Let's see if we can raise the level of beer in your glass Smiler. The starting XI for both Southend and Peterborough contained 7 out of 11 players brought in by Warne. If not major, it's certainly significant surgery. There are too many lightweight, below standard players on the bench, but that has to be a work in progress.
As for Semi, I believe he is a quality CB but you cannot underestimate the uncertainty he must experience when he has a keeper behind him in who he has no confidence. That's something that can be worked on but I suspect the answer may be a new No.1 keeper.
As for the cup competitions - we were knocked out of one by a team 2nd in the Premier League and the other competition doesn't deserve comment. No bad reflection on Warne I would suggest.
I'm still confident we will win this League. Once we've ironed out a couple of defensive issues and finalised a few more deals in the transfer market, I think we're in for a treat down at the NYS and, eventually, away from home (hopefully at Pompey for which I received 3 tickets this morning).
Hope this helps
-- Edited by GlennMiller on Friday 25th of August 2017 02:44:37 PM
Let's see if we can raise the level of beer in your glass Smiler. The starting XI for both Southend and Peterborough contained 7 out of 11 players brought in by Warne. If not major, it's certainly significant surgery. There are too many lightweight, below standard players on the bench, but that has to be a work in progress.
As for Semi, I believe he is a quality CB but you cannot underestimate the uncertainty he must experience when he has a keeper behind him in who he has no confidence. That's something that can be worked on but I suspect the answer may be a new No.1 keeper.
As for the cup competitions - we were knocked out of one by a team 2nd in the Premier League and the other competition doesn't deserve comment. No bad reflection on Warne I would suggest.
I'm still confident we will win this League. Once we've ironed out a couple of defensive issues and finalised a few more deals in the transfer market, I think we're in for a treat down at the NYS and, eventually, away from home (hopefully at Pompey for which I received 3 tickets this morning).
Hope this helps
-- Edited by GlennMiller on Friday 25th of August 2017 02:44:37 PM
Some of those that Warne brought in last season still had to go through the back end of the Championship nightmare though Glenn, and the likes of O'Donnell and Purrington perhaps haven't yet lived up to expectations.
I don't understand why we paid money for Purrington and retained Mattock who is preferred to him, and I don't get why we replaced one inexperienced young right back (Fisher) with another (Emmanuel). They to me are examples of where we had weaknesses and haven't really sorted them out. I personally don't look at our transfer dealings (including players retained) and see a lot to get excited about, but I accept I could well be underestimating what Warne is doing. I am certainly all for giving him a fair crack of the whip even though he wouldn't have been my choice. The last thing we need is more turmoil.
I worry that we have a Board who haven't hesitated to sack managers on three year contracts and fear what might happen to an inexperienced one on a one year deal if we bob along lower mid-table or worse.
I am enjoying the season so far and am looking forward to tomorrow immensely. I don't really warm to Karl Robinson from his MK Dons days nor to the hierarchy at Charlton and how they have run a proud old club in recent times, so lets hope for a repeat of the Southend match.
I agree about the full backs being our most worrying positions last term. I'm amazed we got a fee for Fisher who was hopeless in my opinion - unless you require someone to sit around on his 'arris for most of the game. I think Emmanuel is solid and knows how to beat a man but he's not ours and doesn't solve the right back problem. I've not seen ***mings yet but he's well thought of. I wouldn't be against him getting a chance tomorrow - if he's good we need to start developing him as a first choice RB. Purrington's situation is difficult to understand. For the price we brought him in at he should have been a shoe in at left back but he's struggled to get a game and hasn't always been used in his favoured position. His pace is a worry for me - particularly for such a young man. If we can get the back four sorted, and I believe we have the players to do that, and resolve the keeper issue, the rest of the side will look after itself.
