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CambridgeDon
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Posts posted by CambridgeDon
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2 hours ago, werstayinup said:
I did say we could target a national league striker as well as an experienced League striker,there are plenty of league teams watching national league players... in fact in January a championship side signed Tolaj's strike partner
We definitely should be targeting the National League where you will find players like Paul McCallum at Eastleigh (30 goals this season), Nicke Kabamba (Barnet, 24 goals) and Mani Dieseruvwe (Harlepool, 23 goals).
If you drop one tier lower, you find strikers like Paul Blackett (South Shields 29 goals) and Ollie Pearce (Worthing, 40 goals).
Several of these are on the short list for the NGA (ie non-league) Golden Boot award where there are also several other prolific goalscorers plying their trade in the lower reaches.
Admittedly, not all or even any of these would make it in the EFL but I wonder how much attention we are paying to these players. Peterborough and one or two others seem to make a fine living out of it - and with the shoddy fare we've had to put up with in recent seasons, it might not be a bad idea to give them a look over.
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Carol's letter is rightly apologetic but the one area where - in due course - we need to see more explanation is the need for restructuring within the club.
On the playing side, this is going to be difficult, given the number of underperforming players still under contract, and expensive. To start with, we have to put right the glaring deficiencies we know about from this season including two full/wing backs, two strikers who can actually put the ball in the net, and at least one dominant centre half and one dominant midfield player. It's possible, even likely, that three or four of our better players will be leaving for other clubs, so they too will need to be replaced along with, I would say, four or five other first choice players so that we can relegate the dross we've seen this season to the bench. That's possibly as many as fourteen or fifteen new players so I hope that Carol has deep pockets because the thought of the majority taking the field now turning out in League 2 would be a recipe for disaster.
Players aside, the one restructuring issue that Carol does not address in her latest letter is the most important (the elephant in the room you might say): how she intends to hold the manager accountable for results on the pitch. In our previous structure, she naively delegated all footballing matters to a single individual - with disastrous results. Aside from being too close to the DoF, she was, it appears, letting him mark his own homework for the lack of any depth of understanding and independent advice within the club. The Board (apart from Rudgie) appears to lack any depth of footballing experience or football strategy and without a strategic core of Non-Executive Directors who can fulfil this role (for example, experienced former players or coaches with management experience) she has no independent source of advice on the Board to help her steer the club through choppy waters. If we don't strengthen this aspect of the club, we are going to find that history will repeat itself.
Lot to do then - and the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.
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On 07/04/2024 at 17:44, Andy Proctor said:
We don't have a good record against Peterborough, so if we only lose 1 nil I'd take it, as it doesn't do much damage to the goal difference which is what it could come down to.
Neither does Dazza. Last time he was there with Wednesday, they lost 4-0 so my guess is he will have a point to prove on Wednesday. Let's hope so.
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On 04/04/2024 at 09:38, Coyney Valiant said:It shows how bad we are when we’re relying on uchi to get us goals how did the owners let it come to this
Valid question - how did it come to this?
I stood in Cambridge Utd's pothole strewn car park this week, watching my car being washed and looking around at the portakabins, occasional skip and other assorted junk, not to mention their second rate ground and asked myself the very same question.
This season, in addition to Okenabirhie, Cambridge added Ahadme (top scorer on loan from Ipswich), Kachunga, Kaikai and Lyle Taylor. These five have scored 33 goals for them in 128 appearances, goals that look virtually certain to keep them up. Last game, ironically, they put three past Wigan.
Cambridge have smaller attendances than we do - and I infer, a smaller budget - and yet they had seemingly little difficuly in adding forwards to their squad having lost Smith and Knibbs to Reading in the summer. So we are entitled to ask some searching questions about striker recruitment. Cambridge are a well managed club, a community club, and they have an unrelenting focus on what happens on the pitch first and foremost.
To me, therefore, our owners have got to have a serious look at where their priorities lie. This season may be too late (let's hope and pray not) but next season needs a complete change of focus. If not, we can expect more of the same.
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Foyle? According to Wiki:
"Foyle was named as Head of Recruitment at Northampton Town in February 2015. He went on to work as chief scout at Scottish Premiership club Motherwell the following year. Speaking in September 2019, "Well" scout Martin Corrigan credited Foyle with bringing a high calibre of players to Fir Park, calling him a "workaholic" with an encyclopedic knowledge of the English football's lower leagues. He returned to Northampton Town in his former role as Head of Recruitment in May 2021. He left Northampton Town in November 2021 to become Morecambe's Head of Recruitment. He left the role six months later. He joined Scottish Premiership side St Mirren as Head of Recruitment in June 2022."
An interesting possibility, given his expertise in recruitment, which is something we desperately need after the last three windows.
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1 minute ago, SuperHuman said:
Jason Lowe must have the worst record in football history in terms of coming on to see the game out. It’s an open invitation for the opposition. We concede every time.
He wouldn’t get in a top half national league side.
Neither would the rest
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9 minutes ago, JS Valiant said:
Well Shanahan and Flitcroft what next ?
Totally played off the Park by Fleetwood
The other results went Vale’s way and what do they do.
Moore isn’t fit to lick Darrell Clarke’s boots
Tactically he has been out done by a manager who has managed about 12 games
Keep Ripley and get rid of the rest, can’t see a game out again.
We’ll be lucky - Ripley will be the first out followed by Gazza, Ojo and Chizzy.
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1 minute ago, Sam Kelly's Left Boot said:
88mins we're 2-0 up at home.
FT 2-2
Absolutely awful second half, Fleetwood deserved atleast 1pt.
David Flitcroft had better start assembling the squad for league 2, because that's us done.
Flitcroft had better start clearing his desk. Wouldn’t trust him with the Northern Premier let alone L2. The architect of our downfall.
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That’s it. We’re down. What a shower Flitcroft has assembled, taking us straight back to L2. Completely useless.
If Carol thinks she can entrust him with any more of her money she is certifiable.
Well, season over and I’m done until next season unless Flitcroft is still here then I think it’s Leek or Hanley Town.
What a shambles.
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2 hours ago, Phil said:
What is House of the Year?
It's a fancy name for Company of the Year awarded by private equity companies at their annual awards event. If anyone is wondering what this company does, it buys promising businesses, builds them up and then sells them on at a profit. Its average return to investors is 6 1/2 times their investment, making it the most successful company of its kind in Europe. As someone else has posted, I wonder if Carol could tap them for some investment in the club?
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Wow! Bought for £180m, which should buy a few forwards 😀. Synova is Europe’s top performing private equity company who have won House of the Year for four of the last seven years. We should be pleased but it’s a worry to think that DF may be allowed to spend the money. Just think of all those forwards he’s been chasing for the last two years 😬.
On a separate note, I wonder what the Synectics staff will think?
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This may not look too shabby to any prospective managers looking in. We didn't give up, snatched a late point (which to me always feels like a win) and any manager worth his salt would be confident of improving our defending.
Much depends on our beloved DOF: given the dire straits we're in, if he's stupid enough not to let an incoming manager do what he needs to do to keep us up he's lost his marbles and deserves the order of the boot. And Carol, despite our apparent lack of funds, needs somehow to find the money from somewhere to get the right bloke in or it's goodnight L1.
But we're still in it and everything to play for despite the current table.
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2-2 Never in doubt 😃
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7 minutes ago, Vtid said:
Reading & Charlton draw the best possible result for us. Come on Vale!!!
Reading one up
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Just now, davehartshill said:
Cheltenham winning again. They’ll finish above us.
I wonder why?
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1 minute ago, Bycarsbill said:
Their guy has now made amends for his early own-goal!!
And only his second goal ever in over 100 appearances. Port Vale - the gift that keeps on giving
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Normal service is resumed
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Back in bottom four. C'mon Vale, we have to find a way to win this
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Ah well, it was good while it lasted 🙁
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Blackburn now 3-0 after just 37 minutes - cue meltdown on P&G tonight
Ha, now 3-1
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Fleetwood one up at Lincoln
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As it stands, think Stoke are one point off the bottom three, QPR winning
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Blackburn two up
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Up to 18th place and only 19 points off the play-offs 😀
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Summer transfer rumours and speculation
in Port Vale present
Posted
Yes, you need the network to get chapter and verse on them but, as a starting point, the headlines are easy to find. Shortlisted for the Non-League Golden boot (in addition to the ones I listed in an earlier post) are Joe Taylor (Ramsgate, 40 goals), Dawid Rogalski (Marlow, 34 goals), Jake Reed (Lowestoft, 32 goals) and Marcus Wylie (Enfield, 33 goals). Enfield also have Sam Young on 27 goals, making a very effective partnership that has taken them into the playoffs for the National. So, yes, did we ever even consider them?
What sticks in my mind (as I'm reminded living here) is how effective Cambridge's forward recruitment has been. After losing both Smith and Knibbs to Reading, they recruited Kaikai, Kachunga, Ahadme and Lyle Taylor - in addition to Okenabirhie - and these five strikers have scored 33 goals for them in 141 games, almost certainly enough to keep them up.
We'll see how good they are on Saturday when they turn up at Vale Park.