Adams In No Rush To Extend Contracts (&Food chat!)

Back to footballing matters, Ollie Crankshaw just scored his 6th goal in 7 games.
I’m not sure why Adams didn’t like him but it’s proving to be a terrible decision to let him leave.

 

Driving past Keelham the other week it looks like they've bought Asa Nicholson's bakery/tea room next to the school as well, there's a big new Robertshaw's sign outside now. It was a Sunday and it wasn't open, don't know if it's just going to be a bakery for the farm shop or open to the public, but the smell coming from it was absolutely amazing.

 

I swear Ollie Crankshaw has become Messi since leaving us. Whether we saw the best of him or not, I don’t recall one game when I thought “he could be a game changer”. As I’ve read before, some players are world beaters in the lower leagues and fail to make the grade when they step up. Let’s see if Crankshaw proves me wrong when he steps up - hope for him he does……

 

He's a non leaguer.

Very dangerous non league player who is too good of an athlete for poor, semi-pro defences.

 

One pan would take waaaay too long.

 

If you look at who he's scored against in the league they are all in the relegation fight apart from Altrincham who he scored against today. He won't be tested anywhere near as much in that Stockport team that he did for us or if Stockport get promoted last season. Defensively he was a liability and very likely why Adams didn't rate or trust him. Last season he was in and out of the starting 11 so it's not like it's just Adams who doesn't rate him enough to start constantly.

 

Thanks, I can’t argue, I just don’t remember. Weird how the mind plays games, yet I remember walking past the front entrance at Highbury, with the red cannon above.Happy times.

 

Not for me. He was poor and that’s being generous. He’s found his level perhaps?

Nice headband though.

 

Poor enough for Stockport to pay money for and now a scoring regular for them including 1 against league 1 opposition. People may or may not rate him but the facts don't lie. He's scoring goals for fun from an attacking midfield/striker role, something we badly lack. And let's not go down its only non league route, there's hardly any difference between most of the teams in the national league and league 2 now.

 

I disagree he was poor. Inconsistent yes but you can’t say that Gillead and Vernham have pulled up any trees this season.
I think it was Cheltenham away last season that Vernham and Crankshaw ran a team ragged that hadn’t lost at home all year and who eventually got promoted.
He wasn’t poor

 

I’ll have a tenner bet that Stockport reach league 1 before us.
Proceeds to the burns unit.

 

No point betting with me, I agree with you.

 

We also paid money for him, that's also a fact, and he couldn't get into our team.

There is a massive, MASSIVE gulf between the bottom end of League Two and the bottom end of the National League Premier, and that's the crux of the issue.

It's great he scored a hat trick against Wealdstone, but that isn't EFL-level opposition. The teams he's scored against, King's Lynn (bottom), Dover (second bottom), Weymouth (fourth bottom), Barnet (eighth bottom), Altrincham (13th), all bottom half sides. These are also facts, and they also don't lie.

These are average, run-of-the-mill non-league sides who won't be playing EFL football this year, and they won't be playing EFL football next year either. Some of them will be in the NLS or NLN, though.

At the end of it all, you have to offer something offensively and you have to offer something defensively, and for whatever reason, whatever the metrics, whatever every EFL manager he's ever had thinks, he's not good enough yet for football in the English Football League.

It's great for Ollie, and I'm delighted for him, but he's not proving us wrong - we aren't playing Dover or King's Lynn this season, and we don't need someone capable of scoring against semi-pro defences.

 

I covered that by saying most teams. I think over half the teams are part time, Halifax included, yet I'd still fancy most of those to give most of league 2 a game every week. League 2 really is that bad.

 

Dover Athletic did not qualify for Round One, they were eliminated by Yate Town (Southern League Premier Division South) on a replay.
King's Lynn Town did qualify for Round One, where they were eliminated by Walsall (League Two).
Maidenhead United did qualify for Round One, where they were eliminated by Halifax Town (NLP)
Weymouth did not quality for Round One, they were eliminated by Yeovil Town (NLP)
Southend United did qualify for Round One, where they were eliminated by Chesterfield (NLP)
Wealdstone did not qualify for Round One, they were eliminated by Dagenham & Redbridge (NLP)
Aldershot Town did NOT qualify for Round One, they were eliminated by Bowers & Pitsea (Isthmian League Premier)
Barnet did NOT qualify for Round One, they were eliminated by Boreham Wood (NLP)
Eastleigh did qualify for Round One, where they were eliminated by Boreham Wood (NLP)
Woking did NOT qualify for Round One, they were eliminated by Horsham (Isthmian League Premier Division)
Altrincham did qualify for Round One, where they were eliminated by Gateshead (National League North)
Torquay United did NOT qualify for Round One, they were eliminated by Havant & Waterlooville (National League South)
Yeovil Town are in the FA Cup Round Three, they beat Yate Town (SLPDS) & Stevenage (League Two) to get there. They face Bournemouth next. ***
Grimsby Town did qualify for Round One, where they were eliminated by Kidderminster Harriers (National League North)
Dagenham & Redbridge did qualify for Round One, where they were eliminated by Salford City (League Two)
Stockport County reached Round Two, beating Bolton Wanderers (League One) to get there, before losing to Rotherham United (League One)
Notts County did qualify for Round One, where they lost to Rochdale (League Two) on a replay.
Solihull Moors did qualify for Round One, where they lost to Wigan Athletic (League One) on a replay.
Wrexham did qualify for Round One, where they lost to Harrogate Town (League Two).
Bromley did qualify for Round One, where they lost to Rotherham United (League One).
Boreham Wood are in the FA Cup Round Three, they beat Eastleigh (NLP) & St Albans City (National League South) to get there. They face AFC Wimbledon (League One) next. ***
Halifax Town reached FA Cup Round Two, they beat Maidenhead United (NLP) to get there, where they lost to Kidderminster Harriers (National League North).
Chesterfield are in the FA Cup Round Three, they beat Southend United (NLP) & Salford City (League Two) to get there. They face Chelsea (Premier League) next.

So unless I'm very much mistaken, NLP vs L2 stands at 2-4.

Chesterfield beat Salford City
Yeovil Town beat Stevenage

BUT

Harrogate Town beat Wrexham
Rochdale beat Notts County
Salford City beat Dagenham & Redbridge
Walsall beat King's Lynn Town

Not only are results against L2 sides not favourable, but...

Six of those sides (all below 9th in the NLP table) lost to teams even lower down the pyramid, suggesting the level in the bottom half of the National League Premier is very unimpressive even by non-league standards.

 

As far as I know it will be open as a Tea Room and a functioning bakery.....James sponsored QCFC for years and still helps out and I coached a couple of his kids.......

 

This ain't the covid thread, it's an opinion based on what I've seen watching both divisions this season (there's a fair bit of national league on the TV). I agree with JB that the bottom teams are very poor and as such wouldn't trouble any of the teams in league 2. But I'd be happy to say I think most teams would give any team a good game as the gap between the standard of players is as small as its ever been.

 

It doesn’t prove anything. Often even league 2 clubs will field weakened teams against non league. I agree with @Rogered Tart that if BCFC were in the National League this season I doubt we’d be in the top 2 as the standard is very similar. In fact the growing number of former league clubs in the National league could even justify a League 3 creation

 

The best teams have loaded their squads with good League Two players so I imagine you're right about the top five or six. But they do tend to get a bit overrated.

I imagine Chesterfield and Stockport will be well fancied if they come up, but we've just had three (?) seasons of being told Salford will piss the league each year.

League Two isn't that easy, even for ambitious, surging clubs with a bit of cash behind them.