I really liked Pratley. He didn't have the best ball skills but he was able to pair intelligence with his stamina, which is more than you can say for a couple of the midfielders we have on the books currently.
He wouldn't be the kind of player we need for a Ben Garner team but he was exactly what was required at the time under Bowyer - we identified a gap in our squad after getting beat by Shrewsbury in the play-offs the previous year and Pratley filled that gap. I agree that Cullen/Bielik/Aribo ultimately had the quality in the run in to push us on to eventual promotion but Pratley's contribution throughout those winter months (games 15-35) were vital in keeping us in the hunt with ugly points away from home and laying the foundation for the others to play.
Wouldn't want to sign him now but won't read the slander without challenging it.
An adult analysis to counter the childish tantrums
Shall we hear your Naby Sarr opinions again, old man?
Stick to cricket, when it comes to football you know less than a cabbage.
I thought in the play off final, after our own goal, it was Pratley who drove us on for the next 15 minutes until the rest of the team came together, or is my old memory fading?
He did some fouls and pushed someone over. He then played precisely no part whatsoever in the stunning team move that actually equalised for us
That was the whole point, the team looked flat at that point, but he chased around, got stuck in and this is what made the rest of the team get going again. You need a player like that when things go wrong and the team stops playing
Do you? A manager like Garner is trying to build a system by which the team will always be able to respond calmly to setbacks through possession play and team pressing, rather than relying on one man to hare about aggressively (which does the other 10 players down tbh; it wasn't just Pratley who rose to the occasion)
You are talking about human beings. When things go wrong, some rise to the occasion and others hold back. No matter how good a manager is and what tactics he plays, the individual will act as his nature. End of my opinion, obviously not yours, but everyone entitled to theirs
There's a lot of speculation on whether this is a good appt or not. What few are talking about is probably the most important issue of all ... Is there a good song than scans with the name "Ben Garner" or not?
I've got "Ben Ben Ben Gar-ner, Ben Ben Ben Gar-ner" to the popular soccer ballad "hez-hez hez bollah hez hez hez bollah".
A quick trip to the eponymous manager's Wikipedia entry reveals a photo that makes him look like he's actually very much part of Hezbollah!!
Also in Queen's "Don't stop me now" a possible song while we are winning:
Instead of ...
"Don't stop me, don't stop me Don't stop me, hey, hey, hey Don't stop me, don't stop me Ooh, ooh, ooh, I like it Don't stop me, don't stop me Have a good time, good time".
We've got:
"Ben Garner, Ben Garner
Ben Garner hey hey hey
Ben Garner Ben Garner Ooh ooh ooh I like it. Ben Garner Ben Garner Have a good time good time".
Anyone fancy getting started with either of those at the Dartford or Swansea warm ups next month?
Needs a guitar solo... I wonder who could do that?
Good stuff but can see him regretting the move about 2 games in.
Thanks for giving me the first laugh of the day, just wait until he gets to the Lincoln and Ipswich away matches! He will probably be concluding that it will be difficult not to be successful here!
Good stuff but can see him regretting the move about 2 games in.
The poor sod he isnt being paid enough to watch that much shit is he ?
Ben Garner needs to know what we did right and see for himself what we did wrong; could well be more of the latter.
Shit is CL favourite word but winning at Rotherham and Sunderland; two teams playing in the Championship wasn't Shit ? We didn't concede a goal in the 4 games against those promoted teams.
We played 46 games last season and I must've been lucky because I went to 5 games in a row (I saw 3 games a week over the season mainly Cafc, Kent League and academy football) at the Valley and we took 15 points, scored 12, conceded 0 and everyone appeared to be buzzing as we left the ground. Didn't hear anyone say that was shit as we beat Doncaster, Plymouth, Ipswich Cambridge, and Fleetwood.
Even the Lincoln game, Conor had 4 and Jayden had 1 glorious opportunity to score and the majority of that game we had 10 men because Gilbey has a straw brain.
Did I watch some poor performances on Charlton TV, Of course and the ball retention wasn't good enough and that must improve dramatically to finish in the top six of the table but so must the quick attack as you don't score a bonus point for a 14 pass move that leads to a goal over the assist from Craig Mac that Conor ran on to against Burton and chipped the keeper.
Mix and match with a better mentality over the whole season. We need a new identity, new characters and athletes with an edge who can do the basics. Plus the X factor players like Corey Blackett-Taylor who mustn't waste his energies running 50 yards back to his own area. Formations should be fluid so the opposition manager has a difficult job.
I hope Ben Garner can be pro-active not just re-active in his touchline decision making.
Good stuff but can see him regretting the move about 2 games in.
"Oh that Connor Washington is right up my high pressing street, that's a good start" "Yeah..so, about that....."
On the flipside, think about how happy he's going to be after he watches Famewo spaff the ball out of play for the 15th time that minute and realises he doesn't have to see him.
That dot represent the situation before the big bang so please go to the Science thread.
Thanks for your input JR even if your messages from Thomas Sandgaard and Raelynn Maloney created more fights on CL than Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn put together worldwide !
Good stuff but can see him regretting the move about 2 games in.
"Oh that Connor Washington is right up my high pressing street, that's a good start" "Yeah..so, about that....."
On the flipside, think about how happy he's going to be after he watches Famewo spaff the ball out of play for the 15th time that minute and realises he doesn't have to see him.
this is the sort of terminology commentators should be using, that and "he's spunked his chance there"
There's a lot of speculation on whether this is a good appt or not. What few are talking about is probably the most important issue of all ... Is there a good song than scans with the name "Ben Garner" or not?
I've got "Ben Ben Ben Gar-ner, Ben Ben Ben Gar-ner" to the popular soccer ballad "hez-hez hez bollah hez hez hez bollah".
A quick trip to the eponymous manager's Wikipedia entry reveals a photo that makes him look like he's actually very much part of Hezbollah!!
Also in Queen's "Don't stop me now" a possible song while we are winning:
Instead of ...
"Don't stop me, don't stop me Don't stop me, hey, hey, hey Don't stop me, don't stop me Ooh, ooh, ooh, I like it Don't stop me, don't stop me Have a good time, good time".
We've got:
"Ben Garner, Ben Garner
Ben Garner hey hey hey
Ben Garner Ben Garner Ooh ooh ooh I like it. Ben Garner Ben Garner Have a good time good time".
Anyone fancy getting started with either of those at the Dartford or Swansea warm ups next month?
I have nothing better to offer but it sounds like something the Croydon ultras would sing
Good stuff but can see him regretting the move about 2 games in.
The bad, the good, the bad, the good, ending in the Ugly 4-0 when we started bad and then fell away at Ipswich when we should've worn boots not flip flops.
Hopefully he takes some solace from the Ipswich home game as how we can play and compete and the atmosphere when most are all on the same page.
Mighty challenge for Ben Garner to galvanize the players the fans and cheer Thomas Sandgaard up because he is our main man and can't see too many people taking on this under achieving South London club that we are stuck with until we/I die or the club dies first. Hopefully I go first but not before Daniel Kanu's son makes his debut.
I wish him luck as well as his skill set because both Nigel and Johnnie made mistakes but the injuries always happened to players when they were having good spells.
Be a skilled and lucky manager Ben as without both you are screwed.
Comments
I wonder who could do that?
He will probably be concluding that it will be difficult not to be successful here!
"Oh that Connor Washington is right up my high pressing street, that's a good start"
"Yeah..so, about that....."
”This Washington fella looks like he has a bit about him. I’m really looking forward to working with him…”
god help him - he'll look 10 years older when he's next interviewed
He would do if he watched them all in a week. Would be about 10 hours a day. Maybe he's sharing the workload with Martin.
Ben Garner needs to know what we did right and see for himself what we did wrong; could well be more of the latter.
Shit is CL favourite word but winning at Rotherham and Sunderland; two teams playing in the Championship wasn't Shit ?
We didn't concede a goal in the 4 games against those promoted teams.
We played 46 games last season and I must've been lucky because I went to 5 games in a row (I saw 3 games a week over the season mainly Cafc, Kent League and academy football) at the Valley and we took 15 points, scored 12, conceded 0 and everyone appeared to be buzzing as we left the ground. Didn't hear anyone say that was shit as we beat Doncaster, Plymouth, Ipswich Cambridge, and Fleetwood.
Even the Lincoln game, Conor had 4 and Jayden had 1 glorious opportunity to score and the majority of that game we had 10 men because Gilbey has a straw brain.
Did I watch some poor performances on Charlton TV, Of course and the ball retention wasn't good enough and that must improve dramatically to finish in the top six of the table but so must the quick attack as you don't score a bonus point for a 14 pass move that leads to a goal over the assist from Craig Mac that Conor ran on to against Burton and chipped the keeper.
Mix and match with a better mentality over the whole season. We need a new identity, new characters and athletes with an edge who can do the basics. Plus the X factor players like Corey Blackett-Taylor who mustn't waste his energies running 50 yards back to his own area. Formations should be fluid so the opposition manager has a difficult job.
I hope Ben Garner can be pro-active not just re-active in his touchline decision making.
Huge news
Let's be honest he needs to watch around 2 games before coming to his conclusion
"Total wank"
That dot represent the situation before the big bang so please go to the Science thread.
Thanks for your input JR even if your messages from Thomas Sandgaard and Raelynn Maloney created more fights on CL than Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn put together worldwide !
Edit. Obviously not about Ben Garner though
The bad, the good, the bad, the good, ending in the Ugly 4-0 when we started bad and then fell away at Ipswich when we should've worn boots not flip flops.
Hopefully he takes some solace from the Ipswich home game as how we can play and compete and the atmosphere when most are all on the same page.
Mighty challenge for Ben Garner to galvanize the players the fans and cheer Thomas Sandgaard up because he is our main man and can't see too many people taking on this under achieving South London club that we are stuck with until we/I die or the club dies first. Hopefully I go first but not before Daniel Kanu's son makes his debut.
I wish him luck as well as his skill set because both Nigel and Johnnie made mistakes but the injuries always happened to players when they were having good spells.
Be a skilled and lucky manager Ben as without both you are screwed.