Williams out

[T8AD365]

No need to apologise, facts is facts.

I don't think it's disingenuous at all to say that attack was stronger than this one. I was no fan of Lowe and Paterson, but they were at least Championship level, if very inconsistent. Yates was rubbish for us, but had come off the back of a good season for Blackpool. You could just about locate a pulse amongst those options. This lot are a notable step down. None of them have any pedigree at this level. And it shows.

I posted earlier that Vipotnik had 9 touches today in 78 minutes on the pitch, 1 of those was a defensive header to clear a corner.
Against Sheffield Wednesday he had 14 touches in 86 minutes.
Against Blackburn it was 3 touches in 25 minutes.

That's just the last few games but it's a recurring pattern.

How do we expect him to show anything if we aren't getting the ball to him? That has to be a tactical issue because it's not like he goes hiding in games, he's always making runs that are ignored because the pass doesn't get played to him

 

[Vetchonian]

You've got a narrative in your own head now that I'm somehow a Martin hater.. Duff made things worse.. but you keep banging on about the owners not showing ambition.. now you're saying they're splurging and it's Duffs fault.. just admit you're all hypocrites and don't know what you're arguing about..

It's Duffs fault
It's the owners
It's the recruitment team
It's our squad depth
It's everything except Luke Williams playing a fullback in midfield, a striker as a 10, a midfielder up front and a midfielder on the wing.. but our defence is fantastic, except the goalkeeper being MOTM most games and our player of the season.. but we've got a good shape apparently, data, hard yards and work or something he'll come out with

Get the bus driver gone

Ok

So who replaces him?

Where is the playmaker in this.squad?
Whonis the 20 goal striker?

 

[FearOfAJackPlanet]

The seemingly universal understanding that our squad has been getting weaker each season since relegation apparently had an interlude during the few months Duff was here, where the mighty Coleman/Watson axis graced us with a play-off quality squad and it was only the ineptitude of the gruff northener who didn't speak proper that was keeping this squad of natural born winners back.

Now we're back on track with the narrative of the squad getting weaker and the manager is as unable to do anything about this as you or I.

Anyway. It's all fun and games (off the pitch)

 

[magicdaps10]

Just me being pedantic, sorry lol.

When we first got promoted to the Premier League, did we have the 11th best squad in the country on paper? Or did we have a manager who was able to coach the players so the team was better than the sum of its parts?

There's been plenty of examples of this happening, clubs like Brighton and Brentford getting promoted and establishing themselves in the Premier League because they have coaches who can improve the players and get them to perform together as a team.

Your last paragraph is the main reason I'm arguing so hard on this point. You and many others were more than happy to get rid of Duff but now, just 12 months later, the players in the squad are apparently uncoachable? Were they not uncoachable 12 months ago then?

The extra attacking options we had then were the much derided Yates and Kukharevych and Paterson, who everyone says only played well a few times a season. Only Lowe was decent last season so it's slightly disingenuous to say we had a much stronger attack than we do now

Those players who are not available from last season contributed 26 league goals.
Replaced by Vipotnik, Eom and Bianchini.

Let's not forget Placheta and Patino are no longer with us.

We lost 6 attacking players and replaced with 3. We have covered the starting 11 but have left us so weak as a squad.

Millwall made 3 attacking subs, we only had Bianchini as an attacking option from the bench. If we got the extra 2/3 attacking players in the summer then it can be argued they could have made the difference today.......i am sure they would have in other games this season and arguably would be a few points better off.

It's no coincidence our goalscoring record is so poor overall and especially so in the second half of games given our terrible options from the bench.

We had enough opportunities to score today.

 

[T8AD365]

Those players who are not available from last season contributed 26 league goals.
Replaced by Vipotnik, Eom and Bianchini.

Let's not forget Placheta and Patino are no longer with us.

We lost 6 attacking players and replaced with 3. We have covered the starting 11 but have left us so weak as a squad.

Millwall made 3 attacking subs, we only had Bianchini as an attacking option from the bench. If we got the extra 2/3 attacking players in the summer then it can be argued they could have made the difference today.......i am sure they would have in other games this season and arguably would be a few points better off.

It's no coincidence our goalscoring record is so poor overall and especially so in the second half of games given our terrible options from the bench.

We had enough opportunities to score today.

So those players aren't so bad after all?

People on here were raving about Vipotnik, Eom and Bianchini when they signed, saying we should be able to make the playoffs with the squad we'd assembled.

Placheta joined in February so he wasn't at the club when Duff was in charge. And Patino was ostracised in the second half of last season, with Williams seemingly reluctant to play him.

We've chosen to loan out Congreve and Josh Thomas, rather than actually use them as part of the squad.

We have a 20 year old Nzingo stagnating in the reserves, when he's clearly too good for that level.

We have Wilson as another option, plus Govea and Parker coming back to fitness.

Williams seems to be reluctant to play youngsters, no idea why because you'd think they'd be more likely to follow instruction and run themselves into the ground given an opportunity.

There are reasons we have no attacking options, some of which are purely self inflicted

 

[Andrew - North Hill]

But Cullen scored as many goals or near enough as Yates last season?

And in that squad we didn't have a winger by name. Now we have three albeit one is injured.

The options were no better or worse, just different. You cannot say categorically that Vipotnik wouldn't deliver a similar or better goal return than Yates or that Eom or Ronald under a different manager couldn't manage eight or more.

It's all it's, but's and maybes.

Genuinely don't know how you can say the current options aren't worse when they clearly are. But there we are. Opinions eh.

 

[A4Jack]

Genuinely don't know how you can say the current options aren't worse when they clearly are. But there we are. Opinions eh.

The point is we don't know. We started Martin's first season with Piroe who had 3 goals in the second division in Holland, Obafemi with nothing and Paterson who had two the previous season. How do we know?

On paper Bianchini, Vipotnik and Eom had better records in previous seasons than any of the above.

 

[Pentyrchjack]

Bizarre substitutions when at nil - nil, taking our two strikers off without another striker to come on.

 

[Smurph]

The point is we don't know. We started Martin's first season with Piroe who had 3 goals in the second division in Holland, Obafemi with nothing and Paterson who had two the previous season. How do we know?

On paper Bianchini, Vipotnik and Eom had better records in previous seasons than any of the above.

Let's not forget Martin stripped Piroe of the number nine jersey on the eve of the season and forced the lad to train on the beach with his old fella, the rest is history as they say.......

 

[Dr_Martinsboots]

Williams is a fraud.
He’s trying to copy Russell. And has flunked.

His only job is to get the frontline firing and he’s failed big time.
Russell had us scoring for fun.

Williams is destroying everything. Rank amateur lower league pretender with a big mouff.

No wonder he got sacked last time.

Williams Out.

 

[Smurph]

How can anyone defend Williams after that? At nil nil we didn't have a recognised striker on the pitch.

 

[A4Jack]

How can anyone defend Williams after that? At nil nil we didn't have a recognised striker on the pitch.

But he doesn't have the options etc etc

 

[Longlostjack]

What I really worry about is players landing in Swansea enjoying the lifestyle knowing they’re not Prem material but have found their level and are happy. Grimes the case in point. Manager really needs to shake it up!

 

[Smurph]

But he doesn't have the options etc etc

Only so long that narrative can last.

I enjoyed the first half. The second half was a completely different story.

The inability to influence the result of the game in a positive way sits with one person and person only, Luke.

Millwall were awful, if we can't beat that lot at home, we are well and truly......(insert your own words).

 

[Smurph]

What I really worry about is players landing in Swansea enjoying the lifestyle knowing they’re not Prem material but have found their level and are happy. Grimes the case in point. Manager really needs to shake it up!

Franco gets hooked every game, Bianchi, Viptonik can't get many minutes and Ronald looks like a shadow of the player we signed in January.

Add Yates and that fella on loan at Hibs to the list. It can't be all the fault of the recruitment team.