Luton Town v Cheltenham Town

[everyman]

On the evidence of his performances when he is in the team, Barts should be a regular.

He does make some great runs,but nobody used to pass to him,Carl Winchester did !

[Robin]

I really rate Barts - much better than Cranners in my view - however Pike also looks good based on what I've seen.

[confused.com]

great to see that the new faces many of the fans were calling for have made such a difference to the squad !! Just think were we could have been if we had this strength in depth all season

Probably much higher up the table, but with the unsavoury feeling of guilt that we did not give the Champions a chance.

This season was about getting a foothold in the league and build for promotion during the next two years. I was proud to see Gary Johnson and The Champions play half a season as men of honour.

But surely the sensible debate is that, just like now, they would have their chance ? Fight for a place in a L2 team and keep it. Surely much more rewarding that trooping out on a saturday afternoon, thinking you are only here out of sympathy ??? No need for the two arguments to be juxtaposed ?

[confused.com]

I really rate Barts - much better than Cranners in my view - however Pike also looks good based on what I've seen.

Hope you have your kevlar on !!!!!!

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

great to see that the new faces many of the fans were calling for have made such a difference to the squad !! Just think were we could have been if we had this strength in depth all season

Probably much higher up the table, but with the unsavoury feeling of guilt that we did not give the Champions a chance.

This season was about getting a foothold in the league and build for promotion during the next two years. I was proud to see Gary Johnson and The Champions play half a season as men of honour.

But surely the sensible debate is that, just like now, they would have their chance ? Fight for a place in a L2 team and keep it. Surely much more rewarding that trooping out on a saturday afternoon, thinking you are only here out of sympathy ??? No need for the two arguments to be juxtaposed ?

But that would have meant having a squad of about 30 and gambling on new signings without knowing what part of the team would need strengthening.

We started with a full squad abd learnt during the autumn what parts of the squad needed strengthening before fixing it.

If you think a your car engine won't last til the MOT, you would not buy a replacement part for every component. You would wait til there are signs of what needs replacing before spending your money.

This season was all about consolidating in the League, and I believe our approach to doing that has been targeted and cost efficient.

[asl]

He does make some great runs,but nobody used to pass to him,Carl Winchester did !

I've just seen the highlights: that was a stonker of through-ball. Could it have been any more perfectly weighted?

[Shade]

Apparently he was playing on the right last night, but came inside during that move. From what I've seen, we definitely need Winchester playing centrally and not stuck on a wing more often than not.

[confused.com]

RCS, I can buy into that argument under the presumption we were obliged to recruit from the room of the slightly suspect in July. Imagine the January recruits or similar pushing on our championship players from the very start of the season. A sublime vision

[theidlerich]

Agree great pass from Winchester, has the insight which we have been lacking centrally. Good finish too from Barts; two decent players.

[Artemis]

That, of the summer recruits, only DoS is still with us suggests the summer recruitment wasn't great. Whether that was because GJ set too much stall by Dickie and Phillips, better players weren't available, some other reason (budget?!) or a combination, I don't know.
This window's efforts seem to have been much more productive. In theory, its unusual that it should be that way. But for sure, Boyle, Winchester, Manny, DDG and Pike are all first team players straightaway, and I can't recall such influential debuts as Kyle Wootton and, more especially, Liam Davis. Just hope Wootton gets to start on Saturday (but I expect to see Danny Wright back up front instead). His control for Waters' goal was something to behold on the highlights.

[FOD_Wyman_2010]

You can't drop Wootton after that performance unless you believe he is struggling physically after getting through a lot of work last night. However much you respect DW's work ethic, this boy looks a cut above technically.

[Reliant Robin]

On summer v winter recruitment, there are pluses and minuses. In CTFCs case it is well documented that the Club and indeed our Manager wanted to give every one of our Champoins a chance and I always supported that decision. It was a gamble that we now know didn't work out. It is possibly the case that some of last seasons Champions over-achieved last season and it therefore seemed like two steps up for some of them when they went into the Football League. Summer recruitment is difficult because a small Club does not want to be paying additional wages for the whole of a summer, when they won't kick a ball in anger for almost 3 months. Nearly all of those we brought in were loans that we were not going to be stuck with, but bolstered numbers in the event of injuries or bans.
As we know, it became apparent after the Summer Transfer Window closed, that we were lacking in the necessary quality to compete at League 2 level, but could do nothing about it until January. This gave Pete Johnson and the Management about 4 months to evaluate where the Team needed strengthening, and to start working through lists of preferred candidates that would be available in January. I believe they had absolute confidence they could get the right recruits in come January, and there was never a sense of panic. I am confident they have chosen well and have had time to get the recruitment right again during the past 4 months, whilst they still needed to get the remaining squad to compete to a level that did not leave us badly adrift in the League. Although the squad struggled, it remained a tight enough League for us to not need too many wins to drag us out of the danger zone. My hope is that we start to see this happen very quickly and the full feel good factor returning for the fans. Last night was a huge step in that direction.

[Johnsons Red Army]

My hope is that we start to see this happen very quickly and the full feel good factor returning for the fans. Last night was a huge step in that direction.

Dare I say it? We are only 15 points off the playoff spots .

[Shade]

My hope is that we start to see this happen very quickly and the full feel good factor returning for the fans. Last night was a huge step in that direction.

Dare I say it? We are only 15 points off the playoff spots .

I reckon we'll just miss out on the play-offs this season...

[Robin]

Even mid-table finish at this stage is going to be a challenge, sixty points is usually the bench mark that means 32 points from 18 remaining games! Form over the season so far would indicate we would more likely hit 20 points from those games and finish around fifty points in total but obviously form can change.

[Johnsons Red Army]

It wasn't meant to be taken too seriously !

[confused.com]

Fair enough, can honestly say I was not aware they were promised places in the starting line up. That being the case, it would indeed have been a waste paying out for better players in July. I was under n it seems, the misapprehension that they were only promised a place in a league 2. Hence my belief we should have brought in better during the summer so as to provide stiffer competition for places. Obv not the situation

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

Even mid-table finish at this stage is going to be a challenge, sixty points is usually the bench mark that means 32 points from 18 remaining games! Form over the season so far would indicate we would more likely hit 20 points from those games and finish around fifty points in total but obviously form can change.

As discussed elsewhere, we will win (at least) 8 more games this season. That is a further 24 points before you factor in any draws.

[Robin]

I feel if we can win seven, lose five and draw six we will have had a solid second half of the season.

[Shade]

Fair enough, can honestly say I was not aware they were promised places in the starting line up. That being the case, it would indeed have been a waste paying out for better players in July. I was under n it seems, the misapprehension that they were only promised a place in a league 2. Hence my belief we should have brought in better during the summer so as to provide stiffer competition for places. Obv not the situation

No, they were promised a chance at League 2 football, until the first transfer window, to prove themselves - they would all play. Unfortunately, quite a few didn't manage to prove themselves.