Just seen they’ve won 3 of their first 4. Bit of a cliche but don’t seem many easy games atm, at least on paper.  I’m going a deserved but edgy 2-1 win.  Still not firing on all cylinders for a while.

30 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

Yes if you just love stats and not actually watching a game. If you saw any player giving the ball away 5 times out of 6, crack on.

You wanted facts, unfortunately facts are stats

1 minute ago, RUREADY2ROLL said:

Both Cissoko and Gale are poor

Cissoko showed promise on Wednesday but the bloke Plymouth fans gave the health warning about was on show today, loads of step overs but bugger all else. 

Not convinced with Gale either, pre season was promising but not taken it into the league games yet. 

Refs are clearly under instruction not to punish time wasting before a certain time, which beggars belief. 

3 hours ago, Johnnyrotten said:

Imagine if you're a scout and asked to watch a keeper closely to decide if he's worth buying.  Well I've watched TSL for 5 games now and I've no idea if he can make saves.

Scouting report - he's tall, he can pass a wicked 30 yarder with either foot.

He made a fantastic point blank save in the first half to keep us in the game 

1 hour ago, Under_Score said:

I get where you are coming from but to me, he shows more effort than Randall 

Respect your opinion and all that, but I now know you’re definitely smoking crack 😁

26 minutes ago, Tombwfc said:

I keep hearing we're the Harlem Globetrotters in waiting, but 3 wins in 18 is absolutely abysmal.

Doesn’t look great compared to Evatt’s 50% win record does it?
But Schumacher is widely considered the Messiah and will get plenty of time to put the record straight and with this squad as it stands now he has enough to do it if he tweaks a few things and gets them properly motivated. That said, after Wednesday’s performance he should have tweaked different things for today IMO - and the motivation of the team is questionable after the lethargic start we made today. 
 

Think I’m in the play both Dalby and Burstow camp and let one drop off when required to link play up, rather than have Randall as a 10.

 

2 hours ago, Tombwfc said:

I keep hearing we're the Harlem Globetrotters in waiting, but 3 wins in 18 is absolutely abysmal.

Just a few tweaks away from battering teams apparently 

4 hours ago, L/H White said:

Just a few tweaks away from battering teams apparently 

Just wait until it all clicks 😒

8 hours ago, Tombwfc said:

I keep hearing we're the Harlem Globetrotters in waiting, but 3 wins in 18 is absolutely abysmal.

2 completely different teams. 

It's ridiculous to bring the tail end of last season into it. A lot of that shower had given up. The season was done after Barnsley.

 

I’ve been away and only seen the games on TV so far so opinion can vary to in the flesh. 

A few things stick out for me.

There were 7 new players not in the squad from last year and were only 5 games in. 

We’ve not recruited in defence (aside from Taylor who’s been injured) so there’s an argument to say it’s no surprise that we’re still a soft touch at the back. I think Conway has looked streets ahead of our options last year. 

We look to tire after about 35 mins in each half to me. 

The new style and setup is more about pace and counter attacking which is difficult when we typically tend to have more of the ball.

We really needed to sign a goalscorer particularly when we’ve lost Charles and Collins goals. I like the look of Burstow and his endeavour, can’t really comment on Dalby. I’m not convinced either will hit double figures which is concerning. 

Dubbery looks a real threat, Gale and Sissoko both look hit and miss.

I think we’re still lacking 4 players to turn us into contenders. I think we need another solid centre half, a right back, a goal scorer and a winger that gets on the outside and can cross. This is still some way away from where we need to be and may take at least another 1/2 windows to achieve whilst also moving some of the others on. 

Surely nobody thought we’d just turn up and piss the league? We were miles off it last year following the Oxford debacle.

Keep the faith lads, it’s a long old season. There might be an outside shout at the play offs.

 

More encouraging that we created some really clear goal scoring opportunities. 
 

Randall missed 2 sitters (you can say great saves and they were, but they really should be in the back of the net) and ACD got his header wrong after great work to get goal side for the (rightly) disallowed goal. Morley’s half volley whilst difficult to control was for him, an excellent opportunity.

 

The equaliser whilst fortunate was great football. 
 

im more positive than I was yesterday, but again, we really need to start picking up the wins that our play deserves. And to do that we have to be able to defend crosses and be ruthless. Otherwise, we’ll just be another bog standard league one team 

11 hours ago, masi 51 said:

Let it go, Schumacher is a county mile better than the one before....Yes he is hampered with players on contracts  from the previous regime.......Go on i will bite tell me a better signing Evatt  has made over Schumacher

So far, results wise, he is a country mile behind Evatt. 

Dapo, Trafford, Bradley 

 

 

16 minutes ago, bwfc4ife said:

I’ve been away and only seen the games on TV so far so opinion can vary to in the flesh. 

A few things stick out for me.

There were 7 new players not in the squad from last year and were only 5 games in. 

We’ve not recruited in defence (aside from Taylor who’s been injured) so there’s an argument to say it’s no surprise that we’re still a soft touch at the back. I think Conway has looked streets ahead of our options last year. 

We look to tire after about 35 mins in each half to me. 

The new style and setup is more about pace and counter attacking which is difficult when we typically tend to have more of the ball.

We really needed to sign a goalscorer particularly when we’ve lost Charles and Collins goals. I like the look of Burstow and his endeavour, can’t really comment on Dalby. I’m not convinced either will hit double figures which is concerning. 

Dubbery looks a real threat, Gale and Sissoko both look hit and miss.

I think we’re still lacking 4 players to turn us into contenders. I think we need another solid centre half, a right back, a goal scorer and a winger that gets on the outside and can cross. This is still some way away from where we need to be and may take at least another 1/2 windows to achieve whilst also moving some of the others on. 

Surely nobody thought we’d just turn up and piss the league? We were miles off it last year following the Oxford debacle.

Keep the faith lads, it’s a long old season. There might be an outside shout at the play offs.

 

Really good post.

I’d add - even though it’s technically 7 new players in the starting line up, you could argue that Randall is like having a new player starting, and when Tutu is right back then that’s pretty much the same too. It’s only really centre backs (and Cogley yesterday) that are consistent from last year. That’s some change for them to get used to.

Personally I’d say we’re only 2 (RB and No.10) away from being contenders but that’s just personal preference - the point stands that we’re not far off.

Oh and I think there’s an outside chance of autos - I’d be amazed if we miss the play offs

28 minutes ago, gonzo said:

2 completely different teams. 

It's ridiculous to bring the tail end of last season into it. A lot of that shower had given up. The season was done after Barnsley.

 

 

And yet, the consistent thing about those two teams is Schumacher not being able to get results with either of them. Playing against sides in the third tier with lesser talent and fewer resources. 

That's not being negative, it's just the reality of it. I'm not saying he can't solve it or he has to go. I'm just saying the last 18 results aren't just 'nearly there, going to start hammering sides in a minute', it's relegation stuff.

What's ridiculous is to ignore a significant run of form because 'last seasons results don't count' and this season 'we should have won every game'. So really we're flying I suppose.

11 minutes ago, CambridgeBWFC said:

So far, results wise, he is a country mile behind Evatt. 

Dapo, Trafford, Bradley 

 

 

In what way is he behind Evatt?  after half a season Evett had us in our lowest ever position 17th in lge2

Crellin. Grenidge, Comley

Its always going to be super frustrating not seeing us be where we all want us to be yet, and 2 draws at home against Lincoln and Reading is poor.

However, we all know that we arguably should have won all 5 games so far and have been the better side, creating the better chances and conceding less chances.

Yes the scoreline is all that matters. But I think at this stage of the season, for me personally, I never expected us to start like a house on fire. We've signed a whole new squad, playin a whole new style, it's gonna take a bit of time.

I'm not saying the result doesn't matter as we definitely need to start getting wins on the board. But the performances at this stage are really important. Most of us can see that this team has a lot of potential and just need a bit longer and a couple more signings for it to really take flow.

Yesterday our team was a whole 4 years younger than Lincoln, playing against one of the Leagues most physical and defensively solid teams, playing under a manager that they've had for a numbers of seasons now. Yet we still pushed them to the end to get a result.

Schuey could see that the 1st half wasn't working, he changed both midfielders and we had complete and utter control of the game from there onwards. 83% of the ball and limiting them to not a single shot on goal.

Unfortunately, you can chuck all these numbers and data and say we played well to people and they won't be happy until we start winning more, which is fair.

But for me personally I see a good and exciting team there for sure and believe that Schuey will know how to get them all going.

12 hours ago, gonzo said:

I hope he's got em in tomorrow doing nothing but how to take a pissing corner for 10 hours straight.

 

Not just corners, our set pieces and crosses are likewise awful. I think crossing a ball is an art and some players are brilliant at it. Luca Connel is one and obviously Phil Morais was another, if only we had him now. If we can move Randall and McAtee out Luca would certainly be my first choice.

Edited August 24, 2025Aug 24 by Whitesince63
Bloody spell checker!

3 minutes ago, masi 51 said:

In what way is he behind Evatt?  after half a season Evett had us in our lowest ever position 17th in lge2

Crellin. Grenidge, Comley

PPG 1.2 Vs 1.72

You asked for any signing Evatt made that was better than Schumachers, I easily gave you 3. There are others.

This is a rank start and I really hope we can turn it around, because another season in this league is just just an awful prospect. But I am not seeing much light at the end of the tunnel, we are shipping the same goals and we are creating lots and have very little end product. We have players who should change the system, but we are sticking with a similar approach and not getting the ball in quickly from wide areas for the strikers. It is frustrating, and then just pinning the blame on Evatt is ridiculous at this point.

 

7 minutes ago, masi 51 said:

In what way is he behind Evatt?  after half a season Evett had us in our lowest ever position 17th in lge2

Crellin. Grenidge, Comley

That's where I'm retaining perspective, and some of those losing their shit on other platforms ought to. If we'd had spectators in the ground Evatt would have been on borrowed time after that debacle v Port Vale. 

Only after the binning of Phoenix and his duff signings, and the Jan window splurge did we start looking a side and make a run for it. 

We might well be a bit win lose draw for a good while yet and need another window's worth of ins and outs to be ready to make a strong run through Feb to April. History's shown that's enough time in the lower leagues.

10 hours ago, ianofcleveleys said:

As Shearer has said on MOTD about Gyokeres, strikers need feeding and when a new one comes in like him, the team needs to work out how to do it. 

A week now on the training ground, hopefully some time to work with ACD, Gale and Cissoko (and Tutu for when he covers it) on preparedness to go outside, change angles and put more crosses in for Burstow or Dalby to attack. 

Cissoko in particular will be getting the hard word, SS quickly lost patience and hooked him after two airy fairy losses of the ball in a minute. 

Two of those wingers have been here for a good few weeks now.

They ought to be aware if the team's needs, and be varying their approach.

SS must be able to see what fans can, so you'd assume he's fairly happy with what they're doing.

If he's not, then either swap them over, or be a but more pragmatic in shape/personnel. 

He can't keep waiting for them to get the message; Burstow told them after his first goal for us what he needed, but it isn't regular enough to be effective and we could end up being too far off "before it clicks".

5 minutes ago, Tombwfc said:

 

And yet, the consistent thing about those two teams is Schumacher not being able to get results with either of them. Playing against sides in the third tier with lesser talent and fewer resources. 

That's not being negative, it's just the reality of it. I'm not saying he can't solve it or he has to go. I'm just saying the last 18 results aren't just 'nearly there, going to start hammering sides in a minute', it's relegation stuff.

What's ridiculous is to ignore a significant run of form because 'last seasons results don't count' and this season 'we should have won every game'. So really we're flying I suppose.

I think this is about where I am, although I'm hoping if we switched to a three in the middle with two of them being runners, it could be the thing that turns the wheel

But I don't really understand the idea that we shouldn't include last season's performances in judging Schumacher's performance

We were in the play-offs and should have made it comfortably yet we just dropped off

If the players simply downed tools after getting us back into the play-off places, why did they down tools?

6 minutes ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

Two of those wingers have been here for a good few weeks now.

They ought to be aware if the team's needs, and be varying their approach.

SS must be able to see what fans can, so you'd assume he's fairly happy with what they're doing.

If he's not, then either swap them over, or be a but more pragmatic in shape/personnel. 

He can't keep waiting for them to get the message; Burstow told them after his first goal for us what he needed, but it isn't regular enough to be effective and we could end up being too far off "before it clicks".

Spot on it’s bloody frustrating watching then cutting in and trying to score from 25 + yards and that must frustrate Burstow and Randall. 
I always thought the idea of playing with wingers is to get the ball in the fecking box not doing fancy stepovers and flicks, 

Surely SS must see this? 

2 minutes ago, Tonge moor green jacket said:

Two of those wingers have been here for a good few weeks now.

They ought to be aware if the team's needs, and be varying their approach.

SS must be able to see what fans can, so you'd assume he's fairly happy with what they're doing.

If he's not, then either swap them over, or be a but more pragmatic in shape/personnel. 

He can't keep waiting for them to get the message; Burstow told them after his first goal for us what he needed, but it isn't regular enough to be effective and we could end up being too far off "before it clicks".

Agreed, my concern with it is it feels like another of those modern day pigeon holing situations, fine if SS likes the idea of inverted wingers and brings wingers in that are good at that, but if we're saying they're so one-dimensional that swapping sides and beating a man on the outside is alien to them it undermines the idea of having a no9 who wants feeding balls to attack. 

Back to the 'he's a 6 but not an 8' sort of waffle again. If he wanted two in both positions, for cover, why not have at least one of the four that favours going outside? It's the bit about what SS said about his approach back in May that's a bit 'not as advertised'. I might have made more of it than I should but I got the impression that he wanted wingers that were physical, quick and direct, and who got in defenders faces, and give them the sort of hard time Wigan's wide men did that day when they roasted us 4-0. What we've got is inverted wingers who are largely lightweight, though to be fair ACD, for his size, is a strong lad and has a bit of edge to him.

Hopefully a bit of training ground analysis and tweaking will bring about that bit of variety of approach we look short of at the moment. 

3 minutes ago, Rizlar said:

Spot on it’s bloody frustrating watching then cutting in and trying to score from 25 + yards and that must frustrate Burstow and Randall. 
I always thought the idea of playing with wingers is to get the ball in the fecking box not doing fancy stepovers and flicks, 

Surely SS must see this? 

And yesterday, we saw what happens when crosses do come in.

Defenders hate having to play at a ball facing their own goal.

Several times they just swiped at the ball and it could've gone anywhere.

Even poleaxed one of their own at one point.

So, in summary ; more crosses and quicker. Problem solved 😁.

Be reet 🙏

1 minute ago, Greg_BWFC said:

And yesterday, we saw what happens when crosses do come in.

Defenders hate having to play at a ball facing their own goal.

Several times they just swiped at the ball and it could've gone anywhere.

Even poleaxed one of their own at one point.

So, in summary ; more crosses and quicker. Problem solved 😁.

Be reet 🙏

Agreed and that what frustrates me SS  needs to sort it or is that what he wants from his wingers surely not.