made sense to me as you get regular games and goals for Idah plus get a close look at a good target at a good price without making it permanent yet.

    Also Placheta made some sense to reduce costs, but Wagner was warning in press conferences that bodies could become an issue.

    Springett scored the other day, a guy who desperately needs some confidence and experience from first team football but another winger who was in the first team squad.

    Everything’s always easier with the benefit of hindsight but my only real personal criticism of January at the time was the lack of any signing to push for promotion, I was really surprised Knapper didn’t have an Arsenal youngster lined up to inject another quality option.

    If Sainz card isn’t overturned we are looking threadbare at the critical point of the season. I guess it’s never easy being a Sporting Director but I can’t help feeling sorry for Wagner, he was warning against this very scenario. It also feels more and more like it could be a missed opportunity, we are genuine playoff contenders and while I’m still hopeful, another signing or two in January could turn out to have been the difference.

    • Thanks 1

  22. Posted

    45 minutes ago, BigFish said:

    The point is we have twelve games left and right now SVH is a clear downgrade on Idah. Idah was supposedly the best sub in the division, SVH is clearly not. The lack of that impact from the bench may cost us, and it would be worse if Sarge or Branes get injured.

    I think that’s a completely fair criticism. 

    I think SVH on paper has the potential to be a great long term signing. In the context of this season though, it’s an odd one.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1

  23. Posted · Edited by Monty13

    2 hours ago, BroadstairsR said:

    If we fail to go up this season, which is probable, then this Summer is going to be sheer hell with rumour on top of rumour, and it's started already.

    Yep, it’s unfortunately probably going to be asset sales to pay off debt spun as a rebuild. That’s not a criticism, just the unfortunate reality of our failure to get back where we needed to keep them.

  24. Posted

    18 hours ago, lake district canary said:

    I clearly do understand the reasons for it. The reality of it with us though, is that Gibson and Hanley look so devoid of any confidence on the ball and only when Mclean or Sara take over does some meaningful forward pass happen. It is SO predictable. No variation, no imagination, no positivity.

    Sunderland were quite happy to sit back, we were happy to keep the ball at the back. Makes for a kind of non-football, hence the "walking football" jibes from commentators. Yes, we won, but lets not pretend our playing the ball around at the back is high quality. At times it looks completely inept.

    Gibson provided the cross for the winner. He’s also provided some good penetrative passes at times this season.

    While I agree that Gibson and Hanley aren’t the most dynamic ball playing CBs, I don’t think they are devoid of confidence particularly, they are playing the role they are asked to.

    As far as I can see McClean, Sara and Nunez take over 1 because they have a far better long pass, but also mainly tactically so the CBs can spread out and allow the FBs to range forward.

    • Like 2
×
×
  • Create New...