CourteenerOwl

Keep an eye on Stansfield - loan till Jan.

So second half of last season we find a way of playing and tactics that keep us up and placed us in the top 8 form teams. So instead of building on these foundations and tactics and try to continue but improve the players - we rip it all up and start trying to play the exact way that Röhl had to change from in the first place. Most of its PR hyperbole to. This passing around back endlessly and so called ‘press’ (has anyone seen it tonight) is far less effective than how we played towards the end of last season. We were hardly long ball and the way we played was both effective and entertaining. Looks like we are being hoodwinked into a young coach and his ideologies rather than what’s best for the team and league we are in. Let’s see how we play vs teams more on our level but none of our back line look overley comfortable on the ball anyway, which makes it even more ludicrous. If it ain’t broke why did he fix it.

Dembele gone to Blackburn

Dembele signs for Blackpool then.

For Bannan testimonial when he retires - I reckon the Championship Playoff 2015 team vs League One Playoff Final 2023 Team would be a fun idea. What do you think, and with their current ages would the game be tight? Bannan playing a half for both sides.

Ugbo has signed.

Windass has turned WBA down and signed for Wednesday late last night. UTO.

It was not that bad but what was bad was he has cost us valuable points by setting up with players out of position and getting tactical decisions wrong. If that game was say the game after he was sacked and a manager comes in and goes back to basics - we win. That is what was annoying, Preston were poor, so we were always going to look better than the first two games, but need to be winning these home games.

.......How much ground will we lose or how far behind will we be before either the manager goes or he sees the light and changes his tactics to get points on board? We seem to be in that old age situation of a new manager trying to impose new tactics, whilst playing players out of position. We are seeing a CB being played at left back and Bannan almost as a second striker. I would say 90% of our fan base disagree with these two tactical choices. Yet I fear Xisco will do what all poor managers do - be stubborn in the hope it changes and he is proved right and everyone is wrong. If he does this, we will keep losing and he will be gone. If he is a better manager then I am suggesting he will move Famewo to CB and bring James in at left back this weekend, whilst playing Bannan in CM, not behind the strikers and not on the CB toes. So what will Xisco do? Remain stubborn and hope Bannan and Akin adapt to these new positions, despite them not being their best positions and arguably better players on the bench. Or will he see the light and start playing players in their correct positions. For what it's worth, I expect him to remain stubborn and get the boot before xmas. New manager comes in - returns us to 3-5-2 in the short term to get points together and does so. Bit of a mess already or at least a lot of red flags. Saturday I hope to see Bannan in CM and James at left back, with Famewo at CB.

Watford please.

Smith might score 15-20 again if we get 15 pens. We cannot rely on him to be a regular scorer from open play - just my opinion. Would be nice to have a striker who can get the ball under quickly, release the ball to others and bring them into play, and when they are in the box you jus know they are clinical. A younger Lee Gregory would do.

Good point, like Palmer in there so that could work.

We will need a CM with good technical ability in case Byers or Bannan get injured.

I have been happy with all the signings so far and the two that are expected today. Xisco is thankfully aiming to have a fast, mobile and athletic side. If we signed Diaby and Musamba that is more pace added to that of Fletcher, Delgado and Pol Valentin. Whilst we do need another CM and potentially a back up left back or better left back than James - the Marquee signing needs to be a CF!? It is CF that make the difference at this level as seen with Viktor Gyokres and Chuba Akpom last season. Gregory is fine as an impact sub, Fletcher is good for another option but cannot be relied upon for goals and Smith is imo one of the main player Xisco will look to move on by the end of the window. A statement CF signing would really get the fans excited - looks like we are looking far afield for options, so would it not be great to have a really quick, mobile striker with a good track record of scoring in the last few years, in whichever league they are in. UTO.

Be great if we could get them chopped up before the game and get off to a great start indeed.

Dabo released from Cov. Watch that space.

Doing the rounds - training today.

It was obvious in January when Ipswich and Plymouth were preparing for the business end of the season and we did nothing.

The fact that a complete rebuild is required whether we go up or stay down - and he has now had 6 transfer windows - I am not sure how he has really progressed the club on the pitch? We have an old and tired squad just like when he took over. I don't doubt he has managed the club as a whole miles better than those before him, but we still lack youth, pace and any sort of identity on the pitch. When will we ever either get a manager, chairman or recruitment team in place to change the complete strategy and ethos of our recruitment and get the average age of this old and slow team down.

Maybe he should have been watching so he could pick some tips up on how to beat Barnsley - seeing as we are likely to play them in the playoffs. Just a thought Darren.

Lots of hysteria and anxiety on the social media sights about our lack of signings and Ipswich signing every man and his dog. We have Fleetwood and Cheltenham in our next two league games before the deadline. Our squad is more than good enough to get the six points, without rushing signings through. We are unbeaten in 18 games and 2nd in the league. Moore is using this time wisely and making sure he gets the correct players in the building that won't upset the apple cart. We will 100% sign a few players before deadline, one being a CB. Let our nearest competitors panic and sign player after player, they will disjoint them and they will take time to settle. We have cohesion and team spirit and need 2/3 players, that will happen. No need to panic.

Tbf if you look back to when I said Mighten was signing - around 6 weeks before it happened - all the local media dismissed that too. Ronan is on the radar. Fact.

Wolves - Next in the door.

Tomorrow we are probably without Bannan. I could be wrong but since the start of last season I think he has only missed two games. Wigan away last season (win) and Peterborough away this season (lost but playing well till red). Bannan would always make my best eleven in any game at the moment but perhaps this is a good opportunity for both us as fans and Moore as manager to see how we play without him. Bannan is not showing signs of getting old just yet, but it might be nice as he does get older for us to cherry pick his games more, to get even more longevity out of them. I thought in the two games we played without him, we played well as a team and look more fluent between the lines. Is there a tendency with Bannan to slow the game down, does he do to many Hollywood balls? I will be interested to see if we look like a more fluid, functioning team tomorrow without him. This is not a criticism of him, as I would always play him personally but more the point - it might not be the end of the world either. Some of the younger CM, may come out of their shells more too.

Thought Gregory looked extremely sharp when he came on Saturday. I know he could have done better with that once chance where he delayed it, but his running was powerful and he looked great. Be shocked if he doesn't start. Gregory vs Dunkley. Makes me excited.