And we move on.................. Right chaps lets have 20 good reasons why this is a must win and if we don't then we are doomed. There is no reason why we can't win it so I'm going to buck the doom and gloom and say we will. I'm going to be watching this at my daughter's tomorrow after taking my other half for an injection in her eye.................(shudder).
Unfortunately Sheffield W have now become one of the divisions form teams....and also QPR who we still have to play.....looking at the last 6 games or so....there seems to be at a quick glance only two teams with a worse record than us.....and if it hadn't of been for that surprise win at Middlesboro we would already be in the bottom three. Our lack of bringing in striking power in the last twelve months is starting to show.....we have only one striker who remotely knows were the goal is.....thank goodness we have Whittaker who from midfield has been scoring the goals.......Bali Mumba didn't get on the pitch against Ipswich....he is not earning his wages at present...and he is making that one £million....look a little bit like a luxury at present.....we certainly expected goals from him...but nothing happening at all....so if Whittaker and Hardie get injured or dry up....we will not be scoring goals from elsewhere. The Sheffield W game is the old cliche of a ...6 pointer game... and it certainly is a game we must not lose......Ian Foster's style does seem to be stifling our free flowing goal scoring...and making us only a little bit better into a defensive unit.....but that is all negative if the goals dry up.
Sheffield W...0-0...Argyle.....H/T. 61% to 39%. 11 shots to 4 shots. 1 on target to 2 on target. 2 corners to 1 corner. 6 fouls to 8 fouls.
A scrappy imitation of a football game. Where did the Plymouth Argyle of the autumn go? No real opportunities for either side.
I am now publicly very worried. Taken over the 90 minutes, we were officially crap. I don’t point the finger at any particular players but the whole collective thing just didn’t work. Sheffield Wednesday weren’t much better to be fair but you just knew at home in a little run of results, it would be them not us that nicked it. We need to find someone for the second No 10 role especially as Whittaker is not in his best form and couldn’t do it on his own even if he was . Infuriatingly, we were actually much better in the last 15 minutes or so and a lot of that was down to Bundu who really went on the rampage. If we’d played like that from the start, the three points would be in the boot of the coach and on the way home by now. All is not yet lost but it soon will be if we don’t get back on the front foot in the way we play.
To add insult to injury, I paid £10 to watch this on Argyle TV only to find an hour later that buried down on Sky Sports 13, the game was on TV anyway! Que Sera….•
For my sins I watched this. Went to daughters and told you that in post one notdistant. Doh! Anyway yes it was poor and I did wonder if the Argyle players had even been introduced to each other because they certainly didn't like giving each other the ball. Disappointingly they could not string two passes together and keep the ball throughout and sadly Whittaker was totally anonymous for the whole game. Where has the real Whittaker gone? You are right that Sheff Wed were no better than us pretty much but at least they knew where there players were. Two very poor teams and a very poor Ref once again. He gave them virtually everything at all times and gave us very little for the same things. I'm not worried because if we go down we do and I will still be there next season health willing. Seen it all before over and over from Argyle so I am well aware what following the greens means. If they are to stay up though they are going to have to find something from somewhere. Rotherham in my book are already down so there are two more spaces to fill. Two from at least eight teams to fill them I think and it could be any one of them.
If you remove the Middlesboro result from recent games you are left with four defeats....no goals scored and eight scored against....and that sounds like relegation form to me. Foster seems to have suffocated our ability to score goals in his search to strengthen our defence.....and to start with it seemed to be working....but we are now shipping an average of two goals a match....which doesn't sound like the end of the world.....but it has achieved a complete breakdown of our ability to score goals.....and we did look good at doing that....but not anymore. Whittaker has stopped scoring....is it because he is out of form....or is it because the system has changed and therefore nullified his ability to score.....Ryan Hardie also has found life very hard up front....anf if neither are scoring for us then the cupboard is bare....because goals from elsewhere are very far between. My worry now seems to be that Ian Foster has made his recent career successful on the backs of youngsters in the England youth age groups.....which is no more.... and he is now having to adjust to older players having to blend in with the youngsters he has brought in on loan.....and he hasn't worked out how to do it yet. It is very tight down the bottom....you can go all the way up to Watford who are 12th on 44pts (in the top half of the league) who find themselves looking over their shoulders being only 6pts above the relegation cut off zone. There are two teams below us who are playing tomorrow who could overtake us and drop us two places lower. It does make you wonder how we won at Middlesboro....are they just poor at the moment and could be pulled into the relegation battle....they're also are on 44pts and 14th...so maybe.
You are right that Whittaker isn’t playing as he can and Hardie isn’t scoring goals. Don’t blame them in isolation. It’s a team problem as picked by the manager. Strikers are only as good as the service they get and we just aren’t functioning in the way we were before Christmas. We lost Azaz and Cundle and we haven’t replaced like with like. My son-in-law-in/-waiting said “put Issaka on” at one point only of course to realise he wasn’t on the bench. Perhaps it would be unfair to lay that on one so young and inexperienced but it shows how obvious the problem is. Given what we have in the squad, it’s not the worst idea in the world. I’m don’t think Devine or Gyabi are number 10’s anyway. Ben Waine didn’t got a look in when he’s probably better there than standing in for Ryan Hardie, which is what he’s had to do before. I was completely wrong to.say that we should revert to a back 3. It isn’t working at all. It’s been a disaster. Nevertheless. I’ll come up with another probably completely wrong idea. 4:3:3 with Hardie and Bundu (or Waine) up front and Whittaker roving in the hole. I think it might make use of what we’ve got rather than shoehorning players into roles that don’t suit them. The Middlesbrough result and performance is a mystery. How did we do that? Were Middlesbrough just that bad?
Hi chaps.....were diabolical lastnight especially first half. Don't think Foster has much of a clue at this level and should be dropped as same will happen on Saturday. Nance should take charge till end of season. From a very reliable source there is big trouble in the dressing room! Here's hoping!
I have been hearing scutlebutt about unrest in the ranks recently. You would have to conclude that something isn't right at the club and the only thing that is new is Ian Foster out of the whole set up. I don't know anything personally but it is easy to come to that conclusion isn't it. What the supporters want is for the team to get stuck in with effort and the like and if they lose so be it they do but not for the lack of entertainment and trying. To just appear to roll over and die is not the Argyle way of recent times.
I don't pick any of that up on the field or in player interviews on Argyle TV. I also don't see any lack of effort on the field but unfortunately effort alone is not enough.
As I've said on ...Winter news post 189...pasoti are stating there views on Ian Foster....and they're not for him at the moment.....concerns that he has turned a goal scoring team into a side that can't find the net for love or money.....and you don't need to be Einstein to see that maybe the players aren't happy either.
Is there any evidence fans know their arse from their elbow? I was one calling for a stronger defence and a return to 3:4:2:1 and look where’s got us! And as I said: we lost Azaz and then his able stand-in Cundle unexpectedly because their parent clubs had to raise cash to avert Financial Fair Play issues. In Cundle’s case, it happened late in the transfer. We’re also without Michael Cooper, who to my mind is our No 1 goalkeeper by some margin. His influence is greater than just stopping shots: his superior distribution helps retain the ball and start attacks. I’m not totally convinced by Foster either but given the circumstances it would be bonkers to sack him at.considerable expense after a few weeks at a time when there are few (or no) good candidates available. In the summer, Jurgen Klopp leaves Liverpool and Thomas Tuchel leaves Bayern Munich. We won’t be recruiting either of them but it starts the managerial merry go round that makes it possible to recruit down through the leagues . It’s not turning now. We do have Mustapha Bundu and Ben Waine who could play as the second No 10 or a second striker in a 3:4:1:2. Then there’s Callum Wright. If he doesn’t give them a go, I’ll start to worry you have to be under 20 to play.
