Matches Top 6 Race 2023/24

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Sheik djibouti said:
Simple question - who form our vast and talented squad would you have put in the team instead?

The most depressing thing against Stevenage for me on Friday was the moment we took off RR and Goodrham and replaced them with Bodin and Henry. THAT showed me all I needed to see about the state of our squad. Up to the poijt of their substitution, we were piling the pressure on Stevenage. Goodrham and Rodrigues (along with Murphy, but not so much Browne) had given us some much needed forward momentum. Both RR and TG were out on their feet but the players brought to replace them could not get close to offering the same outlet....and so rather predictably and depressingly, we started going backwards and lost all that early second half promise.

That in a nutshell illustrates why our squad is so lacking and why we appear to be falling short - we simply have not had the personnel.
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Football is a team game with 11 players required. 3 days earlier RR said that he was so knackered he couldn't run any more and he admitted himself it was best he came off against Peterborough for someone who could run. JMc has not played a back to back 90 min game for god knows how long and got a knock against Peterborough. And both were then asked to play in a very high intensity match 4 days after not being able to finish in another high intensity match. It doesn't take the technology GPS stats to tell you they shouldn't be playing, the manual eye could see it. So it was an obvious choice of start with Cam Bran and Bodin, or Smyth as an alternative in the DM position.

I would much rather have a starting 11 that could contribute fully, and in my opinion whilst the Lincoln team selection was understandable following the brilliant performance against Peterborough it made absolutely no sense from a logical team perspective. I know we lack options in the squad not helped by terrible January recruitment but there were choices there that should have been made and weren't. Whether it would have made a difference we will never know. I just feel this was another step on the learning curve for Buckingham, at a time when we could not afford to treat it as an experiment and a bit more experience or ruthlessness would have made a better decision.

But whilst I am critical of Buckingham with this single point, you cannot argue with the turnaround he has brought about since Bolton and the fact that over the last 7 games we have displayed auto promotion winning form. The problem is that so have Lincoln and Blackpool. Based on latest form it is Barnsley that are there for catching and we perhaps should feel fortunate that we are chasing 2 places not just the 1.
 
Foley said:
I think that after 46 games you finish where you deserve.
If we get 77 points and get it, there is no doubt that we will deserve it.
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I think all this xg stuff is starting to go peoples heads, after 46 games playing the other 23 teams home and away you finish, as you said, where you deserve. So if we finish 6th we will deserve that, 8th we will deserve that, no fluke about it either way. Maybe it was the season that got decided by ppg (now that season you can argue about) or the new obsession with stats, but having a separate league table in your head of where sides deserve to finish is a bit mental, we already have the best system to decide it, if you don't like that system then maybe figure skating is the one for you.
 
ttg17 said:
Take a look at who they’ve actually beaten / picked up results against in that time. Other than beating a 10-man Posh in early Feb, they’ve lost against all of the other playoff/autos sides they’ve faced (Derby, Lincoln, Posh again). The only top half side they’ve actually faced and beaten was a Stevenage side in the midst of its wheels falling off. They’ve had some creditable draws - Bolton and Leyton jump out - but by and large their good results have come against the sides propping up the division (Cheltenham, Fleetwood, Port Vale, a Shrewsbury side that played 84 mins with 10 men). You can, of course, only beat what’s in front of you, and they’ll definitely be feeling confident, but the base stats you quote I think overstate just how impressive their run has been.
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And with a couple of tweaks the above could just as easily be about us rather than Exeter!

It looks very much an even contest all things considered. I'm hoping that their lack of need to get a result (and maybe a bit of team/squad rotation) coupled with our extra hunger will give us the edge.

But to dismiss their recent record (a superior version of our much lauded form) is somewhat disingenuous.
 
AbsoluteZero said:
Football is a team game with 11 players required. 3 days earlier RR said that he was so knackered he couldn't run any more and he admitted himself it was best he came off against Peterborough for someone who could run. JMc has not played a back to back 90 min game for god knows how long and got a knock against Peterborough. And both were then asked to play in a very high intensity match 4 days after not being able to finish in another high intensity match. It doesn't take the technology GPS stats to tell you they shouldn't be playing, the manual eye could see it. So it was an obvious choice of start with Cam Bran and Bodin, or Smyth as an alternative in the DM position.

I would much rather have a starting 11 that could contribute fully, and in my opinion whilst the Lincoln team selection was understandable following the brilliant performance against Peterborough it made absolutely no sense from a logical team perspective. I know we lack options in the squad not helped by terrible January recruitment but there were choices there that should have been made and weren't. Whether it would have made a difference we will never know. I just feel this was another step on the learning curve for Buckingham, at a time when we could not afford to treat it as an experiment and a bit more experience or ruthlessness would have made a better decision.

But whilst I am critical of Buckingham with this single point, you cannot argue with the turnaround he has brought about since Bolton and the fact that over the last 7 games we have displayed auto promotion winning form. The problem is that so have Lincoln and Blackpool. Based on latest form it is Barnsley that are there for catching and we perhaps should feel fortunate that we are chasing 2 places not just the 1.
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Last seven games we are 7th on form? There are only two teams that go up.
 
dickwalton1964 said:
You are creating a far bigger picture than is necessary. We kept ourselves alive until Friday just gone, a scenario that shouldn't in all honesty have been too demanding for any incoming manager with 6 months and a winter window to play with. It effectively came down to a two game season, Lincoln and Stevenage. Two home games, 11 v 11, great backing from the fans, a 5-0 mauling of Peterborough in the lead up, under the lights, everything was set up. What do we get? Two ok'ish performances but a pathetic one goal (disputed penalty) return. Dress this up how you like, go back as far as you like, but whatever went on before we just needed steering through these two games - Manning, last summer, the boardroom, any excuse you like has no bearing at all on these two fixtures.

Where's the alternative game plan when our preferred one is clearly not working? Side to side football and 50 yard diagonals to the wing for 190 minutes of malfunctioning football. It's the easiest football in the world to stop and defend against - keep your shape and double up on the wingers. Job done.
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We battered both Lincoln and Stevenage.

It took one of the worst refs I remember seeing to stop us beating Lincoln (wrong pen against us, clear penalty on Harris, too slow to start booking Lincoln players so their red would/should have come sooner) and against Stevenage a clear pen that would have put us in control, another for handball and we still created a decent amount of chances.

I think we're playing good, entertaining, front-foot football now. I've enjoyed the last 3 games (despite the results).

Everyone will be disappointed if we miss the playoffs, especially after how well we were positioned, but its clear that we've turned a corner and are playing well. If we replace the 6/7 players likely to leave with players of Dale's quality, I think we'll be right up there next season
 
Cookie said:
We battered both Lincoln and Stevenage.

It took one of the worst refs I remember seeing to stop us beating Lincoln (wrong pen against us, clear penalty on Harris, too slow to start booking Lincoln players so their red would/should have come sooner) and against Stevenage a clear pen that would have put us in control, another for handball and we still created a decent amount of chances.

I think we're playing good, entertaining, front-foot football now. I've enjoyed the last 3 games (despite the results).

Everyone will be disappointed if we miss the playoffs, especially after how well we were positioned, but its clear that we've turned a corner and are playing well. If we replace the 6/7 players likely to leave with players of Dale's quality, I think we'll be right up there next season
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Agree- I think we've played pretty well since Bolton. We're good- but not that good. Nothing that 4-5 really good quality L1 players in the summer won't sort. Look at how Dale has performed- he was quite rated at Blackpool, but certainly not a stand-out player. In every promotion team in the last 15 years, we've had 3-4 players who are good at that level (probably won't make it the level above) but who turn out 7/10 performances most weeks. Best example of that was Creighton, who was great in the Conference, but immediately struggled in L2.
 
Someone like Neil Warnock for the remainder of the season or the assistant stepping up?
 
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