Match Thread: Lincoln City v Ipswich Town | Page 9 | Vital Football

Match Thread: Lincoln City v Ipswich Town

I think last night showed the unbalanced squad Appleton has been left with. These are my thoughts some will agree and some will disagree but football is all about opinions.

3 Centre Backs (2 Ageing in Shackell & Bossie) - I'm not counting Melbourne and Connolly as they were signed for Left back and centre mid cover.

2 Wingers - Bruno and Harry - I'm not classing Grant or Payne as wingers as they are clearly number 10's and should not be out non the wing.

1 Defensive Midfielder - O'Connor, yes Morrell plays a bit deeper but he can hardly be classed as a Midfield enforcer.

And then we have lots of pretty midfielders with no height or tackling skills. Pett, Freck, Hesketh, Grant, Payne, Chapman (ok he has height)

and finally 2 strikers - Walker - Good goalscorer but for me limited out of the box and then we have big John the man last night who controlled a football further than I can kick it these days.

Appleton likes to play with pace we have no pace in midfield and we cannot change it out wide in games as limited due to only have 2 wingers. We cannot play two up top as again no one to replace a striker later on in the game.
 
collingham imps said:
Agree entirely Imps 1 - but don't say unbalanced squad too often or too loudly on here as the Cowley Fan Club will have you by the nuts!!
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I would love to know how Danny and Nicky would have got on with this squad, I really cannot see them of doing much better. As Clive said in his interview 22 goals conceded before Appleton and now less than a goal a game under Appleton. Just need a boost in the Defensive Midfield Area, Wing and Attack and I think we will be more than ok.
 
imps1 said:
I would love to know how Danny and Nicky would have got on with this squad, I really cannot see them of doing much better. As Clive said in his interview 22 goals conceded before Appleton and now less than a goal a game under Appleton. Just need a boost in the Defensive Midfield Area, Wing and Attack and I think we will be more than ok.
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Respectfully disagree. We all know the method would have worked somehow and they'd have got draws from defeats and a few more wins. They just know how to win football matches with what they have. Like it or not they were bloody good managers. And it was their squad. Appleton needs his own squad. But it'll still be tough.
 
elkimp said:
Respectfully disagree. We all know the method would have worked somehow and they'd have got draws from defeats and a few more wins. They just know how to win football matches with what they have. Like it or not they were bloody good managers. And it was their squad. Appleton needs his own squad. But it'll still be tough.
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The Cowleys are more project managers than football managers. They have aims and objectives, detailed methodologies, and milestones (even within individual matches), and invariably they somehow or other get where they want (2 league titles and an EFL cup).

MApp seems more of a conventional coach, and seems to want the players to express their abilities more than implement a rigorous system. Certainly the game management in the last 15 minutes of games leaves something to be desired, but maybe when he has this bountiful January everyone is on about he will be able to tighten things up. I hope.
 
elkimp said:
Respectfully disagree. We all know the method would have worked somehow and they'd have got draws from defeats and a few more wins. They just know how to win football matches with what they have. Like it or not they were bloody good managers. And it was their squad. Appleton needs his own squad. But it'll still be tough.
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I'm not so sure, some our wins were a little streaky early this season, and we were definitely doing much of the same things as now (giving it away cheaply in bad areas, getting nothing at all from set-pieces, overplaying it and losing it.....).
Footballers are generally quite simple creatures of habit, I think it takes a fair while for them to change tack.
 
simes69 said:
The Cowleys are more project managers than football managers. They have aims and objectives, detailed methodologies, and milestones (even within individual matches), and invariably they somehow or other get where they want (2 league titles and an EFL cup).

MApp seems more of a conventional coach, and seems to want the players to express their abilities more than implement a rigorous system. Certainly the game management in the last 15 minutes of games leaves something to be desired, but maybe when he has this bountiful January everyone is on about he will be able to tighten things up. I hope.
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I don't care how we play football or whether players "express their abilities". All I care about is winning football matches.
 
elkimp said:
Respectfully disagree. We all know the method would have worked somehow and they'd have got draws from defeats and a few more wins. They just know how to win football matches with what they have. Like it or not they were bloody good managers. And it was their squad. Appleton needs his own squad. But it'll still be tough.
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Spot on
 
collingham imps said:
Agree entirely Imps 1 - but don't say unbalanced squad too often or too loudly on here as the Cowley Fan Club will have you by the nuts!!
Click to expand...
No Cowley Fan Club at all.

People are now going off at a tangent and talking about the attributes of said players and lack of a certain type of player(s) within the squad, which I haven't agreed or disagreed with. That's not squad balance, that's just managers signing different types of players to suit their way of playing.

In the simple sense of it, we have cover in every position. What people think of those players in terms of quality or age and whether they're too samey is a different discussion all together.
 
imps1 said:
I think last night showed the unbalanced squad Appleton has been left with. These are my thoughts some will agree and some will disagree but football is all about opinions.

3 Centre Backs (2 Ageing in Shackell & Bossie) - I'm not counting Melbourne and Connolly as they were signed for Left back and centre mid cover.

2 Wingers - Bruno and Harry - I'm not classing Grant or Payne as wingers as they are clearly number 10's and should not be out non the wing.

1 Defensive Midfielder - O'Connor, yes Morrell plays a bit deeper but he can hardly be classed as a Midfield enforcer.

And then we have lots of pretty midfielders with no height or tackling skills. Pett, Freck, Hesketh, Grant, Payne, Chapman (ok he has height)

and finally 2 strikers - Walker - Good goalscorer but for me limited out of the box and then we have big John the man last night who controlled a football further than I can kick it these days.

Appleton likes to play with pace we have no pace in midfield and we cannot change it out wide in games as limited due to only have 2 wingers. We cannot play two up top as again no one to replace a striker later on in the game.
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Spot on post.

I'm afraid Michael Appleton has inherited a very unbalanced squad.

They actually created enough goalscoring chances to win multiple games last night but, unless we move the goal we are shooting at to somewhere near the corner flag, we won't score enough goals to win.

I sincerely hope MA can find a lazy "one trick pony" whose only attributes are that he can aim at a goalkeeper and endlessly miscue three yards either side of him and that he looks like a wimp but kicks the ball like an angry zebra (or pony)........
UTI !!

OK...... two tricks.
 
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A balanced squad is much more than a squad with two potential players for each role. It allows for flexibility to play different systems, not just a single striker. It also requires players to have different and complementary attributes. So, for example, individually a back four of Eardley, Bostwick, Shackell and Toffolo would be our best back four. Collectively, however, they have an average age of 30.5 years and are lacking in pace somewhat. We also really only have two wingers, when in the recent past we have tended to have three or four on the books.
 
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