Ghost of Clough

Cocu and Rooney both managed us in two of the most bizarre seasons in recent history. Rosenior was picking up the pieces of what was left.
Cocu had Keogh/Bennett/Lawrence, takeover collapses, embargoes, Covid, etc... Even in that season, he showed promise when we made an unsuccessful late push for the playoffs. 
Rooney had administration, 21 points deducted, started the season with just a handful of players, a squad ripped apart in January, failed exits from administration.
Even Rosenior started the season with just 5 contracted players. He had a steady start whilst players were starting to build up fitness (no pre season) and getting to know each other. We lost just 3 games in his 10 games in charge. Rosenior ceteinly showed a lot of potential, still does, and will forever be what Clough was to the 13/14 Mac season.

Cocu and Rooney both managed us in two of the most bizarre seasons in recent history. Rosenior was picking up the pieces of what was left.
Cocu had Keogh/Bennett/Lawrence, takeover collapses, embargoes, Covid, etc... Even in that season, he showed promise when we made an unsuccessful late push for the playoffs. 
Rooney had administration, 21 points deducted, started the season with just a handful of players, a squad ripped apart in January, failed exits from administration.
Even Rosenior started the season with just 5 contracted players. He had a steady start whilst players were starting to build up fitness (no pre season) and getting to know each other. We lost just 3 games in his 10 games in charge. Rosenior ceteinly showed a lot of potential, still does, and will forever be what Clough was to the 13/14 Mac season.

That didn't stop you from slagging off our previous management on here, though, did it? 
 

Was I far wrong?
"His highest finish was 22nd (relegated).
He's spent 6 seasons teaching his side to play an aggressive, direct, long ball game. Is he going to change his style to suit the player we have, who have a possession based game drilled into them for an even longer period of time? Are the players going to be able to adapt?"
It took a mini injury crisis in defence to force him away from his favoured 5 at the back. For what ever reason, it clearly wasn't working. We won 2, drew 1 and lost 4. We haven't lost a single game since he reluctantly switched to 4 at the back.
The quality of football for large periods of most games under Warne has been poor. Fortunately, there have been some excellent spells, and the frequency of those good spells continues to increase.
No need to dig up the Pearson posts. I have no shame in admitting to it. However, you may have ignored the context. At the time of my post, his record as manager was as bad as Pearson's.
A few games in to his reign, I also stated it was a stick or twist point. Warne wasn't getting the best out of the players in those early games. A lot of the players looked confused and gave statements suggesting they had no idea what Warne wanted them to do, or Warne had no idea how to use them to their potential. There was a significant risk this wouldn't improve with the currnet crop of player, hence "stick or twist". Stick, and see the long term project through and get the players in he needed, or twist and get amanager in who could get more out of them.
Credit to Warne turning it around and  getting a lot more out of the players than most could have imagined.

Was I far wrong?
"His highest finish was 22nd (relegated).
He's spent 6 seasons teaching his side to play an aggressive, direct, long ball game. Is he going to change his style to suit the player we have, who have a possession based game drilled into them for an even longer period of time? Are the players going to be able to adapt?"
It took a mini injury crisis in defence to force him away from his favoured 5 at the back. For what ever reason, it clearly wasn't working. We won 2, drew 1 and lost 4. We haven't lost a single game since he reluctantly switched to 4 at the back.
The quality of football for large periods of most games under Warne has been poor. Fortunately, there have been some excellent spells, and the frequency of those good spells continues to increase.
No need to dig up the Pearson posts. I have no shame in admitting to it. However, you may have ignored the context. At the time of my post, his record as manager was as bad as Pearson's.
A few games in to his reign, I also stated it was a stick or twist point. Warne wasn't getting the best out of the players in those early games. A lot of the players looked confused and gave statements suggesting they had no idea what Warne wanted them to do, or Warne had no idea how to use them to their potential. There was a significant risk this wouldn't improve with the currnet crop of player, hence "stick or twist". Stick, and see the long term project through and get the players in he needed, or twist and get amanager in who could get more out of them.
Credit to Warne turning it around and  getting a lot more out of the players than most could have imagined.

Was I far wrong?
"His highest finish was 22nd (relegated).
He's spent 6 seasons teaching his side to play an aggressive, direct, long ball game. Is he going to change his style to suit the player we have, who have a possession based game drilled into them for an even longer period of time? Are the players going to be able to adapt?"
It took a mini injury crisis in defence to force him away from his favoured 5 at the back. For what ever reason, it clearly wasn't working. We won 2, drew 1 and lost 4. We haven't lost a single game since he reluctantly switched to 4 at the back.
The quality of football for large periods of most games under Warne has been poor. Fortunately, there have been some excellent spells, and the frequency of those good spells continues to increase.
No need to dig up the Pearson posts. I have no shame in admitting to it. However, you may have ignored the context. At the time of my post, his record as manager was as bad as Pearson's.
A few games in to his reign, I also stated it was a stick or twist point. Warne wasn't getting the best out of the players in those early games. A lot of the players looked confused and gave statements suggesting they had no idea what Warne wanted them to do, or Warne had no idea how to use them to their potential. There was a significant risk this wouldn't improve with the currnet crop of player, hence "stick or twist". Stick, and see the long term project through and get the players in he needed, or twist and get amanager in who could get more out of them.
Credit to Warne turning it around and  getting a lot more out of the players than most could have imagined.

We had a pacey option down the centre (Osula), and we never really used him, because he couldn't do anything else that a modern striker needs to do. He was quick, and he could dribble and finish, and that was about it.
We mainly are playing 1 up front, and even when we play Collins and McGoldrick together, they're far from a traditional front 2.  So any striker we bring in has to be able to play as a lone striker, which means they have to be able to do at least a few out of: being a physical presence up front, occupying defenders, holding the ball up, linking the play, winning headers etc.  Otherwise you're basically toothless up front and your entire system doesn't work.  There's a reason why small, quick strikers (think Michael Owen, Jermaine Defoe types) barely exist in modern football (as regular starters anyway) - they can't play up front on their own, and if you play a front 2, you get outnumbered somewhere else. 
So if we want a pacey option, we're looking at Ivan Toney types - big, strong, physical and quick at the same time.  And good luck finding one of those for free in January.  Any player that's big, strong and quick and can score goals is going to be playing regular football somewhere already.
And for what it's worth, we have bags of pace in the team already - 4 quick wingers, and the likes of Knight and Sibley breaking from deeper.  What we need is craft in the final third (i.e. someone to actually play passes or create opportunities for those guys).  We only really have McGoldrick, plus Bird and Hourihane from deeper.  A striker that can either hold the ball up, or drop off and play passes, would make a much bigger difference than another guy that can run quickly.

The key thing is a lot of out players are versatile so we can adapt in a short-term injury crisis.
RB - Smith, Rooney, Chester, Mendez-Laing, Barkhuizen, Knight
LB - Sibley, Roberts, Springett, Forsyth, Barkhuizen, Mendez-Laing
CB - Forsyth, Cashin, Davies, Stearman, Chester, Rooney, Roberts
CM - Bird, Hourihane, Tommo, Knight, Sibley, Smith, Rooney
AM - Knight, McGoldrick, Sibley
RW/LW - Mendez-Laing, Barkhuizen, Dobbin, Springett, Knight, Sibley
CF - Collins, McGoldrick, Dobbin, Mendez-Laing, Barkhuizen
Any signings will have the squad versatility in mind, and the impact on the team as a whole if we're missing a couple of players who can play in a certain position. Therefore, there can only really be a maximum of 2 more signings unless there's an unexpected departure. They are a CF and RB. 
Getting a CF is very important and it would free up McGoldrick's availability to fill in at AM, in the event of Knight being needed elsewhere on the field. A CF who can also play on the wing would be an added bonus, as it would ease the impact of needing to drop a winger into the full back position.
We still don't have a recognised RB, but does it matter? Smith is doing a very good job in that role, but if he's injured it has a big impact on the team as a whole. We'd be forced in to fielding an inexperienced Rooney, hope Chester doesn't get injured (once he's back) or bring one of Knight/Mendez-Laing/Barkhuizen in to that position - a move which weakens our forward options. Getting someone in to be backup to Smith, would be difficult, so it would have to be someone who can also fill in at CB and/or LB.

The key thing is a lot of out players are versatile so we can adapt in a short-term injury crisis.
RB - Smith, Rooney, Chester, Mendez-Laing, Barkhuizen, Knight
LB - Sibley, Roberts, Springett, Forsyth, Barkhuizen, Mendez-Laing
CB - Forsyth, Cashin, Davies, Stearman, Chester, Rooney, Roberts
CM - Bird, Hourihane, Tommo, Knight, Sibley, Smith, Rooney
AM - Knight, McGoldrick, Sibley
RW/LW - Mendez-Laing, Barkhuizen, Dobbin, Springett, Knight, Sibley
CF - Collins, McGoldrick, Dobbin, Mendez-Laing, Barkhuizen
Any signings will have the squad versatility in mind, and the impact on the team as a whole if we're missing a couple of players who can play in a certain position. Therefore, there can only really be a maximum of 2 more signings unless there's an unexpected departure. They are a CF and RB. 
Getting a CF is very important and it would free up McGoldrick's availability to fill in at AM, in the event of Knight being needed elsewhere on the field. A CF who can also play on the wing would be an added bonus, as it would ease the impact of needing to drop a winger into the full back position.
We still don't have a recognised RB, but does it matter? Smith is doing a very good job in that role, but if he's injured it has a big impact on the team as a whole. We'd be forced in to fielding an inexperienced Rooney, hope Chester doesn't get injured (once he's back) or bring one of Knight/Mendez-Laing/Barkhuizen in to that position - a move which weakens our forward options. Getting someone in to be backup to Smith, would be difficult, so it would have to be someone who can also fill in at CB and/or LB.

The key thing is a lot of out players are versatile so we can adapt in a short-term injury crisis.
RB - Smith, Rooney, Chester, Mendez-Laing, Barkhuizen, Knight
LB - Sibley, Roberts, Springett, Forsyth, Barkhuizen, Mendez-Laing
CB - Forsyth, Cashin, Davies, Stearman, Chester, Rooney, Roberts
CM - Bird, Hourihane, Tommo, Knight, Sibley, Smith, Rooney
AM - Knight, McGoldrick, Sibley
RW/LW - Mendez-Laing, Barkhuizen, Dobbin, Springett, Knight, Sibley
CF - Collins, McGoldrick, Dobbin, Mendez-Laing, Barkhuizen
Any signings will have the squad versatility in mind, and the impact on the team as a whole if we're missing a couple of players who can play in a certain position. Therefore, there can only really be a maximum of 2 more signings unless there's an unexpected departure. They are a CF and RB. 
Getting a CF is very important and it would free up McGoldrick's availability to fill in at AM, in the event of Knight being needed elsewhere on the field. A CF who can also play on the wing would be an added bonus, as it would ease the impact of needing to drop a winger into the full back position.
We still don't have a recognised RB, but does it matter? Smith is doing a very good job in that role, but if he's injured it has a big impact on the team as a whole. We'd be forced in to fielding an inexperienced Rooney, hope Chester doesn't get injured (once he's back) or bring one of Knight/Mendez-Laing/Barkhuizen in to that position - a move which weakens our forward options. Getting someone in to be backup to Smith, would be difficult, so it would have to be someone who can also fill in at CB and/or LB.

I agree. I doubt also that they have any idea of how much L1 teams are paying for loan players. Plymouth certainly won't be paying £18k a week for Cosgrove. 

Looked a fairly clear cut penalty when Dobbin spooned that chance wide - PV defender lunged in with both feet to try and block the ball and followed through bringing Dobbin down just after he got his shot away, but definitely an out-of-control tackle which gave Dobbin a nasty whack on the shins.

Not sure how you missed this one...
 
 

Amazingly, it is only 85 points. A record set under McClaren in 13/14

Amazingly, it is only 85 points. A record set under McClaren in 13/14

Good assist by Dobbin

The key to our recent success has been the wingers and CMs getting into goal scoring positions. McGoldrick's link up play has been vital in bringing those players in to play. There haven't actually been that many goals scored due to the pace of one of our CFs.
There aren't many CFs who do the linking of play better than Martin, who would prove to be a useful backup to McGoldrick. The McClaren side wasn't actually too dissimilar to what Warne is trying to implement (although there is a a difference in the range of passing). When you have wingers and AMs buzzing around a CF, it doesn't matter if the CF can run the 100m in 10 seconds or 10 minutes.
3rd choice CFs rarely are the complete package. They'll be missing at least 1 of the following: pace, finishing, link up play. Missing the link up play will be the most detrimental to the team in the event of McGoldrick being out for any significant length of time.

The key to our recent success has been the wingers and CMs getting into goal scoring positions. McGoldrick's link up play has been vital in bringing those players in to play. There haven't actually been that many goals scored due to the pace of one of our CFs.
There aren't many CFs who do the linking of play better than Martin, who would prove to be a useful backup to McGoldrick. The McClaren side wasn't actually too dissimilar to what Warne is trying to implement (although there is a a difference in the range of passing). When you have wingers and AMs buzzing around a CF, it doesn't matter if the CF can run the 100m in 10 seconds or 10 minutes.
3rd choice CFs rarely are the complete package. They'll be missing at least 1 of the following: pace, finishing, link up play. Missing the link up play will be the most detrimental to the team in the event of McGoldrick being out for any significant length of time.

The key to our recent success has been the wingers and CMs getting into goal scoring positions. McGoldrick's link up play has been vital in bringing those players in to play. There haven't actually been that many goals scored due to the pace of one of our CFs.
There aren't many CFs who do the linking of play better than Martin, who would prove to be a useful backup to McGoldrick. The McClaren side wasn't actually too dissimilar to what Warne is trying to implement (although there is a a difference in the range of passing). When you have wingers and AMs buzzing around a CF, it doesn't matter if the CF can run the 100m in 10 seconds or 10 minutes.
3rd choice CFs rarely are the complete package. They'll be missing at least 1 of the following: pace, finishing, link up play. Missing the link up play will be the most detrimental to the team in the event of McGoldrick being out for any significant length of time.

Sitting here watching the game saying “Martin would have scored that” out loud after every chance
By my calculations we’ll win 12-0 most weeks. Something for the Martin-doubters to think about.

Having the two of them would be very good insurance for the run in to the playoffs...
Neither are quick or sprint about the pitch like the headless Collins but both possess football intelligence and are constantly on the swivel to deliver the killer pass.
We would be a better more secure team with back to for didzy.

Dobbin now on 7 assists for the season to go with his 3 goals. Only McGoldrick and Mendez-Laing have more direct goal contributions this season. 

Good assist by Dobbin

Dobbin now on 7 assists for the season to go with his 3 goals. Only McGoldrick and Mendez-Laing have more direct goal contributions this season. 

Dobbin now on 7 assists for the season to go with his 3 goals. Only McGoldrick and Mendez-Laing have more direct goal contributions this season.