petef
Match Room Manager 
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Post by petef on Jun 29, 2008 11:28:35 GMT
First post for me. Great new forum and very welcome it is to and I must also comment on the thread about why I am a TUFC supporter soon. I like most others cant help feeling optimistic about the coming season and on paper the quality of the signings look good. On the other hand we have lost three "BIG" players, in more than one sense of the word. In Phillips, Zeb's and now Rayner. All three contributed hugely to our early season success and in all honesty at this point last year there was little to encourage the fans and the level of expectation was quite low. The players and management had nothing to lose and everything to gain so we adopted a bit of a gunho approach in games and it undoubtedly worked for the first half of the season. In contrast this preseason expectation levels are understandably higher most of us will be expecting even better from the the team whoever that eleven may include. Undoubtedly the "squad" with the temporary exception of goalkeeper looks to be much stronger but is that at the sacrifice of a slightly weaker match day team. Things definitely had to change after our end of season demise when the lack of squad strength and quality in depth was found out. Many of the new faces will have to convince the management fans which hopefully will work in our favour and with true competion for places it has to be a good thing. Time will tell if the replacements of the "big three" are up to the task of taking us to the next level and at least equal the level of performances that saw Aldershot dominate the final run in and gain automatic promotion with ease. I don't think we will have the start we did last season but hopefully will be more consistent over the entire season. We may score less but concede less which in my opinion is a better recipe for success and undoubtedly have to be meaner at the back.  |
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Dave
TFF member
Posts: 13,081
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Post by Dave on Jun 29, 2008 14:49:30 GMT
Firstly welcome to the forum Pete and thanks for your excellent first post, the first of many I hope. Also glad you like my forum, it can only get better.
Expectations are always high at the start of a season, even more so when there are many new players, some who you may rate highly. Also having a club run by people, who only want what the fans want, to see the team and club progress, also helps play its part.
A far cry from the times we were told, that we were lucky to have a club, that we were punching above our weight, that part time football was coming soon.
I do not worry about the goal keeper situation, as I believe we are only days away from the news we all want to hear.The Zeb's of the first half of the season will be Missed, but as we know he was never the same player during the second half of the season.
Because we did lack squad strength and quality in depth, he was never going to be dropped, when he need to be, if only to recharge himself and come back fighting for his place. You only needed to look on the bench and there was no one you felt could be brought on to try and turn the game.
Phillips work rate and bullish tactics will be missed and I still think its strange, after signing a 3 year deal, that he left after only one season. He was never going to score a hat fulls of goals, but I do feel the effort he put in will be a lose.
I hope you are not correct about the start of our season. While a slow start would not concern me, we have at our club, to many doom and gloom merchants, who would be calling for someones head, after the first four game. The team will need time to gel, get to know each other and I'm sure if it was not working, players will be brought in at the January transfer window.
Heres hoping for a great season, I know the club and team ended up here, because they were not good enough, but I simply don't feel we belong here, so lets get behind the club and team and play our part.
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Dave
TFF member
Posts: 13,081
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Post by Dave on Jul 12, 2008 19:45:41 GMT
Petef, it seems some feel that on our first game, Phillips has indeed been missed up front. So your observations that the side looks weaker without a player like him, seems to be correct. Lets hope the style of play we use this season, using pace and skill, will compensate the need to have players like Phillips in the side.
I have aways believed, playing a good passing game, with players who are happy and able, with the ball at their feet, will most of the time win over sides who just play hoof ball.
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Dave
TFF member
Posts: 13,081
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Post by Dave on Jul 24, 2008 21:16:05 GMT
I really wonder if PeteF was correct on his post, we do not seem to be scoring goals as we would like, (forget Newton ) does anyone think we really will miss Zebs and Phillips, more than we would have thought.
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Post by tufcwewillbeback on Jul 24, 2008 21:50:33 GMT
I think we will miss Zebs and Phillips, no doubt. I cant really see us having a period, like at the start of last season, where we are scoring 4 or 5 a game. However, with a squad with more depth, I can see us competing right up until the end of the season.
Afew things have been dissapointing in pre-season but i feel that once Bucks has sorted his strongest eleven out we will be a team that others certainly dont look forward to playing.
In the case of Zebroski, i feel that that is the only position witch we have not strengthened. Carayol might be a formiddable replacement and Carlisle is a very good player, i dont see either of those, or Stevens, though, chipping in with the same prolific rate of goals as Zebs. The loss of Zebs could well prove to provide us with real problems this season and it is highley unlikely that there would be anyone available for us to loan that could fill a similar role as well as he did. Having said this, i do very much like Carlisle and Stevens and, though they are different types of wingers, they could well, along with Carayol, do a good enough job for us.
I liked Phillips alot for his physical presence and his eagerness and work rate but i think, whoever partners Sills will score enough goals to compensate for his loss.
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Dave
TFF member
Posts: 13,081
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Post by Dave on Jul 24, 2008 22:04:33 GMT
I think you are correct, about us not making the flying start we made last season, looking at the team, you would think it should have plenty of goals in it. For all Phillips work, you never really felt he was going to score many goals, but he was always gave his all.Do you not think that Carayol, would chip in with many goals? sure he has the pace and beating of many defenders and should be able to set up chances for himself.
Carlisle, I think may well also score quite a few goals this season, but don't forget most of Zebs goals were in the first half of the season, he didn't get many in the second half, when he seemed to have lost his way.
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petef
Match Room Manager
Posts: 4,568
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Post by petef on Sept 4, 2008 21:24:25 GMT
Sorry to raise this old post but.... All of my fears are being realised, we look totally inept upfront . Why can't we score goals anymore - is it "just" the missing Phillips and Zebs factor? So many of the new signings have struggled to even force there way into contention and Buckle has had to reintroduce many of the old school who looked like they would struggle to get on the bench. It just shows how wrong you can be when guessing how good or bad we are before the season even starts. |
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jack
TFF member
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Post by jack on Sept 5, 2008 17:05:56 GMT
The plain fact is that Zebroski was twice as good any of the forwards that we have this season and that included the latter part of the season when his form allegedly dropped somewhat.
He has not beem replaced and that is a key reason why we have struggled.
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Enzo
TFF member
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Post by Enzo on Sept 5, 2008 18:35:15 GMT
The plain fact is that Zebroski was twice as good any of the forwards that we have this season and that included the latter part of the season when his form allegedly dropped somewhat. He has not beem replaced and that is a key reason why we have struggled. Agreed. I am beginning to think that Zebroski was pretty much solely responsible for turning us from a mid table side to promotion contenders last season. I think Phillips can and possibly has been replaced, but Zebs, in the form of the first few months of last season, is pretty much irreplaceable. At the start of last season he did not even make the starting 11, but from the time Zebs came on against Grays until Christmas he was pretty much unstoppable..........and funnily enough the whole team was. Once teams became aware of him and doubled up, his threat was largely snuffed out...... at least compared to his contribution in the months before Christmas...................and funnily enough we suddenly looked pretty ordinary and one dimensional. His absence this season has been massive and god knows where the next goal is going to come from. Bucks deserves credit for identifying Zebs in the first place (if it was indeed him), but maybe now it is becoming clear just how lucky Bucks was in his first season. When looking at the signings made during the summer, one can't help feeling that Bucks has brought players pretty much on the basis of how they performed against us.......................unfortunately, it seems that a lot of midfielders player well against us! |
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