You're in charge of the team. Now what?

[Tylluan]

There appears to be a bit of a split developing on here between those willing to give Xisco more time and those calling him (and DC) a clown. 

So let's play a game of Football Manager. 

DC has pushed the big red button after we've lost 4-0 to Leeds and brought you in. Trouble is he brought you in on September 2nd so the transfer window is closed, meaning you've only got who's at the club now (including youth players) to work with. 

So what's your formation, tactics, and starting 11?

[KrolMong]

Current squad Ty?

I’m keeping it nice and simple.

Dawson

Palmer, Bernard, Ihiekwe, Johnson

Gassama, Byers, Diaby, Bannan

Windass, Smith

 

 

 

[Andyben]

Vasquez 

Delgado Ihiekwe Bernard James 

Momo

Gasama Byers Musaba

Windass Gregory 

 

 

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

Do you stick with the 3 5 2 formation ? It seems better suited 

The massive caveat is that we need wing backs for that to work.

And the more pertinent issue is that none of the strikers are good enough at this level

Dawson

Palmer

Iorfa

Diaby

Famewo

Johnson or James

Bannan

Vaulks (until Diaby is fit)

Byers 

Musaba

Windass 

 

[Gleadless Owl]

15 minutes ago, mkowlthesexynewversion said:

Do you stick with the 3 5 2 formation ? It seems better suited 

The massive caveat is that we need wing backs for that to work.

And the more pertinent issue is that none of the strikers are good enough at this level

Dawson

Palmer

Iorfa

Diaby

Famewo

Johnson or James

Bannan

Vaulks (until Diaby is fit)

Byers 

Musaba

Windass 

 

I'd be happy with that to be fair, but with Gregory in for Windass 

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

9 minutes ago, Gleadless Owl said:

I'd be happy with that to be fair, but with Gregory in for Windass 

Tbf you could throw any of them up there. 

Aside from the 10 - 15 minute spell where is actually clicked, then our best  attacking play seems to involve 50 yard Hollywood passes. Great but that needs to be an add on to playing thru the 3rds, to feet with pace in behind. 

Hence my choice, but no doubt we would not be able get them into the game and resort to lumping it. I don't rate Smith at this level, but tbf he had a thankless task with the lack of service 

[TheExile]

Get the spine of the team back to what it was and build around that with the new players adding the energy in the attacking positions and try and get some belief into players that got 96 points last season. We weren’t great and it was an old team but the club has lost its way over night, not least because of the rip it up and start again approach. I think we have needed to bring in younger players so I am all for that and I think the likes of mussaba and Gassama and even from what we saw of Phuti if anything adding a bit of pace out wide would help in some situations where we have lacked a long time.

i don’t think this is about formations but it’s about a manager that clicks with a team and gets them understanding and believing they are good enough. I think Xisco might have perplexed and lost a few early doors and bigged up this league so much it’s taken the aggression out of them.

I see a lot of parallels with the Dave Jones scenario where he’d often play really deep and say no one could do better with all the constraints then his understudy came in and proved that to be completely wrong against all odds. All about the right man for the right team. I’d feel very sorry for one or two of the new signings if there was a change but it feels very wrong and forced at the club currently. It’s not easy settling new players in but it seems more than that given most of them aren’t even playing.

Edited August 26, 2023 by TheExile

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

The switch up a league is always a learning curve. But we are doing that whilst the squad itself is going through a huge transition in head coach, the players and apparent style. So itself a learning curve.

Not quite the Jos era yet, but there are similarities, discarding certain players, throwing new players in and then chopping n changing. 

Then you have to entrench the team on keeping clean sheets and trying to nick games. So pretty grim to watch.

I think across the 4 games played in the league there is probably only a cumulative 45 minutes we have looked on top in games 

 

[Andyben]

I think across the 4 games played in the league there is probably only a cumulative 45 minutes we have looked on top in games 

 

Thing is mate, could say that about most of last season too.

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

6 minutes ago, Andyben said:

I think across the 4 games played in the league there is probably only a cumulative 45 minutes we have looked on top in games 

 

Thing is mate, could say that about most of last season too.

As I have commented previously that side last year gained promotion but was not a pool of players to take us much further. 

That lack of domination / swagger was absent for sure. 

So my criticism is that we failed to plan to have a nucleus of a squad to get us promoted and move forward, but exacerbated by changing the manager at the last minute, losing the continuity and positivity that (hypothetically) would have eased the transition and integration of new players that was definitely needed.

The gamble to do this transition in full view is huge because the mental impact on the players of losing is an added factor. And as we are seeing it creates angst in the fanbase, which potentially creates a vicious circle 

[Andyben]

Yyp, agreed, but it's narrow margins @Neville Facking Bartos

Windass missed two chances that he should have scored at 0-0 and 1-1.

Either if those go in and  it's a wn for us.

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by Andyben

[EBRA]

I’d play the team that started today with James starting over Delgado. 

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

5 minutes ago, Andyben said:

Yyp, agreed, but it's narrow margins @Neville Facking Bartos

Windass missed two chances that he should have scored at 0-0 and 1-1.

Either if those go in and  it's a wn for us.

 

The Championship is always narrow margins, they missed a couple of headers in the 6 yard box, a one on one at 1 up that would have finished us off 

If the manner of our general play was better, there was a semblance that the head coach had consistent team selections and style then you can accept that some days you will fall short 

[Gleadless Owl]

As much as I wasn't Moore's biggest fan, had we played the last 4 league games with his 3-5-2 and most of last years starting XI would we be better off pointwise? I think probably, but long term it would still have been a relegation battle. Ripping it up and starting again wasn't the answer. Just hope today's formation and lineup was a realisation for Xisco despite the result 

[Otto_Man]

We don't have anyone good enough to play right back or right wing back IMO so I'm going 3-4-3

Vazquez

Iorfa Icky Famewo

Delgado Byers Diaby Neymarv

Wilkes Gregory Windass

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

9 hours ago, Otto_Man said:

We don't have anyone good enough to play right back or right wing back IMO so I'm going 3-4-3

Vazquez

Iorfa Icky Famewo

Delgado Byers Diaby Neymarv

Wilkes Gregory Windass

I would argue that for the left side as well. 

 

[Andyben]

14 hours ago, Andyben said:

Vasquez 

 Cameron (R)  Ihiekwe Bernard Bertrand  

Momo Longstaff (M)

Gasama Windass Musaba

Morelos 

 

 

...after a disappointing 0-0 draw, I dip into the unattached players market and go shit or bust for the playoffs, and piss the league 

Reggie Cameron and Ryan Bertrand come in at full back. Matty Longstaff for the injured George Byers and th deal to sign Morelos finally concludes

Edited August 27, 2023 by Andyben

[Bellsview]

14 hours ago, Tylluan said:

There appears to be a bit of a split developing on here between those willing to give Xisco more time and those calling him (and DC) a clown. 

So let's play a game of Football Manager. 

DC has pushed the big red button after we've lost 4-0 to Leeds and brought you in. Trouble is he brought you in on September 2nd so the transfer window is closed, meaning you've only got who's at the club now (including youth players) to work with. 

So what's your formation, tactics, and starting 11?

In all honesty I wouldn’t know where to start.

I think I’d have to gamble on using mostly players from last season’s squad initially, whose strengths I’m aware of, until I was confident in the abilities of those brought in during the closed season. Then I’d do my best to apply a team selection, formation and strategy that was consistent and which the players were best suited to, resisting the urge to chop and change every other game.

One thing I would do immediately though is play Dawson in goal. Yet again having a keeper as number 1 who we don’t “own” is just asking for trouble later down the line, when we inevitably lose him.

My long term vision, assuming I wasn’t sacked before being able to apply it, and which I’d try to sell to DC, would be to build a squad of players which I could add to and rely on for several seasons, not one I had to dismantle and totally overhaul every year. I’d also want to have a look at our youth setup and possibly make changes there, given how few players we actually bring through to the first team.

I doubt I’d still be in a job by Christmas though, given what I know about football! 😂

And I’d also appoint Ty as my Assistant Manager. 😊

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

Given I have been critical the one greenshoot is that the younger age groups do show some signs of promise. But if you do find a gem they will be prised away of course, but that is a football issue not ours. 

But that can only work as part of some club wide plan and the short termism that afflicts the 1st team is always going to compromise its effectiveness. 

They have to be integrated gradually but how can that happen if there is constant chop n change 

[Andyben]

15 hours ago, Neville Facking Bartos said:

I didn’t take the job, like lots of other professionals I couldn’t bring myself to work for such a prick

Who like?

[Skamp]

Meanwhile on Facebook

[Supercockle]

Arseholes. Take it down would be my suggestion. 

[Tylluan]

9 hours ago, Andyben said:

Matty Longstaff for the injured George Byers 

That might have been a decent shout on a short term, prove yourself, contract but he's still recovering from anterior cruciate ligament damage. Newcastle are still paying for his treatment. 

[Beaconowl]

1 hour ago, Skamp said:

Meanwhile on Facebook

Out of order. 😠

[Tylluan]

1 hour ago, Skamp said:

Meanwhile on Facebook

And that sums up the deluded side of our fanbase. The Rev followers, the football heaven callers who haven't been to the game, the ones who think they can run the club better cos they bought a shirt. The same people who scabbed a ticket for Wembley and enjoyed every second of it. 

But others will buy into this rhetoric and that's what worries me. 

There are dissenters on here but the argument is reasoned as well as passionate. OwlsOnline is truly becoming an island of reasoned debate amongst the sea of social media 'me me me' outrage. 

But with the fickleness of these supporters it'll all go quiet if we gub Leeds. 

[Andyben]

48 minutes ago, Tylluan said:

That might have been a decent shout on a short term, prove yourself, contract but he's still recovering from anterior cruciate ligament damage. Newcastle are still paying for his treatment. 

Sounds perfect for us 

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

The Facebook page thing is out of order. I may have criticisms of DC but I hopefully never take it to a personal level and I am sure I would be rightly castigated if I did.

Part of this is that false information, particularly the financial side of life, constantly gets misunderstood or misrepresented on Stalk in particular. 

And with being banned then there are very few people on there challenging these assertions. These assertions then spread on Facebook and other social media.

I don't frequent any FB groups but my step son does, and he will say something to me that I say it's total bollocks.

Such misnomers being

He sold the stadium to his wife - not according to Companies House if you follow the chain of ownership

We have to pay 2.5m rent to him - no its to Sheffield 3 and it offsets the inter company loan

We owe 19m, he has loaned money against the stadium. - that I have a ? against as there are 3 x 6m legal charges outstanding on Sheffield 3, which acts as a guarantor to a rolling loan facility in Swfc. The evidence suggests its just 6m and these older charges are not marked as satisfied

He is using ticket price money and paying back his loan account - he is in SWFC but I suspect its simply a game of financial musical chairs.

It's the sort of misunderstanding I accept and brush off - people are not trained in this - but not when it becomes "fact" and used as a stick to beat DC with 

Edited August 27, 2023 by mkowlthesexynewversion

[Teddy Nickelarse]

42 minutes ago, Tylluan said:

And that sums up the deluded side of our fanbase. The Rev followers, the football heaven callers who haven't been to the game, the ones who think they can run the club better cos they bought a shirt. The same people who scabbed a ticket for Wembley and enjoyed every second of it. 

But others will buy into this rhetoric and that's what worries me. 

There are dissenters on here but the argument is reasoned as well as passionate. OwlsOnline is truly becoming an island of reasoned debate amongst the sea of social media 'me me me' outrage. 

But with the fickleness of these supporters it'll all go quiet if we gub Leeds. 

👍Well said.

[Winco]

5 minutes ago, mkowlthesexynewversion said:

The Facebook page thing is out of order. I may have criticisms of DC but I hopefully never take it to a personal level and I am sure I would be rightly castigated if I did.

Part of this is that false information, particularly the financial side of life, constantly gets misunderstood or misrepresented on Stalk in particular. 

And with being banned then there are very few people on there challenging these assertions. These assertions then spread on Facebook and other social media.

I don't frequent any FB groups but my step son does, and he will say something to me that I say it's total bollocks.

Such misnomers being

He sold the stadium to his wife - not according to Companies House if you follow the chain of ownership

We have to pay 2.5m rent to him - no its to Sheffield 3 and it offsets the inter company loan

We owe 19m, he has loaned money against the stadium. - that I have a ? against as there are 3 x 6m legal charges outstanding on Sheffield 3, which acts as a guarantor to a rolling loan facility in Swfc. The evidence suggests its just 6m and these older charges are not marked as satisfied

He is using ticket price money and paying back his loan account - he is in SWFC but I suspect its simply a game of financial musical chairs.

It's the sort of misunderstanding I accept and brush off - people are not trained in this - but not when it becomes "fact" and used as a stick to beat DC with 

I’ll be honest I don’t get half of that but what I do get is DC has to be creative in getting money into the club I just don’t get these bellends that think just cause it was £20 cheaper 10 years ago that he’s having our pants down.
But I would imagine DC won’t give a shit about some pleb on Facebook. Probably mates with Bartos.

 

[Teddy Nickelarse]

7 minutes ago, mkowlthesexynewversion said:

The Facebook page thing is out of order. I may have criticisms of DC but I hopefully never take it to a personal level and I am sure I would be rightly castigated if I did.

.................

Yes there are valid criticisms but some of the made up or distorted guff gobbled up by the gullible or agenda driven and converted into rabid abuse in some quarters is pretty putrid.

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

25 minutes ago, Winco said:

I’ll be honest I don’t get half of that but what I do get is DC has to be creative in getting money into the club I just don’t get these bellends that think just cause it was £20 cheaper 10 years ago that he’s having our pants down.
But I would imagine DC won’t give a shit about some pleb on Facebook. Probably mates with Bartos.

 

Sorta my point, you accept me talking about finance is the same as if you talked to me about car engines. I wouldn't have a frigging clue truth be told. 

But half the people spouting on Stalk know fuck all, but it permeates as the truth thru the fan base 

[Tank_Owl2,0]

It’s a good challenge Ty, one I wouldn’t dare to try and take on. All us amateur football coaches don’t have the first idea of what it takes to run a professional football team and club.

 

Assuming I had a fully fit squad to pick I think I’d try and build on the sand that the current manager has laid down and continue to try and move towards making a 442/ 433 work.

Id stick with Vasquez unless he completely looses his confidence a) bc he is better with his distribution and b) appears more comfortable on the ball and c) I think it helps if we have someone like that to play a progressive style of football.

The centre back situation would need sorting and I want to try and keep a pair that will work for any opposition. Bambo has definitely shown he’s physical but he’s just not clever enough for the league without an organiser like a Loovens next to him. In that sens I think we are lacking. Which actually might be a small case for Dawson bc I feel he may have grown since we were last in the Championship.

Without that clever leader at the back I’d go a mix of pace and experience.

So my 11 would be.

Vasquez

Iorfa Icky (or Bernard) Famewo James

Momo

Byers. Bannan

Windass

Gregory Musaba

Id probably tinker with James and Famewo at Left Back and Bernard and Icky at CBS to see how they work. IF we are still in the League Cup I’d try out the options.

Id also try Gregory and Musaba with the latter being the legs for Gregory. My other option is playing Windass alongside Gregory, Bannan behind them and Delgado alongside Byers.

Its also time to ship out the players surplus.

 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Tank_Owl2,0

[Gleadless Owl]

4 hours ago, Winco said:

I’ll be honest I don’t get half of that but what I do get is DC has to be creative in getting money into the club I just don’t get these bellends that think just cause it was £20 cheaper 10 years ago that he’s having our pants down.
But I would imagine DC won’t give a shit about some pleb on Facebook. Probably mates with Bartos.

 

There's being creative and there's taking the piss. My seat on the North was 485 quid to renew in January (which I did) and the same seat was 735 quid just before the start of the season. £735 for a Championship relegation battle, really? 

Another minor point. It was £4 a pint last season. It went up to £4.50 March/April time and is now a fiver. Personally I'm not bothered, but people who sit near me will start drinking somewhere instead of the ground where there's a better choice for the price 

[Tylluan]

7 hours ago, Gleadless Owl said:

Another minor point. It was £4 a pint last season. It went up to £4.50 March/April time and is now a fiver. Personally I'm not bothered, but people who sit near me will start drinking somewhere instead of the ground where there's a better choice for the price 

That's a good point. Paying for your seat and buying from the club shop are enclosed commodities, you can't get them anywhere else. But if you're trying to generate revenue through the fan zone and other hospitality then you're up against at least 10 other places so it's stupid not to be competitive 

[Teddy Nickelarse]

My Wednesday pale ale in the Tap is still £4.50 which I don't  think is bad value for a sports stadium. 

[Chelters]

Someone was complaining on social media about paying £6.50 for a pint of Madri in the Tap. My immediate thought is that anyone who goes into a place serving great ale and orders a fake Spanish lager deserves to pay over the odds for it. 

[Winco]

3 minutes ago, Chelters said:

Someone was complaining on social media about paying £6.50 for a pint of Madri in the Tap. My immediate thought is that anyone who goes into a place serving great ale and orders a fake Spanish lager deserves to pay over the odds for it. 

Madri is shite.

I generally go to the pheasant and walk down. I never bother with the beer in the ground. 
font like it’s totally cashless now ethier so i literally spend fuck all In the ground. Not that I’m a tight **** but I just wanna drag the teenage mongs that serve you over the fucking counter. As soon as Wednesday start having automatic pint servers like in Wembley I’ll not buy fuck all.

rant over.

[TheExile]

13 hours ago, mkowlthesexynewversion said:

Sorta my point, you accept me talking about finance is the same as if you talked to me about car engines. I wouldn't have a frigging clue truth be told. 

But half the people spouting on Stalk know fuck all, but it permeates as the truth thru the fan base 

The issue with it is that people will want DC out, which I can understand given the last few years, but to really know whether that is good or bad you need to know what the alternative is given that he’s keeping the club solvent and covering losses. It could easily get much worse if someone unsuitable financially got hold of the club and the EFL tests are about as useful as a chocolate fire guard.

[Andyben]

The alternative is Bury.

Local chancer (s). Employ themselves on large salris, Can't afford running costs, load up club with debt from sub-prime lenders at extortionate rates, administration. Closure.

[TheExile]

13 minutes ago, Andyben said:

The alternative is Bury.

Local chancer (s). Employ themselves on large salris, Can't afford running costs, load up club with debt from sub-prime lenders at extortionate rates, administration. Closure.

That’s one potential alternative in the worst case. But there do seem to be more of those types about now than bonfide owners mainly because P&S stops them doing what they want to.

[Otto_Man]

41 minutes ago, TheExile said:

That’s one potential alternative in the worst case. But there do seem to be more of those types about now than bonfide owners mainly because P&S stops them doing what they want to.

At the minute that's the only alternative.

Ironically I never recall our fanbase being so vocal over ownership when the likes of Strafford were taking us to the steps of the High Court.

[Winco]

1 minute ago, Otto_Man said:

At the minute that's the only alternative.

Ironically I never recall our fanbase being so vocal over ownership when the likes of Strafford were taking us to the steps of the High Court.

Yeah Geoff still looked a complete twat in full kit and pink boots!

[TheExile]

5 minutes ago, Otto_Man said:

At the minute that's the only alternative.

Ironically I never recall our fanbase being so vocal over ownership when the likes of Strafford were taking us to the steps of the High Court.

We don’t really know that but I think for every 5 that showed an interest you’d probably have 3/4 who were a danger of that, as seen with derby when they were available for a pittance. Jury out on the birmingham owners. 

[BraddersTim]

14 hours ago, Gleadless Owl said:

There's being creative and there's taking the piss. My seat on the North was 485 quid to renew in January (which I did) and the same seat was 735 quid just before the start of the season. £735 for a Championship relegation battle, really? 

Another minor point. It was £4 a pint last season. It went up to £4.50 March/April time and is now a fiver. Personally I'm not bothered, but people who sit near me will start drinking somewhere instead of the ground where there's a better choice for the price 

That's just beer prices going up though, not something that DC is orchestrating.  My mate works for Carlsberg and they've gone out twice so far this year with increases to the pubs, the first time per barrel averaged at just under 50p per pint and right now they're going out with another 40p.  I do take your point about better places to drink for the price but it's not really the clubs fault that beer prices are going up.

[Owling_Wolf]

6 hours ago, Teddy Nickelarse said:

My Wednesday pale ale in the Tap is still £4.50 which I don't  think is bad value for a sports stadium. 

And it's decent.

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

4 hours ago, Otto_Man said:

At the minute that's the only alternative.

Ironically I never recall our fanbase being so vocal over ownership when the likes of Strafford were taking us to the steps of the High Court.

Interesting one, time possibly fades the memory and perhaps there is more social media outreach these days to share stuff.

Difficult for me to judge as I was pretty involved with the fan shizz, so it felt full on. 

I am not sure B road Bob would have grasped owt anyway

[Hirstys 12th Pint]

54 minutes ago, mkowlthesexynewversion said:

Interesting one, time possibly fades the memory and perhaps there is more social media outreach these days to share stuff.

Difficult for me to judge as I was pretty involved with the fan shizz, so it felt full on. 

I am not sure B road Bob would have grasped owt anyway

There is way more social media presence now.

Also I think particularly since Covid people are hell of a lot more argumentative.

[mkowlthesexynewversion]

25 minutes ago, Hirstys 12th Pint said:

There is way more social media presence now.

Also I think particularly since Covid people are hell of a lot more argumentative.

No they're not 😁

[Hirstys 12th Pint]

4 minutes ago, mkowlthesexynewversion said:

No they're not 😁

Ard yes they f@@@ing are.

[Otto_Man]

1 hour ago, Hirstys 12th Pint said:

There is way more social media presence now.

Also I think particularly since Covid people are hell of a lot more argumentative.

I don't think people are becoming more argumentative, it's more that because of the way algorithms on social media work they always think their views are correct, no matter what. As a society we're losing the ability to both debate and see another person's point of view and that's because everything some individuals see tells them that their views are 100% correct 100% of the time.