General Smith going back to plastics

looked off the pace and uninterested on Boxing day .... similar 'performance' from Browne today too? ( I hear).... IF he was carrying an injury( foot apparently), KR should perhaps have subbed him today, though maybe he shouldn't have started the game?
There was nothing else on the bench and Browne has undoubted ability.
Had Graham been available Browne or Whyte would not have played.
 
There was nothing else on the bench and Browne has undoubted ability.
Had Graham been available Browne or Whyte would not have played.
Holmes and Carruthers also have undoubted ability too ...theyre injured, so they dont play

KR is in charge of picking the matchday squad.... he goes to watch most U23 (&U18) games so is aware first hand of the capabilities of our prospects.... James (in U23 is an exciting young player with pace and bags of ability) wasnt selected even for the bench today
, for example.....KR n his thickie twin assistants (Derry n Faz) pick the starting team and the bench

Browne , when fit, is unquestionably a real talent and an asset too....like any other player when injured ( he sustained a foot injury boxing day )why play him when hes a passenger?... if he was capable of 15-20 min today, why not bring him off the bench as an impact sub, instead potentially compound his injury by keeping him on for the entire 95 minutes.... or maybe there is a clause that he MUST play in the loan deal?
 
Unfortunately Browne was wearing slippers instead of studs which was even more frustrating

Good riddance to Smith he offered nothing as a starter or as a sub no impact what so ever, TM poor defensively as a full back you shouldnt allow the amount of crosses he allowed to come into the box glad he going,

No need for another RB Hanson first choice now with Long & Norman 2nd/3rd choice,

As much as we need as many strikers as possible I look at us over the last 2 home & the lack of creativity in the team is obvious to see we need someone in the middle of the park to open up teams who just look put 10 behind the ball, centre back is needed aswell unless he gives Raglan a chance which I don’t see
 
I’m thankful we never agreed a price or he would be still here
I must admit I thought that when I heard he was going back. Amazing that we were trying so hard to sign him permanently over the summer when you see just how off the pace he currently is. I guess that is the difference between playing youth / U23 football and proper league stuff - the only time Smith looked a bit better was when playing in the Checkatrade against Prem youth teams. I wish him well though - lack of experience rather than lack of effort, but I have no idea how talented he may or may not be on what we saw from him.
 
Holmes and Carruthers also have undoubted ability too ...theyre injured, so they dont play

KR is in charge of picking the matchday squad.... he goes to watch most U23 (&U18) games so is aware first hand of the capabilities of our prospects.... James (in U23 is an exciting young player with pace and bags of ability) wasnt selected even for the bench today
, for example.....KR n his thickie twin assistants (Derry n Faz) pick the starting team and the bench

Browne , when fit, is unquestionably a real talent and an asset too....like any other player when injured ( he sustained a foot injury boxing day )why play him when hes a passenger?... if he was capable of 15-20 min today, why not bring him off the bench as an impact sub, instead potentially compound his injury by keeping him on for the entire 95 minutes.... or maybe there is a clause that he MUST play in the loan deal?
But there is not going to be a clause that says he has to play even if injured. He clearly wasn't fit, and in a game where Brizzle were always going to be physical and well motivated it was pointless playing him.
 
But there is not going to be a clause that says he has to play even if injured. He clearly wasn't fit, and in a game where Brizzle were always going to be physical and well motivated it was pointless playing him.
Which was kind of my point @OUFCGav .... if carrying an injury , therefore a passanger, why was Browne selected to start?, why did he play 95+ mins if injured? It made no sense
 
Which was kind of my point @OUFCGav .... if carrying an injury , therefore a passanger, why was Browne selected to start?, why did he play 95+ mins if injured? It made no sense
And if WH do have another loan lined up for him in January, they’re not going to be too impressed and bang goes the ‘we look after the young players, so clubs will always want to send them to us’ line.
 
Smith just looked like a deer caught in the headlights. As such living proof that the Development Squad league is not fit for any purpose and that young players are wasted bothering with it.
 
No tears from me for saying goodbye to Smith. It hasn’t worked for him here and he’s not up to it. Good luck to him elsewhere.

McMahon is a bigger loss, I feel. I can understand the motives for him wanting to leave (it was daft to think that the travelling wouldn’t have an impact) and appreciate we have back ups in that position. My concern is with the quality of the back ups - Norman is young and hasn’t managed to impress KR enough. Sam Long isn’t good enough frankly. He wasn’t used in League 2 so why anyone thinks he’s capable at League 1 is beyond me.

If Hanson stays injury free, great. Otherwise, I can see McMahon’s departure with no replacement being a bit of a risk.
 
Or, if you are loaning players in, making a clear assessment of their fitness, likely robustness through the course of a season.
 
Holmes and Carruthers also have undoubted ability too ...theyre injured, so they dont play

KR is in charge of picking the matchday squad.... he goes to watch most U23 (&U18) games so is aware first hand of the capabilities of our prospects.... James (in U23 is an exciting young player with pace and bags of ability) wasnt selected even for the bench today
, for example.....KR n his thickie twin assistants (Derry n Faz) pick the starting team and the bench

Browne , when fit, is unquestionably a real talent and an asset too....like any other player when injured ( he sustained a foot injury boxing day )why play him when hes a passenger?... if he was capable of 15-20 min today, why not bring him off the bench as an impact sub, instead potentially compound his injury by keeping him on for the entire 95 minutes.... or maybe there is a clause that he MUST play in the loan deal?

Sometimes you make some good points Sarge, but undo that by making unnecessary insults like this one.

I do think though that there is something to answer for as to why KR is preferring to use players from the U18s over the U23s. Spasov over Bradbury being the prime example. KR's excuse was 'Spasov's been scoring in the U18s', but with young players should you really be judging them on their youth league form, rather than a player who was banging them in for fun a few divisions below?
 
Sometimes you make some good points Sarge, but undo that by making unnecessary insults like this one.

I do think though that there is something to answer for as to why KR is preferring to use players from the U18s over the U23s. Spasov over Bradbury being the prime example. KR's excuse was 'Spasov's been scoring in the U18s', but with young players should you really be judging them on their youth league form, rather than a player who was banging them in for fun a few divisions below?
Fair comment @battman .... sometimes I get carried away by my own enthusiasm & annoyance,...... especially after the team has lost and without putting up much of a fight in doing so

100% agree that there are several U23s players, who after having seen them play at U23 level first hand, I think should be regularly making the first team squad, and on merit,
 
Agree with the above comments. Unfortunately, throwing a 17 year old boy in to a physical game when we’re losing, helps to emphasise Robinson’s ‘impossible plight’
 
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