Plymouth Argyle v Cambridge United match day thread

FY 310 wrote:

Could the apparent lack of interest from the players be to do with their contract talks maybe ?
Can't imagine anything more demotivating for a player than a derisory contract offer when they have put everything into their early season, proved their worth & are flying at the top. Just a thought.

Or some of them know they're going to be sold in January.

Cynical but still a possibility.

2 Weeks off and we came back looking worse so i'd like to know what the feck they were doing during that time and why. This also proves a valid point that we should have brought in one or two more players before the loan window closed.

We looked awful throughout the game no one particularly played well brunt seems to repeatedly lay the ball off for an imaginary player rather than use the ball to create something or pass it to a real player. played crap today he truly is not a first team starter but i guess when you have a thread bare squad with injuries you have no option but to play him from the start.

Del bhey did nothing to try and change the fortunes of the game. yes i know we had next to feck all on the bench to do such a thing but still I would have thought taking oscar off who wasnt at the races and putting harvey on would have been a sensible move. Perhaps taking brunt off too for smalley and sawyer for Purrington would have helped but he didnt. Of course We wont hear many fans moaning about this managers lack of changes during games, late or no subs or lack of movement on the touchline though because thats just a shezza thing

i will say that his desicion to send Lee Cox our only natural central midfielder other than simpson to Stevenage on loan and not replace him was an incredibly stupid move by him.

could write more but im not greensam so ill end in saying Brent needs invest in January more than he does cashing in on one or two players or yet again we wont be getting out of this league come May. Exactly the same problems as last season good starting 11 but feck all else in the squad.

This doesnt excuse the players effort of late that needs serious work on and del bhey needs to address this before we continue to slide down the table and out of the promotion hunt.

Hey, Steelcannon, has Seb Coe tested your avatar lately ? Looks a bit dodgy to me.

Frank Bullitt wrote:

Steely, you have made 5 posts tonight all of which are critical of ATD. Are you surprised you are being "jumped" on?

he has always been a company man Frank even on the old OS site. I recall he even celebrated the fact staplewallet bought the stadium off the council in the herald hailing it a great move that was going to result in us going up..

Its funny how people that come from Nools Forum where there is no Democracy or free speech complain about this one where there is.

ConDeLaCreme wrote:

FY 310 wrote:

Could the apparent lack of interest from the players be to do with their contract talks maybe ?
Can't imagine anything more demotivating for a player than a derisory contract offer when they have put everything into their early season, proved their worth & are flying at the top. Just a thought.

Or some of them know they're going to be sold in January.

Cynical but still a possibility.

Since brent took the reins I've felt little else but cynicism where Argyle are concerned

We should all try to understand how Tudor Evans and the city council feel. Oh, and Torbay council, too. Their plight is far worse.

The guy's crap will unravel in 5 years time, and he will NOT be the most admired person in the South West in hindsight. The football club is but one part of his austere nonsense, designed to make HIM more investment bucks than anyone.

FY 310 wrote:

Could the apparent lack of interest from the players be to do with their contract talks maybe ?
Can't imagine anything more demotivating for a player than a derisory contract offer when they have put everything into their early season, proved their worth & are flying at the top. Just a thought.

It is complete and utter nonsense, this 'lack of interest' from the players. Not there today obviously, but in the 50 odd years I've been watching Argo, I have never, ever noticed players not trying or being not interested.

Think about it, it's their job, they are professional sportsmen, their livelihood depends on them 'being interested', not only on match days but at every training session throughout the week. Do people really think that they're just not going to bother in front of thousands of people?

Even more so, if there's interest from another club. Why on earth would they not play as well as they can?

Players don't play well in every game, they lose form they make mistakes. Perhaps people get not playing well confused with not trying.

It's similar to this conspiratorial nonsense that gets spouted if there's an injury or two. Injuries happen, they're part of football. Reid has a hip problem, which can be long term - he's suddenly off to Pompey. Carey's out for 2 months with a knee injury, so that's the last we'll see of him.

Give me strength.

PlymptonPilgrim wrote:

It is complete and utter nonsense, this 'lack of interest' from the players. Not there today obviously, but in the 50 odd years I've been watching Argo, I have never, ever noticed players not trying or being not interested.

Really PP ? Are you honestly saying you believe players like Gudjonsson, Fallon, Mpenza or BWP gave 100% each & every week ?

Add Steve McLean to that list too.

Happy days, down to third with Pompey, a real sleeping giant, breathing down your neck, with the Chiefs fantastic win this result has really taken the edge off getting dumped out of the Trophy by Bognor.

PP, at any level of sport when roughly evenly contested, even old man's paunch golf, THE most important difference is desire, belief, confidence and belonging, regardless of how much people huff and puff, spit and swear.

It's almost subconscious, in fact it is subconscious. No one is suggesting twerps go out on the golf course, or Home Park and twiddle their thumbs.
If you think subconscious effort is something you can control, then I would suggest you get on to this, that or the other scientific study, or maybe a multi million American football team, and give them the benefit of your knowledge. You'll be worth millions.
It's a fact of life, whether you like it or not. Community, environmental happenings have an effect on human endeavour. It's not a conspiracy. In fact you stating the opposite is almost a conspiracy theory in itself #gettagrip
Either that, or the sun has got to you in a perfect world. You need more rain.

FY 310 wrote:

PlymptonPilgrim wrote:

It is complete and utter nonsense, this 'lack of interest' from the players. Not there today obviously, but in the 50 odd years I've been watching Argo, I have never, ever noticed players not trying or being not interested.

Really PP ? Are you honestly saying you believe players like Gudjonsson, Fallon, Mpenza or BWP gave 100% each & every week ?

In their own way, yes, although I didn't see enough of Emile

It's perception on the part of the individual I suppose. People would never accuse someone like Norris of not being 'interested' because he covered every inch of grass, whether he played well or not. Fallon and BWP were strikers and wouldn't cover the whole pitch and were dependant on service from the team - because they didn't score one week and didn't seem to be in the game much doesn't mean they weren't interested.

It just seems like a knee jerk reaction to me - we haven't played well so players weren't interested. There's much more to it than that.

Awful today. First half we moved like zombies, second half showed a bit more hunger / urgency for a while but the quality, confidence and though it pains me to say it (yes I have read PP's posts above) desire seem to have vanished. I would even say that Del looked a bit lost today, clearly doesn't fancy anyone on the bench and maybe starting to truly realise what he's up against at merry olde Argo.

The excellent work of early season is rapidly slipping away and we need to buck up soon before we find ourselves wallowing around in mid table. Pissed off tonight, thought today was going to be the start of us getting back to winning ways, I should've known better at my age.

Greenskin wrote:

tigertony wrote:

Recent performances are  not just about money. The players on the pitch are capable of playing in this league - indeed some were showing form that would have put them into League 1 standard. I can take defeat - I can't take anything less than 100% effort and comittment when wearing green.
January could be interesting but either way we must stop this rot now before it wrecks the season.
Freathy for Team Motivational Officer - that'll sort them

Oh yeah, make "joke" about Freathy and then bury head in sand.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I don't do serious unless I really really have to. ''Leans on humour to get things done'' is my CV. My head is not buried thus my comment about effort and comittment. Most players on the pitch over the last 4 or 5 games have shown that they are not of the quality Argyle need to get into League 1 and they need to be shipped out in Jan and replaced. Onwards.

I don't care that people don't agree with me...I come on here for the debate! What I don't come for is to always agree with what seems to be the same 30 odd people (out of a regular core fan base of 6000) time after time.

Steely, you have made 5 posts tonight all of which are critical of ATD. Are you surprised you are being "jumped" on?

I have not made critical points of ATD...more of some people that post for daring to disagree with them.


he has always been a company man Frank even on the old OS site.

Yes I have, and proud of it. Companies keep people in work. Being the way I am has kept me in gainful well paid employment for 15 years. I like grafters, not those who turn up for work at a new job and the first thing they're interested in is how many fag breaks they're 'entitled' to, or those who would strike for there not being enough forks in the canteen. Getting into a whole other argument here but you get my point.

I recall he even celebrated the fact staplewallet bought the stadium off the council in the herald hailing it a great move that was going to result in us going up

Yes...at the time I thought it was the right thing. Not so now. The ACV application recently submitted - looking to keep the ground in public hands - has my signature on it. So you can put that one away now, Angry...it was over 10 years ago! Talk about holding on to something....

Its funny how people that come from Nools Forum where there is no Democracy or free speech complain about this one where there is.

Oh the irony of that sentence! You should hear yourselves sometimes. And I have not come over from anywhere, and have never posted on Pasoti. It also took me a while to work out and by asking a few people what 'Nool' was *rolls eyes* Stop talking in riddles, folks.

I post on here as a fan like the rest of you, so please stop dragging everything I say into the realms of the AFT, but since someone mentioned it....

I have only been with them since June, and can assure you that they all work extremely hard. Rather than diss, try and support, and if you can't - fine - but please be constructive in your criticisms, no-one has a problem with that. Most of you are, but there are always the odd few that don't give anything constructive and that is not good. We won't be able to please everyone all of the time - but we can do our best...but we need people to support us. I've learned a bleddy lot in 7 months and not being able to satisfy everyone at once is extremely hard.

We don't have the finances to improve the squad or build a grandstand but there is lots of other work going on at the moment to help better the club.

There is a table/gazebo outside the Devonport End at every game. You won't be pressured into joining, but come and speak to us even if you want to tell us we're wrong...we won't bite!

I'm usually in Block 2 about half-way up most games if anyone wants to come and have a chat. I may look threatening to a lot of people but I'm totally approachable. For the Yeovil game I'm in Row G Block 4, right next to the doorway.

Failing that, Bob, Celia and one or two others are outside and around the ground before games and they'll be more than happy to talk with you.


Right, that's my piece for today!

Here's hoping for a better game on Boxing Day eh?!

Merry Christmas.

Can someone enlighten me, who is SteelConnon? is he on AFT board?

If so can he please explain what the trust is helping the club with, is it using the trust fun? if so, will the trust members be shown what is spend and where?

SteelCannon wrote:

So basically, if you're not a Brent hater...you belong on Pasoti? How pathetic.

For the record, I have never met the man. I have never said the squad doesn't need investment (it clearly does) and anything I say here is MY opinion and nothing related to the Trust. If I wish to communicate on behalf of the AFT I will do so on the proper thread.

But so many of you complain about Pasoti and not being allowed your opinion....yet it's exactly the same here! Jumped on if you dare speak out of turn.

I was merely saying that players have to take the brunt of things sometimes and today's performance - if you can call it that- was one such time. I just don't blame every single thing ever; losing, traffic jams, motorways, weather; on James Brent. Some of you are absolutely obsessed with the man because all of your posts are about him.

Brent gets the critique because he owns the club ffs it all starts from the top you know......

The team reflect the manager, the business reflects the owner. Comprende ?

Yes, thank you, Elias, for teaching me to suck eggs....I completely understand.

However, sometimes the employees of any business have to be accountable AS WELL.

So yes, people may think that Brent is to blame...for EVERYTHING....and that is your opinion. However, mine is that football players have to show accountabilty as well.

In a regular business, you can sack someone whose no good. No so with a footballer, and whatever Brent's faults, he is not responsible for what happens when a player steps over the line. That, today was appalling. If I was a pro footballer, I'd have been chomping at the bit to make my mark on the team with so many others out. Didn't see any of it.

They're professionals, allegedly, and as such I would expect to see a bit more dogged determination from some of them and it's been abundantly clear that that's been missing over the last four or so games.

James Brent will eventually have to take stock, but until then, the players are still being paid and have to address short-term issues - but that is what Adams is paid to sort out.

SteelCannon wrote:

Yes, thank you, Elias, for teaching me to suck eggs....I completely understand.

However, sometimes the employees of any business have to be accountable AS WELL.

So yes, people may think that Brent is to blame...for EVERYTHING....and that is your opinion. However, mine is that football players have to show accountabilty as well.

In a regular business, you can sack someone whose no good. No so with a footballer, and whatever Brent's faults, he is not responsible for what happens when a player steps over the line. That, today was appalling. If I was a pro footballer, I'd have been chomping at the bit to make my mark on the team with so many others out. Didn't see any of it.

They're professionals, allegedly, and as such I would expect to see a bit more dogged determination from some of them and it's been abundantly clear that that's been missing over the last four or so games.

James Brent will eventually have to take stock, but until then, the players are still being paid and have to address short-term issues - but that is what Adams is paid to sort out.

That is exactly my thoughts on the team. Football, on the park, is DA and his team. The press, when DA joined, was of a manager who took no messing, expected commitment and ruled with an iron fist. No-one can complain about the first 15-17 games when we marched to the top but now, some iffy performances have helped us slip to 3rd. 3rd? Things are not working out on the park and not helped by injuries but to witness 4 or 5 games that were, frankly, not good led me to thinking ''where is the iron fist?''
However, I still have faith in DA to get this team marching again and I am still confident that we are going up.

'I'll never hear a bad word spoken about that man and his lovely family'...............dimwitted janners, wanting to be someone at the Theatre of Schemes.
So utterly low grade and village. The fine gentleman sure knows their weakness.

More buckets than brains. What a crock of shite. Embarrassing....................

Steel Cannon wrote:

Oh the irony of that sentence! You should hear yourselves sometimes. And I have not come over from anywhere, and have never posted on Pasoti. It also took me a while to work out and by asking a few people what 'Nool' was *rolls eyes* Stop talking in riddles, folks.

I post on here as a fan like the rest of you, so please stop dragging everything I say into the realms of the AFT, but since someone mentioned it....

I have only been with them since June, and can assure you that they all work extremely hard. Rather than diss, try and support, and if you can't - fine - but please be constructive in your criticisms, no-one has a problem with that. Most of you are, but there are always the odd few that don't give anything constructive and that is not good. We won't be able to please everyone all of the time - but we can do our best...but we need people to support us. I've learned a bleddy lot in 7 months and not being able to satisfy everyone at once is extremely hard.

Clearly you haven't learnt too much if you are having to ask what "Nool" is.  

Have a look at the section called "The Scandal So Far" to get an idea of why ATD is the way it is.

Have a look at the Trust section on here to see why so many ATD'ers are getting frustrated with the Trust. If our questions/criticisms are seen as too difficult are they labelled as "dissing" rather then supporting?

If I can just provide a quick example.......someone asked Bob to ask Starnes about Webb's position as president. Bob was criticised on Pasoti for asking this question and later admitted he might have been "naive" for asking it. I set up a poll on ATD to support Bob's question and it showed that 95% (78 votes to 4) did not want Webb as president. So Bob was perfectly correct in asking the question - but I doubt he will do the same again because he was criticised on Pasoti. I won't support him if something similar happens again - but I won't leave the Trust because of it - but I am well aware that my opinions are less valued because I am a member of ATD.

FY 310 wrote:

PlymptonPilgrim wrote:

It is complete and utter nonsense, this 'lack of interest' from the players. Not there today obviously, but in the 50 odd years I've been watching Argo, I have never, ever noticed players not trying or being not interested.

Really PP ? Are you honestly saying you believe players like Gudjonsson, Fallon, Mpenza or BWP gave 100% each & every week ?

BWP played with one dodgy leg......Reading said no because of it......Charlton took the gamble and he scored lots of goals in half a season for them........he had already scored 13 goals for us before we had to fire sell him in the January window because of the Admin debacle.

BWP gave a 100% of what he could and scored goals.......bringing it upto date... who has been scoring lots of goals in the North American League this season ?.....good old Bradley.......couldn't we do with a one legged player who can score 13 goals in half a season at the moment....you bet we could......the man was deadly in front of goal.....so don't lump him in with jokes like Mpenza please.

SC's comments show just how easily fan views on Argyle can fall under wider workplace and social attitudes.  "Proud company men"  who scowl at fellow fans who dare criticise the philanthropic property speculator. Echoes of 80s Britain..  They give Brent a complete and utter clean sheet, while blaming the "lazy workers" on the pitch and anywhere else, and slowly but surely pushing Adams into the cross hairs, a la Sheridan. "He's not the iron man he was  billed as".   If this form continues, it won't be long before Adams is held as responsible, just like Sheridan.
Just why do you think so many fans wanted the Trust to apply for the ACV status in the first instance ? . Because they don't trust the owner, that's why. Of course, the ACV decision was taken long before this present apparent Brent fawning group took over the public voice of the AFT. We can all see the change of emphasis, and all to get the chance to ask questions that never get answered.

As to the present alarming drop in form, ever thought many of the back up players are under qualified. You have to pay for quality workers, not fill the work bench with a bunch of young "apprentices" that the successful manager we have employed  obviously  thinks are just not up to the job.

If you like debate, then my advice is to stick to debate, and stop griping just because people disagree with the "Brent is a lubberly chappie" mantra.

EI EI EI O
Down the football league we go
When we get relegated
This is what we'll sing
We are Argo
We are Argo
Brenty is our king