GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Nov 7, 2021 16:19:13 GMT
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Nov 1, 2021 18:48:34 GMT
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Nov 1, 2021 17:33:05 GMT
Aaron Collins has not scored for us in 14 League Two appearances. Yet he scored 11 goals in 44 matches for Forest Green Rovers last season. How? Can we learn anything about the type of goals Aaron scored for Forest Green?
Whilst Aaron demonstrated that he can score with either left or right foot, there was a similarity to most of the goals he scored from open play: good connections from eight to ten yards out, finding the space just inside of one or other post. Four of his goals were first-time “sweeps”, using the momentum from a cross. For another three, he had a little more work to do. You will look in vain for any headers. Four of the goals were penalties, which I am not going to consider further. For the Gas, I have been concerned at the lack of aggression he has shown. As a side observation, then, there was no lack of that commodity away at Oldham, as he out-muscled the left-back to set up a tap-in. And versus Bradford, when he “took issue” with an opponent who had pushed a team-mate over the boundary onto the terraces! The table 1 (below) gives a brief description of Aaron Collins’ goals for Forest Green Rovers in League Two in 2020-21. The table 2 (below) gives links to video (except for the penalties). Finally, it’s interesting to note that he scored all bar one of his goals after the first week of December. Maybe the best is yet to come! Table 1: Aaron Collins’ Goals for FGR in League Two (2020-21).
1 | Bradford | H | D | 2-2 | Swept, right-footed, from 10 yards, from right wing cross. | 2 | Cheltenham | A | L | 2-1 | Penalty | 3 | Cambridge | H | W | 2-0 | Picked up pass through channel, rounded keeper to score left-footed from an angle, 10 yards out, shooting inside far post. | 4 | Port Vale | A | D | 1-1 | Long ball to chase down right, turned defender in box to curl left-footed, from 12 yards, inside far post.
| 5 | Exeter | A | D | 1-1 | Corner routine, played low and direct to edge of box. Moved along arc to side-foot, right-footed, low, just inside near post.
| 6 | Carlisle | A | W | 1-2 | Penalty | 7 | Morecambe | H | D | 2-2 | Right-footed volley on the turn from 8 yards inside far post, after controlling a dinked-in cross from right wing.
| 8 | Tranmere | H | W | 2-1 | Penalty
| 9 | Oldham | A | W | 0-3 | Penalty
| 10 | Oldham | A | W | 0-3 | Ran from inside own half, with three defenders trailing, rounded the keeper and passed the ball into the net from 8 yards.
| 11 | Newport | H | W | 4-3 | Steered, right-footed, from 10 yards, from left wing cross.
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Table 2: Links to Video of Aaron Collins’ Goals from open play for FGR in League Two (2020-21).
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Oct 31, 2021 19:01:52 GMT
He didn't actually say that Rovers aren't paying him. He said that he doesn't earn any money out of it - presumably because he's paying some of the staff he brought with him, so no money is going in his pocket. He's not working for free though. I think it's the other way around, he is being paid by one of those he brought with him who are paid by Rovers. Perhaps a company just like this one KAIZEN SPORTS MANAGEMENT LIMITED? He's mentioned the term kaizen in at least a couple of recent Radio Bristol interviews. I thought he had been reading up on Japanese manufacturing practice - after all, Anderton's just-in-time arrival for the goal yesterday was a good example of kan-ban - but perhaps it was simply the name of his agent.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Oct 20, 2021 16:13:58 GMT
In the couple of minutes before Harries' second yellow, we kept the ball in near Colchester's corner flag, with the aim of running the clock down. Purists might frown, but that activity was entirely legal. Despite that, I reckon the referee somehow perceived it as time-wasting, and (maybe sub-consciously) took it into account when deciding that Cian Harries had delayed his throw-in too long. That's why I think the decision was harsh, because keeping the ball near the corner-flag should have played no part in his decision. However, I agree that "it should never have come to that". Cian should have realised that, having already taken a yellow card, he could not afford to tempt the ref into a stupid decision. It would have been better if he had anticipated the potential risk, just left the ball on the ground, retreated, and let someone else take the throw-in. We need to develop that football-intelligence, as it helps to win matches. Are you blaming the players not the manager for the Colchester Debacle? I was commenting solely on the one incident: the decision to issue Cian Harries with a second yellow card.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Oct 20, 2021 16:08:23 GMT
We had started wasting time/being professional (you choose) so it was no surprise that Harries got the 2nd yellow. However it should never have come to that. In the couple of minutes before Harries' second yellow, we kept the ball near Colchester's corner flag, with the aim of running the clock down. Purists might frown, but that activity was entirely legal. Despite that, I reckon the referee somehow perceived it as time-wasting, and (maybe sub-consciously) took it into account when deciding that Cian Harries had delayed his throw-in too long. That's why I think the decision was harsh, because keeping the ball near the corner-flag should have played no part in his decision. However, I agree that "it should never have come to that". Cian should have realised that, having already taken a yellow card, he could not afford to tempt the ref into a stupid decision. It would have been better if he had anticipated the potential risk, just left the ball on the ground, retreated, and let someone else take the throw-in. We need to develop that football-intelligence, as it helps to win matches.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Oct 20, 2021 15:59:28 GMT
Was it the same ref that sent McCormick off last season for kicking the ball away?! Pedantic sending off Harries but what could he do? It appeared no one wanted the ball. Fair enough booking for time wasting, but some teams do it to us at Mem in first half! The ludicrous decision to send off McCormick (made worse by the fact that he was so lenient to the Burton players for similar actions) was made by Charles Breakspear. He refereed the recent match at home to Carlisle (adequately, I thought).
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Oct 17, 2021 10:23:15 GMT
In the play around the goals, was playing Thomas more advanced than left wing back? sounds like their goal came from that side. I've watched Bradford's second goal several times on the iFollow extended highlights. They show the importance of the action preceding the move for the goal. Bradford worked the ball to their left, where their winger ran with the ball. Alfie Kilgour held him up and Luke Thomas tracked back, partly to cover a potential overlap from another Bradford player, but he took the chance to put a foot in. Despite their efforts, the winger went outside Alfie and got a low cross into the box, which Connor Taylor cleared, for a Bradford throw-in, half way inside Rovers' half, still on Bradford's left side. The throw went back to Bradford defenders who swept the ball forward. Freeze the action at that point. Alfie is marking the striker who has received the ball. But the winger, nonchalantly returning from the cross he'd put in 20 seconds earlier, had remained wide. That gave Bradford the opportunity for an overload. The wide man duly received the ball and had plenty of time to put in another low cross. Whether by luck or judgement, the ball played was out of the reach of Greg Whelan, and also of Connor Taylor. Nick Anderton was marking another Bradford opponent, but made a desperate attempt to get to the ball before Bradford forward Cook, to no avail. For me, there were two ways in which Rovers could have prevented the goal. First, our shape after Connor Taylor cleared the ball for a throw-in was sloppy. Whelan and Coutts should have picked up the retreating central Bradford players, allowing Alfie to focus on the man out wide. (He didn't have to go and stand by him, just note that the wide-man was his responsibility, as Coutts and/or Whelan would be covering the more central threats). Second, once the threat had materialised, if Connor Taylor has been touch-tight to the eventual scorer - the most advanced Bradford player - he could have got to the cross before him and prevented what ultimately turned out to be a tap-in.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Oct 11, 2021 20:04:55 GMT
He doesn't explicitly thank us, but it appears we might have got what we wanted. No Premier League B teams in EFL - Rick Parry
"I just don't see it and, irrespective of my view, it is absolutely not something that our clubs have any enthusiasm for," added Parry, the former Liverpool chief executive. "The strength of the EFL is that every one of our clubs sits at the heart of the community. Our clubs put almost as much emphasis on the community as they do on the first team and what happens on the pitch. "This isn't about B teams suddenly parachuting in because you cannot possibly replicate that. It's just misunderstanding what the pyramid is."
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Oct 11, 2021 18:28:53 GMT
I had no hidden agenda, in setting the challenge in mid-September, to rank a selection of Rovers’ managers’ records after seven games. But I was pleased that Ben Garner came out on top, as I think he had a raw deal. I always intended to update the table after eleven matches, that being the total number Ben Garner was allowed to enjoy with us last season. So, after eleven games, the table now looks like this: Performance after Eleven Matches
Rank | Manager | Season | League | Points | GD | Outcome | 1 | Graham Coughlan | 2019-20 | 1 | 18 | 2 | Left in December 2019 | 2 | Paul Buckle | 2011-12 | 2 | 15 | -3 | Left in December 2011 | 3 | Joey B***** | 2021-22 | 2 | 13 | -5 | ? to be concluded... | 4 | Paul Trollope | 2006-07 | 2 | 12 | -5 | Promoted to League One | 5 | Ben Garner | 2020-21 | 1 | 12 | -9 | Replaced at this stage (11 games) | 6 | Darrell Clarke | 2018-19 | 1 | 10 | -2 | Replaced in December 2018 | 7 | John Ward | 2013-14 | 2 | 10 | -5 | Relegated to Conference |
Boosted by wins away at Lincoln and Wimbledon, and at home to Rotherham, Graham Coughlan moved from third place into top spot. Startlingly, Paul Buckle retained second position, by dint of wins at home to Shrewsbury (I remember we got out of jail that night, if you excuse the expression) and away at Morecambe. Whisper it, but the victory over Carlisle has taken JB’s side to third place. Trolls benefited from a home win against Hereford and draws at Torquay and Darlington to move up two places. Sadly, Ben dropped from top of the pile to fifth position, the single point at Rochdale being the only one gained in his last four matches. Two of those four games, though, were against ultimately promoted Peterborough and Hull, and the other was the defeat in the teeth of a gale against Fleetwood. I remember the storm mysteriously calmed after we had halved the half-time deficit to 2-1. Even in Darrell’s swan-song season, he managed to pick up 5 points against Coventry, Bradford and Rochdale, to reach a total of ten points after 11 games. Finally, despite achieving draws at home to Hartlepool and away at Southend and Mansfield, John Ward’s class of 2013-14 slipped to the bottom of the table of Rovers’ managers after eleven matches.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Sept 26, 2021 8:34:36 GMT
Kilgour and Taylor at fault Not really. The Walsall goal came about because Glenn Whelan and Paul Coutts were alongside each other when a Walsall midfielder played the ball over them and onto a team-mate (whom either Coutts or Whelan should have been marking), giving Walsall an overload. (One mistake. Otherwise, both veterans played with a swagger). Alfie was caught between going to the man on the ball (trying to hold him up) or sticking with his man, free on the left. Correctly, he went to the immediate threat, but couldn't prevent the ball being slipped outside him to the eventual scorer. Connor Taylor then had to leave his man and go to the one with the ball. Expertly, he showed him outside, driving him to a narrow angle. Maybe he should have just jockeyed at that point and blocked any shot that might have come in. Unfortunately, he made a stab for the ball, which only succeeded in creating a rebound which opened up the angle for Phillips to score. My Man of the Match was Cian Harries. He mixed some resolute old-fashioned defending with lots of promising passes, many down the line to Harvey Saunders.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Sept 13, 2021 14:41:35 GMT
Here is the answer: Rank | Manager | Season | League | Points | GD | Season Outcome | 1 | Ben Garner | 2020-21 | 1 | 11 | -2 | Sacked 4 games later | 2 | Paul Buckle | 2011-12 | 2 | 9 | -2 | Sacked in December 2011 | 3 | Graham Coughlan | 2019-20 | 1 | 8 | -2 | Left in December 2019 | 4 | John Ward | 2013-14 | 2 | 7 | -3 | Relegated to Conference | 5 | Joey B***** | 2021-22 | 2 | 7 | -5 | to be concluded... | 6 | Paul Trollope | 2006-07 | 2 | 7 | -5 | Promoted to League One | 7 | Darrell Clarke | 2018-19 | 1 | 5 | -3 | Left in December 2018 |
JB pips Trolls into fifth place, by virtue of having to play more matches away from home.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Sept 13, 2021 14:23:36 GMT
Here's a challenge! Put these 7 manager + season combos in order, according to their points totals from their first seven League games. If level on points, take goal difference into account. (I've chosen the seasons for being either recent or when there was a promotion or a relegation at the end). 2021-22 | J B***** | 2020-21 | B Garner | 2019-20 | G Coughlan | 2018-19 | D Clarke | 2013-14 | J Ward | 2011-12 | P Buckle | 2006-07 | P Trollope |
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Sept 11, 2021 15:02:10 GMT
Can't work out how to embed the tweet! Here's the line-up: J. Belshaw H. Anderson; M. Hughes; Connor Taylor; N. Anderton Josh Grant; G. Whelan; Sam Finley; Antony Evans; L. Clarke; H. Saunders. Subs: J. Ward (GK); A. Kilgour; Junior Brown; P. Coutts; S. Spence; A. Collins; B. Pitman. more middle-aged spread there than your average Rotary club The average age has just come down a bit as Brett Pitman (33) has replaced the injured Leon Clarke (36). Nil-nil at half-time.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Sept 11, 2021 13:21:01 GMT
Can't work out how to embed the tweet!
Here's the line-up:
J. Belshaw H. Anderson; M. Hughes; Connor Taylor; N. Anderton Josh Grant; G. Whelan; Sam Finley; Antony Evans; L. Clarke; H. Saunders.
Subs: J. Ward (GK); A. Kilgour; Junior Brown; P. Coutts; S. Spence; A. Collins; B. Pitman.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Sept 11, 2021 10:40:00 GMT
Harrogate drew 2-2 at home against Newport last night, but remain top of the table. I wondered if there was an explanation for their excellent start to the season, but (at least as suggested in this Grauniad article) it appears to be unity and hard work. The manager is the son of the owner! Link to Harrogate Town's Set-up
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Sept 6, 2021 18:38:13 GMT
Anyone know the winning 50-50 ticket number from Saturday (or, rather, where it's published)? I spent half-time in a trance, wondering how we could up our game, so didn't hear any announcement.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Aug 31, 2021 20:50:49 GMT
Only five of the Rovers XI played in our last League game.
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Aug 11, 2021 8:27:08 GMT
Something to muse on: "about as much chance as a toad under a steam-roller".
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GasMacc1
Les Bradd
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 1,423
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Post by GasMacc1 on Aug 9, 2021 16:17:50 GMT
Was it definitely the home end? It was yellow....but I personally didn't see the launch I didn't see it thrown, either, but from the home stand is must have been an Olympic discus thrower. It ended up almost in the six-yard box.
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