Our team for the match at Bristol City

[Acido]

This is for any reds fan on here of course, but Id like to ask those who have gone to see some friendlies and especially those who were there against Cov on Tuesday. Some of them have said they were 'quietly' impressed with what they saw even though it was only a friendly etc.
So who do we all think are certainties to start for the opening day match at the cheesy slimebags team Bristol City ?

Id say Davies & MacDonald of course at the back (and one of them might be the new captain as well) . I cant say Yids though because Im really not sure if he will still be with us.
I was willing to give Isgrove some time after his apparent lack of gametime at Saarfampton, but it sounds like hes been ace so hes got to be a definite starter as well along with Moncur obviously. And I was thinking Bradshaw as well but I really cant be sure about that to be honest.

And then again theres the question of will Hecky go with 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 etc. ? Hey dont ask me, Ive got no idea lol.

[Exiletyke]

I have read about those who were "quietly impressed" Acido & living in the Warwickshire area I can tell you that not many round these parts are impressed with Cov's current position
Just remember they are L2
However they have just beaten MK Dons [L1] 2-0 in a friendly
I live in hope

[DOOALI]

Any win is a good win no matter who,the Bristol game even hecky doesn't know

[animallittle3]

The following players have to start for me in order to at least offer some form of stability .

Davies , Yiadom , Macdonald , Hammill , Moncur , Bradshaw , I'd also add Isgrove and Mowat to that list .

At least there's a player in each area of the team with experience from last season .

I personally think he will go 4-5-1 and look to keep it nice and tight and let Bristol come on to us .

If it's all square with 20 minutes left the chelsea kid may come on and see if we can nick the win as the game opens up .

[Acido]

The following players have to start for me in order to at least offer some form of stability .
Davies , Yiadom , Macdonald , Hammill , Moncur , Bradshaw , I'd also add Isgrove and Mowat to that list .
At least there's a player in each area of the team with experience from last season .
I personally think he will go 4-5-1 and look to keep it nice and tight and let Bristol come on to us .
If it's all square with 20 minutes left the chelsea kid may come on and see if we can nick the win as the game opens up .

I also wonder if Hecky might do the 4-5-1 regularly away from home this season, in the hope of keeping it tight and at least not losing etc. However, that does go against our brilliant away attitude from last season so I hope thats not the case.
Also my 'signs' at the moment are that he/Hecky just doesn't either like or trust Hammill and I can see Adam being phased out this season sadly.
And it sounds ludicrous to say, but Ive heard fans suggest that maybe hes too old now anyway and doesn't fit into our age policy. Well for a player of Hammill's class, if thats true then its an absolute disgrace!

[animallittle3]

I don't think for one minute Hecky will set up away from home to pinch a point .

He may well go 4-5-1 but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going for a draw .

We have to keep ourselves in games to build the confidence .

If we are too adventurous we may get spanked with this new inexperienced squad early doors .

It's a long season and we know what the remit is , stay up , that's all I'm hoping for .

Results are more important than the style for the first half of the season , lets get some points on the board and look to be expansive well away from the drop zone .

[Acido]

I don't think for one minute Hecky will set up away from home to pinch a point .
He may well go 4-5-1 but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going for a draw .
We have to keep ourselves in games to build the confidence .
If we are too adventurous we may get spanked with this new inexperienced squad early doors .
It's a long season and we know what the remit is , stay up , that's all I'm hoping for .
Results are more important than the style for the first half of the season , lets get some points on the board and look to be expansive well away from the drop zone .

I understand all of that Animal of course, and for me in the long run during a season, results are always more important than performances.
At the moment Im dreading the idea of us struggling and trying to survive by the skin of our teeth again. And I just wish I could share everybody elses enthusiasm in all these wonder kids we're signing, but I cant and I think this is a recipie for disaster.

Keef the cowboy did it (whether he chose to do it or was forced to do it is irrelevant), and we all know what happened there dont we!! :O

[animallittle3]

I understand all of that Animal of course, and for me in the long run during a season, results are always more important than performances.
At the moment Im dreading the idea of us struggling and trying to survive by the skin of our teeth again. And I just wish I could share everybody elses enthusiasm in all these wonder kids we're signing, but I cant and I think this is a recipie for disaster.

Keef the cowboy did it (whether he chose to do it or was forced to do it is irrelevant), and we all know what happened there dont we!! :O

All considered logic and football history suggest we are going to struggle .

Most of the chest thumping is simply bravado acido , deep down they are worried about our chances just the same as we are .

What we are attempting to pull off here is unprecedented at this level although not impossible either .

We need a player up top with real ability , the kid from Chelsea may well be that , who knows , as I keep saying I can only see him starting half the games so even if he's a superstar we have a duty of care with another clubs player not to run him into the ground and besides we shouldn't be pinning all our hopes on an 18 year old kid with zilch league experience .

A fif**** goal man and a workable defence may just be enough to keep us out of the bottom 3 .

Let's hope so anyway .

[Acido]

Heres a name off the top of my head.... Nick Powell at Wigan!
(the bloke who scored an 11 minute hat trick against us, and who also used to present Calendar tv lol).

What we've got here with the kid Ugbo is a '1 season wonder' at best. If he flops then no problem, but if he does well then Chelski add another million onto his transfer fee and he forgets where Barnsley and Yorkshire are etc.

And as for Ashley Fletcher coming back here again on loan..... come on guys, seriously ?
(despite some fans claiming to have good sources etc, who ever really thought this was going to happen!) :(

[Jules88]

I also wonder if Hecky might do the 4-5-1 regularly away from home this season, in the hope of keeping it tight and at least not losing etc. However, that does go against our brilliant away attitude from last season so I hope thats not the case.
Also my 'signs' at the moment are that he/Hecky just doesn't either like or trust Hammill and I can see Adam being phased out this season sadly.
And it sounds ludicrous to say, but Ive heard fans suggest that maybe hes too old now anyway and doesn't fit into our age policy. Well for a player of Hammill's class, if thats true then its an absolute disgrace!

Sorry Acido. I think he's deffo League one now. Virtually every opportunity against Cov ended with him on his ar&e. Love him to prove me wrong, but he's creating nowt, and has done for some time. Some of his "falling down" is actually quite embarrassing to watch.!
A Legend for us, but I think I share Heckys view. 20 minutes at the end to try and magic summat when all else fails.
I like the lad, and he's done us proud. But too little end product for me.

[Romared]

Anything can happen , new squad , time to blend etc , we will have a good idea of where we might be after the first ten games or so !! Do we still have that surprise element ? I hope so , going to be hard , I think we will do well , top ten finish , maybe playoffs, if and when Fletcher signs ? Possibly promotion !! Sounds daft I know considering all the changes , a big statement will be sent out if we eventually get Fletch to join us , whatever his wage may be pay it , a big percentage of that cost would show on the turnstyles , be brave and go for it , we may not get a better chance ,

[Romared]

Heres a name off the top of my head.... Nick Powell at Wigan!
(the bloke who scored an 11 minute hat trick against us, and who also used to present Calendar tv lol).

What we've got here with the kid Ugbo is a '1 season wonder' at best. If he flops then no problem, but if he does well then Chelski add another million onto his transfer fee and he forgets where Barnsley and Yorkshire are etc.

And as for Ashley Fletcher coming back here again on loan..... come on guys, seriously ?
(despite some fans claiming to have good sources etc, who ever really thought this was going to happen!) :(

Good sources ? Surely if an experienced former fans favourite enlightens you on a possible new signing ! And still at the club too !!! It's 75/25 right , we will see eventually , i've only passed on info that came my way , other clubs would also see him as a good signing , i still think he will come to us , GG will hopefully sort it

[Acido]

Roma... if this Fletcher deal works out for us then I think it will be fantastic, and you will deserve credit for suggesting it when you did.

But the current idea is that hes NOT coming here, and that hes probably never given a seconds thought about us since the loan deal ended.

[pass_and_move]

Roma... if this Fletcher deal works out for us then I think it will be fantastic, and you will deserve credit for suggesting it when you did.

But the current idea is that hes NOT coming here, and that hes probably never given a seconds thought about us since the loan deal ended.


Bit of a bold assumption Acido. Maybe you underestimate the impact hecky and the club made on young Fletcher. You don't be part of something that special, score twice at Wembley and just forget it, especially when you consider that he's had a pretty dour season at West Ham. Maybe the lad is yearning to get regular 1st team action? He'll definitely get it here and still get his precious premier lg wages too. It's certainly not beyond the realms of possibility so I'll reserve judgement

[pass_and_move]

Who knows what the team will be for Bristol. To tell the truth i don't think Hecky does at this moment. He knows the pre season games are about trying to give players 90 mins. We have totally revamped the team so in all honesty i don't expect a great start to the season. I think we may take while Christmas to click realistically. Either that or we hit it off straight away. I'm preparing for a tough ride*myself and a fair few teething problems, once we get into our stride we may be ok.

[bankendbfc]

i trust hecky, i think he has a good head on him, going to be really lucky getting all these players to gel quickly and i just cant see it happening. tall order creating pretty much a new team at this level comprising the best and brightest of the lower leagues. lets face it, we should go down. look at the league this year, we got teams spending millions on players, Bristol spent 5 an alf mill on one player! with our resources its heart attack time finding out we spent a million on mcgeehan, who i am yet to see. its not impossible i havent given up before a balls been kicked, just saying according to form, resources and ambition (realistic ambition), we going to be down there or thereabouts. last year we done most the point scoring up top, probably momentum as a lot of the side was the same what came up. we do not have momentum this year, end of last season were bit of a shame, still playing good football but not getting the wins, i would be happy first game wi a win however it comes.

Team if still here Davies, Yiadom Jackson Macdonald Fryers Isgrove mowatt moncur mallan D'Almeida Bradders up top. thats probably the most experienced team we got.

i hope the new kids as good as little joshy was. heartbreakin him going, 11 lions like him playing for us and we win, everything.

[animallittle3]

i trust hecky, i think he has a good head on him, going to be really lucky getting all these players to gel quickly and i just cant see it happening. tall order creating pretty much a new team at this level comprising the best and brightest of the lower leagues. lets face it, we should go down. look at the league this year, we got teams spending millions on players, Bristol spent 5 an alf mill on one player! with our resources its heart attack time finding out we spent a million on mcgeehan, who i am yet to see. its not impossible i havent given up before a balls been kicked, just saying according to form, resources and ambition (realistic ambition), we going to be down there or thereabouts. last year we done most the point scoring up top, probably momentum as a lot of the side was the same what came up. we do not have momentum this year, end of last season were bit of a shame, still playing good football but not getting the wins, i would be happy first game wi a win however it comes.

Team if still here Davies, Yiadom Jackson Macdonald Fryers Isgrove mowatt moncur mallan D'Almeida Bradders up top. thats probably the most experienced team we got.

i hope the new kids as good as little joshy was. heartbreakin him going, 11 lions like him playing for us and we win, everything.

Good post bankend pretty much echoes my own thoughts .

Pretty much agree with your team selection for the Bristol opener other than I'd give one of the new centre backs a go alongside Macdonald , I don't rate Jackson personally and I'd start with Hammill instead of Mallan on the basis he's our most experienced player and its his shirt to lose if he doesn't do the business , he knows the score by now .

[bankendbfc]

Mallans got be in the team for me, even if he turned up 21 stone and smellin of gin. i reckon from dead balls the kid could be ***** for us this season, i love Hammill to bits, and your bang on he does now become one of the "old heads", at what 29?! in that case, keep everyone happy hammill starts on the wing, and its mowatt getting splinters in his posteria instead. sorry Alex.

over course of a season i imagine they will all get their chance anyway and we'll find out then. i feel it could be a right good standard this season, so these loans of these nippers, we need get lucky wi em.

[SBRed48]

"Turned up 21 stone and smelling of gin"

As tha heard/ seen summat rarnd weer he lives ?

[bankendbfc]

no no no, just making the point, he can hit a dead ball compliments of youtube, because scottish footballs seen as a bit of a joke by some, they might not fancy mallan on that basis, now watch these free kicks he scores, championship keepers wont get near em either, so i reckon he is going to be good this season, pinged one in the other day dint e?

[Jules88]

Mallon , on the evidence if what I saw at Grimsby and Tuesday night will very quickly become a favourite. Second half he drifted out of the game a bit but he showed he has good reading ( similar to Matty James

[SBRed48]

Is that photo a young Wayne Rooney Jules ?

[Ponte_Steve24]

Davies

Mccarthy Macdonald Jackson Fryers

Mowatt Williams Moncur

Isgrove Bradshaw Mallan

[bankendbfc]

are you leavin yids out cos you reckon he wont be here? mind mccarthy wa brilliant other night.

[Romared]

Has the lad from Luton featured in any games yet ?

[Ponte_Steve24]

Yes Bankend :D

[Acido]

Mallon , on the evidence if what I saw at Grimsby and Tuesday night will very quickly become a favourite. Second half he drifted out of the game a bit but he showed he has good reading similar to Matty James

Speaking of Matty James, Derby were linked with him recently for about 4 mill (in a deal which could have risen to 6 mill), and their fans sounded disappointed with the idea. And they seemed to think that we didn't rate James and weren't impressed with him either!. :O
That fee of 4 mill just shows what we're up against in this league doesn't it.

[Ponte_Steve24]

I never rated the lad. He could make a short pass here n' there and broke up play a little. However, he still looked a yard off pace and I could hit ball harder. Thought he was no better than we already had and I would have gone with Scowen Mowatt and Moncur in side over him anyday of the week.

[Acido]

I never rated the lad. He could make a short pass here n' there and broke up play a little. However, he still looked a yard off pace and I could hit ball harder. Thought he was no better than we already had and I would have gone with Scowen Mowatt and Moncur in side over him anyday of the week.

That surprises me Ponty because I thought he was popular with most of our fans. Is he worth 4-5 mill though, well thats another question altogether isn't it!.

[Ponte_Steve24]

Acido you know when we reminisce over Barnsley players from the past. Good or bad for that matter. He won't be first name plucked out by most. He did a job. No more, no less. Alot will respect that. Not enough to warrant us signing him for me mate.

[Romared]

Decent but nowt special

[EastStandRed]

Has the lad from Luton featured in any games yet ?

Don't think he's up to full fitness yet Roma

[Ponte_Steve24]

I hope he isnt gunna be a Dixon or a Kell wi' t money spent on him :O

[Acido]

We were trying to get him/McGeehan in January werent we, so the club obviously see something in him worth waiting for!

[Ponte_Steve24]

Must be a new injury Acido because he was definitely involved in the knock abouts in club videos.

[EastStandRed]

Must be a new injury Acido because he was definitely involved in the knock abouts in club videos.


Don't think he's injured just not up to the same level as the rest . Sure that's what Hecky said

[Acido]

Don't think he's injured just not up to the same level as the rest . Sure that's what Hecky said

I hope thats all it is Ponty & Esr, and that hes not just unlucky and injury prone.