Our Away Form

[Alf Garnett]

Only 3 away wins all season.

That is shocking for a team with promotion aspirations and needs addressing ASAP.

[Alf]

Club's never gonna win enough games home or away whilst it continues lumbering managers with pathetically poor freebie/cheapo/make-do attacking options. Carva's clearly not cut out for MON currently, and the Jan window saw signings which were all chancers & make-do's.

It's not that they're bad players per say, is that they're overall status & being make them ill suited for a genuine promotion push at this moment (e.g. Botty may be a fair player,  but on arrival he was some way off being fit enough to play a serious part in a promotion push).

Club needs to get a grip and start backing managers properly, or be prepared to linger around the Champ for a long time.

Our recruitment has been horrible.

We have spent enough money, but generally on the wrong players.

Considering we've spent £30m+ in the last 3 or 4 windows, it's shocking that our starting line up for Stoke was assembled for less than £5m, with the biggest buys being Murphy, Lolley & Darikwa at about £900k each.

No one will ever have a 100% recruitment record, but ours has been awful. AK's summer spend was of Platt proportions.

I think it's been a mixed bag in terms of aquisitions, but agree that the overall vision has been dire.

On one hand Carva is a 3-4m player who cost 13m and we've well overpaid for someone who still needs significant development. Fine if we're gonna give a manager 2-3 years developing said players and not expecting top 6 by Jan, awful if we're not. We also made what, to me, is one of the stupidest buys ever (right up there with Silenzi) in Soudani at 3m. A player who's never experienced the physical challenge of this league, who's over 30, and yet who's game is based mostly on physicality. Absolutely asking for trouble expecting a 30 year old who's games based on physicality to come over here and hit the ground running in the Champ for a promotion push.

But on the other hand I think Lolley's been an excellent signing, Grabban the only real quality one which stated we meant business, and a handful of players like Yacob good too. Grabban was the only siging which got me excited pre-season, and I still feel as if that's the only one which has given us a real sniff of promotion. Carva has class & is great to watch, but being honest he just reminds me of Raddy who we got for 1m (prob 3-4m now).

But lets also not forget the boatload of free/cheap imports who have clogged up the squad too, preventing the likes of Yates getting a look in early doors.


The board & club need to run the admin & business side of things, and leave the recruitment to MON in the Summer. 

Club's never gonna win enough games home or away whilst it continues lumbering managers with pathetically poor freebie/cheapo/make-do attacking options. Carva's clearly not cut out for MON currently, and the Jan window saw signings which were all chancers & make-do's.

It's not that they're bad players per say, is that they're overall status & being make them ill suited for a genuine promotion push at this moment (e.g. Botty may be a fair player,  but on arrival he was some way off being fit enough to play a serious part in a promotion push).

Club needs to get a grip and start backing managers properly, or be prepared to linger around the Champ for a long time.

I think you are being very harsh with that comment.

Both Benalouane and Milosevic look like very good additions to our squad.

Course mate. I was more thinking of the frontline players (or lack of). Thing is big strong CB's are fairly abundent, and MON also specilizes in getting the most out of that type of player.

The frontline aquisitions though were, frankly, awful for any team serious about promotion. No winger, a forward well short of full fitness, ANOTHER defensive midfielder lol etc. 

The question I always ask is "would the player(s) we're signing walk into the first team of any of our top 6 rivals?" If they wouldn't, then why are we bothering with them?

Need to buck our ideas up if promotion is to become a reality.

[Alf]

I think it's been a mixed bag in terms of aquisitions, but agree that the overall vision has been dire.

On one hand Carva is a 3-4m player who cost 13m and we've well overpaid for someone who still needs significant development. Fine if we're gonna give a manager 2-3 years developing said players and not expecting top 6 by Jan, awful if we're not.

Mendes had our pants down on that one.

I like the kid but hideously wrong price & wrong player.

He's the sort of player you want to tempt at 16, 17, 18, for peanuts, pop him into the academy for a couple of years, then get a year or two out of him, before we sell for an inflated 13m to someone else.

We also made what, to me, is one of the stupidest buys ever (right up there with Silenzi) in Soudani at 3m. A player who's never experienced the physical challenge of this league, who's over 30, and yet who's game is based mostly on physicality. Absolutely asking for trouble expecting a 30 year old who's games based on physicality to come over here and hit the ground running in the Champ for a promotion push.

Again, nothing against the player but always bad business, always likely to break with very little chance of any profit.

But on the other hand I think Lolley's been an excellent signing

For £900k?

That's the sort of deals we want to aim for.

13 Lolley's, or 1 Carvalho?

It's not rocket science, is it?

Grabban the only real quality one which stated we meant business

& even that was flawed, buying him injured, & leaving Murphy as main cover?

The board & club need to run the admin & business side of things, and leave the recruitment to MON in the Summer. 

Very much, although I trust Martin significantly more than the last guy & doubt he could do worse with that sort of money.

It really is simple stuff aint it?

What concerns me with Carvalho is his mentality. I think he's pretty weak-minded, and goes missing when it counts.

I'm not sure that you can change that in certain players, and I wouldn't be against the club selling him if we can recoup a good amount of his fee.

He's been great to watch at times, but when the chips are down he's nowhere to be seen.

[Strawberry Avenger]

I think it's been a mixed bag in terms of aquisitions, but agree that the overall vision has been dire.

On one hand Carva is a 3-4m player who cost 13m and we've well overpaid for someone who still needs significant development. Fine if we're gonna give a manager 2-3 years developing said players and not expecting top 6 by Jan, awful if we're not.

Mendes had our pants down on that one.

I like the kid but hideously wrong price & wrong player.

He's the sort of player you want to tempt at 16, 17, 18, for peanuts, pop him into the academy for a couple of years, then get a year or two out of him, before we sell for an inflated 13m to someone else.

We also made what, to me, is one of the stupidest buys ever (right up there with Silenzi) in Soudani at 3m. A player who's never experienced the physical challenge of this league, who's over 30, and yet who's game is based mostly on physicality. Absolutely asking for trouble expecting a 30 year old who's games based on physicality to come over here and hit the ground running in the Champ for a promotion push.

Again, nothing against the player but always bad business, always likely to break with very little chance of any profit.

But on the other hand I think Lolley's been an excellent signing

For £900k?

That's the sort of deals we want to aim for.

13 Lolley's, or 1 Carvalho?

It's not rocket science, is it?

Grabban the only real quality one which stated we meant business

& even that was flawed, buying him injured, & leaving Murphy as main cover?

The board & club need to run the admin & business side of things, and leave the recruitment to MON in the Summer. 

Very much, although I trust Martin significantly more than the last guy & doubt he could do worse with that sort of money.

It really is simple stuff aint it?

What concerns me with Carvalho is his mentality. I think he's pretty weak-minded, and goes missing when it counts.

I'm not sure that you can change that in certain players, and I wouldn't be against the club selling him if we can recoup a good amount of his fee.

He's been great to watch at times, but when the chips are down he's nowhere to be seen.

13 Joe Lollies.  Now, when you put it like that...

SA.

[Alf]

What concerns me with Carvalho is his mentality. I think he's pretty weak-minded, and goes missing when it counts.

I haven't mentioned that as I don't want it to look like I'm bullying the kid, as I got accused recently of doing a "hatchet job" on him, but I've actually held back on a lot of stuff, mindful of not wanting to bring supporters down to much, but, yes, there is evidence that he "retreats".

In one game earlier in the season, after taking a couple of kicks, over 70% of his remaining touches occurred in our own half, with Colback, one of 2 DCM's employed that day having twice as many touches, in the opposition half, as our self-withdrawn ACM.

He was in no way ever ready for a full season here, without cover.

Less than a year before we signed him, after he'd returned from his loan spell at Vitória (playing the role now filled by freebie Hildeberto Pereira), his Benfica manager openly stated that he still didn't even know what Carvalho would be, whether he'd be an #8, #10 or on the flanks.

That's a player that needs developing, not a £13m signing to shoulder the weight of a promotion push.

Couldn't agree more mate. They've had our pants down.

[ozzyten10]

Ahhh pereira - I loved him, mad as a box of frogs, a free spirit, a nightmare to coach but bloody hell a great player to watch when on song...

[ozzyten10]

Never in a million years a full back!

[Duncan Mckenzie]

Back on track with our away form. I haven't had a look but I would imagine that our 3 wins away from home this season must be one of the lowest totals in the whole of the Football League. It seems to have got masked over by the draws we obtained at Leeds, Norwich, Villa, West Brom and Derby.

[optimistic_red]

Back on track with our away form. I haven't had a look but I would imagine that our 3 wins away from home this season must be one of the lowest totals in the whole of the Football League. It seems to have got masked over by the draws we obtained at Leeds, Norwich, Villa, West Brom and Derby.

There are many worse than Forest, even in the Championship.
Stoke, Reading, Millwall all have 2 away wins
Brentford, Wigan, Ipswich have 1 away win
Rotherham have zero!

Away form alone we are 10th in the league.

[Duncan Mckenzie]

Back on track with our away form. I haven't had a look but I would imagine that our 3 wins away from home this season must be one of the lowest totals in the whole of the Football League. It seems to have got masked over by the draws we obtained at Leeds, Norwich, Villa, West Brom and Derby.

There are many worse than Forest, even in the Championship.
Stoke, Reading, Millwall all have 2 away wins
Brentford, Wigan, Ipswich have 1 away win
Rotherham have zero!

Away form alone we are 10th in the league.

That is true mate but that is also why they are all in the bottom half of the table.

If we take a look at our promotion rivals away form then we are coming up well short.

Preston, Derby, Birmingham all won 6 away.
Bristol City, Boro, Leeds, Sheffield United all won 8 away.
Norwich won 9 and West Brom 10.

Forest have won 3.

[optimistic_red]

At the moment we are coming up short both home and away. Which is why we aren't in the top 6 :-)

Points
Home 62%
Away 38%

Goals Scored
Home 49%
Away 51%

Goal conceded
Home 38%
Away 62%

Stats can only tell you so much, these ones say we have to defend better away.

[Strawberry Avenger]

£13-14 million.

That would buy 7x£2 million players.

Lessee...

A goalkeeper, a decent right back, a deep bench LB, two wingers, ACM, striker...

Did I miss anything?

SA.