Match Thread: Lincoln City v Hartlepool United | Page 20 | Vital Football

Match Thread: Lincoln City v Hartlepool United

Lets be under no illusions we're in a tough spot at the moment, but any talk of getting rid of Appleton is ridiculous. After what he achieved in the last two seasons he has more than enough credit in the bank.

I think getting rid of Appleton would be similar to when Charlton got rid of Curbishley.

We have to at the very least give him until after January transfer window. We know what his football can achieve once some injured players return and if we get the right players in. The run upto this transfer window is completely geared to what Appleton needs and wants, diverting from that at this time could be a disaster. Anyone who is unsure of the club's transfer policy should read Gary's article.
 
Unfortunately, I think City are in a relegation battle unless the injured players come back and play regularly.

Bridcutt, Walsh, Scully & Hopper are big losses and if City can get a couple of those players back it would be hugely beneficial. Michael Appleton could also tweak the positions of some players & re-introduce some of the uninjured players to the team. These measures might just arrest the slide in form.

Appleton had a lot of faith in Eyoma and Roughan when he first arrived. Does he really need reminding of the fact that they both did very well at full back with TJ, in particular, looking outstanding? Why not put him back there? Why not re-introduce Roughan and push Robson further forward? He can certainly put a decent cross in.

On top of that get Max Sanders in to replace Fiorini who looks devoid of confidence. He looks a million miles away from a premier league player at the moment. Give him a rest and re-introduce him gradually. Does his loan stipulate that he has to play? If it does, then it's not a good deal for City.

City have lost four very good players in Grant, Edun, Johnson & Rogers. That's football. We cannot look back too much unless we are analysing current players and their previous performances in a range of positions.

There have been some poor signings too but I won't name them. There are maybe three signings who are very disappointing to say the least. Players who cannot control the ball, cannot cross it and don't appear to have any great positional sense.

However, one very significant loss is Harry Anderson. Someone who could run at defenders get round them or across them and, more significantly, could put a decent and inviting cross in. Too late now, sadly.

The top priorities for signings must be a striker or two and definitely a winger or two.

If Michael Appleton doesn't start to use his players more flexibly then both he and City are doomed for the sack and relegation respectively.

Appleton has proved he's a good manager in the past but now he has to prove he can make brave decisions to re-try players where they were successful before and have the courage to drop a player when he is out of form.

I am now desperately hoping for some courageous decisions, injury returns and good signings.
 
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redimpsfan100 said:
Unfortunately, I think City are in a relegation battle unless the injured players come back and play regularly.

Bridcutt, Walsh, Scully & Hopper are big losses and if City can get a couple of those players back it would be hugely beneficial. Michael Appleton could also tweak the positions of some players & re-introduce some of the uninjured players to the team. These measures might just arrest the slide in form.

Appleton had a lot of faith in Eyoma and Roughan when he first arrived. Does he really need reminding of the fact that they both did very well at full back with TJ, in particular, looking outstanding? Why not put him back there? Why not re-introduce Roughan and push Robson further forward? He can certainly put a decent cross in.

On top of that get Max Sanders in to replace Fiorini who looks devoid of confidence. He looks a million miles away from a premier league player at the moment. Give him a rest and re-introduce him gradually. Does his loan stipulate that he has to play? If it does, then it's not a good deal for City.

City have lost four very good players in Grant, Edun, Johnson & Rogers. That's football. We cannot look back too much unless we are analysing current players and their previous performances in a range of positions.

There have been some poor signings too but I won't name them. There are maybe three signings who are very disappointing to say the least. Players who cannot control the ball, cannot cross it and don't appear to have any great positional sense.

However, one very significant loss is Harry Anderson. Someone who could run at defenders get round them or across them and, more significantly, could put a decent and inviting cross in. Too late now, sadly.

The top priorities for signings must be a striker or two and definitely a winger or two.

If Michael Appleton doesn't start to use his players more flexibly then both he and City are doomed for the sack and relegation respectively.

Appleton has proved he's a good manager in the past but now he has to prove he can make brave decisions to re-try players where they were successful before and have the courage to drop a player when he is out of form.

I am now desperately hoping for some courageous decisions, injury returns and good signings.
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TJ played at right back recently and had a shocker. I suspect because he didn't have Brennan Johnson in front of him forcing the other side back. Every time the ball went to him he was under pressure, and showed that he doesn't have the close control to deal with being closed down quickly. The lad looks a shadow of the loan player, possibly because he doesn't have the same quality around him that he had 12 months ago.
 
Fiorini has been a bit of a disaster. Obviously you cant blame a 20 year for our problems.
He just hasn't had the same impact of Morgan last season..
It must be difficult for a young lad who Carrys a reputation for being the next big thing at Manchester City. He obviously has no long term future at man City.
On this occasion, have we been sold a pup.
Dont even get met started on the southampron lad.
 
the one legged imp said:
Fiorini has been a bit of a disaster. Obviously you cant blame a 20 year for our problems.
He just hasn't had the same impact of Morgan last season..
It must be difficult for a young lad who Carrys a reputation for being the next big thing at Manchester City. He obviously has no long term future at man City.
On this occasion, have we been sold a pup.
Dont even get met started on the southampron lad.
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Fiorini actually played really well when he first got into the team. A period around September to early October he was one of our best performers. Now though he looks exhausted to me. Probably not too much of a shock for a 19 year old who is basically playing solidly Saturday/Tuesday every week. He doesn't get the International rest periods either as he's away with Scotland. I also wonder if he's living in Lincoln or still Manchester area as travelling that distance every day is not ideal either. In any case he needs a good couple of weeks off to rest.

As for no future at Man City...he did sign a 5 year deal there last summer so I wouldn't be sure of that. Not an easy midfield to break into there though
 
Phil foden is 19/20 he is the future of Manchester City.
Did you see Manchester City's bench this evening.
Fiorini has zero chance of making Manchester city's 1st team squad. Which is fair enough.
Tj Eyoma is at Lincoln because he also had zero chance at Tottenham
These players are not bad players. They are Division 2 players.
 
Pompeyimp2 said:
Is it just me, or is the only real problem we have is scoring goals? We play (relatively) good football in most areas of the pitch but once we get near the opponent's goal it turns to rat shit - so we are not an appalling, disgraceful club, we are one that cannot score goals. That is, IMHO, the only problem we need to solve

Dons tin helmet and awaits incoming fire!!
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Yes, it is the only problem (although for "scoring goals", use "creating opportunities in the final third") on the field.

We get to the final third and consistently aim to walk the ball into the net.

Players make decisions on the pitch but they play to a style, format and structure set by the manager.

Off the field, this club isn't being destroyed by the manager, the players, the board, the owner- it's being destroyed by the fans.

Those (and there's a lot of them) who have never accepted MA, never wanted him as manager because he isn't Danny Cowley were kept quiet last season by COVID and a successful season.

The vitriolic abuse being hurled at players will only mean one thing

We won't see an England U21 goalkeeper at Sincil Bank next season
We won't see top quality young players from top teams

PL coaches come to watch our games to see how their young talent is progressing- watching Fiorini being ripped apart by a home crowd each week will see Man City walk away from any future loans- congratulations to the clueless bunnies in the crowd creating a self fulfilling prophecy.

The toxicity in the crowd starts from kick off onwards. Watch the game from yesterday and Tuesday night. Tuesday night we were fluid, controlled, pacy, not afraid to try something, creative. We lacked that final quality (but we know that) but we had everything else....and no home crowd to jump on players from the 1st minute.

At home yesterday, the team couldn't have been more different....the groans started the moment we played out from the back, the moment Nlundulu lost his first battle with their CB, the moment Fiorini didn't find a player with his pass and it just got worse throughout the game.

Anyone who booed yesterday, it is YOU who are destroying what has been built up over the last 5 years and no-one else.
 
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"god that was worse than poor. the trend has gone from making chances and not scoring them, to not making any chances and not even looking like there is a plan to create chances"

"we just don't create clear chances... and we haven't got the forwards who can create something from nothing."

"We need to limp through to January now and then improve the squad in the areas that are clearly missing"

"For those commenting without having seen the game you had to be there to appreciate how truly awful we were! It was one of the worst performances I've seen and I went to games during the relegation and conference time"

"Looked absolutely clueless throughout!...A major clear out required in January"

I've done this sort of thing before - these are comments from almost exactly 4 years ago following a League 2 defeat at Colchester.

It just shows the utter predictability of this fanbase, any fanbase, to over-react to some bad performances and results, and think the previous game is the remorseless, unaltering course of the future. A failure to see the bigger picture, these look like a pretty sorry selection of comments with the benefit of hindsight.
 
StrangelyBrown said:
Yes, it is the only problem (although for "scoring goals", use "creating opportunities in the final third") on the field.

We get to the final third and consistently aim to walk the ball into the net.

Players make decisions on the pitch but they play to a style, format and structure set by the manager.

Off the field, this club isn't being destroyed by the manager, the players, the board, the owner- it's being destroyed by the fans.

Those (and there's a lot of them) who have never accepted MA, never wanted him as manager because he isn't Danny Cowley were kept quiet last season by COVID and a successful season.

The vitriolic abuse being hurled at players will only mean one thing

We won't see an England U21 goalkeeper at Sincil Bank next season
We won't see top quality young players from top teams

PL coaches come to watch our games to see how their young talent is progressing- watching Fiorini being ripped apart by a home crowd each week will see Man City walk away from any future loans- congratulations to the clueless bunnies in the crowd creating a self fulfilling prophecy.

The toxicity in the crowd starts from kick off onwards. Watch the game from yesterday and Tuesday night. Tuesday night we were fluid, controlled, pacy, not afraid to try something, creative. We lacked that final quality (but we know that) but we had everything else....and no home crowd to jump on players from the 1st minute.

At home yesterday, the team couldn't have been more different....the groans started the moment we played out from the back, the moment Nlundulu lost his first battle with their CB, the moment Fiorini didn't find a player with his pass and it just got worse throughout the game.

Anyone who booed yesterday, it is YOU who are destroying what has been built up over the last 5 years and no-one else.
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Probably not a popular view, but one I think has some merit. I forgot to mention very loud person sat somewhere behind me who I’m convinced actually wanted Hartlepool to win so his view could be vindicated. If only Appleton could jump around on the touch line I’m sure results would be a lot better.
 
mikeosullivan said:
I'm not sure that is the case, apart from Whittaker, as all the others were signed much earlier in the summer.

The permanent signings (Bishop, Sorenson, Adelakan, Robson and, last season Brammal), we paid money for and therefore should have been thoroughly researched by the recruitment team. At the moment, not one has been up to standard.

Loan signings are more of a gamble. Last season Johnson and Rogers paid off. This season Fiorini and N'Lundulu haven't. But there is no excuse for the director's money that has been wasted on those permanent signings.

Out of our last nine signings, going back to Poole and Brammal last January, only Poole has been anywhere near what was needed. Although Eyoma's total loss of form is not the fault of the recruitment team, only one of nine major signings being a success has to be.

Based solely on that, it is no wonder we are where we are now. Injuries have made it worse of course, but most of the signings were brought in as starters - not squad members.
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Not trying to suggest those signings you mention have been a success, but I would suggest we probably were hoping to have a front 3 of Whittaker - Hopper - Hanlan with some of the younger players being brought in more gradually. A forward line that probably looks more like last years.
 
WellingtonImp said:
“You always have to adapt your idea of football to the players you have available, not vice versa," - Ralf Rangnick. Draw your own conclusion.
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Mapp more or less said after the game that his options to change things without making things worse are pretty limited. But it seems the players he has are not up to his preferred idea of football.
Rock and a hard place?

We have to stay behind MA right now though.
 
Got to agree with StrangelyBrown.
Possibly the reason we are poor at home is players are playing it safe at home and with more freedom away from home. Results certainly point in that direction. They are young kids and are easily affected by the crowd - one of the reasons a lot of them give for signing for us in the first place. Well now they've seen the other side.
I was as disappointed as the next man yesterday but
I was embarrassed at full time listening to the booing. In what way is that going to make them try harder? Yes, I know you've paid your money and can do as you wish but that's why we've ended up with the likes of Maguire squaring up to the fans.
How is chanting "we're f**king sh*t" going to make them try to improve? That's the kind of behaviour we'd laugh at Grimsby for doing.
The players under DC and NC couldn't believe how the fans kept chanting and stayed with the players in a very heavy defeat and that galvanised the squad and got us eventually to where we are now.
MAap and the players know it's not going well. They don't need it rubbing in. It's hard when you're losing but we've got to stick with them. Yes, I suppose I'm a happy clapper but I ain't giving up on them. We're not even half way through the season yet.
 
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Even more worrying when you hear MA saying he looked at his bench and there was nobody who he could bring on to score a goal !! Desperate.
 
Pompeyimp2 said:
Is it just me, or is the only real problem we have is scoring goals? We play (relatively) good football in most areas of the pitch but once we get near the opponent's goal it turns to rat shit - so we are not an appalling, disgraceful club, we are one that cannot score goals. That is, IMHO, the only problem we need to solve

Dons tin helmet and awaits incoming fire!!
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In all competitions I think we're averaging 1.15 goals a game this season.
For comparison
2020/21 - 1.64
2019/20 - 1.19
2018/19 - 1.56
2017/18 - 1.38
2016/17 - 1.7
2015/16 - 1.52
 
impsimps said:
Even more worrying when you hear MA saying he looked at his bench and there was nobody who he could bring on to score a goal !! Desperate.
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The fact that he turned round to the bench and realised there is no one to bring on to score a goal is his and his recruitment teams responsibility and never mind the bench he didn't have anyone in his starting 11 that looked remotely like they were capable of scoring a goal.
 
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