Home V Newport County Saturday 7/12/2019

Please tell me you are not suggesting Forest Green played attractive attacking football? I think Newport were just a poor football team, FG were embarrassingly anti-football,,,and yes I know they got the result!

 

It was about your take on Newports display on Saturday. You thought it was well executed plan (up until the kamikaze backpass), i thought they were abysmal.

My distain of the football on show is more a general view of league 2 football than one particular team. And that encompasses a couple of points, poor football, no standout games to get up for, general lack of atmosphere because of the aforementioned. To be fair to Bowyer, it wasn't too dissimilar when Parky took us up, the cup run had the excitement but the general week in week out league stuff was pretty turgid at times.

 

Thats a fair point.

 

I do agree that performances rather than results provide an accurate forecast of where we are heading. We aren't a particularly inspiring side but have you seen the state of the other sides? On this basis alone I think we'll do enough.

 

No, you're right Forest green came here, made it ugly and robbed 3 points but I'm not sure that's been their general approach to games this season. From what I've seen, I think they're a team who like to get it down and play, although I could be wrong.

 

From my point of view, newport had nothing going for them at the weekend. Now whether it was just a dismal performance from them or the norm, who knows but you can only base an opinion of the team from what you see.

Going forward, I think we can all agree they were clueless. I've never felt more comfortable 'defending' a one goal lead in stoppage time. They were never going to score.

Midfield I thought again had no quality in it. Scrappy but no ability to control the tempo of the game.

Defence looked comfortable but we didn't test them enough to start saying they were solid or tough to break down etc. We've been hopeless from set pieces for years yet looked like scoring from every single one on saturday.

I was much more impressed with the likes of port vale or forest green who were really tough to break down and for vale they had pace on the break to hurt us and a target man who caused us some issues. Newport didn't really have anything.

 

I agree with much of this, but you can't argue that Oldham were better because they had a couple of livewire players who looked threatening but are actually part and parcel of a dreadful set of results that have seen them dropped in short order by a coach who actually understands the game.

I have a lot more respect for Newport than whatever that was that came from Boundary Park, arguably the most disjointed and nonsensical side I've seen since Rahic was involved last season.

 

FGR and Newport have similar game plans, the difference recently (for Newport) is that already having a small squad, it has been ravaged by injuries. So essentially, City were playing Newport 'B'. That highlighted to me that Flynn has a game plan which he sticks to, and is practised and played at all levels, which is an ideology I support. The fact Newport were so painful on the eyes was more a reflection of the poor quality available in the side, rather than their game plan. As such, their recent displays come as no surprise. Once their injury crisis is over, we should expect to see again, a Newport side which is organised and truly hard to beat whilst not playing attractive football, but 'effective'.

 

As one of our older posters like me you'll have seen far worse when we've been the other end of the table.
The footballs not the best but with the situation as it is I'll take our league position.

 

I dont disagree and this isnt a dig - but that sentiment basically sums us up. Its 4th division, it's cheap, what do you expect? Be grateful we have a club etc. We're largely a pointless entity now. Part of the slow death that's taking place within lower league football.

 

Rubbish FB!

 

I don't think @Keefly Bantam intended that expectations should be lowered that much

 

Which bit, and why?

 

Interesting. What do you think our expectations are? What should they be?

 

Near enough all of it and I agree with most of your posts.

I dont disagree and this isnt a dig - but that sentiment basically sums us up. Its 4th division, it's cheap, what do you expect?

It's the law of economics though isn't it? Bottom division football, less revenue so naturally you should expect less technically gifted players. I've not seen one team in this division play open expansive football which some posters on here expect.

Be grateful we have a club etc. We're largely a pointless entity now. Part of the slow death that's taking place within lower league football.

Really? We're largely a pointless entity now?

 

My over-riding point is, if we WERE a big club, with real ambition of getting to the Championship, we wouldn't be so accepting of 'its division 4 football so don't expect us to be entertaining'. We'd be demanding better football, we'd be EXPECTING to run away with the division. Look at the likes of Sheff United in League 1 - every season they spent there, their fans considered an embarrassment. We don't have the same mentality. We're not a big club, ready to resurrect ourselves. We're a 3-4th division club. We are where we belong. We're about to sell the league's highest goalscorer to a team we're supposedly competing with. We fixate on cheap tickets. 'Macclesfield is a tough place to go, they haven't lost at home all season' etc. Changing our formation to combat the mighty Newport at home. We're entirely at home here, that's the sad reality.

And yes, I think we're largely pointless. Not in the sense of it not being something that people still see as an 'important' part of their lives, a hobby of passion etc. But in footballing terms, we're going nowhere. There's no real plan, no real ambition. We mirror the city as a whole. Dying a slow death while our near neighbours prosper. That's honestly how I see it. Most, if not all at League 2 football is a pointless entity. As is much of League 1. The longer we're out of the championship, the harder it will be to get and stay there. The divide is growing every year.

 

I think you are going massively OTT FB. We've had a year of the club being decimated which has been done to death, this year has seen a complete squad rebuild and probably sees us have the largest budget in the league. We are very very close to the autos after fighting constant injury battles all season, it's not a myth that not having a settled side hampers the quality of football. Me personally I don't feel like the team has reached it's potential just as yet but with the players reaching fitness I think we will grow us a team and the football will improve.

Dying a slow death yet very much looking we have a chance of going straight back up at the first time of asking? I wouldn't class the largest budget and just outside autos as dying a slow death. Maybe, just maybe SR is going to back us with some of his wealth if we go up and give it a good go... It's not like the money wasn't spent in League One it was just horrifically misused. I think you have caught chronic Fordyitus!

 

This Rhodes has done a job on many of you and certainly those over 50 years old.

Cheap tickets now have people just acting like they're buying something from a charity shop with no expectations!

It's like some just have the club now as a time filler. The retired with nothing else better to do in life so pleased the club is just ticking.

Bradford City under Rhodes and Rupp are going nowhere. Rupp has been a massive let down nearly as bad as Edin and Rhodes just ticks us along.

The club lacks serious ambition and have one of the most boring managers in the clubs history.

 

Zzzzzzzz

 

That's certainly true, but as I've got older I've begun to tire of boring, negative managers and turgid football. To be honest, I'm finding going to watch another sport on Saturday afternoons infinitely more entertaining and enjoyable.