gilligan is s***

is that enough for you.

are you allowed to call Gilligan s***?  is this an opinion or an accusation!?  This may be damaging to the player and club so can it be back up in a court of law 

i think Gilligan was his worse enemy last year. At the beginning of the season he took his opportunity, gave 100% and scored a few goals.  towards the end of the season his performances weren't consistent and this coincided with a dip in form of the team.

You've got to look at the positives though, when he gives 100% he is a complete menace in midfield and the team plays well around him.  Also he is only 23 which is the same age as Seb Harris and only a year older than Herbert so he's still young and the constancy in his performances will come.

I wasn't convinced with the 4-2-3-1 formation against Coventry, we looked far too isolated up front. I think 4-4-2 is our best shout.

GK: Dunn/Loan Keeper

RB: John Johnson
CB: Dean Beckwith
CB: Andy Holt
LB: Marcus Hall

RM: Thornton
CM: Gilligan
CM: Wedderburn
LM: Jacobs

CF: Purcell
CF: McKay

this is the team that started against Watford (apart from the goalie) and i though that was the best i've seen us play for ages so i'd go with that.

Jacobs is looking better than davis at the moment and has definitely had more impact in the pre-season games.

agree that his positioning and decision making will need to improve but it will with games and experience,
however holt isn't a centre back and his positioning is just as suspect, cost us a goal against Bradford
last year by chasing out and leaving a big space and did this a couple of times against Kettering.

I going to stick my neck on the line and say "harris is the next sammo"

It was open before the game, not sure about after.

played well today.  He held the ball up, link up play was good, good work rate and scored!!

He also put in some great crosses when we came wide, set up Jacobs second with a ball in from the right wing.

Anyone buying a Home shirt please head down to the club shop and spend your money so we can pay the
bill and get the away shirts, i really want an away one 

agree Exe but sounded like Purcys goal was a tap in from about an inch out..

Jacobs skinned the left back and put a good ball in, which Purcell headed producing a good save
from the keeper, only for Purcell to put in the rebound.

We looked class in the first half, jacobs was quality and harris looked solid at the back with beckwidth.

Wedderburn dominated in midfield, gilligan was quiet but got into the game more in the second half.

The game change when guinan and herbert came on, they didn't really link up with anybody (herbert
in particular) and we started to look a bit tired towards the end.

What a quality signing, well done sammo and crossby 

Some decent stuff there in fairness, agreed about the chocolate though- anybody who pays £1.99 for a bar of chocolate just because it has an NTFC badge on the front has got a screw loose somewhere!

it does look about the same size a the beach towel though 

Surely we would have told him where to go if we suspected that was the case...

Geographically, we've got to be the best fit for Hall. I'd imagine the "extended trial" is to sort out the length and size of the contract, well hopefully anyway!

Think your got it spot on, there is always going to be a bit of negotiation.  Probably the same as Osman - we must have offered him the same terms as he was on, which means he can't leave for free and because he hasn't signed yet he goes onto a weekly contract until he does/or someone pays to take him.

I know one rumour was Francis Jeffers - well he's on trial at Blackpool!!

maybe the club has done it's market research and most of the people who buy the shirts
are either skinny teenagers or overweight men!!

If a true reply, a good shout from MCHammer....

It doesn't explain the 'Ash Cloud' excuse earlier though...

It's not that there taking so - it's that we were told they were coming in May and
people paid money expecting them to be here by now.  If the original announcement was that the shirts
would take a few months due to the designs etc and wouldn't arrive until late July then there wouldn't be
an issue.

To be fair it does say on the website that this is not the same as last year, when all
the fans were in the picture together.

this includes buffet lunch and a personalised photo with the team, which will be signed
by the squad, framed and sent to you.

Do think £125 + VAT is a bit pricey though, dependant on the size of the frame etc
I think £50 would be more suitable.

Christ, it's only a shirt. Some of the Premiership clubs ain't getting theres in until September!

At the end of the day if Errea are cocking up the delivery there's is nothing the club can do about it, other than find a new kit supplier next season. It's not like they can retaliate by canceling the order and quickly find a new company to rustle up a similar design.

The difference being the club announced the new shirts were going to be available on the 8th May!!

IF this is down to Errea then it's totally unacceptable, but we should be acting on these problems
long before they get to this stage.

If this was any other business and you advertised the availability of your products to your client
base, only to be two months down the line with no sign of the merchandise (not to mention some
clients already paying for their items!) it would be a commercial disaster.  Sometimes the loyalty
of football fans are taken for granted.

popped in the shop yesterday and the bloke said they had been despatched but held
up in customs!!!

I'd say sammo will look to get a right back in, rumour last night was that johnson and steel both want
to come back on loan, if not i think he'll go with Rodgers as Harris looked a lot happier in the middle of defence.

Beckwidth played and read the game well, thought the left back was solid enough and holt attacked everything in
the air.

If holt is going to play centre back he needs to leave the forward to the midfield when the forward drops deep,
as a couple of times last night he chased out, didn't get the ball and left a gap in behind - this lead to Bradfords
first goal end of last season.

I thought that last night was very positive.

The formation looked to suit us and it was good to see us playing the ball through midfield,
rather that long balls to the forwards to hold up.

The only players i thought that were way off the standard were Guinan and Herbert.

Kasibungu and konstantinou kept the second half alive and played with a lot of freedom and
energy.  Jacobs also had some very nice touches and his passing was good.

New boys Wedderburn, and Hall (if he signs) look very solid and good additions.

I'd love to know the full story on this one. What took him to Ghana and play for a third division club there? Have you seen the photo of him? He looks like he would get sunburnt standing too close to a 60 watt light bulb. Heaveans knows how he survived in Cyprus and Ghana. On the plus side, I imagine the Ghanaian third division is pretty physical so League 2 will seem like a stroll in the park in that respect.

This thread does raise a more interesting point. Sammo must have a distinct lack of contacts and is somewhat reliant on Crosby to bring players in. He was essentially a one club player, learnt his management trade at the same club and has now become a manager there. Having not spread his wings means he has a passion for the club, but also he won't have made the friends that other managers who have been journeyman footballers. Time will tell on whether this will limit his ability as a manager.

cloughie had peter taylor do pic out decent players, he just managed them and what a manager he was!