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Ambitious

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About Ambitious

  • Birthday 13/07/1991

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  1. Ahead of his move to Bristol City, I thought it would be interesting to note that Bird has not played in 10 games this season and we’ve won 8, drawn 1 (Portsmouth) and lost 1 (Bolton).
  2. Northampton are pretty poor form: three losses in their last four. The only point was against a dire Cambridge side who are currently on the worst run of form in the league. A win will see us climb to seven points ahead of third, albeit artificially with a game in hand, but the points on the board can induce panic in others. Every win is going to be significant but this could be huge for the mindset of others.
  3. With the injuries, we really could do with him stepping up now. Leyton Orient, Blackpool, Wycombe, Carlisle & Cambridge are all teams he's had goals/assists against this season, so we could do with him reproducing that going forward.
  4. I’d be embarrassed about being a Bolton fan coming on here talking about how they battered us: xG was 0.46 to 0.49. They were unlucky not to get a draw, but sideways passing between the centre backs, occasionally rotating into midfield and back to the centre backs, isn’t exactly the ‘battering’ you think it might be.
  5. I was on cloud 9 after the win yesterday, it was really gritty and everyone played their part. I really feared the worse when Gayle went off as I don’t think Waghorn is looking as sharp as he did earlier in the season and understood why Warne went with Smith, although it was an eyebrow raiser at the time, it sent a message to graft and not lose the game. It’s something that we will need to manage going forward, assuming Gayle is out for a while (or for the season) we are going to need find a solution for the remaining part of the season. In terms of quality football, it was a typical League One game. Bolton played the ball between both centre backs and Sheehan (who Warne was absolutely right to make life difficult) but they were unwilling to really throw men forward and honestly I think they froze in the big moment. Up against a team who they needed to beat, who had no striker on the pitch, they couldn’t find a solution. Nelson, Forsyth and Cashin gave them nothing. Aside from the header in the first half, they really didn’t create anything clear cut either. A few potshots, but the xG tells the story that neither team really could’ve complained with a draw or losing. A proper job, Warne deserves a lot of credit for navigating the team through it after Gayle went down. We do need to find a solution for the remaining games, if Gayle is done, Waghorn hopefully can start against Northampton and do a job. Collins will hopefully be back for the run in against Wycombe, Leyton Orient, Cambridge & Carlisle. I do worry about going in undercooked against Blackpool and Portsmouth, though.
  6. They will look to starve us of the ball, for sure, but I do wonder how high their back line will be - I’d suspect a mid-low block and a lot of emphasis on Sheehan (their DM) to play through the lines and control the space between midfield and defence. I’d like to see us get a man on him whenever they have the ball, make them play longer passes. Of course that all changes if they play with a high line but I just don’t see them doing that with Barkhuizen, NML and Gayle upfront. A huge risk that they don’t need to really take.
  7. I read somewhere Couhig is looking for an exit strategy from Wycombe, this is a method whereby he adds a fairly significant asset to the book value of the club he's looking to sell and also removes a fairly significant asset away from a much bigger club within a similar location who could attract potential buyers. It's a no brainer for someone who is strictly business driven. This is a huge blow for Reading, though, who will undoubtedly see their academy picked apart and dismantled soon. I'd be surprised if they're able to avoid liquidation and don't have to start again. They don't see 160 years of trading IMO.
  8. At their very best, I would have Bolton as aesthetically the best team in the league but they do have a soft underbelly which has shown itself constantly this season. I'm intrigued to what the messaging to the players is going to be from our management staff - do we take confidence from the last three games and go toe-to-toe as we've hit our stride OR does Warne ensure we remain solid, robust and look to hit them on the break? Both approaches have merit, but feel that Bolton naturally don't like being on the back foot and so I would be very strong in that we continue to play how we have been the last few games. I do suspect that we will see Forsyth come in for Sibley and the 3-4-3 will resemble a 4-4-2 for the most part, though. I honestly don't care how it happens on Saturday, just win.
  9. I love centre midfield players that have the ability to be ‘there’ and he has it in an abundance. It’s a great trait and transferable at every level. It’s a different kettle of fish to Gorgeous George who had limitless ability and could do things I’ve never seen a Derby player do, but at the level we are at Ebou is a great alternate. Fantastic from the recruitment staff who deserve their credit on this one.
  10. Agreed, I do feel that Warne has fell on to something as Ward, Sibley and Gayle were afterthoughts and yet are driving the new dynamic of the team. Not having Collins stood on the last man, creating an easy out ball has really helped. I do wonder what happens when he returns, because I do worry that we will revert back to type. Players are having to think a bit more and have more patience in their build up play and it’s helping drive standards. Collins, as good as he’s been, allows players to take the easy way out of situations.
  11. I don’t want to get ahead of myself or allow myself to be excited, but.. I feel like something has finally clicked. Best performance we’ve ever had under Warne, in my opinion. We’ve fell on to a workable system, the main reason was the recruitment staff doing their job and finding a gem in Ebou Adams and very recently I think it’s not in any small part to having to change the dynamic with Gayle upfront. I believe these two signings in particular have changed our fortunes, similarly to how Nyambe did earlier in the season. Sibley and Ward are excelling. The defence are well balanced, the cohesion between the midfield and defence is significantly better, gaps aren’t as freely available for the other team and we are now working well going forward. I think we actually look like a team now, which for the majority of the season has definitely been missing something. The last two performances, the dynamic of the team, I’m finally hopeful.
  12. I have no doubts that Clowes and Warne are aligned and enjoy a good working relationship, but based on how frustrated the fans are with Warne on the whole that I do wonder whether there would be a significant commercial drop-off from fans IF we are to go into League One next year with Warne as manager. As soon as it's confirmed we aren't going up, I already know the reaction on here is going to be heavy on the Warne out content. The thought of going into another League One season with Warne in the dugout does very little for me, especially ahead of such a significant rebuild. I would suggest it's just common sense to get someone in with a fresh mindset, personally. This season, despite the relative success, hasn't been enjoyable for a lot of people. The atmosphere around the club just isn't great.
  13. Just looking at how badly Rotherham are getting on, does anyone think that if we do stay down that it would be inconceivable that Warne head backs there? Clearly well liked by their owner and I just don't think his relationship survives anything other than promotion here. I could see it happening - may get us out of pay-off too!
  14. Watching the game last night, Barnsley looked decent and Bolton completely terrified for the first 45 minutes. Bolton then came out swinging and were phenomenal in the second half - a performance reminiscent of Ipswich last season where they were able to take over the game. Ultimately, you can see why both teams are roughly in line with ourselves, who are largely uninspiring, so I genuinely think it’s very much up in the air. Bolton are definitely the best team out of us three, so my money would be on them, but soft underbelly based on last night’s viewing.
  15. I would say from watching the games, I don't think the standard is any worse or better than last season. Ipswich were clearly a very good last season. who had a month where they couldn't stop shooting themselves in the foot, but Sheff Wed weren't a great team and managed to get near on 100 pts. Ultimately, though, I think the top end is weaker this season than last and that's compounded by ourselves being in the top echelons of the division despite being, at our very best, extremely underwhelming. I find it hard to believe based on what I've seen of us this season that we will finish in the top two - the eye test just doesn't add up. Bolton and Portsmouth are the best two teams in the league and you would anticipate they're the ones who finish in the top two.
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