What would you like Slade to do?

I've moaned about this already, but Slade talks about doing the basics right. I couldn't agree more, last week at BP and yesterday, I witnessed our full backs receiving the ball, bringing it forward before coming under pressure from the midfielders, options in the middle of the park. But instead of giving the ball and building an attack, they are clearly under instructions to hoof the ball into the box. Why I have no idea as the manager only has one man up front? What Slade expects to gain from this 'tactic', I have no idea. Centre backs tend to be big tall chaps and they are lapping it up, is it the second ball? Strange but no, it can't be as we have nobody near their screening midfielders.

Slade talks about the players not doing the basics right, he should look closer to home.

Quoted from MuddyWaters

What would I like Slade to do?

Go to the next board meeting and tell them that their current budget has allowed him to sign a crock of shite, that it's not Champ Manager and that they need to get their hands in their pockets. I don't buy all this bollox about getting players to come - they'll come if you pay them enough. We're in enough debt as it is due to signing wasters in the past - will we ever learn?

I would not move to Grimsby unless it was my only option, which appeard to be the case with the likes of Hooper, Kelly and possibly Clarke and Dixon.

I think it's possibly a number of things that stops us signing better players, inability to pay any kind of fee, location, length of deal weekly wage etc...or it could be that where a small Div 4 club based in a Town with an iffy (but unfair) reputation.

People talk about budget like it's something we can just pump in when we need it but it has to be a realistic percentage of income and expenditure otherwise we could end up in financial trouble.

Like everyone on here I don't know how much cash Russ has had or is still at his disposal but I guess for some it's a good excuse for the sh1t we witnessed yesterday

Quoted from 75

I've moaned about this already, but Slade talks about doing the basics right. I couldn't agree more, last week at BP and yesterday, I witnessed our full backs receiving the ball, bringing it forward before coming under pressure from the midfielders, options in the middle of the park. But instead of giving the ball and building an attack,

they are clearly under instructions to hoof the ball into the box.[b][/b]

Why I have no idea as the manager only has one man up front? What Slade expects to gain from this 'tactic', I have no idea. Centre backs tend to be big tall chaps and they are lapping it up, is it the second ball? Strange but no, it can't be as we have nobody near their screening midfielders.

Slade talks about the players not doing the basics right, he should look closer to home.

100% agree. They would only keep on doing what was clearly failing because the manager told them to do it.

Quoted from HertsGTFC

I would not move to Grimsby unless it was my only option, which appeard to be the case with the likes of Hooper, Kelly and possibly Clarke and Dixon.

I think it's possibly a number of things that stops us signing better players, inability to pay any kind of fee, location, length of deal weekly wage etc...or it could be that where a small Div 4 club based in a Town with an iffy (but unfair) reputation.

People talk about budget like it's something we can just pump in when we need it but it has to be a realistic percentage of income and expenditure otherwise we could end up in financial trouble.

Like everyone on here I don't know how much cash Russ has had or is still at his disposal but I guess for some it's a good excuse for the sh1t we witnessed yesterday

I agree with these views and suspect that Slade didn't want to give 2 year deals to some of these players (Hooper for example) but wouldn't have signed if he hadn't got 2 years,

For better or for worse (certainly looks like for worse right now) we've got the squad we've got and I doubt we are going to see any major changes before the transfer window shuts. If I was RS today I would be putting a huge amount of effort into finding a young striker to bring in on loan, a young left back to at least be back up to Dixon and maybe a centre back as well.

I would sit down with PW and discuss the strengths of the team. Unfortunately, I think we're pretty limited but we do have three wide players (Kelly isn't one, he's a coward who won't engage the full backs) who are reasonably quick and athletic and can take men on. We've also got a couple of players in Jones and Osborne who could, in my opinion, really exploit being played just behind the striker if the team is set up correctly. Without another striker coming in or Asante getting fit we're very limited up there but Vernon did well at Chesterfield and whilst not perfect, we know he'd do a job. Taking all this into account I would either play 4-2-3-1 or a straight 4-4-2 with one of the forward 2 (Jones usually) dropping deeper if the midfield is getting overrun.

I would then work with the team on patterns of play. I don't mind the ball being worked across the back if the forward players are moving, trying to create space and disrupt the defensive lines of the opposition but yesterday it was statues. We desperately need to work on players knowing what runs to make when we have the ball in specific situations and I would try to engineer it so that we're getting the ball to our wide players feet as quickly as possible, ideally getting them so that they're 1 on 1 to the full back. The only time we've done anything of note in the first three games is when we've done this and it needs to be the basis of our attack because it's playing to our strengths. If we do go long, we need to work on movement around the targetman. Someone needs to go beyond him, the midfield needs to be around him to win knock downs and second balls. All that happens at the minute is we lose it and their midfield mops it up. That targetman also needs to not be Hooper. I'm not normally one for judging a player that early but if you can't be arsed to jump for a header once on your full debut for us then you have no business playing for our club. The long and short of it is, we need to work on movement off the ball and it needs to be a lot quicker and sharper.

Oh and I'd have Osborne in the side ahead of Clarke who was rubbish yesterday.

The only crumb of comfort is we have players out in McAllister, Clements, Asante and Osborne who would probably get in most teams in this division. If, big if, we can get them fit then they will improve us. We also looked a bit better second half before Jones got sent off and certainly showed more attacking intent but we're not going to get far this season if it takes going 2-0 down before we decide we might try to attack. Sort it Slade.

We were told hooper was crap and we were told Kelly was crap , and so far they have lived up to there expectations they both came with negative reviews without any positives..

Cardwell is a big lump who scored for fun against Cleethorpes and Grimsby borough but I'm sure I could have popped a couple of them in , have to say I have seen nothing in this guy.

Mitch rose again runs around slot but not seen too much to see why he would have been our number one midfielder.

Paul Dixon I have to say looks very poor , all the games I seen him in I was thinking were has this guy come from for us to make him our number one left back , today's fullbacks have to get up and down but this chap has looked poor.

Clarke well what have this guy done what say Pearson can't apart from probably cost us more money , again a journeyman on his way down..

The one shining light has been dembele , I really think this guy is a player who will play at a higher level so I suppose 1 out of 10 ain't bad in terms of quality in signings..

I struggle to see why Slade plays Jones out wide sees berrett and summerfield capable as a midfield and why we stick with one striker it's so negative and considering this was meant to be our push on the league as fenty said himself and Slade says he has unfinished business here it's looking quite frustrating.

Quoted from mariner91

That targetman also needs to not be Hooper. I'm not normally one for judging a player that early but if you can't be arsed to jump for a header once on your full debut for us then you have no business playing for our club.

This. All day long. When he came on last Saturday (I know I'm repeating myself), he jibbed out of a 50/50. That is not good enough - he's signed a two year deal with a club that can't afford passengers. If he thinks he can get away with that, then he will soon find out otherwise.

Quoted from jonnyboy82

We were told hooper was crap and we were told Kelly was crap , and so far they have lived up to there expectations they both came with negative reviews without any positives..

Cardwell is a big lump who scored for fun against Cleethorpes and Grimsby borough but I'm sure I could have popped a couple of them in , have to say I have seen nothing in this guy.

Mitch rose again runs around slot but not seen too much to see why he would have been our number one midfielder.

Paul Dixon I have to say looks very poor , all the games I seen him in I was thinking were has this guy come from for us to make him our number one left back , today's fullbacks have to get up and down but this chap has looked poor.

Clarke well what have this guy done what say Pearson can't apart from probably cost us more money , again a journeyman on his way down..

The one shining light has been dembele , I really think this guy is a player who will play at a higher level so I suppose 1 out of 10 ain't bad in terms of quality in signings..

I struggle to see why Slade plays Jones out wide sees berrett and summerfield capable as a midfield and why we stick with one striker it's so negative and considering this was meant to be our push on the league as fenty said himself and Slade says he has unfinished business here it's looking quite frustrating.

Jones wasn't played out wide yesterday. And Berrett and Summerfield have been some of the only fit midfielders we've got. Clements and McAllister probably not up to speed right now. If Berrett and Summerfield still get played when we have other options, then it'll be a concern.

The thing that bothers me is this - if we play with one guy up front, he needs to be good enough to fulfill that role.
I don't believe we have anyone capable of doing it...so we're bound to struggle to attack playing that way. We need to have two up top.

We have pacy wingers (Dembele & DJ), so let's use them. Tell the centre-mids to give the ball wide when they can, and try to hurt the
opposition down the flanks (dare I say it: Buckley football).

It may not work too well, but IMO offers us a better chance than hoofing the ball up to a forward who doesn't jump or Dembele whose aerial
strength is hardly the best part of his game.

But as many have commented, it's too early to get downhearted - RS and PW are still discovering what the players can and can't do well.
Some fight on Tuesday would be a good start.

There is no doubt in my mind they have been told to be very direct. 3 of the back 4 have played a combined 50 odd seasons in the league, they are very experienced and will be doing as instructed.