Match Thread: Lincoln City v Doncaster Rovers | Page 10 | Vital Football

Match Thread: Lincoln City v Doncaster Rovers

clanfordimp said:
I know I'm going to get absolutely castigated for this but I'm not sure Hopper in the team is conducive to how we want to play.

He is good at what he does in holding the ball up, winning a few flick ons and getting you a free kick in your own half but if you want to play pacy attacking football then he's not the man for the job down the middle of the forward line.

As bad as we were defensively last Saturday going forward we looked sharp especially down the left with Diamond.

That is how to play these days. It's so easy for defenders when you just play up to a centre forward and play from there, there's no pace to that and defenders can see exactly what's in front of them and it's not difficult to mark and play against.

Having pace in your team is essential and it's the one thing defenders hate to play against.

You have to have players that can interchange and run at people and that will always cause defences problem's like Diamond did last Saturday and House who never stopped running all game.

Last night was just a pedestrianised exercise of keep ball, going sideways and backwards without creating too much but to score goals you have to be creating multiple opportunities, as we did on Saturday, somehow.

Yeah it was only the Pizza Cup but there are many people on here that can't see the bigger picture. You can't just look at things game by game, you have to be able to see things further afield and at the players we have available to play in every position in relation to how we actually want to play.
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I thought it was odd (maybe not correct choice of word) but to be honest we hardly ever played the ball up to Hopper. He won’t generally make those runs through the gaps House was, but if we are to play to his strengths needs to play into him for him to hold and bring the wide men into play but it hardly went into him
 
He hasn’t performed as well since his long lay off. But for a number 9, he should be judged on goals but he isn’t a player that should be judged on goals which seems strange.

Probably better in our box than the opposition’s, and a real team player. Do we have any better at this stage? No. Could we do better? Yes.
 
I am bemused as to what relevance last night's match has to Tom Hopper's ability.

The match was a classic one where it was too easy and we therefore took no risks and ended up not being able to get out of first gear. The side was picked to give players minutes and we had a side with too many passers and few runners.

That was because it was the Papa John's Trophy with a win already in the bag. It was poor but it really doesn't tell us much.

The fact Tom Hopper can hold the ball up and get us a foothold in a game against the likes of Sheff Wednesday or Wycombe and defend both from the front and defend corners and score the odd goal was of little value in a game like last night.

But it will be.

"You can't just look at things game by game, you have to be able to see things further afield and at the players we will have available to play in every position, in relation to how we actually want to play."

We don't play anything like we did last night in League games. Last night is just that. Last night.
 
Chimpimp said:
I am bemused as to what relevance last night's match has to Tom Hopper's ability.

The match was a classic one where it was too easy and we therefore took no risks and ended up not being able to get out of first gear. The side was picked to give players minutes and we had a side with too many passers and few runners.

That was because it was the Papa John's Trophy with a win already in the bag. It was poor but it really doesn't tell us much.

The fact Tom Hopper can hold the ball up and get us a foothold in a game against the likes of Sheff Wednesday or Wycombe and defend both from the front and defend corners and score the odd goal was of little value in a game like last night.

But it will be.

"You can't just look at things game by game, you have to be able to see things further afield and at the players we will have available to play in every position, in relation to how we actually want to play."

We don't play anything like we did last night in League games. Last night is just that. Last night.
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Do you ever agree with anyone?
 
APHLCFC said:
Do you ever agree with anyone?
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Yes. But not when people post rubbish.

Three weeks ago everyone was saying we would be sunk without a back up for Tom Hopper.

I think I said we couldn't afford one...but thought House may be able to do an adequate job.

I try to not just agree with the latest twaddle.

Tom Hopper will be an important player for us this season.

(I usually post when I disagree to give the other point of view and like when I agree).

Would we be sunk without Tom Hopper or can't do without him (and a clone?)

I know what I think, irrespective of what the last person has posted.
 
Red Wimp said:
I thought it was odd (maybe not correct choice of word) but to be honest we hardly ever played the ball up to Hopper. He won’t generally make those runs through the gaps House was, but if we are to play to his strengths needs to play into him for him to hold and bring the wide men into play but it hardly went into him
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I get what your saying but that is my point.

Playing to Hoppers strengths will just slow us down too much as opposed to how I think the coach wants us to play or how we should be playing.

Look, I think Hoppers a good guy and he does have attributes that make him a decent footballer but I just don't think his style fits into the way we play....or at least how we would like to play.

I also found making him captain a very strange appointment. I know it's only an armband and doesn't mean as much these days to the younger element but not so long ago a captain was a highly respected member of the team and carried a lot of clout.

To me there was only one candidate to become captain this season and he led by example last season and just as important is virtually guaranteed a starting place in the team every week.

Could anyone say the same for Hopper?

Just my personal opinion though.
 
This really is a difficult one, because I respect Hopper's strengths and how hard he works for the team. Yet I think House may fit the way we are currently playing more than Tom does, in that House can run the channels - which is not one of Hopper's strengths.

However if our midfield is not creating (which is more the norm) and we therefore ely on Rushworth or Wright to kick it long, then Hopper is invaluable - as holding the ball up is not one of House's strengths at all.

Yes, we would all like a #9 who can hold the ball up, run the channels, and score goals - but so do 70 other teams.

Hopper gets my vote - just - because of his work rate and his defensive abilities. With our centre back weaknesses in the air, Tom helping out the defense at set pieces makes the difference for me.

As regards captaincy, these days it seems to be just as much a job off the field as it is on the field. On the field I agree Poole might have been a better choice, but Poole has enough on his plate at the moment getting his form back - as he's not been the same player this past month as he was before.
 
clanfordimp said:
I also found making him captain a very strange appointment. I know it's only an armband and doesn't mean as much these days to the younger element but not so long ago a captain was a highly respected member of the team and carried a lot of clout.

To me there was only one candidate to become captain this season and he led by example last season and just as important is virtually guaranteed a starting place in the team every week.
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Pure speculation on my part, but I suspect MK thought there was a good chance of Poole leaving in the summer window.

Hence, Captain Hopper.

Knowing what he knows now, I wonder if MK wished he’d elected Poole.
 
mikeosullivan said:
I really did not share the optimism after the wins against Derby and Bristol Rovers. In both those games I thought we we played against two of the worst defences I had seen for a long while.

Last night showed more of what we are really like - little in the way of creativity and a tendency at the back to switch off.

Our positive points this season have been a high press and high work rate, both of which disappeared last night.
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Bit like comparing apples and pears though, the teams were pretty different in the Doncaster game compared to the Derby/Bristol Rovers ones.
 
That's two or three times that MK has mentioned attitude and mentality now. I can't say I look at Tuesday's line-up and see (m)any who'd fall into that category.
 
Luke Imp said:
That's two or three times that MK has mentioned attitude and mentality now. I can't say I look at Tuesday's line-up and see (m)any who'd fall into that category.
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He did carefully qualify what he was saying and it sounded to me like he was leaning more towards inexperience and the players needing help with developing strong attitudes rather than having bad attitudes, which are two different things,
 
I know everybody is entitled to there opinion but why are there a small group of fans are gloom and doom . Im 76 and have followed the imps since i was 8 . I have never walked out the ground till the whistle has gone at the end i have never booed them off the pitch. Yes i have been very low and destondent. Look back to defeats whitehawk north ferreby utd etc etc look where we are now football is like life you can not win every game or get every day at work good players are human they may be not feeling great may have had a tiff with the wife etc etc. I Now live in Edinburgh so i can not get to games but i watch every game with my lincoln city shirt on and i can tell you now at the end of the season we will be in the top half of the table
 
Still a little confused re: Hopper as when we were crap last season he was the missing piece to bring others in to play, and then when he came back and got fit he wasn't even starting/got dropped/seemed behind Marquis who was always going to leave, it seemed.

Still rate Hopper as a player but was surprised when he was made captain partly on that basis. There's likely to be a role in bringing the forward players into the game still (like Diamond, Garrick and Mandroiu) who will be more prolific than him, but House certainly hasn't done himself any harm in those couple of games having been able to find the net.
 
Rasenimp said:
There's likely to be a role in bringing the forward players into the game still (like Diamond, Garrick and Mandroiu) who will be more prolific than him, but House certainly hasn't done himself any harm in those couple of games having been able to find the net.
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It’ll be very interesting to see, if both are fit, whether MK opts for Hopper or House to start against Bolton.

Based on merit, it’s got to be House.
 
ground said:
I know everybody is entitled to there opinion but why are there a small group of fans are gloom and doom . Im 76 and have followed the imps since i was 8 . I have never walked out the ground till the whistle has gone at the end i have never booed them off the pitch. Yes i have been very low and destondent. Look back to defeats whitehawk north ferreby utd etc etc look where we are now football is like life you can not win every game or get every day at work good players are human they may be not feeling great may have had a tiff with the wife etc etc. I Now live in Edinburgh so i can not get to games but i watch every game with my lincoln city shirt on and i can tell you now at the end of the season we will be in the top half of the table
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Don't worry this forum doesn't represent anything like the majority of fans views...
 
Sincilbanks said:
Don't worry this forum doesn't represent anything like the majority of fans views...
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I think a lot of us older (60+) age group are very much doom and gloom. Growing up in Lincoln as a City fan in the 60s there was little alternative really.

The younger age group who started following City at the start of the Cowley era are a totally different breed to us oldies.

Even supporters who started around the time of us dropping out the league under Tilson didn't have many years relatively before Clive and the Cowleys started to turn things around.

Back in the 60s and early 70s though there was a very cynical and resigned attitude that even on the very rare occasions that we challenged for promotion, the directors "didn't want us to go up" and it was all very soon going to fall apart again.

That did change a bit with GT's arrival (although I still remember some real negativity on the terraces in 75/76 when we set record after record, and that eventually drive GT to Watford), disappeared again until Murph arrived, disappreared once again until Murph came back, then disappeared again until Clive arrived.

All part and parcel of being a City fan. Man Utd, Arsenal supporters etc really don't know what a reflection of life they have missed over the years! LOL.
 
We do have frailties, but with seven of our nine games resulting in wins or draw, we’ve made a decent start. Even for us long-time followers that have lived through many more downs than ups! With some juicy fixtures in October, it would be fantastic to be in a similar league position in 4-5 weeks time. UTI.
 
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