[Bugerov]

Picken played in midfield
Niven played right midfield
Leven and Ward played left midfield
Released Bastiens who generally played well and gave us some width
Did not make good use of Rooney
O'Hare not given a chance after playing well
Persevered with Downes, a flop
Persevered with Hartley, a flop
Algar not given a second game after playing a blinder
Took far too long to identify the problem in central defence and rectify it
Did not install proper cover for a dodgy keeper and persevered with Roche
Did not address the glaring problem of a lack of width
Did not realise midfield is key
Unable to change a game after losing the initiative

[alho]

latewinner, on Apr 29 2008, 11:44 AM, said:

Picken played in midfield
Niven played right midfield
Leven and Ward played left midfield
Released Bastiens who generally played well and gave us some width
Did not make good use of Rooney
O'Hare not given a chance after playing well
Persevered with Downes, a flop
Persevered with Hartley, a flop
Algar not given a second game after playing a blinder
Took far too long to identify the problem in central defence and rectify it
Did not install proper cover for a dodgy keeper and persevered with Roche
Did not address the glaring problem of a lack of width
Did not realise midfield is key
Unable to change a game after losing the initiative

All true i guess ,dont get me wrong here as im disappointed that he staying on but it seems he is so all we can do now is hope he looks at his mistakes and learns from them very quickly and we can get behind the team come August and support them and him (i suppose )as strongly as possible

[Spired]

latewinner, on Apr 29 2008, 11:44 AM, said:

Picken played in midfield
Niven played right midfield
Leven and Ward played left midfield
Released Bastiens who generally played well and gave us some width
Did not make good use of Rooney
O'Hare not given a chance after playing well
Persevered with Downes, a flop
Persevered with Hartley, a flop
Algar not given a second game after playing a blinder
Took far too long to identify the problem in central defence and rectify it
Did not install proper cover for a dodgy keeper and persevered with Roche
Did not address the glaring problem of a lack of width
Did not realise midfield is key
Unable to change a game after losing the initiative

Pretty much yes.

In his recent interview he said he acknowledges to making mistakes but he has learned lessons as a result of these. I hope so. If he remains as manager for 08/09 then I hope his things not to do list looks like the above.

Geoff Mitchell said in the beginning of season interview "The strikeforce looks fine...it's just the midfield really that we're lacking in isn't it" Rico replied along the lines "I think we're strong in all departments".



Fingers crossed some lessons have been learned. I honestly hope he proves us all wrong.

[spire boy]

latewinner, on Apr 29 2008, 11:44 AM, said:

Picken played in midfield
Niven played right midfield
Leven and Ward played left midfield
Released Bastiens who generally played well and gave us some width
Did not make good use of Rooney
O'Hare not given a chance after playing well
Persevered with Downes, a flop
Persevered with Hartley, a flop
Algar not given a second game after playing a blinder
Took far too long to identify the problem in central defence and rectify it
Did not install proper cover for a dodgy keeper and persevered with Roche
Did not address the glaring problem of a lack of width
Did not realise midfield is key
Unable to change a game after losing the initiative

spot on post,lets hope rico reads it !!!!!!

[Skywalker]

Spired, on Apr 29 2008, 12:08 PM, said:

Pretty much yes.

In his recent interview he said he acknowledges to making mistakes but he has learned lessons as a result of these. I hope so. If he remains as manager for 08/09 then I hope his things not to do list looks like the above.

Geoff Mitchell said in the beginning of season interview "The strikeforce looks fine...it's just the midfield really that we're lacking in isn't it" Rico replied along the lines "I think we're strong in all departments".



Fingers crossed some lessons have been learned. I honestly hope he proves us all wrong.

I'd say at the start of the season on paper, the one position that didn't seem to be filled was LM. All the other positions seemed ok, yet the reality of player performances meant we looked poor in a number of positions come the mid-end of the season.

[Mr_Tall]

latewinner, on Apr 29 2008, 11:44 AM, said:

Picken played in midfield
Niven played right midfield
Leven and Ward played left midfield
Released Bastiens who generally played well and gave us some width
Did not make good use of Rooney
O'Hare not given a chance after playing well
Persevered with Downes, a flop
Persevered with Hartley, a flop
Algar not given a second game after playing a blinder
Took far too long to identify the problem in central defence and rectify it
Did not install proper cover for a dodgy keeper and persevered with Roche
Did not address the glaring problem of a lack of width
Did not realise midfield is key
Unable to change a game after losing the initiative

Just to add to the list:

Brought in loan players who simply weren't good enough (Barnes)
Brought in loan players who simply weren't fit enough (Cooper). I presume that's why he hardly got a game?
Persisted with a ridiculous 'multi-ball' system that wasted more time than it saved and became an embarrassment.

[Spired]

Skywalker, on Apr 29 2008, 12:45 PM, said:

I'd say at the start of the season on paper, the one position that didn't seem to be filled was LM. All the other positions seemed ok, yet the reality of player performances meant we looked poor in a number of positions come the mid-end of the season.

I'd agree with that. Although to be honest I think Rico signed Winter thinking he'd be ready to go at the beginning of the season and he wasn't for some reason.

LEft midfield was empty...Bastians was a decent shout for that spot and he could have gone on to improve here as a player but it wasn't to be sadly. He ended up at MK i think not getting a game...here's hoping Rico will give the lad an opportunity.

[h again]

latewinner, on Apr 29 2008, 11:44 AM, said:

Picken played in midfield
Niven played right midfield
Leven and Ward played left midfield
Released Bastiens who generally played well and gave us some width
Did not make good use of Rooney
O'Hare not given a chance after playing well
Persevered with Downes, a flop
Persevered with Hartley, a flop
Algar not given a second game after playing a blinder
Took far too long to identify the problem in central defence and rectify it
Did not install proper cover for a dodgy keeper and persevered with Roche
Did not address the glaring problem of a lack of width
Did not realise midfield is key
Unable to change a game after losing the initiative

If that's the best you can come up with, what's all the fuss about? Most of those are extremely marginal issues and some are just your opinion. The only one of any significance is playing with a lack of wingers, or width if you prefer, and that was something that never stopped us scoring goals and that he was trying to put right for most of the season anyway. And Bastiens certainly wasn't the answer - you might be able to carry a winger who never tracks back, but only if he can beat his man on a fairly regular basis.
Hoe would you have made good use of Rooney, by the way - dropped Lester?

[Wooden Spoon]

latewinner, on Apr 29 2008, 11:44 AM, said:

Picken played in midfield
Niven played right midfield
Leven and Ward played left midfield
Released Bastiens who generally played well and gave us some width
Did not make good use of Rooney
O'Hare not given a chance after playing well
Persevered with Downes, a flop
Persevered with Hartley, a flop
Algar not given a second game after playing a blinder
Took far too long to identify the problem in central defence and rectify it
Did not install proper cover for a dodgy keeper and persevered with Roche
Did not address the glaring problem of a lack of width
Did not realise midfield is key
Unable to change a game after losing the initiative

Letting personal feelings and stubborness come before selection and general well being of the side.

[BlueRover52]

latewinner, on Apr 29 2008, 11:44 AM, said:

Picken played in midfield
Niven played right midfield
Leven and Ward played left midfield
Released Bastiens who generally played well and gave us some width
Did not make good use of Rooney
O'Hare not given a chance after playing well
Persevered with Downes, a flop
Persevered with Hartley, a flop
Algar not given a second game after playing a blinder
Took far too long to identify the problem in central defence and rectify it
Did not install proper cover for a dodgy keeper and persevered with Roche
Did not address the glaring problem of a lack of width
Did not realise midfield is key
Unable to change a game after losing the initiative

Or to summarise,DIDN'T HAVE A B____Y CLUE!!!!!!!

[stevo]

Couldn't make a straight substitution he had to change 4 positions just to get a player on throwing the whole teams shape(if we had one) out.

[matthew_john]

I think the mistakes are obvious as you've said, and yes it does seem as though next season we are going to have to pin our hopes on Rico learning from these.

As for the loan signings, it's always going to be a bit of a gamble because you never know how they'll adapt to playing league football (especially when those coming in are from reserve sides). That said, Barnes was awful (kind of reminded me of Jordan Fowler's spell with us), and he failed to identify the key areas for improvement quickly enough.

Hopefully, now this list has been put forward he'll be able to get things sorted. First stop, a quality centre half please...

[Gary the Snail]

latewinner, on Apr 29 2008, 11:44 AM, said:

Picken played in midfield
Niven played right midfield
Leven and Ward played left midfield
Released Bastiens who generally played well and gave us some width
Did not make good use of Rooney
O'Hare not given a chance after playing well
Persevered with Downes, a flop
Persevered with Hartley, a flop
Algar not given a second game after playing a blinder
Took far too long to identify the problem in central defence and rectify it
Did not install proper cover for a dodgy keeper and persevered with Roche
Did not address the glaring problem of a lack of width
Did not realise midfield is key
Unable to change a game after losing the initiative

So that'll be the left of midfield, the right of midfield, the midfield, the attack, left back, the centre of defence, the goalkeeper, and erm...the midfield again.

That leaves us with......right back! He got the right back position right!

[forevablue]

h again, on Apr 29 2008, 02:52 PM, said:

If that's the best you can come up with, what's all the fuss about? Most of those are extremely marginal issues and some are just your opinion. The only one of any significance is playing with a lack of wingers, or width if you prefer, and that was something that never stopped us scoring goals and that he was trying to put right for most of the season anyway. And Bastiens certainly wasn't the answer - you might be able to carry a winger who never tracks back, but only if he can beat his man on a fairly regular basis.
Hoe would you have made good use of Rooney, by the way - dropped Lester?

Shouldn't have dropped Rooney at Darlington when he was playing well (replaced by Ward who wasn't at that stage) as he never really got going again.

The big decision was leaving Downes and Kovacs together after October when he had himself said that it was last chance saloon due to the numerous simple errors being made. He might not have been able to get anyone in but not to give O'Hare a chance in such a poor centre of defence was a significant mistake. With hindsight so was signing Gray but I don't know if he was a cheapish option/risk when there was little budget left.

Generally though, he didn't seem to know what is best 'anything' was except for Lester as striker.

[Bugerov]

forevablue, on Apr 29 2008, 11:09 PM, said:

Shouldn't have dropped Rooney at Darlington when he was playing well (replaced by Ward who wasn't at that stage) as he never really got going again.

The big decision was leaving Downes and Kovacs together after October when he had himself said that it was last chance saloon due to the numerous simple errors being made. He might not have been able to get anyone in but not to give O'Hare a chance in such a poor centre of defence was a significant mistake. With hindsight so was signing Gray but I don't know if he was a cheapish option/risk when there was little budget left.

Generally though, he didn't seem to know what is best 'anything' was except for Lester as striker.

What has changed?

[forevablue]

latewinner, on Apr 29 2008, 11:24 PM, said:

What has changed?

Nothing I am afraid. Bastiens may not have been the best wide left player we have had but letting him go with no obvious replacement has seen Rooney, Leven, Ward and now even Dowson played there. Dowson is a real threat and technically the best striker apart from Lester that we have had this season.

I also forgot to add that after 3 games I said that Leven and Winter should never be in the same team unless everyone else was injured. Even at this level they aren't mobile enough. Leven has some quality and is far the better of the two but why we continued playing both for a while is completely beyond me.

[Gary the Snail]

forevablue, on Apr 29 2008, 11:50 PM, said:

Nothing I am afraid. Bastiens may not have been the best wide left player we have had but letting him go with no obvious replacement has seen Rooney, Leven, Ward and now even Dowson played there. Dowson is a real threat and technically the best striker apart from Lester that we have had this season.

I also forgot to add that after 3 games I said that Leven and Winter should never be in the same team unless everyone else was injured. Even at this level they aren't mobile enough. Leven has some quality and is far the better of the two but why we continued playing both for a while is completely beyond me.

Agree with all that.

Bastiens is a proper wide left sided player. Everyone else played there wasn't their best position. Ward, Dowson and Rooney are strikers. Leven is better in the centre of midfield.

A midfield of Leven and Winter has passing ability but no legs whatsoever.

I would like to see Dowson come back for a season long loan. I quite like the lad. Even stuck out on the left wing he gets the ball, cuts inside and has a pop.

Actually in Lester, Ward, Fletch, Rooney and Dowson I think we've seen some good strikers this season in a Town shirt.

[Spired]

Gary the Snail, on Apr 30 2008, 01:13 AM, said:

Agree with all that.

Bastiens is a proper wide left sided player. Everyone else played there wasn't their best position. Ward, Dowson and Rooney are strikers. Leven is better in the centre of midfield.

A midfield of Leven and Winter has passing ability but no legs whatsoever.

I would like to see Dowson come back for a season long loan. I quite like the lad. Even stuck out on the left wing he gets the ball, cuts inside and has a pop.

Actually in Lester, Ward, Fletch, Rooney and Dowson I think we've seen some good strikers this season in a Town shirt.

Echo that post in it's entirety. Especially the Levan and Winter part. Although I have some thoughts on that. I think with the current squad the best side would consist of Winter behind Levan in the Centre of midfield. Lowry centre right midfield and Niven centre left. Both Lowry and Niven running their socks off...the other 2 spraying the ball to overlapping Robertson (LB) and Picken (RB) respectively. Niven and Lowry would be required to help cover and sweep defensively with Winter. I think that would help shore up the defensive side of Chesterfields game whilst allow us to still score goals through the strikers.

Perhaps a champ manager style of looking at things but Winter could perhaps perform the holding role well. Dowson and Lester would be my preferred strikeforce too. But i'm not Rico...i'm just dreaming here.

Or am I Duncan in disguise

This post has been edited by Spired: 30 April 2008 - 12:25 AM

[Bugerov]

forevablue, on Apr 29 2008, 11:50 PM, said:

Nothing I am afraid. Bastiens may not have been the best wide left player we have had but letting him go with no obvious replacement has seen Rooney, Leven, Ward and now even Dowson played there. Dowson is a real threat and technically the best striker apart from Lester that we have had this season.

I also forgot to add that after 3 games I said that Leven and Winter should never be in the same team unless everyone else was injured. Even at this level they aren't mobile enough. Leven has some quality and is far the better of the two but why we continued playing both for a while is completely beyond me.

You werent the only one fb. There are a lot of hard-working, fit young midfield players in this division and you cant afford the luxury of more than one midfielder lacking pace. Leven is the limit. Winter is a waste (of space). Sad that Rico couldnt see this.

[Spired]

latewinner, on Apr 30 2008, 09:11 AM, said:

You werent the only one fb. There are a lot of hard-working, fit young midfield players in this division and you cant afford the luxury of more than one midfielder lacking pace. Leven is the limit. Winter is a waste (of space). Sad that Rico couldnt see this.

In a flat 4-4-2 they don't work. If they get bypassed then there is a gap behind them. That's why I believe that Winter playing behind Levan could work. He could act at a defensive midfielder in a Paul Holland type role. In league 2 at least.

Niven and Lowry both have good energy levels and can put in a lot of hard work and become vital players in such a formation.