Just Back

I finally get to do the 1st one of these threads

some bright spark at the club close two of the turnstiles outside the devonport end so there was a que getting in. Once in i found out there were only 4 subs and the official reason being the 3 loan signings going home and the others being either injured or suspended. Morgan i think was probably sort out his move to Hartlepool. Seems strange too me.
The Argyle Angels have a NEW song to dance too, still no reactions at all or any interest, poor lasses.
And i have finally had it with the high prices low quality food and drink in the ground im never buying it again im going to smuggle in food instead.

The match it self was 60/40 to luton in the first half not sure why our goal was disallowed but we never recovered from it Luton town did look sharp going forward and forced McCormick into making some good saves. The goal was a combination of defensive error and luke being thrown off the scent of the ball. McNulty is an icon to the 40 year old overweight guy who wants to be a footballer.

Second half was awful, Argyle played worse than against Stevenage earlier in the season and with no one on the bench to change matters there was never any chance of getting back into it. Luton fans had a punchup amongst themselves but i  think that was for their entertainment. Luke got booed loudly by the luton for obvious reasons. The home fans where dead in the 2nd half and you could sense the growing frustration aimed at the club coming through. Alot of wased ops and the players not playing as if they wanted too nick a goal they were more interested in differing.

my ratings of the players

McCormick did ok made some good saves not alot he could do about the goal
Nelson strong one of the best players on the pitch
McHugh made a few errors one almost cost us with a goal.not his best game but still made some good tackles
Flanagan he can tackle but thats it. Sooner Hartley is fit the better.
Mellor tried but not at he races today lot of wasted stuff
Purrington wasted so much he simply cant play left wing back we needed Kellet today badly.
Cox either he was carrying a knock or he again wasnt at the races his shooting was woeful.
Blizard tried but he is no Reid or o'connor sadly
Lee debut he made some good passes came close several times with set piees but he messed up a few times 50/50 on him
Reid lively 1st half but he suffered badly feeding off scraps and being tightly marked and being ignored with passes
Alessandra differed so much, wasted so much yet he opened up the luton defence most a frustrating player to watch when nothing comes of it
Harvey did nothing for 45mins Exeter can have him.
Thomas had longer on the pitch today made some crosses but there was no one reading them he was playing in the middle today.

I thought there was nothing to lose throwing Richards on fwiw  he couldnt have been any worse then the 13 who played.

This was a bad game we lost and i really hope now a few avivas wake up and see that ithout investment in this squad to strength its depth and options over the next 2 weeks and 1 month loan signings are not it then we wont only be out of the playoffs we will be in the bottom half of the table.

I wasn't there today but your ''just back'', based on what I've read and heard, is a well balanced summing up of the game and situation. How have so many players got injured? JS knew the 3 loans were nearing the end of their time and I can't quite figure out why replacements (perm or loan) were not brought in. P'raps JS is loathe to fill gaps because he is confident of getting 2 or even all 3 loans back.
I'm not getting knee-jerk yet because a few wins and you are back in the pack but how often are Argyle on the brink to then blow it. Onwards!

Obviously, our poor budget is to blame for today's defeat. We clearly need a huge budget of the teams above us- like Exeter and Stevenage.

That was a complete and utter bloody shambles in so many ways. The first half whilst not exactly being a vintage Argyle performance was passable in many ways. We created some very reasonable chances and kept our shape well as a team pressing to counter Luton. I felt as though we had a goal in us and although we were perhaps lacking sharpness, our overall performance in that half probably didn't deserve to go in behind. All that cost us was one moment of madness from a set piece. I have to say, our defending now from set pieces is getting beyond a joke. We've conceded something like 5 goals from set pieces just in the last couple of months, in addition to our weakness from set pieces in the first month or two of the season. Wotton may well be a good defensive coach when it comes to training 'open play defending'. We've in fact only conceded something like 6 or 7 league goals from open play all season which is remarkable. We simply cannot defend set pieces however and there MUST be something done in training to remedy this.

But anyway, we weren't that awful in the first half all things considered. I disagree with those saying Lee Cox looked poor. He was at the centre of a lot of what we created in that half, as a buffer who recycles possession and passes it to someone in more space. He was the kingpin of a midfield that was not overran and we were noticeably worse without them second half.

The lack of Cox aside however, the second half was honestly one of the most timid, pathetic, gutless and lacking in any belief halves of football that I have witnessed from this club in years. It's down there with the worst halves of football that I've ever seen us play under John Sheridan. Luton were content to keep the ball bobbling around the middle of the park knowing that we had next to no innovation or ideas to get it into the dangerous areas. Even when we did get it remotely in those areas, we were too scared to do anything. In terms of being timid around goal, we were like the Fletcher era...only ever worse. The half was typified when Alessandra recieved the ball in a LOT of space not far from the 6 yard box and just COMPLETELY FROZE and instead played it back to Purrington who lofted a ball high and over everyone. A complete and utter joke of a passage of play.

In a crap half, Reid and Alessandra did absolutely nothing again. Usually with Lewi, even when his composure is useless you can rely on him to at least move off the ball effectively. Today he didn't even do that. Dire from both of them and I don't know how you expect Thomas(who at least put his heart into it) to pick out the pair of them with a pass when neither of them moved. Crappy, static play is what it was. I came out of the York and Oxford games feeling positive enough because we were our lively, energetic, fluid selves. We didn't have players who looked like they had given up. Thomas and (at times) Purrington were exceptions. All the rest of our attacking players were a disgrace. Mellor had an absolute shocker of a game, offered nothing. Harvey was poor and also offered nothing but I've just stopped wetting myself at the fact that he was played as a defensive central midfielder. Blizzard after a bright first 25 minutes then became one of the many anonymous players. Lee passed well in the first half but in the second half literally everything he tried bar about one pass went tits up. Nightmare of a half.

Purrington deserves some credit for venturing out of his comfort zone and for generally having a solid game defensively. However, he still made one or two noticeable high profile defensive bloopers and his end product wasn't quite there for much of the game. Could have done worse though. He had one comedy moment when he went to the line to take a throw-in only to be told that we actually had a corner. Thomas the best (least bad) of the attacking players comfortably. It was heart-warming in the second half to see him actually shouting at the players around him to move as much as he was moving. He may not always get it right but you at least know with him that he will always at least TRY to make something special happen when he has the ball. He may not be perfect, he may not be the thinking man's player. But there's a spark of life in him. There always has been and always will be. By god we needed more of that today from all over the field.

In all fairness to the three centre-backs and McCormick they generally did ok. Flanagan the worst of them often going too narrow but he can tackle and pass pretty well even if he was positionally dubious. McHugh and Nelse were our only two outfield players who did well over 90 minutes. Luke you could add to that too. I like his habit of performing at least one piece of skill to dribble the ball around an attacker who's chasing him down.

On the whole though, that performance in the second half was a complete disgrace. And I'm afraid to say, I don't blame it on the budget. Exeter and Stevenage are two sides on a genuine shoestring budget who never would have been in contention to sign someone like Reuben Reid this summer. However, they both have a clearly defined identity and style of play. They are more than the sum of their parts. We on the other hand are less than the sum of our parts.

Am I from a personal point of view a big fan or aficionado of James Brent? No. Do I agree with his long-term vision for the club such as the grandstand debacle? No. Am I a person to ignore the wider long-term issues for which the buck stops at boardroom level? No. However, is Brent or are the board at fault for the underperformance of this season...no, no they aren't. The chairman 'backing his manager' is championship talk. The various sides above us in a poor financial state prove that he doesn't need to chuck money at Sheridan for us to succeed. The teams above us are all managing with players of less impressive pedigree than us. It just needs managers who can pull it together and make it work. I'll give credit and blame to everyone where it's due. I think that the blame for being 9th with what really should be an excellent squad of players falls to Sheridan.

Yes, he only had 15 fit players. Sh*t happens. It was a freak storm of unavailability. We've never had 11/12 players (plus the loanees currently in limbo) out of action for one game in my memory. It's a rarity. We've had some bad luck but we haven't had a season of bad luck. It doesn't excuse how such an excellent squad of players are 9th. Sheridan has done a great job of signing some players who can do the job, now it's time to pass the baton to a manager who can get the bet out of that squad. To repeat what I've said, I do not buy the line that no manager would want such a job. It may not be a big budget for Championship standards but it's a fine one by League Two standards with a squad of players that would be a great squad to inherit with players such as Hartley, Nelson, McCormick, Cox, Reuben and Alessandra all of whom any league two manager would relish inheriting. Whatever the problems are long-term with questions about the ambition of the owner (and I don't disagree with them), this is still a hot job to take on by league two standards).

The whole club at the moment is despondent, desolate and stinking of despair. I don't think any one party is fully to blame or fully not to blame but our best hope of success now is for Sheridan to leave without us having to pay him any compensation. If we got compensation for him, that'd be even better, Go on Massimo Cellini- sack Leeds's manager and save Argyle's season. Pass the baton to Neil Warnock who I have every faith would get us promoted. Ratings:

McCormick-7

Nelson-7
McHugh-7
Flanagan-6

Mellor-5
Cox-7 (Harvey-2)
Lee-5
Blizzard-4(Thomas-6)
Purrington-5

Reid-2
Alessandra-3

One final note- I genuinely think we should have brought Richards on for Reid or Alessandra today and shoved Nelson up front as a striker. It could not have gone worse.

Based on what I seen today, we are fecked,absolute shambles, Sheridan has to go.

GreenSam wrote:

Obviously, our poor budget is to blame for today's defeat. We clearly need a huge budget of the teams above us- like Exeter and Stevenage.

That was a complete and utter bloody shambles in so many ways. The first half whilst not exactly being a vintage Argyle performance was passable in many ways. We created some very reasonable chances and kept our shape well as a team pressing to counter Luton. I felt as though we had a goal in us and although we were perhaps lacking sharpness, our overall performance in that half probably didn't deserve to go in behind. All that cost us was one moment of madness from a set piece. I have to say, our defending now from set pieces is getting beyond a joke. We've conceded something like 5 goals from set pieces just in the last couple of months, in addition to our weakness from set pieces in the first month or two of the season. Wotton may well be a good defensive coach when it comes to training 'open play defending'. We've in fact only conceded something like 6 or 7 league goals from open play all season which is remarkable. We simply cannot defend set pieces however and there MUST be something done in training to remedy this.

But anyway, we weren't that awful in the first half all things considered. I disagree with those saying Lee Cox looked poor. He was at the centre of a lot of what we created in that half, as a buffer who recycles possession and passes it to someone in more space. He was the kingpin of a midfield that was not overran and we were noticeably worse without them second half.

The lack of Cox aside however, the second half was honestly one of the most timid, pathetic, gutless and lacking in any belief halves of football that I have witnessed from this club in years. It's down there with the worst halves of football that I've ever seen us play under John Sheridan. Luton were content to keep the ball bobbling around the middle of the park knowing that we had next to no innovation or ideas to get it into the dangerous areas. Even when we did get it remotely in those areas, we were too scared to do anything. In terms of being timid around goal, we were like the Fletcher era...only ever worse. The half was typified when Alessandra recieved the ball in a LOT of space not far from the 6 yard box and just COMPLETELY FROZE and instead played it back to Purrington who lofted a ball high and over everyone. A complete and utter joke of a passage of play.

In a crap half, Reid and Alessandra did absolutely nothing again. Usually with Lewi, even when his composure is useless you can rely on him to at least move off the ball effectively. Today he didn't even do that. Dire from both of them and I don't know how you expect Thomas(who at least put his heart into it) to pick out the pair of them with a pass when neither of them moved. Crappy, static play is what it was. I came out of the York and Oxford games feeling positive enough because we were our lively, energetic, fluid selves. We didn't have players who looked like they had given up. Thomas and (at times) Purrington were exceptions. All the rest of our attacking players were a disgrace. Mellor had an absolute shocker of a game, offered nothing. Harvey was poor and also offered nothing but I've just stopped wetting myself at the fact that he was played as a defensive central midfielder. Blizzard after a bright first 25 minutes then became one of the many anonymous players. Lee passed well in the first half but in the second half literally everything he tried bar about one pass went tits up. Nightmare of a half.

Purrington deserves some credit for venturing out of his comfort zone and for generally having a solid game defensively. However, he still made one or two noticeable high profile defensive bloopers and his end product wasn't quite there for much of the game. Could have done worse though. He had one comedy moment when he went to the line to take a throw-in only to be told that we actually had a corner. Thomas the best (least bad) of the attacking players comfortably. It was heart-warming in the second half to see him actually shouting at the players around him to move as much as he was moving. He may not always get it right but you at least know with him that he will always at least TRY to make something special happen when he has the ball. He may not be perfect, he may not be the thinking man's player. But there's a spark of life in him. There always has been and always will be. By god we needed more of that today from all over the field.

In all fairness to the three centre-backs and McCormick they generally did ok. Flanagan the worst of them often going too narrow but he can tackle and pass pretty well even if he was positionally dubious. McHugh and Nelse were our only two outfield players who did well over 90 minutes. Luke you could add to that too. I like his habit of performing at least one piece of skill to dribble the ball around an attacker who's chasing him down.

On the whole though, that performance in the second half was a complete disgrace. And I'm afraid to say, I don't blame it on the budget. Exeter and Stevenage are two sides on a genuine shoestring budget who never would have been in contention to sign someone like Reuben Reid this summer. However, they both have a clearly defined identity and style of play. They are more than the sum of their parts. We on the other hand are less than the sum of our parts.

Am I from a personal point of view a big fan or aficionado of James Brent? No. Do I agree with his long-term vision for the club such as the grandstand debacle? No. Am I a person to ignore the wider long-term issues for which the buck stops at boardroom level? No. However, is Brent or are the board at fault for the underperformance of this season...no, no they aren't. The chairman 'backing his manager' is championship talk. The various sides above us in a poor financial state prove that he doesn't need to chuck money at Sheridan for us to succeed. The teams above us are all managing with players of less impressive pedigree than us. It just needs managers who can pull it together and make it work. I'll give credit and blame to everyone where it's due. I think that the blame for being 9th with what really should be an excellent squad of players falls to Sheridan.

Yes, he only had 15 fit players. Sh*t happens. It was a freak storm of unavailability. We've never had 11/12 players (plus the loanees currently in limbo) out of action for one game in my memory. It's a rarity. We've had some bad luck but we haven't had a season of bad luck. It doesn't excuse how such an excellent squad of players are 9th. Sheridan has done a great job of signing some players who can do the job, now it's time to pass the baton to a manager who can get the bet out of that squad. To repeat what I've said, I do not buy the line that no manager would want such a job. It may not be a big budget for Championship standards but it's a fine one by League Two standards with a squad of players that would be a great squad to inherit with players such as Hartley, Nelson, McCormick, Cox, Reuben and Alessandra all of whom any league two manager would relish inheriting. Whatever the problems are long-term with questions about the ambition of the owner (and I don't disagree with them), this is still a hot job to take on by league two standards).

The whole club at the moment is despondent, desolate and stinking of despair. I don't think any one party is fully to blame or fully not to blame but our best hope of success now is for Sheridan to leave without us having to pay him any compensation. If we got compensation for him, that'd be even better, Go on Massimo Cellini- sack Leeds's manager and save Argyle's season. Pass the baton to Neil Warnock who I have every faith would get us promoted. Ratings:

McCormick-7

Nelson-7
McHugh-7
Flanagan-6

Mellor-5
Cox-7 (Harvey-2)
Lee-5
Blizzard-4(Thomas-6)
Purrington-5

Reid-2
Alessandra-3

One final note- I genuinely think we should have brought Richards on for Reid or Alessandra today and shoved Nelson up front as a striker. It could not have gone worse.

Without reading that entire novel, what your basically saying is the Brents budget is great and it all sheridans fault? what a crock of shit.

I don't normally comment much on this type of thread because one fans view of a game can be totally different from a fan sat in front and the fan sat behind.

Sam if you're going to report back on games you have to learn to be more succinct. Your reports are far too long and rambling.

As to the standard of the squad. I keep reading that a squad of our quality should be doing much better. Who says so? Who says our squad is of such great quality? Especially considering these players are playing in the FOURTH division. Personally I never heard of any of these players before we signed them. If these players were so good, surely their previous clubs wouldn't have let them go? Or clubs with bigger budgets or money for signing on fees or transfer fees would have signed them. Some of these players are undoubtedly better than some from the last couple of years but that's not exactly difficult is it? Considering those years were the worst in the clubs entire history.

On to todays match! Possibly from my view in the grandstand I can see things a little better than others. Some things that others obviously haven't seen include the following.

Lee Cox picked up an injury before half time. Harvey was waiting to come on but the ref blew for half time before he could get on. How long had he been carrying the injury?

The very first tackle that Harvey was involved with after half time left him injured. He spent the next 10 minutes hobbling around the pitch. He appeared to overcome the injury to a certain extent but basically spent the whole of the second half either hobbling or limping.

It became obvious a short while into the second half that Blizzard had also picked up an injury. It could well be a hamstring injury as he was witnessed holding his hamstring more than once.

When Thomas was getting ready to come on, we were trying to work out who he was going to replace? Either Harvey or Blizzard as both were obviously injured.

I'm not going to use the above as an excuse for what was basically ( in the second half) a bad performance but surely they would class as mitigating circumstances. Along with the 3 on loan players who have gone back to their clubs and the injuries to at least 3/4 other players and the suspension of another.

I certainly didn't think Luton were anything special but then again I don't expect anything special from any club playing in the FOURTH division.

Reid is either fecked or saving himself for a move elsewhere.

The last time we were in this dogshit division we had Evans as our focal point, but we were able to mix it up with Stonebridge as a completely different option, Marino Keith who was the best finisher in the division, Blair Sturrock to see out the last 15 minutes of matches, plus Buster, Hodges, Friio, Wotton, Coughlan all chipping in with goals, assists, ability.

The contrast with that squad and this bunch is stark. We might still make the playoffs, but in terms of a dynasty, a core, and ability to mix it up...sorry it just aint there.

tigertony wrote:

I wasn't there today but your ''just back'', based on what I've read and heard, is a well balanced summing up of the game and situation. How have so many players got injured? JS knew the 3 loans were nearing the end of their time and I can't quite figure out why replacements (perm or loan) were not brought in. P'raps JS is loathe to fill gaps because he is confident of getting 2 or even all 3 loans back.
I'm not getting knee-jerk yet because a few wins and you are back in the pack but how often are Argyle on the brink to then blow it. Onwards!

thankyou tony i like to be fair when giving my pov on games and not too one sided.

JS may be holding out for the 3 guys to return but even so we still need others on top. We certainly need a marino Keith type striker who we can throw on in games who can bag a few and pose a different yet effective threat Reid and Alessandra are MIA.

Suffered(and Richard who made some similar points but to your credit in a far politer way than Suffered did),


Answer me this, do you think that Wycombe, Stevenage or Exeter above us would have even been in contention to sign Reuben Reid this summer?

I don't think that Brent's budget is great or good because of any great worship towards Brent. I'm not gonna tug my forelock for it. I just think it's good because we're a big club for this league. The need to 'back' ones manager is pure Championship talk. Nobody needs 'backing' to compete with Stevenage or Burton. You just need a bit of nouse and when we've signed a team jammed full of players who've been there, done it and got the t-shirt in this league then spare my tears for Sheridan about his 'poor budget'. It reminds me of a middle-class family whinging about having to spend two weeks in the Bahamas this summer rather than their usual three. Look at Exeter who are 8th. Now that is what you call budget limitations. If we ever had a budget like that to deal with having to sign players with no proven experience at all and nothing resembling League Two success, we would be in for a short, sharp, shock.

As I've said a billion times, I believe in criticising who I think is due it. I criticise Brent for the overarching long-term lack of vision and positive direction for the club. I criticise Sheridan for making a dog's breakfast out of a budget that for all the hand-wringing, is better than many teams above us and probably equal with some more teams above us. And that's the last I'm saying on it because this stupid argument is going around in circles.

GreenSam wrote:

Suffered(and Richard who made some similar points but to your credit in a far politer way than Suffered did),


Answer me this, do you think that Wycombe, Stevenage or Exeter above us would have even been in contention to sign Reuben Reid this summer?

I don't think that Brent's budget is great or good because of any great worship towards Brent. I'm not gonna tug my forelock for it. I just think it's good because we're a big club for this league. The need to 'back' ones manager is pure Championship talk. Nobody needs 'backing' to compete with Stevenage or Burton. You just need a bit of nouse and when we've signed a team jammed full of players who've been there, done it and got the t-shirt in this league then spare my tears for Sheridan about his 'poor budget'. It reminds me of a middle-class family whinging about having to spend two weeks in the Bahamas this summer rather than their usual three. Look at Exeter who are 8th. Now that is what you call budget limitations. If we ever had a budget like that to deal with having to sign players with no proven experience at all and nothing resembling League Two success, we would be in for a short, sharp, shock.

As I've said a billion times, I believe in criticising who I think is due it. I criticise Brent for the overarching long-term lack of vision and positive direction for the club. I criticise Sheridan for making a dog's breakfast out of a budget that for all the hand-wringing, is better than many teams above us and probably equal with some more teams above us. And that's the last I'm saying on it because this stupid argument is going around in circles.

The budget is generally accepted to be the ninth best in the fourth division, excuse me for being rude but for a club of plymouth argyles size that is jolly disgusting.

GreenSam wrote:

Suffered(and Richard who made some similar points but to your credit in a far politer way than Suffered did),


Answer me this, do you think that Wycombe, Stevenage or Exeter above us would have even been in contention to sign Reuben Reid this summer?

I don't think that Brent's budget is great or good because of any great worship towards Brent. I'm not gonna tug my forelock for it. I just think it's good because we're a big club for this league. The need to 'back' ones manager is pure Championship talk. Nobody needs 'backing' to compete with Stevenage or Burton. You just need a bit of nouse and when we've signed a team jammed full of players who've been there, done it and got the t-shirt in this league then spare my tears for Sheridan about his 'poor budget'. It reminds me of a middle-class family whinging about having to spend two weeks in the Bahamas this summer rather than their usual three. Look at Exeter who are 8th. Now that is what you call budget limitations. If we ever had a budget like that to deal with having to sign players with no proven experience at all and nothing resembling League Two success, we would be in for a short, sharp, shock.

As I've said a billion times, I believe in criticising who I think is due it. I criticise Brent for the overarching long-term lack of vision and positive direction for the club. I criticise Sheridan for making a dog's breakfast out of a budget that for all the hand-wringing, is better than many teams above us and probably equal with some more teams above us. And that's the last I'm saying on it because this stupid argument is going around in circles.

I know what you're saying, but, we could only field 15 players. Reid is, as I said, either fecked or expecting to leave shortly. His partner was released by Morecambe before joining us. If we were serious about getting promoted from the division, goals would be the first thing we'd be looking to guarantee. Bar Reid who'll likely still end up around 20 goals, who scores for us? I can't name our next top goalscorer...

Having said that, I do wonder if the 4 subs thing was a ploy by Sheridan to send a message to Brent regarding the rest of January. He could easily have named 3 youth teamers on the bench, but in not naming anyone he basically told the world, in a not so subtle way, that we've got no depth and need immediate investment.

We could only field 15 players cause about 11 players got injured at once!

See your point about the 3 youth spots but then the youth team were playing this morning so maybe it was felt more beneficial for them to get a proper 90 minutes against their peer group rather than the odd chance of 5 minutes if we're 2-0 up.

Alessandra wasn't released by Morecambe, he was offered a contract and we trumped their offer but I do agree he needs a kick up the arse. He's been coasting along not playing especially well for a while now without competition. I'll be disappointed if another striker doesn't come in this window either on loan or permanently.

Who says our budget is a good one? How does anybody know? A large chunk of our turnover is set aside to cover our debt liabilities. Just because a club is regarded as a large club for a particular division doesn't necessarily mean they have a budget to match their perceived status. On that basis Argyle's budget should be 2nd or 3rd not 7th - 9th.

We have to remember that the same people telling us that we have a good / above average budget are the same people who tell us that the grandstand was going to be knocked down 12 months ago. The same people who tell us that everything is hunky dory. The same people who are going to blame the failure of HHP on a development that doesn't include hotels, schools or dentists at Bretonside.

McCormick - 7 - Meh.
Nelson - 6 - Alright I thought. One of the better today.
McHugh - 7 - Probably man of the match and even he wasn't brilliant. Always fairly solid and gets an extra point for the classy tackle and turn at the end.
Flanagan - 4 - Glad my original thoughts were correct - he really is very poor.
Mellor - 5 - Off day and lacked confidence.
Purrington 5 - Overwhelmed down that side. Ok I thought but got worse and match fitness clearly an issue. A good left back but lacks the pace he needs to play LWB.
Cox - 7 - Obviously only had a first half and he looked alright, important cog in the midfield and we sorely missed him when he went off.
Lee - 4 - We have a playmaker who's distribution isn't very good. Anyone want to explain that one?
Blizzard - 5 - Not good at all. A low 5. Ok to begin with but pondered into anonymity.
Alessandra - 5 - Not good. So low on confidence. At least shoot? Or not..
Reid - 5 - Poor form I like to think..

Harvey - 4 - CDM? What's the point?
Thomas - 4 - Did nothing even though I was hoping he'd come on. Think he's better than that. Both subs were unlucky that this game was thrown upon them to prove themselves.

An average first half against an alright team. Lets not get ahead of ourselves, Luton are not that good. Better than a fair few but nothing special and our normal home form would have crushed them today. More a case of us being atrocious than them good.

Based on the players we had I'd have simply set up differently. McCormick in goal, a back 4 of Mellor, Nelson, McHugh and Purrington. A midfield two of Cox and Lee (well, not in hindsight..) and an attacking midfield trio of Harvey, Blizzard and Thomas. Reid up front. Just a thought, but we don't always have to set up in a 352.. Anyone fancy letting Shez know that?

Flaming heck Sam why does it always take an epistle to summarise a match, did you never have to learn precis at school? I got 3 lines in saw how long it was and skipped to the end-again.

Richard Blight wrote:

Who says our budget is a good one? How does anybody know? A large chunk of our turnover is set aside to cover our debt liabilities. Just because a club is regarded as a large club for a particular division doesn't necessarily mean they have a budget to match their perceived status. On that basis Argyle's budget should be 2nd or 3rd not 7th - 9th.

We have to remember that the same people telling us that we have a good / above average budget are the same people who tell us that the grandstand was going to be knocked down 12 months ago. The same people who tell us that everything is hunky dory. The same people who are going to blame the failure of HHP on a development that doesn't include hotels, schools or dentists at Bretonside.

Except me

tigertwat

Richard Blight wrote:

Who says our budget is a good one? How does anybody know? A large chunk of our turnover is set aside to cover our debt liabilities. Just because a club is regarded as a large club for a particular division doesn't necessarily mean they have a budget to match their perceived status. On that basis Argyle's budget should be 2nd or 3rd not 7th - 9th.

We have to remember that the same people telling us that we have a good / above average budget are the same people who tell us that the grandstand was going to be knocked down 12 months ago. The same people who tell us that everything is hunky dory. The same people who are going to blame the failure of HHP on a development that doesn't include hotels, schools or dentists at Bretonside.

Was it an "internet fact" that the debt payments amounted to 2k off the gate. If so either Brent isn't passing that on or Sheridan is wasting it because that still leaves us over 2k better off than Stevenage, Burton, Newport and Exeter.

Does anyone know who is paying for all the experts involved in HHP? Lawyers, surveyors, marketing does not come cheap. Is that cost being passed onto the club?

Josh Pope wrote:

McCormick - 7 - Meh.
Nelson - 6 - Alright I thought. One of the better today.
McHugh - 7 - Probably man of the match and even he wasn't brilliant. Always fairly solid and gets an extra point for the classy tackle and turn at the end.
Flanagan - 4 - Glad my original thoughts were correct - he really is very poor.
Mellor - 5 - Off day and lacked confidence.
Purrington 5 - Overwhelmed down that side. Ok I thought but got worse and match fitness clearly an issue. A good left back but lacks the pace he needs to play LWB.
Cox - 7 - Obviously only had a first half and he looked alright, important cog in the midfield and we sorely missed him when he went off.
Lee - 4 - We have a playmaker who's distribution isn't very good. Anyone want to explain that one?
Blizzard - 5 - Not good at all. A low 5. Ok to begin with but pondered into anonymity.
Alessandra - 5 - Not good. So low on confidence. At least shoot? Or not..
Reid - 5 - Poor form I like to think..

Harvey - 4 - CDM? What's the point?
Thomas - 4 - Did nothing even though I was hoping he'd come on. Think he's better than that. Both subs were unlucky that this game was thrown upon them to prove themselves.

An average first half against an alright team. Lets not get ahead of ourselves, Luton are not that good. Better than a fair few but nothing special and our normal home form would have crushed them today. More a case of us being atrocious than them good.

Based on the players we had I'd have simply set up differently. McCormick in goal, a back 4 of Mellor, Nelson, McHugh and Purrington. A midfield two of Cox and Lee (well, not in hindsight..) and an attacking midfield trio of Harvey, Blizzard and Thomas. Reid up front. Just a thought, but we don't always have to set up in a 352.. Anyone fancy letting Shez know that?

Rocking atmosphere yesterday Josh.
All helped by your 'family area'
I thought you said it was going to be rammed packed ?!!
Just the usual few hundred hollow eyed saps coursesy of freebies.

The family area has DESTROYED the atmosphere ...FACT

@mock I had the same thought re the four subs, when Sparks mentioned it to Luggy he said you can only use three subs in a game, then they cut to the pre match with Shez and he said that he's heard the criticism of Thomas, Harvey not playing but he added Banton in and said non of those three give him the effort that he's looking for, simple as that, no effort. Anyway I had the thought that it was a message to Brent.
PS will the same old people stop making excuses for us being so shit. We don't have enough players and even of they were all fit Shez wouldn't play half of them, the truth is we have a small squad and about half of them aren't even up to league 2 standard.

I'm not a fan of Brent. But that doesn't mean he can be blamed for Sheridan's errors. Brent doesn't play Tyler Harvey in centre midfield. Brent doesn't coach Alessandra to just freeze when he has the ball in the area.

Some of the fault lies with Brent - our budget isn't huge, and the off-the-pitch instability may well be contributing to some of the poor on-field performances. I rate Sheridan as a manager higher than I do Brent as a football club owner. But the manager has the much greater effect on performances. Yesterday was the difference between a well coached team and a poorly coached one.

Sheridan's done well to sign some players who are very good for this league. But I ask you to imagine where we'd be with John Still, Justin Edinburgh, Keith Hill, John Coleman, Micky Mellon, Martin Allen, Paul Tisdale et cetera

MannameadGreen wrote:

I'm not a fan of Brent. But that doesn't mean he can be blamed for Sheridan's errors. Brent doesn't play Tyler Harvey in centre midfield. Brent doesn't coach Alessandra to just freeze when he has the ball in the area.

Some of the fault lies with Brent - our budget isn't huge, and the off-the-pitch instability may well be contributing to some of the poor on-field performances. I rate Sheridan as a manager higher than I do Brent as a football club owner. But the manager has the much greater effect on performances. Yesterday was the difference between a well coached team and a poorly coached one.

Sheridan's done well to sign some players who are very good for this league. But I ask you to imagine where we'd be with John Still, Justin Edinburgh, Keith Hill, John Coleman, Micky Mellon, Martin Allen, Paul Tisdale et cetera

None of them would do any better under Brent, The longer Brent stays the longer Argyle stay in the depths of the football league.

Angry wrote:

MannameadGreen wrote:

I'm not a fan of Brent. But that doesn't mean he can be blamed for Sheridan's errors. Brent doesn't play Tyler Harvey in centre midfield. Brent doesn't coach Alessandra to just freeze when he has the ball in the area.

Some of the fault lies with Brent - our budget isn't huge, and the off-the-pitch instability may well be contributing to some of the poor on-field performances. I rate Sheridan as a manager higher than I do Brent as a football club owner. But the manager has the much greater effect on performances. Yesterday was the difference between a well coached team and a poorly coached one.

Sheridan's done well to sign some players who are very good for this league. But I ask you to imagine where we'd be with John Still, Justin Edinburgh, Keith Hill, John Coleman, Micky Mellon, Martin Allen, Paul Tisdale et cetera

None of them would do any better under Brent, The longer Brent stays the longer Argyle stay in the depths of the football league.

Hard to disagree with that.

Angry wrote:

MannameadGreen wrote:

I'm not a fan of Brent. But that doesn't mean he can be blamed for Sheridan's errors. Brent doesn't play Tyler Harvey in centre midfield. Brent doesn't coach Alessandra to just freeze when he has the ball in the area.

Some of the fault lies with Brent - our budget isn't huge, and the off-the-pitch instability may well be contributing to some of the poor on-field performances. I rate Sheridan as a manager higher than I do Brent as a football club owner. But the manager has the much greater effect on performances. Yesterday was the difference between a well coached team and a poorly coached one.

Sheridan's done well to sign some players who are very good for this league. But I ask you to imagine where we'd be with John Still, Justin Edinburgh, Keith Hill, John Coleman, Micky Mellon, Martin Allen, Paul Tisdale et cetera

None of them would do any better under Brent, The longer Brent stays the longer Argyle stay in the depths of the football league.

Why?

We have undeniably good players: McCormick, Hartley, Nelson, McHugh, Mellor, Cox and Reuben would walk into any team in this league. There's no players who are obviously not good enough for a promotion team, bar Smalley and maybe Marvin Morgan. Why would a better manager not be able to do more with these players?

MannameadGreen wrote:

Angry wrote:

MannameadGreen wrote:

I'm not a fan of Brent. But that doesn't mean he can be blamed for Sheridan's errors. Brent doesn't play Tyler Harvey in centre midfield. Brent doesn't coach Alessandra to just freeze when he has the ball in the area.

Some of the fault lies with Brent - our budget isn't huge, and the off-the-pitch instability may well be contributing to some of the poor on-field performances. I rate Sheridan as a manager higher than I do Brent as a football club owner. But the manager has the much greater effect on performances. Yesterday was the difference between a well coached team and a poorly coached one.

Sheridan's done well to sign some players who are very good for this league. But I ask you to imagine where we'd be with John Still, Justin Edinburgh, Keith Hill, John Coleman, Micky Mellon, Martin Allen, Paul Tisdale et cetera

None of them would do any better under Brent, The longer Brent stays the longer Argyle stay in the depths of the football league.

Why?

We have undeniably good players: McCormick, Hartley, Nelson, McHugh, Mellor, Cox and Reuben would walk into any team in this league. There's no players who are obviously not good enough for a promotion team, bar Smalley and maybe Marvin Morgan. Why would a better manager not be able to do more with these players?

Add Alessandra to that list.......there must be managers out there without a club at present.....who surely could get this team into the top three automatic promotion spots......just look at some of those squads above us at present.....nothing to shout home about.....teams with far less money to spend on players.....better managers comes to mind.