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Decent start!

Decent start!

From what I've heard, we should've been 3-0 up at half time. I feel torn in the fact it seems to be a re-occurring theme with North End that we don't kill games off when we are on top but don't all fans from all teams say that when piling on the pressure.

We don't have a "clinical striker" but Fulham do? And with them hitting 75 to even 80% possession a game, surely their 23 million pound striker should be finding the net in the 90 mins as he's "the best striker in the league".

Personally I'd say it's a good point, many teams will go there and get beat this season
 
Thought Bodin played really well as striker yesterday.

His movement was great, as was his link up play with our other very mobile players. And of course we got the most out of his superb ball skills with his goal.

It's good to see him turn and beat his marker on the wing and get in a cross or long range shot but those skills were put to more effective use in the penalty area yesterday scoring and creating other decent chances too. He caused their defenders all sorts of problems and we could easily have led 3-0 at half time.

Would love to see him used in that role more often. We look very creative and dangerous with him as striker and Johnson and Harrop supporting. All three were brilliant yesterday.
 
This is what is so frustrating with North End. Someone like Sinclair would have been a great addition and the fact we have no-one else to play that way has cost us points already. How many more points are going to be lost?
 
It's hard to be sure whether a clinical striker would have won us the game on Saturday at Forest. Basically we have an interchangeable forward moving midfield. We're kind of playing 4 at the back, a 5 man midfield diamond and 0 strikers. Bodin was the point of the diamond this time, last time it was Barky. Pearson is the base.

If we had signed a decent number 9 we would have been one man lighter in midfield, so we would probably be converting more chances percentage wise, but I suspect we would be creating less as we would not dominate midfield.
 
At this stage, the table does not mean much, but we start to get a idea of points per game and performances. On that, we're doing just fine - just looking for that away win (next up is Brum, which is also not an easy one).

When I look through the squad, I think we have:

Keeper - the original worry. Rudd has done well enough for recent games though.

Defence - Bauer and Davies are a class act. Full backs good enough when fit.

Midfield - looking really good. Options to choose from.

Attack - limited.

Not much improvement needed to be a real challenger!
 
Chartley said:
At this stage, the table does not mean much, but we start to get a idea of points per game and performances. On that, we're doing just fine - just looking for that away win (next up is Brum, which is also not an easy one).

When I look through the squad, I think we have:

Keeper - the original worry. Rudd has done well enough for recent games though.

Defence - Bauer and Davies are a class act. Full backs good enough when fit.

Midfield - looking really good. Options to choose from.

Attack - limited

Not much improvement needed to be a real challenger!
Click to expand...
I get the feeling we have a team whereas many others have group of overpaid individuals or whatever the collective noun is, maybe a hype ?
 
edgy said:
I get the feeling we have a team whereas many others have group of overpaid individuals or whatever the collective noun is, maybe a hype ?
Click to expand...

Yep, I look at Wigan dealings over last two years. O.k maybe it's a bit too unrealistic to expect them to challange for top 6 but look at what they've signed over last two summers....

Summer 2018

Joe Garner 1.25m - came off a season where he scored 10 championship goals for Ipswich which isn't too bad. Scored 8 for Wigan last season.

Lee Evans- Decent box to box midfielder.

Daniel Fox- Was at Forest for years. Well into his 30s.

David Marshall- Experienced keeper. Made some good saves at the weekend.

Antonee Robinson- Don't know much about him. Paid 2m though.

Jamal Lowe- Really rate this lad, was excellent for Pompey in league 1 and 2. Think he's the sort that will eventually play in the prem. With his profile one I'd have like PNE to have looked at.

Kieffer Moore- That old target. Fee is undisclosed but guessing it was 1m + given Barnsley were selling to rival club. For all the hype never really scored much at championship level going back to his Yeovil days.

For some reason Charlie Mulgrew not listed on soccerbase website but another one looked at by PNE last summer and solid defender at this level.

So there you have it. Quite a few I wouldn't have been against signing for PNE yet they sign for Wigan on high wages yet from results for most of last season and this season Wigan score very few goals and don't really win many games at at all.

Lost 4 of their last 5 in the championship. Only won 4 of their last 16 in the run in last year but just about stayed up.

North west team that shows "ambition" yet seems many of them can't motivate themselves infront of 7k crowds.
 
SoccerHQ said:
Kieffer Moore- That old target. Fee is undisclosed but guessing it was 1m + given Barnsley were selling to rival club. For all the hype never really scored much at championship level going back to his Yeovil days.
Click to expand...
Try 4m. And 3m for Lowe
Also Mulgrew is not a good championship defender. Ask any rovers fan
 
Jeez they've been taken to the cleaners big time on Moore. Very good in league one but the goals stop right there. Not really sure he's that much better than Louis Moult.
 
SoccerHQ said:
Yep, I look at Wigan dealings over last two years. O.k maybe it's a bit too unrealistic to expect them to challange for top 6 but look at what they've signed over last two summers....

Summer 2018

Joe Garner 1.25m - came off a season where he scored 10 championship goals for Ipswich which isn't too bad. Scored 8 for Wigan last season.

Lee Evans- Decent box to box midfielder.

Daniel Fox- Was at Forest for years. Well into his 30s.

David Marshall- Experienced keeper. Made some good saves at the weekend.

Antonee Robinson- Don't know much about him. Paid 2m though.

Jamal Lowe- Really rate this lad, was excellent for Pompey in league 1 and 2. Think he's the sort that will eventually play in the prem. With his profile one I'd have like PNE to have looked at.

Kieffer Moore- That old target. Fee is undisclosed but guessing it was 1m + given Barnsley were selling to rival club. For all the hype never really scored much at championship level going back to his Yeovil days.

For some reason Charlie Mulgrew not listed on soccerbase website but another one looked at by PNE last summer and solid defender at this level.

So there you have it. Quite a few I wouldn't have been against signing for PNE yet they sign for Wigan on high wages yet from results for most of last season and this season Wigan score very few goals and don't really win many games at at all.

Lost 4 of their last 5 in the championship. Only won 4 of their last 16 in the run in last year but just about stayed up.

North west team that shows "ambition" yet seems many of them can't motivate themselves infront of 7k crowds.
Click to expand...

I think there also has to be a question about if the manager is as good as he's made out to be at Championship level.
 
The question to be asked about Keifer Moore is if he is so good and is worth 4 mill, why weren’t the likes of Leeds, Derby and Middlesbrough looking to sign him?
 

Back to School: Report cards for the starts made in Sky Bet Championship

The first international break of the season is here, giving sides time to recover and reflect ahead of another hectic month in the Sky Bet Championship.
www.sportinglife.com www.sportinglife.com

Preston: A-
Questions surrounded how this team would do given the loss of Callum Robinson to Sheffield United in the summer. However, ten points from their opening six games leaves them outside the play-off positions only on goal difference.

Their efforts at Deepdale have been a huge bonus and teams will struggle to play away against Alex Neil's side. Preston have won all three games in front of their own supporters, scoring eight goals and conceding just two.
 
Liking the home form. Reminds me of the Davies years and even 3/4 of the Simpson season when team went about six months without losing at Deepdale.

Been a problem last two seasons under AN not winning home games at key stages of the season so very encouraging.
 
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