Signings

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Darlogramps
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Re: Signings

Post by Darlogramps » Wed May 29, 2019 8:45 pm

Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:02 pm
Darlofan97 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:58 pm
Definitely do not want to see Ainge up-front again next season, it was awful to watch.
Personally I thought he was half decent in the first 8 or so matches, but we didn't play to his strengths. He was out injured after that, then in and out of the team mostly as a defender, with a few cameos up top. But he never got the run of matches as a forward.

Needs to score 20 goals next season to justify being here though, as I get the feeling we will have a fair few decent defenders.
I don't agree at all. The reason he didn't get many games up front was because he couldn't run, wasn't fit and looked disinterested. It was nothing to do with being injured, or us not playing to his strengths. You don't give a run of games to someone who's shown no sign of being effective when played.

By contrast, he looked so much better in defence where he could rely more on positioning.
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Darlogramps
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Re: Signings

Post by Darlogramps » Wed May 29, 2019 8:47 pm

bga wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:38 pm
Darlogramps wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:59 pm
bga wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:52 pm
al_quaker wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 5:17 pm
Atkinson confirmed too
Confirmed...…...where?
By both clubs in the usual places.
Not on official website......unless it takes longer to update here for those of us based across the Pennines!
Yes it is...https://darlingtonfc.co.uk/news/darling ... d-atkinson
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Ghost_Of_1883
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Re: Signings

Post by Ghost_Of_1883 » Wed May 29, 2019 9:04 pm

Darlogramps wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:45 pm
Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:02 pm
Darlofan97 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:58 pm
Definitely do not want to see Ainge up-front again next season, it was awful to watch.
Personally I thought he was half decent in the first 8 or so matches, but we didn't play to his strengths. He was out injured after that, then in and out of the team mostly as a defender, with a few cameos up top. But he never got the run of matches as a forward.

Needs to score 20 goals next season to justify being here though, as I get the feeling we will have a fair few decent defenders.
I don't agree at all. The reason he didn't get many games up front was because he couldn't run, wasn't fit and looked disinterested. It was nothing to do with being injured, or us not playing to his strengths. You don't give a run of games to someone who's shown no sign of being effective when played.

By contrast, he looked so much better in defence where he could rely more on positioning.
I understand your point of view and it rings true from when he came back October/Novemberish after a month or so out. The whole team was already in malaise by then and perhaps maybe he thought by then "wtf is this"

Anyway, the point I was making was that in the first 8 or 9 matches before he got that nasty head injury, he did actually did look quite good, and scored 4 goals in that time. A lot of people don't seem to remember that. No he wasn't supremely mobile nor did he have electric pace, but he was a presence - although one which we didn't utilise properly. His strength was in the air but how many crosses did we get into the box, hardly any. We just lumped it at him and Styche and generally he was winning the ball outside the box rather than on the edge of the 6 yard box.

I'm not denying that he looked better in defence from November onwards.

Darlogramps
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Re: Signings

Post by Darlogramps » Wed May 29, 2019 9:11 pm

Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 9:04 pm
Darlogramps wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:45 pm
Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:02 pm
Darlofan97 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:58 pm
Definitely do not want to see Ainge up-front again next season, it was awful to watch.
Personally I thought he was half decent in the first 8 or so matches, but we didn't play to his strengths. He was out injured after that, then in and out of the team mostly as a defender, with a few cameos up top. But he never got the run of matches as a forward.

Needs to score 20 goals next season to justify being here though, as I get the feeling we will have a fair few decent defenders.
I don't agree at all. The reason he didn't get many games up front was because he couldn't run, wasn't fit and looked disinterested. It was nothing to do with being injured, or us not playing to his strengths. You don't give a run of games to someone who's shown no sign of being effective when played.

By contrast, he looked so much better in defence where he could rely more on positioning.
I understand your point of view and it rings true from when he came back October/Novemberish after a month or so out. The whole team was already in malaise by then and perhaps maybe he thought by then "wtf is this"

Anyway, the point I was making was that in the first 8 or 9 matches before he got that nasty head injury, he did actually did look quite good, and scored 4 goals in that time. A lot of people don't seem to remember that. No he wasn't supremely mobile nor did he have electric pace, but he was a presence - although one which we didn't utilise properly. His strength was in the air but how many crosses did we get into the box, hardly any. We just lumped it at him and Styche and generally he was winning the ball outside the box rather than on the edge of the 6 yard box.

I'm not denying that he looked better in defence from November onwards.
My argument on that would be, if his only strength when played up front is to offer presence in the air, you may as well play him in defence, where we know he's decent, and you can still have him as an aerial threat from corners and free kicks.

To me, his lack of mobility and pace outweigh any threat he has from crosses, given the majority of crosses end up without a goal even if you have a demon in the air.
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Re: Signings

Post by real_darlo_85 » Wed May 29, 2019 9:16 pm

I wouldn't write Ainge off just yet. His versatility is a plus point in what will be a smallish squad and I would think he will be given another chance up top with the signings that are being made. It may just be that with a more creative midfield and the right supply he may find the goalscoring form he had at Harrogate.
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theoriginalfatcat
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Re: Signings

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Wed May 29, 2019 9:23 pm

In our last away game at Guisely, Ainge looked bored and out of sorts - he was just going through the motions, but not very well.

In fact the situation that day reminded me of the final games of Andy Crosby back in 98, a good player who wanted away and quite simply couldn’t be arsed.
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real_darlo_85
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Re: Signings

Post by real_darlo_85 » Wed May 29, 2019 9:45 pm

theoriginalfatcat wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 9:23 pm
In our last away game at Guisely, Ainge looked bored and out of sorts - he was just going through the motions, but not very well.

In fact the situation that day reminded me of the final games of Andy Crosby back in 98, a good player who wanted away and quite simply couldn’t be arsed.
True. However, change of manager and playing style could just be the reset needed. Obviously, it also depends on if Ainge is in AA's plans at all, but I suspect he will be given a chance. It will also be interesting if players like Holness and Bascombe are offered contracts (after their own interviews for various media) or now that AA is in command it'll be a case of "thanks, but no thanks".
"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

darlobaz791
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Re: Signings

Post by darlobaz791 » Wed May 29, 2019 9:58 pm

real_darlo_85 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 9:45 pm
theoriginalfatcat wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 9:23 pm
In our last away game at Guisely, Ainge looked bored and out of sorts - he was just going through the motions, but not very well.

In fact the situation that day reminded me of the final games of Andy Crosby back in 98, a good player who wanted away and quite simply couldn’t be arsed.
True. However, change of manager and playing style could just be the reset needed. Obviously, it also depends on if Ainge is in AA's plans at all, but I suspect he will be given a chance. It will also be interesting if players like Holness and Bascombe are offered contracts (after their own interviews for various media) or now that AA is in command it'll be a case of "thanks, but no thanks".
I’d like to see Holness and Bascombe contracts. Holness in his few games made an impact unlike many others and Bascombe seemed to have something about him and might be relatively cheap.

Darlofan97
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Re: Signings

Post by Darlofan97 » Wed May 29, 2019 10:12 pm

Darlogramps wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:45 pm
Ghost_Of_1883 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 8:02 pm
Darlofan97 wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 7:58 pm
Definitely do not want to see Ainge up-front again next season, it was awful to watch.
Personally I thought he was half decent in the first 8 or so matches, but we didn't play to his strengths. He was out injured after that, then in and out of the team mostly as a defender, with a few cameos up top. But he never got the run of matches as a forward.

Needs to score 20 goals next season to justify being here though, as I get the feeling we will have a fair few decent defenders.
I don't agree at all. The reason he didn't get many games up front was because he couldn't run, wasn't fit and looked disinterested. It was nothing to do with being injured, or us not playing to his strengths. You don't give a run of games to someone who's shown no sign of being effective when played.

By contrast, he looked so much better in defence where he could rely more on positioning.
Agreed, and I don’t often disagree with Ghost!

Ainge was poor, he slowed everything down, couldn’t keep up with play when we broke on the counter and was caught offside 7/8 times a match.

Centre-half or not at all, IMO.

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don'tbuythesun
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Re: Signings

Post by don'tbuythesun » Wed May 29, 2019 10:36 pm

There's confirmation of signings on the club twitter with links to pieces about them but I can't find those stories on the club site....confusing!

super_les_mcjannet
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Re: Signings

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Thu May 30, 2019 6:53 am

don'tbuythesun wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 10:36 pm
There's confirmation of signings on the club twitter with links to pieces about them but I can't find those stories on the club site....confusing!
You are going to the club home page, where we have too many stickied stories so the new ones don’t show.

Click on the news tab and both stories are there and were added yesterday. Just poor use of the website from whoever manages it really, top story should be the new signings really.

bga
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Re: Signings

Post by bga » Thu May 30, 2019 7:08 am

super_les_mcjannet wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 6:53 am
don'tbuythesun wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 10:36 pm
There's confirmation of signings on the club twitter with links to pieces about them but I can't find those stories on the club site....confusing!
You are going to the club home page, where we have too many stickied stories so the new ones don’t show.

Click on the news tab and both stories are there and were added yesterday. Just poor use of the website from whoever manages it really, top story should be the new signings really.
Thanks Les your logic makes perfect sense!

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don'tbuythesun
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Re: Signings

Post by don'tbuythesun » Thu May 30, 2019 7:25 am

Cheers!

eddie-rowles
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Re: Signings

Post by eddie-rowles » Thu May 30, 2019 7:51 am

theoriginalfatcat wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 9:23 pm
In our last away game at Guisely, Ainge looked bored and out of sorts - he was just going through the motions, but not very well.

In fact the situation that day reminded me of the final games of Andy Crosby back in 98, a good player who wanted away and quite simply couldn’t be arsed.
The game that did it for me was FC united away he did not break a sweat in first half , failed to make tackles 6 feet away and moaned all game at his own team that said it for me he is not a team player and looks to blame others hope he goes honestly.

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theoriginalfatcat
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Re: Signings

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Thu May 30, 2019 8:12 am

eddie-rowles wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 7:51 am
theoriginalfatcat wrote:
Wed May 29, 2019 9:23 pm
In our last away game at Guisely, Ainge looked bored and out of sorts - he was just going through the motions, but not very well.

In fact the situation that day reminded me of the final games of Andy Crosby back in 98, a good player who wanted away and quite simply couldn’t be arsed.
The game that did it for me was FC united away he did not break a sweat in first half , failed to make tackles 6 feet away and moaned all game at his own team that said it for me he is not a team player and looks to blame others hope he goes honestly.
My main memory at Guisely (apart from the sunny weather and the couple who went back to the pub at half time) was Ainge getting hold of the ball then just booting it high into the air with no thought or care as to what he was doing or where the ball would end up. He did this throughout the game - just playing into the hands of the Guisely giants, they loved it.
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Vodka_Vic
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Re: Signings

Post by Vodka_Vic » Thu May 30, 2019 8:38 am

And a further point on that score Fat cat. In TW's post match interview he said that himself and AW had a game plan specifically not to do this and that the players had ignored instructions by doing this. Speaks volumes really.

en passant
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Re: Signings

Post by en passant » Thu May 30, 2019 9:32 am

There is certainly a move, based on the announced signings, to move the core of the team to a north-east basis. It is probably fair to say that this fits in well with what many fans feel to be the essence of a motivated, tight-knit squad. Having some investment in doing well for the team, the manager and the region, seems to harken back to the MG way of working and I think that this is something that will re-engage with fans, and make us feel that the team and we, the owners, are all in it together. I would, however, hate to think that the team could not include "outsiders" who have the skills and motivation and who have also bought into the ethos of a fan owned club. But we cannot afford to retain anyone who is just here to pick up a wage, no matter where they are from. I think some existing members of the squad do need to show that the change of manager has given them the desire to show they want to play for Darlo.

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Re: Signings

Post by H1987 » Thu May 30, 2019 9:39 am

Here’s a left field suggestion for a keeper. Boro have just released Dimi.

Settled in the area and owns the Greek place in Boro so probably wants to stay. Think he married a local. He’s old but could probably do a job for a year if he fancies carrying on playing? Became a bit of a cult hero among Boro mates

JE93
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Re: Signings

Post by JE93 » Thu May 30, 2019 9:41 am

Good start to our summer recruitment. I know we have reportedly signed Lang but haven't included it yet until it is officially announced.

-------------------------- xxxxxxxxxxx ---------------------------

Trotman ------ xxxxxxx -------- Galbraith ----------- Liddle

------------------ Wheatley ----- Atkinson ---------------------

Rivers ------------------ Nicholson --------------- Thompson

-------------------------- xxxxxxxx -----------------------------


Key areas for me are to retain Trotman and Nicholson. Both performed well last season in a poor team. Trotman has all the attributes to be the best RB in this league and is one who could play professionally. Same goes for Nicholson. He's a similar player to Reid who Blyth had last season, proper No.10 picks the ball up on the half turn in the centre of the pitch and gets running at defences. Wheatley could be like a new signing next season. Seemed to play all of last season injured, but the season before he showed he can be the box to box midfielder we need. He needs to add goals to his game and he'll start to gain interest again.

We still need a 20 goal a season striker (so does everyone I know). Add to that a decent on loan Keeper for the season. A smattering of loan players across CM, Winger, CF to cover injuries and increase competition and I think we'll have a team for the top half of the league.

I wouldn't be upset to lose Ainge, Burn or Glover.

Ainge is definitely a CB in my book. Blyth don't seem to have played with a Target man under Armstrong, doesn't seem to fit into that style of play. As a CB (based on the times I've watched him) he is dominant in the air, wins most of his headers and organises the defence well. However, his distribution last season was woeful, just an aimless hoof every time it came to him and it just invited pressure back onto us. I don't think we'd particularly miss him, though i would like to see an experiences CB in the team someone who can instruct those around them, otherwise we look a bit quiet at the back.

Burn has offered nothing. I don't think I've seen a single attribute from him this season which tells me he could be a successful CB at this level. Can't jump, doesn't head the ball, doesn't communicate well. Weak in the tackle. Be a miracle if we could off load him.

Glover, clearly has lots of technical ability. But i still don't think we're the right place for him to develop. I'm still not fully sure what his best position is either. Pro academies have shown interest in him in the past but none of them have ever committed to him. If there was an offer for a bit of Cash + a sell on % for the lad I'd be tempted to take it. Might be the kind of deal that suits all parties.

Obviously getting rid of the top two on this list will give you the budget to replace them with senior players. But whether someone is willing and can afford to take them off our hands is a different story. Plenty to be optimistic about though.

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Re: Signings

Post by jjljks » Thu May 30, 2019 10:58 am

en passant wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 9:32 am
There is certainly a move, based on the announced signings, to move the core of the team to a north-east basis. It is probably fair to say that this fits in well with what many fans feel to be the essence of a motivated, tight-knit squad. Having some investment in doing well for the team, the manager and the region, seems to harken back to the MG way of working and I think that this is something that will re-engage with fans, and make us feel that the team and we, the owners, are all in it together. I would, however, hate to think that the team could not include "outsiders" who have the skills and motivation and who have also bought into the ethos of a fan owned club. But we cannot afford to retain anyone who is just here to pick up a wage, no matter where they are from. I think some existing members of the squad do need to show that the change of manager has given them the desire to show they want to play for Darlo.
Very sensible points, given what happened last season. Often got the impression that the team sheet consisted of those individuals who had managed to find the ground and turned up in time, rather than a set of well-drilled team players who showed anticipation and had good application of a game plan. There is a chance for a few squad players to start with a clean sheet and prove themselves to the new manager. AA has good local contacts and pulled together a good side at Blyth last year, so I am optimistic he can improve on that with the support of the fans and Board, here.

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theoriginalfatcat
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Re: Signings

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Thu May 30, 2019 3:43 pm

These new signings look good :thumbup:
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Quakerlad
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Re: Signings

Post by Quakerlad » Thu May 30, 2019 4:09 pm

Apologies if I have missed it, but is Allan White still assistant manager?

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Re: Signings

Post by Emdubya » Thu May 30, 2019 4:21 pm

Quakerlad wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 4:09 pm
Apologies if I have missed it, but is Allan White still assistant manager?
Very much doubt if he will be assistant manager but still at the club as far I know.
Would like to see him kept on to run the academy .

Darlo2807
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Re: Signings

Post by Darlo2807 » Thu May 30, 2019 6:08 pm


AndyPark
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Re: Signings

Post by AndyPark » Thu May 30, 2019 6:47 pm

He’s next.

LoidLucan
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Re: Signings

Post by LoidLucan » Thu May 30, 2019 6:56 pm

He can play as a winger or striker and banged in a couple of goals when Blyth won at Chorley last season. Young with lots of ability.

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Re: Signings

Post by QUAKERMAN2 » Thu May 30, 2019 7:02 pm

LoidLucan wrote:He can play as a winger or striker and banged in a couple of goals when Blyth won at Chorley last season. Young with lots of ability.
Did he play for the South Shields team that hammered us in the cup? Might be wrong though.

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Re: Signings

Post by LoidLucan » Thu May 30, 2019 7:07 pm

He did play in that game and came on as a sub when we won at blyth last season and looked very lively.

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Re: Signings

Post by super_les_mcjannet » Thu May 30, 2019 7:12 pm

QUAKERMAN2 wrote:
Thu May 30, 2019 7:02 pm
LoidLucan wrote:He can play as a winger or striker and banged in a couple of goals when Blyth won at Chorley last season. Young with lots of ability.
Did he play for the South Shields team that hammered us in the cup? Might be wrong though.

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Yes he did.

He has done ok but his strike rate isn't fantastic, young lad though. Wouldn't be disappointed with signing him but we do need someone who can lead the line still.

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D_F_C
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Re: Signings

Post by D_F_C » Thu May 30, 2019 7:25 pm

I think he wouldn't be bad to have as a back up. Could possibly play any of the front 4 in a 4-2-3-1 formation

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