MK Dons v Cheltenham Town

Talk about anything to do with Cheltenham Town, CTFC 500 Club, League 1, ex players & Managers

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Jon Palmer
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Joined: 13 Feb 2010, 20:19
Team news, live updates and video reaction all here this afternoon: http://bit.ly/MKDonsAway" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Alf
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Joined: 17 Apr 2011, 08:24
For me, it’s crying out for Barnett to come on and help out Varney. We need a goal ffs.
It is very painful to watch. Not sure how much more of this I can take!.
We could be six down if it wasn’t for Flinders.
kiaora84
Posts: 254
Joined: 25 Nov 2014, 23:39
Anyone who still thinks we won’t be in a relegation battle come the end of the season is deluded. We are a very poor side. Not looking forward to getting a hammering at FGR
I-Love-CTFC
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Joined: 09 Jul 2011, 15:55
A Duff performance all round.
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Lord Elpuz
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Joined: 20 Jul 2011, 19:35
The Club was threatened with non-League once Martin Allen was appointed; it was in an extremely poor state and almost went into Administration. The writing was on the wall in those days.

Yatesie rescued the Club - but in the eyes of some, he outstayed his welcome and was unceremoniously dumped.

Buckle then succeeded where Allen had failed and despite his sacking, it was too late to stop the drop.

Enter the saviour, Gary Johnson, who against all expectation brought the Club back from despair before he too was unceremoniously dumped.

Good luck to Michael Duff, but the omens from 2008-2009 have previously been staved off by two exceptional appointments in the last 10 years, but maybe our run of good fortune is deserting us.

Will Duff be the third exceptional appointment Cheltenham have made in the last 10 years? We’d better hope so, or the prophesies in this thread may come to fruition.
Artemis
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Joined: 28 Dec 2009, 20:36
But with Mullins, Flinders, Hussey, Alcock, Varney and Barnett and the potential of Maddox, Broom and Thomas, we shouldn't be a bad side.
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Hubert Parry
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Joined: 22 Jul 2011, 09:09
I agree. I'm not buying this "we're not good enough" argument at all. Confidence is low, and it is the manager's job to fix that. Unfortunately, I've yet to see or hear anything from Michael Duff that has diminished my scepticism. I hope he is given the opportunity to change my view.
I-Love-CTFC
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Has there actually been any improvement at all so far? Bringing in Varney is the only decent change.
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Hubert Parry
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Not as far as I can see
Robin
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Joined: 20 Nov 2009, 11:19
Today was utterly woeful I'm afraid. Poor tactics, team clearly low on confidence and no cohesion at all. Duff came in and started a pressing game then today we seemingly abandoned that idea and just let the Franchise play the long ball over the top behind our defence with great success. Make no mistake the Franchise may be one of the favourites for promotion but they are no where near the quality of Lincoln yet they had a very comfortable afternoon today.

Lots of talk at the game as to whetehr we have improved under Duff and despite some early positive signs the last three games you'd have to say we haven't. Time of Duff to prove he has hte quality now.
cheltsaxon
Posts: 573
Joined: 10 Nov 2010, 21:51
Location: Cheltenhamshire
Are you seriously on duffs back?!!!! If he can keep this club up then he's done an amazing job, If you don't think we have improved sice he's been here then look at the results before he came we were losing every week! Sice he's come we have drawn a couple and looked better, he's not a magician the players he has at his disposal are to be brutally honest terrible!
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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Joined: 21 Nov 2009, 03:27
cheltsaxon wrote:Are you seriously on duffs back?!!!! If he can keep this club up then he's done an amazing job, If you don't think we have improved sice he's been here then look at the results before he came we were losing every week! Sice he's come we have drawn a couple and looked better, he's not a magician the players he has at his disposal are to be brutally honest terrible!
Two draws for Duff in five games. As opposed two the two wins and a draw in the seven games previous.
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Malabus
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Joined: 20 Nov 2009, 12:26
Location: The Death Star.
cheltsaxon wrote:Are you seriously on duffs back?!!!! If he can keep this club up then he's done an amazing job, If you don't think we have improved sice he's been here then look at the results before he came we were losing every week! Sice he's come we have drawn a couple and looked better, he's not a magician the players he has at his disposal are to be brutally honest terrible!
Have to agree with others : not a slight hint of improvements. Usually a new manager lift the team 30/40% and catagous on and off the pitch. No indication of any improvements if you compare Kewell at Notts County as an example.
I-Love-CTFC
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Joined: 09 Jul 2011, 15:55
Might as well have kept Russell Milton in charge because nothing has changed whatsoever. Watch Northampton improve now they've appointed Keith Curle.
CTFC03
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Joined: 01 Jun 2013, 20:32
I find it hard to criticise Duff, he's inherited a mess from the Johnson's and they should be ashamed of themselves, they're gone but what they've left behind is a joke and it's becoming a worry now.
London Exile
Posts: 3193
Joined: 06 Dec 2009, 15:48
CTFC03 wrote:I find it hard to criticise Duff, he's inherited a mess from the Johnson's and they should be ashamed of themselves, they're gone but what they've left behind is a joke and it's becoming a worry now.
I agree with this. My annoyance is directed to the board where largely the same group have made the same errors as they did in our last relegation season. My finger of blame is firmly in that direction but if lessons weren’t learnt then, they won’t be learnt now. The Eisa funds which should have been used to propel us to the next level now look like being frittered away to help us keep our heads above water in 22nd.

On the field we seem to be getting worse especially defensively where we seem to be opened up at will by opponents.
There’s already a gap opening up to the mid table sides and at the moment I’m struggling to see us stringing the results together to get amongst that pack and away from the drop zone.

The players do look short on confidence, we need that spark, that bit of luck to come from somewhere and give us the lift we need.
A difficult time being a Cheltenham Town fan once again
cheltsaxon
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Joined: 10 Nov 2010, 21:51
Location: Cheltenhamshire
RegencyCheltenhamSpa wrote:
cheltsaxon wrote:Are you seriously on duffs back?!!!! If he can keep this club up then he's done an amazing job, If you don't think we have improved sice he's been here then look at the results before he came we were losing every week! Sice he's come we have drawn a couple and looked better, he's not a magician the players he has at his disposal are to be brutally honest terrible!
Two draws for Duff in five games. As opposed two the two wins and a draw in the seven games previous.
Howabout going a few games further and us on an 11 game losing streak?! One of the wins we was managerless so doesn't really count either. We are improving the players believe now too, he's finding his feet it's his first management job! If he keeps us up he's worked a small miracle in my eyes we are terrible.
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Hubert Parry
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Joined: 22 Jul 2011, 09:09
A miracle? Really? With a squad containing Flinders, Alcock, Hussey, Mullins, Broom, Maddox, Varney etc, and a January transfer window to come?

We are underperforming, plain and simple. Our confidence is shot and the way the team is set up feeds into that. No ambition with our attacking play whatsoever.
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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Joined: 21 Nov 2009, 03:27
cheltsaxon wrote:
RegencyCheltenhamSpa wrote:
cheltsaxon wrote:Are you seriously on duffs back?!!!! If he can keep this club up then he's done an amazing job, If you don't think we have improved sice he's been here then look at the results before he came we were losing every week! Sice he's come we have drawn a couple and looked better, he's not a magician the players he has at his disposal are to be brutally honest terrible!
Two draws for Duff in five games. As opposed two the two wins and a draw in the seven games previous.
Howabout going a few games further and us on an 11 game losing streak?! One of the wins we was managerless so doesn't really count either. We are improving the players believe now too, he's finding his feet it's his first management job! If he keeps us up he's worked a small miracle in my eyes we are terrible.
Managerless or Russ in charge, matters not - it was two wins.

On the one hand you talk about last season, but on the other talk about the players believing - given they are two different sets of players you can’t claim both for your argument.

I am not criticising Duff, or supporting previous managers. Merely pointing out that whilst you say Duff has improved things in his five games, that has not yet manifested in better results, which were better in the five games prior to Duff taking over.

In fact, in his five games Duff has 2 points, 3 goals for and ten goals against.

In the five League games before, we acheieved 6 points, 6 goals for and 6 goals against.

Obviously five games is too few to judge with the opposition standard varying, but it shows that there is not yet anything to back up your assertions that Duff has improved things.
Robin
Posts: 15948
Joined: 20 Nov 2009, 11:19
cheltsaxon wrote:
RegencyCheltenhamSpa wrote:
cheltsaxon wrote:Are you seriously on duffs back?!!!! If he can keep this club up then he's done an amazing job, If you don't think we have improved sice he's been here then look at the results before he came we were losing every week! Sice he's come we have drawn a couple and looked better, he's not a magician the players he has at his disposal are to be brutally honest terrible!
Two draws for Duff in five games. As opposed two the two wins and a draw in the seven games previous.
Howabout going a few games further and us on an 11 game losing streak?! One of the wins we was managerless so doesn't really count either. We are improving the players believe now too, he's finding his feet it's his first management job! If he keeps us up he's worked a small miracle in my eyes we are terrible.
Hard to say we're improving when our last two performances have probably been our worst of the season. It may be that confidence is rock bottom but today we looked disorganised and toothless, nobody wanted to beat a man or play a forward pass. Our squad is missing quality in key areas (largely midfield) but compare it to say Macclesfied, Morecambe, possibly Cambridge and we have more quality than they do (as well as a significantly bigger wage budget I would assume).


Our biggest problem I feel is Duff wants to play a certain way and the current squad don't really fit that. For example take Maddox who is a fantastic prospect, he is being forced out on the wing (and was under GJ too) but really is best suited in the centre behind forwards. We then have no real wingers other than Dawson/Broom who both play in the same position. More strikingly we've lost Winchester, Pell and Morrell in midfield and replaced them with mediocre players like Clements, Thomas, Smith. Had we kept at least one I'd be feeling a lot more confident and surely a dominant creative central midfielder is the number one priority in January closely followed by at least one winger.
kiaora84
Posts: 254
Joined: 25 Nov 2014, 23:39
Ridiculous to get on Duffs case. The 3 games we’ve lost during his reign currently sit 1st, 2nd and 4th in the league :lol: so as pre duff the points we have taken are from teams around us in the league.
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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kiaora84 wrote:Ridiculous to get on Duffs case. The 3 games we’ve lost during his reign currently sit 1st, 2nd and 4th in the league :lol: so as pre duff the points we have taken are from teams around us in the league.
No one is getting on his case - simply saying there are no clear signs of improvement.

Hopefully the two weeks of training before the next game will be a chance for Duff to sort things out.

Failing to beat Morecambe at home is the lowest ebb of the season so far but I am positive that that was rock bottom and we will only improve from then on.
Artemis
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Joined: 28 Dec 2009, 20:36
At least we can't be bottom by the time we play next. 23rd possibly but not bottom.
Nham68
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Joined: 17 Aug 2013, 16:33
Need to put in context that we’ve played 3 of the top 4 teams during last 4 games....
kiaora84
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Joined: 25 Nov 2014, 23:39
RegencyCheltenhamSpa wrote:
kiaora84 wrote:Ridiculous to get on Duffs case. The 3 games we’ve lost during his reign currently sit 1st, 2nd and 4th in the league :lol: so as pre duff the points we have taken are from teams around us in the league.
No one is getting on his case - simply saying there are no clear signs of improvement.

Hopefully the two weeks of training before the next game will be a chance for Duff to sort things out.

Failing to beat Morecambe at home is the lowest ebb of the season so far but I am positive that that was rock bottom and we will only improve from then on.
People are getting on his case. Have a look on Twitter and Facebook. Morecambe had won their previous two games before coming to WR. The lowest ebb of the season is by far scraping a 1-1 draw against an awful Maccesfield team.
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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kiaora84 wrote:
RegencyCheltenhamSpa wrote:
kiaora84 wrote:Ridiculous to get on Duffs case. The 3 games we’ve lost during his reign currently sit 1st, 2nd and 4th in the league :lol: so as pre duff the points we have taken are from teams around us in the league.
No one is getting on his case - simply saying there are no clear signs of improvement.

Hopefully the two weeks of training before the next game will be a chance for Duff to sort things out.

Failing to beat Morecambe at home is the lowest ebb of the season so far but I am positive that that was rock bottom and we will only improve from then on.
People are getting on his case. Have a look on Twitter and Facebook. Morecambe had won their previous two games before coming to WR. The lowest ebb of the season is by far scraping a 1-1 draw against an awful Maccesfield team.
Only difference is Macc was away of course. Regardless of their previous results, any team with ambitions not to be in the bottom three or four must be beating Morecambe at home.
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Lord Elpuz
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Those who are defending Duff’s record so far are the one’s who called for GJ’s head and also wanted rid of Russ Milton and Bookie. Likely they are the same group who wanted shot of Yatesie when he was in charge. These are the ‘dice-rollers’ who struggle to cope with a run of poor results and get on the Board’s back via the terraces. They’ve now got their man in charge of the Team and will not see any wrong in him - for the moment - but I hope for the Club’s sake they are right.

Compare a table of results this season against who was running the team for each game and you will see that we were losing by the odd goal during GJ’s matches, we were winning games with Russ Milton and now we are losing badly under Duff. There has not yet been any improvement ... but we all live in hope.

FGR away is now an enormous game.
Alf
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Getting shot of Yatesey was hardly a knee jerk reaction. As a club in think that over the years we have been far more generous than other clubs in the time they've been given to sort things out. I'd hate to think what league we'd be in if you were chairman.
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Ihearye
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Lord Elpuz wrote:Those who are defending Duff’s record so far are the one’s who called for GJ’s head and also wanted rid of Russ Milton and Bookie. Likely they are the same group who wanted shot of Yatesie when he was in charge. These are the ‘dice-rollers’ who struggle to cope with a run of poor results and get on the Board’s back via the terraces. They’ve now got their man in charge of the Team and will not see any wrong in him - for the moment - but I hope for the Club’s sake they are right.

Compare a table of results this season against who was running the team for each game and you will see that we were losing by the odd goal during GJ’s matches, we were winning games with Russ Milton and now we are losing badly under Duff. There has not yet been any improvement ... but we all live in hope.

FGR away is now an enormous game.
Bit of a stretch to proclaim two years as struggle to cope with a run of poor results. Duff has been seen as an investment for the future. GJ proved that in L2 he was bringing us nowhere (I would argue). This year is CTFC in damage limitation mode, with the hope of better to come
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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Ihearye wrote:
Lord Elpuz wrote:Those who are defending Duff’s record so far are the one’s who called for GJ’s head and also wanted rid of Russ Milton and Bookie. Likely they are the same group who wanted shot of Yatesie when he was in charge. These are the ‘dice-rollers’ who struggle to cope with a run of poor results and get on the Board’s back via the terraces. They’ve now got their man in charge of the Team and will not see any wrong in him - for the moment - but I hope for the Club’s sake they are right.

Compare a table of results this season against who was running the team for each game and you will see that we were losing by the odd goal during GJ’s matches, we were winning games with Russ Milton and now we are losing badly under Duff. There has not yet been any improvement ... but we all live in hope.

FGR away is now an enormous game.
Bit of a stretch to proclaim two years as struggle to cope with a run of poor results. Duff has been seen as an investment for the future. GJ proved that in L2 he was bringing us nowhere (I would argue). This year is CTFC in damage limitation mode, with the hope of better to come
Indeed, we need to be prepared and patient for long term. After Allen, Yates had to firefight to save us from relegation in that season and did that. His first full season was developmental, fourth at Christmas but almost relegated in May. That development continued to the two play-off seasons. This is the time horizon we need to be thinking of with Duff at the helm.
The Old TomCat
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I was not at game so cannot nor will not comment on it but reading The Football League Paper I notice that Flinders was included in their Team of the Day.
First time that I can remember a goal-keeper conceding three goals and getting included.
Impressive and congrats to the guy.
RegencyCheltenhamSpa
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The Old TomCat wrote:I was not at game so cannot nor will not comment on it but reading The Football League Paper I notice that Flinders was included in their Team of the Day.
First time that I can remember a goal-keeper conceding three goals and getting included.
Impressive and congrats to the guy.
Quite common for CTFC over the last 5-6 seasons for the keeper to be MOTM even when we lost by two or three
little mo
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The Old TomCat wrote:I was not at game so cannot nor will not comment on it but reading The Football League Paper I notice that Flinders was included in their Team of the Day.
First time that I can remember a goal-keeper conceding three goals and getting included.
Impressive and congrats to the guy.
This was obviously a misprint. In the match report Flinders was marked as 6/10 and 11 other keepers in League Two were marked higher than that.
SHANDY VOR
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To me, it seems like you have appointed a very good coach to manage the team. He appears to me to be a slow burner who will need plenty of time to instil his own methods and culture into the club, in particular he will need to bring in his own players to do this, and he cannot do so until January.

Sure, you could have got a fire and brimstone manager in to frighten a few wins out of the team but this initial new manager bounce would not likely last for long and may not be healthy for the club in the long term.

I think your board are playing the long game, knowing that you are unlikely to go down this season or be challenging at the top end, so they are putting things in place this now for results next season or later. Some of you need to be more patient.
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