@drcongo said:
The pearl clutching in this thread over a couple of development team players being given a first team opportunity is quite a sight to behold. I'd better fetch the Gasroom fainting couch and some smelling salts before the "shame" completely overwhelms the more delicate among you.
@ChasHarps said:
I remember Mr Ainsworth publicly saying Matt Ingram was touch and go for the Playoff final v Southend !!
Every reason to doubt his word.
How do you know that Ingram wasn’t touch and go?
If he had no chance of playing would you prefer the manager to let the opposition know beforehand that his first choice keeper was out injured? It’s manager speak and in my job I find most managers are the same and I have learned to read between the lines. Never understood why people get so worked up about injury news as it’s such a changeable situation anyway.
@ChasHarps said:
I remember Mr Ainsworth publicly saying Matt Ingram was touch and go for the Playoff final v Southend !!
Every reason to doubt his word.
How do you know that Ingram wasn’t touch and go?
If he had no chance of playing would you prefer the manager to let the opposition know beforehand that his first choice keeper was out injured? It’s manager speak and in my job I find most managers are the same and I have learned to read between the lines. Never understood why people get so worked up about injury news as it’s such a changeable situation anyway.
Ingram was on crutches, never had a cat in hell's chance of playing, or was he going to put his crutch in the back on net with his glovebag, and lean against the post ?
@ChasHarps said:
I remember Mr Ainsworth publicly saying Matt Ingram was touch and go for the Playoff final v Southend !!
Every reason to doubt his word.
How do you know that Ingram wasn’t touch and go?
If he had no chance of playing would you prefer the manager to let the opposition know beforehand that his first choice keeper was out injured? It’s manager speak and in my job I find most managers are the same and I have learned to read between the lines. Never understood why people get so worked up about injury news as it’s such a changeable situation anyway.
Because fans love their club and just want to know what's going on with that players.
I don't know why that point is so difficult to grasp.
I rather suspect you are often privy to information that is not in the public domain, and understandably so. You have personal friendships with the manager and people within the club.
But please don't belittle fans who just want to know what's going on. I mean look at the gasroom, people are on here every day discussing Wycombe Wanderers. Every day. And we're on our phones chatting to our mates about Wycombe as well. And we're discussing it over a pint or a coffee when we meet up. It's an obsession really.
Personally I genuinely don't understand why, when a player who had been as vital to us as Dominic Gape was out for pretty much the whole season last season and we were given no updates and no information, there weren't more fans expressing their frustrations.
And now, there's Garath McCleary. Our best player this season, and one of the best we've ever had. I'm desperate to know when he's likely to be back. But we don't know what the injury is and we don't know when we might see him again. No information at all.
Like I said, I would have imagined most fans would be pissed off by that but you learn over time that bit everyone thinks the same, and that's fine
Looks like we found another gem from the development squad. Mehmeti, Pendlebury, Burley and Parsons have all shown both quality and promise. I hope we can continue to give younger players a chance when possible to prove themselves.
Ps I think with the FA Cup, as long as we end up in the next round then whatever side he picks can be justified. That's the only thing that matters really
Eric, I also love the club, but I understand that the availability or otherwise of injured players is privileged information and I don’t see how it can help our cause if it’s made public, quite the opposite in fact. It would help Portsmouth to prepare for the game next week if we announced on Monday that players x, y and z have no chance of playing/ will definitely be fit. How would it benefit our fans to have that information made public?
I genuinely have no idea how long McCleary will be out, but I’m happy to wait until he’s back in the squad as injury recovery times are notoriously unpredictable.
@glasshalffull said:
Eric, I also love the club, but I understand that the availability or otherwise of injured players is privileged information and I don’t see how it can help our cause if it’s made public, quite the opposite in fact. It would help Portsmouth to prepare for the game next week if we announced on Monday that players x, y and z have no chance of playing/ will definitely be fit. How would it benefit our fans to have that information made public?
I genuinely have no idea how long McCleary will be out, but I’m happy to wait until he’s back in the squad as injury recovery times are notoriously unpredictable.
@ChasHarps said:
I remember Mr Ainsworth publicly saying Matt Ingram was touch and go for the Playoff final v Southend !!
Every reason to doubt his word.
How do you know that Ingram wasn’t touch and go?
If he had no chance of playing would you prefer the manager to let the opposition know beforehand that his first choice keeper was out injured? It’s manager speak and in my job I find most managers are the same and I have learned to read between the lines. Never understood why people get so worked up about injury news as it’s such a changeable situation anyway.
Ingram was on crutches, never had a cat in hell's chance of playing, or was he going to put his crutch in the back on net with his glovebag, and lean against the post ?
Matt Ingram was not on crutches on the day of the play off final
We got away with it a bit yesterday. Whatever the ifs and buts of who was and wasn’t actually fit the starting 11 wasn’t the ‘best’ of the actual 17 in the match squad.
I don’t have a particular problem with that. The manager took a calculated risk that it would be good enough and the pros (giving key players a rest, more time for the squad players) outweighed the risk of losing. That’s what we pay him (amongst other things!!) for. I have no problem with the spin GA put on it either. It was pretty easy to read between the lines and realise it wouldn’t exactly be out first 11 (if such a thing still exists) out there.
What does depress me is the view that some have that losing in the FA Cup doesn’t really matter. For me at least it does. It hurts far, far more than losing a league game. Football for me is about memories, not statistics and cup games over the years have given me so many memories (not all good).
So I’m of the view that we should rest players next Saturday and put out our strongest 11 the following Tuesday to maximise our chances of progressing to the next round.
(I retain the right to completely reverse my view when the inevitable happens and we are drawn away to Wigan or someone equally difficult in in Round 2)
@bookertease said:
So I’m of the view that we should rest players next Saturday and put out our strongest 11 the following Tuesday to maximise our chances of progressing to the next round.
What a complete shambles this thread turned into. If I wanted to see people with legitimate concerns mocked by those who disagreed with them I’d go to Twitter.
@ReturnToSenda said:
Stocko, Taf and Grimmer were all genuinely unavailable btw (sounds like Grimmer could be for a little while) - as was Stewart, for obvious reasons. So the only real 'weakening' was Gape in for Scowen and Kaikai in for Hanlan?
What don't you get? He said he played his strongest eleven but didn't.
As it goes I have no issue with some rotation particularly now we have the squad to do it, in fact I was endorsing it myself yesterday before the game given we were facing a team from L2. That's not disrespectful it's doing what you deem best for the club. What is annoying is our manager basically lying saying he picked the best team he could. No-one is buying that. What I also find weird is people on this thread saying they would rather lose than have a replay. Very odd mindset in my view and disrespectful towards what is a great competition and could potentially have huge financial reward.
If he'd just said as you suggested that he wanted to rest a few for this game at least it would have been honest. Don't fob off fans pretending different.
As I said, strange as usually GA is honest and relatable in the press.
The players that came in are top players. And the one that wasn't delivered in spades. Don't see the problem with the selection. Can't have players like Kaikai on the bench every week getting rusty, he's an excellent player that deserves a regular run.
Ainsworth doesn't tend to be open and honest about selections or injuries, never has been, think it all harks back to when we had wronguns in the squad who'd make tits of themselves about the place if they didn't think they were playing at the weekend and now feeds into marginal gains stuff going forward. I don't necessarily even have a problem with it if it works but the comments post match seem a little ridiculous. He has form for playing weaker teams in the cup and I'd be staggered if he plays a full strength team for the replay. There's lots of good reasons to stick up for the Cup btw although it isn't universally popular any more.
Of course as usual we aren't party to the information to know either way for sure.
Up to Tranmere last year, I thought Gaz tended to go strongest possible in the FAC - although he obviously didn't have as much strength in depth in previous years. Solihull in 2017 was our usual team iirc.
Gaz has clearly taken the chance to ease a couple of niggles out and took a bit of a risk, but one we got away with.
Time will tell if having a replay, another chance to get more fatigue etc, makes it the right move.
One of the single defining factors that I think of in a Ainsworth squad is that everyone is equal - from those regularly in the team to those that aren’t. They are all seen as giving the same whether on or off the pitch.
No more was that underlined than last season when you could actually hear the contribution from those players not on the pitch.
I think it does those non regular starters a massive disservice if they are looked down on by the fans as not good enough to play in all important matches - whether that maybe the first round of the FA Cup, or heaven forbid in the midst of an injury crisis in a play off final (if that were to end up happening).
It’s a fucking squad game. They should all be ready to play the next match as if it were the most important game of there lives.
The only people devaluing the fa cup are those that say the players that walked onto the pitch yesterday weren’t apparently good enough for you.
@TheDancingYak said:
One of the single defining factors that I think of in a Ainsworth squad is that everyone is equal - from those regularly in the team to those that aren’t. They are all seen as giving the same whether on or off the pitch.
No more was that underlined than last season when you could actually hear the contribution from those players not on the pitch.
I think it does those non regular starters a massive disservice if they are looked down on by the fans as not good enough to play in all important matches - whether that maybe the first round of the FA Cup, or heaven forbid in the midst of an injury crisis in a play off final (if that were to end up happening).
It’s a fucking squad game. They should all be ready to play the next match as if it were the most important game of there lives.
The only people devaluing the fa cup are those that say the players that walked onto the pitch yesterday weren’t apparently good enough for you.
Comments
Stockdale would have played, so too Scowen, Hanlan, Taf too I expect.
Not really going to achieve anything debating this any further. GA says he played his best team, I think it's bollocks
I'd write a letter to the club if I were you
Yawn
14 different scorers in all competitions this season already btw. Gasman reckons the record is 22 in 2017/18. It's on!
Can we get a fainting couch installed at AP?
How do you know that Ingram wasn’t touch and go?
If he had no chance of playing would you prefer the manager to let the opposition know beforehand that his first choice keeper was out injured? It’s manager speak and in my job I find most managers are the same and I have learned to read between the lines. Never understood why people get so worked up about injury news as it’s such a changeable situation anyway.
And Bayo would at least have been on the bench
Bayo is having injections to play, but I'm sure that's a lie too.
Ingram was on crutches, never had a cat in hell's chance of playing, or was he going to put his crutch in the back on net with his glovebag, and lean against the post ?
He might well be.... but if it was a league game he would've been on the bench
But it wasn't a league game - and he needs a rest sometimes (he's 39 years old!). Anyway, I'm giving up on this now.
Ffs...
Hanlan is on absolutely fire at the minute, not starting him, underlines the fact that Ainsworth did not field his best team available.
Because fans love their club and just want to know what's going on with that players.
I don't know why that point is so difficult to grasp.
I rather suspect you are often privy to information that is not in the public domain, and understandably so. You have personal friendships with the manager and people within the club.
But please don't belittle fans who just want to know what's going on. I mean look at the gasroom, people are on here every day discussing Wycombe Wanderers. Every day. And we're on our phones chatting to our mates about Wycombe as well. And we're discussing it over a pint or a coffee when we meet up. It's an obsession really.
Personally I genuinely don't understand why, when a player who had been as vital to us as Dominic Gape was out for pretty much the whole season last season and we were given no updates and no information, there weren't more fans expressing their frustrations.
And now, there's Garath McCleary. Our best player this season, and one of the best we've ever had. I'm desperate to know when he's likely to be back. But we don't know what the injury is and we don't know when we might see him again. No information at all.
Like I said, I would have imagined most fans would be pissed off by that but you learn over time that bit everyone thinks the same, and that's fine
I'm just happy for Chris Fornio at the end of the day.
Looks like we found another gem from the development squad. Mehmeti, Pendlebury, Burley and Parsons have all shown both quality and promise. I hope we can continue to give younger players a chance when possible to prove themselves.
Ps I think with the FA Cup, as long as we end up in the next round then whatever side he picks can be justified. That's the only thing that matters really
Eric, I also love the club, but I understand that the availability or otherwise of injured players is privileged information and I don’t see how it can help our cause if it’s made public, quite the opposite in fact. It would help Portsmouth to prepare for the game next week if we announced on Monday that players x, y and z have no chance of playing/ will definitely be fit. How would it benefit our fans to have that information made public?
I genuinely have no idea how long McCleary will be out, but I’m happy to wait until he’s back in the squad as injury recovery times are notoriously unpredictable.
I am absolutely appalled at what that awful chap Ainsworth has done with the club.
I intend to continue to boycott most matches while he remains in charge (and in all likelihood after he has gone)
That's fine, we can agree to disagree
Crikey. We're going to need a bigger fainting couch. I had no idea we had so many delicate flowers.
Matt Ingram was not on crutches on the day of the play off final
We got away with it a bit yesterday. Whatever the ifs and buts of who was and wasn’t actually fit the starting 11 wasn’t the ‘best’ of the actual 17 in the match squad.
I don’t have a particular problem with that. The manager took a calculated risk that it would be good enough and the pros (giving key players a rest, more time for the squad players) outweighed the risk of losing. That’s what we pay him (amongst other things!!) for. I have no problem with the spin GA put on it either. It was pretty easy to read between the lines and realise it wouldn’t exactly be out first 11 (if such a thing still exists) out there.
What does depress me is the view that some have that losing in the FA Cup doesn’t really matter. For me at least it does. It hurts far, far more than losing a league game. Football for me is about memories, not statistics and cup games over the years have given me so many memories (not all good).
So I’m of the view that we should rest players next Saturday and put out our strongest 11 the following Tuesday to maximise our chances of progressing to the next round.
(I retain the right to completely reverse my view when the inevitable happens and we are drawn away to Wigan or someone equally difficult in in Round 2)
Seriously?
What a complete shambles this thread turned into. If I wanted to see people with legitimate concerns mocked by those who disagreed with them I’d go to Twitter.
The players that came in are top players. And the one that wasn't delivered in spades. Don't see the problem with the selection. Can't have players like Kaikai on the bench every week getting rusty, he's an excellent player that deserves a regular run.
Ainsworth doesn't tend to be open and honest about selections or injuries, never has been, think it all harks back to when we had wronguns in the squad who'd make tits of themselves about the place if they didn't think they were playing at the weekend and now feeds into marginal gains stuff going forward. I don't necessarily even have a problem with it if it works but the comments post match seem a little ridiculous. He has form for playing weaker teams in the cup and I'd be staggered if he plays a full strength team for the replay. There's lots of good reasons to stick up for the Cup btw although it isn't universally popular any more.
Of course as usual we aren't party to the information to know either way for sure.
Up to Tranmere last year, I thought Gaz tended to go strongest possible in the FAC - although he obviously didn't have as much strength in depth in previous years. Solihull in 2017 was our usual team iirc.
Gaz has clearly taken the chance to ease a couple of niggles out and took a bit of a risk, but one we got away with.
Time will tell if having a replay, another chance to get more fatigue etc, makes it the right move.
One of the single defining factors that I think of in a Ainsworth squad is that everyone is equal - from those regularly in the team to those that aren’t. They are all seen as giving the same whether on or off the pitch.
No more was that underlined than last season when you could actually hear the contribution from those players not on the pitch.
I think it does those non regular starters a massive disservice if they are looked down on by the fans as not good enough to play in all important matches - whether that maybe the first round of the FA Cup, or heaven forbid in the midst of an injury crisis in a play off final (if that were to end up happening).
It’s a fucking squad game. They should all be ready to play the next match as if it were the most important game of there lives.
The only people devaluing the fa cup are those that say the players that walked onto the pitch yesterday weren’t apparently good enough for you.
Grow the fuck up.
?