Blackpool v Exeter City Matchday Thread

[Devon Red]

The club got carried away by our league position at the
end of the window.
It was like look how good we are, Nombe
hasn’t even scored a goal and we’re right up
near the top.
What’s the rush to waste money on a striker now.

Agree, I think this happened. Thought we'd be fine and we'd save a few quid in the process.

 

[CREDYGRECIAN]

The club got carried away by our league position at the
end of the window.
It was like look how good we are, Nombe
hasn’t even scored a goal and we’re right up
near the top.
What’s the rush to waste money on a striker now.

just imagine thinking we’re doing really well without Nombe - imagine what we could do if we added a striker to what we have…

complete lack of ambition IMO.

 

[JGrecian23]

It’s actually insane people think a target man will suddenly make as a) effective or b) entertaining to watch

I’m even being told that football is low purely tippy tappy and that we’d play exactly the same under any other manager

Must have hallucinated the four seasons with MT

There’s being hopeful and then there’s just a requirement to go to Specsavers for an urgent appointment

The problem is everyone is so black and white with style of play. It's either tippy tippy or hoof ball as they call it.

There is an in-between and mixing it up is much more effective.

That's personally why I liked Taylor. The boys at the back and Archie would pass it around a bit but when it needed to go longer it would.

There's a different between hoofing it up aimlessly and playing long direct balls down the channels etc.

 

[BigBanker]

He doesn't even need that. He just needs a replacement for Nombe in terms of style and content. Mobile, strong and with a good work rate.

Nombe was a target man, amongst other things. Excellent at holding the ball up and waiting for reinforcements.

 

[denzel]

According to the Radio Devon commentary team yesterday we have 32 players in the squad and one of the largest in the division.

Which is nonsense because we include many youth players while others don't.
I thought Reading had 50 players?

 

[scottus86]

YouTube highlights

The lesson from this match is "don't give the opposition so much time and space on the edge of the box" Those were two bread and butter training pitch strikes with no pressure on the attacker.

Maybe that everyone back for a corner tactic isn't that silly after all.

 

[dontpassback]

absolutely right.

we have no focal point.

nobody to bounce the ball up to and play off or around - we can’t expect Sonny to do that why he finds his way at league 1 level or in professional football

the clubs decision to not replace Nombe was awful.

Complete lack of forward planning,as they say,fail to plan,plan to fail,and that is exactly what we are doing,failing on a regular basis

 

[grecIAN Harris]

Nombe was a target man, amongst other things. Excellent at holding the ball up and waiting for reinforcements.

Not in the traditional sense, ie 6ft plus, wins everything in the air and built like a brick shithouse but, usually, not particularly mobile. Sam is a general all round handful but not particular strong in any given area. He's quick and mobile but not lightening speed. He's not too bad in the air but certainly no Duncan Ferguson and is strong enough to be able to look after himself but isn't going to win every battle. Somewhere, somehow though he has the amourment to find a weakness in his opponent to exploit and that what we have needed since the day he went to Rotherham.

 

[edwin_price]

Not in the traditional sense, ie 6ft plus, wins everything in the air and built like a brick shithouse but, usually, not particularly mobile. Sam is a general all round handful but not particular strong in any given area. He's quick and mobile but not lightening speed. He's not too bad in the air but certainly no Duncan Ferguson and is strong enough to be able to look after himself but isn't going to win every battle. Somewhere, somehow though he has the amourment to find a weakness in his opponent to exploit and that what we have needed since the day he went to Rotherham.

The thing with Sam Nombe is that you can hit percentage balls into areas and he'll win the ball and bring people in, win free kicks or win throw ins. He was great at this part of the game, as was Jay Stansfield. Ive never seen a squad more poorly equipped to do this than our current one. Cox is a massive massive step up on Scott, but he'd still be out on loan or getting minutes here and there in a normal league one squad.

 

[grecIAN Harris]

The thing with Sam Nombe is that you can hit percentage balls into areas and he'll win the ball and bring people in, win free kicks or win throw ins. He was great at this part of the game, as was Jay Stansfield. Ive never seen a squad more poorly equipped to do this than our current one. Cox is a massive massive step up on Scott, but he'd still be out on loan or getting minutes here and there in a normal league one squad.

I don't know why there is sudden lightbulb moment going on that this is now the recognised issue. It's been that problem and little else that has caused us to be where we are. Yes, there are always areas where we can look to improve like we could do with a bit more bite in midfield for instance but when I said from the very outset that our problem was a very clear and simple one in not having a striker many where out there suggesting it wasn't just as simple as that but the manager, patterns of play, speed of play, tactics and God knows what else yet everything you've just said about Sam cures most, if not all, of the various other 'problems' suggested by all and sundry. It is, was and will continue to be that clear and simple.