I'm usually a reasonably vocal critic of Alsopp, and if I'm honest I don't see him as a championship keeper, but he's been the least of our problems so far. If anything Championship teams don't chuck the ball into the area as frequently so his reluctance to come and claim balls might be less costly than in league 1, I've noticed he's been slightly less hesitant to come off his line in open play too.
That being said his kicking in the first game wasn't good, and he palmed a few shots straight back into the danger area, one of which they scored from, but he made up for that with some good saves. Overall though he's started pretty well
@eric_plant said:
It's about how he manages the area and therefore allows the defence to play.
A keeper who comes for stuff would make us better. I don't think it's good enough to say "we just have to accept he doesn't come for crosses"
All keepers make saves. It's what they do
I think you’ve been harsh on him. It could be that his instructions are to let his defenders deal with crosses.
We could find an upgrade for every player in the squad, but Rocky is more than adequate and we have excellent back up in Stockdale and Yates.
I think we have more immediate priorities than finding a replacement goalkeeper.
That's a good point. Given that the keeper he replaced was Scott Brown, that would certainly suggest the Gaz and Dobbo prefer a keeper who always stays on his line
No manager would tell their keeper to stay as rooted to the line as Alsopp has been in the past unless they had a serious weakness in their game they didn't want to expose.
The Sky co-commentator said that, were it not for convention to give man of the match to a winning side player, he would have awarded it to Ryan. I agree, he had no chance with the two goals and stopped maybe three or four others that would go in on another day. Keeper is the least of our issues right now.
It’s that time of night when I feel compelled to chip in with an aside or two. I restrained myself from commenting on Notts Forest and @Malone cleverly stopped short of referring to the top Scottish Division as their Premier League but surely we should all be able to spell Allsop by now?! After all, he has clearly earned our respect so far this season and is entitled to that courtesy.
@micra how to spell our players' names is the least of our worries right now. Just ask Alex Samuels.
@Shev I found that chapter of the book quite concerning, to be perfectly honest. Allsop comes across both as in denial that he is sometimes at fault, and naive in his belief that fans don't remember the more glaring errors.
In general terms, it is important to note that a goalkeeper will almost always look better in a struggling team as they invariably have much more to do. This is borne out at all levels of the game, perhaps with the exception of those at the very top of the profession.
@YorkExile said: @micra how to spell our players' names is the least of our worries right now. Just ask Alex Samuels.
@Shev I found that chapter of the book quite concerning, to be perfectly honest. Allsop comes across both as in denial that he is sometimes at fault, and naive in his belief that fans don't remember the more glaring errors.
In general terms, it is important to note that a goalkeeper will almost always look better in a struggling team as they invariably have much more to do. This is borne out at all levels of the game, perhaps with the exception of those at the very top of the profession.
Agree with the last point, can be many more saves to make and limited scrutiny unless it's a howler as it's just another one rather than a decider. Doesn't mean Rocky hasn't been good and isn't the least of our worries.
I daresay not having your own fans booing you might help confidence...though I do think the lack of fans means the team are not lifted in adversity either. A double edged sword.
@YorkExile said: @Shev I found that chapter of the book quite concerning, to be perfectly honest. Allsop comes across both as in denial that he is sometimes at fault, and naive in his belief that fans don't remember the more glaring errors.
That's exactly what I thought when I read it. Didn't bode well for self-improvement.
Having Stockdale breathing down his neck must be a motivational factor to stay sharp at all times. It must be easy to let complacency slip in when you're only competing against a youth reamer for a place. Ryan knows now that a couple of bad performances will see him dropped, just like happened after Stockdale was initially signed at the start of the year. Personally I would be excited to see Stockdale back in the side, though Ryan's performances since the start of the play offs mean he deserves the shirt at the moment.
@YorkExile said: @Shev I found that chapter of the book quite concerning, to be perfectly honest. Allsop comes across both as in denial that he is sometimes at fault, and naive in his belief that fans don't remember the more glaring errors.
That's exactly what I thought when I read it. Didn't bode well for self-improvement.
I think the disconnect is that Rocky was judging himself purely based on actual errors, whereas the fan base (correctly, it must be said) tend to be more frustrated at him not coming out for crosses/commanding his box.
He claimed to have made only 3 mistakes in a season when Ainsworth thought the situation so desperate that he saw fit to put Yves-Ma Kalambay in goal whilst we were in the depths of a desperate struggle to stay up, who then gave a performance whilst not up there with the infamous Carlos Lopez Cambridge game, is certainly up there in the conversation about who comes 2nd in the all time list
(See also: JP Pitman at Oxford, Mark Foran and Notts County, any number of Brian Parkin performances, Richard Logan v Wimbledon)
@eric_plant said:
Yes, but that came across as delusional.
He claimed to have made only 3 mistakes in a season when Ainsworth thought the situation so desperate that he saw fit to put Yves-Ma Kalambay in goal whilst we were in the depths of a desperate struggle to stay up, who then gave a performance whilst not up there with the infamous Carlos Lopez Cambridge game, is certainly up there in the conversation about who comes 2nd in the all time list
(See also: JP Pitman at Oxford, Mark Foran and Notts County, any number of Brian Parkin performances, Richard Logan v Wimbledon)
Pitman was not fit when he came on as a sub to be fair to the lad.
An admirable list to which Donecian (spelling?) in his debut must be added.
I remember the shock of a performance Paul Hayes gave late on in a home game, when we were still trying to shoehorn him in wide right.
Could barely control it, looked so slow, and it finally showed that unfortunately his time with us was done.
Happens to the best of them eventually.
@Malone said:
I remember the shock of a performance Paul Hayes gave late on in a home game, when we were still trying to shoehorn him in wide right.
Could barely control it, looked so slow, and it finally showed that unfortunately his time with us was done.
Happens to the best of them eventually.
That was a sad day. The effort and determination was there but he was a shadow of his former self. I have a vague memory of him blindly backheeling the ball in our box that led to a goal.
Yes, I seem to recall a game when Hayesy came on as substitute and did not seem able to run! Was not long after his heroics at Spurs either as I recall.
@eric_plant said:
He was amazing in that Spurs game. Played so well
Indeed 'the last name anyone wanted to see on the team sheet' according to the fellow behind me at kick-off. Cue two goals. Perhaps he did for himself for the rest of the season with that game alone!
Comments
It's about how he manages the area and therefore allows the defence to play.
A keeper who comes for stuff would make us better. I don't think it's good enough to say "we just have to accept he doesn't come for crosses"
All keepers make saves. It's what they do
I'm usually a reasonably vocal critic of Alsopp, and if I'm honest I don't see him as a championship keeper, but he's been the least of our problems so far. If anything Championship teams don't chuck the ball into the area as frequently so his reluctance to come and claim balls might be less costly than in league 1, I've noticed he's been slightly less hesitant to come off his line in open play too.
That being said his kicking in the first game wasn't good, and he palmed a few shots straight back into the danger area, one of which they scored from, but he made up for that with some good saves. Overall though he's started pretty well
I think you’ve been harsh on him. It could be that his instructions are to let his defenders deal with crosses.
We could find an upgrade for every player in the squad, but Rocky is more than adequate and we have excellent back up in Stockdale and Yates.
I think we have more immediate priorities than finding a replacement goalkeeper.
That's a good point. Given that the keeper he replaced was Scott Brown, that would certainly suggest the Gaz and Dobbo prefer a keeper who always stays on his line
They went against the grain with Jamal Blackman though Eric.
No manager would tell their keeper to stay as rooted to the line as Alsopp has been in the past unless they had a serious weakness in their game they didn't want to expose.
The Sky co-commentator said that, were it not for convention to give man of the match to a winning side player, he would have awarded it to Ryan. I agree, he had no chance with the two goals and stopped maybe three or four others that would go in on another day. Keeper is the least of our issues right now.
Rocky had a good game on Saturday...time to look elsewhere for the improvements to get points on the board.
One of the most interesting aspects of 'Close Quarters' is how flabbergasted Rocky was when he found out fans saw him as a weak link.
It’s that time of night when I feel compelled to chip in with an aside or two. I restrained myself from commenting on Notts Forest and @Malone cleverly stopped short of referring to the top Scottish Division as their Premier League but surely we should all be able to spell Allsop by now?! After all, he has clearly earned our respect so far this season and is entitled to that courtesy.
Well as they say a rolling stone is worth two in the bush....
For what it’s worth I think Allsop has been on a rich vein of form since Fleetwood.
Sky commentators also repeatedly pointed out how good Rocky's positioning was and how quick he was off his line when he needed to be.
Mind you, Don Goodman also couldn't tell the difference between Samuel and McCarthy or Fred and Dennis.
@micra how to spell our players' names is the least of our worries right now. Just ask Alex Samuels.
@Shev I found that chapter of the book quite concerning, to be perfectly honest. Allsop comes across both as in denial that he is sometimes at fault, and naive in his belief that fans don't remember the more glaring errors.
In general terms, it is important to note that a goalkeeper will almost always look better in a struggling team as they invariably have much more to do. This is borne out at all levels of the game, perhaps with the exception of those at the very top of the profession.
Agree with the last point, can be many more saves to make and limited scrutiny unless it's a howler as it's just another one rather than a decider. Doesn't mean Rocky hasn't been good and isn't the least of our worries.
I daresay not having your own fans booing you might help confidence...though I do think the lack of fans means the team are not lifted in adversity either. A double edged sword.
That's exactly what I thought when I read it. Didn't bode well for self-improvement.
Having Stockdale breathing down his neck must be a motivational factor to stay sharp at all times. It must be easy to let complacency slip in when you're only competing against a youth reamer for a place. Ryan knows now that a couple of bad performances will see him dropped, just like happened after Stockdale was initially signed at the start of the year. Personally I would be excited to see Stockdale back in the side, though Ryan's performances since the start of the play offs mean he deserves the shirt at the moment.
I think the disconnect is that Rocky was judging himself purely based on actual errors, whereas the fan base (correctly, it must be said) tend to be more frustrated at him not coming out for crosses/commanding his box.
Yes, but that came across as delusional.
He claimed to have made only 3 mistakes in a season when Ainsworth thought the situation so desperate that he saw fit to put Yves-Ma Kalambay in goal whilst we were in the depths of a desperate struggle to stay up, who then gave a performance whilst not up there with the infamous Carlos Lopez Cambridge game, is certainly up there in the conversation about who comes 2nd in the all time list
(See also: JP Pitman at Oxford, Mark Foran and Notts County, any number of Brian Parkin performances, Richard Logan v Wimbledon)
Pitman was not fit when he came on as a sub to be fair to the lad.
An admirable list to which Donecian (spelling?) in his debut must be added.
Donacien but we know who you mean @perfidious_albion !
Oliver Taylor's performance at Dagenham before being hauled off, sticks in the mind.
I remember the shock of a performance Paul Hayes gave late on in a home game, when we were still trying to shoehorn him in wide right.
Could barely control it, looked so slow, and it finally showed that unfortunately his time with us was done.
Happens to the best of them eventually.
That was a sad day. The effort and determination was there but he was a shadow of his former self. I have a vague memory of him blindly backheeling the ball in our box that led to a goal.
Yes, I seem to recall a game when Hayesy came on as substitute and did not seem able to run! Was not long after his heroics at Spurs either as I recall.
He was amazing in that Spurs game. Played so well
Indeed 'the last name anyone wanted to see on the team sheet' according to the fellow behind me at kick-off. Cue two goals. Perhaps he did for himself for the rest of the season with that game alone!
I wondered the same @Wendoverman.
Sky have walking football on at the Emirates.