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Reply | TVOS Preview - Rochdale v York City
at 20:07 26 Mar 2025
Amazes me how people seem to forget who was the manager of Rochdale AFC at the point we got relegated out of the football league.
Now granted, the damage had pretty much been done by the time JM took over but did anyone witness any fire, grit or determination in those final performances of that season? You could see from every team selection and interview that JM - this great loyal servant of the club - had already accepted our fate and wasn’t putting up any fight. That’s why I’ve always been against his permanent appointment. I had accepted us going down, what I couldn’t accept is going down so pathetically and JM’s role in that won’t be forgotten by me.
If by some miracle we get promoted this season then fair enough, I’ll eat my words and JM will have every right to crow at the doubters.
But there seems almost no likelihood whatsoever of that happening because here we are - two years on - with JM’s teams still showing the same absence of fire, grit and determination. The exact qualities you need to win trophies, to win crucial play off games. To, you know, GET PROMOTED.
Why anyone thinks this man should be entrusted with 3 years to carry on is verging on the definition of madness - we’ll be playing exactly the same in the future as we do now yet some of you will be expecting a different outcome. It’s time for a change. |
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Reply | Refwatch - Maidenhead United v Rochdale
at 12:22 24 Mar 2025
edit - was supposed to be replying to samueloneils post
I think this gets to the heart of the issue - we watch the games week in week out and (apart from I would say, this recent spell of wins) the football under JM has been dire.
We find ourselves in non league in perhaps the worst position in the club's history and actually I think the fans have been remarkably restrained. But no-one is happy with this and actually there is an underlying anger at where we are that can jump to the surface at any point.
In order to keep that at bay - the key is ARE THERE GROUNDS FOR OPTIMISM?. I started to have some with the win over Alty in the cup and the series of wins - Bird being for me the main catalyst of the change in how we played. But with Bird gone and the recent results of 1 point from 2 games against relegation zone opposition - the optimism has gone again. Getting us into the play-offs doesn't feel like an achievement if there is zero expectation we can go on to win it. I would have no faith in Jim's team, minus Bird and playing as they have done for the majority of the season, to grind out some results and get us back into L2. I don't know how anyone who has watched his teams over the past two seasons can think they have the fire and grit and determination needed to show up and perform when it counts. In fact - quite the opposite is usually true.
So despite the FA Trophy and despite the league position I am still not convinced JM can do what's needed to get us promoted and I don't want to see him in charge for an entire 3 year plan as I think his time in charge has shown we will end that 3 years exactly where we started. [Post edited 24 Mar 12:24]
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Reply | The race for 7th (Saturday 15th Feb)
at 10:03 16 Feb 2025
With every game we drop points we fall further away from the play offs making our games in hand absolute must wins. But they are going to start coming thick and fast - and lots of must win games in quick succession is going to be very difficult when you have a squad like TS says with no character or steel. I’m afraid that where once I was sure we had enough to get into the play offs I now think with the ground we have to make up, the fixture congestion this late in the season and lack of grit we see week in week out - we aren’t going to do it and will likely finish 8th or 9th. We are a team on the decline at the worst possible moment. |
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Reply | Ebbsfleet (H) match thread
at 10:13 9 Feb 2025
I was never in favour of Jim taking over full time just based on how he was as caretaker. In every post match interview he came across as the players friend, not their manager. Nothing has convinced me he is in fact the right man for the job and yesterday summed it up. It was clearly the game plan that we would only cut back with a cross along the face of goal once a player got to the goal line. Had to be as they did it so often and rarely put a cross in from anywhere else. Yet the players never seemed to be there waiting for it and I don’t think it ever created a single chance. So what was the point of that? And if you could see it wasn’t working why not change things up during the second half? The answer I’m afraid is that McNulty doesn’t have a Plan B. He can’t think dynamically. He can’t impose himself in the game. His substitutions always happen too late and/or involve the wrong personnel. It smacks of indecision. This is Jim doing the best that he can I’ve no doubt. I’ve no doubt either that after all his time here he does care about the club and I’m not cynical enough to think this is just a stepping stone for him (after all didn’t he have talks over the Burton job which he turned down?). It’s just a case that his brand of football is not going to get us out of this division. It’s not going to increase the crowds in fact it will see them dwindle as it is boring as fook. Thats as clear now as when he was caretaker. The only questions is why aren’t the board aware of this? When will they decide that the best interests of the club lie elsewhere. |
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Reply | Tamworth Tuesday
at 14:51 18 Dec 2024
glad that we scored 3 but the lack of goals will, unless addressed, cost us any chance of the play-offs. As a good rule of thumb - the teams looking at promotion average 2 goals a game. The teams facing relegation average 1 goal a game. Anything in between means, well, you end up somewhere in the middle.
So - after 22 games
1st Barnet 46 goals
2nd York 44 goals
3rd FGR 39 goals (off 1 game less)
4th Gateshead 41 goals
At the bottom
21st Braintree 19 goals
22nd Maidenhead 27 goals
23rd Boston 19 goals
24th Ebbsfleet 16 goals
We are on 31 goals scored (or 1.5 a game). Not good enough for promotion, safe from relegation. Maybe we have enough for the play-offs, but as the season goes on I think the lack of goals will see us drop out. And even if we did manage to sneak in, one of those teams scoring much more goals would be more likely to go up IMO.
The issue for me is that we simply do not create enough chances to address this issue, even if the personnel gets changed around and we brought in more forwards. McNulty doesn't seem to know what to have the players do once they get into the final third. The way we play needs to change and I'd be very surprised to see that happen McNulty is stubborn in sticking to his 'philosophy' which like someone else posted reminds me very much of BBM, and we saw how that played out. |
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Reply | Wealdstone match thread
at 22:38 16 Nov 2024
Poor performance from the Dale once again showing that McNulty has no Plan B. If Plan A goes well we can put in a great performance and look like real contenders BUT if we’re off the pace (which we absolutely were today), if the opposition seem more up for it than us (which Wealdstone did) - what can McNulty do to impose himself on the game? It was obvious first half it wasn’t working and then when we concede one minute into the second half surely the manager has to think - right let’s shake this up. Yet he waited 20 mins before even making the first sub. I can’t think of too many times where Jim has changed things around to get us some points. We either start off well and go on to get something or, like today, we show absolutely nothing from minute 1 to minute 90. And I feel like this is happening more and more as teams are studying us and finding us out. So what’s the alternative Jim? Is there any degree of flexibility in how we play to adapt to the game as it’s happening rather than ‘sticking to the game plan’?
I don’t know whether a lack of Plan B comes down to Jim’s lack of experience as a manager - or (and the bigger worry) it’s part of his personality. He wants to be the players friend, and sticks with them for far too long in games when they aren’t producing and need to be shaken up. Hints of exactly what BBM did. You hear it after most games where his first response in an interview is to say how proud he is of the lads even if we’ve put in a dogsh1t performance.
Still after all these games not convinced at all about McNulty. If anything I think the signs are there he really isn’t the man for the job. Put in a performance like that against the BIFFOs and it will be an embarrassment we’ll never live down. |
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Reply | New kit?
at 11:36 2 Aug 2024
do you have the announcement from 2008 saying our new visual identity will be blue, black and white but NOT that that means blue and black stripes? |
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Reply | New kit?
at 13:55 31 Jul 2024
the quality looks decent but I just don't get why this design was chosen by the majority.
I liked the idea of us wearing blue and black stripes as a nod to integrating the centenary kit (which was a beauty) and our traditional blue colours. I felt like it was a way to give the club a unique identity, when there are countless other clubs who wear a similar blue/white like we used to.
However, since the blue/black was brought in we've had 9 seasons of stripes, 3 of black pinstripes and 4 (now 5) with predominantly blue with black/white elements.
I don't feel like we are sticking enough to a visual identity.
Most other clubs who wear stripes will every so often mix it up with a variation of the stripe, but for us it seems we have abandon the conventional stripes just as often as we've kept them.
I'm not blaming O'Neills here as they've gone off the public vote - I just don't get what's motivating other fans to keep switching it up like this. |
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Reply | Big Jim's contract extension?
at 13:34 26 Jul 2024
I'm surprised by this as I'm still yet to be convinced Jim is the right man for the job. This season was going to be the big test to see whether he could make it work with off field issues resolved and a budget to be competitive for a play off spot.
We have made good signings, and he may well prove himself in the role but I'm not sure what he has done so far that warrants the club showing such faith in him. Nor am I convinced by the idea he might be getting poached.
What this does signal is Jim will be here until at least the end of the season (I had thought they might get rid of him mid way through if he was not meeting expectations). So putting their faith in Jim also gives us an idea of how much of our faith we should put in the board. If he comes good, and gets us into the play offs (or better!) then fair play they knew what they were doing here. If it doesn't work, and we part ways with Jim due to poor football and poor results then you can't say the signs weren't there already. Big call by the board this. |
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Reply | Pre Season Games
at 17:16 13 Jul 2024
second half was better. Mitchell is more of a threat up front. But we again didn’t create many chances. There was a ton of crosses which I don’t think found a single target(?). All pretty aimless. We’ll need to be much better than that. |
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Reply | Pre Season Games
at 16:05 13 Jul 2024
Awful stuff first half. Defence in particular has been well off it. Number 23 whoever he is has been absolutely done for pace on several occasions. Their number 9 has him well beat. Think it’s going to be a complete change of 11 for the second half. Don’t think they can do much worse. |
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Reply | Paul Waugh
at 11:56 5 Jul 2024
There was a referendum in 2011 to change the electoral system and it was voted down 68% to 32%. Difficult to reopen that debate without also saying we should be looking again at other referendum issues that were decided in the 2010s. |
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Reply | Paul Waugh
at 21:17 4 Jul 2024
Except I’m not a politician am I and I’m not trying to win anyone’s vote. So I’m free to call clueless morons exactly what they are. Brexit was a stupid idea voted for by stupid people. Concepts of sovereignty don’t put food on the table so well done to you for making the rest of us poorer so you didn’t have to look at a European woman’s facial expressions 🤡 |
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Reply | Paul Waugh
at 19:13 4 Jul 2024
Good to know what the clueless morons who voted for Brexit actually believe. |
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Reply | Paul Waugh
at 17:44 4 Jul 2024
Good luck using that to pay your bills |
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Reply | Paul Waugh
at 15:00 4 Jul 2024
the better question is tell us something that’s better/cheaper/easier now thanks to Brexit. |
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Reply | Paul Waugh
at 14:54 4 Jul 2024
Ah so it’s the old ‘secretly being controlled by union puppet masters’ is it?
🤡🤡🤡 |
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Reply | Paul Waugh
at 14:20 4 Jul 2024
to think that a fairly bland centrist like Starmer is going to produce a "tragedy" for the country, after 14 years of Tory decline, is utterly delusional. The tragedy has been austerity, Brexit, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, a decline in living standards for the first time since the end of WW2, a decade and half of wage stagnation and lost growth as the Conservative party has driven the country off a cliff. There is nothing whatsoever better now than when they came into power in 2010 and you think what comes next will be a tragedy?? As the song goes - things can only get better. |
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Reply | Eng v Den
at 10:23 1 Jul 2024
up until the 95th minute that was one of the worst England performances I had ever seen. And the blame rests firmly on Southgate's shoulders.
How on earth can anyone have watched those first 3 group games and thought - that team is perfect! All we need to do is play the exact same 11 (bar Mainoo coming in for Gallagher) in the exact same formation.
The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.
So inevitably we played awful, again, just as we had in the first 3 games playing with those same players in that same style.
It was crying out for changes at half time but it took him until 66 mins to bring on the first sub! then he waited another 20 mins before bring on another! And he brought on Eze FFS!! Ivan Toney had every right to be disgusted at being brought on with 2 mins to go. That's the move you make when you are 1-0 up and are trying to run down the clock!!
Southgate is an absolute joke. This is a squad more than capable of winning this tournament and yet game after game after game Southgate has no clue whatsoever about how to get the best out of them. Sticking with players and formations that aren't working clearly draws only one conclusion - he has no plan B. He has no clue whatsoever what to do to make it better. Foden out on the left doesn't work. Kane isolated up front isn't working. Rice in the middle is doing nothing. Trippier at left back is obviously not his position.
We are going into this QF against Switzerland as clear second favourites and I have no faith whatsoever that Southgate can get this right. He was saved today by individual brilliance, but I very much doubt against decent opposition we will be in the position where a last minute goal can save us. Nothing bad at all to say about the players they are being asked to play in a way they don't like which is making them all look poor. This is on Southgate, a man clearly and obviously not up to the job. |
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