Ashton Updates

[Yeltz27]

The difficulty of course when you're signing players who aren't used to this league is it takes time for them to gel. I'm not sure one training session per week on a Thursday is enough to cover what happened on the two previous games of the Saturday and Tuesday as well as do fitness/conditioning work and work in preparation for the forthcoming game. The demands on the players and commitment required of the players is a lot really.

Individual errors are costing us goals, yet at the other end we're working hard but not getting the same generosity from opposition defenders and we're creating little ourselves. The simple answer is more quality is required, John knows that himself I'm sure. As he said at the recent fans forum, they're working all week to bring in the right players and won't sign players just for the sake of it.

Its alright bringing in the right players Rob, but would he allow them to actually play football or teach them to crane their necks to watch the UFO whizzing around above them?

I guess that remains to be seen doesn't it? It stands to reason though that better quality players will or should be able to play a better quality of football.

We have seen nothing but long ball for 3 years. Where does the belief come from that John Hill knows how to play any other style, where is the evidence? It's hard to disagree with Andy.

Every manager would love to manage a squad with the quality of the top sides in the country, every manager at lower levels can say they would love more quality. But does that mean you just smash the ball long and can't have a go at something else? Which other teams have you seen who look as bereft of ideas as we do? There's no structure, no plan, no cohesion. It's just a mess whether those who support the manager like it or not

[lutleyyeltz]

To my way of thinking there are two possibilities as to why we play (?) the way we do at present.
1) The manager thinks that the quality of player he has requires the long ball over the top as they can’t keep it on the green stuff.
2) The players are good enough, but are under instructions to “hoof it” because that is his personal preference.
As regards the risk of falling gates, it’s obvious that if the present form and style of play continues then the gate and bar income will drop, which leads to the difficulty of attracting better players.
We have no threat up front, no midfield and one of our ‘keepers seems determined to break the record for the highest flying object seen in B63 every time he takes a kick.
Guess who.

[RobYeltz]

Its alright bringing in the right players Rob, but would he allow them to actually play football or teach them to crane their necks to watch the UFO whizzing around above them?[/quote]

I guess that remains to be seen doesn't it? It stands to reason though that better quality players will or should be able to play a better quality of football.[/quote]

We have seen nothing but long ball for 3 years. Where does the belief come from that John Hill knows how to play any other style, where is the evidence? It's hard to disagree with Andy.

Every manager would love to manage a squad with the quality of the top sides in the country, every manager at lower levels can say they would love more quality. But does that mean you just smash the ball long and can't have a go at something else? Which other teams have you seen who look as bereft of ideas as we do? There's no structure, no plan, no cohesion. It's just a mess whether those who support the manager like it or not[/quote]

Season 1 - Narrowly missed the play offs with a squad that wasn't made up with his players
Season 2 - Target: Be up and around the play offs. Result: Won the league
Season 3 - Target: Stay up. Result: Finish mid table
Season 4 - Target: ? Result: ?

The squad isn't as good as last year from what we've seen, the football isn't as good as we'd like. We're midway through October with results and performances mixed. Is in improvement needed? Damn right it is! Do you think John Hill himself can't see that? Give the guy some credit, he's over performed in every season. You constantly pick out the 'long ball' tactic, but there isn't a team in this league that plays outstanding one touch football on the floor. FC United used it regularly last season to win the league. You've talked in the past about the need for better quality football for your £10, and of course that is your opinion. I'd rather see the team over achieving and making progress.

You ask where is the evidence of John Hill being able to play any different is? I didn't watch Tipton play, but he was there for 10 years and they progressed as a club and we have under John at Halesowen. Whether we can play any different remains to be seen, but with the credit he has in the bank he deserves the opportunity to try and make things better. Anyone would think we were in the bottom 3 and looking certainties for relegation.

[spongeyeltz]

Its alright bringing in the right players Rob, but would he allow them to actually play football or teach them to crane their necks to watch the UFO whizzing around above them?

I guess that remains to be seen doesn't it? It stands to reason though that better quality players will or should be able to play a better quality of football.[/quote]

We have seen nothing but long ball for 3 years. Where does the belief come from that John Hill knows how to play any other style, where is the evidence? It's hard to disagree with Andy.

Every manager would love to manage a squad with the quality of the top sides in the country, every manager at lower levels can say they would love more quality. But does that mean you just smash the ball long and can't have a go at something else? Which other teams have you seen who look as bereft of ideas as we do? There's no structure, no plan, no cohesion. It's just a mess whether those who support the manager like it or not[/quote]

Season 1 - Narrowly missed the play offs with a squad that wasn't made up with his players
Season 2 - Target: Be up and around the play offs. Result: Won the league
Season 3 - Target: Stay up. Result: Finish mid table
Season 4 - Target: ? Result: ?

The squad isn't as good as last year from what we've seen, the football isn't as good as we'd like. We're midway through October with results and performances mixed. Is in improvement needed? Damn right it is! Do you think John Hill himself can't see that? Give the guy some credit, he's over performed in every season. You constantly pick out the 'long ball' tactic, but there isn't a team in this league that plays outstanding one touch football on the floor. FC United used it regularly last season to win the league. You've talked in the past about the need for better quality football for your £10, and of course that is your opinion. I'd rather see the team over achieving and making progress.

You ask where is the evidence of John Hill being able to play any different is? I didn't watch Tipton play, but he was there for 10 years and they progressed as a club and we have under John at Halesowen. Whether we can play any different remains to be seen, but with the credit he has in the bank he deserves the opportunity to try and make things better. Anyone would think we were in the bottom 3 and looking certainties for relegation.[/quote]

Too bloody right. I've been trying to think of a composed post to reply to the apparent disaster that has befallen this club but lack the restrained diction. Two poor performances (make that one, Barwell was a bit of a freak) and we're heading for oblivion. Previous to this we had four wins on the bounce playing some decent stuff along the way, outplaying Nantwich as well. I know it sounds like a broken record but JH has had to almost start from scratch this season. To give an example, last season Ramsbottom lost nearly half their players, two managers later look where they are! Does anyone really think JH tells his players to to just hoof it all the time. The management are working their b******s to try and get the right players in. We are 7 points off the play offs but i guess some people would rather say we're 7 points off the relegation zone.

[Yeltz27]

People will always be quicker to jump on the managers back if the long ball isn't producing results. After all, that's why it's used supposedly because it certainly isn't used to provide entertainment. People would be more forgiving of the poor results if we were at least being entertained, but they won't put up with both which is what we have been asked to do pretty much constantly since we reached 50 pts last season, with the exception of 4 games recently and a win against Stourbr*dge.

Also, how many people had left before full time yesterday for example, it was very noticeable and isn't something I'd ever really seen before at the Grove....

[Steve Glass]

Perhaps we built the team round the wrong midfield or they have just turned out to be not good enough, particularly in central areas?. So the forwards are tracking back to help, the defence is not getting protection and they have all lost confidence to pass the ball through it? With Danny being an exception, where is the graft but more importantly the creativity from midfield?. No wonder teams waltz through and the defenders hoof over the top and no wonder attacking players cant keep controlling the 'UFO' balls. Just some of my 40 quids worth of thoughts this month.

[RaidenYeltz]

The 'we don't have a midfield' posts don't wash with me. We've got some good talent in midfield, but we rarely see it due to aforementioned long ball style. Denny hasn't impressed me much, but it's clear he's a good ball playing player. Isaac Cooper, when used as a winger is a real threat. Bragoli is a good player, too. Reffel played wide, Saturday, a bit of a waste as I like him up top but again he's creative and useful. The talent is there, to be utilised in midfield but unfortunately they're not able to show it.

If we're going to maintain this hoof ball style then it's obvious we need a target man (Christie esq). We need someone up top who can hold the ball up and bring the midfielders in. If he can't hold it up then buy a foul and take the pressure off.

Saturday we started with Pearson. Every time the ball was played forward it just came straight back. Pearson works hard but other than that, I don't have much else positive to say. Bringing on McGee didn't help either, he's even less useful. Until we find a forward who can win headers and buy fouls that alleviate any pressure we come under during a game we will continue to struggle.

It's also all well and good saying one training session isn't sufficient time, which I agree with. But it's the exact same scenario that's faced by the 23 other sides in this league. It's not a unique problem that's faced by only us. Time to stop making excuses for the management, I'm afraid.

[RaidenYeltz]

The 'we don't have a midfield' posts don't wash with me. We've got some good talent in midfield, but we rarely see it due to aforementioned long ball style. Denny hasn't impressed me much, but it's clear he's a good ball playing player. Isaac Cooper, when used as a winger is a real threat. Bragoli is a good player, too. Reffel played wide, Saturday, a bit of a waste as I like him up top but again he's creative and useful. The talent is there, to be utilised in midfield but unfortunately they're not able to show it.

If we're going to maintain this hoof ball style then it's obvious we need a target man (Christie esq). We need someone up top who can hold the ball up and bring the midfielders in. If he can't hold it up then buy a foul and take the pressure off.

Saturday we started with Pearson. Every time the ball was played forward it just came straight back. Pearson works hard but other than that, I don't have much else positive to say. Bringing on McGee didn't help either, he's even less useful. Until we find a forward who can win headers and buy fouls that alleviate any pressure we come under during a game we will continue to struggle.

It's also all well and good saying one training session isn't sufficient time, which I agree with. But it's the exact same scenario that's faced by the 23 other sides in this league. It's not a unique problem that's faced by only us. We had a summer of ins and outs, and while I appreciate that it's tough for a team to gel it's not a surprise. We had a pre-season to prepare a squad suitable to the style the management wanted to play.The management brought in the players who should've fitted within this style. Seemingly the management wanted to continue long ball tactics, fine, fair enough. But it's seemingly obvious that the players weren't brought in to do this. Time to stop making excuses for the management, I'm afraid.

Either bring in players who can play to the style or change the style to benefit the players we do have.

[Yeltz27]

The 'we don't have a midfield' posts don't wash with me. We've got some good talent in midfield, but we rarely see it due to aforementioned long ball style. Denny hasn't impressed me much, but it's clear he's a good ball playing player. Isaac Cooper, when used as a winger is a real threat. Bragoli is a good player, too. Reffel played wide, Saturday, a bit of a waste as I like him up top but again he's creative and useful. The talent is there, to be utilised in midfield but unfortunately they're not able to show it.

If we're going to maintain this hoof ball style then it's obvious we need a target man (Christie esq). We need someone up top who can hold the ball up and bring the midfielders in. If he can't hold it up then buy a foul and take the pressure off.

Saturday we started with Pearson. Every time the ball was played forward it just came straight back. Pearson works hard but other than that, I don't have much else positive to say. Bringing on McGee didn't help either, he's even less useful. Until we find a forward who can win headers and buy fouls that alleviate any pressure we come under during a game we will continue to struggle.

It's also all well and good saying one training session isn't sufficient time, which I agree with. But it's the exact same scenario that's faced by the 23 other sides in this league. It's not a unique problem that's faced by only us. Time to stop making excuses for the management, I'm afraid.

Well said Raiden. I agree there is a lot more talent in the squad than we are currently seeing. Some decisions can't be excused, like leaving Isaac out on Saturday. We have a player who provides a spark and some entertainment and he gets left out, exactly like Lait did

[RaidenYeltz]

The 'we don't have a midfield' posts don't wash with me. We've got some good talent in midfield, but we rarely see it due to aforementioned long ball style. Denny hasn't impressed me much, but it's clear he's a good ball playing player. Isaac Cooper, when used as a winger is a real threat. Bragoli is a good player, too. Reffel played wide, Saturday, a bit of a waste as I like him up top but again he's creative and useful. The talent is there, to be utilised in midfield but unfortunately they're not able to show it.

If we're going to maintain this hoof ball style then it's obvious we need a target man (Christie esq). We need someone up top who can hold the ball up and bring the midfielders in. If he can't hold it up then buy a foul and take the pressure off.

Saturday we started with Pearson. Every time the ball was played forward it just came straight back. Pearson works hard but other than that, I don't have much else positive to say. Bringing on McGee didn't help either, he's even less useful. Until we find a forward who can win headers and buy fouls that alleviate any pressure we come under during a game we will continue to struggle.

It's also all well and good saying one training session isn't sufficient time, which I agree with. But it's the exact same scenario that's faced by the 23 other sides in this league. It's not a unique problem that's faced by only us. Time to stop making excuses for the management, I'm afraid.

Well said Raiden. I agree there is a lot more talent in the squad than we are currently seeing. Some decisions can't be excused, like leaving Isaac out on Saturday. We have a player who provides a spark and some entertainment and he gets left out, exactly like Lait did

I've got to say, the decision to drop Cooper for Pearson and moving Reffell out wide was certainly bizarre.

I don't get the notion of leaving out players who look likely of scoring and creating when the team just can't score goals.

Baffling.