@YorkExile said:
If Blooms can't play, it has to be Thompson for me. I like Freeman, but it's far too risky to ask him to start in a game of this magnitude. Dropping Wheeler back and bringing in another forward would be asking for trouble (see Doncaster away). Gape, Thompson and Ofoborh is a really solid midfield three and puts less responsibility on Wheeler and Onyedinma to drop in. I can see myself having a wonderfully productive week here...
Wheeler in midfield worked great against Bolton and Tranmere tbf - relegation sides, of course, but still. He is very versatile.
Absolutely, it's a fantastic option to have. I just think that a midfield of Gape, Thompson and Ofoborh looks rock solid, and it will need to be for this. Having Wheeler up top as a target is also important if Bayo doesn't start.
Yeah, I think it will be Gape-Ofoborh-Blooms if Blooms is fit. Otherwise Thompson or, if he's still not 100%, Pattison. Can't have any stragglers out there!
Freeman might be becoming the guy to go to if you need to keep the ball a bit more and stop it just being punted forward then coming back at you over and over again, a while back he used to give the ball away a lot but he's got good passing , decent pace and strength to shield /keep the ball , always the odd chance he'll do something magical too.
Couldn't give a toss what Durham thinks about the play offs btw, can't believe people are still paying him for his opinions.
I'm sure Gaz will have a stunning tapestry of all these salty comments, 4-4-2 mag's table having us at the bottom, and various assorted goons from the media to the players in their little bunker.
I hope we win by a single goal in the 93rd minute, a hoof from Rocky onto Bayo's head which hits John Moushino (on for penalties) which bounces over a despairing Eastwood...
@Malone said:
I'm sure Gaz will have a stunning tapestry of all these salty comments, 4-4-2 mag's table having us at the bottom, and various assorted goons from the media to the players in their little bunker.
In fairness, the FourFourTwo prediction went to print before the Couhigs came along.
@Malone said:
I'm sure Gaz will have a stunning tapestry of all these salty comments, 4-4-2 mag's table having us at the bottom, and various assorted goons from the media to the players in their little bunker.
In fairness, the FourFourTwo prediction went to print before the Couhigs came along.
Oxford will play their neat little triangles in midfield so I'd put Thompson in as first choice alongside Gape and Ofoborh. Other than the first five minutes yesterday he looked fine. You can see how angry he was with himself after shanking the clearance and barely put a foot wrong in the second half, his positioning was consummate. I'd much rather have someone who knows where to position himself to break up midfield play ahead of Bloomfield, whose strengths lie more in using his energy to harry whoever has the ball. I suspect that Pattison is more of a harryer than a someone with positional strength (though I've seen so little of him this season I can't say that for certain). So I'd keep him as third choice for the slot.
I can see us starting 433 with Samuel up front, only Bloomfield potentially dropping to the bench, then switching to 451 if we go ahead, though I would like to see Freeman brought on earlier because just punting it to their defenders with Bayo chasing was a gamble that only just worked. Getting Wheeler or Freeman holding the ball in the middle and setting Fred or Bayo free gives us two outlets for counter attacking football rather than just long punts into the final third.
@floyd said:
Don’t you think the almost unanimous depiction of being ‘anti-football,’ we get in the media contributes to the closeness of the squad?
I’m absolutely certain of that fact. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sports team look more together than we did at the end of each leg of the semifinals.
As Bayo put it last night 'No-one shows us any love...' to highlight the togetherness and he praised the fans and his regret at not having them at the final. I am sure it is part of the motivation.
Thankfully, for all those bleating fans of other teams, we did eventually play our game in hand. It was away to the form team in the division, and we won 4-1.
I’ve said before that once you get a label in football it’s very difficult to shake it off. Opposition fans just lazily follow what they’ve heard/read from other fans.
Regarding Adrian Durham, I’ve worked with him in the past and his style is to be as outrageous as possible to spark a reaction. He’s also a Peterborough fan. What a contrast in the dignity in defeat shown by Fleetwood supporters and the constant moaning and ignorance of the facts displayed by so many Peterborough fans.
As Bayo said, we don’t get much love whether it’s for our style of play or the method used to gain a place in the playoffs. Fans of other clubs rarely give us praise and regurgitate the lazy cliches used by other fans. Even some opposition managers trot out the usual ‘You know what you’re going to get from Wycombe....difficult team to play against’ etc without giving praise where it’s due. We don’t get the credit we deserve because of football snobbery. You don’t win games by having more possession than the other team, you win by scoring more goals than them.
I see what you mean but I've seen a fair bit of praise recently on team spirit and how hard the team works from fans of other clubs or neutrals. Certainly a lot of praise for the manager and his team. Also think that being difficult to play against can be meant as a complement.
I agree that the tide is turning because of the success we’ve had this season, but the attitude of the majority of opposition fans is still largely negative.
This from Jonathan Wilson in 'Inverting the Pyramid' on Graham Taylor at Watford feels very relevant:
"There were those who dismissed him as a long-ball merchant, but as he, Stan Cullis and a host of managers stretching back to Herbert Chapman have pointed out, it is simply impossible for a team to be successful if all they are doing is aimlessly booting the ball forwards."
Aimlessly being the operative word which people lazily and falsely attribute to us. There is always a plan.
Again, I'm way too young, but I get the feeling Watford were sneered at whereas Wimbledon were genuinely disliked?
Why are people so bothered about what other fans think of us?
Were people genuinely thinking on Monday night "yeah I'm pleased with the result but that Peterborough fan on the internet who thinks we're boring has really taken the shine off it"
Such people are there to be laughed at. The fact that our success annoys such tiresome drones adds to the joy, in my opinion
Worth pointing out that Burnley get loads of stick for much the same things from opposition Premier League fans. Some people simply can't face the fact smaller clubs with tight squads and good managers sometimes overcome the financial barriers put up to keep them in their place.
It's been interesting the last week reading comments from football fans and pundits from other countries, where absolutely none of it was tinged with the usual jabs we get from fans, pundits, managers etc. here. The fact that we have Bayo is why they've tuned in to watch in the first place, but then most of what I've seen has been very complimentary about the team and manager. Even after Monday.
Comments
Freeman might be becoming the guy to go to if you need to keep the ball a bit more and stop it just being punted forward then coming back at you over and over again, a while back he used to give the ball away a lot but he's got good passing , decent pace and strength to shield /keep the ball , always the odd chance he'll do something magical too.
Couldn't give a toss what Durham thinks about the play offs btw, can't believe people are still paying him for his opinions.
I'm sure Gaz will have a stunning tapestry of all these salty comments, 4-4-2 mag's table having us at the bottom, and various assorted goons from the media to the players in their little bunker.
I hope we win by a single goal in the 93rd minute, a hoof from Rocky onto Bayo's head which hits John Moushino (on for penalties) which bounces over a despairing Eastwood...
In fairness, the FourFourTwo prediction went to print before the Couhigs came along.
sssh, don't ruin it.
I write for them occasionally, I have to be diplomatic
Oxford will play their neat little triangles in midfield so I'd put Thompson in as first choice alongside Gape and Ofoborh. Other than the first five minutes yesterday he looked fine. You can see how angry he was with himself after shanking the clearance and barely put a foot wrong in the second half, his positioning was consummate. I'd much rather have someone who knows where to position himself to break up midfield play ahead of Bloomfield, whose strengths lie more in using his energy to harry whoever has the ball. I suspect that Pattison is more of a harryer than a someone with positional strength (though I've seen so little of him this season I can't say that for certain). So I'd keep him as third choice for the slot.
I can see us starting 433 with Samuel up front, only Bloomfield potentially dropping to the bench, then switching to 451 if we go ahead, though I would like to see Freeman brought on earlier because just punting it to their defenders with Bayo chasing was a gamble that only just worked. Getting Wheeler or Freeman holding the ball in the middle and setting Fred or Bayo free gives us two outlets for counter attacking football rather than just long punts into the final third.
Don’t you think the almost unanimous depiction of being ‘anti-football,’ we get in the media contributes to the closeness of the squad?
I’m absolutely certain of that fact. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a sports team look more together than we did at the end of each leg of the semifinals.
As Bayo put it last night 'No-one shows us any love...' to highlight the togetherness and he praised the fans and his regret at not having them at the final. I am sure it is part of the motivation.
Thankfully, for all those bleating fans of other teams, we did eventually play our game in hand. It was away to the form team in the division, and we won 4-1.
I'd love to know what Bayo says to the players in the post-match huddle.
The odd thing is that everyone likes an underdog, and you don't get much more underdog than us this last couple of years.
Sorry if this is BWK, but what is the significance of the 1.74 flag behind the goal last night?
1.74 = our PPG.
Thanks @Shev
BPPGK
He's the runner for post match pizza so is just getting everyone's orders
I’ve said before that once you get a label in football it’s very difficult to shake it off. Opposition fans just lazily follow what they’ve heard/read from other fans.
Regarding Adrian Durham, I’ve worked with him in the past and his style is to be as outrageous as possible to spark a reaction. He’s also a Peterborough fan. What a contrast in the dignity in defeat shown by Fleetwood supporters and the constant moaning and ignorance of the facts displayed by so many Peterborough fans.
What label is that? That Wycombe don’t have or want much possession? Or do you mean around the PPG vote?
As Bayo said, we don’t get much love whether it’s for our style of play or the method used to gain a place in the playoffs. Fans of other clubs rarely give us praise and regurgitate the lazy cliches used by other fans. Even some opposition managers trot out the usual ‘You know what you’re going to get from Wycombe....difficult team to play against’ etc without giving praise where it’s due. We don’t get the credit we deserve because of football snobbery. You don’t win games by having more possession than the other team, you win by scoring more goals than them.
I see what you mean but I've seen a fair bit of praise recently on team spirit and how hard the team works from fans of other clubs or neutrals. Certainly a lot of praise for the manager and his team. Also think that being difficult to play against can be meant as a complement.
I agree that the tide is turning because of the success we’ve had this season, but the attitude of the majority of opposition fans is still largely negative.
This from Jonathan Wilson in 'Inverting the Pyramid' on Graham Taylor at Watford feels very relevant:
"There were those who dismissed him as a long-ball merchant, but as he, Stan Cullis and a host of managers stretching back to Herbert Chapman have pointed out, it is simply impossible for a team to be successful if all they are doing is aimlessly booting the ball forwards."
Aimlessly being the operative word which people lazily and falsely attribute to us. There is always a plan.
Again, I'm way too young, but I get the feeling Watford were sneered at whereas Wimbledon were genuinely disliked?
I think we are lucky to have Bayo as he is highly respected by most in the game. This at least negates some of the widespread criticism of our club.
If we had two excellent wide men feeding two mobile and tricky strikers some would still be claiming we are route one defensive cloggers...
Why are people so bothered about what other fans think of us?
Were people genuinely thinking on Monday night "yeah I'm pleased with the result but that Peterborough fan on the internet who thinks we're boring has really taken the shine off it"
Such people are there to be laughed at. The fact that our success annoys such tiresome drones adds to the joy, in my opinion
Worth pointing out that Burnley get loads of stick for much the same things from opposition Premier League fans. Some people simply can't face the fact smaller clubs with tight squads and good managers sometimes overcome the financial barriers put up to keep them in their place.
It's been interesting the last week reading comments from football fans and pundits from other countries, where absolutely none of it was tinged with the usual jabs we get from fans, pundits, managers etc. here. The fact that we have Bayo is why they've tuned in to watch in the first place, but then most of what I've seen has been very complimentary about the team and manager. Even after Monday.
My experience is that almost all football fans I speak to are either complimentary or neutral on Wycombe Wanderers.
Maybe @glasshalffull speaks to a different cross section or is referring to a very vocal minority.