BFTG - Wimbledon away (pre-season friendly)

[LWJ]

Do we have a striker that has got into double figures for any club in the last 2 seasons?

Rakels and Kermogant both have

[LWJ]

.

Out of interest, how many games did you go to last year and how many games have you seen this year?

I'm purely interested to know where you have formed your strong views from.

[Top Flight]

I'm a season ticket holder. Every home game and 6 or 7 away games.

[Top Flight]

Do we have a striker that has got into double figures for any club in the last 2 seasons?

Rakels and Kermogant both have

Yeah, I know. I realised that after I posted. Post first, think later!

[genome]

Mendes got 9 last year so was close.

[LWJ]

I'm a season ticket holder. Every home game and 6 or 7 away games.

Did you go Saturday or Tuesday?

[Forbury Lion]

Plucking players out of weaker Polish, French lower divisions and Dutch leagues is only going to result in one thing and that's relegation.

To be fair, most of our best players have come from lower divisions - Le Fondre, Doyle, Kitson, Shorey.... maybe the difference is that they were mostly from the English lower divisions so didn't have to adapt too much to the English game, learn the language and settle down in their first season..... perhaps we should buy these players, put them on loan for a season and then they will be ready, but that isn't something we can afford to do right now due to the squad size.

[Top Flight]

Having watched the majority of last seasons games (35+) and seen the last two friendlies, these are my current thoughts.

Our defence hasn't improved, in fact it's got worse (lost AF and MH). So we will still let in soft, comical goals (Wimbledon's 1st). JC needs to go out on loan to a L1 side, we can't afford to give him the game time to learn from his mistakes. I was excited to see the new goalkeeper challenge AAH, but unfortunately it looks like we will stick with AAH for the time being. So again, same soft, comical goals (Wimbledon's 2nd).

The midfield hasn't changed a great deal. Stam is just trying to stick Van der Berg in between ON and DW who we all know don't play well together. I'm slightly disappointed 1 of them wasn't sold to force us into changing this. SQ doesn't look like he will get much of a look in apart from off the bench this season. I just don't see how he fits into the team currently. I would be interested in seeing a Quinn/Berg/Williams midfield tried at some point, or even a Quinn/Berg/Swift midfield just to give us some variety.

Beerens is a RM, GM is a RM, who is our LM? Fosu lacks the pace to go past a player (based off the last two games), he has the skill but constantly cuts back doesn't ever power forward which is disappointing as I thought he would.

YK didn't play a part in the last two games, no mention of any injuries from what I can see. On his way out?

Unlike others I thought Mendes had quite a good game and made a couple of powerful runs. Having watched their shooting practice he does seem to have a rather weak shot though..

We did dominate the game against the Dons, created a few chances, saw the ball cleared off the line twice, but lacked something throughout. I am not overly optimistic about our chances this season, but I don't think we are relegation candidates. I would like to see Stam bring in somebody to partner McShane who has a bit of pace.

I agree with pretty much all of this.

The question is, where does that leave us. It's difficult to say. But, we know that in a very tight division that the championship is, it doesn't take much of a weakening to put you in big trouble.

Throw in that the players are now learning a new system and way of playing under Jaap and are not yet well drilled on what they need to do and how they should play, it means they could look all over the place a bit like when Rodgers was leading the team a few years back.
Players that are already weak mentally with their eyes on other opportunities away from RFC may not blend the way we hope.

It will be a stern test against Preston on the opening day. A team with far more stability and continuity than we have. It will be interesting to see. We will learn alot about the season ahead.

[Top Flight]

I'm a season ticket holder. Every home game and 6 or 7 away games.

Did you go Saturday or Tuesday?

I went to Swindon, I didn't go to Wimbledon.

[LWJ]

It will be a stern test against Preston on the opening day. A team with far more stability and continuity than we have. It will be interesting to see. We will learn alot about the season ahead.

I would say that Friday's game has a bigger bearing, stronger opposition normally bring out the best in players. Played on what is scheduled to be a relatively cool evening (17-19 degrees) we won't have any excuses for lack of effort.

We should have a full strength side back as well I imagine, with Gunter returning alongside GM and Beerens hopefully.

[Top Flight]

It will be a stern test against Preston on the opening day. A team with far more stability and continuity than we have. It will be interesting to see. We will learn alot about the season ahead.

I would say that Friday's game has a bigger bearing, stronger opposition normally bring out the best in players. Played on what is scheduled to be a relatively cool evening (17-19 degrees) we won't have any excuses for lack of effort.

We should have a full strength side back as well I imagine, with Gunter returning alongside GM and Beerens hopefully.

Yeah, that should be a good indicator. I think the Wimbledon game was possibly the first game where we start to get a good idea what Jaap is thinking in terms of his first 11. He has said recently as well that he doesn't yet know what his best 11 is. I don't think any of us really know what our best 11 is at the moment. I would expect him to select the side against Bournemouth that he is planning to work with on the opening day against Preston.

Does anybody have a clue what our best 11 is at the moment? This is perhaps part of the problem.

Under Coppell, there was only one best 11. Everyone knew what it was. The Wales first 11, the Leicester first 11 is pretty clear cut.

England, Reading..... We don't have a clue. We just don't have the right balance, the right players to play the system we want. We don't have a proper functioning side. Hopefully Stam can figure it out. But he has to learn about our players from scratch. It's going to take time.

[CountryRoyal]

It will be a stern test against Preston on the opening day. A team with far more stability and continuity than we have. It will be interesting to see. We will learn alot about the season ahead.

How the fukk did you work that one out exactly?

Last season was the first time since 2004 that they've finished above us in English football.

[Silver Fox]

Top flight seems to just make stuff up even more than Ian Royal

[Ian Royal]

Can we have an update on the Top Flight relegation percentage chance index please? I do enjoy those.

[tmesis]

Did he use Satnav. Traffic was avoidable.

My sat nav made it worse! After being stuck on the M25 I decided to leave at the M23 following which my sat nav got me stuck in a 5 mile queue on the A308. I got there about 5 mins after ko and of course missed the first goal. The guy who could not get in was lucky. I then had to watch the rest of that shit performance

Get a better sat nav. Ours showed there were queues on the M3/M25 so we then diverted ourselves onto back roads and A roads. Easy and simple.

I went in via the A3. It took about 20 minutes to get from the M3 to the A3 turn, and it was just an easy 15 minutes from there.

[tidus_mi2]

Can we have an update on the Top Flight relegation percentage chance index please? I do enjoy those.

There has been a rougemeter size whole in my heart that has needed filling.

[Top Flight]

I still rate our risk of relegation at 50%.

The signing of a top striker could reduce our risk.

If we don't bolster the attack, I think we need Dennis or Joseph to get double figures this season to keep us in the league.

[tidus_mi2]

I still rate our risk of relegation at 50%.

The signing of a top striker could reduce our risk.

If we don't bolster the attack, I think we need Dennis or Joseph to get double figures this season to keep us in the league.

lol 50% chance of relegation.

[wingnut]

Do you see a 20 goal a season striker?

Can you even see any of our strikers getting in to double figures?

Do we have a striker that has got into double figures for any club in the last 2 seasons?

Only once in the last ten seasons has one of our strikers scored 20 league goals in a season. Not even 2005-2007 did our strikers get more than 20 (league).

Not saying that I think we'll be world beaters, tho. I still think we'll be shit and down the wrong end of the table most of the season.

[John Smith]

I'll be supporting us to the hilt next season and for me if Jaap Stam can lead us to a 21st place finish and thus avoid relegation, I will be celebrating that like we've won the league.

You are far and away the worst poster this forum has ever seen. You are also not a supporter of the club and do not have a sane mind state.