The Parrot?

[Yellow Rider 0]

We''ve got to get back down to basics, working hard in training, be big, be strong and, hopefully, the tide will turn.”

Thus spake Mr. Foley. Er, doesn''t that sound remarkably like the words and thoughts of his lord amd master Mr. Worthington? If I was a player at NCFC with my head down after the bad start, would those kind of comments really inspire me? I think not.  

No mention of .....''creativity, doing something different'' (in terms of tactics or selection) etc. We''ve just got to ''work hard'' (god how boring is that meaningless phrase becoming!!) and ''hope'' that the tide will turn.

As I said in my post ''The turning point'', I think we will get out of the malaise we are in but that will be more ''despite'' Worthy (and his band of merry coaches, hangers on etc.) rather than ''because'' of him. I have long wondered what Foley was really like. I''ve now found out!

IF Worthy is given his P45 sometime during this season, I feel that Messrs Livermore and Foley should receive likewise. I have no confidence that they would have the right ideas and leadership to improve things. 

Anyway roll on 12.45 Saturday. With Hughes back (fingers crossed) and WLY (hopefully) playing alongside Ashton, we can stop the rot. WLY is probably the only player who CAN do something different!. 

[lifelongcanary 0]

i predit that IF we lose that Mr. Worthington''s comments are:

We took some positive aspects out of the game
The spirit was there
We got to get down to basics and work hard. (sorry for the repeat)
"add your own here"

it also seems his pre-match comments arnt much better. I will use Fulham away of last season, where a win would secure us a place in the Premiership.

Messers Rednapp, Dowie and Robson said: I''ve told my players to get out there, get stuck in, get into them, pressure every ball, 100% in every tackle etc etc.

Mr Worthington on the other hand said: I''ve told my players to go out there like any other game and enjoy it.

ENJOY IT?

Surely that is what you say when your kid is playing for their U7 team? Not a team that is fighting relegation.

And his in-game comments dont seem to be any better, but please correct me as i dont sit near the dugout.
from where i sit it seems that when we go 1-0 up, we have to defend it, or even when we go 1-0 down to leads, we should defend.

[ZLF 271]

How depressed am I now?

Midfields box to box ability!   Its all the strikers fault!  Ha Ha Ha.  An admission that the coaching team had been working hard at improving things, that the players had taken things on board and were looking forward to saturday to put things right is the message that needed to be given to plymouth and fans alike. 

There is no acceptance that the midfield has failed to properly influence games, win the ball back, pass successfully or support the attack (no. of goals scored by midfield - nil).  There is no acknowledgement that the defence is looking as shaky as last season despite facing inferior strikers.  

But the worst word in that whole article is the small word HOPE.  Is that the best our team of 3/4 coaches can come up with?  No rethink of personnel, basic defending, tactics or formations - just hope.

The word lept off the screen and weighs on my shoulders like a concrete over-coat. Where is the geeing up of the players, thepromise to give thefans the performance and football they deserve and have not had this season so far, that the rest has re-energised the team to prove just how good the squad is - where is the fighting talk inside the camp?  Instead we have a bland hope... that simply is not good enough.

Nurse - surely I am hallucinating now?

OTBC 

[Bernard Futter 0]

And don''t forget to mention that the ''passings good''.
I wonder whether that is ''good'' in a sense that long standing supporters would understand in a Jimmy Hill, Tommy Bryceland, Mal Lucas, Andy Townsend and Ian Crook kind of way.
I''m afraid you can''t really expect trust in creativity and invention from one of most fervent disciples of the Howard Wilkinson school of soccer artisanship.

[gazzathegreat 0]

oh god, i really am probably more depressed than you zipper, but have tried to make light of it on another thread, but seeing this one just puts it all into perspective

i don''t know what goes on at colney, but aim to go down there soon to find out!!  Maybe we are all wrong and there is top quality coaching which the players conveniently forget once on the pitch or maybe they all run around like headless chickens when the oppostion is in possession because no one has taught them the basics

yes, foley, the basics, which as a female i probably don''t know,  but i thought were:

passing to members of your own team and going forwards (to score goals?)

for whatever formation is chosen to keep their shape, not get caught up in ball watching and been dragged out of position

to PASS ALONG THE GROUND WHENEVER POSSIBLE

for Green (or whoever is in goal) to kick the ball to someone who has a chance of winning it

TO PLAY THE BEST ELEVEN wHO ARE  FIT IN THEIR BEST POSITION

To instill the will to win in each player and to play as a team - given that a lot of our current squad are new then maybe they should be having longer training sessions to enable them to gel, cos they haven''t so far

our nasty traits from last year, and the season before: ie defending too deep, etc, have all been discussed many times. So what is going wrong, is it just bad luck?  I think not.  Many other managers would love most of our players in their squad.  We need to seriously take a long hard look at the coaching, sorry, i know this is a pet theory of mine, and others, but i really believe with a decent coach we could see ALL our players play to their true potential.  Yes, we were relegated, but come on, all of them (barring i think Colin) have played  at this level before. 

Foley, Worthy and Co, please, please don''t go on about hope (i knOw Zipper, we all HOPE) and work ethics - teams with far less talent and less money are running away with this league and we have an almighty task to catch up.

Can we do it, of course, but it won''t be as easy as two years ago, when we had a team.  This time we don''t, we have a bunch of talented individual players who are in need of some expert guidance

Where those experts are beats me

[Yellow Rider 0]

Excellent reply Zipper!!

Love the bit about the ''concrete overcoat'' - brilliant! Could be a best selling new line in the club shop in the weeks to come may be.

Never mind, I certainly wish no harm to Foley after his illness, there''s far more to life than football after all (or is there?) but he very rarely sticks his head above the parapet in terms of public comment and when he does we get that kind of bland twaddle! But, rest assured, ''he''s great with the lads'' and ''has a laugh and joke with the boys''. 

I wonder if any of the Directors ever really attempt to find out what actually happens at Colney and whether things could be improved. Sorry, how foolish of me! We all know that ''I wanted to give Worthy a hug'' (Munby after we were humiliated at Fulham), ''sacking Worthy is unthinkable'' (Munby after Stoke), ''we are so fortunate to have Nigel, Doug and Steve'' (the whole Board all the time) - those kind of comments are the relaxed, laid back attitude of our Board. They may need to get real this season.   

[Thirsty Lizard 3,155]

Well Gazza it shouldn''t beat you.  They''re all on this forum!!!

Or to put it another way. How come that all the people who know just how the country should be run are either driving taxis or working in hairdressers?

[sheded 0]

Back to BASICS ???   I always find that an incredible  statement !   ANY player  in a first team  , getting  paid droolworthy  wages  ,  are supposed  to have LEARNED the basics !!   skills like  passing accurately ,  stopping a ball without it bouncing into the stands ,  tackling without maiming , heading a ball  so it  mostly goes in the direction intended , kicking a moving ball   without skying it  .. et al  ,    its like a plumber  making a pigs ear  of a job   , and his boss saying  he`s  just learning the basics !!   would he get paid  ?  more likely sued !!

[Dizzy Rascal 0]

We''ve got to get back down to basics, working hard in training, be big, be strong and, hopefully, the tide will turn.”

If it was Worthington he''d have used the word belief at least twice and thrown in a couple of "know what i mean?" ''s.

[ZLF 271]

[quote]Well Gazza it shouldn''t beat you. They''re all on this forum!!! Or to put it another way. How come that all the people who know just how the country should be run are either driving taxis or working ...[/quote]

The thing is Mr R is that we know we are not the experts but so many of us can see the same failings it beggars belief that the qualified, professional real experts seem incapable of seeing anything wrong other than deanos failure to take some chances and the only solution is hope.

I have a bit of a quandrary for sat now - how can I clap as loudly as planned when the club asks me to cross my fingers and touch wood to maximise the power of hope?

OTBC  

[alex_ncfc 644]

[quote]We''ve got to get back down to basics, working hard in training, be big, be strong and, hopefully, the tide will turn.” If it was Worthington he''d have used the word belief at least twice and thrown ...[/quote]

Glad you bought this up, what actually happened to Worthy''s "Know what I means", which used to be heard every 5 seconds or so in his post match interviews, but now he never says it anymore!

Shame he can''t stop the "good energy", "good commitment", "can''t fault the players" record either.. 

[Rasputin was a C... 0]

If it was Worthington he would also have said, "We know its gonna be a battle but we''re up for ut. We''ve got to stand up and be counted but most of all keep the hard work ethic and commitment there no matter how useless we are"

Ok, maybe the last bit isn''t what he''d say but at least if he did it would be something new. God how depressing it is

[FatMan Fat 0]

Thank goodness that someone started this thread..well done Yellow Rider!

When I read the article, quite late last night, I was staggerred and depressed that our future was based on hope, with buggar all about ACTION

I was going to start a thread myself but then thought that I would be flamed for being so negative, for not being a "supporter", isn''t it time I got behind the Club etc, etc......

Whilst I am still thoroughly concerned that this is the best that a coach can come up with, at least there are other people who feel the same way.

As Zipper posted...the words jumped off the page

Ah well, heres hoping I have a good day today. I hope the sales figures are to target and I hope that the costs are below budget. I am not actually going to take any action, I am not going to give any any guidance, I am not going to hold anyone to be responsible and accountable, I am just going to keep hoping that all will be okay

[CambridgeCanary 0]

Thinking happy thoughts may get you to Neverland but does it get you to the Prem???

We all now know two people who seem to think so.

Next press conference it may progress to........

"We are going to ask the players to wear ruby slippers and try to get to Kansas"

[ZLF 271]

It an epidemic of wishful thinking!

First it was Foley, now worthy has his fingers crossed and Marney is saying hopefully.

At least there was a meeting to talk about things;  ''Hopefully'' some coaching happened too

 

OTBC