Momentum and optimism... gone? (8 Viewers)

[Sky Blue Harry H]

Reminds me of a true story - we always take our dog out to the parks in Leamington and we have great fun pointing at squirrels and saying "Maddox Squirrel Squirrel!!" he is a Greyhound and never ever catches them as he generally growls right from the off and this announces his arrival thus the Squirrel scarpers up the tree and looks down thinking "Twat Dog".
We were walking through the (un-named) park last Summer on a Sunday and as we approached the kiddies area with roundabouts and swings we did our usual "Maddox Squirrel Squirrel" off he went at top speed but this time didn't growl at all - the Squirrel looked left then right then legged it to the nearest tree right in the middle of the play area.
For some reason only known to the Squirrel it got to the sanctuary of the tree then changed its mind and ran back at speed toward the dog!
All this is being watched by parents (all with arms folded) and kids (with mouths open) and in a split second our dog has this squirrel in its mouth and tosses it into the air like a Great White Shark attacking a Seal.
We are now in panic mode and retrieve the dog and my wife picks up the stunned (almost dead) squirrel and in a comedy moment offers the Squirrel to a tree saying "its ok its ok just stunned that's all" and it just slides down to the ground.
We now refer to this moment as Squirrel-Gate.
We don't say "Squirrel Squirrel" when we walk the dog any more!

Didn't know whether to laugh or cry - should be made into a film 'Maddox and the Squishedmunk'

 

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[Sky Blue Harry H]

Can we also start a new thread called ''Correct spelling of players - starting with A for Andreu" (can't spell Alasagne')

 

[Hobo]

I did have the embarrassment of my Staffie and my Patterdale arguing over who caught the squirrel first on the Memorial Park golf course. It turned into a tug of war right next to the main path on a busy Sunday afternoon. Both dogs had one eye on me and kept wheeling away from me so I couldn't get within 6' of them to stop their fun.

 

[Nonleagueherewecome]

He got a dead leg didn't he?

What injuries has he had, aside from not being able to get a game at Norwich?

What injuries has Jones had other than his ACL? In his first full season (not when he signed in the March or whenever) he played in 34 games.

Jones had a lot of knocks towards the end of the season we signed him, I think he had a pull that he kept re-doing? I think Mowbray said he'd had trouble with it before we signed him. Did worry me at the time as for ages he was carrying it and not 100% when playing. It was only really the start of last season that we saw him fully fit I think!

 

[Nonleagueherewecome]

So true.

Always makes me chuckle when my dog chases a squirrel until it runs up a tree, the dog then left just staring at the tree at the first point of squirrel contact with it, as if the squirrel has disappeared INTO the tree the second it has touched it.

I always point and try to show her, but she just focuses on that one point of contact.

Thought it was just a Shaun of the Dead ref-I think your dog might be poorly, the ones chasing squirrels in the Pump Room Garden's in Leam have no problem looking up! They tend to stand there with their front legs on the trunk gazing up, as if the squirrel is going to "decide to come down any moment", until their exasperated owners shout at them to "come on!". Never once seen one get close to catching one...

 

[better days]

Jones had a lot of knocks towards the end of the season we signed him, I think he had a pull that he kept re-doing? I think Mowbray said he'd had trouble with it before we signed him. Did worry me at the time as for ages he was carrying it and not 100% when playing. It was only really the start of last season that we saw him fully fit I think!

From memory that was the growing pain type of thing that Steven Gerrard had when he first broke through at Liverpool

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

There has been a lot of arguing here, but surely all of you can see the problem some are trying to give coverage to?

Yes, on the whole our squad is decent. We do lack a goal threat though and it is a massive problem. Our top goalscorer has been sold and at present we have no replacement. I honestly worry at some people's ability to ignore this. We've just been promoted and even though our squad on the whole is good, it means nothing if we cannot score.

Having played in teams who have been missing their best player, or has had their top striker missing at times, it gives a negative psychological impact for sure. The loss of McNulty will have left a hole with the squad. How can our strike force be allowed to get weaker in a higher division? Any momentum we have gained getting back here will be lost if we do not give this season a good go.

Robins needs to replace McNulty otherwise some of you are in for a shock this season.

 

[higgs]

If we had of kept mcnulty I would have been very optimistic as we had a settled side who knew how each other played it looked good in the playoffs but he is a massive loss to us now so not too optimistic at the moment mid to bottom half of table

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[fernandopartridge]

There has been a lot of arguing here, but surely all of you can see the problem some are trying to give coverage to?

Yes, on the whole our squad is decent. We do lack a goal threat though and it is a massive problem. Our top goalscorer has been sold and at present we have no replacement. I honestly worry at some people's ability to ignore this. We've just been promoted and even though our squad on the whole is good, it means nothing if we cannot score.

Having played in teams who have been missing their best player, or has had their top striker missing at times, it gives a negative psychological impact for sure. The loss of McNulty will have left a hole with the squad. How can our strike force be allowed to get weaker in a higher division? Any momentum we have gained getting back here will be lost if we do not give this season a good go.

Robins needs to replace McNulty otherwise some of you are in for a shock this season.

Nobody has said he doesn't need to replace McNulty. He's clearly planning on doing so

 

[fernandopartridge]

There has been a lot of arguing here, but surely all of you can see the problem some are trying to give coverage to?

Yes, on the whole our squad is decent. We do lack a goal threat though and it is a massive problem. Our top goalscorer has been sold and at present we have no replacement. I honestly worry at some people's ability to ignore this. We've just been promoted and even though our squad on the whole is good, it means nothing if we cannot score.

Having played in teams who have been missing their best player, or has had their top striker missing at times, it gives a negative psychological impact for sure. The loss of McNulty will have left a hole with the squad. How can our strike force be allowed to get weaker in a higher division? Any momentum we have gained getting back here will be lost if we do not give this season a good go.

Robins needs to replace McNulty otherwise some of you are in for a shock this season.

Nobody has said he doesn't need to replace McNulty. He's clearly planning on doing so

 

[sylus]

according to CWR listening to it on the way home,that Robin's isn't worried about where the goals are going to come from, yeah i bet,i thought. sells McNulty at the first sniff of an offer weeks ago now and hasn't replaced him and he isn't worried,about the only one in Cov who isn't,well it's on your head son..go with it

 

[fernandopartridge]

according to CWR listening to it on the way home,that Robin's isn't worried about where the goals are going to come from, yeah i bet,i thought. sells McNulty at the first sniff of an offer weeks ago now and hasn't replaced him and he isn't worried,about the only one in Cov who isn't,well it's on your head son..go with it

He's going to come out and demoralise his players by saying he's worried about goals isn't he. Jesus wept

 

[Mucca Mad Boys]

If we had of kept mcnulty I would have been very optimistic as we had a settled side who knew how each other played it looked good in the playoffs but he is a massive loss to us now so not too optimistic at the moment mid to bottom half of table

McNulty was not guaranteed to have another storming season. There are players who have scored 20+ goals who haven’t been able to make the step up to L1. We wouldn’t be able to get away with relying on him to the extent we did last season in L1. It’s a big loss, but the fee we got for him was fair and if we gambled on keeping him and he was still unhappy and scored, say, 8-12 goals, his value would have plummeted.

For me, he’s not irreplaceable and if we replace him adequately, I’m still confident we’ll do well. Robins should be praised for not panicking in the search to replace McNulty.

I’ll start panicking on deadline day if we haven’t signed at least 1 of the 3 players Robins wants.

 

[COVKIDSNEVERQUIT]

As corporal Jones would say.....
Don't panic, don't panic!

Or as private Frazer would say, Wur Doomed, Wur Doomed I say.

Sorry couldn't resist.

 

[GaryJones]

according to CWR listening to it on the way home,that Robin's isn't worried about where the goals are going to come from, yeah i bet,i thought. sells McNulty at the first sniff of an offer weeks ago now and hasn't replaced him and he isn't worried,about the only one in Cov who isn't,well it's on your head son..go with it

Robins will be at home in his kitchen tomorrow and when he turns his tap to make a glass of squash no water will come out " What the fuck" says Mark - I know its hot and the hose pipe ban is in place but I didnt think I would run out of water!
That my Selling McNulty and not replacing him analogy!

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

Nobody has said he doesn't need to replace McNulty. He's clearly planning on doing so

Nobody has said he doesn't need to replace McNulty. He's clearly planning on doing so

Absolutely, It's just a bit worrying that he's gone a bit Mowbray about this one.

 

[Gint11]

After the buzz from last season and the short break, I was hoping the momentum from Wembley would carry forward but due to lack of players coming in despite the Maddison and McNulty money it seems many fans are pissed off with sisu again. If we start slowly I can see the sisu out chants starting again.

I don’t know what planet you’re on but it’s not earth. Shine a fucking light.


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[sylus]

Odd,that all the transfer activity was more or less straight after the season had finished,yeah, cashing in on the Wembley feel good factor and promotion,and with the added season tickets sales everything seemed great,but i cannot help but wonder what if, what if we never got promoted,or McNulty never scored 28 goals last seasonined in L2. Sisu would still of received a nice little earner from the Maddison deal,we still would of been playing this season at the Ricoh and our running costs would of been covered.

How much of the Mcnulty money does Robin's have, does anyone know,i'm betting he has jack sh'it, and all the money is sitting in joy seppala bank account along with the Maddison money, still there is time before the season starts,but with every day passing and not a single word or sniff of a striker coming our way, the alarms bells are ringing, over the top you may say, maybe, but maybe not too. Maybe Robin's is hoping Ponticelli will come good, i'm sure he,will along with the rest of them,but he isn't a 28 goal man nor are the others,you know it,we all know it. Time is now, and now is the time to get in our new striker and stop this BS, after all it's all on MR head..

 

[Nick]

Odd,that all the transfer activity was more or less straight after the season had finished,yeah, cashing in on the Wembley feel good factor and promotion,and with the added season tickets sales everything seemed great,but i cannot help but wonder what if, what if we never got promoted,or McNulty never scored 28 goals last seasonined in L2. Sisu would still of received a nice little earner from the Maddison deal,we still would of been playing this season at the Ricoh and our running costs would of been covered.

How much of the Mcnulty money does Robin's have, does anyone know,i'm betting he has jack sh'it, and all the money is sitting in joy seppala bank account along with the Maddison money, still there is time before the season starts,but with every day passing and not a single word or sniff of a striker coming our way, the alarms bells are ringing, over the top you may say, maybe, but maybe not too. Maybe Robin's is hoping Ponticelli will come good, i'm sure he,will along with the rest of them,but he isn't a 28 goal man nor are the others,you know it,we all know it. Time is now, and now is the time to get in our new striker and stop this BS, after all it's all on MR head..

Good to see you back in force.

 

[clint van damme]

Absolutely, It's just a bit worrying that he's gone a bit Mowbray about this one.

but we don't know he has.
Maybe he thought he'd done enough to persuade McNulty to stay but out of the blue McNulty decided the Reading offer was too good to turn down.

The transfer business, in my opinion, has been conducted in a much more professional manner than in previous seasons but we've hit a blip with the McNulty/Chaplin saga.

I don't think people would be getting so worked up about it if it was a full back we were short of but understandably a striker gives us more cause for concern.

I'm confident Robins will bring in a decent striker before the window shuts.

 

[runner]

The McNulty sale and subsequent lack of replacement (so far) has definitely taken the wind out of my sails. But I appreciate that our hands were tied.

I'm also petrified of us playing 3 at the back for reasons I've mentioned previously. So I'm not as optimistic as I was 4 weeks ago.

Still, I have faith in Robins to get us ready in time.

This is my main issue ... the incoming cash from Maddison and McNulty and subsequent lack of replacment (so far) as the above says ... is my concern ... that's why I think people are feeling a little less positive and whilst only friendlies ... the lack of scoring states the obvious, we need McNulty's replacement, of a decent calibre, pre the start of the season and then people will be more positive .... I hope !!! Overall, still excited that the new season is nearly upon us ... but Chaplin (or an other) would be so welcome any minute soon, let alone day ...

 

[covmark]

Odd,that all the transfer activity was more or less straight after the season had finished,yeah, cashing in on the Wembley feel good factor and promotion,and with the added season tickets sales everything seemed great,but i cannot help but wonder what if, what if we never got promoted,or McNulty never scored 28 goals last seasonined in L2. Sisu would still of received a nice little earner from the Maddison deal,we still would of been playing this season at the Ricoh and our running costs would of been covered.

How much of the Mcnulty money does Robin's have, does anyone know,i'm betting he has jack sh'it, and all the money is sitting in joy seppala bank account along with the Maddison money, still there is time before the season starts,but with every day passing and not a single word or sniff of a striker coming our way, the alarms bells are ringing, over the top you may say, maybe, but maybe not too. Maybe Robin's is hoping Ponticelli will come good, i'm sure he,will along with the rest of them,but he isn't a 28 goal man nor are the others,you know it,we all know it. Time is now, and now is the time to get in our new striker and stop this BS, after all it's all on MR head..

Drivel

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[ccfcway]

Can we also start a new thread called ''Correct spelling of players - starting with A for Andreu" (can't spell Alasagne')

B is for Bigirimana

 

[MatthewWallis]

B is for Bigirimana

C is for..... Chaplin

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

but we don't know he has.
Maybe he thought he'd done enough to persuade McNulty to stay but out of the blue McNulty decided the Reading offer was too good to turn down.

The transfer business, in my opinion, has been conducted in a much more professional manner than in previous seasons but we've hit a blip with the McNulty/Chaplin saga.

I don't think people would be getting so worked up about it if it was a full back we were short of but understandably a striker gives us more cause for concern.

I'm confident Robins will bring in a decent striker before the window shuts.

I think it's safe to say it hasn't gone quite the way Robins has wanted, but if he has spent 3 weeks chasing Chaplin then it does smack of Mowbray. I thought McNulty would stay but as soon as he went that area had to have been made a priority. This was some time ago, and with the season starting in about 9 days it does worry me that we are where we are.

I fully back Robins, but I am getting a bit nervous now. When we initially sold McNulty I was relativity relaxed, but not anymore.

 

[robbiekeane]

The multiple people are welcome to their 'opinion'.
Look back at the discussions from previous years and you will find we always have a discussion on leaving it too late. 'Always' means previous years not every player.
I can only give an opinion at this moment of time. If people are attending pre season matches I value there opinion but I'm not.

Squirm squirm squirm

 

[Malaka]

I still think we will be challenging for promotion this season. I would rather Robins wait for the right people than recruit for the sake of it.

 

[Hobo]

How could we keep McNulty?
A quality player.
A chance to play in Championship.
1.2 m offer of which he is entitled to a percentage.
His monthly wage at Lge 2 becomes at least a weekly wage if not more at Reading.
His opportunity to progress his career.

Sorry, but if we had kept him to his contract, we would have one unmotivated player and his value would have diminished.

Fans should be sympathizing with Mark Robins task in finding a suitable replacement; rather than trying to create no win situations.

Chaplin's situation is different, it is a sideways move hoping to get regular first team football.

At the moment he is in the driving seat at Portsmouth where he is happy...pending new faces coming in.

 

[skybluebeduff]

“We have our specific targets in mind and we just have to wait and see if they fall into place.

“If not then I have got others I might pursue afterwards, but it’s all part of that process.”


So have some faith in Robins, we are where we are because of him!

 

[itsabuzzard]

Can we also start a new thread called ''Correct spelling of players - starting with A for Andreu" (can't spell Alasagne')

I'm with you H.

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[GaryJones]

How could we keep McNulty?
A quality player.
A chance to play in Championship.
1.2 m offer of which he is entitled to a percentage.
His monthly wage at Lge 2 becomes at least a weekly wage if not more at Reading.
His opportunity to progress his career.

Sorry, but if we had kept him to his contract, we would have one unmotivated player and his value would have diminished.

Fans should be sympathizing with Mark Robins task in finding a suitable replacement; rather than trying to create no win situations.

Chaplin's situation is different, it is a sideways move hoping to get regular first team football.

At the moment he is in the driving seat at Portsmouth where he is happy...pending new faces coming in.

I kind of agree with this point of view - however - why couldn't we adopt the same stance as Portsmouth have?
"No problem Mr Marc McNultys agent - your client can have his move as soon as we have sorted a replacement".
Perhaps we are not quite as sharp as Jackett?

 

[fernandopartridge]

I kind of agree with this point of view - however - why couldn't we adopt the same stance as Portsmouth have?
"No problem Mr Marc McNultys agent - your client can have his move as soon as we have sorted a replacement".
Perhaps we are not quite as sharp as Jackett?

Or it's a completely different situation. Has Chaplin asked to leave? I don't think he has.

 

[GaryJones]

But surely its irrelevant if the player has asked for a move or not?
We wouldn't have denied the move but we would look after the interests of the club by lining up a replacement first.
Seems sensible to me - hats off to Portsmouth.
Perhaps we saw the money and thought "fuck it we will sort this problem out later".
We might sort out a replacement for McNulty in the end I'm sure but I thought we might be a bit sharper than this TBH.

 

[fernandopartridge]

But surely its irrelevant if the player has asked for a move or not?
We wouldn't have denied the move but we would look after the interests of the club by lining up a replacement first.
Seems sensible to me - hats off to Portsmouth.
Perhaps we saw the money and thought "fuck it we will sort this problem out later".
We might sort out a replacement for McNulty in the end I'm sure but I thought we might be a bit sharper than this TBH.

Even if we had have held on to McNulty for a while longer, it still wouldn't mean his replacement would be available to us. So we'd have an unhappy player who would want to leave by this week which would put the club in the same position as it is now and arguably put them in a commercially disadvantageous position when trying to negotiate a fee with Reading.

 

[The Lurker]

out of the players we’ve signed where have we strengthened? most signings are for the development squad. Apart from sterling, Ogogo and junior brown most wont feature. If we miss out on Chaplin which is looking more likely by the day then we could end up with scraps for a striker which is going to make or break our season.

The amount of money we’ve made from promotion, Wembley, Maddison and McNulty the transfer window for me has been disappointing so far

I got slated for this yet so far looks like I’m right.