The Dean Saunders football genius thread

[Jorge Porbillas]

Two games ... two wins and for the first time ever the Conference have had to postpone a match because of international call ups.

Deanooooooooooooooooooooooo,
Deanooooooooooooooooooooooo.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

That Brian Little, eh?

How did he ever manage in the Premier League?

[Jimmy Bignutz]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Fairly successfully, if I recall.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

I was just reading his Wiki page, and he did okay at Leicester and Villa, but his fall from grace has been a rapid one. I mean, I'd take him at St Albans, but that's not saying much, really.

[EIM]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

I'd not have him at my lot.

Is he the new Mike Walker then?

[My Name Is Ian]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Well, he has plummeted, Peter Taylor style, since he left Aston Villa in 1998. Premier League to sacked in the Conference in ten years.

Bear in mind, EIM, that, when I say that I'd take him at our lot, I'd ask you to remember that the current St Albans manager missed the second match of the season, on Bank Holiday Monday, because of "family commitments", which I took to mean a day out at the seaside.

[EIM]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

If he had a higher media profile, of course, or even chosen his jobs more carefully, he could have kept struggling, but in higher divisions. Some poor fuckers have none of the luck.

Peter Taylor is all the more mystifying/amusing, given that he managed England for one game not all that long ago.

[EIM]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Actually, what's mystifying about that isn't Taylor's (hey, great name) fall from grace, but the fact he ever graced in the first place. Peter Taylor? England manager? Have a word with yourselves, FA.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

The best thing about Taylor is that he got sacked from those stinking, pissy, wankheads Stevenage. Their continued failure to get into the Football League is one of the few bright spots in football for me, these days.

[EIM]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Rather them than Crawley.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Ah, the devil and the deep blue sea.

[Janik]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

He wasn't exactly sacked. More a mutual parting of the ways.

I see Wycombe lost 7-0 at home this evening. In the tinpot cup, but still...
Remember, Wycombe fans, after 8 games at in charge of Leicester, he had them top of the Premiership (a key factor in the FA asking him to look after England for that Italy match).

[Janik]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

What about Histon instead? The return of John Beck. Exactly what League Two is crying out for.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Nice to see that the holders are out.

Brighton are through, too. Their 73rd draw in a row, I think. I didn't even know they were playing Orient tonight. I'd probably have popped up there if I had.

Getting back to the Conference, only 876 at Crawley tonight. Second lowest home crowd in the league tonight.

[Janik]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Having looked up the Wycombe team for tonight compared with last saturday, there were a some changes but it wasn't wholesale. 6 players started both games, a further 2 who started tonight came on as subs on saturday and all three of the subs used during tonight’s game were in the starting Xi for the league game. Only two of the league Xi didn't play a part in the cup home annihilation.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Shrewsbury were pissing money all over the place during the summer, weren't they?

[EIM]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Steve Evans - Is he still on his touchline ban? Are we to expect Crawley's impressive start to the season to falter soon?

[Janik]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

'course, if we are looking for teams to go up from the Conference, there is always Cambridge...

The ability to score goals seems to have almost completely deserted us. An injury-time penalty, dodgy at that, to beat Grays two weeks ago, and then an injury-time goal to beat Lewes, possesors of the worst defence in the league, tonight. Which, given that we have 5 strikers who could all reasonably expect to start league games (Lee McEvilly, Mark Beasley, Danny Crow, Chris Holroyd, Chris Jones) is rather worrying.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

His ban was 12 matches, I think. They've played 14 games, so their last two matches are the ones that we need to look at - drawn one and lost one since he was back (presumably) on the touchline.

So, well, yes. Science has proven it.

[EIM]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Hahahaha. I predicted exactly this preseason.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Janik: I really, REALLY wish that your Chris Jones was the same Chris Jones that played for Spurs in the late 1970s and hit the post with five minutes to go for St Albans in a league match at Yeovil in about 1988 in front of a crowd of 6,000 (Yeovil were playing QPR in the FA Cup and tickets were on sale). Bald on top, but a flowing mane, that Chris Jones.

But it isn't. He must be about 55 now.

[Janik]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Not he, this Chris Jones is an 18-year old on a six-month loan from Swansea.

It's not inconcievable he might be Chris Jones junior, though.

[My Name Is Ian]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

It's a pleasing idea.

I've just had a look at the top of the Conference. Cambridge should come through the teams above them, shouldn't they? There's some very ropey looking teams at the top of that table at the moment.

[Guest]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

Janik wrote:

I see Wycombe lost 7-0 at home this evening. In the tinpot cup, but still...

Don't know if this has been noticed, but the Wycombe board let all season ticket holders in for free, including Shrewsbury STH. Town brought 190 fans down, which is pretty good on a cold Tuesday night from Salop to Bucks. The overall crowd was 1,730 - unsure how that fares with the rest of the JPT games? Pretty weak considering they're doing well this year.

[boris]

The Dean Saunders football genius thread

twohundredpercent wrote:

I've just had a look at the top of the Conference. Cambridge should come through the teams above them, shouldn't they? There's some very ropey looking teams at the top of that table at the moment.

There are only 14 points between the top of the Conference and the relegation zone, which means that just about anyone (even, possibly, Oxford) could challenge for the title if they get a good run going. Even Altrincham aren't fourth from bottom, which shows what a topsy-turvy season this is turning out to be.