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Most liked posts in thread: Away vs Cambridge United - Sat 15 Feb 2020

  1. How

    How Knows Football
    P.L.22/23 Entrant P.L. 18/19 Winner Euro 2020

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    Talk of dropping a player who scored two goals from midfield in a side that doesn’t score goals? Baffling. Worlds gone mad
     
  2. alex

    alex Fringe Player

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    It seems crazy that people are talking of dropping McCartan. He won us a point at Swindon and won us 3 points against Stevenage. He is our most in form attacking player (I appreciate the bar is pretty low).

    I like the tactic of having an out and out winger on the right and then McCartan drifting inside from the left. It allows McCartan to drop into the pockets of space in the final third and also enables our best crosser, Wood, to get forward and deliver balls into the box. Early days with this setup but the second half against Stevenage was a big improvement on previous performances and hopefully a sign of things to come.
     
  3. Petrov

    Petrov Squad Player

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    I'd have a player who scores 2 goals (regardless of what he does the rest of the game) over a player with lightening pace but no end product any day of the week.
     
  4. Rogered Tart

    Rogered Tart Regular Starter
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    Watched this on ifollow. Thought Cambridge deserved it in the end, that was a very poor second half. Basics like ball retention and passing seem to much for our lot. That said they weren't helped by the substitutions at all, all 3 CBs does is totally confuse the 2 already on. The second goal they had 2 queueing up to score and 3 CBs not marking them.

    But dissolutioned all round with that display. Poor management, poor team performance.
     
  5. Mitchelldownie

    Mitchelldownie Emergency Backup

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    I do feel for Stuart imagine coming in at a moment’s notice precisely after the window has closed and being tasked with galvanising this bloated squad. It coincides with the worst weather of the year which greatly restricts what you can do on the training pitch. You make a reasonable start to the first couple of games and then find yourself heavily criticised in your first defeat for a substitution. Most managers would have sent on an extra centre half in the circumstances, in the teeth of a gale and with the opposition sticking an extra big lad up front. It didn’t work but we started leaking late goals long before Stuart arrived and our last away win was October. It wasn’t the substitutions that cost us yesterday. It was a combination of many things but not least the wind. A couple of our goal kicks didn’t make it to the half way line. Let’s get some perspective.
     
    Bantam17, Offcomedun, Ricc and 7 others like this.
  6. Keefly Bantam

    Keefly Bantam Important Player
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    Why do players have to have a good game to be effective? If Shay scores 2 goals a game in every game for the rest of the season and that's all he does I will take that all day long.
     
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  7. bantamlad92

    bantamlad92 Squad Player
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    This is potentially a HUGE game if we can get the win as it would mean:

    - First away win in god knows how long
    - First consecutive league victories of 2020
    - Back in the play off positions

    Huge, huge game. Come on City.
     
  8. Idlebantam

    Idlebantam Squad Player
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    Dear me, why oh why did McCall go all Bowyer on us and change formation when we were leading, madness
     
  9. WilsdenBantam

    WilsdenBantam Squad Player
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    Not sure Cambridge are wind immune, let’s not make weather the excuse when it’s the same for both teams.
     
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  10. bantam2708

    bantam2708 Squad Player
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    When McCartan was on we were 4231, against their 442. We had a man over in midfield because it's more a 451 out of possession. The extra man is something which we absolutely have to do because we're not strong enough to play a flat two. Then he went off we went 343/541 and it was 2v2 in the centre of the park which, without a ball winner, we cannot play.
     
    WilsdenBantam, How, Dubois and 4 others like this.
  11. Super bantams

    Super bantams Squad Player

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    Lot of McCall blame

    We've now blamed 2 managers. Think it's about time blame shifted to non performing players.
     
    Ricc, Inspector, shoatsy and 4 others like this.
  12. Old city man

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    The team lack heart,fight and determination to be winners.

    I think most of us thought we had recruited well enough to get
    out of this league at first attempt, but we're seeing a lack of the
    basic ingredients needed to accomplish this.

    I also think that one of the reasons it's harder for a club like ours
    to get promoted is our status,ground,fan base etc.We are a big club in
    this league whether we like it or not and every home game raises
    the oppositions game to want to beat us even more.We just don't
    get it and our players don't match their desire.It's about the character
    of the players along with good management and coaching,fitness etc.

    My expectations have dropped again even though Stuart hasn't had time
    to make his mark.He has a squad someone else recruited and he will have
    to try and make the best of what we have with the inevitable mass clear
    out again in the summer.How long we are staying in the basement we will
    have to wait and see but with performances we've seen this season it needs
    to be stressed this league has a trap door to obscurity and we're not to big
    to fall through it!
     
  13. JonButterfield

    JonButterfield Star Player
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    I've answered this a thousand times already on this forum, but I get not everyone reads every post, so I'll say it one more time:

    The reason we couldn't persist with Bowyer was the style of football was utterly unwatchable, the negativity surrounding away trips to Oldham and the like was embarrassing, the fans generally hated the guy, and there is literally no point persisting with a manager who is only going to perfect his Bowyer-ball to the chagrin of the fans - promotion or no promotion.

    Bowyer wasn't sacked because of the results. We didn't lose that many. He was sacked because the fans said "NO THANK YOU" to what he could offer.

    Stuart offers a style far easier on the eye, more attacking, less defensive, but not necessarily any better.

    But you aren't going to get something infinitely better when you've got Bowyer's players who have been trained all season to played Bowyer's way. There is no magician going to come in and instantly fix things. Like Crewe, Swindon and Exeter, IT TAKES TIME.

    The fans did not want to give Bowyer that time, he was the wrong man with the wrong style.

    The threat of plummeting attendances sacked Bowyer.
     
  14. Bigrod

    Bigrod Captain
    Moderator Qatar 2022 Entrant P.L.22/23 Entrant P.L.23/24 Entrant Supporter P.L. 20/21 Top 30

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  15. Lard Arse

    Lard Arse Impact Sub
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    Hasn't been since McCall arrived. Obviously doesn't see anything in him.
    Like you I'm amazed he at least doesnt make the bench. Something like a dozen goals and 18 or so assists last year in this division.
    Surely worh a place above Taylor on the bench at the very minimum.
     
  16. Botswana Bantam

    Botswana Bantam Regular Starter
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    Akpan is not fit. He faded at the 60/70 minute mark. Not sure if Pritchard is really a centre midfielder but if so he should have come on instead of Paudie. Our lack of centre midfield options is Bowyer's fault.

    Reeves faded because he was doing the job of him and Akpan in the second half but he was good up to the mid point of the second half.

    Middleton should have been subbed earlier. It was always going to be hard for a young lad to do more than 60 minutes or so in his first match. Same really with DMH, he's probably not done 90 minutes all season. Stuart needed to make his subs earlier.

    Three at the back was suicide. Really disappointing change.

    We can blame the weather but it was the same for both of us. We can blame the ref for the alleged foul on Protchard but he let a lot go all game really. We should really blame the manager because his substitutions led us into a situation where it was all backs to the wall and us all out defending. It was inevitable they'd get some shots in.
     
  17. Tom Hallett

    Tom Hallett Impact Sub

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    Supported City for over 60 years.
    You need a sense of humour when you're a city fan.
     
  18. PlatinumChaosX

    PlatinumChaosX Squad Player
    P.L. 20/21 Entrant

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    WE ARE GOING TO WIN TODAY 100%!!!!!!!!!
     
    Stoneski, Dennis, RCarol and 2 others like this.
  19. How

    How Knows Football
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    Looks like a 4-5-1 we used to see when McCall was here last time. Novak in the wyke role and McCartan just behind
     
  20. Bantam@{Lancs}

    Bantam@{Lancs} Impact Sub

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    I think the game was crying out for Donaldson with his hold up play in the second half
     
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