Akpan

I can't take you serious with that statement.

 

We have far bigger problems than Akpan, you only need to look at who plays behind him

 

What physicality? He's not been physical once all season, for a bloke with his build he should be turning up every week and bullying that midfield space. What makes you think he's all of a sudden going to turn up next season?

 

Yeah, like er Jamie Lawrence?

What a load of stereotypical and borderline racist sh1te that is!

 

Hilarious PC comment. I'm frigging black, for God's sake!! Please learn to understand that players can be grouped together without it been racist

 

He isn't going to dominate any midfield by himself. Kick him to bits as much as you want, but he has never been set up to play to his strengths

 

What's even more hilarious about your comment, is that it's you who's then used Jamie Lawrence for comparison. And you don't even see the irony!

Did you have a problem, when the likes of Billy Bremner, McCall and Batty got grouped together. Was that racist too?

 

If that set of players can't do it in league 2 we might as well give up. Problem is they are all on decent league 1 salaries. They are going to take up a big chunk of the budget, interesting to see what is left in the kitty after their wages are removed. And has been proved this season the players above will only be able to contribute fully while complementing a balanced squad. Something which has killed us this season.

 

I'm still not sure what Akpan does well? Doesn't tackle enough to be an enforcer type of player, seems to be able to move the ball well which has been difficult to achieve this season because there are no runners off the ball and no wide players to give an outlet. Another victim of the unbalanced squad.

 

Did you actually see Jamie Lawrence play?

I get the feeling that the point has just fine waaaaaay over your head?

 

Yes a lot of those really fit into the attributes Mr Bowyer outlined? Strong physical and pacey.....

 

Read this!! Akpan is not an issue.

O'Connor and NKP on the other hand!

 

What are his strengths? Absolute rubbish.

 

You have in one post persuaded a good number NOT to renew their season tickets

 

As is your comment in simply writing off a player, who clearly Bowyer likes. Others like Stephen Warnock have also gone out of their way to praise him

So sorry, I'll stick to my view and ignore yours, as in your world players never improve, aren't allowed to have struggles and recover and are forever rubbish

Incidentally, my all time favourite player Robbie Blake, was deemed rubbish in his first 15 months. Fortunately Jewell too ignored the likes of yourself. And before you say the skills comparison is ludricous, my point is that players can look a million dollars shortly after been dross

 

OK let's go back to my point. This isn't all that difficult, you said he was physical. I'd asked what makes you think he would change as he's been about as physical as fly all season?

For what it's worth there is possibly a player in Akpan but this would be his second successive relegation, it doesn't make for great reading. Is it the fact he likes to lay down and get his tummy tickled because that's all he's shown all season, no ifs no buts he hasn't been good enough for the sort of money I imagine we are paying him.

 

You can't be simplistic and assume, that this seasons form dictates next seasons. Clearly if you'd been in charge of MK Dons and Bury you'd had got rid of all their players from last season

Instead, as someone else pointed out, Bury have a lot of that squad and are currently 2nd

I'm a bit worried about some of the comments on here. I too was pissed off with that fade out after we went 2-0 down at the weekend. But I know enough about people to be confident that some of them under the new and better Rupp/Rhodes/Bowyer, will perform better

For instance, virtually none of the team new anyone back in August. We all worried about that, as team spirit is only made when the team know each other, it can't be instantly achieved. This seasons over-achievers, Luton, Blackpool, Wycombe, had that togetherness. We can create that atmosphere, under someone like Bowyer, who of course built the Blackpool one

 

Great we agree. I don't think anything more. He's not been great, but we don't just cast him aside costing us a fortune. We get a proper manager like Bowyer, to work on him

In fairness he wasn't the worst on Saturday.

 

I just don't get your point about him being physical, hasn't shown it once all season so why would he start all of a sudden?

I'd argue he was part of the problem, when our midfield part like Moses parting the waves every week it's a problem. Doesn't he understand when to press, doesn't he understand how to keep shape, doesn't he understand how to protect what is an absolutely woeful defence? The bare minimum is to run about and work hard but it's not like he does that is it? We can't carry passengers.

I see above you mentioned teams like Bury and MK Dons above, they weren't getting battered every other week. I've never known a team fold like this every week and show so little grit and determination and to suggest that any of our team, not just Akpan will suddenly be revitalized in a league below is crazy and I'm not sure I want to see any of the current crop is in a city shirt again barring maybe Caddis.

 

None of the usual suspects were the worst. Most of the players who played on Saturday have played at this level, the majority of them at a level above for varying degrees of time. Its not the players as such that are to blame for it all, although a lot of the performances have been pathetic, its the blame of a completely flawed transfer strategy that was implemented by Rahic and Abbott.
To what degree of influence Abbott had i don’t know but recruitmemt was his job. Its like a Rugby club recruiting a load of backs then wondering why the oppostion forwards steamroller them every week.
Our one chance to try and temporary repair the damage was January, i’m not sure we’ll ever know the reason/s as to why HopkinS never strengthened and arguably weakened our critically damaged areas.