Shrimpsvoices

Despite what has been an awful season we have to look forward and hope and pray that season 2016/2017 can only get better.

Assuming that the existing management team are at the helm then I for one hope that lessons have been learned these past 2 seasons and that they accept that our game has to change.

No longer do we have to persist with the hoof ball out of defence up to an isolated striker. Other teams have come to The Globe and played it on the deck and have simply out played us by excellence in both passing and movement.

For me problems exist in both defence (already accepted by the management) and in midfield who are unable to dictate play and provide little if at times any cover for a defence that is overwhelmed under pressure from the opposition and from countless instructions from the bench.

We badly need some height in midfield as too often we don't compete in the aerial battles. Recent games have shown that we have no appetite for a fight when the going gets tough. We badly need character and a determination not to be beaten.

As for the defence.....

The management team need to look at themselves and whilst they can't be accused of not working hard, they need to ask themselves could they do better in their tactical approach to games which without question has been questionable. For me their constant issuing of instructions throughout a match appears to confuse the players and leads to indecision on what their in play roles actually are.

Of course money will be a major factor in what happens close season and if to date no playing budget has been agreed then it doesn't help the management team going forward in what will be a more than difficult close season.

Next season will be monumental for our club. We could do an Accy or we could see us relegated to the depths of non league possibly never to return. Whatever happens as fans now is not the time to turn our backs on our club.

Who said that life as a Morecambe FC supporter was ever going to be a stroll in the park....

i agree CC the defence was always going to be the problem after the midfield can only improve due to Murphy coming back from injury we have wildig who can be a brilliant playmaker only when he is fully fit and the problem is we leave our back line open when attacking but there can be an new formation used 3-2-3-1-2

Agree with all of that. Would be nice to get some proper wingers in too but I suppose the lack of funds will mean that won't become a reality. We need a right, good overhaul of the squad- get rid of the dead wood...

Whose the deadwood and who would you keep.

Well, in an ideal world I would get rid of Parrish-despite the fact that he has been a fantastic servant to the club. Dugdale- never really rated him. Kev- some engine for an aging pro but recently has really offered a lot. Molly- looked great for accy against us but never really done it for us. Thought a run in the team might be beneficial but that certainly hasn't been the case.
Like I said, in an ideal world- we don't seem to have the resources to even replace these players plus we have some of them under contract. Would love to see barky down the middle more and for him to regain that confidence at the start of the season. Stockton looks useful and holds the ball up well- a good trait if Jim is going to persist in playing with one striker.
What do you think of Oliver- has played a few times in the championship- has a good touch but doesn't seem to have the fight to win the ball back once lost. Would absolutely love devitt and Miller to stay but that seems highly unlikely.

Oops I meant Kev HASNT really offered a lot!!!

Wartonshrimp wrote:What do you think of Oliver- has a good touch

Ok I'll take that back....Oliver has cracking hair...never a lock out of place..

Even though Oliver isn't officially in , he hasn't done anything in my opinion to deserve a contract . Have to disagree with Wartonshrimp I would be signing up Paz asap but would be getting shut of Edwards, Dugdale, and sorry to say over the hill Kev
The only recent positive for me has been Stockton , would be offering him a contract for sure .
But what do we know

I'd keep Paz & Edwards as first choice centre pairing and not rotate them unnecessarily so they can form a partnership & understanding. Edwards is still young and should get better.

Also, while 'defence' is the 'obvious' problem, I wonder how much is actually about having a brittle midfield? The defence is simply under too much pressure for too long. Some of that is the lack of a midfield 'yard dog'.

I'd like to see Jim planning now for next season with four at the back and a midfield with more bite, which will protect the defence more. We've scored a stack of goals this season, but somehow, it doesn't feel like it.

Paz hasn't been great recently and was a disaster against accy. Edwards will improve, brilliant against Stanley. Perhaps needs a more experienced partner along side him but not someone who is a potential liability. Have to say bill ding, if I was a player looking to impress and trying to earn a contract, I'd be putting a right shift in every time I played.

Keith wrote:I'd keep Paz & Edwards as first choice centre pairing and not rotate them unnecessarily so they can form a partnership & understanding. Edwards is still young and should get better.

Also, while 'defence' is the 'obvious' problem, I wonder how much is actually about having a brittle midfield? The defence is simply under too much pressure for too long. Some of that is the lack of a midfield 'yard dog'.

I'd like to see Jim planning now for next season with four at the back and a midfield with more bite, which will protect the defence more. We've scored a stack of goals this season, but somehow, it doesn't feel like it.

We're in agreement in that area.... but not in the central pairing. For me it's part of the problem and needs a major rethink.

I just want Jim to keep things simple, next season Jim should decide his best 11 and pick a formation/system to suit the players, and stick with it from start to finish.

basically like Leicester, playing Barky upfront doing a job like James Vardy, and let teams worry about us.

Christies Child wrote:Despite what has been an awful season we have to look forward and hope and pray that season 2016/2017 can only get better.

Assuming that the existing management team are at the helm then I for one hope that lessons have been learned these past 2 seasons and that they accept that our game has to change.

No longer do we have to persist with the hoof ball out of defence up to an isolated striker. Other teams have come to The Globe and played it on the deck and have simply out played us by excellence in both passing and movement.

For me problems exist in both defence (already accepted by the management) and in midfield who are unable to dictate play and provide little if at times any cover for a defence that is overwhelmed under pressure from the opposition and from countless instructions from the bench.

We badly need some height in midfield as too often we don't compete in the aerial battles. Recent games have shown that we have no appetite for a fight when the going gets tough. We badly need character and a determination not to be beaten.

As for the defence.....

The management team need to look at themselves and whilst they can't be accused of not working hard, they need to ask themselves could they do better in their tactical approach to games which without question has been questionable. For me their constant issuing of instructions throughout a match appears to confuse the players and leads to indecision on what their in play roles actually are.

Of course money will be a major factor in what happens close season and if to date no playing budget has been agreed then it doesn't help the management team going forward in what will be a more than difficult close season.

Next season will be monumental for our club. We could do an Accy or we could see us relegated to the depths of non league possibly never to return. Whatever happens as fans now is not the time to turn our backs on our club.

Who said that life as a Morecambe FC supporter was ever going to be a stroll in the park....

I agree with all of your thoughts CC.
I have noticed how the away managers as a general observation don't seem to shout out a lot from the sidelines like Ken McKenna does, but just observe, maybe make a few notes and wait for the half time talk, and even in the second half of games, no real remonstrations (apart from Martin Allen).
Or is it because most of the managers have won at the Globe this season so no need for shouting instructions.

Wartonshrimp wrote:Paz hasn't been great recently and was a disaster against accy. Edwards will improve, brilliant against Stanley. Perhaps needs a more experienced partner along side him but not someone who is a potential liability. Have to say bill ding, if I was a player looking to impress and trying to earn a contract, I'd be putting a right shift in every time I played.

Totally agree WS and I think that's what Jamie Devitt was saying in his interview yesterday although I missed most of it (any link?) . Even though they won't be the highest payed by any means ALL the players should all be putting in a right shift ... Every game

Next season is all about finding which bookies has the best odds for us being relegated and sticking your life savings on it

Lloydie wrote:Next season is all about finding which bookies has the best odds for us being relegated and sticking your life savings on it

or do what Leicester fans did after they nearly got relegated, they went to the bookies and £££££


oh and if Jim gets less money to spend = less tinkering

Wartonshrimp wrote:Paz hasn't been great recently and was a disaster against accy. Edwards will improve, brilliant against Stanley. Perhaps needs a more experienced partner along side him but not someone who is a potential liability. Have to say bill ding, if I was a player looking to impress and trying to earn a contract, I'd be putting a right shift in every time I played.

Edwards certainly looked a better centre back when Mark Hughes was alongside him.

seasonsinthesun wrote:

Wartonshrimp wrote:Paz hasn't been great recently and was a disaster against accy. Edwards will improve, brilliant against Stanley. Perhaps needs a more experienced partner along side him but not someone who is a potential liability. Have to say bill ding, if I was a player looking to impress and trying to earn a contract, I'd be putting a right shift in every time I played.

Edwards certainly looked a better centre back when Mark Hughes was alongside him.

need an aggressive defensive leader or two like Bentley or Artell of old.

Yeah I actually quite liked Hughes. Yes he had a mistake in him but he has certainly left a hole that, in my opinion, is yet to be filled....perhaps in more ways than one..

Wartonshrimp wrote:Yeah I actually quite liked Hughes. Yes he had a mistake in him but he has certainly left a hole that, in my opinion, is yet to be filled....perhaps in more ways than one..

a lot said after last season, keep the defence together, and just get some attackers.

if we'd kept Hughes we could be talking 10/15 points better off this season, I know he was abusive to team mates, but they need it!!

Is it the lack of experience or the lack of consistency? Andy is experienced enough & good enough. I was delighted when we signed Edwards and still think he will be an excellent player for us. But a defence needs to play as a unit. Too much tinkering doesn't help.

Anyone want to check, how many times did we play the same team in sequential games?

George Dawes wrote:

Wartonshrimp wrote:Yeah I actually quite liked Hughes. Yes he had a mistake in him but he has certainly left a hole that, in my opinion, is yet to be filled....perhaps in more ways than one..

a lot said after last season, keep the defence together, and just get some attackers.

if we'd kept Hughes we could be talking 10/15 points better off this season, I know he was abusive to team mates, but they need it!!

I was never a great fan of Hughes, but surely you need to replace with someone as good or better if you're going to let a key player go? Dugdale is nowhere near as effective as Hughes. And yes, perhaps his team mates needed someone to shout at them to get them to do their jobs properly even if it did occasionally hurt their precious feelings!

Its going to be interesting to see who stays an goes. As for the centre backs pairing, I'd have Edwards in there as on his day like last week at Stanley showed how good he can really be. If he's got someone like Hughes next to him maybe the defensive problems would be solved. Last season we kept over 10 clean sheets clean sheets and only conceded nearly half the goals we did this season.

Would also like to see a striker come in who can hold up play along with a new LB (not Conlan too inexperienced). If devitt moves on which is looking very likely then we're going to need a new play maker or hope wildig can step up like Jamie has this season !

KenH wrote:

George Dawes wrote:

Wartonshrimp wrote:Yeah I actually quite liked Hughes. Yes he had a mistake in him but he has certainly left a hole that, in my opinion, is yet to be filled....perhaps in more ways than one..

a lot said after last season, keep the defence together, and just get some attackers.

if we'd kept Hughes we could be talking 10/15 points better off this season, I know he was abusive to team mates, but they need it!!

I was never a great fan of Hughes, but surely you need to replace with someone as good or better if you're going to let a key player go? Dugdale is nowhere near as effective as Hughes. And yes, perhaps his team mates needed someone to shout at them to get them to do their jobs properly even if it did occasionally hurt their precious feelings!

We often played with 3 centre backs last season. Having Hughes, Parrish & Edwards all on the pitch at the same time and having an extra body back there probably helped mask a lot of their deficiencies as players. Edwards & Parrish seem to have suffered by being asked to play together in a back 4 as opposed to having someone else with them in a back 3 / 5, whichever way you look at it.