I don't expect any of our players to play like Messi, but I do expect them not to have fresh air kicks at a rolling ball and to be capable of directing a ball in roughly the direction they are aiming.
I haven't yet heard any explanation for Vaulks being ahead of ***mings in the queue to replace Emannuel.
We knew Charlton were going to play like Robinsons teams always do but we looked like we weren't ready for it. Williams in particular was getting pulled about all over the place and Frecks and Potter were getting overrun. We went long very early and unlike Southends, the Charlton centre backs were willing to compete. Charlton were decent in possession but didn't have to do too much to make us look daft at times.
The overriding feeling from Saturday was frustration that it was a repeat of what we all sat and watched through last season. Soft goals conceded, missed chances at the other end and no real spark.
Warne will be judged after the transfer window maybe 7 games or so after,Then if we are in a bad place i have no doubt big tony will pull his gun out again and we will be back to square one.
I do have hope he can get us going,Barker will step up if he's fired and we will start all over again.
Slider. Why do you think Barker left a good contract at Charlton and dragged his Sussex born wife and family up to darkest South Yorkshire ? Probably because he'd been promised the manager's job if and when Warne bottles it. Somebody remind me how many manager's jobs Barker has been sacked from. Not for me ,I'm afraid.
According to Paul Davis in the Star we are about to conclude the signing of a young centre half.
It seems to me we are crying out for an experienced-but-not-past-it centre half, not another youngster learning his craft while we sink down the league. Does anyone think otherwise?
We must spend some money this week. If what we end up doing is bringing a couple of kids and/or loans in I will be gutted.
A year ago we were told we were bidding £1.3m for players. The only player we actually paid money for was Purrington in January. Since then we have sold Danny Ward but only spent £75k on Proctor. Not sure what we got fee-wise for Fisher but presumably something. We have saved the big weekly amount we were contributing to Izzy Browns wages, whatever we were paying towards Adeyemi's wages, and have lost the wages of big earners like Camp, Broadfoot, Blackstock (at a cost) plus Ward himself. I assume we had appropriate clauses in contracts reducing wages if we went down. If not someone wants sacking.
To me the transfer dealings have simply not matched the top five budget talk. Someone needs to ask Tony what 'top 5 budget' means. Wage bill only? Or net transfer fees included? Its a bold statement he made that raises expectations, but is it a bit of smoke and mirrors?
It's deja vu with us every year irrespective of who's in charge. The cracks are appearing in PW I'm afraid and this year he can't blame past managers. Portsmouth will be tough and I can't see us getting anything which means if he then loses the following Saturday and Tuesday home games he will be done for. We still need that solid CB and a real engine room in CM. I think with Moore, Ball, JCH we have enough to put the ball in the net - we have to create the chances.
