Ragdoll Cobbler
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« Reply #20 on: August 06, 2021, 11:19:48 am » |
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Really happy with the new management structure & hope people don't start getting on their backs after a few dodgy results...
There is finally a real plan and identity to the way JB wants us to play, so I'm happy to ride the bumps along the way...
Not expecting a promotion push, just want to see a decent brand of attacking football, with more game time for our own youngsters.
If we make the play offs or better then great, but after the atrocious football under KC, I just actually want to watch some good attacking football.
Really looking forward to attending tomorrow, unlike the dread I felt whilst watching us last season under KC.
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bungle
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« Reply #21 on: August 06, 2021, 11:53:50 am » |
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I asked JB whether or not we are promotion candidates and he told me we don't have the budget to cross the line.
Disappointing if true. I'm a bit sceptical as to whether any manager would express a sense of pessimism in precisely those terms. However, Brady is right to manage expectations and to talk about a long-term project of improvement and development rather than a desperate scramble to go straight back up immediately without any kind of long-term strategy. I actually think that budgets are a bit of a red herring at L2 level as there is a kind of natural limit on the type of player who is prepared to play in the basement division. Salford are the division's big spenders, but the height of their recruitment power seems to be the capacity to attract quality pros from the bottom half of League 1 who are towards the end of their careers (Matty Lund, Ian Henderson etc). I don't see many L2 clubs recruiting players who could be plying their trade at the top of L1 or in the Championship. Michael Duff, who has just won the title with Cheltnumb, has said that the key to success in L2 is being organised and hard to beat. It's not like L1 where teams like Hull and P*sh dominate possession and pass the opposition off the park due to their vastly superior technical ability. I doubt very much that our budget is less than that of last season's promotion trio of Cambridge, Cheltenham or Morecambe. Calderwood's arrival should add some extra steel to what has already shown signs of being a decent defensive unit (McWilliams, Horsfall, Mills) and I see no reason at all why we shouldn't finish in the top 10. As I've said before, play-offs would be slightly above expectations/ahead of schedule IMO and automatic would be a truly great achievement given the scale of the turnover required.
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guest49
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« Reply #22 on: August 06, 2021, 12:00:26 pm » |
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Sorry Dan but the plan is not for CC to takeover. There should be no pressure on JB, he has not got to perform now, we have a longer term plan
If things turn sour we should be saying we will stay strong together and it will work eventually. JB should be on a 5 year deal, he is either the right man for the job or he is not.
The coaching staff should be NTFC coaching staff and their role is also a long term 5 year plan
Anything else is just going through the motions and PR bulls***
The plan has to be not to fail. If we are looking doomed (God forbid) then the obvious will happen inevitably. Patience is definitely required to build on something (especially if the football is attractive but we are not necessarily in and around the play offs) but no club in their right mind is handing out 5 year contracts to the any staff. The fans will speak before it got too bad. That's an expensive g amble, especially knowing what history tells us in football, let alone with the Cobblers! The £6m would soon become £10m+!
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BackOfTheNet
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« Reply #23 on: August 06, 2021, 12:11:09 pm » |
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I'm just looking forward to getting back to some live sport and seeing some hopefully enjoyable football at the same time.
We'll win some, we'll draw some and we'll lose some. As long as we do more of the first two than the last one then I'll be happy. If we lose more, well, if the last 18 months have taught us anything it's that which set of blokes manages to kick a ball into a net more times than another set of blokes really isn't the be all and end all...
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« Last Edit: August 06, 2021, 12:12:47 pm by BackOfTheNet »
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The Hotelend Grand National* Sweepstake Champion 2020
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OCoole
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« Reply #24 on: August 06, 2021, 13:38:27 pm » |
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Disappointing if true. I'm a bit sceptical as to whether any manager would express a sense of pessimism in precisely those terms. However, Brady is right to manage expectations and to talk about a long-term project of improvement and development rather than a desperate scramble to go straight back up immediately without any kind of long-term strategy.
I actually think that budgets are a bit of a red herring at L2 level as there is a kind of natural limit on the type of player who is prepared to play in the basement division. Salford are the division's big spenders, but the height of their recruitment power seems to be the capacity to attract quality pros from the bottom half of League 1 who are towards the end of their careers (Matty Lund, Ian Henderson etc). I don't see many L2 clubs recruiting players who could be plying their trade at the top of L1 or in the Championship.
Michael Duff, who has just won the title with Cheltnumb, has said that the key to success in L2 is being organised and hard to beat. It's not like L1 where teams like Hull and P*sh dominate possession and pass the opposition off the park due to their vastly superior technical ability. I doubt very much that our budget is less than that of last season's promotion trio of Cambridge, Cheltenham or Morecambe.
Calderwood's arrival should add some extra steel to what has already shown signs of being a decent defensive unit (McWilliams, Horsfall, Mills) and I see no reason at all why we shouldn't finish in the top 10. As I've said before, play-offs would be slightly above expectations/ahead of schedule IMO and automatic would be a truly great achievement given the scale of the turnover required.
Well said, and I agree.
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Madrid Cobbler
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« Reply #25 on: August 06, 2021, 14:12:17 pm » |
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If things turn sour we should be saying we will stay strong together and it will work eventually. JB should be on a 5 year deal, he is either the right man for the job or he is not.
In an ideal world I would agree and this time I think fans will have a bit more patience than usual as there's clearly been a rethink about how to go about matters on the pitch. However, if things aren't going reasonably well after 8-10 games, the knives will be out. That's just the way things have always been.
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Melbourne Cobbler
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« Reply #26 on: August 06, 2021, 23:30:46 pm » |
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I know the club said they didn’t have a bottom 4 budget but did they also say they had a competitive budget?. I guess though the term could be interpreted in different ways, is it competitive in trying to avoid relegation or competitive with that of the biggest teams in the league, as the first seems probable to me but the second would be ridiculous. My guess is average wages would have been massively skewed by the likes of Sunderland and to a lesser extent Ipswich, Charlton & Portsmouth who it wouldn’t surprise me if they were still playing some crazy wages. Even Peterborough through there success in the transfer market are clearly paying big wages now. Accrington showed with probably the smallest budget in the league with some good recruitment they could challenge the biggest teams.
That pretty much mirrors my entire thought process on this, the truth is the information is so limited it’s all generalisations and assumptions. Having said that, I would guess you could also level that at the club when they claimed a competitive budget. I would interpret competitive to be to maintain L1 status but it’s unclear as you say. Perhaps that was by design?
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« Last Edit: August 07, 2021, 03:26:16 am by Melbourne Cobbler »
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Not a real supporter but unelected chair of the Northampton Town Honorary Supporters Club. (Please note: any opinions given may not necessarily be shared by proper supporters. In incidents of conflict the views of real supporters shall take precedence).
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Charlatan
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« Reply #27 on: August 07, 2021, 12:37:49 pm » |
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I can’t see anything other than 10th at best with what we’ve got.
I’d say Brady has a bit of a free pass but will be under more pressure than many expect, simply because Calderwoods a ready made replacement if things look sour. He’s had 20 odd games already; he’s got his squad. He now has to perform. Good luck Jon.
I agree Dan
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guest1269
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« Reply #28 on: August 07, 2021, 16:24:35 pm » |
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I'm surprised at the general low expectations for this season - for me with a good start an average but organised L2 side can finish in the top 3 - as previously posted the top sides in L1 are much much better - looking at today's performance I think we can get better and CC influence will ensure we don't ship that many goals - always living in hope I think we hcan finish in the top 3 and anything less than a top 7 will be a disappointment for me.
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Shoemender
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« Reply #29 on: August 08, 2021, 09:18:30 am » |
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Typical average Cobblers fans response in the survey; Happy to accept mediocrity.
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FezNTFC
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« Reply #30 on: August 08, 2021, 09:26:29 am » |
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We should always be aiming for promotion in League Two. If we don't get that this year I'll be content as long as I'm seeing some good signs that we're on the way to achieving it, in much the way we did in the second half of the Wilder mid-table season. A more pleasing style of play on the eye and some blooding of promising youth-team players would also be welcome.
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Deepcut Cobbler
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« Reply #31 on: August 08, 2021, 09:34:28 am » |
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We should always be aiming for promotion in League Two. If we don't get that this year I'll be content as long as I'm seeing some good signs that we're on the way to achieving it, in much the way we did in the second half of the Wilder mid-table season. A more pleasing style of play on the eye and some blooding of promising youth-team players would also be welcome.
Agreed, promotion is great but we need to be going up in a way that means we will be sustainable in League One. If that means a season of consolidated improvement so be it, but I believe that most of us are fed up with the continual yo-yoing?
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“They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.” Laurence Binyon
The Hotelend Grand National Sweepstake Champion 2009
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Manwork04
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« Reply #32 on: August 08, 2021, 09:41:47 am » |
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I'm surprised at the general low expectations for this season - for me with a good start an average but organised L2 side can finish in the top 3 - as previously posted the top sides in L1 are much much better - looking at today's performance I think we can get better and CC influence will ensure we don't ship that many goals - always living in hope I think we hcan finish in the top 3 and anything less than a top 7 will be a disappointment for me.
I agree, if Morecambe can get promoted then we can FFS. The overall attitude of our supporters accepting the mediocre is the reason why Thomas gets such an easy ride, the current state of the stadium is truly shocking, from broken windows to disgusting toilets.
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Rule Britannia
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Manwork04
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« Reply #33 on: August 08, 2021, 09:43:56 am » |
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Agreed, promotion is great but we need to be going up in a way that means we will be sustainable in League One. If that means a season of consolidated improvement so be it, but I believe that most of us are fed up with the continual yo-yoing?
What’s consolidation going to do? The gap between L1 and L2 is getting bigger and like it or not it’s down to having better players which is down to budget, we have to grow our revenue and that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
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Rule Britannia
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Winslow Lee
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« Reply #34 on: August 08, 2021, 09:49:40 am » |
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Typical average Cobblers fans response in the survey; Happy to accept mediocrity. I think its probably a more complicated question than it initially looks. As well as league position, there are a number of other less measurable factors like style of play, progress, potential growth and how well the manager works with the players. If it’s just a positional thing, then if we miss that target is it a good idea to then sack the manager and bring in a new one with a squad of players under contract that they didn’t choose?. I know it’s not scientific but for me it will be more about the feel I get from the season and the overall direction I feel the club is heading.
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Winslow Lee
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« Reply #35 on: August 08, 2021, 09:53:32 am » |
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What’s consolidation going to do? The gap between L1 and L2 is getting bigger and like it or not it’s down to having better players which is down to budget, we have to grow our revenue and that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
Tell Accrington that! the lowest budget in the league last year
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Shoemender
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« Reply #36 on: August 08, 2021, 09:59:14 am » |
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I think its probably a more complicated question than it initially looks. As well as league position, there are a number of other less measurable factors like style of play, progress, potential growth and how well the manager works with the players. If it’s just a positional thing, then if we miss that target is it a good idea to then sack the manager and bring in a new one with a squad of players under contract that they didn’t choose?. I know it’s not scientific but for me it will be more about the feel I get from the season and the overall direction I feel the club is heading.
Ah, but if we don’t get promoted this season or next and you ask the same question you’re probably going to get the same response......Mediocrity reigns.
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Winslow Lee
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« Reply #37 on: August 08, 2021, 10:18:09 am » |
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Ah, but if we don’t get promoted this season or next and you ask the same question you’re probably going to get the same response......Mediocrity reigns.
No because this season it’s a new squad in a new division, I’m probably prepared to cut Brady more slack. The year after you have a benchmark figure plus if he does fail all those players on 2 year deals are out of contract making it easier for a new manager.
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Larry
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« Reply #38 on: August 08, 2021, 10:19:44 am » |
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Tell Accrington that! the lowest budget in the league last year
Thee's always there odd exception but in all divisions it's generally the budget that determines the finished position. Man City will tell you that.
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Shoemender
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« Reply #39 on: August 08, 2021, 10:54:56 am » |
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No because this season it’s a new squad in a new division, I’m probably prepared to cut Brady more slack. The year after you have a benchmark figure plus if he does fail all those players on 2 year deals are out of contract making it easier for a new manager.
Not criticising Brady or cutting him any less slack, just saying that generally, a lot of Cobblers fans seem happy to accept mediocrity.
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