Howlers expected to continue..

[Gritstone Ram]

​I first heard him saying this months ago, when it became clear that his strategy was simply to score one more than the other team, being resigned to manage a defense that simply weren't good enough. 

Yeah i heard it a while back too. Albentosa does get some good stops in but is useless on his left foot and tends to hoof it skywards a lot but when he daes give the ball away at least it passes the halfway line rather than the oppositions forwards.

[eddie]

Albentosa hasn't looked the real deal yet I agree but we concede less goals with him on the pitch and he hasn't directly made a mistake that has contributed to a goal.

 

​Albentosa looks to me very much an old-fashioned 'stopper' - head, tackle, block, hoof - no frills. The old uns will remember the likes of David Webb, Mickey Droy, Brian Labone etc - that sort of 'player', for want of a better word.

At this level, that's good enough for me.

[YorkshireRam]

An idealist situation there. If a team with quality in attack comes to attack us, they're more than likely to get a hat full. It was only by some sort of miracle Brentford didn't score five.

It's  teams playing with trhe intent only to stop us to thank for what looked a good defensive record at around the halfway point. 

Complacency could work in our favour. If teams are expecting to get a hat full and our defence stays resolute, they're bound to get frustrated and that will lead to more mistakes.

In many ways, I'm glad the 1st leg is at home. Last season, having the reverse fixture at home was of major benefit because after a positive result in the 1st leg, with the home crowd behind them, we annihilated them in the 2nd leg. This time, the team looks bereft of confidence. A win against Reading and then a good performance at home coupled, hopefully, with a good result will put us in a far better state of mind going into the away fixture, in good form and with good morale. 

 

[Dimmu]

There's quite a few who should be dropped but can't... Grant could and should, get Roos in. Everything starts from keeper and he is so unbelievably hesitating and insecure at the moment. Unreal if you compare how he played earlier.

Changing goalkeeper can make big difference, bit like changing manager. Let's say Grant is about 10% better keeper than Roos (if he is in his current form, I don't want Roos to get payed for being professional footballer), but if the change makes our defenders up their game 5% each, it's 10 % growth in overall. Of course changing Grant now would demand lots of balls, but IMO we are in a position where we don't have anything to lose.

Over to you Mac & Steele.

[RadioactiveWaste]

I seem to remember Buxton got all sorts of slagging off on here when he was playing.

As much as anything we miss a proper CDM. and confidence.

I'd play Christie, Keogh, Albentosa, Fozzy, tell Christie he's the best thing since sliced clearances and to be confident going forward, Fozzy that i'd finally realised he's not a centre back, Albentosa the "el fuego grande" is awaiting and Keogh that he can set off forward whenever he pleases.

I'd also tell all the others that it doesn't matter who we're against because they are a PL level attack that can rip up any team we face. cross my fingers for 5-3 and 4-2 wins.

Ah, sod it we're no going up anyway, play 3 at the back (Keogh, Albentosa, Warnock) midfield 5 (Christie, Hughes, Hendrick, Bryson, Fozzy) and Ince roaming, Martin. and Bent. and play rush keeper.

 

[mwram1973]

...with a central defender sat on the bench...

​Yeah but Mac's said a million times Raul is taking time to settle, why shatter his confidence by putting him in when he's obviously not ready.

[G STAR RAM]

​Yeah but Mac's said a million times Raul is taking time to settle, why shatter his confidence by putting him in when he's obviously not ready.

For the same reason he has done the same thing with Christie and Forsyth, sooner or later we need someone to step up to the plate. If Albentosa is not ready, keep him out of the squad and put Rawson in.

[unclej]

Our Head Coach seems to be taking more of an observers role, rather than making himself responsible for the results on the pitch.  In some circumstances this would be a breath of fresh air, but not now, when changes needed to be made weeks ago.  I dont want to see Christie, Foz or Grant again this season. They are shot and will be more of a liability if they play.

 

[Lord_Ram]

Grant

Keogh Albentosa Buxton (if fit) Warnock

[RamNut]

I think we need to cut christie a bit of slack.

especially when the only alternative is shotton.

[Gritstone Ram]

I think the problem started after the play off final when I threw my lucky pants in the bin. Since then I haven't found a good replacement so I am going down to primarni next week to get my self a new pair. May be this could be the break we're looking for.