Last season / This season

kirsikka

UTC Legend
For a whole host of reasons I did not enjoy last season. It had the air of after the Lord Mayors show about it. There were rumours a club legend had been poorly treated which left a sour taste. There seemed a chaotic approach off the pitch and what happened on the pitch was often not much better. Results came but they often seemed a product of individuals rather than a team.

It's weird. We finished sixth which, looking at it on a pure position level, should make it one of our best seasons in the last 30+ years. Not too often we've finished higher than sixth. Yet, somehow, the team was unlikeable. That doesn't mean I didn't support them but something felt off.

It could simply be the passage of a year but it feels totally different this season so far. We've started with 8-10 players out for our first few matches and little in the way of incoming players, which would normally be cause for finger pointing and accusations of incompetence. Yet, instead of rumblings of discontent there's an air of hope.

The young players have been a breath of fresh air for sure, but I think also Parker's arrival with a new backroom team has had a fresh broom effect. I'm onside and believing in them and their project until they show me otherwise.

Simply put, it's nice to be enjoying football again rather than enduring it. Even if we've had to play against the odds so far in the league its still been fun.
 
I think you have to give Parker most of the credit here; an easy way to hone in on how impressive he’s been is asking “would JT, JW or possibly even EH have gotten these results out of these particular players?”

Absolutely not, Eddie might’ve but not the EH we saw at the end. If even someone like Billing has totally bought in to the vision, just imagine what we’re going to look like at full strength! I can’t wait for the season and I love this team.
 
As has been said on other threads, a great deal of the credit when you have nearly a dozen academy graduates in the squad has to go to those involved in setting up that academy.

That includes Eddie Howe as the entire club was modelled on him, but also those who worked with these players on a day to day basis, Shaun Cooper at two levels I believe? Alan Connell and in the not so distant past Mark Molesley.

I think having these players in amongst the first team and with the return of fans has certainly aided the clean slate between squad and fans following Howe/Covid.

It is a fresh start and one that from even before a ball was kicked was something that felt like an identity, something that was lacking under both Tindall but especially Woodgate.

From what I've seen in the couple of games I've been to and even the Junior Cherries open training session, I've loved the work rate and effort. Parker demands that everything is left on the pitch and that's what this set of players now do, which wasn't the case for a couple of years.

The loss of a couple of players has probably aided that, the feeling amongst the camp certainly from the outside looking in is worlds apart from how we looked in 2020. Professional pride from the players on the pitch has been restored.

I continue to reserve judgement on Parker as I always do, but everything I've seen so far makes me want to like what's happening.
 
It is a fresh start and one that from even before a ball was kicked was something that felt like an identity, something that was lacking under both Tindall but especially Woodgate.

I felt it the other way around. We started to play like a team once Woodgate took over. Found the games in the second half of the season much more enjoyable.
 
The management of our rising young stars will be key, and I think that Scott will do that well from what we have seen so far
 
Loving that we're getting to see what these young players can do .....didn't doubt for a minute that they would be Championship class at least .....what we didn't know is they would show such a fantastic attitude.

I've liked what i've seen so far from Parker....apart from how he set us up in the first half last night which was bizarre tbf....much more positive than i was expecting on the whole though......he has definitely evolved into a more attack minded coach since his Championship Fulham days which is why i was surprised to learn that we currently sit joint bottom in terms of chances created!........the fact that we have still scored 6 goals in our 3 games is testament to how clinical our forwards have been.......
Obviously Parker is going to have to work out how to create more chances fairly quickly as that sort of chance goal ratio isn't sustainable......anyway that problem might rectify itself when we get more players back fit.
 
Loving that we're getting to see what these young players can do .....didn't doubt for a minute that they would be Championship class at least .....what we didn't know is they would show such a fantastic attitude.

I've liked what i've seen so far from Parker....apart from how he set us up in the first half last night which was bizarre tbf....much more positive than i was expecting on the whole though......he has definitely evolved into a more attack minded coach since his Championship Fulham days which is why i was surprised to learn that we currently sit joint bottom in terms of chances created!........the fact that we have still scored 6 goals in our 3 games is testament to how clinical our forwards have been.......
Obviously Parker is going to have to work out how to create more chances fairly quickly as that sort of chance goal ratio isn't sustainable......anyway that problem might rectify itself when we get more players back fit.
Fair point, but I thing West Brom were pretty good, and the first two aways were going to be tough.
 
Fair point, but I thing West Brom were pretty good, and the first two aways were going to be tough.
Absolutely Rob.... getting points on the board early is vital in this league....I said the same thing last season when people on here were moaning about the lack of free flowing football despite us getting positive results.....so no complaints from me on that score .....it will need addressing though....I mean joint bottom for chances created isn't a stat you should ever associate with us is it?... Saturdays game will be interesting as Blackpool are a side that will let us play...I watched their game against Coventry in the week and Coventry should have had a hatful.....I would expect us to be able to beat them quite easily tbh.
 
Absolutely Rob.... getting points on the board early is vital in this league....I said the same thing last season when people on here were moaning about the lack of free flowing football despite us getting positive results.....so no complaints from me on that score .....it will need addressing though....I mean joint bottom for chances created isn't a stat you should ever associate with us is it?... Saturdays game will be interesting as Blackpool are a side that will let us play...I watched their game against Coventry in the week and Coventry should have had a hatful.....I would expect us to be able to beat them quite easily tbh.
I'm hopeful too. Perhaps the confidence of playing a new system under a new manager will grow.
 
I'm hopeful too. Perhaps the confidence of playing a new system under a new manager will grow.
I like the idea of the new system tbh....a no.6 in behind two no.8s sounds great in theory but the problem with it last night apart from the obvious problens we had down the right is that if the supply is cut off to our no 6 Kilkenny our defender's have have no other outlet other than going long or passing the bloody thing between themselves for what seems like forever......
Bowyer didn't take long to work that out....he actually man marked Kilkenny with Ryan Woods.....it wouldn't have gone unnoticed from other coaches......I wonder if Parker will persevere with this 433 or go back to the 4231 that won us most of our points last season with Pearson alongside Kilkenny.
 
I like the idea of the new system tbh....a no.6 in behind two no.8s sounds great in theory but the problem with it last night apart from the obvious problens we had down the right is that if the supply is cut off to our no 6 Kilkenny our defender's have have no other outlet other than going long or passing the bloody thing between themselves for what seems like forever......
Bowyer didn't take long to work that out....he actually man marked Kilkenny with Ryan Woods.....it wouldn't have gone unnoticed from other coaches......I wonder if Parker will persevere with this 433 or go back to the 4231 that won us most of our points last season with Pearson alongside Kilkenny.
I'm not sure about all that tactical stuff but I think the return of Brooks will restore a lot of balance.
 
It was so nice to see how the players celebrated the goals yesterday in contrast to the sullen miserable efforts of last year. Well done to Scott Parker for engendering this team spirit. I’ve got a good Cherries feeling back again.
 
I like the idea of the new system tbh....a no.6 in behind two no.8s sounds great in theory but the problem with it last night apart from the obvious problens we had down the right is that if the supply is cut off to our no 6 Kilkenny our defender's have have no other outlet other than going long or passing the bloody thing between themselves for what seems like forever......
Bowyer didn't take long to work that out....he actually man marked Kilkenny with Ryan Woods.....it wouldn't have gone unnoticed from other coaches......I wonder if Parker will persevere with this 433 or go back to the 4231 that won us most of our points last season with Pearson alongside Kilkenny.
Can't see us not going back to 4231.

The only reason Billing and Marcondes, for me, are both playing is lack of other options, which is also stopping both of them having the freedom to truly get forward. When Pearson and Lerma are able to create competition with Kilkenny, hard to see us sticking with what we have seen, even though it's been good thus far.
 
Mark Mcadam on a live question and answer Instagram chat this evening said that Parker is likely to switch to a back three when possible, hence the signing of Cahill. Just as I was starting to like him as well.
 
Mark Mcadam on a live question and answer Instagram chat this evening said that Parker is likely to switch to a back three when possible, hence the signing of Cahill. Just as I was starting to like him as well.
If that's the case why wouldn't he do so last night?..... I mean if you'd rather play a left back as a right winger and play a CB as a RB to avoid playing with a back 3....then i think it's safe to say that Parker is very committed to a back 4 tbh.
 
If that's the case why wouldn't he do so last night?..... I mean if you'd rather play a left back as a right winger and play a CB as a RB to avoid playing with a back 3....then i think it's safe to say that Parker is very committed to a back 4 tbh.
Just relaying what Mcadam said. Most take what he says as gospel. Perhaps because he didn’t have two fully fit wide men. Leif Davis couldn’t play right wing back and right wing at the same time?
 

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