um pahars

ITN:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: You can forget your tales about having lunch with Justin Fashanu last summer, this has to be the ultimate loss of face. BONG, BONG, BONG and now the News At Ten Presented by Trevor McHolley. (Mods, I take back my offer of paying this guys membership, as he's a fraud.) :smt044:smt044:smt044:smt044:smt044

Problem was that I couldn't see him getting any better and had him down as another Craig Maskell!!!!!!

I think the only bit you got wrong there was questioning Crouch's ability and maybe talking old Marcus up. Otherwise most of it still holds true.

Bridge debut 1998 Bale debut 2006 An 8 year gap is hardly quick succession. Our Academy had a good reputation and churned out some good players, but it was never the best in the country nor was it as good as all the hype would lead us to believe. There were 170 English players plying their trade in the Premiership last season, so our contribution of 3 (actually 2 as Bale is Welsh!!) isn't that great.

"Sorry, but I think Shearer misses too many one on one's. I don't rate him" By yours truly, under East Stand, circa 1988

You just can't help yourself can you:smt044:rolleyes::smt044:rolleyes: I'll repeat it one more time for the more senile of our fans, I don't care about other teams. You tell him Manhattan:p:p

As in although quite a few of his chances have been long range speculative efforts, that should not negate the fact that it is his inability to be clinical and finish the more simpler chances (e.g. the one on ones) that is his main problem. I just ran that by my nephew and he understood what I was getting at. Good work Manhattan

You don't know my brother (whose wife is called Palestina BTW)

I have always thought he certainly gets the chances, but when it comes to being clinicla he fluffs his shot, hits the keeper or shoots off target. There have been a number of matches I have seen where he has not been clinical. Additionally, I do think alot of his chances have been from long range, but his lack of finishing is the main reason why he hasn't converted those chances into goals.

I love your little noddy comparisons.:rolleyes: The ones that go: "Charlton are cra8p" - So that legitimaise our own dismal performances.:smt078 "Other managers are cra8p" - Therefore condoning our own managerial inadequacies:rolleyes: You sound like my nephew when he gets picked up by my brother for smashing things up - "Kylie's smashing it up as well". A classic case of blame deflection and as my brother would say to my nephew, "Manhattan, please accept responsibility for your own actions. We are discussing you here first and foremost. When we have solved you problems, we'll then try and solve the rest of the world's".:smt044

He has 9, if you include the 2 against Exeter & the one that really should be Lallana's & a penalty and that is in 31 games (so 5 from open play in 27 meaningful games) With 19 games to go and hitting the same strike rate he would be in line for something like 14 goals this season (not sure where your projection of 20 comes from). HTH

We all know that you need a strong spine, doesn't necessarily have to be old or experienced, but strong it must be. A couple of decent centre halfs (maybe even three due to suspensions and injuries) is a pre requisite for me and for me we didn't address that deficiency. Thomas was out long term, Svensson was a massive risk, as was relying on Lancashire. We didn't get Pearce in until about 4 months into the season and insisted in playing Cork our of position. That's just poor by anyones standards:rolleyes:

What about his comment that the older players aren't pleaying because they are not on the same wavelength as the youngsters?

And Jan said as recently as the Palace game that the older players were not playing because they were not on the same wavelength as the youngsters!!!!!!

Get out your: Lucky heather, rabbits foot, black cats, horseshoes, dried acorns, scarab beetles, crystals, white witches, etc etc etc

Well perhaps rather than signing / loaning so many youngsters, many of whom didn't feature or weren't up to scratch when they did, had we signed the a player like Size or someone else with experience, rather than waste money we might have got there earlier. Quality (and experience) over quantity would have been a better strategy last summer. The term "experiment" may have been coined on here, but on the official site it's termed "revolutionary coaching set up" with an emphasis on youth. You must have been asleep from May thru Sept if you missed all those announcements from Lowe, Wilde, Jan, Wotte and the OS.

At one point I'm sure it was 4th (behind Bundesliga, Prem & La Liga), and it may have been above Serie A when Juventus went down or as i say when a couple of bigger teams were in our dvision (Leeds, Sunderland, Forest etc) as opposed to some of the smaller teams (no offence).

Don't buy that at all. Over a season it will pan out. Bad luck is a poor excuse IMHO. We are just one of many clubs* who will have dodgy decisions given to us and against us. *Man Yoo may get more than their fair share of shouts, but that is nothing to do with luck (more to do with pressure, expectation etc).

Leaving it this long to bring someone in to cover Svensson is poor IMHO. To rely on him making a full recovery was a serious error of judgement, leaving us with rookies form in house or on loan. It's a crucial area that we should have sorted out pre season.

Last seasons averages were: 1) Bundesliga (Ger)--------39,426 2) Premier League (Eng)---36,076 3) la Liga (Sp)------------29,194 4) Serie A (It)------------23,180 5) Orange Ligue (Fr)------21,840 6) Eredivisie (Ne)---------18,732 7) Bundesliga II (Ger)-----18,140 Championship (Eng)----17,022 I'm sure at one point the Championship was 4th, but maybe some of the bigger Clubs previously down here have gone elsewhere (Sunderland, Leeds???)

Absolutely, and the balance of the side was often stuffed with youngsters on loan or signed from elsewhere (Pekhart or Robertson, Cork, Pearce, Smith or Holmes, Schneiderlin). The concept of building a team from our own academy has been found wanting as has playing a team with too many youngsters. I soncerely hope the penny has dropped, because we can't have a repeat of the first half of the season.

I don't know exactly what they are thinking, but we have heard the "youth" line trotted out by both of them on numerous occasions to start to get a feeling of what their strategy is (or hopefuly was!!!). On top of that, you only have to look at the teams we have put out to see what the initial strategy was.

Look at our 12 acquisitions last summer and put them in the category of youth or experience and you have your answer to what the strategy was: Old = Perry, Wotton Middle = Pulis Young = Forecast, Pekhart, Robertson, Pearce, Cork, Gasmi, Scheiderlin, Smith, (cant rememebr the other one). The emphasis was quite clearly to bring in youngsters and on top of that we were heavily reliant on the youngsters we already had, and IMHO as much as lack of finances plays a part, the footballing strategy was the dominat factor.

Exactly what I thought when I saw the team sheet. For the first time in ages I actually thought that team looks quite strong and I really fancy us here. As you say it was a dusting of our Academy products, enhanced by others brought in and a number of older, experienced players. Like you, I firmly believe the Academy has a big part to play in the future of this Club, but just not as big as I think Lowe (and maybe Jan) think, or now, perhaps thought. It has to be a blend, a balance and what works best, as opposed to sticking to some dogma regardless of what it is achieving (or not achieving in our case). The comments made by Jan recently with regards him not realising just what the Championship is like and that the older players can't play with the youngsters really worried me!!!!!!!!!!!!, so maybe I should be happy that perhaps the penny has dropped. That's if it has dropped of course and this wasn't just a one off. Now all that is needed is for Jan to rid himself of the straight jacket of playing his Totale Voetball sysytem come what may. We need to be more flexible at home for a start. Sadly, we have given ourselves a mountain to climb by employing a manager who has been learning on the job, and our policy of youth has also been a huge shackle that we need to rid ourselves if we are to survive. Let's hope they've recognised the errors of their ways and can change things before it's too late.

I wouldn't lose any sleep if he became casualty no. 22!