The Mat Sadler Thread

I’ve noticed with Hutch sometimes he going directly through the middle and other times cutting in and if he’s being asked to do different things and that causes a drop off in performance I would have thought MS ought to recognise that and use him in a way that means that talent is unleashed but as I’ve already mentioned I’m no deep thinking scholar of the game just some old bloke watching it.
I accept DJ doesn’t seem to fit the Sadler plan of how he sees the setup but he’s always a threat given the right service and again to me give him the tools to do his job. In fairness everyone has their own opinion I certainly enjoy reading them.

1 Like

11 Likes

Very incremental.

And thats always the stock response isnt it? Just look at the league table with no understanding of how the positions arose.

If you actually watch the games youll see chalk and cheese.

Watch the Crewe away game in April compared to Crewe away in September or home in December.

Watch the dire Northampton at home match (where we won 1-0) from last season and tell me we arent playing better now.

Watch the Notts County away match where we employed tactics and style that would never have happened in a million years under Flynn.

Watch the 1 or 2 golden chances we spurn every game this season, but werent there last season.

As I say, if you actually watch the games, theres no way youd think we havent progressed.

1 Like

How can anybody can take someone seriously who states results don’t matter and the league position doesnt matter. Its all that matters in football lol.

Andy is nothing more than a very effective troll on here - I refuse to feed the nonsense.

10 Likes

Yeah and you never offer any insight or understanding into the actual matches and can only resort to abuse rather than actual cast iron points.

See you next season. Time will tell.

On reflection, yes.
I just cannot see where the necessary improvement from bottom half of the basement division will come from otherwise.

Hopefully i am wrong.

It’s actually hilarious.

Someone the other day said performances are what’s important - not points :joy:

8 Likes

So you’re not aware of any football side in history thats gone through a period of growth before successful results came?

I mean we literally experienced it under Dean Smith. Its not a hard concept to grasp.

Although perhaps for you it is.

2 Likes

The key question to be answered by Sadler and his supporters is:

Why has this season been such a disappointment?

There are a lot of possible good answers, but anyone who says:

“It hasn’t been a disappointment, we could still finish in the top half” or

“It hasn’t been a disappointment we are playing better than we have in the past few seasons.”

is far too easily pleased.

5 Likes

If we didn’t have hutch or mcentee sadler would be sacked by now

It’s that Low bar we’ve talked about all season.

You’d think we were playing like prime Man City or Barcelona given the comments about the performances

1 Like

I’m not a Sadler in or out, I really don’t know at the moment. I’d say the answer to the question is a mix of the players we have not being good enough overall and a bit of inexperience from Sadler.

I totally agree with the poster above who posted the real quality players we have and I think he was being a bit generous including Earing, he still has to go up another level in my opinion but there is some hope he will get there if he stays fit.

I’d also ask regarding the building for next season theory, added to the lack of quality players and the likeliness Hutchinson won’t be here next season. Which players have actually improved this season? With or without Sadler we will need a really good summer of recruitment to be a threat to the top 7 next season.

2 Likes

Allied to all of that.

We also need to play with less of a fearful attitude, and be more positive.

That’s my main gripe if I am honest.

Sadler is far too cautious all the time and his brand of football is not really exciting or progressive in my opinion.

The Crawley manager actually said that post match on Tuesday. He is only interested in performances as good ones lead to points. I suppose he is correct but clearly like Sadler he isn’t getting enough good ones.

3 Likes

It hasn’t been for me. It’s just about what I expected, maybe to be a touch higher at this stage, but there’s still time for that. 60 plus points and a top half finish was where I had us at the start of the season. It would be a disappointment for me if we finished in a similar position, with a similar points tally to last time around. Plus I haven’t had to wear a neck brace this season, another bonus.

1 Like

This honestly happens every season.

2023/24 - 1.43 goals - 1.38 xg
2022/23 - 1.33 goals - 1.31 xg
2021/22 - 1.02 goals - 1.29 xg

We’re outscoring our xg at a similar rate.

In 2020/21, you started the Darrell Clarke out thread and said this:

That season our stats were:

2020/21 - 0.98 goals - 1.36 xg

I can’t understand how somebody who can get annoyed by poor results and think we should sack a manager could be so entrenched in the view that sacking a manager with less credentials, better players and similar results is so ridiculous.

6 Likes

Of course it’s obvious that performances are what matters. Can’t believe who’d find this controversial

Slightly confused why @Thanatos likes your post as the same thought had previously put him into howls of derisive laughter just a few posts further back

Oh you do yourself a massive disservice believe me .clear precise, spot on ,and remarkably in only a couple of paragraphs.

1 Like

The final sentence chap.