Blyth Spartans

[Dazzarugby65]

Not sure Daz I buy into all the players not being good enough at the start of the season.   10 players in the squad were with us under TW.  The big problem is the players Hughes brought in to replace the quality we lost.   Put that down to poor recruitment and a reduced budget. 

Looking very much like false economy.

Mal, you have probably phrased it better than I did, however I still feel the players are not good enough for this level, centre backs, Okinawa my opinion, full backs not at level required imho, midfield ok but not as good as last season, forwards on paper ok but not as good on grass, JB,will be a huge miss but we need more goals and I personally don’t see where they are coming from at this moment, as you say down to budget.

[Blue_and_Gold]

Forwards on paper ok but not as good on grass

Brian Clough.

[rod]

Forwards on paper ok but not as good on grass

Brian Clough.

He viewed football as being essentially a simple game and that philosophy served him well. Try telling that to the majority of modern day coaches and managers!

[Mallard]

Clough was great in his day.  That’s a given.  However his time came and went.  He had his rough times after his glory days.   Have to wonder how his ‘style’ would have worked in today’s  Football World ?

[dillydilly]

It IS a simple game.  You only have to listen to our pundits and their computer to know that most players don’t understand a word of it.  Then listen to Pep and others answering interview questions with a smirk and a two or three word answer - Clough-style!

[Mallard]

So Dilly what you are saying is Pep has the same game face in front of the camera’s as he has in the dressing room ?  I would suggest when Wolves turned them
Over a few weeks back there would have been more than a 2/3 words spoken all without any sign of a smirk.

[Blue_and_Gold]

Didn't Clough bring a team to the Walks in years gone by?

[Linnet465]

We may have had 10 players from last season however there’s not many times we have managed to field them. We lost both keepers very early on, Crowther and Hawkins have only recently retuned  Ponticelli and young Tommy are currently out injured and now JB is out. So it looks like we won’t be fielding the aforementioned 10 until XMas, or what a mess.
All I want for Xmas is a fit squad of our best players, please Santa!

[rod]

Clough was great in his day.  That’s a given.  However his time came and went.  He had his rough times after his glory days.   Have to wonder how his ‘style’ would have worked in today’s  Football World ?

Mallard, Cloughie's decline i believe was more to do with him losing Taylor and  some health issues, rather than his footballing philosophy becoming outdated. It is all about opinions!

[Steve C]

Didn't Clough bring a team to the Walks in years gone by?

Played on the 09.10.1989.

[Pink]

Of course you are correct Mall.........it is after all a completely different game to that of his day. Beachball replacing hardball, slippers replacing boots, huge increases in fitness levels, greatly improved pitch surfaces, no apparent offside rule, 3 points for a win etc etc.......I suspect if Cloughie were around now he would have an evolved method that would now be effective....very much doubt it would be the same as existed back then.

However, he certainly knew how to get the best out of a side....and that's now key for Lynn , given the recruits that AL has inherited. Unless new money becomes available, he probably will need to be cautious in his line ups, in the sense that many sides have a better attack in terms of regular goalscorers. Playing a really attacking side only really works if you have regular goalscorers...and Lynn don't.........looks like for the short term they will need totry and eek out 1-0 and 2-1 victories where they can......not many sides will ship 3 against us I fancy( Scunthorpe managed 6 against BS I see)

[Blue_and_Gold]

Looking at the future fixtures, I do wonder how many points we will actually get in (say) the next ten games.   

[Mallard]

There looks a few rough ones in the next block of 10 games.  P’Boro Sports and Rushall are both down there with Lynn so have to look at target 3/4 points from those games. Will be interesting to see where we are in the League when the Calendar flips over to 2024. 

[rod]

Of course you are correct Mall.........it is after all a completely different game to that of his day. Beachball replacing hardball, slippers replacing boots, huge increases in fitness levels, greatly improved pitch surfaces, no apparent offside rule, 3 points for a win etc etc.......I suspect if Cloughie were around now he would have an evolved method that would now be effective....very much doubt it would be the same as existed back then.

However, he certainly knew how to get the best out of a side....and that's now key for Lynn , given the recruits that AL has inherited. Unless new money becomes available, he probably will need to be cautious in his line ups, in the sense that many sides have a better attack in terms of regular goalscorers. Playing a really attacking side only really works if you have regular goalscorers...and Lynn don't.........looks like for the short term they will need totry and eek out 1-0 and 2-1 victories where they can......not many sides will ship 3 against us I fancy( Scunthorpe managed 6 against BS I see)

Pink, i agree that Clough would have had to 'evolve', to a degree but i don't believe that his fundamental footballing philosophy would today be ineffective. His great strength was 'putting round pegs into round holes'. Maximising the return from the resource available to him and encouraging individual's to play to their strengths....doing what came naturally to them, with Peter Taylor identifying players with unfulfilled potential who fitted the mould.

Brian Clough was a great man manager and motivator. He encouraged positivity, self belief and that football was about entertainment and a game to be enjoyed by both players and spectators....All qualities that are surely not out dated and old fashioned?

At the top level today the nearest to him in respect of footballing philosophy is probably, Postecoglou at Spurs. Their bubble may well burst but supporters and players are enjoying the ride. He keeps things simple and is achieving a level of success (as he did at Celtic) well in excess of those much vaunted and revered 'coaching geniuses' who preceded him.

[Gordon Chilvers]

Didn't Clough bring a team to the Walks in years gone by?

Yes he did for a testimonial. Strong line up from Forest and remember Benefer was in goal for Lynn that night. Steve Sutton in goal for Forest? Allegedly the attendance fee was in a paper bag.