saintant

Can you name a team from our squad that would have a hope? 🙂

Not bothered about promotion. More interested in seeing an evolving team heading in the right direction.

Does it really matter who is our captain because as far as I can see he does nothing more then lead the team out, take part in the toss for ends/kick-off and mumble some rubbish in the huddle. It's a role anyone should be capable of.

Spot on. If we analyse where we have been weakest so far it is clearly the goalkeeper, centre backs and centre forward. These areas have cost us points. Unfortunately it is a recurring theme at this football club.

Even some of the best players take quite a few games to make their mark at new clubs. Relatively few actually hit the ground running.

I'd sooner have a shit McCarthy in goal than the guy who continually makes schoolboy errors that cost goals and the first one against Hull was a prime example. He puts us on the back foot by practically throwing the ball into his own net and I'm afraid it will never change because he's just not at the level needed to be a professional.

Not sure where he would ever have accumulated any shreds of confidence to have enough to be totally shot of but I take your point..

But if they don't renew his contract we run the risk of losing a keeper who was described as the best in the Championship just 2 years ago - have you considered that?

As this guy manages to continue to be an automatic pick and gets a 3 year extension on his contract our recruitment team are signing the wrong centre backs. Simple as that.

Can we get our money back from Man City under the trades description act because there's no way on earth Bazunu is 6'2".

Millwall now just 2 points off second spot - who'd have thought it? 🙂

No, we should have signed an experienced big powerful centre forward for far less than we paid for Downs. They're about but just not on the radar of our far-too-clever recruitment team led by Spors. This was a catastrophic error and many fans including me were saying we should sign such a player during the window. We didn't need a Downs type player who needs time and we've been crying out for a proper centre forward for numerous windows but it is never sorted. Now Still has to try to operate with wingers but they have nobody to get on the end of their crosses - ludicrous state of affairs.

Not sure that's relevant to the point I'm making which is that new signings at any club usually take a number of games to settle in. They have to deal with moving to a new area/country, change of coaches and team mates, new systems, language for foreign players, different training methods. It's not just a case of turning up with a pair of boots, saying 'Right I'm ready, what position do you want me?' and hitting the ground running.

He's no Diego Costa that's for sure 🙂

Agree and all 3 need to spend a period on the bench to let others have a go in their place.

Agree, those are bare minimum requirements.

Maybe someone needs to show him where the gym is at Staplewood so he can get on the weights to help give him the strength needed to play centre forward.

The International break ended on 9th September. Whether we like it that didn't allow for a great deal of preparation or for integrating 5-6 new players into a new system. So they've not had anything like 3 weeks to pick it up and anyway new players invariably take time to settle not just at our club. The first game after the International break was on 14th September and being the big local derby against Pompey not exactly an ideal fixture because of all the noise surrounding it. We started ok against Hull but there is nothing Will Still can do if his keeper makes a schoolboy error other than drop Bazunu for the next run of games which I hope he does. THB then has a couple of brain farts and he's another who must now be dropped. The fragility of this side when going behind is well documented and remains a thorn in our side. There are extenuating circumstances for why we are not anything like the well oiled machine we'd like but I'm afraid, like it or not, it is going to take patience.

We also have to give the new signings time to settle in and find their feet. Most players take a number of games at a new club before settling and showing what they can do.

This is my take as well. Will Still has to be given time to work with the new players and integrate them into a formation that works. If after perhaps a maximum of 10 more games he hasn't done that then fair enough it will be time to look for a replacement.

He's ex Man Utd and currently the head coach at Minnesota Utd so would probably fit the bill for the SR hipsters.

But the new players haven't yet appeared in anything like 6 games which is the point some are making.

Surprisingly his stats show he is 6'2" tall so not really that small.

It's a low bar but too high for the short Gavin Bazunu.

So he's like the kid at school who was no good as an outfield player so always got stuck in goal even though he was hopeless there as well.