Lancaster Rover

The issue we have at the moment is teams poorly replicating parts of a system used by the best team ever (2012 Barcelona). The first mistake they make is that Barcelona were able to play that way due to their personnel and over 20’yeara of honing their style. As an interesting aside, Barcelona scored over 70% of their goals through counter attacks which flys in the face of the notion they played around the back endlessly. In reality they won the ball back made a few combinations in midfield to draw the press and then created overloads. Secondly and a point of heard discussed a lot recently in podcasts and coaching articles is within football theory the aim is to simply score 1 more goal than the other team. The chances if Themis are highest when you are closest to their goal, the chances of conceding are when you’re closest to your goal so possession without intent means that at some stage you will lose the ball and risk conceding. Johan Cruyff said “always look the furthest pass and work your way backward”, he wanted forward passes as quickly as possible, we’re suffering a huge misrepresentation of the great man’s way of playing at the moment with the endless backward passing. Going forward is positive, sideways is neither good or bad, backwards is the opposite of the basics of football theory

Performance wise I was very pleasantly surprised, albeit I thought Ipswich were well below what I was expecting. Tronstad and Hickman had a relatively easy day IMO. Pitch wise the minute the ball stuck giving Kargbo change to pounce it was game over, they can’t allow the weather to impact the result in such an obvious way. It’ll no doubt be replayed in full with 11 v 11, the player will serve his ban starting tomorrow and we’ll get no benefit from the man advantage in the replay. It’ll likely be played during our post Jan injury slump and we’ll get beat. Sods bloody law

It has been forwarded on to Yasir, I wait with baited breath

I'd say on viewings so far we are weaker. The only player we've signed that I believe would get in last years starting 11 would be Gudjohnssen, and that is based purely on his Iceland games and the fact that we're so light at centre froward. From a lively cameo (in a dreadful game) and a start you'd maybe say Morisihito would interchange with Dolan. Other than that I don't think of the new players get in ahead of what we had last season. Alebiosu looks like he will be a solid and athletic right back, but he doesn't possess Britain's technical quality. Tavares, less said about him the better IMO, I've seen milk turn quicker. I'm 40 and would still be able to play sideways and backward 3 yard passes and jog alongside my opposing CM. De Neve, doesnt seem to be anywhere near the team. Baradji, there is a lot of hype about him being the man to galvanise midfield. When will he be ready, November? Miller, not a starter by the looks of it, as said before looks a walking red card to me. McLoughlin, solid enough but turned like an oil tanker for the sending off against Norwich. TGH - Stinks of being an extra body to cover the cracks of letting Travis go, can cover a few positions which could be a blessing. Although you know what they say about a jack of all trades.

My lad won the spin the wheel thing from the fanzone where you go on the pitch at half time and pass into the target. I gave all my details, etc and was told I'd receive an email the following week. 2 weeks later and still nothing. I'm going to call tomorrow but wondered if anyone had experience of the match day team who run these things and who I'd contact. Saves me wading through the switchboard

Tavares in midfield giving them license to do whatever they like through the middle of the pitch.

I think the lack of reacting to pressing triggers are the main reason Gueye is out in the cold with VI, Ohashi is incredibly diligent when it comes to his off the ball duties which is one of the main reasons I think he's been preferred thus far, that and Gueye couldn't hit a barn door

If we had kept Travis I thought 3 - box - 3 would work quite well, getting 2 10's on the pitch and using the full backs for width as we've not got much quality out wide. With the sales we've made and the personnel we have 4-2-3-1 is the most obvious choice to persevere with, although with Cantwell often dropping deep it's more of a 4-2-1-2-1

Wharton's injury problems look very similar to the problems Pedri had after playing so many games whilst his body was still maturing. It's taken Pedri several years to have a consistent season form and injury wise.

Biggest shock in all of this is the realistation we paid 1.5 million for Gueye. In my head we'd got him for 500k or something

Don't feel this got enough credit, very subtle

most clubs will loan players within a 50 mile radius then they can still have the player train with them 1 day a week, not sure if it applies at Rovers but a lot of the other local clubs operated that way for a long time. Although saying that we've sent a few players to the SPL in recent times, but I think the ones who went up were going at a point in their youth careers when it looked as if they were off. Thinking of Vale and the left back we sent to Motherwell

They tend to not have anything to do with negotiations, they are the go between when the loan is active. They go and watch the players, deal with the analysts from host club, liaise with physio's and medical staff on physical development and work with the coaching staff.

Charlie Adam was loans manager at Burnley for a good while. I'd be very surprised if Rhodes hasn't done several badges already, the PFA offer fully funded B license courses to all senior players, most are able to undertake the practicals, etc at their own clubs. All scholars complete C license as part of their EFL/PL education package.

I'd argue that any player with an ounce of football intelligence/quality would do as I've said above. Nobody coaches you to clamp someone on the halfway line to stop a last minute breakaway, a winners mentality and professional intelligence makes you do it. Did anyone tell Lee Williamson to whollop Ings in the dying moments, no he knew to do it