IF we win tomorrow

HatfulofHollow

HatfulofHollow

Well-known member
Does it validate Critch's team selection on Tuesday - playing the likes of Virtue, Coulson, Beesley and Connolly if it keeps a few fresh legs for Saturday's game?
 
Winning tomorrow is a huge challenge at the business end of the season. We will need to be at our absolute best to come away with a win and to that extent, I have no issue whatsoever if the manager felt he ought to prioritise this game over Tuesday.

I don’t think the result (either way) would vindicate that decision. It’s simply the right thing to have done, regardless of the result.

Frankly anyone who thinks we should have been throwing the kitchen sink at the ‘pound down the back of your sofa’ cup, is an idiot really.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
Winning tomorrow is a huge challenge at the business end of the season. We will need to be at our absolute best to come away with a win and to that extent, I have no issue whatsoever if the manager felt he ought to prioritise this game over Tuesday.

I don’t think the result (either way) would vindicate that decision. It’s simply the right thing to have done, regardless of the result.

Frankly anyone who thinks we should have been throwing the kitchen sink at the ‘pound down the back of your sofa’ cup, is an idiot really.
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What do other teams do in semi-finals? Just knob it off as they’ve got a big game days after?

If they do let us know as it’s a new one on me.

Whether it’s a pound shop cup or not, I’m sure the players all wanted to get to Wembley… the team selection drastically reduced that.
 
In theory, I'm totally with 3X here. There's no way we should be risking bodies in the BSM when there's promotion to play for and you've had 1 big game the previous Saturday and another on the following Saturday. I've said that on here plenty of times. The problem comes when some of the big names/should be rested players play anyway and then get rested in the league! So I'm buggered if I can work out what the strategy is. Names out of a hat?

Anyway, all that aside, tomorrow is massive after beating Posh when it REALLY mattered. We need to win and we need to be totally at it from the start. Proactive, not reactive. Playing on the front foot and taking the game to the Murdering Bastards.
 
Hang on a minute, I am this forum’s optimist 😂
Seriously though, the changes he did make on Tuesday were, without doubt, with tomorrow’s fixture at the forefront of his mind.
Tomorrow will be what he thinks is his strongest team to match Bolton.
I think Dembele will start and obviously Grimmy. Norburn will have to be strong in midfield and show some leadership.
And not go out for revenge.
I’d like to see Pennington start with Husband and Ekpiteta, not 100% sure about Coulson, definitely not Kouassi
He has got to go 4-4-2 so I personally would start with Beesley and Joseph as I think they have a lot to offer.
Lavery to come on in the second half. Morgan Casey and Gabriel
When they talk about 6 pointers, this is one.
Charlton held them last week so what is stopping us beating them but it won’t be easy.
 
straightatthewall said:
Playing on the front foot and taking the game to the Murdering Bastards.
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This is the key to it.

It’s win or bust tomorrow so we’ll no doubts be happy with a draw 😂

Tuesday night has definitely put more pressure on it… hopefully it was worth sacrificing.

Genuine question, do we think that team was picked with Saturday in mind? Or to reward Connolly, Virtue and Beesley for playing in earlier rounds… same with ROD. He alluded to it pre-match.

Took me back to Holloway away at Everton in the FA Cup and then West Ham drilled us 4-1 at home.
 
He may pick same team with CJ instead of Gabriel, such is his unswerving loyalty to players that are clearly not good enough, especially when chips are down.
 
Adams Kebab said:
What do other teams do in semi-finals? Just knob it off as they’ve got a bigger game days after?

If they do let us know as it’s a new one on me.
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It depends… I’m not sure there’s a one size fits all approach that you can just say ‘other teams do this’ .

For a start off a Champions League Semi Final might be prioritised differently to an FA Cup Semi Final, which might be prioritised differently to a League Cup Final. How other teams might prioritise something as meaningless as the BSM trophy….. God only knows….

Thats before you then take account of the Club, their available resources, their relative position in the League (fighting at the top end, fighting at the bottom end or simply in the middle of the road).

Of course, we didn’t just ‘Knob it Off’ either. We did have a poor night at the office (no doubt about that), but that doesn’t mean the Manager didn’t have belief in the Team he selected.
 
Adams Kebab said:
What do other teams do in semi-finals? Just knob it off as they’ve got a big game days after?

If they do let us know as it’s a new one on me.

Whether it’s a pound shop cup or not, I’m sure the players all wanted to get to Wembley… the team selection drastically reduced that.
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It’s 90% certain Sadler wanted to get there as well. An extra £1million or so never goes amiss.
 
straightatthewall said:
In theory, I'm totally with 3X here. There's no way we should be risking bodies in the BSM when there's promotion to play for and you've had 1 big game the previous Saturday and another on the following Saturday. I've said that on here plenty of times. The problem comes when some of the big names/should be rested players play anyway and then get rested in the league! So I'm buggered if I can work out what the strategy is. Names out of a hat?

Anyway, all that aside, tomorrow is massive after beating Posh when it REALLY mattered. We need to win and we need to be totally at it from the start. Proactive, not reactive. Playing on the front foot and taking the game to the Murdering Bastards.
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You do know our manager is Mr caution personified?
 
Eternaloptimist said:
Hang on a minute, I am this forum’s optimist 😂
Seriously though, the changes he did make on Tuesday were, without doubt, with tomorrow’s fixture at the forefront of his mind.
Tomorrow will be what he thinks is his strongest team to match Bolton.
I think Dembele will start and obviously Grimmy. Norburn will have to be strong in midfield and show some leadership.
And not go out for revenge.
I’d like to see Pennington start with Husband and Ekpiteta, not 100% sure about Coulson, definitely not Kouassi
He has got to go 4-4-2 so I personally would start with Beesley and Joseph as I think they have a lot to offer.
Lavery to come on in the second half. Morgan Casey and Gabriel
When they talk about 6 pointers, this is one.
Charlton held them last week so what is stopping us beating them but it won’t be easy.
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He won't go 4 4 2, despite you saying he must, so the point is moot.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
I don’t think the result (either way) would vindicate that decision. It’s simply the right thing to have done, regardless of the result.

Frankly anyone who thinks we should have been throwing the kitchen sink at the ‘pound down the back of your sofa’ cup, is an idiot really.
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What an absolute steaming pile of shite 💩 that post is!

Others that value a cup win might say "frankly anyone that meekly passes up a final appearance at Wembley is a clueless idiot really!".

We should be wanting to win EVERY game, not picking and choosing to try justify Critchleys shortcomings.
 
straightatthewall said:
In theory, I'm totally with 3X here. There's no way we should be risking bodies in the BSM when there's promotion to play for and you've had 1 big game the previous Saturday and another on the following Saturday. I've said that on here plenty of times. The problem comes when some of the big names/should be rested players play anyway and then get rested in the league! So I'm buggered if I can work out what the strategy is. Names out of a hat?

Anyway, all that aside, tomorrow is massive after beating Posh when it REALLY mattered. We need to win and we need to be totally at it from the start. Proactive, not reactive. Playing on the front foot and taking the game to the Murdering Bastards.
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Then really they should have sacked the BSM off early on. No point playing extra games.
 
fcblackpool said:
Then really they should have sacked the BSM off early on. No point playing extra games.
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Not going to disagree there. It's a competition you go for if you've been promoted into league 1 and consolidation is obviously your aim. I couldn't understand why players like Gabriel were being rested for the league and playing in the BSM. Still don't if I'm honest.
 
straightatthewall said:
Not going to disagree there. It's a competition you go for if you've been promoted into league 1 and consolidation is obviously your aim. I couldn't understand why players like Gabriel were being rested for the league and playing in the BSM. Still don't if I'm honest.
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Fitness after a long period out.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
Winning tomorrow is a huge challenge at the business end of the season. We will need to be at our absolute best to come away with a win and to that extent, I have no issue whatsoever if the manager felt he ought to prioritise this game over Tuesday.

I don’t think the result (either way) would vindicate that decision. It’s simply the right thing to have done, regardless of the result.

Frankly anyone who thinks we should have been throwing the kitchen sink at the ‘pound down the back of your sofa’ cup, is an idiot really.
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And there we have it.
Yesterday you couldn't emphasise how important it was for this club to make money .
Today you are defending a manager who field's a team that couldn't string a pass together and therfore missing out on the clubs biggest payday in years.
Yesterday fans didn't have a backbone and today fans idiots for wanting success and a day out at Wembley.
Unbelievable.
 
fcblackpool said:
I was replying to SATW. Basically if you're not going to risk bodies, as he puts it, in a SF then you may as well go out early and have a full week on the TG. Maybe that would have helped the points total- it wouldn't have harmed it.
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Why though?

Why can’t we use the cup competition to serve our own chosen purpose, rather than setting such needless and polarised terms on our engagement with it?
 
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Maybe after last weekend’s result he’s realised if he doesn’t make the playoffs he could be out of a job.
Hence the shite team selection on Tuesday.
 
straightatthewall said:
In theory, I'm totally with 3X here. There's no way we should be risking bodies in the BSM when there's promotion to play for and you've had 1 big game the previous Saturday and another on the following Saturday. I've said that on here plenty of times. The problem comes when some of the big names/should be rested players play anyway and then get rested in the league! So I'm buggered if I can work out what the strategy is. Names out of a hat?

Anyway, all that aside, tomorrow is massive after beating Posh when it REALLY mattered. We need to win and we need to be totally at it from the start. Proactive, not reactive. Playing on the front foot and taking the game to the Murdering Bastards.
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Yeah i get that, well no i don't really. Go and have a look at Peterboro's line up for last saturday and tuesday! Their situation is pretty much the same as ours but one teams manager wanted to win and selected a team to do that. And the other didn't.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
Winning tomorrow is a huge challenge at the business end of the season. We will need to be at our absolute best to come away with a win and to that extent, I have no issue whatsoever if the manager felt he ought to prioritise this game over Tuesday.

I don’t think the result (either way) would vindicate that decision. It’s simply the right thing to have done, regardless of the result.

Frankly anyone who thinks we should have been throwing the kitchen sink at the ‘pound down the back of your sofa’ cup, is an idiot really.
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We didn't even meekly lob a damp dishcloth at it so talk of kitchen sinks is ridiculous hyperbole if you ask me.
 
20togo said:
Yeah i get that, well no i don't really. Go and have a look at Peterboro's line up for last saturday and tuesday! Their situation is pretty much the same as ours but one teams manager wanted to win and selected a team to do that. And the other didn't.
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They probably have a coherent strategy.
 
Dembele and CJ down the right
Byers to start
Lyons to start
Marv to start
Joseph and Lavery up top
Mix and match the rest!
On second thoughts I’ll just leave it to the manager
 
straightatthewall said:
They probably have a coherent strategy.
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that's an evasive answer. You said you backed the decision to make changes. P'boro in pretty much the same situation clearly considered it to be a very important fixture and picked their line up accordingly. We didn't. And players risk injury every time they step on the pitch.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
You’re talking about the outcome
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I'm talking about kitchen objects being used accurately in analogous situations.

We had a big dinner. We didn't put out the best cutlery and some people found themselves trying to eat a fillet steak with a serving spoon.

Look at the strikers. It was a fork and a fork not a knife and a fork. We had no corkscrew in midfield. We needed a carving knife, not a table knife at wing back etc.

Only Gary Goalie and his oven gloves stopped us getting badly burned

I can do kitchen chat all day. Hit me up for more.
 
BFC_BFC_BFC said:
Winning tomorrow is a huge challenge at the business end of the season. We will need to be at our absolute best to come away with a win and to that extent, I have no issue whatsoever if the manager felt he ought to prioritise this game over Tuesday.

I don’t think the result (either way) would vindicate that decision. It’s simply the right thing to have done, regardless of the result.

Frankly anyone who thinks we should have been throwing the kitchen sink at the ‘pound down the back of your sofa’ cup, is an idiot really.
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well then contrary mary, P'boro's management team must be idiots then.

Mary, Mary quite contrary talking out of his arse yet again.
 
Eternaloptimist said:
.............and when he announces his starting XI tomorrow some people will be against it regardless.
As for 6,000 not having belief in the selection on Tuesday night, was that at the final whistle?
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I’m thinking at the start and if you think that Connolly, Virtue and Beesley who’d played about 20 minutes between them in 3 weeks were going to run the show then I think football is not for you…
 
td53 said:
I'm talking about kitchen objects being used accurately in analogous situations.

We had a big dinner. We didn't put out the best cutlery and some people found themselves trying to eat a fillet steak with a serving spoon.

Look at the strikers. It was a fork and a fork not a knife and a fork. We had no corkscrew in midfield. We needed a carving knife, not a table knife at wing back etc.

Only Gary Goalie and his oven gloves stopped us getting badly burned

I can do kitchen chat all day. Hit me up for more.
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Like I say, you’re talking about the outcome… The rest of it is simply a story to fit.
 
20togo said:
that's an evasive answer. You said you backed the decision to make changes. P'boro in pretty much the same situation clearly considered it to be a very important fixture and picked their line up accordingly. We didn't. And players risk injury every time they step on the pitch.
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Wasn't evasive. I just didn't realise it was THAT important that you needed chapter and verse...

In my view, it's a game that wasn't as important as the league game against P'boro or the next league game v Bolton. Of the 3 games, it's the one that needed to be used to rest players IF the coach felt that players needed resting, because it should be the lowest in terms or priority. We have a squad of players who (in theory) can all play a role. The players that started and finished the game are all bone fide first team squad members. And with the exception of Virtue and O'Donnell, most have started plenty of games this season too. Now I'm not suggesting for a second that I think it was our best starting X1, but it WAS a competitive starting X1 and one that allowed others to recover ahead of a more important game in the bigger scheme of things.

That P'Boro chose to play a strong/unchanged team is P'Boro's choice. Not a lot we can do about it so it's pretty irrelevant to our situation. Same as if the roles were reversed.

Am I confident the 'gamble' will pay off? Or risking a Wembley appearance will be worth it as we drive up the league? Not really.
 
We should have put a stronger side out on Tuesday. Relatively speaking that was a big game for us, in all probability it is the only cup we are going to see Blackpool win and it was a semi final at home with 3 clear days before we played Bolton.
At this stage of the season I think you play your strongest team in every game until injury, suspension or loss of form forces a change.
I thought the whole point of squad rotation earlier in the season was so that you could keep them fresh and find your best 11 for the end of the season.
We also have 5 subs now, nobody in our squad has relentlessly played 90 minutes week in week out, should have been a much better side out there on Tuesday.
 
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