Adver News: Fans urged to stay patient over Town’s style of football

[Reg Smeeton]

You can't aimlessly plod along with the same style of football if it isn't working which away from home it clearly doesn't, as we've all said all season we need a plan B but Cooper just hasn't had a clue where to start.
This squad is crying out for couple of proper wingers to offer some width when passing through the middle doesn't work, in fact in recent weeks our outright refusal to cross the ball has really started to piss me off especially against Colchester when they were down to 10 men. Good wing play can be 'pretty' as we, I challenge anyone to say the Caddis, Ferry & Ritchie triangle wasn't good to watch.
People draw comparisons with Swansea and their change of philosophy but a new stadium and a cash injection is ultimately what got them where they are now so I don't think any comparison can be drawn.
The main problem as I see it is the patience side of thing is a bit of a misnomer as we aren't actually really building for the future, with this approach of short term deals and maximising loans we are likely to have a substantially different squad every season and we're either going to get lucky one year and challenge or end up with an Iffy like season and see all the loan deals turn out largely useless.
Also I've seen nothing to suggest there has been any shake up of the youth system or a change of philosophy that will suddenly mean we being our own players through more regularly.
It just feels more like its a case of get by with a bit of luck and favours rather than a strategic vision.

One final thing is that if Power is going to run everything except the coaching side of things maybe we need to look at the head coach side of things rather than an old fashioned manager type. Is Cooper really upto it on the tactical and technical side of things, I'd say the jury is out on that......

I think the project is to find cut price players, hopefully develop them and then sell them on for a profit, with a healthy cut  for the owners/managers/scouts/agents etc and some to go back into the club.

[pauld]

I think the project is to find cut price players, hopefully develop them and then sell them on for a profit, with a healthy cut  for the owners/managers/scouts/agents etc and some to go back into the club.

That was exactly what Fitton and Co were aiming for as well. Except for the agents of course. In fact I think it's pretty much what every Football League club claims to be doing. It's getting it right that's tricky.

[chalkies_shorts]

I think the majority of Town fans have been patient. Most realise its a period of transition and is not a normal season even by Town's standards. I've seen some cracking football but also some real fucking dross, unfortunately the latter is more recent. I can take transition, I can take losing, what I can't take is not giving it a fucking go and this has happened too many times this season. The side to side stuff is great when you've got an end product but it bores me shitless when it hasn't. The system would work if we had a defence like AC Milan - we haven't and we play at such a slow tempo it is easy for the opposition to get into shape.
Its a laudable effort to stick to this style but all decent sides can mix it up if they need. Hopefully, once we've got the big earners off the books we can reshape our squad with some seasoned veterans.
Also, we can help ourselves by stopping gobbing off at the ref. "Oh ref they won't let me play my pretty football". Grow a fucking pair, stop gobbing off and getting banned. 

[Bogus Dave]

Town fans won't be patient because a large majority have a misplaced sense of entitlement and expect far too much from far too little

[THE FLASH]

Started well and faded.

Mid table is certainly acceptable. Shame ref JPT.

Get some of the milkers off the books and add to the reasonable core.

The start will be a test for Cooper he needs another good one.

[kerry red]

It seems to me that it's not us fans who have to buy into this 'style' it's the players.

If you're getting tonked away from home most times it wouldn't be that surprising if the players dont give it 100%.

And is not 30-odd games enough for the players to get what is being asked of them? If it is seen as a longer term 'style' how can that really work if we have to change our loan players every season?

Seems muddled thinking to me

[tans]

I'm saying Tans.

Nah not me, i dont really give a fuck

[ronnie21]

My only gripe is the attitude some players adopt, jesus they would be off after 20 minutes under a certain recent manager!  Unfortunately for me the excuses are wearing very thin now, even if we are not very good (despite some really talented players) if the motivation is lacking then you end being woeful.  

[Exiled Bob]

Town fans won't be patient because a large majority have a misplaced sense of entitlement and expect far too much from far too little

I don't think that's necessarily the case. Some fans, agreed, have expectations way above what should be reasonable for a team like ours with the resources we have. Those fans, the mong element, (and we seem to be over-endowed with them - see the Thisis site for a few examples) will always believe that we should be up the top of the table, buying players left right and centre and selling them on (just like that) when they have a shit game, sacking the manager after a couple of defeats or, low and behold, if we don't play the way they think we should be playing (basically hoof it into the box at every opportunity) or even if he's not a big enough name for them.

However, having seen some fantastic performances earlier in the season, I think the expectations were raised for the rest of us and rightly so. We've all seen what this team is capable of. Ask Harry Redknapp.....The frustrating thing is that the players, for whatever reason, aren't capable of putting in consistently good performances. Is that down to youth and bad luck with injuries, the weather, terrible referees, etc, etc,.., as Cooper keeps telling us, or crap management and tactics? A bit of all that I'd say.

[4D]

What style are they actually playing?  From reading some of this all we need to do is move the goals around to the touchlines,  it'll be end to end stuff then. Tippy tappy football is good, if we convert it to attempts at goal, was it one shot we had at orient? Need some more players with a shaun Taylor type attitude, I remember the game where he had his head stitched and bandaged, straight back on and still got stuck in. A lion.

[theakston2k]

What style are they actually playing? 

That's actually a good question, I do wonder if some of the players actually know what they are meant to be doing at the moment. The likes of Luongo and Kasim have been played all across midfield in our numerous different formations and their form has steadily declined as their position has become more and more blurred.

[donkey]

Took Brendan Rogers a while to get Liverpool playing a similar system, a year or so later they have gone from also ran's to 4 points off the top of the Premier League and playing some of the best football I have seen

Was in the Kop on Sunday...heard a few depressing shouts of 'get it forward'. Just like being at the cg at times!

[reeves4england]

The system would work if we had a defence like AC Milan

I take it you've not watched much of Serie A this season?

I've said before that I think any manager coming in last summer would need two years to put any kind of new system in place. Same with Moyes at Man Utd, same as Mourinho seems to be claiming at Chelsea, only we had a heck of a lot more upheaval, and a lot less cash to spend,

[Simon Pieman]

The difference between this calendar year and last is Ajose and Mason (or lack of either).

[TheDukeOfBanbury]

Just a shame Pritchard isn't ours, we could make a fortune on him. Luongo at 400k isn't looking like good business, I don't think we'll ever be able to sell him at a higher price than we paid.

Don't get too worried about the £400 k.
Power was Luongo's agent I am led to believe.
Reckon £400k would not have been parted with and would include add ons etc.

Notwithstanding that Jed done us no favours.