Thetownend.com

Seriously how bad is this guy. How did we let Smith and Vincent go for him?

Lets hope we go out for a decent left back in January.

I liked Smith, he could play both left and right back quite comfortably. Read elsewhere that quite a few Millwall fans have rated him as their player of the season.

we have a decent left back in Sheehan, we need a decent left sided midfielder cos its only a matter of time before O'Brien injures his hamstring again

Isn't he playing CB there?

And welcome back Bart, we've missed you. JPC is right, Sheehan is the best left back at the club, currently playing LM. Wouldn't mind seeing the two swap over actually as LJF has put in a few decent crosses.

I think you are right, just proves his capability

Amankwaah was clearly first choice right back when we let Smith go. Wilson has obviously tried to balance the wage bill. I think letting Smith go allowed Cuthbert to come in, who is a far better acquisition.

Vincent wasn't offered a new deal purely on football reasons I'd imagine.

The real question should be why haven't we got someone else in? Well we sort of have with Sheehan. As JPC says we need another left midfielder. Don't know why we don't play Macklin or O'Brien from the off really.

Lescinel is gash but so was Smith hes a very similar player good going forward and not bad in possession and delivering crosses but when both are defending there positional sense is poor, they don't read the game well and are not strong enough so I would prefer to have neither.  Sheehan is a more than capable left back so keep him there

Is that saying much?....Smith was too slow and was often caught out by pace,always looked to be runing on the spot....never liked him and always gave the impresion he was knackered after 5 mins..anyway Lescinal isnt a great defender but DW likes his attacking qualitys so thats why he gets the nod....got a few assists this season .

Smith is 3 times the defender LJF is.

Sheehan's better than Smith

Sheehan needs to play at LB. Don't know why he doesn't start there with LJF at LM.

Don't know why O'Brien doesn't start IOB. He's got better the more he has played. Suspect first touch at times, but he consistently gets to the byline and is a real threat.

Sub Macklin on if he gets worn out later and we need a pacey replacement. Pacey threat late on can't be Wilson's concern if he's putting Hutchinson at right wing mind.

I'm obviously in the minority, or on my own, as I don't think LJF is anywhere near as bad as people make out. Its not like he is the only defender that makes mistakes, Amankwaah did yesterday and cost us 2 points whilst Greer has been off form recently.

LJF is still pretty young and hasn't played many games, plus he is far better than when he first came here. He seems to have the potential, Wilson just needs to sort out his concentration and confidence.

You are not alone. He is ace!

I can remember you saying the same thing to me about Zaboub

I don't think he is as bad as some make him out to be but he does make a lot of mistakes. A lot more than the rest of the team. His positional sense isn't great and he can't deal with balls over the top.

He cant fucking defend

I think every team in the division seems to have realised this now, as it is a glaringly obvious weakness in our defence. Brighton and Charlton (with 10 and 11 players) looked to exploit this and I'm sure Yeovil will do the same if LJF starts again. He's not atrocious, and as some have said he has good attacking qualities, but that doesn't legitimise playing him at LB. I'd start with Sheehan at the back and O'Brien on the wing, but wouldn't be against trying LJF as a midfielder.

scape goat.

how many goals did he cost us yesterday? 0

goals came down the middle and our right.

Scapegoat- he is not the only one of the defence to make errors- Amanwaah did yesterday and Greer looked well off the pace.

The difference is Lescinel does it consistantly, and as a poster said above the opposition have found out he is the weakest link- was at Rovers and they looked to exploit this as well.

 
 

we're doomed.

when OB is fully fit I doubt Lescinel will even play.

Why not start a thread about Amankwaah and Greer to.

Come off it DV. Obviously  its not all JFL's fault, but a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. And 95% of the time he has no idea where abouts he is in relation to the man he's supposed to be marking.

yeah, Wilson Out.

If a goal comes down his side of the pitch LJF seems to get all of the blame, what about the rest of the defence? The Rovers game is a good example. If LJF was caught out of position on the first goal, what about Greer's positioning - he was stood 5 yards further up the pitch than LJF when the ball was played through. The second goal should have been covered by the central defenders, again though Greer had gone walkabout.

I can't remember the last time LJF cost us points, like Amankwaah did yesterday.

As I've already said elsewhere, goals against are happening because we stand off our opponents too much as a team.

Lescinel has been poor in recent games and I think it is foolish to think otherwise. Greer's form has also dropped.

Last season after Boxing Day at Orient we'd conceded 19 away goals from 11 games, this season 18. 

My point applies to home goals too Reg.

We're better than last season by a mile. Don't really get the point of your silly stat.

I would agree we are better, but how good are we? 

Good enough that we should be happy with our team, our manager, our performance and our league position.

Good enough that we should probably get behind our team and support them.

Good enough that perhaps we single out the positives rather than the negatives.

Every single player related thread sees to be *players name here* he is so crap, he isnt good enough, get rid of him, bring in better.

How many threads have been started praising Paynters recent run of goals, or Alan O'Briens impact since he came back from  injury or the fact Jon-Paul McGorvern has been fucking awesome this season.

I dont know what is wrong with our fanbase, we always seem to have something to moan about. Yesterday wasnt great but overall this has been our best season for fucking years.

I think with the transfer window coming up its fair enough to discuss who we think isn't good enough, or at least where we need to strengthen.

For me a left back or left winger (asuming we keep Sheehan for longer) and a striker or two are a must.

A also think expectations have been raised by our excellent league position. We want the playoffs, however unrealistic they are!

They're guilty of that in pretty much every game I've seen. Around the outside of the penalty area the defence never closes players down as quickly or tightly as they should, allowing them to take pot shots and scoring on plenty of occasions.

I reckon our left hand side looks the best it has with LJF and Sheehan, it looks dodgy as fuck with O'Brien playing there as he loses the ball so much. Its not just about how a single player performs, but how the whole team performs.

To be fair Dave, how often do people shout about "everything's OK"?  The newspapers weren't filled with stories on "Economy Absolutely Fine" and "MP's Completely Honest" 2 years ago...

I see what you're saying, but people will always pick up on the negatives.  I haven't seen much of Town play recently so can't comment on LJF, but there is always a scapegoat in the Town team.  I presume it's the same with most teams, but if it's not LFJ it's Michael Pook, and if it's not him it's Matthew Hewlett, or Christian Roberts, or Matthew Heywood, or David Duke...

We looked better with O'Brien on the pitch yesterday.

I just think that with JPM on the right and winger on the left it makes the team unbalanced, as JPM is more a midfielder than a winger. Which doesn't happen with someone like Sheehan, who is a lot closer to JPM in style of play.

Then JFL and Sheehan can overlap the same way Amankwaah and JPM do.

You didn't go yesterday did you?

Nope. But I'm just going from what I've seen of O'Brien so far and the fact that he's a winger.

Yesterday is a bit of anomaly as Charlton had 9 men, so OB had extra space...but...

Id say we look better with JPM and OB on the wings as they are both totally different types of wingers, so we can switch it up.

On one side you have a player who is more likely to create space with passing and whip the ball in further back, on the other side you have a player who will just run as people with pure pace and get to the line and put it across.

Much better to have the differen options, it worked well yesterday

So your counter point to mine about yesterday was pretty much based on nothing to do with yesterday :)

Going back to Lescinel in particular, I have noticed that both the crowd and players are getting on his back from the off. Perhaps some time in the reserves would be good for him, he must be low on confidence.

Did anyone notice that David Lucas ran half the length of the pitch to congratulate JFL on his goal assist against Brighton?

I'm not in the habit of scape-goating(?) players. Anyone at Charlton, or at Rovers away (Another game johnny must've missed, if he can't remember the last time LJF cost us points) would surely agree that Leschinel was the poorest player in our starting 11. That's not making him a scapegoat, that's an observation that's shared by many people.

As for making Hutchinson a scape goat, don't be fucking stupid. The bloke clearly doesn't give a fuck, he just goes through the motions and exerts as little energy as possible. Once again that's an observation.

Neither player was to blame for the fact that we conceded a 94th minute equaliser yesterday, but where has anybody said they were?

Personally, I hope LJF improves and becomes a player that doesn't look out of place in our first 11. At the moment though he does.

Agree with the above post.

Hutchinson coming on yesterday was a very strange one, Alex Revell may be equally shite but at least he will run around and put in some effort, Hutchinson just doesn't care. Celtic fan on another board said that when ever he got the chance for them he didn't seem to give a fuck either.

LJF has fucked up too many times this season, he can look good at times but the amount of mistakes he makes is laughable, and I doubt Wilson will keep playing him for much longer, as I think he'll sign a left back in Janaury and keep Sheehan left midfield. I'm not sure on O'Brien yet, but he has looked ok and he'll improve as he gets fitter, and Macklin isn't up to the standard of starting games every week.

I reckon that quip about Macklin will turn around and bite you on the arse.  When he was fit he was easily better tham macnamee (not hard I know) and away at Franchise, he ripped tham another ass hole.

Not saying he's a bad player, but at the moment I don't reckon he's up to the standard of starting every week.

Promising player with a lot of potential - yes.
Good enough to start every week - not yet.

IMO.

I think Wilson has 2 starting line ups on the left. Away from home lescinel and sheehan, at home sheehan and o brien. I reckon as o brien becomes fitter he will be in the starting 11 with sheehan behind him.

I reckon games he is involved inare much more fun to watch.  His ball control positioning are much akin to Ifil's old passing when he had time and space at time, but then every so often he pulls a corker of challlenge, turn or pass out of the hat and makes you happy to be Town fan.

How about Amankwaah's mistakes for the 3rd goal at Rovers and the 2nd at Charlton?

Anyway, I'm not saying LJF is faultless. I just think he gets far too much blame for his mistakes and people need to get off his back a bit. He has plenty of flashes of brilliance and Wilson needs to sort out his problems, whatever they are - though I'm convinced its mainly confidence and concentration which can be fixed with some work.

I'm not convinced another left back should be that high on our list in January as we've already got Sheehan and Kennedy. There are other areas that we are weaker in, we've no cover at centre back or right back at present for example.

Plus everyone seems to forget how well we're playing at the moment and our league position. Anyone would think we were near the drop zone with all the moaning about players and results.

I take your point about the moaning, but with due respect a draw against nine men is a disaster and it rather overshadows some of the better performances.

Nobody is saying JFL cost us the game, or made one critical error. He was an error prone disaster and he has been nervy and shit in the last couple of games. Should we blame him for passing to nobody or into touch, crappy first touch, having to be told to run after an opposing player in his zone, or giving away possession by foul throwing? He did all that yesterday and even his crossing was shit.

At this present time he should be dropped as he isn't making the grade. That's not to say he won't ever make the grade because we have seen some good performances.

Just because Hutchinson and Revell played well at Brentford, doesn't mean they're quality.

Lescinal for first goal scorer today then....lets all get behind him today,hes been poor at times but the last thing we  need is for players to get stick at home......some good posts on her looking at both aspects of him but todays massive for us regards to a playoff place so ime hoping the crowd is positive today.

Personally, I'd rather he just didn't play. But if he does I'll certainly be supportive rather than getting on his back - it doesn't do anybody any good.

Any chance they'll play 3 in the middle at the back and use LJF and Manks as wing backs? Just a thought  :)

I'd imagine if he played 3 at the back Lescinel would make up one of those three. From memory he did well in that position against peterbrough last season, though i was very very very drunk at the time and he may have had a shocker

I was there too Dave (sober). I'm sure it was three at the back, he played well that day. You are talking about the away game I hope?

Indeed i am

Thats a good post. The only player I would write off at the moment is Hutchinson. Everyone else deserves our support. Lescinel has shown signs of promise. Its all positive.

I reckon LJF would really benefit from a loan spell at a club a division or two below us, it could help with his confidence and his game. Though obviously not before we sort out our current defence shortage.

If he can sort out the mistakes and other bits and pieces he could be the best left back we've had for a while.

I love LJF for all the same reason I came to hold my hands over my eyes whenever Ifil played towards the end of his time here.  He's pure footballing comedy, moments where he looks a world beater and then falls over the ball.  I think he's a rough diamond who needs a bit of shaping and getting first team football here will be helping that - he just needs to develop where Ifil went backwards.  If he was playing centre back I'd be more worried because full backs can get away with a bit more if we're honest.

I also think it says a lot about how far we've come that people think he's awful.  For the past 10 years he's certainly not anywhere near the worst to have pulled on the left back shirt, let alone a Town shirt.  I hope he comes good.

I'm the other way Rob i think the fact he was a centre half initially is part of the reason he gets caught drifting back into his natural position.The times i have seen him play centre half are probably his better performances i have seen

Good post.Lescinel is still young. I agree he's got weaknesses but he's also got some pretty good plus points like he's a good crosser of the ball and he's got a good engine. He's well worth persevering with even if its as a squad player rather than first choice. .

Hutchinson is not crap, we just need to unlock his real time perception. At the moment he sees and does everything in slow motion.

In fact I reckon he'll be like Alan O'Brien on speed once we untap this forgotten potential.

The guy must be suffering when he sees what's going on back in his homeland (Haiti).

Hope you're family and friends are ok LJF.

Jean-Francois' international career is unusual because he's from French Guyana and has spent most of his time in France. A bit like Owen Hargreaves I suppose.

Hopefully his family in Haiti are okay.

His 11 year old sister is missing.

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/4857125.Swindon_Town_s_Lescinel_begs_Swindon_to_pray_for_his_family_in_Haiti/


Hope everything turns out for the best.

Hope they find her safe and well, must be horrible for him.

Surely he can't play with that on his mind.

Oh crap, once again life puts football into perspective :(

Shit. That's horrible. Best of luck and all that

Fair play to him for kitting up on Saturday, most wouldn't have!

Fingers crossed.

we ' re all behind you and hope your sister and family are safe, Lesh

Just seen an interview with Lesc on BBC local news. Basically said going to training and getting game time helps him to stop worrying about family. Fair play to him.

Poor Chap, thats awful.

Mental, didn't even know about Haiti until this thread. Oh well, hope it all turns out good for the bloke. And lets hope we can forgive any less than perfect (or shit as jonny would say ;) ) performances.

Defoe said the same about his brother dying. He reckons this is why he has played so well this year.

I thought he did alright when he came on against Gillingham. Looks even better with this in mind. Fair play to him.

That's very bad news about about his sister, hopefully she is found and until then he gets all the help he needs from the club and supporters.

feel quite the cnut for slating his performance Saturday now! Definitely puts life into perspective when things like this happen. I remember reading about wilson palacios playing after his brother was kidnapped and later murdered.

Can't even begin to wonder how could think about playing footie.

Lets hope he gets some good news.

Is that the PaulD on this site there having a moan at on the comments section?

Some of them are tres special

No, it's fucking not. Haven't read the comments on there, but don't have to. There's some bloke registered on the Adver site as PaulD who's views are about as far from mine as it's possible to get - I keep seeing his comments in the news section and it makes me cringe in case anyone thinks it is me. Thanks for the chance to put the record straight.

Let's hope she and the rest of his family are found safe, poor guy must be awful not knowing

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/jeanfranccedilois-lescinel-everyone-should-say-a-prayer-for-haiti-1872034.html

Article from the Independent on his missing family members.

Let's get behind him tonight and give him all our support.

Hopefully his family is well and just not been able to get in touch due to lack of communications at the minute. Thoughts are wtih the family of "The Lesh"

Really good support for him tonight, when he comes on the pitch especially, will really encourage him.  He will be feeling a whole range of awful emotions - fear, anger, powerlessness, deep sadness for the country as a whole as well as his family, but especially he will be feeling loneliness at being so far away from loved family.  To know, in that special way which only football fans can do it, that he is supported and respected for who he is - even loved - will do an enormous amount to help him cope with that loneliness.

Ever though of writing for Mills and Boon HR ?

 ;)

Me? Write?  Nope, just read it....and it always seems to work there

SO sad
I had a big today out after Christmas had 5 huge bags for charity normally take it all to the cats protection charity shop but decided to drive to Trowbridge specially to take it all to Oxfam to try and help the Hati appeal a little bit. 

Seconded.  The bloke will deserve a standing ovation for just making it out on to the pitch.

No problem

as sad as it sounds this is why i register as magicroundabout on most stfc forums even if i never post on them just so that this can't happen.

:D

*BUMP* Still no news by the looks of it. Doesn't look good, hope she's found safe and well:

http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/4883219.Please_keep_your_help_coming__says_Town_star/?ref=mr

Lot of vocal backing for him saturday which was nice to hear/sing.

Why don't we try and do something to show Lex that we are thinking of him.  Perhaps do a massive Haitian flag in the DRS like we did the Uraguayan one for Gus Poyet?

http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/news/headlines/8196014.Jean_Francois__personal_torment_in_Wembley_build_up/ (http://www.thisisswindontownfc.co.uk/news/headlines/8196014.Jean_Francois__personal_torment_in_Wembley_build_up/)

They found his sister's body. Must be heartbreaking for the guy to finally lose any hope. I don't care how poorly he played, the man's a hero for even turning up for the playoffs.

Fucking Hell, JEAN FRANCOISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, JEAN FRANCOIS.

it certainly puts the result on saturday into perspective.

He may not have been at his best at times, and with that hanging over him for the last 6 months we shouldn't be surprised, but the guy has behaved professionally throughout his heartbreak.
We are thinking of you LJF!!

Hes a top man, not a wonderful footballer but thats immaterial at the moment.

Best wishes and respect to you JFL LFJ JLF or whatever you prefer to be called!

I thought he preferd LJF  :clap:

This brought a tear to my eye. What a legend.

Lecs has proved himself as a legend, cult hero, lionhearted beast of a man.  I can only imagine what he must be going through but the fact that he put his own turmoil behind him and willing to play for the club through this particular time in his life shows what a character he is.

He may not be the best defender that we have ever had but he is bloody God.

Jeannnnnnnnnnn-Francoissssssssssssssssssss, Jeannnnnnnnnnnnnnn-Francoisssssssssssssssss!

Lescinel Jean-François.  Legend.

They're made of stern stuff in Haiti, no mistake about it.  Thinking of you, LJF, at a difficult time.

What he must have been going through this past six months is beyond imagination - not knowing is the real killer.  and in that time he has put in some huge performances at centre back, by all accounts.  Yes, inconsistency seems to have been a problem, but if in the midst of his personal tragedy he has still been able to produce at least some great performances, then I really hope fans will give him the benefit of the doubt over the summer, and see what he can produce once the tragedy has passed a bit.  I reckon the potential is there, and he will certainly repay the generosity and loyalty of the club management and the fans.

I really take my hat of to him,to be going through what he has/is and to put in the effort he has is outstanding.
Great effort and i cant try and put into words what i think of him as a man...so i wont.

he'll come back stronger,which will benefit us a town fans

Completely agree.

I do however quite like the idea of a Haitian flag on the bank in his honour  :toocool:

Get that flag up there ASAP I say. Great idea!

Really feel for him. Fair play to him for playing at Wembley in such a big game. I think he can be excused for having other things on his mind. I hope he goes away and has a long break now and comes back fresh for the new season. At CB he can rival Greer and Cuthbert for a place in the team if he sticks at it.

Poor bloke, would have been nice if he scored with his second half chance at Wembley.

Haitain flag on the Bank would be spot on.

I cant wait to show him some support next season from the Town End.

That was a fantastic effort actually. A rare positive on a very dismal day.

Yep, good strong header. Got a cracking long range pass on him too. Although no left back he put in a great cross vs Leeds and Huddersfield at home which led to goals.

JEAN FRANCOIS!

Massive respect to him...He's someone that many other professionals could learn a thing or two from. A ture hero.

Having said that, he's a bit cack on the pitch  :headhurts:

Yeah, ok. We'll get one to go up with the rest.

did his contract exspire this season? hope he gets another year atleast

Lesc deserves his own song for next season..

I suggest to the tune of 'viva ronaldo' that 'used' to be sung by manure fans

'viva lescinel.......viva lescinel.......
he puts the swindon first, we hope he;s here for years, viva lescinel.....'
repeat soapy tit wank

top notch fella, top notch song, we need some new songs lets be fair and this fits well.

£12. On order.

[url width=402 height=202]http://www.hampshireflag.co.uk/images/Flags/Haiti-State-Flag.jpg[/url]

I think we need a Wessex flag too.

[url width=402 height=202]http://www.hampshireflag.co.uk/images/Flags/Wessex-Flag.jpg[/url]

Any other suggestions for the Bank?

Less self-loving and more jazz.

I think the lesc song is already sorted

Posh spice is a slapper
She takes it up the arse
And when she's shagging beckham
She thinks of jean francois

kazakhstan!

Quite simply the best 4 lines in literary history.

awesome!!!

I like.

[url width=402 height=202]http://www.hampshireflag.co.uk/images/Flags/Kazakstan-Flag.jpg[/url]

Sri Lanka is quite a cool flag

[url width=200 height=120]http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/hodgson/Courses/so191/Projects2005/MegCanny/Sri%20Lanka_files/SriLankaF.gif[/url]

Also: Kyrgyzstan, Sicily, and the crazy Nepali flag!

[url width=200 height=120]http://yardflags.us/blog/images/bestflags/Kyrgyzstan.png[/url]

[url width=200 height=133]http://yardflags.us/blog/images/bestflags/sicily.gif[/url]

[url width=320 height=391]http://xnepali.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/national_flag_of_nepal.jpg[/url]

I don't have any sensible reasons for these flags other than that they are a bit unusual!

Hopefully we will sign a player from a really unusual place  :toocool:

[url width=447 height=302]http://www.southernct.edu/~fields/geo/SouthAmerica/Trinidad_and_Tobago-flag.gif[/url]

T&T, out of respect for Ricky Shakes. ;) :D

Libya! Libya! Libya! Libya!
Best flag, second to none.

[url width=604 height=302]http://badflags.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/large_flag_of_libya.gif[/url]

I'm singing this.

arse doesnt rhyme with francois.

Close enough grumpy guts

You need to get out more.

It does, from what I've heard of some peoples pronounciation of Francois at least!

Kiribati rules!
[url width=453 height=302]http://www.travelblog.org/World/flags/i-kiribati-large-flag-kr.gif[/url]

Haha I've just been playing FIFA world cup and he's in the Haiti squad. They even say his name when they commentate.

Jean Francois, Jean Francois!

8)

I was listening to the radio online when we were playing Lids away and one of their thick, northern pundits pronounced it 'Jean Franseece'

ps The song above quoted by b3nny, get thumbs up from me.

It is definitely of a high standard, and there's no problem with saying 's' at the end. Certainly nothing like as embarrassingly bad as;

Glennie Hoddle
We're proud to sing your name......

Glennie! I hated that.

The song is a rip of from Cardiff's Capaldi song...which does rhyme.

Oh fucking scrap it then. Dave you useless ginger cunt.