You’re not singing any more

Anything yellow and blue
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recordmeister
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You’re not singing any more

Post by recordmeister »

We’ve all gone a bit quiet on here haven’t we.

Are we now KR fans. The recent record (and resilience) is exceptional.

Any thoughts?
Werthers Original
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by Werthers Original »

Don’t reckon this lot go to the games! (Well to be fair i don’t do the away ones). I think Robinson deserves enormous credit for turning things around. Partly it’s just players getting fit and settling into a pattern, but he spotted where the formation wasn’t t working and fixed it. I’m amazed at the mental strength needed to do that in the face of such public barracking. (He’ll always be a bit annoying, mind, and I’m not sure he’ll lead us to glory, but he’s doing his job very well.)
recordmeister
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by recordmeister »

The turning point: half time at Charlton away.

I took a friend who watches a lot of football on critical level (yeah, I know...!) and his comment at half time was: Does your midfield play in midfield (answer: no, he’s a centr back), and so on. We had about 4 players out of position.

At HT we moved, pretty much, to the system we play now.

Fans pressure to play JM in front of the back 4 (I know a lot of people who were vocal about that? Or genius management? Either way, the addition (I’ve been told this is off the record but hey-ho) of an psychologicalist seems to have been the key.
OtmoorYellow
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by OtmoorYellow »

I was going to post a message along these lines a few days ago.

It has been a remarkable turnaround in form, coinciding with the return of Eastwood in goal, moving of Mousinho to defensive midfield, and Mackie reaching fitness just as Obika got injured. Also a huge mention for Henry, who was being chided by many supporters earlier in the season, but is now arguably our most important player, and not forgetting Gavin Whyte, whose development into a decent League 1 player has been rapid.

Our turnaround is all the more remarkable given the long term injuries to Hall and Baptiste, both of whom had shone in the early season gloom. I've heard that Hall may be back in less than a month, which would be a big boost.

All credit to KR for this turnaround in form, and he has certainly earned his corn and right to remain. Perhaps we should all take a leaf from Ty's rather more patient approach to management retention. Credit also to KR for the restructuring of the football side into U18s U23s and 1st team, which provides a natural player development path, as well as teams for players to use when returning from injury. KR has additionally utilised young talent in the 1st team at an appropriate rate for their development, without burn out. We've got quite a few U18s and U23s who should develop into good 1st XI players in a few seasons.

It looks as though we will be losing Browne in a couple of weeks, which will be a big blow, but I'll be looking forward to the return of Jordan Graham if that comes off.

I wouldn't be surprised if we also see Holmes being returned to Sheffield, with his persistent back injury that we can ill afford.

I can't see Nelson being allowed to leave as any small fee would be outweighed by his loss.

Garbutt surely has to be returned to Everton as not being worth his wages.

And Obika is highly unlikely to ever pull on the yellow shirt again.

Those changes must free up some budget for new players.
Old Abingdonian
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by Old Abingdonian »

This is all spot on. KR deserves particular credit for finding the best pegs for the best holes, even when they right ones just haven't been available. So moving Mous into midfield has been the greatest single factor in the transformation. Hanson is no right back (positioning v Blackpool was constant liability) but this seems one of those rare instances in which it's right to put the player in the team, even if he has to play in a different position.
Kairdiff Exile
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by Kairdiff Exile »

I’m less convinced by the “KR is a tactical genius” trope. Most of us were saying last Easter that Mousinho wasn’t a centre-back and should be played at centre mid. THe fact that it took Gobbo until October to try it confirms my suspicion that he’s a paid-up member of the Slow Learners Club.

I’m also unconvinced by the “unlucky with injuries” trope. Most of the crocks were players he signed who were renowned sicknotes. It’s no surprise that so many of them have spent more time on the physio’s table than in the team. Obika being knocked out for the season was genuine bad luck, as was the injury to Baptiste - but the former was by common consensus not performing, and the latter was not on most people’s radar in August. Their injuries have not been decisive factors in where we find ourselves.

And then there are the signings. We were told Garbutt and Smith were sensational and we were lucky to have them. We were told Holmes and Carruthers would walk through defences at this level. We were told McMahon would be critical to our promotion push. I’m not saying all of KR’s signings have been poor (Whyte in particular has been excellent), but his account is very much in deficit. His inability to bring in a proven striker, and the equally-misguided decision to flood our ranks with creative midfielders, have been criminal.

I’ve not even mentioned the lamentable post-match interviews, the faux-banter at every turn and the lingering suspicion that he’s just, well, not very bright.

So, in summary, we’re probably where I expected us to be (actually, we’re four places lower than my pre-season prediction of 14th). Two-thirds of the way down the table, frustrated, and struggling for goals. Recent form has been good, but given all the above factors, I’m still thoroughly underwhelmed by Mr Robinson.
Geoff
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by Geoff »

Must admit I was getting close to calling for KR's head at one point, which is unusual for me. Not so much because of our performances but more due to his radio interviews. Apart from some of them being irrational, I'm never a fan of managers criticising individual players. That should happen one-to-one in the dressing room or on the training ground. These have toned down considerably in recent weeks.

To be fair though he always said as more players became fit we would see the quality in the squad and so it has come to pass! We still have nervous moments in defence but we always look capable of scoring a couple goals. The Blackpool game showed how we can upset teams in the top half now and, considering the conditions, was an excellent performance.

In January we need to decide (if we have the choice) whether Holmes, Carruthers and Smith are playing enough football to warrant the budget. Personally (depending on fitness) I would keep one of them as they have bedded into the squad now.

I wonder how much a young midfielder who can play at left back and score the occasional goal is worth?
Dr Bob
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by Dr Bob »

1 defeat in 16 is excellent form, however you try to cut it. During this time we have got away with draws (eg FGR at home), we have blown winning positions (most obviously Scunny away), and losing to Bradford thanks to a few minutes of madness was terrible, but we have just kept going. There was a period when we had a run of league matches against teams around us at the bottom and we did OK. That has been followed by games against higher-placed teams (Peterborough, Blackpool, Donny) where we have won the home game and drawn both away games. Whether it was tactical switches, confidence borne of a good run of results, or some combination of factors, we are a totally different proposition now.

We are still 18th, but I have seen over many years that when a team goes on a run, it does not usually keep rising place after place week after week. There will be a closing of the gap, followed by a move of a couple of places, followed by another closing of the gap, and so on. Looking at the table this morning, a good Christmas period could see us mid table by the time we go to Brentford.

An important factor in the upturn of form is the fitness of (and lack of injuries to) key players, but this brings us back to the comment about KR having signed sicknotes who were then expected to stay fit and drive us forwards. With his hands increasingly tied over those crocks (a negative mark against KR), he has selected players, positions and formations that have delivered a massive improvement in performances and results (a massive positive mark for KR).

I shifted from a negative view of KR to a more neutral one about 6 weeks ago. For me, the game that really shifted my view to (very) positive, was the Blackpool win. Everything about that performance was superb. we were leading at half time despite being in second gear for most of the first half, but with two moments of magic for the goals. In the second half, we did not give Blackpool a meaningful chance to get back in the game. The one thing that had been missing was game management - but in the latter part of the second half, we showed just how it could be done.

Reading the reports from the Donny game, it seems that we should have been out of sight, rather than relying on a 97th minute equaliser. We know the issue about getting in a reliable striker - but we also know that as perhaps the single most prized asset in football, finding, attracting and affording such a player is not easy. But get a decent striker in and we could even do better than Plymouth last season.
OtmoorYellow
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by OtmoorYellow »

Kairdiff Exile wrote: Sun Dec 23, 2018 11:25 am I’m less convinced by the “KR is a tactical genius” trope. Most of us were saying last Easter that Mousinho wasn’t a centre-back and should be played at centre mid. THe fact that it took Gobbo until October to try it confirms my suspicion that he’s a paid-up member of the Slow Learners Club.

I’m also unconvinced by the “unlucky with injuries” trope. Most of the crocks were players he signed who were renowned sicknotes. It’s no surprise that so many of them have spent more time on the physio’s table than in the team. Obika being knocked out for the season was genuine bad luck, as was the injury to Baptiste - but the former was by common consensus not performing, and the latter was not on most people’s radar in August. Their injuries have not been decisive factors in where we find ourselves.

And then there are the signings. We were told Garbutt and Smith were sensational and we were lucky to have them. We were told Holmes and Carruthers would walk through defences at this level. We were told McMahon would be critical to our promotion push. I’m not saying all of KR’s signings have been poor (Whyte in particular has been excellent), but his account is very much in deficit. His inability to bring in a proven striker, and the equally-misguided decision to flood our ranks with creative midfielders, have been criminal.

I’ve not even mentioned the lamentable post-match interviews, the faux-banter at every turn and the lingering suspicion that he’s just, well, not very bright.

So, in summary, we’re probably where I expected us to be (actually, we’re four places lower than my pre-season prediction of 14th). Two-thirds of the way down the table, frustrated, and struggling for goals. Recent form has been good, but given all the above factors, I’m still thoroughly underwhelmed by Mr Robinson.
I suspect this to be a combination of thoughts and playing devils advocate.

As Dr Bob said, 1 defeat in 16 is top notch form, and there can be very few seasons that the club has achieved a run that good. It shows how bad and almost adrift we were before the change in form that we are still only 18th. Assuming no big negative issues arising, we should now be looking towards a top half finish as a minimum, a top 10 finish as par and who knows ….
slappy
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by slappy »

One little stat pointed out was that after ten games we were 13 points adrift of the play-offs. we had 5 points vs 18.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/league-on ... pieltag=10

as of today, played 23, we are still 13 points adrift. we have 26 vs 39.

So although we have done well to get a few points clear of the relegation places, there is a big group of 12 mid table teams with points from 34 to 25, then a gap of 5 from "mid table" to the top seven on 39 points.

So we will have to see what happens with Browne in January, and if Jordan Graham returns.
Jimski
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by Jimski »

Play-offs? I'll still be happy with 20th tbh. I'm much more worried about the teams below us.
Jimski
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by Jimski »

As I was saying...
Radley Rambler
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by Radley Rambler »

slappy wrote: Mon Dec 24, 2018 11:25 am One little stat pointed out was that after ten games we were 13 points adrift of the play-offs. we had 5 points vs 18.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/league-on ... pieltag=10

as of today, played 23, we are still 13 points adrift. we have 26 vs 39.

So although we have done well to get a few points clear of the relegation places, there is a big group of 12 mid table teams with points from 34 to 25, then a gap of 5 from "mid table" to the top seven on 39 points.

So we will have to see what happens with Browne in January, and if Jordan Graham returns.
Given Browne's performances in the last two matches, I can only assume he's off elsewhere. I hope Jordon does well for us but......he is being portrayed as some sort of superstar. He played five games for us last time and has been seriously injured since that spell. He is only a small part of what is needed in January if we are going to keep League 1 status.
Jimski
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Re: You’re not singing any more

Post by Jimski »

Jimski wrote: Mon Dec 24, 2018 1:47 pm Play-offs? I'll still be happy with 20th tbh. I'm much more worried about the teams below us.
I wouldn't just be "happy", I'd now bite your hand off if offered 20th at the end of the season.
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