Club is dead.... Non league heading if we survive

[Lord Football]

I am usually a glass half full type of guy. But.....

We have a team that is woefully lacking in many, many departments. In most cases this isn't the fault of the players - they've been chucked in, en masse, before they are ready. You cannot expect six or seven youth team players to do anything more than shine occassionally when there is absolutely no experienced players to support them. Just look how good Dru was when Timlin was next to him. Then how good he wasn't when Timlin wasn't there.

Our experienced players include Dimi and JW - both decent players but neither will tear up L2 and both are injury prone. Dieng had a couple of decent games in a dreadful team last season, but look back over the majority of posts on here and its not good reading.

Our playing problem is not going to be resolved by a sticky plaster. We need at least four experienced players to come in.

However, we've overhauled the wage structure, which is why many of the high earners left. Macca was on £2.5k a week -and he was allowed to leave . So, essentially we are looking for players who will be costing less than that whilst meeting our experienced requirement. 19 year old loanees from the London clubs aren't going to cut the mustard.

We've developed a reputation as difficult to deal with in the transfer market, and players are aware that sometimes you won't get paid.

In this age of Covid, we've sold 1500 season tickets and as things stand, that is our income for the foreseeable future. We are totally reliant on the Chairman meeting the shortfall, and I am not sure how long he will be able to do that.

I am really struggling to see how we get through this season, let alone surviving in this division.

Someone, anyone, prove me wrong.

 

[Smudger]

Statistically that is not true. We turned over the South London thugs pre season 2-1 and Mr Ralph played the full game.

And it's about opinions and my opinion is that he was one of our better players this afternoon.

Says it all. We have to go to a pre-season nothing game over a year ago to find a win....

Absolute donkey in a side choc full of donkeys is the truth of it.

 

[Smudger]

Worse than Peter Gilbert?

Worse than Shane Wardley. ?

 

[camden shrimper]

I am usually a glass half full type of guy. But.....

We have a team that is woefully lacking in many, many departments. In most cases this isn't the fault of the players - they've been chucked in, en masse, before they are ready. You cannot expect six or seven youth team players to do anything more than shine occassionally when there is absolutely no experienced players to support them. Just look how good Dru was when Timlin was next to him. Then how good he wasn't when Timlin wasn't there.

Our experienced players include Dimi and JW - both decent players but neither will tear up L2 and both are injury prone. Dieng had a couple of decent games in a dreadful team last season, but look back over the majority of posts on here and its not good reading.

Our playing problem is not going to be resolved by a sticky plaster. We need at least four experienced players to come in.

However, we've overhauled the wage structure, which is why many of the high earners left. Macca was on £2.5k a week -and he was allowed to leave . So, essentially we are looking for players who will be costing less than that whilst meeting our experienced requirement. 19 year old loanees from the London clubs aren't going to cut the mustard.

We've developed a reputation as difficult to deal with in the transfer market, and players are aware that sometimes you won't get paid.

In this age of Covid, we've sold 1500 season tickets and as things stand, that is our income for the foreseeable future. We are totally reliant on the Chairman meeting the shortfall, and I am not sure how long he will be able to do that.

I am really struggling to see how we get through this season, let alone surviving in this division.

Someone, anyone, prove me wrong.

Last season I remember I was worried that Elvis wouldn't be able to develop and would lose his confidence without more experienced players around him, most people would call him one of our experienced players now... One small problem is neither he nor the players around him have developed sadly.

 

[RHB]

Says it all. We have to go to a pre-season nothing game over a year ago to find a win....

Absolute donkey in a side choc full of donkeys is the truth of it.

It's not my fault you were wrong statistically and as for the donkey status you've got that one wrong as well in my opinion, and the opinion of others on here as well. Only time will tell who's right I guess.

 

[Kris]

A bit of topic, but Isaac reminds me a bit of Jack Payne. I saw/see them both as 'luxury' players, who, with the right players around them, can excite a crowd and produce something unexpected. At the moment Isaac is being asked to play in a far more defensive role and that just isn't his game. So maybe, yes, play him behind Charlie Kelman but recognise that he will lose the ball or dribble into trouble more often than you would like.

Absolutely. I've been saying for a while that Hutch should be a number 10. Yes, he'll frustrate at times but using him in the advanced role will make defenders/defensive midfielders have to think. In fact, didn't MM experiment with Hutch in that role in pre-season? From vague memory he was given good reviews but I could be wrong.

 

[Lord Football]

It's not my fault you were wrong statistically and as for the donkey status you've got that one wrong as well in my opinion, and the opinion of others on here as well. Only time will tell who's right I guess.

I have to say, I don't recall seeing Ralph having a decent game last year. I heard a lot of hype before hand - but my mates at Tannadice were laughing at me. But its really harsh to pull out one of the new men from last season for criticism given what they walked into. We are in this mess due to a criminally incompetent transfer policy where we purchased a lot of players, on high wages, with injury problems at the wrong end of their careers. Most of whom didn't really care about the club they played for.

I genuinely felt sorry for a couple of them who were clearly not happy with what went on around them (Mantom, McLaughlin, Shagnasty spring to mind), but when your senior pros don't give a ****, its really hard for any new recruit.

 

[Smudger]

It's not my fault you were wrong statistically and as for the donkey status you've got that one wrong as well in my opinion, and the opinion of others on here as well. Only time will tell who's right I guess.

You can’t put pre-season kickabouts into your stats RHB! ?
And as to opinions I honestly hope you’re right and I’m wrong but his record here (and prior to coming here) would suggest otherwise.

 

[Smudger]

I have to say, I don't recall seeing Ralph having a decent game last year. I heard a lot of hype before hand - but my mates at Tannadice were laughing at me. But its really harsh to pull out one of the new men from last season for criticism given what they walked into. We are in this mess due to a criminally incompetent transfer policy where we purchased a lot of players, on high wages, with injury problems at the wrong end of their careers. Most of whom didn't really care about the club they played for.

I genuinely felt sorry for a couple of them who were clearly not happy with what went on around them (Mantom, McLaughlin, Shagnasty spring to mind), but when your senior pros don't give a ****, its really hard for any new recruit.

Fair commentary as always....?

 

[USAShrimper]

We need to scrap through this season the best way we can. Think we have experienced players currently out who can cobble things together for us not to go down. A young motivated manager who will bust a gut not to have a relegation on his CV. I'm sure it's going to be ugly. We've got to be as positive as we can as hard core SUFC fans. Bolton fans must be thinking the same about their current situation.

 

[General]

Whoever compares Payne and Hutch needs shooting...

 

[RHB]

Whoever compares Payne and Hutch needs shooting...

I said that Hutchinson was similar to Payne in that they are both luxury players. It wasn't a comparison but shoot away by all means.

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

I have to say, I don't recall seeing Ralph having a decent game last year. I heard a lot of hype before hand - but my mates at Tannadice were laughing at me.

There are few certainties in life but one is never take any notice of a Dundee United fan's opinion of a Dundee player.

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

What's Ron's address?

 

[fbm]

There are few certainties in life but one is never take any notice of a Dundee United fan's opinion of a Dundee player.

It may have been a Dundee fan. They both play at Tannadice, don't they?

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

It may have been a Dundee fan. They both play at Tannadice, don't they?

Sacrilege ?

 

[fbm]

Sacrilege ?

And have checked... they don't! I always thought they did.

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

 

[C'mon you Shrimpers]

Sorry but my online skills are a bit crap. Dens Park home of Dundee FC is on the left Tannadice the home of Dundee United is on the right. Now that's what I call rivalry I've actually seen Paul Sturrock play at Tannadice.

PS can everyone get a grip. We've played 2 games. It's pretty clear what's going on. Do not assume MM is blind. He's been around. Time will tell if he'll turn it around. If he can my guess is he may well go down in history as one of the greats. Of course the opposite is true. But hey that's football.

 

[Lambs Beret]

Can only see three ways we stay in this division next season.

1. Two or more clubs go bust and we don't
2. Mystery billionaire oligarch turns up out of nowhere and buys the club.
3. Covid comes back with a vengeance, league stops before Xmas and we all try again next year.

I don't even think four 'experienced' signings will help, there is so much wrong, no not even wrong, completely broken at the football club that everything is having the life sucked out of it.

My bigger worry though is what relegation really means because I'm afraid it won't just mean dropping a division to play Boreham Wood.
The National League actually like clubs to be financed and vaguely well run. You can't turn up to their AGM without full proof and then some of funding for a season, you can't just blindly go along not bothering to pay HMRC or any of your staff, they're not the EFL who'll give you month after month to find some funding.
I have zero faith that Ron could wander into the National League AGM and satisfy their much more stringent rules and regulations, meaning of course that our best hope would be the Isthmian Premier.
I'll bet that nice shiny new stadium will look great hosting local derbies against Bowers & Pitsea.