Transfers (also ambition/investment/ground & lots more.....)

A lot of those players were dragged down by Bowyers tactics, to a point where Vaughan asked to leave.If players like Ismail are fit (yeah i know) and we have a full choice to pick from i think we can be competitive. All depends who comes in in the next few weeks and how much McCall can turn around players that struggled last season. Its clear Salford are going balls out for promotion and we aren't going to follow their lead. My worry is that the mismanagement on and off the field last season is going to affect the team still this season especially the disastrous January transfer window which has led to a coupling together of an ageing strikeforce that has no potential to develop.

 

Whereas the comms coming from Bradford are of being dead set against a salary but actively playing for it to a point where its clear the club encourage it. Confusing messages.

 

BRE with a decent encouraging defender alongside him would be an asset in league 2 but that not O'Connor. He's too critical of others to a point of being counter productive.

 

The way McCall was talking the other day he has about 20 different tactics. I never like that. Let teams worry about you.

You're correct about Bowyer and I hope McCall let's the players be more expressive but that Jan window really has damaged us.

We need better players. I would be happy if we paid some players off to leave right now but that's not going to happen.

Plenty of time left in the window but I would have like us to make a statement like Salford, Bolton and Mansfield have but this club is going backwards so I shouldn't be shocked that we haven't.

 

League above ain't much better, quality wise there's little difference between league 1, league 2 and the conference...

 

There is some truth in this but the club are dead set against anyone questioning the party line. So its all happy clapping and nice you tube videos at the moment. Its alright folk on here waxing lyrical abour Rupp and his intentions but i've yet to see any evidence bar being bigged up for funding his mistakes. Its clear where the likes of Salford and Boltons method statement is with their signings, with us i'm not sure. Still time yet to add to the squad but i think McCall has his work cut out for this season.

 

Yes I believe AOC was far better than his previous season, BRE needs to get the "rashness" out of his game, I think McCalls CD pairing will be the O'Connors, but my point was Fordy emphasising Guthrie,AOC, and BRE are still at the club suggesting they arent good enough but seemingly forgetting they are under contract.

 

I enjoyed the forum the other night but you're right I too was surprised with Stuart's comments regarding changing formations to counter the opposition, if your starting 11 are right and the formation is formation to get the best from those players it should be the opposition worrying about changing formations to counter.

 

In all fairness, McCall did say that first and foremost we would concentrate on ourselves; but also pointed out that sometimes you can’t always have it your own way and that you need to sometimes adapt to change - using Sheff Utd and Wolves as examples.

Once again, I see nothing wrong with this.

 

Yet Swindon changed formation on a regular basis and won the league doing it

 

No team changes formation on a regualr basis and is successful, it just doesn't happen. The success comes from players knowing their roles to the best of their ability. Once you have a tried and tested formula, barring injuries its pretty much stuck with. Wilder has used his formula now for ages and its what brings him success. Same with Guardiola and Klopp.

 

Yes I also heard him make that comment, during his first season back after Phil walked he keep us unbeaten at Valley Parade and that made teams worry about us rather than us change our system/formation to counter them.
I'm not sure at league two level players can change formations several times within a game, Sheffielfd & Wolves were good examples but they have far superior talented footballer than league two players.
I get what he is saying, get the starting 11 right with a formation that is best suited for those players and we shouldn't need to worry about changing formations during the game.

 

Rubbish. No they didn't.

They changed tactics against us and some others but most of the time their tactics were simple. Get the into the box pass to the central forward to shoot.

Hence why their manager said we have others that can score 20 plus goals.

 

Even though they won the league they struggled against us in both games, I didnt take a great deal of notice with regards Swindons changing formations but I do remember saying after watching them play Oldham at the County Ground they were lucky to still be in the game at half time Oldham looked the promotion chasing side and if they had been more clinical during the first half Oldham would won, very similar to when Oldham came to Valley Parade they played some delightfull football but couldnt finish.

 

Oldham at VP were a disorganised mess. They had 'cultured' players capable of getting any team relegated - I'm sure the lad that looked good that I spotted didn't play once the new manager was installed.

There's a world of difference between an effective unit and a squabble of okay passers.

 

They looked very good going forward at our place which I said, good job they couldnt finish.

 

Remember that team, had players in it such as Azankpo, sylla, fage, missilou, from all sorts of the world such as the Netherlands Antilles. It was lucky they played us early on, as I'm wondering what the score would have been If the pitch had deteriorated with them playing on it.

 

I know it is an old argument of mine but what in McCalls CV would lead us to believe that he has the ability to turn around a struggling club?

In his first spell he with us he couldn’t. His second stint first season he took over a club on an upward swing. Second season when it fell apart he admitted he didn’t know what to do. His time at Scunthorpe he couldn’t turn them around.

So unless in his time at Motherwell he re-built from scratch a team that was on a downward slide then I do not see where our confidence in him is supposed to come from.