Match Thread Away v Tranmere Rovers Sat 26th Dec 3.00pm

A hundred times the player? I've told a million times not to exaggerate!

 

Again mate and you should know this from our own disagreements (in fact you have it in writing from me in a direct message), that I have no issue with people disagreeing with me or challenging my opinions whatsoever, and I actually come on here to get different perspectives. But a few people were pretty adamant in not reading my whole post and totally ignoring what I did say that was positive. So to me, unless you're relentlessly positive regardless of the evidence in front of me, I'm just being negative which to me is plan daft. So I used a ridiculous term to describe what I saw as ridiculous behaviour.

 

I would change what your first thought is then.

 

Up until 4 games ago who do you think earned their wages ?, why does Donaldson have to justify what the club were happy to pay, I'd suggest if Clayton wasn't getting in the team or bench your comment might have more credibility.
His stats so far are played 18, 5 as sub, scoring 5 goals and is still our second highest scorer this season.

 

I'm not one for giving up but donaldsons been crap for years at this point.

 

Don't disagree but it is not his fault he was asked to sign the contract on the terms offered. He will most likely be playing NL next season or just retire.

 

Most of them, because I didn't think we were poor through a lack of effort or application. We just lack strength in depth in key areas and had a manager with an awful and confusing tactical set up. Its why Mccall's credibility as a manger is shot to bits for me now, as with every game it's clear just how much of the problem he actually was. (I would still buy his drinks all night if I ever met him and he will always be a legend to me though)

As soon as Trueman came in he benched him, same with Guthrie and BRE etc. Which says to me he realises who's not good enough in this squad. I dont think his stats are that good at all. If our alternatives to Donaldson weren't Samuels and Guthrie, do you think he would even be making the bench because I don't for a second.

 

As i've said for what feels like a lot of times now, I blame the club equally for offering such a daft contract to him in the first place. Nobodys forced him to sign it, but equally he's also a person with free will and footballers retiring early because they've realised they can't hack it anymore isn't uncommon at all. He's played to a really high standard for most of his career so I doubt he's going to be short of cash, whilst also not being a multi millionaire.

 

What is it you are actually trying to point out about CD? That he is a thief for not cancelling his contract because his legs have gone?

 

We won a game today that looked a very hard of which Donaldson played his part until subbed, you say your not scapegoating Donaldson yet you post "if he loves the club as much as he says he does, why draw a wage when you can't do the business" and blame him for taking up the option of an extended 12 months, why was that his fault.
You post "I am quite happy to explain at length and objectively why I thought he could have cost us the game today.
by all means explain why you thought he could cost us the game ?, until the 59 minute T&S were quite happy to play him up top.

 

It doesnt upset me mate, it's only banter. And I am genuinely sorry if you are getting pissed off with mainly me I suppose. I just find very funny when people start referring to contributors as Happy Clappers or even Happy Clapper Mafia.
I'm probably drifting from banter to windup mate and I apologise. This has probably been one of the worst months of my life. On the 3rd of this month the girl responsible for me following Bradford City passed away, and I never got chance to say goodbye.
That's no excuse for me winding you up though, sorry mate.
Oh and Happy Birthday.

 

Couldn't bring himself to call us by our name-just "the opposition" who employ the dark arts of football-time wasting. He is not bitter at all.

 

Clayton : ' Hi love'
Mrs D : 'How's your day been'
Clayton 'Oh, Ok. Just been offered a fantastic two year contract by Bradford City for this coming season. Could set us up for the next few years'
Mrs D: 'Fantastic darling. Well done. When do you start?'
Clayton: 'I don't. I binned 'em off. Told 'em I'm past it and can't really cut it anymore, even in the khazi division'.
Mrs D: 'Crikey. That told 'em'. So what else are you going to do for money now, then?'
Clayton: 'No idea whatsoever'.
Mrs D: 'Oh, ok. No biggie'.

 

I think you're taking my words a little bit too literally. I don't literally think he's running off from VP with a stripy jumper and a burlap sack with swag written on it.

That he isn't justifying his very high wage, hasn't been for some time, and it annoys me that he doesn't seem to realise this or is happy to continue picking it up despite being sub par week after week. Highlighted even more by the fact almost everyone else in the team has completely turned it around under Trueman, and Donaldson actually looks to have gotten a bit worse off today's performance.

For the second time, I would much rather be talking about Cousin-Dawson's strength of character to grow into the game after really struggling first half, or how our formation seems to be giving Novak a new lease of life for example. There's a lot of way better things we can all be discussing here rather than just asking me to repeat myself in different ways.

 

give over lol he's a grown man, you're mocking me for suggesting he finds work that isn't as a player in one of the biggest jobs for the boys industries in the country. It's not like he's been playing for park avenue his whole career either is it? Don't blame him for taking it but I blame him for not realising he now can't hack it.

 

Lack of application, well that's one way of putting it, You quote "As soon as Trueman came in he benched him" but forget to say he had the luxury of having Novak back and fit, Novak made such a difference once he came and has improved us as a team every game he's played, so he didn't bench Donaldson because of his "non application" but because we had without doubt our best striker returning from injury.

 

Makes the 3 points even sweeter when you hear that.

 

Because he was meant to be the focal point of our attack and he was completely anonymous. He won his first header 55 minutes into the game, and time after time he wasn't even central despite supposedly again being the focal point of our attack. He was that clapped he couldn't even get himself into position to give us an outlet high up the pitch.

If your centre forward isn't offering any of that, every time you hit the ball up field it's going to come straight back at you, putting constant pressure on your defence and stopping us from playing our game. Whilst our defence has looked really good the past few games, putting them under constant pressure is asking for trouble. This was a tight game and tranmere have a very clever and wily footballer in James Vaughan (even if he's a tosser). Had our defence not had yet another largely excellent game, this would have led to us conceding goals and losing.

I'm of the belief that he started today to rotate the team as they have a heavy schedule and especially so around this time, not as any great declaration of faith in his ability.

 

I have to ask was Hill at the same game as I watched, the way they set up and their tactics, sitting deep with their two center backs, as a manager/coach isn't it your job to counter the way the opposition set up, and your time wasting comment is a joke every team who are in front run the clock down when away from home.