Is L1 too big a jump? (1 Viewer)

AFCCOVENTRY · Aug 24, 2018

I was talking to a friend about this and is the jump to L1 a big step for a lot of our players? Maybe a lot of our players actual level is L2?

Some of our signings have been poor which doesn't help, but we have signed some players who are experienced in L1. So they do need to step up to the plate and start leading more.

However, likes of Willis, Shipley, Bayliss, O'Brien, Doyle etc have looked very poor so far.

stupot07 · Aug 24, 2018

I don't think so, I think recruitment has been generally poor but I think rather then stick with a system and a core of players that did well last season, he's ripped up the plan/formation and squad and replaced them with inexperienced or square pegs. They also seem to be unfit which won't help physically nor will it help mentally and in decision making.

I don't look at the squad and think it's any stronger than last season, I don't feel like we have upgraded in any department if I'm being honest.

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Otis · Aug 24, 2018

AFCCOVENTRY said:
Some of our signings have been poor SO FAR, which doesn't help, but we have signed some players who are experienced in L1. So they do need to step up to the plate and start leading more.

Edited for you.

We're only 5 games in. Far too soon to make judgement on anyone I would say.

Irish Sky Blue · Aug 24, 2018

AFCCOVENTRY said:
I was talking to a friend about this and is the jump to L1 a big step for a lot of our players? Maybe a lot of our players actual level is L2?

Some of our signings have been poor which doesn't help, but we have signed some players who are experienced in L1. So they do need to step up to the plate and start leading more.

However, likes of Willis, Shipley, Bayliss, O'Brien, Doyle etc have looked very poor so far.

I think Willis, Doyle and Bayliss have been okay. Willis has been injured, Doyle was MoM against Plymouth and Bayliss has shown glimpses of what is to come. Shipley has hardly played.

Otis · Aug 24, 2018

Irish Sky Blue said:
I think Willis, Doyle and Bayliss have been okay. Willis has been injured, Doyle was MoM against Plymouth and Bayliss has shown glimpses of what is to come. Shipley has hardly played.

Bayliss has definitely shown some flashes of brilliance.

Philosoraptor · Aug 24, 2018

For team effort at the moment our position is above what could be assumed as the L2 to L1 jump, and that is with most of Sky Blue Talk agreeing this team still needs to get it together.

Four games in is really early, and the fifth one is also going to be away as well.

Give it ten games and this should get a lot more healthy as a barometer.

fatso · Aug 24, 2018

All we need to do is use a system that suits our players. Like playing two strikers up front, and not playing two central midfielders who cant cross the halfway line.
I also don't understand why we started the season with two full backs who hadn't started a game between them, and also our recruitment policy is very hit and miss at the moment to say the least which dosnt help.
It's not all doom and gloom though, JJ and Allisani could make a real impact, and so could a striker if we can get one in on loan.

ccfcway · Aug 24, 2018

is the prem too much for Arsenal ?, championship too good for Stoke ?

Covstu · Aug 24, 2018

For me it’s been too much change too soon, the core of players that were decent last year aren’t playing together on a regular basis. At the end of the season they had built up a good understanding and needed the weak parts filling in rather than a complete rebuild

Earlsdon_Skyblue1 · Aug 24, 2018

The team should be good enough, and whilst it looked like the recruitment was going well, they really fucked it in the end I think.

I was nervous when they sold McNulty and I cannot see that the replacements come close. Then of course players like Grimmer and Burge have been taken out and it rips up a lot of what we had.

As I touched on earlier in pre-season, psychologically as a football player if you lose your best player it can interfere with your motivation and belief. I feel that has been proved probably correct by some of our decent players having suspect performances.

You're more likely to fight for that clean sheet if you believe we could score a goal at any time. At the moment it feels we don't have a player that could buy one.

Mucca Mad Boys · Aug 24, 2018

No it’s not. We just need to consolidate this year and build a 2-3yr promotion project. We’ve got a good young team that will develop over time.

Why don’t we save our meltdown for Xmas time and we’re in and around the relegation zone. Otherwise, let’s all chill out.

Otis · Aug 24, 2018

Mucca Mad Boys said:
No it’s not. We just need to consolidate this year and build a 2-3yr promotion project. We’ve got a good young team that will develop over time.

Why don’t we save our meltdown for Xmas time and we’re in and around the relegation zone. Otherwise, let’s all chill out.

Why chill out when we could all being doing this....

ajsccfc · Aug 24, 2018

I think people are going a bit too mad over the start to the season.

rob9872 · Aug 24, 2018

Not at all imo. Have you forgotten the rubbish we watched for years pre relegation? Next step is huge but I really think L1 & L2 not much and fancied if we'd held nucleus of team together and some togetherness and confidence could go straight through the league. Time will tell albeit not a great start.

harvey098 · Aug 24, 2018

I don’t think recruitment has been that poor?
Ogogo - been probably our best player over the four games.
Sterling - been ok, could do more going forward but been pretty solid barring the Scunthorpe goal.
Mason - been impressed with
Brown - too few minutes to judge
Bakayoko - never understood this signing, I would’ve been disappointed if it was a loan never mind a perm signing where we actually paid a relatively big fee.

I’d say there’s been one big recruitment error (Bakayoko) the rest seem fine and the players from last year haven’t looked out of place. We could easily have beaten Scunthorpe and the Blackpool match looked like a draw all day long had it not been for calamity Liam. Think we will finish around mid table which is what most people expected.

cc84cov · Aug 25, 2018

As soon as Reading we’re adter McNulty I said this will derail us if he goes the goals and his movement we won’t replace.

Robins first said after he was sold “this will make us stronger” then he said “who ever we sign it’s a player we will be looking to develop not someone who can come in and do it”. To me he’s contradicting himself there and the fact is were not stronger,we’ve now changed the system due to not replacing him and the players brought in are no where near the level he’s at.It has derailed us and to adopt this new system with players who are not clever enough or good enough to play it is a big problem.Football is not rocket science we lack creativity & goals.

Apart from mason,Hiwula & ogogo the other signings are poor we should of picked up the better league 2 players Jayden Stockley 3 in 4 this season so far,Boateng etc stuck to 4-4-2 and got a like for like as close as possible McNulty.

Get it sorted · Aug 25, 2018

Shouldn’t be with the experience...Doyle 87 league one games since 2012/13 season, Junior Brown 100, Ogogo 107, Grimmer has 13 Championship/ 58 league One under his belt and yet to make a start in a league 1 game. Incredible!! (Stats from footystats) Surely Robins should be using this experience to settle things down? Problem for Grimmer and to a lesser extent Brown they’ll need 2-3 games now to get back to match fitness!

Gosb · Aug 25, 2018

I certainly think L1 is too big a jump for some of our fans who haven't upped their game at all - 4 league games gone and they're into meltdown. 13 new signings and playing in a higher league means it will inevitably take us time to settle down. At this point last season we had just suffered successive defeats by Newport and Yeovil. So just calm down.

skyblueeyesrevisited · Aug 25, 2018

The system we are playing doesn’t match with the recruitment. We have recruited a hatful of forwards and play one up top. It doesn’t make any sense. Particularly as none of them appear to be able to play the role of lone striker. So MR and AV please forget what all the Prem teams are doing. We are in league one so let’s get back to basics and play 4 4 2.

stevefloyd · Aug 25, 2018

Otis said:
Bayliss has definitely shown some flashes of brilliance.

He has a player in Andreu, who is not yet match fit, who will compliment and understand his game, i am sure exciting times are not too far ahead

stevefloyd · Aug 25, 2018

harvey098 said:
I don’t think recruitment has been that poor?
Ogogo - been probably our best player over the four games.
Sterling - been ok, could do more going forward but been pretty solid barring the Scunthorpe goal.
Mason - been impressed with
Brown - too few minutes to judge
Bakayoko - never understood this signing, I would’ve been disappointed if it was a loan never mind a perm signing where we actually paid a relatively big fee.

I’d say there’s been one big recruitment error (Bakayoko) the rest seem fine and the players from last year haven’t looked out of place. We could easily have beaten Scunthorpe and the Blackpool match looked like a draw all day long had it not been for calamity Liam. Think we will finish around mid table which is what most people expected.

We have signed Bakayoko now we have to play to his strengths not use him as a target man which he clearly is not

Hobo · Aug 25, 2018

cc84cov said:
Robins first said after he was sold “this will make us stronger” then he said “who ever we sign it’s a player we will be looking to develop not someone who can come in and do it”. To me he’s contradicting himself there and the fact is were not stronger,we’ve now changed the system due to not replacing him and the players brought in are no where near the level he’s at.

I don't think there is any contradiction. He has set out the club's buying policy, young players who can be developed for profit. I believe he means by, "It will make us stronger" as more of a team with shared responsibility for goals rather that relying on one.

Yes performances to date have been inconsistent, if not poor. But it is still early days, with several new players and we are in a higher league. What exacerbates the problems we have is the gulf between poor form and unrealistic fan expectation; fans who somehow thought we would walk this league, when the reality was we snuck in through the backdoor.

Fans can bang on about not replacing McNulty as much as they like. But the reality is those sort of players aren't easy to source. The solution then is to build a team where everyone chips in with goals. That can take time and when goals are scarce it always seems like you will never score again. But moaning about it doesn't solve it, but application and hard work on the training ground can.

sw88 · Aug 25, 2018

I’m not sure it’s too big a step, and don’t really have much to evidence either side of the argument.

The squad last year were a squad. It was built around a group of blokes who knew each other’s game. A group of blokes who clearly gelled on and off the pitch. How many minutes have the players who were here last season played together this season?

For me, there’s been too many changes, not just in the form of signings, but in the match day squad. Is it atleast 3 changes per game so far! Maybe even 4 for two of the games. How is a team supposed to gel when that’s happening? Not many of the changes have been forced either.

Out of last seasons squad I think most would have made good efforts towards playing for a lower end league one team; why aren’t they being given a shot this term?

Grimmer for example, Ok he did look to get complacent towards the end of the season but that’s probably because he knew he was guaranteed a start; id day he’s on par with Sterling from what I’ve seen; why isn’t he being given a shot?

Otis · Aug 25, 2018

He played once didn't he and didn't everyone say he was very poor?

torchomatic · Aug 25, 2018

stupot07 said:
I don't think so, I think recruitment has been generally poor but I think rather then stick with a system and a core of players that did well last season, he's ripped up the plan/formation and squad and replaced them with inexperienced or square pegs. They also seem to be unfit which won't help physically nor will it help mentally and in decision making.

I don't look at the squad and think it's any stronger than last season, I don't feel like we have upgraded in any department if I'm being honest.

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I don't think recruitment has been poor. Brown and Ogogo are very experienced in L1. I think there is a stubbornness on behalf of Robins who, like many managers, play one system come what may. For some reason he is very reluctant to change. Hopefully he will soon come to his senses.

Greggs · Aug 25, 2018

Not for the players but i honestly believe Robins is out of his depth in L1

Pete in Portugal · Aug 25, 2018

Otis said:
Edited for you.

We're only 5 games in. Far too soon to make judgement on anyone I would say.

I agree, apart from LOB perhaps, it's too early to tell. My impression, having watched the games on iFollow, is that the players are being asked to play a formation and system which does not match their abilities. On top of that, some are still not fully match fit and they are all are trying to adjust to having several new players in the team. Even if Robins switches to a more sensible 4-4-2 formation today, it's still going to be a while before we can assess whether individual players are good enough at this level.

stupot07 · Aug 25, 2018

torchomatic said:
I don't think recruitment has been poor. Brown and Ogogo are very experienced in L1. I think there is a stubbornness on behalf of Robins who, like many managers, play one system come what may. For some reason he is very reluctant to change. Hopefully he will soon come to his senses.

Yeah tbf its probably a mixture of the 2, ogogo and brown on paper look solid league one signings, the gamble is both have just comeback from big injuries so you never know if they will hit the same heights. Mason looks good, but I just don't don't really look like upgrades on last season, given we were only the 6th best team in league two.

We've sold and not replaced McDonald which is a worry as one injury and we're left with Thompson on the bench.

we're definitely weaker in attack having not adequately replaced McNulty, and I always said how we replace him and his goals will determine whether we're fighting for top 6 or fighting to stay out bottom 6.

Half the reason we're playing the 4231 formation is to try and shoehorn Andreu in the side.

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Greggs · Aug 25, 2018

Otis said:
Edited for you.

We're only 5 games in. Far too soon to make judgement on anyone I would say.

Bullshit, before we know it'll be 10-15 games. You cannot tell me you've been impressed with anything you've seen this season? What makes you believe it will change, any evidence?

larry_david · Aug 25, 2018

Plymouth got promoted to league 1 and in November were rock bottom. They finished a place outside the play offs. The jump is not too big, we just need to play to a system that suits us and our players.

Paxman II · Aug 25, 2018

I think we must look at this from an outside point of view and not so much a Sky blue supporter in order to get perspective.
We have a very good squad for me bar a player or two. Strong in many areas at this level for sure compared to many in this league.
We definately have not yet gelled properly and been consistent. Fitness and the amount of new additions will take time.
Some say what has Grimmer done wrong? I agree but new signings should motivate you more if you lost your place.
There is strong competition for places which should improve players performances. I think once we settle and find the system moresuited to the 11 he picks we will be fine. An out and out goalscorer is certainly a priority and I hope we find one in the loan window to add to the impetus of the team. I also feel there are goals throughout the team and we may need to rely on that for the short term. It's amazing what a goal or two and a win can do and we certainly need to score a few soon to avoid the doubt setting in. MR's must know a replacement for McNulty is an absolute must....I hope the club allows him to address that soon and he can find one!

Irish Sky Blue · Aug 25, 2018

Greggs said:
Not for the players but i honestly believe Robins is out of his depth in L1

Robins has managed this club twice before in this league and has a very good win percentage. The last time he managed us he took a team that was losing week in week out to a winning Wembley final and to league form which if replicated over the season would have had us at least half way. The first time he took over here he turned around a team that had lost 5 on the trot under Richard Shaw and had us on the fringes of the play offs before he left. This season we have played four league games and you think two deafeats in those games shows that he is out of his depth? At both Scunthorpe and Barnsley he also has a half decent record in this league. Why would he now be out of his depth? I was at Blackpool and we were dreadful. That doesn’t mean that Robins is dreadful, just that we had a bad game and possibly you could say a bad start to the season. Out of his depth though? Unbelievable.

Otis · Aug 25, 2018

Pete in Portugal said:
I agree, apart from LOB perhaps, it's too early to tell. My impression, having watched the games on iFollow, is that the players are being asked to play a formation and system which does not match their abilities. On top of that, some are still not fully match fit and they are all are trying to adjust to having several new players in the team. Even if Robins switches to a more sensible 4-4-2 formation today, it's still going to be a while before we can assess whether individual players are good enough at this level.

Yeah, but LOB is last year's player. All the rest are new.

Otis · Aug 25, 2018

Greggs said:
Bullshit, before we know it'll be 10-15 games. You cannot tell me you've been impressed with anything you've seen this season? What makes you believe it will change, any evidence?

We played well at times against Scunthorpe. Very well in little spells and 5 games is not 10-15 games. Precisely what I am saying. If the team haven't gelled by 10-15 games they're never going to gel. 5 games in is so early into the campaign and some players are clearly still finding their feet and trying to fit in.

I was impressed with Ogogo in that one game against Scunthorpe and Mason has looked promising, so too Hiwula in patches. Thomas looks very decent.

As many people have said many times, it is the system as much as anything that is buggering us up. Just a tinker here and there and it may well look like a completely different team.

COVKIDSNEVERQUIT · Aug 25, 2018

stevefloyd said:
We have signed Bakayoko now we have to play to his strengths not use him as a target man which he clearly is not

Looking forward to seeing what his strengths are . :emoji_muscle:

Is L1 too big a jump? (1 Viewer)

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