Thorn: Players believe they will bounce back (9 Viewers)

[DazzleTommyDazzle]

Of course he could have. Something along the lines of. We are eager to make new signings to complement the current squad, the players aren't back from their summer break but once they are back and assessed we'll be making a statement.

Not the drivel he comes out with. We'll give it 210%, baker got 13 goals in half a season so put him down for 40 next year and when we win the league we'll have a huge party.

Bit confused......

You said "wish he'd say nothing"

I said " don't think he can really say nothing"

You said " of course he could, he could say .........."

Did they change the meaning of nothing when I wasn't looking?

 

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[Astute]

Sheffers hasn't played as an out and out striker in a long time, and is approaching the wrong side of 30. Even if both were to be available for all 46 games, could you see them scoring 25-30 each?

So Sheffers won't be any good as a striker as he has been put on the wing for years now? He will get goals playing as a striker. He will get more goals than when playing as a winger. Nearly the wrong side of 30? So he is the right side of 30 His best position was as striker. We have had a lack of wingers so that is where he was chosen to play. His favourite position is up front though.

Will either or even both score 25-30 goals? When did we last have a single player score that many and you want us to suddenly get 2 players to score that many :thinking about:

 

[Moff]

Just remember most teams in Div3 are shite. We are not shite YET

Youre right..........we are a lot worse than that. Oh to be just a creditable shite again!

We are in for another struggle.

 

[skyblue1523]

we have'nt got a team fit for this league until this embargo is lifted.I heard that they were asking for fans to turn up for team photo as we have'nt got enough bodies to fill the bench.Come on sisu show some leadership or just fook off as i for one have had enough bullshit from the club.:jerkit::jerkit::jerkit::jerkit::jerkit::jerkit::jerkit:

 

[ashbyjan]

When are some people going to wake up and smell the coffee? We have the worst squad I can ever remember in my 45 years of following this club - the senior pros we have left are only here because no one else would want them - when a completely one dimensional journeyman like Platt jumps ship surely that should be ringing some alarm bells. We have half a dozen senior pros and the rest are kids. With no sign of the embargo being lifted anytime soon things will only get worse as the more talented kids are flogged off. Does anyone really expect Keogh and Cranie to be staying? There is absolutely no reason for them to stay here for a relegation battle in the third division. McPake will go if Hibs find more than a quid down the back of the sofa.

We are in deep deep doo doo and if we are relying on Bell, Baker, Deegan and one of the children to supply the bullets for our lethal strike force of Cody and Sheff the god help us. And obviously none of these will get injured for the whole season.

 

[Marty]

Bit confused......

You said "wish he'd say nothing"

I said " don't think he can really say nothing"

You said " of course he could, he could say .........."

Did they change the meaning of nothing when I wasn't looking?

I'm confused too.

"I don't think managers really have the option of saying nothing" - which suggests he has to say something as he doesn't have the option to say nothing.

I then state he could have said 'nothing' (as in giving away throw away comments), by spouting some bollocks that the players aren't back and he can't yet feel the mood in the camp etc etc.

By talking the way he has, hes set himself up for a fall.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

So Sheffers won't be any good as a striker as he has been put on the wing for years now? He will get goals playing as a striker. He will get more goals than when playing as a winger. Nearly the wrong side of 30? So he is the right side of 30 His best position was as striker. We have had a lack of wingers so that is where he was chosen to play. His favourite position is up front though.

Will either or even both score 25-30 goals? When did we last have a single player score that many and you want us to suddenly get 2 players to score that many :thinking about:

Think you're missing my point Astute-unless they both hit 25-30, you can be sure we won't score anywhere near enough goals to do well. We're terribly weak up front and I see no reason for optimism whilst that remains the case.

 

[dongonzalos]

Injuries will cost us dear as it did last season. We have 11 who can compete, by compete I mean stay up. We don't have a squad to stay up. There will be players on our bench we have never heard of before.

To me when the likes of Keogh's, Cranie's, Fatswood's, Clingan's, Platt's wages are freed up and maybe Mcpake and ROD. replace them with good league one players on less wages so we actually have a squad.

That way you reduce the wage bill and at least keep Coventry in this division

However the big question to me, for our owners is

Do they want to stay in this division, do they really care?

We all know, rightly or not, they are completely driven by finances.

So the big questions are, would the positive impact of success on attendances justify spending the money on wages. Which will not guarantee success and promotion

Or

What would the impact of a relegation battle and maybe relegation have on attendances, and would the money lost in attendances be more than the money saved, by not spending new wages and lower wages next season. (also consider the loss in TV money etc)

Personally I think they will spend just enough on wages to just stay in this division (in their heads) they will keep wages low as they can. They will not want to spend enough to have a crack at promotion as the increased wages will not guarantee the promotion.

 

[Astute]

Think you're missing my point Astute-unless they both hit 25-30, you can be sure we won't score anywhere near enough goals to do well. We're terribly weak up front and I see no reason for optimism whilst that remains the case.

No point was missed. A near miracle is wanted by yourself though. 2 players to score over 25 goals each?

How many teams in Div3 have players that can score over 25 goals? How many have players that can score from all over the pitch in the Championship? Goals are easier to get in Div3.

I am not happy with our squad. However we are not as bad as a lot are saying on here for the division we are in.

 

[Sick Boy]

I bet those people who booed the likes of Leon Best for being 'shit' and 'lazy' feel a bit stupid now.

 

[DazzleTommyDazzle]

I'm confused too.

"I don't think managers really have the option of saying nothing" - which suggests he has to say something as he doesn't have the option to say nothing.

I then state he could have said 'nothing' (as in giving away throw away comments), by spouting some bollocks that the players aren't back and he can't yet feel the mood in the camp etc etc.

By talking the way he has, hes set himself up for a fall.

So just to be clear - you're advocating that when interviewed (which we both agree he has little choice in agreeing to), he should "spout some bollocks" and that this will make things better!!

Personally I think that most of these "page filler" interviews are already full of "bollocks" and I think that in the absence of any real information, we're a bit inclined to read too much into them

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

No point was missed. A near miracle is wanted by yourself though. 2 players to score over 25 goals each?

How many teams in Div3 have players that can score over 25 goals? How many have players that can score from all over the pitch in the Championship? Goals are easier to get in Div3.

I am not happy with our squad. However we are not as bad as a lot are saying on here for the division we are in.

Still think you're misinterpreting what I said. A typical season's goal haul over a 46 game season is what, 50/60? In Cody and Sheff, the only 2 recognised half decent strikers, we're asking them to score the bulk of those goals which amounts to 25-30 each assuming minimal goals from midfield/defence. That is simply unrealistic to expect and, without more additions up front to lighten the load, we'll struggle to score enough. I'm not saying 'Why don't we just sign some who'll hit 30 a season'-I'm saying 'At the moment we're expecting two players to hit that each for us to be competitive', which, without signings, is what we're left with.

 

[Marty]

So just to be clear - you're advocating that when interviewed (which we both agree he has little choice in agreeing to), he should "spout some bollocks" and that this will make things better!!

Personally I think that most of these "page filler" interviews are already full of "bollocks" and I think that in the absence of any real information, we're a bit inclined to read too much into them

Pritty much yeah, throw away comments that give away nothing and are unlikely to be published due to the nothingness of the comments, when we lose to Yeovil on the first day I wonder if the reporter will ask him about the 210% effort comment. No doubt his reply will be "we'll pick ourselves up and go again".

Hes set himself up for a fall already and we aren't even close to the start of the season.

 

[wingy]

Injuries will cost us dear as it did last season. We have 11 who can compete, by compete I mean stay up. We don't have a squad to stay up. There will be players on our bench we have never heard of before.

To me when the likes of Keogh's, Cranie's, Fatswood's, Clingan's, Platt's wages are freed up and maybe Mcpake and ROD. replace them with good league one players on less wages so we actually have a squad.

That way you reduce the wage bill and at least keep Coventry in this division

However the big question to me, for our owners is

Do they want to stay in this division, do they really care?

We all know, rightly or not, they are completely driven by finances.

So the big questions are, would the positive impact of success on attendances justify spending the money on wages. Which will not guarantee success and promotion

Or

What would the impact of a relegation battle and maybe relegation have on attendances, and would the money lost in attendances be more than the money saved, by not spending new wages and lower wages next season. (also consider the loss in TV money etc)

Personally I think they will spend just enough on wages to just stay in this division (in their heads) they will keep wages low as they can. They will not want to spend enough to have a crack at promotion as the increased wages will not guarantee the promotion.

That would be De Ja Vu ,same approach as last season then Dongon ,but i thought they recognised the mistake they made last year and were going to address it,Especially when everything they spout is sacrosanct.:jerkit::jerkit::jerkit::jerkit::jerkit::jerkit::jerkit::jerkit:

 

[wingy]

Still think you're misinterpreting what I said. A typical season's goal haul over a 46 game season is what, 50/60? In Cody and Sheff, the only 2 recognised half decent strikers, we're asking them to score the bulk of those goals which amounts to 25-30 each assuming minimal goals from midfield/defence. That is simply unrealistic to expect and, without more additions up front to lighten the load, we'll struggle to score enough. I'm not saying 'Why don't we just sign some who'll hit 30 a season'-I'm saying 'At the moment we're expecting two players to hit that each for us to be competitive', which, without signings, is what we're left with.

You mean like Swindon have done by adding a couple of freebies with 40 goals between them last season.

 

[wingy]

It seems to have spooked Yeovil, they are calling us '...a plum tie..' on their website.....

Aghh Yeovil ,Garry Jonstones got the sign on us.:jerkit:

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

You mean like Swindon have done by adding a couple of freebies with 40 goals between them last season.

More or less Wingy-I just think we need more than a solitary goal threat.

 

[WillieStanley]

I bet those people who booed the likes of Leon Best for being 'shit' and 'lazy' feel a bit stupid now.

No. He was shit and lazy. Not that I booed him or any player wearing Sky Blue. He used to frustrate the hell out of me. To my memory he had one run of good for (wearing a mask) and a decent season. The rest of the time he used annoyed the crap out of me.

 

[Astute]

Still think you're misinterpreting what I said. A typical season's goal haul over a 46 game season is what, 50/60? In Cody and Sheff, the only 2 recognised half decent strikers, we're asking them to score the bulk of those goals which amounts to 25-30 each assuming minimal goals from midfield/defence. That is simply unrealistic to expect and, without more additions up front to lighten the load, we'll struggle to score enough. I'm not saying 'Why don't we just sign some who'll hit 30 a season'-I'm saying 'At the moment we're expecting two players to hit that each for us to be competitive', which, without signings, is what we're left with.

You are not the only one that knows we need to strengthen our forward line. We all know that. If we got at least 1 more striker that can score goals we could have Sheffers on the wing as usual to add goals from elsewhere.

You will see when the season starts we will get more goals from other players. There will be more chances. There should be more goals. We are up against teams that have attendances as low as 4,000 or less. Their ambition is to stay up each season. You are overrating a lot of our opponents next season. Yes we need to strengthen, but we do have a strong enough team. It is numbers we are lacking not quality.

 

[WillieStanley]

I think Baker will chip in with a few goals as well. I think he was on 13 or so for that season when we signed him. He's not afraid to shoot and seemed to be hitting some good form when he came back for us last season.

I think the players we have and don't particularly have to worry about going will be better than average at that level. Depth is the issue. More matches and less players.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

You are not the only one that knows we need to strengthen our forward line. We all know that. If we got at least 1 more striker that can score goals we could have Sheffers on the wing as usual to add goals from elsewhere.

You will see when the season starts we will get more goals from other players. There will be more chances. There should be more goals. We are up against teams that have attendances as low as 4,000 or less. Their ambition is to stay up each season. You are overrating a lot of our opponents next season. Yes we need to strengthen, but we do have a strong enough team. It is numbers we are lacking not quality.

Other teams' crowds don't always dictate how good the teams actually are. I hope you're right when you talk about more goals arriving from other players because to be honest, I haven't seen much attacking prowess from the likes of Deegan and Bell. I agree there will be more chances against weaker opposition, but it still remains that we are mainly pinning our hopes on an isolated couple of players. Not every team is cannon fodder-if we had something resembling a proper squad I would be a lot more optimistic. Then again, if we had a proper squad in the first place we wouldn't be in this shitty division.

 

[Grendel]

The squad clearly needs an influx but not the 10 or so some say. Squads in this league are much smaller and with less quality. The gulf between this division and the championship is massive. 4 new full time signings and significant use of the loan system should give genuine hope. Thorn is a handicap but even he should compete if we get these sorts of numbers in.

 

[wingy]

The problem being a drop of division does'nt suddenly make them "Hotshots",You have to get a shot on target before you can score and we are'nt very adept in that department.Whoever our STRIKERS/ATMs are next season we need an attacking style and specifically someone to come in and work on this aspect

 

[Grendel]

The problem being a drop of division does'nt suddenly make them "Hotshots",You have to get a shot on target before you can score and we are'nt very adept in that department.Whoever our STRIKERS/ATMs are next season we need an attacking style and specifically someone to come in and work on this aspect

Well that will be a challenge Wingy because the clueless one doesn't know the meaning of attack.

 

[dongonzalos]

The squad clearly needs an influx but not the 10 or so some say. Squads in this league are much smaller and with less quality. The gulf between this division and the championship is massive. 4 new full time signings and significant use of the loan system should give genuine hope. Thorn is a handicap but even he should compete if we get these sorts of numbers in.

Do you believe we will lose Keogh, Cranie, Bigi, McPake and ROD. Are you including these potential loses on top of Platt, Clingan, Fatwood

When you say we need four signings or are you saying as it stands now?

 

[Grendel]

Do you believe we will lose Keogh, Cranie, Bigi, McPake and ROD. Are you including these potential loses on top of Platt, Clingan, Fatwood

When you say we need four signings or are you saying as it stands now?

I assume Keogh and Cranie gone in those numbers as well as those mentioned.

 

[dongonzalos]

I assume Keogh and Cranie gone in those numbers as well as those mentioned.

So that leaves

..................... ... Murphy/Dunn/Burge

Clarke/Christie......... Cameron/Willis......... Hussey/?
..............................Wood/ ?


Baker/Bell............ Thomas/Deegan.............. ?/?
...............................?...... ?


...............................Cody/ ?
............................Sheff/Daniels

Ruffells
Wilson
Phillips
Roberts
Henderson
Jeffers


So that is 22 players (without any signinings loanees). 8 of which could be argued are untested kids at this level.

I take it we will not be playing any less matches, than last season and it is still a full thrust 90 minute match of men against men. I dont see how when it was widely accepted that we did not have enough depth in our squad last season, that we can go with even less depth now.

I think goal keeper is fine.
Right back fine.
One more signing and CB will be fine (1 signing).
We need a left back. (1 signing)
We need two replacement centre midfielders (2 signings)
We need 2 left sided midfielders (2 signings)

I believe Jeffers has been shown to not be capable at a level below this, so we need at least another proven striker at this level (1 signing)

That is 7 signings and would be the minimum to compete and cope with injuries and try and stay up.

Add decent loan signings and hope some of those kids are better than you think and adapt well and then we could try and push for play offs.

However as seen with Jeffers there is not gaurantee the kids will make the grade.
You need those 7 signings plus the loanees, to try and ensure the kids can be used as back up and introduced slowly as impact players and not like what happened last season, where they end up playing 20-30 games and are unfairly depended on.

As much as you say there is a gulf between the championship and league one.
There is also a gulf between youth football and League one. Nearly half of our squad as it stands have to make that step up.

As was shown with Jeffers there is even a gulf between youth football and league two, never mind league one.

 

[Grendel]

We need 2 defenders, 2 midfield players and 3 forwards. We also have to factor in that we have the worst manager in the league (If win ratios are the accepted indicator). Now that is a massive handicap.

 

[ccfc2011]

we need a new team lol

 

[Sub]

willis and christie will be gone aswell

 

[Grendel]

willis and christie will be gone aswell

No they won't.

 

[dongonzalos]

I heard the rumour about Willis but discounted it, surely it can't be the case based on 75 minutes football, in which we lost 4 nill.

They will go for him in January if they are serious, they will wait to scout him properly, surely.

Not heard anything about Christie or Clarke, which is pleasently surprising

 

[Sub]

No they won't.

thanks for putting me straight on my opinion

 

[dongonzalos]

We need 2 defenders, 2 midfield players and 3 forwards. We also have to factor in that we have the worst manager in the league (If win ratios are the accepted indicator). Now that is a massive handicap.

Cant see how you only say 2 midfielders when we only have 4, that we know should perform at this level. Personaly I think you need at least 1 player to cover each posiition.

You have named 7 players, so I take it you think 4 experienced free transfers and 3 decent season long loanees?

 

[Grendel]

thanks for putting me straight on my opion

You stated it as will be going surely that is fact not opinion?