Cheltenham 1 Morecambe 2 [Phillips, Carlos M-G] LIVE iFollow

[BerlinWaller]

I was confident that we would secure a good manager but the BoD's made a fantastic choice and Derek showed his calibre in honouring the deal despite late interest from elsewhere.

I always replied to the question who would want the job by saying there are only 72 league jobs and that it would appeal to any out of work Manager. Thankfully, Derek got the job and has been very impressive in all aspects. The cruelest part is being unable to enjoy the upturn stood on the terraces.

[HALMA 1983]

I was confident that we would secure a good manager but the BoD's made a fantastic choice and Derek showed his calibre in honouring the deal despite late interest from elsewhere.

I always replied to the question who would want the job by saying there are only 72 league jobs and that it would appeal to any out of work Manager. Thankfully, Derek got the job and has been very impressive in all aspects. The cruelest part is being unable to enjoy the upturn stood on the terraces.

You've nailed it there B.W
The guy is the best they could have ever wished for and has an enviable level of integrity.

[Keith]

It was well worth all the grief and nonsense I got from a certain few on here.

You still think that Derek would have come here and made these changes when Diego Lemos & Joseph Cala were arguing over who owned the club and they weren't paying wages?

Okay, fair enough.

Don't go misinterpreting that. I'm delighted that Derek is here and that we're looking upwards. But if you seriously still believe that we should have been pushing for promotion rather than simply surviving, then 'okay'... ...but that is why we will never agree. I bet Bury fans would rather have not got promotion, finished fourth from bottom of League Two and been playing League football this season.

The change in attitude is great, from the top of the club, right through. Hopefully this season we will be in or around the play-offs and Derek will bring great success. But if you carry on comparing apples with elephants, don't be surprised if I still think you are talking nonsense.

[BerlinWaller]

Jim deserves all the credit in the world for getting us through the Lemos farce. I have said that many times on here and I still think that nobody could have managed the club better at that time.

We needed a massive change in Management and players but yourself and others wouldn't have it. We would still have 40 year old Kev Ellison on the wing, we would have waved goodbye to CMG with no idea of how good he is and we would still be apologising for being in the FL.

[redrobo]

Jim deserves all the credit in the world for getting us through the Lemos farce. I have said that many times on here and I still think that nobody could have managed the club better at that time.

We needed a massive change in Management and players but yourself and others wouldn't have it. We would still have 40 year old Kev Ellison on the wing, we would have waved goodbye to CMG with no idea of how good he is and we would still be apologising for being in the FL.

Have to agree with some of BW's thinking.....

[lancaster shrimp]

Jim deserves all the credit in the world for getting us through the Lemos farce. I have said that many times on here and I still think that nobody could have managed the club better at that time.

We needed a massive change in Management and players but yourself and others wouldn't have it. We would still have 40 year old Kev Ellison on the wing, we would have waved goodbye to CMG with no idea of how good he is and we would still be apologising for being in the FL.

Have to agree with some of BW's thinking.....

This. Imho Jim for whatever reason didn't rate CMG. That was proven to me when we played Newport at home last game of season before last and he subbed him. And Blackpool away last year when he started Kev

[HALMA 1983]

Can't help but think Derek is going to have his hands full trying to keep hold of young Carlos,
A hefty sell on clause needs to be part of any future deal.

[glagys]

Yep agree a hefty sell clause needed
Exeter just got 4.2 mil from Brentford when they sold Ollie Watkins for 28 rising 33 mil

[BerlinWaller]

And Jim let Carlos go on trial at Barnsley.

[Keith]

And Jim let Carlos go on trial at Barnsley.

If Barnsley came in for Carlos now, we'd probably let him go for a trial! Letting him go to a Championship club suggests he did rate him! I know you think we're a big club now, but I think Championship clubs are still a bit bigger than us!

If he let him go on trial at Lancaster, it would suggest he didn't have faith in him...

[Gone_Shrimping]

I think, though an anorak may correct me, that we had Olly Crankshaw somewhere in our system , maybe development squad and he was scoring sensational goals on loan at Colne and then went out on a few trials before Wigan signed him on a contract.
He came on as a sub yesterday at Ipswich and looked very useful in a cameo performance.
Amazing just as with young Davies who signed for Leeds that they never got a sniff of first team action.

[BerlinWaller]

Any need for the dig in that post Keith? A big club? No not a big club Keith, a better managed club. If Jim rated him so highly why did he not play him when a Championship club saw something in him? Not good enough to dislodge a 40 year old but good enough for the Champ? Some logic that Keith. Why would we let him go on trial now that we aren't little old Morecambe?

Similar to Crankshaw and Davies some might say?

[Keith]

Any need for the dig in that post Keith? A big club? No not a big club Keith, a better managed club. If Jim rated him so highly why did he not play him when a Championship club saw something in him? Not good enough to dislodge a 40 year old but good enough for the Champ? Some logic that Keith. Why would we let him go on trial now that we aren't little old Morecambe?

Similar to Crankshaw and Davies some might say?

Don't know about Cranckshaw but it could simply be he didn't think he was ready, not that he didn't think he was good enough, or developing well. Davies got his break by a fluke, but fair play to the lad, grabbed it with both hands (first choice player was out injured, second choice in that position injured during warm up, so he was suddenly in the team. After a nightmare first half an hour, he settled in and did well in the second half)

You know that Barnsley's average attendance last season was double our capacity?

In the same context, you'd need to find a club that has a 1,000 capacity (that's being generous) to compare with us. You saying Barnsley aren't bigger than us, is like saying we're no bigger than Squires Gate!

[RapidShrimp]

I feel like our center backs and wing backs don't know what to do when an opponent is dribbling towards them. They just kind of stand around waiting for them to make a mistake. Not much pressure and that leads to anxiety in the box. Diagouraga Kenyon Lavelle are good at this but Hendrie, Mellor are piss poor at tackling and Davis and NKP remind me of clumsy oafs who are amazing at winning the ball in the air but bad with their feets.

2. Make more runs.

Our players just again stand around until one person feels like making a run. No chances are going to come just by passing it around while stationary.

I think having wildig back in the midfield will add a lot more creativity. Should keep Lavelle and one of davis and NKP and add kenyon to the lineup, cooney instead of mellor and keep hendrie on.

I disagree - I think Davis had a superb game and he stood up well to Cheltenham’s attacks, whereas I though Sam got skinned too many times and thought he didn’t have a particularly good game in comparison to Davis. I think Hendrie and Mellor showed what they are capable of and I prefer Mellor over Cooney (only very marginally though). And when you look at our attacks, Cheltenham - undoubtedly one of the best teams in the league - backed off just like we do, it just seems to be something that defenders at our level do.

It’s easy to say “make more runs”, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to keep in a rigid position, especially when we’ve set up specifically to counter Cheltenham’s well-oiled machine. We created plenty of quality chances with good runs and passing-play and I think Derek specifically told players like Carlos and Pringle to specifically stay in their positions, even when attacking, so we wouldn’t leave ourselves open to the opposition.

It will be good to see Wildig back though, and it’s fantastic to see the level of competition in the squad.

[redrobo]

Still early days but get the point about backing off.

For me it's more of a case of players getting to know how each of them work which takes time.

Sam and Stephen had a couple of seasons to understand each others play.

Don't forget that this is almost a new defence so there is bound to be the odd mix up but overall good so far but still plenty to do in all areas.

DA has indicated that there will be more players coming in before the October window closes. I wouod expect a new left sided full back and a striker...maybe on loan.

[BerlinWaller]

Any need for the dig in that post Keith? A big club? No not a big club Keith, a better managed club. If Jim rated him so highly why did he not play him when a Championship club saw something in him? Not good enough to dislodge a 40 year old but good enough for the Champ? Some logic that Keith. Why would we let him go on trial now that we aren't little old Morecambe?

Similar to Crankshaw and Davies some might say?

Don't know about Cranckshaw but it could simply be he didn't think he was ready, not that he didn't think he was good enough, or developing well. Davies got his break by a fluke, but fair play to the lad, grabbed it with both hands (first choice player was out injured, second choice in that position injured during warm up, so he was suddenly in the team. After a nightmare first half an hour, he settled in and did well in the second half)

You know that Barnsley's average attendance last season was double our capacity?

In the same context, you'd need to find a club that has a 1,000 capacity (that's being generous) to compare with us. You saying Barnsley aren't bigger than us, is like saying we're no bigger than Squires Gate!

If the Barnsley Scout thought CMG was worth a look and a trial, why did Jim prefer Kev? CMG was on his way out of the club.

Ofcourse Barnsley are a bigger club than Morecambe. Confused by your reply tbh.

[Little Shrimp]

Worth noting that big clubs pinch youngsters from lower league clubs all the time, often for peanuts. Had a look on Crankshaw's Wikipedia page and that indicates he just played with our U23s squad a bit but signed for some non-league sides. Entirely possible he wanted to keep proving himself in an 'adult' league.

I am a little disappointed that we didn't really see anything of Davis, but we still got a good fee for him (it seems) and Leeds are on a real streak of purchasing U23 players. It's actually been most of their business this transfer window. There was a serious injury crisis which led to him playing vs Villa and from there he's kicked on and established himself a bit more. Also probably helps your development having one of the best coaches in the world.

I wouldn't really criticise JB for how things went with Davis/Crankshaw. The CMG situation though I think was pretty crap on JB's part. Basically being kept out of the side by Ellison who had declined quite a lot and offered very little on the pitch. DA has obviously massively empowered CMG which is something JB failed to do, and now DA is reaping the rewards for doing so. Feel like CMG pays DA back by too as he works his socks off defensively.