[Dancingwilldoit]

Why not? You cant blame John Sheridan for starting a centre back at RB, a left back in midfield and his precious son at left back, Robbie Mr Backwards Weir as our midfield general can you. After all it was a hot day and maybe with a hangover and feeling a bit giddy it looked good on paper. I just hope to god you didn't travel for that one SGB. The team selection and formation spelled one thing - a recipe for disaster

Lets start with the first half. To say we were absolute total shite would be a huge understatement. Shezz junior was so out of his depth he couldnt see over the turf. I'm not one to slag off players when its 100% justified as you know, but he was just plain garbage. That brilliant centre back we signed from Carlisle called a "lump of lard" is outstanding at being gobby and telling everybody else what they should be doing but in all honesty a lump of lard is a whole lot more useful. It was hot out there today and at least a lump of lard would have "run". He really is crap and wants ditching asap.
So, to the game. We should have gone in 0-5 at half time with many around me saying it was the worst ever half of football they had seen in 30-40-50 years. Last minute we were awarded one the dodgiest pens I have ever seen but would have taken anything by that stage and went in 1-2. It was dire. The only bright spot was a beautiful strike by Bradley Barry that had most of the East Stand applauding. Pity he doesnt play for us any more.

Second half JS saw sense and took his lad off with Gerrard following PDQ. Guess what, everybody dropped into their natural positions and we actually looked balanced for the first time. It still wasnt pretty to watch but at least we had a few things to shout about - especially the ref. JS still tried to pull a rabbit out of the hat by playing our top scorer Boden on the wing. The Rabbit was dead though so I hope we dont see that again.

What I really dont understand is what has happened to Wedgbury. When he has played he looked good. He was out today warming up with the rest of the squad but wasnt even on the team sheet. 6 games without a win is not the time to start tinkering with the team and where players play. The fact you have an unbalanced squad is solely down to your recruitment in summer Mr Sheridan. McKay was on the bench - why FFS. Where are our youngsters?
At least Maguire is available for Mondays trip up the road but knowing JS he will be in goal.

My worst nightmares are coming true. We should never have let him set his feet near our club again. People remember the promotion but forget the crap that followed it. Here we go again.

[SaltergateBorn]

Don`t hold back, Dancing; say what you think!

No, I didn`t travel yesterday. I`m going to Stockport on Monday (along with laddo) and decided that 90 minutes of emotional pain is as much as any human being could reasonably be expected to endure in the course of one Bank Holiday week-end so gave it a miss. It`s also the first home game I`ve missed this season so thought that that a) I deserved a break and b) we may actually perform to a reasonable standard and get a result if I wasn`t there. I`ll leave it to others to judge as regards (a) but apparently I was wrong with regard to (b).

Not having been at the game, I`m not in a position to comment on today so won`t. However, on the basis of what I`ve seen in the previous 2 games I find it hard to argue with anything you say. Although the style of football has been a cut above the hoofball that we had to endure under MA at the start of last season, the quality of what I`ve seen has been pretty grim for the most part and I`m finding it hard to get my head around some of the team selection and recruitment. What the hell is going on?

As I`ve said before, I don`t like to single out individual players but I`ve seen nothing in McKay that makes me think he`s anywhere near as good a prospect as Amantchi – who seems to have been completely disregarded this season – provided that he`s played in the right role. We also let Barry and JBW go – I`m not being wise after the event, there; I said I thought these were both mistakes as soon as the retained list was released – and I think both of them may come back to haunt us this season. The first of the aforementioned certainly has.

I don`t bear the level of personal antagonism towards John Sheridan that you and Dev obviously do – I don`t know him personally, so I can`t comment on his character – but certainly I`m starting to wonder; not about just him personally, but about what`s going on with the club in general. I accept that he has had no experience whatsoever of the National League and that these are still early days, but he is an experienced football manager who – working with a budget which I`m sure exceeds most of the other teams in this league - could reasonably be expected to be and logically should be successful at this level. At the moment, however, despite the apparent `false dawn` of the second half of last season he shows no signs of being so (again, I know these are early days but even so....).

My point – which I am getting to eventually ; trust me – is that JS is the latest in a line of managers whose appointments should logically, if not have made us successful (whatever that means), should certainly not have left us in the position that we are now. Martin Allen, for example, knew this league inside out and should have got us out of it, but he couldn`t; not upwards, anyway. The same could be said of all of his immediate predecessors, whatever their shortcomings. Why? Is there, as Matt has suggested, a curse on the club or is there a level of corporate mismanagement going on that makes the job impossible for any manager and that will inevitably result in our being the next Bury? I am by nature an optimist (my medication isn`t as strong as Matt`s, but I am seeing my GP again next week) and I freely acknowledge that I have in the past been something of an apologist for Dave Allen but I am starting to think that there is something endemically rotten within our club that can only be resolved by a sale and a root-and-branch overhaul from top to bottom.

Now; you mentioned Brexit, Dancing........

[Devongone]

Sheridan was a lovely midfield player, but gives every appearance of being a vile man. The level of abuse I once heard him heap on Austen at Exeter years ago is something I couldn't forget or forgive.

He knows football but he knows little about our level and appears uninterested in carrying out research. He got Fondop-Talom by serendipity thanks to Wrexham's stupidity …… otherwise he's recruited by scouring known drinkers and his own breakfast table. He's lazy, Oldham fans agree he's a drunk and his decision making is becoming increasingly bizarre.

But Gregor Robertson wrote a hagiographic article about him in the Non-League Paper last week and I like Gregor …….. so maybe I'm unfair. But dropping a right back who made us a goal in the second minute last week in favour of a Left back and his own lad says it all. The side looked bizarre yet again.

Personally I'd start at the very beginning and drop the keeper who Yarney made the mistake of bollocking for not coming out for a cross last week.

[Dancingwilldoit]

I was holding back SGB, if I had said what I really thought there would have been a few writs flying around come Tuesday am.
If you had witnessed that first half yesterday you would have been suicidal and a danger to others on your way home. It really was appalling.
For the first time ever, JS actually acknowledges in his post match interview that he got the team selection wrong yesterday. I applaud him for that but it was blatantly obvious and I dont think he had any option. He still manages to have a dig at the players though by saying we had a game plan and they didnt stick to it. After 25 mins the kop were actually chanting for JS to get it sorted. As usual he just stood there with his arms folded.
Watch the highlights if you get the chance, I am sure they wont have enough time to show all Barrows first half chances including goal line clearing and fingertip last ditch saves.

[Devongone]

Sheridan arms folded ..... the body language is the man and his decision-making processes.

SGB I think it is great you and your son are off to Stockport. I hope we improve for you. I suspect Wedgbury is not thought to be fit enough for two games in a weekend ...... and may well be in the team. (I hope that's the thinking!)

From the bits I get to see and surveying opinions passed by fans and media I'd be working towards a team that looked something like:-

GOAL - Coddington (could he do worse than Jalal?)

Back Three - Evans, Maguire, Hollis
Wing Backs - Yarney, Buchanan

Defensive midfield - Wedgbury
Attacking midfield - Mendeville, Spyrou

Front Two - Boden, Fondop-Talom

Substitutes - McGlashan, Amantchi, Denton, Sharman, Rowley / Smith

That eleven gives the flexibility to change shape, the wing backs can play full back, Maguire can move forward into midfield, McGlashan, Amantchi and Denton all could change the point and the way we attack, Rowley can spot a pass when we are lacking it and Smith is the nearest thing we have to an all-rounder capable of covering anything going wrong. Sharman is defensive cover and is capable of going on near the end to help us hold a lead and will develop into a first-choice defender.

Players to get rid of whenever we can - Jalal, Weir, Weston, Gerrard, McKay

Urgent signings needed - A young keeper, a workaholic midfielder with one or two goals in him and maybe we need to replace Gerrard with someone the right shape.

[Dancingwilldoit]

The problem with what you say Dev is that it makes sense, JS doesnt seem to do sense. The team you list is what I would go for. It looks balanced. Dont think Spyrou is fit yet but McGlashan looked ok yesterday as an attacking midfielder. Smith also looks good as a defensive midfielder which is what he is. Problem is I dont think he has played there except for 20mins yesterday where he looked solid. He is not a right sided attacking midfielder which is where he keeps being played.