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1  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Sutton United (a) - 18 April 2023 1945hrs on: April 18, 2023, 10:56:59 am
Has all the makings of a tricky game this one. Whilst they aren’t in great form, they’re a solid outfit and were well in the playoffs race just a few games ago. Form book says it’s a decent time to be playing them but how many times have we said that over the years….

I think Bradford will prove too strong for Swindon who are in free fall so I expect them to win there. Hoping for a Stockport-Carlisle draw but given Carlisle’s run-in it would probably be better they won than Stockport. I think the lads have to be thinking 6 points this week likely takes us to a position where if we beat Bradford we’re in league 1.
2  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Player of the season on: April 18, 2023, 10:27:27 am
Has to be Hoskins. 20 goals is a great achievement and the quality of many of the goals is what makes him the standout pick for me. Also shown great versatility helping the team out in different positions over the last few weeks. Special mentions to Guthrie, who has been so consistent all season and Sowerby who has arguably been the most important cog in our midfield engine this season.
3  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Barrow (a) - 7 May 2022 on: May 06, 2022, 11:57:52 am
On the game tomorrow as others have said I think we just need to focus on ourselves and try to get the three points. Knowing that we need a win as opposed to a draw might actually be a blessing in disguise. Too often I’ve seen teams get caught out on whether to stick or twist when only needing a point. I’m not too worried about Bristol Rovers catching up on goal difference. You need a huge amount of things to go right in order to win 6-0. And even then, that’s on the basis we only win by one. Win by two (which isn’t unrealistic at all) and they’ll need to win by 7 which would take some doing. I fully expect them to win though, so I can’t see anything other than three points being enough for us. But as has been suggested, if you had to pick an opponent to beat on the last day for promotion Barrow would be high on your list both at the start of the season and now. That’s not to say it’ll be easy. It’ll be difficult. But they’re in the bottom 4 for a reason so it’s a fantastic chance to get ourselves into League One.
4  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: The are we going up Thread! on: April 23, 2022, 17:40:38 pm
Club surely got to try and get more tickets for Barrow now. We may need all the support we can get!
5  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Orient away (23rd) on: April 19, 2022, 15:22:06 pm
My point being, they didnt sell out straight away, why didnt you buy one a while back, why wait? 20 Days ago they went on sale, they sell out, now you decide you want one !!

I can’t talk for anyone on here but I know some people for whom money is so tight they literally can’t afford  to commit to games and so they have to make a last minute decision on whether they can actually afford to go. Which is usually why pay on the gate is so beneficial. Not saying this is the case for Everbrite but not everyone is financially able to commit to away games two/three weeks in advance.
6  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Bradford Sat.9th. on: April 11, 2022, 10:41:35 am
i couldn’t understand why Roberts had no urgency either ….. then the clean sheet bonus came to mind …

You could be right!
7  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Bradford Sat.9th. on: April 11, 2022, 10:15:38 am
Thought we played quite well on Saturday but just couldn’t score and it is that lack of quality up front which has cost us this season. Also thought that was one of the worst Bradford sides I’ve seen at sixfields. They only looked half decent towards the end after realising that they had somehow managed to keep it 0-0 and could potentially land a sucker punch and win it late. Roberts has rarely come in for criticism this season and rightly so but I was very disappointed with his complete lack of urgency to take goal kicks towards the end of the game. It was almost as if he (and a couple others) had decided that a point would be a good result which I am slightly baffled by. To me it sums up what I’ve thought for the majority of this season which is that the players themselves have never truly believed they would have what it takes to finish in the top 3.

Separately on Brady, I was not a huge fan of him getting the job permanently in the summer however based on the results this season I think some of the criticism he’s received is unfair. We’re 5th in the league with 5 to go and in my opinion we’ve played better football under him than anyone since Wilder. It’s as if some of you are expecting to see Premier League quality in League Two. All of the players we have are here for a reason, if they were better players they wouldn’t be here it’s as simple as that. I think some on here really need a reality check as to where we stand in the world of football. To me it’s been an enjoyable season with some great moments and some horrible ones too. But that inconsistency plagues most teams in this division. There are no teams in this league that play amazing football all of the time.
8  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: The are we going up Thread! on: March 29, 2022, 19:31:20 pm
2-0 Stags.... they've had 9 shots (6 on target) in the first 25 minutes,

2-2 now!
9  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Louis Appere on: March 28, 2022, 15:52:53 pm
Bet Appéré starts on Saturday?😎

Probably! But you do wonder how long he gets before he’s benched. Eppiah and Zimba arguably both looked way more threatening on Saturday than he ever has since he joined the club. I think there’s a decent player in there but given we don’t seem to be keeping clean sheets at the same rate as we were before, we really need to look at shaking things up going forward to try and score more goals.
10  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Hartlepool 26/3 on: March 28, 2022, 15:46:37 pm
Koiki's positioning is shìt, however he has the pace and workrate to get back and generally make up for his mistakes - which makes him all the more exciting to watch!! Tongue

I agree. And I think this is why Mills has his work cut out being number one choice. Koiki’s positioning isn’t great but his recovery pace is a get out of jail card. It’s a bit like watching Kyle Walker…… Cheesy
11  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Louis Appere on: March 28, 2022, 10:50:47 am
Zimba has to start now for me. He definitely looks way more threatening than Apere who has been given plenty of opportunities to shine.
12  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Hartlepool 26/3 on: March 28, 2022, 10:47:31 am
Whether it’s harsh or not, Mills is definitely a weak link in this team in my opinion. He’s quite slow, positionally he isn’t great (although I accept this can be said of Koiki too) and he doesn’t seem to have the same attacking threat that he had when he was at Forest Green. He isn’t awful and to his credit you can never question his desire, I just think any half decent winger with good pace and dribbling causes him nightmares. He’s all we have until Koiki comes back though, so we just need to hope he sees this as his chance to give JB a headache when Koiki is fit again.

13  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Stevenage 15th March on: March 16, 2022, 14:59:27 pm
I am basically with the fan who wished Simba had at least achieved a shot on target. His lack of confidence was apparent to all at Stevenage and also in previous games for that matter. His self belief is based on self preservation! We just have not get the time left to bed him in with just 9 games left. His opportunity is to start scoring or at least exhibit some conviction in achieving this desirable goal!* Aperre marginally offers more and has at least scored; so at the moment he should start?
 

Not a pun!

To be honest, I’m not too fussed whether JB goes with Zimba or Apere. The latter would be the more obvious choice given he’s been playing more regularly but he’s hardly been setting the world alight. He’s shown promise in patches but I personally wouldn’t mind seeing Zimba get a start (provided he is fully fit to do so of course).
14  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Stevenage 15th March on: March 16, 2022, 12:37:59 pm
Crawled over the line in the end after looking comfortable for the most part. I like Appere but Zimba had more shots (albeit wide) and got himself into more goalscoring positions in his 30 minutes than Appere has in his 9 games. Why is that? Can we play them both?

I think some of this can be attributed to the fact that Stevenage were pushing hard for an equaliser and as a result left themselves significantly more vulnerable to attacks. However I do believe Zimba’s movement is quite good based on the limited action we’ve seen of him so far, he just seems to lack both conviction and composure when through on goal. That may be down to a lack of match sharpness or just a lack of ability generally in the finishing department only time will tell I guess. I’m just not sure how you fit both him and Apere in as they both look like out and out strikers. It would probably require a move away from 4-3-3 which I believe would be a big mistake.
15  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Stevenage 15th March on: March 16, 2022, 08:04:53 am
Our record at home to the top sides this year has been decent and I can see that continuing on Saturday. Watching us play there are many times you wouldn’t think we’re second in the league but I do think massive credit needs to go to the defence and keeper because if you keep 17 clean sheets by March you’re going to pick up a lot of points.

As others have mentioned, if we do go up it will be because of our defence but I don’t really see that as a negative at all. We all want to see more goals and attacking threat but there are two parts to the game. In many games and seasons, the team who shows excellent defensive ability often gets rewarded. There have been so many times this season (particularly at home) where we’ve won and not really given the opposition a sniff. Of course, in those same games we probably could have shown more attacking threat but shutting out the opposition time and time again will always give you a good chance to win and many times this year we have taken that chance.
16  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Scunny away Tuesday on: February 22, 2022, 21:31:31 pm
Haven’t said this very often this year but think Brady got it wrong tonight. Pinnock just simply isn’t a CM. How Danny Rose starts any league games is beyond me. Even BAS offers more of a threat. Eppiah was a huge threat when he came on however he has been recovering from an injury which could explain why he wasn’t in the starting lineup. He must surely start on Saturday if Apere is still out. Thought some of our usual performers were really off the pace today. Koiki made some really poor decisions, Guthrie defended well but seemed to want an eternity on the ball when being closed down by attackers. Lewis was sloppy and Hoskins struggled to get into the game.

Another clean sheet though and as someone else has alluded to, we’ve lost games like that in the past on many occasions. I’m still not entirely convinced we have enough quality going forward to finish in the top 3 but if we continue to defend the way we are we’ll certainly have a chance!
17  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: EFL Cup v AFC Wimbledon (h) - 24 Aug 21 on: August 26, 2021, 15:23:40 pm
I like that formation. As I've said before, there's a reason why almost no one plays 4-4-2 these days: unless you've got top full back and wingers it's a tired predictable formation which is easily snuffed out by tactically competent managers.

Nothing wrong with 4-4-2 for me. I often think formations in football are overstated particularly at this level. We’re not facing elite managers on a weekly basis. It is largely down to the quality you have in the team and how much you can get out of your players. With all due respect, there are very few (if any) tactical geniuses in League Two.

From our opening 5 matches it looks as though we are missing a ball player in midfield. Not overly convinced by Lewis or Flores however I do accept it is still very early in the season. I like McWilliams and I think he is one of our better players on his day but in the 5 seasons he has been in and around the first team squad I’ve seen very little improvement in his ability on the ball. When you watch him closely you notice that his movement to get on the ball and dictate games is really lacking. I’m really hoping Brady can improve this because I think he has a lot of good qualities defensively and of course he has a great engine. Regardless of what formation you’re playing you need a midfield that can consistently get control of games and dictate quality possession. The midfielders we have now all seem to be able to get up and down the pitch but I’m yet to see much on the ball flair or creativity.
18  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Players Under/Out of Contract This Summer on: May 11, 2021, 13:58:09 pm
Has anything been mentioned regarding deadlines for the three who have been offered a new contract? The Oliver situation last summer was a bit ridiculous and I think it would be rather beneficial to avoid that type of situation again if possible.
19  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Jon Brady on: May 05, 2021, 21:00:17 pm
Happy to be proven wrong but Brady isn’t the right man for me. Tactically he’s shown ineptitude on numerous occasions and whilst he’s managed to get a bit more out of the squad, I don’t think he has the managerial skills to take us forward. It’s still been relegation form throughout the 19 games he’s been in charge. I hope I’m wrong but I can see a Dean Austin type situation happening all over again.
20  The Hotel End / Cobblers Corner / Re: Jon Brady on: April 15, 2021, 22:12:46 pm
1. We paid transfer fees for Rose, Sowerby and Ashley-Seal at a time when a good number of League One and League Two clubs spent zilch due to pandemic belt-tightening. I would suspect that Mills is on a decent wage given that he was Forest Green's captain and top scorer.

That sounds like a pretty competitive budget to me. I'd be surprised if the likes of Accrington, Gillingham, Crewe and AFC Wimbledon or Wycombe (last year's play-off winners) had spent more.

2. TeachersPet is right: recruitment isn't an exact science and even geniuses like Sir Alex have the odd Djemba-Djemba moment.

However, a hall-mark of a decent manager is that the diamonds outweigh the duds. Curle has signed five strikers this season: Rose, Ashley-Seal, Edmondson, Miller, Nuttall. Only one of them (Rose) has scored a legitimate goal! A look at their respective track records suggests that this shouldn't have come as a glaring surprise.

If he had saved his money, offered Oliver a two-year contract with a pay rise and signed a proper winger/creative midfielder instead of messers Seal, Edmondson and Nuttall then we might be having a very different conversation right now.

(For the record, I don't believe Vadaine would have scored 16 goals for us, but I do believe he would have scored 8-10 and assisted more with his hold-up play.)



 

Hindsight is such a wonderful thing. I don’t remember too many people being that disappointed that Oliver had left back in the summer. I don’t think many (if any) on here can genuinely tell me that back in the summer they believed Oliver would score 10 league goals in League One after scoring 4 in 30 appearances in League Two. Many of the people who are now saying Curle should have given him what he wanted definitely weren’t saying that at the time.
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