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Post by edward1909 on Mar 4, 2023 22:25:32 GMT 1
Hello all- new to the forum but definitely not new to Guiseley! On the game, I thought there was no lack of effort- but we just didn’t have the same quality as Gainsborough, similar to the Radcliffe game. Don’t know what more we could have expected given the injury list. We’re a solid, mid table side that have enjoyed the ‘new manager bounce’ but that’s not a bad thing. Now we can look forward to a 23/24 with a bit of stability for the first time in a couple of years, and potentially a promotion push.
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Post by bigj on Mar 4, 2023 22:26:41 GMT 1
Problem is anybody who is any good is playing regularly and the players we are picking up are free agents for a reason and the quality just isn't there. Sooner this season ends the better and although I think we have the nucleus of a squad but given our managers propensity for moving them on its anybodys guess how many will remain come May.
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Post by Nik on Mar 4, 2023 23:17:48 GMT 1
Such a shame that it’s over. It really looked like we were heading to the playoffs and suddenly we’re so far off that Paul says he’ll play academy kids for the final fifth of the season.
One goal in four hurts and injured players hanging out in the pub during the game rather than watching doesn’t sound great either.
Fingers crossed for some optimism to come from these final weeks.
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Post by ivor on Mar 4, 2023 23:53:18 GMT 1
Perhaps unreasonably I wasn't too pleased to see the players playing darts after the game either. I thought some constructive reflection was in order. It feels that the spirit has collapsed in a couple of weeks
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Post by rawdonlion on Mar 5, 2023 0:25:03 GMT 1
You’ll have to ask him post match next week Ivor if he approves of darts and if moral has dropped.
Personally I don’t mind the players having a get together. Other than CMW I think all the players watched the game from the sidelines. Bit of a storm in a teacup imo.
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Post by troll on Mar 5, 2023 9:20:19 GMT 1
Very disappointing to hear PP call players cowards in his post match interview. Also surprising to hear that he haven't recruited the right players and we're having to take a bit of a gamble on who we recruit, given the number we have recruited, the number of those that have played for him before, and that the club have a head of recruitment who Gary Douglas constantly tells us is doing a great job. |
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Post by tugger18 on Mar 5, 2023 9:55:34 GMT 1
Thought we played ok yesterday without scoring although we had a couple of decent chances.
Once again Murphy won every ball that was thumped upfield unfortunately nobody to help him out.
we played some decent stuff with no end result.
Reasonably happy that we are not in a relegation battle as in previous seasons we have the nucleus of a good side. Some of the recent comings and going’s seem a bit strange but we don’t see what goes on behind the scenes.
Onwards and upwards
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Post by lioncub on Mar 5, 2023 9:59:35 GMT 1
Our performances are getting worse, game by game. There was individual effort yesterday but no team dynamics. We were disjointed and quality of passing was very poor. Too much time with the ball up in the air yet again.
Under previous management this level of player turnover would not have been tolerated. ( eventually) Yet here we are with 8 games left and no sense of a cohesive team. It’s become a joke as to who we recognise on the pitch on a Saturday afternoon!
From a supporters perspective it’s been dire to watch us get progressively worse as the season has progressed. Is the accountability with the directors, the management or the players?
Hoping for a strong,skilled,settled team next season that supporters can get behind.
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Post by colin19 on Mar 5, 2023 10:18:47 GMT 1
A couple of reflections.
Positivity was really building up ahead of the Lancaster game. Had we won we would have been in a playoff position so that game, and the last three results feel more disappointing as we have come up short just as the prize of a promotion push looked on.
Statistically speaking PP has only had 15 league games. Prior to that our points per game were 1.15. Since then we have produced 1.73. If the season started when the new management team arrived then we would be in 5th with a similar record to all the other play off chasing sides.
I do think that because of our Paul Cox experience we are particularly (and understandably), sensitive to seeing lots of ins and outs. I think it’s inevitable that we would see some player churn when you replace managers mid season. We have also gambled on players who subsequently didn’t look the part and moved on. I think that’s okay.
It looked strange that we let Adam Haw/Spencer Harris go out on loan whilst having an academy bench yesterday. I guess the back story will be that there are deals that maybe didn’t transpire in time.
If there is one consistent gripe about the team in recent months it’s that we haven’t scored enough goals. That’s been exacerbated by the loss of Whitham and Chippendale to injuries over the last four games. Just one goal in 4 has been the result. So perhaps it’s no surprise that we have seen changes to try and find an answer to that. Goalscorers are prized assets, it’s not easy to unearth a gem, so I guess there will be those we try that don’t hit the mark. However I think PP has been proactive, tried to find a solution, but it just hasn’t worked out. I’d rather he did that that than sit on his hands.
Personally, I thought we looked toothless yesterday but matched Gainsborough in every other respect. Had Bakkor or Hey taken either opportunity that we had created I suspect we might be feeling less critical (fine margins dare I say it!)
It does seem a feisty atmosphere in the dressing room and PPs interviews are certainly direct.
In the old business management analogy of team development (forming, storming, norming, performing), it feels we are definitely still at that stormy stage. The remaining games, alongside a good pre-season might lead us to a better start to the next campaign. It would be good to reach the fourth stage consistently in August!
Ivor and I will have to disagree on the players in the bar. Win lose or draw I’m happy to see players in the bar - and at the oche after the match. The target practice isn’t a bad thing either.
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Post by GAFC 1909 on Mar 5, 2023 12:10:52 GMT 1
A very poor game yesterday and its now 4 games without a win for Phillips and his team.
The numbers coming and going at the club is frankly ridiculous and to be closing in on nearly 60 different players making appearances this year is madness. No wonder the team looks so disjointed. I thought the whole point of bringing Russ O'Neil back into the club was to provide quality signings who would stay for the whole season rather than just a couple of weeks?? The whole approach just seems very scattergun.
As regards players socialising in the bar, I'm surprised to see people criticising this. One of the things that makes non-league football so appealing is the interaction with the players which you don't get at premier league level. It would be a real shame if players & staff were no longer joining fans after the game.
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Post by MrP on Mar 5, 2023 12:55:10 GMT 1
Some very valid points being made.
PP’s points-per-game is definitely better than the Dannys’
PP’s best run of form came with a settled team. Since losing some of our first team, its exposed our lack of depth.
Listening to PP yesterday - we can perhaps hope that we retain Cam, CMW, the Irish boys (+/- Jameel) - Everyone else would appear to be “not good enough” including some of the players recruited under his watch. Whitham unfortunately will be off. So i hope PP/Russ are having those conversations with players already ahead of next season otherwise we start like this year with 1 retained player (Cam).
PP is of course saying what perhaps a lot of us think but as man-management goes, it’s an interesting take and must surely impact on the dressing room and team “spirit”
As for players in the bar, I’ve always enjoyed seeing the players after the game and it was one of (many) things that went wrong under Cox. However, I don’t want to see our injured drinking and playing darts when the game is underway. I want to see them cheering on their teammates. To be fair Jameel went straight out at K-O, it was Jake, Whitham and Kellett who stayed behind. The optics are poor and don’t reflect well…
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Post by ivor on Mar 5, 2023 14:28:32 GMT 1
A very poor game yesterday and its now 4 games without a win for Phillips and his team. The numbers coming and going at the club is frankly ridiculous and to be closing in on nearly 60 different players making appearances this year is madness. No wonder the team looks so disjointed. I thought the whole point of bringing Russ O'Neil back into the club was to provide quality signings who would stay for the whole season rather than just a couple of weeks?? The whole approach just seems very scattergun. As regards players socialising in the bar, I'm surprised to see people criticising this. One of the things that makes non-league football so appealing is the interaction with the players which you don't get at premier league level. It would be a real shame if players & staff were no longer joining fans after the game. I wasn't being that serious about darts after the game. As you say it is good that they come to the bar. |
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Post by joshbgafc1 on Mar 5, 2023 16:15:34 GMT 1
Better performance than the last 3 but no points to show for it. Missing key players again has cost us the play offs, on the upside all the c**p deadwood that Ellis and Forrest brought in have nearly gone, with the semi decent ones still here. Phillips knows what he’s doing and he doesn’t take any sh*t. Some players just aren’t good enough, it’s tough to recruit mid way through the season. In the summer, many more will become available and he will finally be able to build a PP side, he reaches play offs with his teams and there’s proof of that. Bringing in Danny Ellis and Forrest at the time looked a good decision but they have literally 0 experience in management and we’re leading us to another relegation as we sat 4 points out the drop zone after Liversedge. Phillips has come in and we’ve come close to the play offs. As stated earlier, the injuries have cost us it but we aren’t ready for them yet anyway. Sign on the good players we’ve got and make even better additions next year. The ones that have gone in recent weeks weren’t up for the battle and are just here to pick up their wages.
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Post by leftwinger on Mar 5, 2023 17:27:20 GMT 1
Disappointing is the least of what I'd call publicly shaming a group of young men who look to him for leadership, support,expertise and knowledge. If his ego is so big he's incapable of taking some responsibility for how his game plan didn't work, to my mind he's a rubbish manager. If it had gone the other way I'm sure he would happily have taken all the plaudits. |
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Post by leftwinger on Mar 5, 2023 17:58:13 GMT 1
Yes, the ‘cowards’ comment was OTT (*in the post-match interview). It is one I’ve never heard from any manager about their own team, in following football over decades. It was misguided and cruel. Misguided because this is not the way to get the best out of most players. Yes, some need more encouragement and motivation, others need a hard word, but…privately not on a broadcast to the general public. Cruel, because they didn’t look as if they were throwing in the towel. In, truth the new players-signed by the manager-just did not adequately replace those for whom they were filling in. I think PP was caught out by the fact, it was just after the match and emotions were high. I’d think he regrets it now.
Emotions on the pitch certainly ran high with Courtney-probably one of our best, most reliable players over a number of games including this one- getting a very noticeable ear-bashing from captain George Smith, about something the left back thought the central defender had either done wrong or failed to do at all. Yet, PP described Courtney as MOTM! He could well have been!
At the end of the game, I stayed on for a few mins, seeing some players literally fall to the floor and remain lying, sitting etc some minutes after the final whistle. Was it because they knew this was the ‘last chance saloon’ a) for carrying on a Play Off push, b) carrying on their careers at GAFC or c) were guaranteed to face the wrath of their manager (with a ‘hairdryer’!) in the dressing room?
The truth is we have about a # team’s worth of very good players, but not a good squad overall. Thus, when there are suspensions and injuries, the type of performance shown eg v South Shields at home, is beyond us. A season is a marathon and only very rarely does a manager NOT need to turn regularly to a number of squad players to fill in, sometimes for long periods. THAT perhaps is the reason why we are in the position we’re in, and why there have been so many goings and comings and goings recently. To put it bluntly some of the ‘fill-ins’ have not been up to it, unfortunately.
* NB: If I’d been the interviewer of PP, I’d have asked him, “What do you mean by ‘Not prepared to do the horrible things?” But, in fairness the manager was quite worked up and perhaps the interviewer chose to duck out of pressing PP on that!
#
1 Mason
2 Boateng
5 Ible
6 Meppen-Walters
3 Smith
7 Whittam
4 Daly
8 Chippendale
11 Whelan
9 Cassidy
10 Murphy
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