Preview: Wycombe Wanderers v Lincoln City
Preview: Wycombe Wanderers v Lincoln City:
http://www.lincoln.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=499165
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Preview: Wycombe Wanderers v Lincoln City:
http://www.lincoln.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=499165
Comments
Thanks, good write-up.
Kashket's education is actually even more off-beat, having started life as a professional futsal player.
Forgot you had Matt Green, a stern test for the defence.
Best of luck this season.
Yes, a good preview.
Just one point. In the third paragraph, the word "scored " has been omitted in the comparison with Hartlepool's goalscoring record. (I'll not be drawn on the 'less' versus 'fewer' aspect!)
Flattered to see that my reference to Pierre's powers of recovery has been picked up.
Thanks for the kind comments, I haven't written anything for a long time so there is definitely a bit of hamfisted prose.
And yes micra - I was trying to do a little bit of research around the boards and that sounded like a sensible bit of insight... so I nicked it (!)
Should be a good game on Saturday; I for one would be very happy with a point.
Newly promoted club with large following playing away at a decent but not quite top club for the division - 1-1 draw written all over it
Second the congratulations on the piece - you have a good 'site going over there.
FWIW, we are more likely to play 4-3-3 than 4-4-2. I predict Bayo will be partnered by Paul Hayes, the (practically and, arguably should be, non-playing) club captain and Tyson. This would fit with the manager's inclination towards stability and experience. Swapping Hayes out for a holding midfielder to allow more play through the middle would, I think, meet with approval on this page.
Paul Hayes seems to have been around forever.
I think relatively we have a lot less experience, obviously Rhead is quite wily up front (which I suspect is not one of the words you will be using to describe him come Saturday), but our leaders are people like Woodyard who haven't even played a game in the FL yet. Bostwick will probably add to this.
I know a lot of Conference teams thought we were well versed in the dark arts despite being a youngish side (I think this stemmed from protecting a lot of slender leads).
'Twas ever thus, it would seem, @rasenimp . The dark arts, in their various forms, seem to thrive at this level.
we are masters of the dark arts just ask Luke O Nien who spends most of the 90 mins on the deck squealing, if he stayed on his feet he could be one of the best box to box players in the lower leagues.
Not just Luke. The whole team is master of the turn-into-a-blind-alley-and-go-down-at-the-first-hint-of-a-touch-in-the-back to get out of trouble. Refs haven't cottoned on yet...
go on @rmjlondon post something positive about the team and the players you 'support' before the first game. Go on.
Yes, we are awful and all other League Two teams are lovely, skilful, proud upstanding footballing gentlemen, observing every rule, keeping the ball in play for as long as possible, jumping immediately to their feet after every contact and bowing honorably to the referee's every decision. Just ask 'the best player in this League.'
100% correct, can't understand why our fans think Luke is so wonderful, needs to play more football less time imitating Tom Daley
Perhaps because we consistently get better results with him in the team?
Got the stats to back up that claim?
I've seen good stats posted here before to support that, yes. Although I don't currently have them available/can't be bothered to find them. I'm sure someone will help me out...
Luke gives us much needed legs in midfield. Without him we would be a significantly weaker side. The remaining central midfield players have plenty of ability but a huge lack of mobility. Luke's ability to cover ground is extremely important to the team.
I agree that he is prone to a bit of play acting. But almost all professional (and semi-pro/amateur) are guilty of the same. It is a depressing situation but as long as the authorities fail to apply suitable punishment for diving I don't really think you can blame players for bending the rules.
It's not really an excuse to shift the blame on to the footballing authorities though is it?. If I go out and commit a crime because I think my local police force are a bit dopey and won't cotton on, the responsibility of my actions still lie with me. I love Luke O'Nien more than 85% of my family, particularly my nephew who just dribbles everywhere and trashes my flat, but Luke needs to cut this shit out and just get on with playing the football he's capable of if he's ever going to realise his true potential, both domestically and internationally.
On a positive note - the atmosphere could be like the Stourbridge game with a similar sized crowd and maybe similar stakes. To me the same result looks well possible.
I think Luke O'Nien is popular because he plays with a smile on his face, gives his all in every game and engages with the crowd. Oh, and he's a good player as well.
Would prefer it if none of our players dived, but he's far from the worst offender (that would be Matt Bloomfield by a country mile, and he's also rubbish at it)
Gary Thompson was bad as well but he's left
Some might say Bloomfield dives, so that he can still be within a few inches of the ball, after his 'first touch'.
The 2016/17 statistics (all competitions):
With Luke O'Nien in the starting line-up: Won 49% Drew 23% Lost 29%
Without Luke O'Nien in the starting line-up: Won 39% Drew 23% Lost 39%
Note: The apparent 101% totals result from rounding of decimals, not from Luke "giving 101%" in every match.
Damn you and your facts.
Whilst on the topic of statistics it is worth noting that, despite some people's opinions that Paul Hayes is past his best - and I include myself in that group - the stats indicate that Hayes' presence in the starting line-up in 2016/2017 was highly significant as a success factor:
With Paul Hayes in the starting line-up: Won 58% Drew 21% Lost 21%
Without Paul Hayes in the starting line-up: Won 35% Drew 24% Lost 41%
Matt Bloomfield's stats are very similar:
With Matt Bloomfield in the starting line-up: Won 59% Drew 21% Lost 21%
Without Matt Bloomfield in the starting line-up: Won 31% Drew 24% Lost 45%
Only Scott Kashket's stats show a bigger win percentage (61%).
Those are the statistics, but how many fans would select either or both of Paul Hayes and Matt Bloomfield in their preferred starting 11 for tomorrow?
Have you got stats for players mostly likely to cause us to lose?
@drcongo That honour for the 2016/17 season goes to Alex Jakubiak: 4 starts; 100% lost.
A couple of goalkeepers come next with 50:50 win:loss ratios - Scott Brown had 4 starts (W2, L2) and Cameron Dawson had 2 starts (W1, L1).
Of our current outfield players, the player with the biggest loss rate from games started last season was Sam Saunders at 46%. (Note: Saunders' win rate was also 46%, with only 8% drawn).
If you factor in that you get more points for winning than drawing, isn't Saunders record pretty good?
@bill_stickers Indeed, which is why I included the note about the win rate with Saunders' starting to give a more balanced view. This would make a good example for one of those journalism exercises I remember from English lessons at school, with half the class asked to write a newspaper article using the stats to support a positive message and the other half asked to use the same stats to support a negative message.
Taking the points factor into it, Saunders is still a long way behind Hayes and Bloomfield. If our whole team had Saunders' stats we would have finished on 67 points last season; pretty close to where we did finish. If our whole team had Hayes' and Bloomfield's stats we would have won the league with 90.
Not damned lies, obviously, and I love stats of all kinds but surely the status of the opposition and the overall make-up of the team in each match for which you have provided data @Uncle_T have to be taken into consideration?
At the end of the day (yawn), it's just a bit of fun, of course. I expect we all yearn for Sam Saunders and Scott Kashket to be ever-present but, sadly, it's not likely to happen!
@micra Incidentally, I believe there were 5 matches last year in which both Saunders and Kashket featured in the starting line up - 3 wins (60%); 2 losses (40%). Not a bad return, and probably better if, as you suggest, other factors are considered.
The two losses were Exeter away, on the come down after the disappointment at White Hart Lane, and Stevenage away, when it snowed a bit and the entire Wycombe team that afternoon were utter s*ite.
After the balls up the previous season, where Ingram completely misjudged a long clearance from their keeper and watched it sail over his head into the net, and the dismal showing last season, I am not greatly looking forward to another trip to Stevenage this time around.
@Uncle_T Re the Saunders/Kashket sample: 60% wins and 40% losses translates to 83 points for the season. We'll take that, right? Small sample size be damned, get Kashket on the pitch tomorrow.
Also, Kashket went off in the first half against Exeter.