2 nagging doubts

[Dean Coneys boots 1,406]

It looks like same old same old from where I am sitting. Cheapish transfers who ''might'' gel if lucky. But my worries are:

1) Size - this is a physical league and we have small players. That did not help last year- it wont help this year

2) Attack - we lack teeth on paper. Curo is getting old and needs a bog chap which we do not have, Lupoli has hardly played for a year- and has never scored shed loads, the other lad is barely out of nappies and lacking experience.

Sturggle ahead me thinks- and I cannot help but look to Coventry and note that either Morrison or Eastwood would have been a far better siging than any we have made. The same could be said for amny others. I mean in all honesty- who have we signed that will upset other teams? Hoolan? Barely

STILL - let us hope I am just being gloomy and that the boys do something amazing tomorrow. But the day before it all starts- I for one cannot say we showed ambition this summer. And that worries me.

[shortfatb 0]

Vic, thought there was going to be some kind of revelation?

Two nagging doubts.

Is their a god?

Why are we here?

But phew, just worried about our midget forwards.

 

[Taxing 0]

[quote user="vicar in green and yellow"]

It looks like same old same old from where I am sitting. Cheapish transfers who ''might'' gel if lucky. But my worries are:

1) Size - this is a physical league and we have small players. That did not help last year- it wont help this year

2) Attack - we lack teeth on paper. Curo is getting old and needs a bog chap which we do not have, Lupoli has hardly played for a year- and has never scored shed loads, the other lad is barely out of nappies and lacking experience.

Sturggle ahead me thinks- and I cannot help but look to Coventry and note that either Morrison or Eastwood would have been a far better siging than any we have made. The same could be said for amny others. I mean in all honesty- who have we signed that will upset other teams? Hoolan? Barely

STILL - let us hope I am just being gloomy and that the boys do something amazing tomorrow. But the day before it all starts- I for one cannot say we showed ambition this summer. And that worries me.

[/quote]

 

My sentiments exactly especially regarding the need for a bog chap up front.

[Mello Yello 2,303]

He''s not only got to be a ''bog'' chap......but also ''broad''....

[BunnyB 0]

I rely wish people would reserve their judgement before we have actualy seen them play a few games

[Mark Smith 0]

Your point about the target man, I clearly aggree with. Everyone can see that a big man is what we need (including Roeder funnily enough) so I don''t really see the point of continually laboring on about it on here. No point crying about it, this is where we are, and I''m sure it will be resolved soon.

On the subject of Eastwood, do you really think he''s better that what we''ve got? Totally unproven at this level, and there''s no sign he will do any better this season.

[WeAreYellows49 0]

[quote user="BunnyB"]I rely wish people would reserve their judgement before we have actualy seen them play a few games
[/quote]

 

Of course and I do agree to a certain extent, however, and here''s the crux, fans have concerns and here is where they air those fears, worries, happiness, anger.

So aren''t you a little worried there is no big target man?

[BunnyB 0]

I wouldn''t say I''m particularly worried yet because I havn''t seen how well we can move the ball on the deck, if we fail misserably at that then yes I will be worried and think that we need one urgently but I would rather see us play the ball on the ground and have the option of a target man rather than relying on the old fashioned Gary Doherty route 1 long ball, I would rather see good play through defense and midfield have the option to knock it wide and then wip in a cross rather than just hoof it up ht epitch waiting for the knock down because I believe you hurt teams more that way.

[Time to go Delia 0]

Eastwoods way better than anything on our books , Cureton old and never been anything to write home about , Lupoli unproven and hardly prolific and Koroma ayoung boy who will in all probabilty will be totally lost playing in the big rough Championship.

[lappinitup 629]

[quote user="vicar in green and yellow"]"Curo is getting old and needs a bog chap"

"the other lad is barely out of nappies"[/quote]I''m just wondering vicar, would it be possible for the other lad to lend Curo one of his nappies? [:S]

[BunnyB 0]

[quote user="Loan City Fc "]Eastwoods way better than anything on our books , Cureton old and never been anything to write home about , Lupoli unproven and hardly prolific and Koroma ayoung boy who will in all probabilty will be totally lost playing in the big rough Championship.[/quote]It must have just been me then, but as far as I and Wolves manager MacKarthy (Badly spelt, apolagies) Eastwood was rubbish last season and hense he wasn''t in their team alot

[GJP 79]

[quote user="Mark Smith"]

On the subject of Eastwood, do you really think he''s better that what we''ve got?

[/quote]

Better than Cureton?

Definitely.

[Indy_Bones 441]

[quote user="Loan City Fc "]Eastwoods way better than anything on our books,[/quote]OK, that''s a bad start already, I''m sure Wolves were delighted with the 3 goals in 31 games he scored for them, makes Curo''s 12 seem crap by comparison...[quote]Cureton old and never been anything to write home about ,[/quote]Again, I''m sure you''re apalled we have a striker who has averaged a goal every 2.7 games over his full career, this translates to an average of 17 goals a season if he plays all 46 games...[quote]Lupoli unproven and hardly prolific[/quote]I see, so I suppose nearly breaking Italian scoring records whilst at Parma at 17, managing to score 7 goals in a Derby team where he only started in half of them and played the same amount of games on the wing is yet another poor return, the only time he hasn''t consistently performed was on loan in a crap Treviso side [quote]and Koroma ayoung boy who will in all probabilty will be totally lost playing in the big rough Championship.[/quote]Just like Evans was last season, just like Campbell was at Hull, and Shawcross at Stoke etc etc. Just because you''re young doesn''t mean you''re rubbish.It''s no wonder there''s so much negativity, when clearly some posters know sod all about football...

[Time to go Delia 0]

Bones we could sign Mickey Mouse on a 3 year contract and you would dance a jig and tell us he was great , your a club man anything they do is great by you , we will see how all the has beens , kids and near cripples do on the pitch that is where it will be proved who knows about football and my feeling is it will be you looking silly as usuasl .

[TheCardinal 0]

[quote user="GJP"][quote user="Mark Smith"]

On the subject of Eastwood, do you really think he''s better that what we''ve got?

[/quote]

Better than Cureton?

Definitely.

[/quote]Based on what exactly? Excellent performances in League One and Two? The single, masterful performance against Manchester Utd? Half a season where he scored goals for Southend in the Championship then disappeared?With respect, Cureton is an established Championship striker and despite missing a heck of a lot of easy chances, will give any team he plays for a few goals in return. Eastwood, while definitely potentially able, isn''t quite at Curo''s ability, IMO.

[TheCardinal 0]

[quote user="Loan City Fc "]Bones we could sign Mickey Mouse on a 3 year contract and you would dance a jig and tell us he was great , your a club man anything they do is great by you , we will see how all the has beens , kids and near cripples do on the pitch that is where it will be proved who knows about football and my feeling is it will be you looking silly as usuasl .[/quote]No, Indy is an objective, rational and reasonable fan. Unlike you.

[Shaun Tilly Lace 0]

[quote user="TheMarshmallowMonkey"][quote user="Loan City Fc "]Bones we could sign Mickey Mouse on a 3 year contract and you would dance a jig and tell us he was great , your a club man anything they do is great by you , we will see how all the has beens , kids and near cripples do on the pitch that is where it will be proved who knows about football and my feeling is it will be you looking silly as usuasl .
[/quote]

No, Indy is an objective, rational and reasonable fan. Unlike you.
[/quote]

Still dishing out the compliments I see, MarshmallowChimp.

[Tony DaWonderful 35]

[quote user="Loan City Fc "]Bones we could sign Mickey Mouse on a 3 year contract and you would dance a jig and tell us he was great , your a club man anything they do is great by you , we will see how all the has beens , kids and near cripples do on the pitch that is where it will be proved who knows about football and my feeling is it will be you looking silly as usuasl .
[/quote]

Once again a clear concise reply to the good points made by Bonesy evaporates into school yard retaliation.

[GJP 79]

[quote user="TheMarshmallowMonkey"][quote user="GJP"][quote user="Mark Smith"]

On the subject of Eastwood, do you really think he''s better that what we''ve got?

[/quote]

Better than Cureton?

Definitely.

[/quote]

Based on what exactly? Excellent performances in League One and Two? The single, masterful performance against Manchester Utd? Half a season where he scored goals for Southend in the Championship then disappeared?

With respect, Cureton is an established Championship striker and despite missing a heck of a lot of easy chances, will give any team he plays for a few goals in return. Eastwood, while definitely potentially able, isn''t quite at Curo''s ability, IMO.
[/quote]

Based on just having watched the two of them played. In my opinion, Freddie Eastwood has got a lot more going for him and has room for improvement.

Jamie Cureton has never quite been good enough at this level and he never will be. No pace, no height, no strength, little work rate, unreliable finishing. Having said all that, I don''t think Cureton is a bad footballer but just not a good enough footballer to do the business properly in this league.

 

[O.T.B.C 0]

We need the big striker, we get it, I think we are as complete as we can be. Yes, GR said he wanted a big team as the league requires this, but being small we can still have some players with some chumley walmers, people like Stevo and Clingfilm add steel to the team and we have a more skiful players who will cause other teams no end of problems.

The squad does not contain the players I probably wanted, does not mean that the players we have are not good or I don''t like, but we have not spent the money I would have liked, mind you we all guessed that.

I will reserve judgment on the team until after say 8 games. I wish them good luck and can''t wait for the season to start, I''m sure that we will do well.

OTBC.

[Stevie Wonder 0]

Like everything there is different ways of looking at things.

When Reading absolutely p*ssed this league a few seasons back they were a collection of lower league signings, young prem rejects, little known signings and "journeyman" players no-one had heard of i.e Kitson, Lita, Harper, Sidwell, Doyle, Hunt and the likes of Murty, Little & Oster. You could also argue that they didn''t have a big target man as none of Doyle, Lita or Kitson fit that tag. This fits are current squad quite well.

Hull were promoted last year on the back of a few loan signings and old stagers having one last hurrah.

Against that Stoke were a big strong side full of pace, power and 6ft plus monsters. Equally, so were Watford and it didn''t get them promoted.

Last year WBA were a wonderful attacking side who scored shed loads of goals but also conceded a fair few too. But then the year before Derby scored very few goals and won most games 1-0 which earned them promotion.

All of the above goes to show that there is no set formula for promotion other than generally getting 90 points and even then last year showed that sometimes you don''t need anywhere that amount.

For me, my concerns are that we need at least 1 more striker regardless of whether or not that is a target man. Personally, I would like to see a bit more pace in the last 3rd of the pitch but this may be provided by "OJ". I am still haunted by last summer when we were all excited by the likes of Brellier and Strihavka signing and we all know how that turned out.

I have worries as to where our goals are going to come from and the pre-season games indicates that an entirely new back 4 may take a few games to bed in.

Also, I have concerns regarding the amount of loanee''s in the squad and whether this will lead to unneccesary team changes to try and ensure that our loan players all get sufficient games - this could get worse as I suspect that the "utility" midfield player that Roeder has mentioned signing is going to be Gibbs and that would make 7 loan players.

With the "Cullum Issue" hovering in the background a poor start will lead to unrest which could lead to all sorts of problems and at best another "holding" season. We could be back exactly where we were 10 years ago during the Walker/Rioch years when season after season went by without any visible sign of improvement.

A couple of weeks ago I felt quite confident but now on the eve of the season I only feel very nervous about the season ahead.

[Mr_Chimp 0]

[quote user="Unlucky Fried Kitten"]

[quote user="TheMarshmallowMonkey"][quote user="Loan City Fc "]Bones we could sign Mickey Mouse on a 3 year contract and you would dance a jig and tell us he was great , your a club man anything they do is great by you , we will see how all the has beens , kids and near cripples do on the pitch that is where it will be proved who knows about football and my feeling is it will be you looking silly as usuasl .
[/quote]

No, Indy is an objective, rational and reasonable fan. Unlike you.
[/quote]

Still dishing out the compliments I see, MarshmallowChimp.

[/quote]

Oi, numpty!

Anyway...

"It''s no wonder there''s so much negativity, when clearly some posters know sod all about football..."

Indy, I''ve enjoyed reading your words for a long time, even when I''ve disagreed, but I can''t argue with this.  Ched was no-one, Bertrand was no-one, Pearce was no-one, Shawcross was no-one, etc., etc.

[Branston Pickle 3,690]

[quote user="Loan City Fc "]Bones we could sign Mickey Mouse on a 3 year contract and you would dance a jig and tell us he was great , your a club man anything they do is great by you , we will see how all the has beens , kids and near cripples do on the pitch that is where it will be proved who knows about football and my feeling is it will be you looking silly as usuasl .
[/quote]

Hmm.  From memory, given most of your posts we could sign Rooney and Ronaldinho tomorrow and you would still be moaning about it (particularly if on loan, lol). 

We know we need another striker, Roeder knows we need another striker, and you can be pretty sure we will get another striker.  That is the long and short of it.  At the end of the day, I am not so sure it would have mattered too much for tomorrow''s game as I have a feeling that Roeder will employ a 4-5-1, and would have whoever had signed for us.

In any case, who are these near cripples, has-beens and kids that you are warbling on about? I don''t see any of the first two groups in our squad at all, and very few of the last...our oldest player is just 33, hardly ancient.  Perhaps you could point them out to me.  The vast majority of our squad is in their early/mid 20s, that is an absolute fact, and if anything most should be in their prime.  Taking our squad in number order, Marshall first, up to Nelson last (no 25, is as far as I can be bothered with, and is probably as far as GR will get to use), the ages are: 23, 25, 29, 24, 24, 33, 23, 24, 32, 27, 28, 17(Rudd), 26, 24, 24, 21, 27, 19, 19, ??, 21, 26.  The ??s are for OJ as the Canaries site seems to have him up wrong, but think he was 18.

 

 

[Mason 47 1,403]

You''re right about them getting Koroma wrong!

Apparently he is really Ognjen Koroman.. who is 30 years of age, coming from Serbia and Montenegro.

I certainly didnt see Glenn pulling that one out of the hat, thats for sure!

[ZiggyPiggy 0]

the closer to the start of the season we have come (less than a quarter of an hour to opening day now) the more defined the split has been on these here message boards.We find ourselves either daring to dream or naively believing on the one hand or holding realism close to our heart or hating the board too much to risk optimisim being mistaken for supporting the regime.i''m one of the former. So is pickles i feel.how many games till people start jumping the divide?

[Indy_Bones 441]

[quote user="Loan City Fc "]Bones we could sign Mickey Mouse on a 3 year contract and you would dance a jig and tell us he was great , your a club man anything they do is great by you , we will see how all the has beens , kids and near cripples do on the pitch that is where it will be proved who knows about football and my feeling is it will be you looking silly as usuasl .[/quote]Really...Guess you missed one of my more recent threads "Why Howard?", where I clearly state that I don''t want us to sign Steve Howard. Should this signing actually transpire, you will certainly not see me "Dancing a Jig" and telling everyone he''s a world beater.The key difference between us it would appear is that I''m willing to give new players a chance, UNLESS I''ve already seen a hell of a lot of them playing and have a very objective opinion as to why I''m not convinced.Players like Brellier and Strihavka from Grant''s regime have been mercilessly slated on here, but they hardly got a chance to prove themselves. Brellier was given only 10 games to adjust to the difference in the league and style of play, As was Strihavka, however he was only given starts in 3 of those 10 games. Does this mean they were great players but not given a chance? Not as such, but it''s hardly fair to state that, when we saw very little of them. I actually thought Strihavka could have done a job for us, particularly as he seemed good in the air and at 6ft 2" was the sort of ''Target Man'' many are saying we desperately need.But going back to my original reply to your post, regardless of anything else, there was one thing about it that cannot really be argued with, and it''s the point that I was using factual statistics to back up my opinions for the majority of my response.You said Eastwood is better than Cureton and I disagreed, showing that last season Eastwood played in nearly three quarters of Wolves games, and managed a miserable 3 goals in 31. Previous to this, he managed 11 league goals for Southend at this level in the 06/07 season, this is in comparison to Cureton who scored 23 that season. And still at CCC level, Cureton scored 9 in 27 for Reading, just under his goal every 2.7 games average.You stated that Lupoli is unproven and hardly prolific, well in some ways it''s difficult to back this up due to his relative lack of games played, however, whilst at Parma he scored 45 goals in 22 games in their U17 side and was regarded of one of the hottest properties on the market which lead to a move by Arsene Wenger. Whilst only really given a few games each season in the cup, Wenger stated that he was the best finisher in the club - Bar none. He was loaned to Derby to get some first team experience, and was well rated by the vast majority of Derby fans, who also couldn''t understand why he was either being left on the bench or played on the wing. Some little quotes from Derby fans [quote]he played a vital part in our promotion season[/quote][quote]You could tell that Lupoli was a natural finisher when he first played.

Then Davies played him either out of position at left wing or as a sub

then later left him out. But when he started his derby career he looked

like a class Striker and i''d love him here tbh[/quote][quote]I would love to see him here on another season long loan[/quote][quote]I liked Lupoli. Thought he was quality[/quote][quote]Don''t know why people wouldn''t want him back!

I presonally felt he was one of our best players in the promotion

season, and as soon as he wasn''t playing towards the end of the season,

we stopped winning games. He''s a striker, as was Fagan, but constantly

played out of position by Billy, who looking back was at times

tactically awful.

Isn''t he the only Derby Player to score a hattrick at Pride Park too? Can''t be that bad.

I remember a few of his goals, ie. Colchester, Ipswich at home. He was a great finisher[/quote]I''m not going to carry on though as there''s loads more where that comes from, but it illustrates that he was highly rated at Derby, and managed to score goals despite being either played out of position on the wing, or brought on as a sub.Following his time at Derby, it prompted a large amount of Italian clubs to compete for his signature, as mentioned before such as Milan, Inter, Fiorentina, Parma etc.So if the lad is so unproven and so lacking as a striker, why did he do so well at Parma at youth level, than get signed by one of the most respected managers in the modern game, and then have some of the biggest clubs in Europe fighting it out for his signature???On your final point, you state that Koroma is just another young boy who will be lost at this level, and I simply pointed out a number of players who were young and had performed extremely well at this level last season.None of my statements makes me a ''club man'', or simply satisfied with any old player, it purely demonstrates an understanding of modern football, a willingness to give players a chance, a level of confidence in our current manager and the ability to converse about the topic at hand without resorting to petty jibes or name calling.So how about you giving a well-thought out and educated response to my points???

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="vicar in green and yellow"]

It looks like same old same old from where I am sitting. Cheapish transfers who ''might'' gel if lucky. But my worries are:

1) Size - this is a physical league and we have small players. That did not help last year- it wont help this year

2) Attack - we lack teeth on paper. Curo is getting old and needs a bog chap which we do not have, Lupoli has hardly played for a year- and has never scored shed loads, the other lad is barely out of nappies and lacking experience.

Sturggle ahead me thinks- and I cannot help but look to Coventry and note that either Morrison or Eastwood would have been a far better siging than any we have made. The same could be said for amny others. I mean in all honesty- who have we signed that will upset other teams? Hoolan? Barely

STILL - let us hope I am just being gloomy and that the boys do something amazing tomorrow. But the day before it all starts- I for one cannot say we showed ambition this summer. And that worries me.

[/quote]Cheer up, Rev.  Why not get on your knees and supplicate yourself before the altar?  I''m sure the good lord owes us a couple.

[Mister Chops 7]

[quote user="Loan City Fc "]Bones we could sign Mickey Mouse on a 3 year contract and you would dance a jig and tell us he was great , your a club man anything they do is great by you , we will see how all the has beens , kids and near cripples do on the pitch that is where it will be proved who knows about football and my feeling is it will be you looking silly as usuasl .[/quote]You must be confident in that, given that this post has given you a massive headstart in the Idiot Stakes.

[Big Down Under 0]

[quote user="vicar in green and yellow"]

It looks like same old same old from where I am sitting. Cheapish transfers who ''might'' gel if lucky. But my worries are:

1) Size - this is a physical league and we have small players. That did not help last year- it wont help this year

2) Attack - we lack teeth on paper. Curo is getting old and needs a bog chap which we do not have, Lupoli has hardly played for a year- and has never scored shed loads, the other lad is barely out of nappies and lacking experience.

Sturggle ahead me thinks- and I cannot help but look to Coventry and note that either Morrison or Eastwood would have been a far better siging than any we have made. The same could be said for amny others. I mean in all honesty- who have we signed that will upset other teams? Hoolan? Barely

STILL - let us hope I am just being gloomy and that the boys do something amazing tomorrow. But the day before it all starts- I for one cannot say we showed ambition this summer. And that worries me.

[/quote]I think you are just being gloomy Vic! Agree re the size, the big target man Roeder is looking for will help but our midfield also looks a bit lightweight. Lupoli though HAS scored shedloads. He is coming off a bad season, so has lots to prove (a good thing) but at Arsenal, before that at Parma and U17s he was prolific. His record at Derby was good considering he wasn''t often started up front, he knows his way around the Champs. I think he will be excellent for us. I think he will prove to be a better signing than Eastwood will for Coventry. Hoolihan will be important - if he is as good for us as he was at Blackpool, he will fit the ''new heroes'' bill. I also have high expectations of Clingan. Stefanovic in defense adds some much needed experience, and the loan players are all exciting young talents with careers to build.Signing a big striker is very important - its obvious this position is a big part of Roeder''s plans, its disappointing he hasn''t been signed. This signing will be key to our season.

[city4eva 213]

[quote user="BunnyB"]I wouldn''t say I''m particularly worried yet because I havn''t seen how well we can move the ball on the deck, if we fail misserably at that then yes I will be worried and think that we need one urgently but I would rather see us play the ball on the ground and have the option of a target man rather than relying on the old fashioned Gary Doherty route 1 long ball, I would rather see good play through defense and midfield have the option to knock it wide and then wip in a cross rather than just hoof it up ht epitch waiting for the knock down because I believe you hurt teams more that way.
[/quote]

 

 

Thats a good post, I hope you are right and that is how we play,BUT when the cross does come in it is such a shame there will be nobody there to get on the end of it