WHAT IS TO GLEANED FROM THE FIRST 2 GAMES?

I suspect we are in for another season like last year ( as a general whole, as opposed to win a few, lose a bunch then win lose and draw to stay up ). I base my opinion on not the results but the squad we have, OK 4 -5 of the bigger names not yet featured and we do have a lot of fixtures before season kick off so needs to play a large rotating squad... but I would find it hard at the moment to pick a team assuming all were fit and well .... lets try anyway..

Fielding
um?
um?
um?
um?
um?
um?
um?
um?
Famara
Taylor

 

I think friendlies of any stature tell you nearly f**k all about how the coming season will come to pass, let alone ones against (with all due respect) minnows like Bristol Manor Farm & Guernsey.

I expect us to do at least a bit better than last season, on the basis that there ought to be greater strength on the back of the signings we have/will have made and that the existing, largely young squad, have that much more experience - we actually finished last season pretty strongly, if that has any bearing...

I think there's enough depth in the squad to account for rotation/injuries, so the players will have an opportunity to stake their claim for a 1st team spot. Similar to you I'd struggle to pick what I would call a 'strongest' team, but maybe something along the lines of:

Fielding

Bryan
Magnusson/Wright
Flint
Pisano

Hegeler/O' Neil
Smith

O'Dowda
Paterson/Tomlin (if fit and firing)
Brownhill

Diedhiou

 

There is some big money being spent in the Championship, not that there is any guarantee of success, but Wolves and co are spending serious money.
I still can't see us troubling the top half or the table, and expect us to finish around where we did last season.
Without Tammy or another recognised striker capable of getting 15 or more goals at this point in time, a hell of a lot might be resting on Diedhiou.

 

It's just about getting fit

 

Agree with all of this. I'm not expecting miracles, just signs of improvement.

There'll be plenty expected of Diedhiou no doubt, and it'll be hard to match Tammy's end tally, but I might be more happy with the goals coming from all over the team, rather than a single player.

 

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Agreed. Diedhiou is an unknown quantity and we have to give him the benefit of the doubt and some time to settle in the UK.
I'm told he's fairly low ranked in the FIFA World Rankings ?

 

If you look back over the last several years it appears to me that we have been primarily a one trick pony kind of club. Maynard, Kodija, and last season Tammy, have been the go to guys for goal scoring and then the following season they move on to somewhere else, and coincidentally during that time frame we still haven't had the upward progression we had hoped for. Getting all your ducks in a row to challenge in the Championship is a difficult task, at best, and we just don't seem to be capable of doing the right business to move forward. At least this season we have pushed the financial boat further from shore than usual and have used that money to bring in what is deemed to be potential for the future and yet my aching heart still is asking the same old questions.

Success in League One is all very well and good but we want, and need, to be in a better area and after many years of promises this upcoming campaign needs to show marked improvement to get my full approval and by that I mean a mid table, or higher, finish. We are continually asked for patience during a time of rebuilding and I can live with that philosophy only if it bears fruit to sustain our expectations along the way. To be perfectly blunt I am only setting my expectations towards mediocrity and anything better will get my full support. Good luck.

 

But when you think about it, Tammy never really made goals out of nothing just instinctive positioning. The players still here with us made those passes for him. So who was the ones who made it? The players who passed or the player who stuck it away?
Not taken anything away from Tammy and 25 goals will be very hard to match, but some seem to forget that it was our other players that contributed towards those goals.

 

just back from a curtailed jaunt in NW SCOTLAND, where I and the team pushed forward the boundaries of where no man had ever been to the extent of about 50 metres after removing some 6 tonnes of mud sand gravel and rock !
of course in this land no modern day communication so I missed all the games since 10th July
so how are we building up ... to a good team? a poor team or one in between still needing a lot of work?

 

Who knows? Is it just me, or have we chosen to play no-one of any real quality in pre-season? The only team of any significant note seems to be FC Twente.