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Said it before and I’ll say it again... 10:44 - Sep 1 with 1840 viewsclive_baker

We’ve got a better squad now than we had this time last season IMO, and we’re a league lower. Fair play to Lambert I say, he inherited a bit of a mess, and if you had have asked me when he joined what I wanted to see personnel wise, it’s pretty much been delivered to a tee. He’s cleared out a lot of the deadwood, relied significantly less on loanees and given a pathway to the senior side for the talented younger players we have. The issue with having a bloated squad, and relying on loanees such as the Quaner’s and Elder’s of this world, is not only do I think they were largely no better than what we already had, but you have to question the impact on morale and really cultivating that team spirit that’s so important. Lambert’s been smart, he’s brought in exactly the right characters too, Norwood, Judge and KVY aren’t just a real step up in terms of quality, but they’re intelligent, mature and driven. Together with Chambers & Skuse, and the backroom staff, it really looks like a squad I would love to be a part of now. Ultimately good footballers win matches, but it should never be underestimated how important the right spirit is within a group. Even the 2 loan signings he has made, they’re players that feasibly could be playing for a contract next season, and at a stage of their career that they will feel like they have something to prove. They’re not just here for minutes before returning to their parent club.This very much feels like Lambert’s squad now, and with the additions he’s made, disposals he’s overseen and some of the younger lads coming of age, I really think we’re in a better spot personnel wise than we were 12 months ago.

People are a little cynical of Lambert’s ‘PR’ sometimes, and unfairly IMO. I genuinely think he’s humbled to be somewhere where the fans have taken to him, particularly off the back of his roles at Stoke, Wolves, Villa etc where it wasn’t necessarily the case (although I think Wolves fans would tell you he was doing a good job there, before the new owners had a different idea of what they wanted to do). He’s worked to try and put the club closer to the community and that can only be a good thing. Involving former legends, it’s all with a view to getting fans on side and getting players bought in to what it takes to play here, it’s only a positive IMO and shrewd on Lambert’s side. Not to mention the fact he’s arguably put 5,000 on the gate which has perhaps allowed us to have players like Judge and Norwood at our disposal.

We’ve made a really good start, but I still feel like we’ve not really got fully firing yet. I think there’s a lot more to come from this squad as the young players continue to mature and we start to click. Not to mention the return of certain players - Nsiala, Bishop, Nolan, Sears, Keane. We’ll lose games this season but I think we’ve got all the tools to challenge for the title, and IF we can get back up at the first time of asking, we’ll have a base that’s better equipped for the championship than last seasons squad.

I for one am really enjoying it again. Really loved yesterday, it’s great to see c. 20k fans inside PR creating an atmosphere and long may that continue. Credit too to Blue Action, it’s easy to say we need an atmosphere but well done for actually being proactive in doing something about it.

COYB


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Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 10:53 - Sep 1 with 1772 viewsKieran_Knows

BlueBadger will be along any minute now with his ‘improved performances’ line.

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Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 11:00 - Sep 1 with 1745 viewstractorboy1978

Agree wholeheartedly and we were having the same discussion in the pub last night. I'd also add to that if this side gets promotion you cannot under estimate the power of a winning habit, confidence and momentum. We've needed a turning point for years and I do get the feeling this might be it.
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Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 11:05 - Sep 1 with 1703 viewsJ2BLUE

Three games in and I can't believe I had been away for so long. Loving it.

Truly impaired.
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Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 11:05 - Sep 1 with 1703 viewshoppy

Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 11:00 - Sep 1 by tractorboy1978

Agree wholeheartedly and we were having the same discussion in the pub last night. I'd also add to that if this side gets promotion you cannot under estimate the power of a winning habit, confidence and momentum. We've needed a turning point for years and I do get the feeling this might be it.


Which will also benefit the wider community... such as your line “we were having the same discussion in the pub last night” how many more people will tend to go out with mates on a buzz after a win at the footy than after a dismal soul destroying display where the response might be at best “well, I might come for one, but really can’t be arsed...”

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Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 11:15 - Sep 1 with 1660 viewsclive_baker

Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 11:05 - Sep 1 by hoppy

Which will also benefit the wider community... such as your line “we were having the same discussion in the pub last night” how many more people will tend to go out with mates on a buzz after a win at the footy than after a dismal soul destroying display where the response might be at best “well, I might come for one, but really can’t be arsed...”


Totally agree. 5,000 on the gate (and that’s prudent I think) at an average of £300 a head over the course of the season is worth £1.5m, which is possibly the difference between signing KVY or not, or keeping Judge or not. Not to mention shirt sales etc where the shop has seen record days. But as you say, wider than that, an additional 5,000 fans using the car parks, eating and drinking in the pubs etc.

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Great post Bakers on 11:27 - Sep 1 with 1596 viewsDyland

Maligning him for positive PR is just odd imo. Obviously he will ultimately be judged on results on the pitch.

We've certainly ridden our luck a little, but it's about time we had the rub of the football green. I agree we haven't really clicked yet and there's a lot more to come. Keep up the positivity and momentum and someone will be coming in for another walloping before too long.

COYFB

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Great post Bakers on 11:30 - Sep 1 with 1570 viewsMarshalls_Mullet

Great post Bakers on 11:27 - Sep 1 by Dyland

Maligning him for positive PR is just odd imo. Obviously he will ultimately be judged on results on the pitch.

We've certainly ridden our luck a little, but it's about time we had the rub of the football green. I agree we haven't really clicked yet and there's a lot more to come. Keep up the positivity and momentum and someone will be coming in for another walloping before too long.

COYFB


A key point for me yesterday was the substitution when Rowe and Judge went off, to be replaced by equally dangerous players in Edwards and Georgiou.

It will be good to have similar options up front when we have Sears and Keane available.

Last season the squad seemed so poor, that we never seemed to be able to positively impact games from the bench.

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Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 11:40 - Sep 1 with 1500 viewsFixed_It

Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 11:00 - Sep 1 by tractorboy1978

Agree wholeheartedly and we were having the same discussion in the pub last night. I'd also add to that if this side gets promotion you cannot under estimate the power of a winning habit, confidence and momentum. We've needed a turning point for years and I do get the feeling this might be it.


We do a 4 hour round trip in the car getting to games. Needless to say we are enjoying it a lot more now - there were times over the last 3 or 4 seasons where it had become a real chore.

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Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 12:18 - Sep 1 with 1419 viewsbritbiker

i can only see the performances getting better with players not wanting to loose their positions now that there is competition for most places. For many years we have had nothing left on the bench that could change a game. We would bring on subs around the 70th minute and by the end of the game you wouldn't notice they were even on the pitch.

I just hope we don't become complacent as fans. There are going to be times when teams will put eleven behind the ball and we won't break them down. Its been a long time since I've gone to games expecting to win.
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Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 16:25 - Sep 1 with 1143 viewsBlueBadger

Said it before and I’ll say it again... on 10:53 - Sep 1 by Kieran_Knows

BlueBadger will be along any minute now with his ‘improved performances’ line.


I can't use it, because we're actually winning games rather than tapping the ball around in midfield for 20 minutes then losing.
Although, in a nice throwback to last season, some on here were suggesting that Shrewsbury should have been pleased with how they were beaten yesterday because they had a bit of a try at one point.

I'm one of the people who was blamed for getting Paul Cook sacked. PM for the full post.
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