⚽ Match Thread vs. Lincoln City 08.08.23 [EFLC R1]

[slack_pie]

That is so insulting to LW he's a top coach who last season moved a number of players into new positions including turning Macca into a centre forward who scored 42 goals plus improved the playing style and made it our best season as regards entertainment and league position for 13 years

Did other relative dinosaurs like Cox,Johnson,Devonshire etc in the NL know all the above things when we comfortably finished 2nd against them all.

All those other club fans were jealous of us including Wrexham because we were playing exciting football and playing it successfully.
Obviously all these things that LW introduced starting from double training sessions,individual and team meetings from Day 1 was all lucky and all the hours he spent planning and coaching the players wasn't building a solid foundation - do me a favour !

If we hadn't played this possession style of football do you think we would have enticed the likes of Bostock,Jones and McGoldrick to the club
Wrexham enticed that quality of player with money we don't have that level of finance so have done it with our brand of football.
Granted it appears to be a better standard in League 2 and we might have believed the bookies and pundits that we would walk this league but I trust LW more than Parkinson,Clough & Hughes to get to grips with it with a few tweeks to make sure we are in Division 2 next season and between him and the owners lead us to better things.

The best thing we can do now is get behind and encourage the players with as much noise as possible Saturday

I didn't mean it to be insulting towards him. I'm a big fan of LW. He's done a wonderful job so far at Notts, and he's a cracking guy as well.

What I'm saying is his approach is so far removed from what's considered 'normal' at this level that it sometimes feels like a big experiment playing out in real-time. Last season it worked spectacularly, and we managed to keep pace with big-spending Wrexham through our innovative approach. But there were cracks in the system last season, and they haven't been addressed. Better teams will exploit our weaknesses, which are clear for everyone to see.

Rather than prioritising the strengthening of our defence over the summer, we added more attacking players and continued with the players and system who were starting to get found out last season. It's possible to love LW but still see that we have issues that need addressing, and that those issues would already have been addressed as a priority by most 'dinosaur' managers at this level.

I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth. Last season, playing the way did allowed us to score over a hundred goals, and the price of that was being more open at the back than some other teams. But this season, playing against better opposition, that approach might not work. Or maybe it will. Know knows? Like I said, it's like a giant experiment that could go either way.

[Proactive not Reactive]

I didn't mean it to be insulting towards him. I'm a big fan of LW. He's done a wonderful job so far at Notts, and he's a cracking guy as well.

What I'm saying is his approach is so far removed from what's considered 'normal' at this level that it sometimes feels like a big experiment playing out in real-time. Last season it worked spectacularly, and we managed to keep pace with big-spending Wrexham through our innovative approach. But there were cracks in the system last season, and they haven't been addressed. Better teams will exploit our weaknesses, which are clear for everyone to see.

Rather than prioritising the strengthening of our defence over the summer, we added more attacking players and continued with the players and system who were starting to get found out last season. It's possible to love LW but still see that we have issues that need addressing, and that those issues would already have been addressed as a priority by most 'dinosaur' managers at this level.

I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth. Last season, playing the way did allowed us to score over a hundred goals, and the price of that was being more open at the back than some other teams. But this season, playing against better opposition, that approach might not work. Or maybe it will. Know knows? Like I said, it's like a giant experiment that could go either way.

Fair enough not sure it's an experiment more a fashion and the new coaches coming through are being taught/educated on possession based football and the same buzz words like process etc
When I started playing it was 4.3.3 then went to 4.4.2 and then just before I stopped playing 3.5.2 now most teams are trying to mix it up and tweaking all 3 of these to gain more control on the pitch
Anyway whatever formation we play lets hope for a win tomorrow.

[slack_pie]

Fair enough not sure it's an experiment more a fashion and the new coaches coming through are being taught/educated on possession based football and the same buzz words like process etc
When I started playing it was 4.3.3 then went to 4.4.2 and then just before I stopped playing 3.5.2 now most teams are trying to mix it up and tweaking all 3 of these to gain more control on the pitch
Anyway whatever formation we play lets hope for a win tomorrow.

It's not really a fashion or trend because we're the only ones doing it at this level. And that's what makes it relatively experimental compared to teams who follow tried and tested methods.

I'm not saying our approach is wrong, but just that it's novel. That novel approach worked last season and gave us an edge, allowing us to keep pace with a team who far outspent us. This season, against better teams, it remains to be seen whether it will continue to give us an edge or whether it will in fact be the reason why we struggle.

[Chicken Balti Pie]

What worries me is that LW doesn't seem to have a solid grasp of what is required to be successful at this level. He's a bit of a maverick when it comes to tactics and approach, and that makes the whole thing feel a bit like a giant experiment. It could go spectacularly well or it could blow up in our faces.

Other clubs have managers who understand exactly what is needed - relative dinosaurs like Parkinson, Clough, and Hughes. They understand that you need to be well drilled, solid at the back, and physical first, and once you've got that solid foundation in place, you can then start to think about playing fancy attacking football.

Fans of other clubs have called out their astonishment at our high line and kamikaze defending just as much as they have our attacking prowess, and every team we play will be looking to exploit our obvious weaknesses. What are we doing to counter that threat?

We'll know a lot more after Saturday, but it already looks like a pivotal game. I'm not confident because I know those issues that have been plain as day for months now will still be there.

We're playing in a higher division now. What worked in the NL won't necessarily work in L2. Possession football means nothing if the opposition has three times as many chances are we do.

The majority of our attacking prowess came from the fact we played against teams who would stand off us and not attack back. League 2 have no such fear of us and will attack us, it exposes our defence and nullifies our attack. The fact we had 70% possession but had a solitary shot on target is pathetic

[slack_pie]

The majority of our attacking prowess came from the fact we played against teams who would stand off us and not attack back. League 2 have no such fear of us and will attack us, it exposes our defence and nullifies our attack. The fact we had 70% possession but had a solitary shot on target is pathetic

Indeed. The fact that 70% of possession resulted in very little attacking threat but a ton of defensive issues suggests that our approach needs adjusting. I'd rather win a game with 50% of possession.

Still too early to say anything for sure, and we'll know more on Sat. But we can't just expect to play the way we did against non-league sides and continue to enjoy the same success.

[countygump]

[durhampie]

All of the pre season signings apart from DM in my opinion are just not good enough. And I also question as to whether he was really a necessity, in view of the other striker options at the club. Our priority without any doubt should have been the defence. Bringing a 19 year old academy player in is not the answer...I just hope we are not on loan to the EFL..

[OldBanksy]

There weren't many times we actually broke their press. We mostly launched a long ball that came straight back. We just don't have the players to play long ball and didn't seem as though we were confident enough to press them at all.

I mean clever long balls. Not hoofs under pressure.

[Chicken Balti Pie]

All of the pre season signings apart from DM in my opinion are just not good enough. And I also question as to whether he was really a necessity, in view of the other striker options at the club. Our priority without any doubt should have been the defence. Bringing a 19 year old academy player in is not the answer...I just hope we are not on loan to the EFL..

I have a feeling that we are. The squad is too lightweight to compete. The fact that we are rumoured to be signing another right back who might be able to play RCB but is smaller than Brindley is concerning. Sure we need skillful players, but you need height and strength as well

[slack_pie]

I have a feeling that we are. The squad is too lightweight to compete. The fact that we are rumoured to be signing another right back who might be able to play RCB but is smaller than Brindley is concerning. Sure we need skillful players, but you need height and strength as well

That's it. We don't need to rip up everything that has made us successful and start again, but we do need to be realistic and adjust our approach to fix some of the issues we have. When a team concedes tons of corners or gives away sloppy goals due to misplaced back passes, it's clear that the very basics are being overlooked. Get the basics right first, then focus on the other stuff.