The Shorey Factor

[Jelly Bean]

Our record with and without Shorey makes interesting reading. It is also interesting to note that most of our best performances came in this period. It really does go to show what a difference adding one quality player can do to our team.

With him we played 9 won 7 drew 2 lost 0
Without him we've played 25 won 10 drawn 8 lost 7

So with him we are title favourites and without him we are are pushing for a play off place.

I really think that the squad of players we have now are realistically about 6/7th best in the league, no better. I know the rose coloured specs will come out from some saying we are better than that but look at the stats! Newcastle and West Brom strengthened in Jan and we weakened.

We will finish in the play offs i have no doubt, but i am worried that we are no longer better than the other 3 sides in there.

Our home performances are still good enough to beat anyone in the league as we've proved all season. But away we've only had what i would call one convincing win, the others have been scrappy, hard earned wins. We are still a good side, but are we the same side without Shorey - catergorically no.

 

[RICH1977]

it isnt realy shorey its the left back factor,

without one we become one sided and struggle to atack effectively down the left

 

[StuC]

it isnt realy shorey its the left back factor,

without one we become one sided and struggle to atack effectively down the left

Agreed

I also don't understand why Anderson has been playing on the left midfield recently, is it because he has the best chance of catching up with the ball when Perch clears it?

 

[adam09]

I think the Shorey factor is very overstated. Personally I think our best football came in the Leicester and Bristol home games and that spell before Shorey. Afterwards we rode our luck in games like Swansea away, Cov at home, Watford away, Reading home etc but the confidence was sky high by then and the little things were going our way, which they aren't now.

I'm probably in the minority here but though Shorey was very good for CCC level and was positionally very good and had great composure on the ball, he really wasn't tested a lot at all. I barely remember him making any tackles. The first time he was tested, he got caught out and sent off.

 

[Rich]

He didn't have to make so many tackles as his positioning meant he read the play better and made more interceptions than diving tackles.

Shorey is the reason we won't go up this season, in my opinion.

 

[RICH1977]

He didn't have to make so many tackles as his positioning meant he read the play better and made more interceptions than diving tackles.

Shorey is the reason we won't go up this season, in my opinion.

bloody hell rich your the last person I expected to say that

 

[Rich]

I just don't think we can play the football that got us up to second without a left back.

Shorey was the kind of signing a club heading for the Premiership would make.

Not signing him, or an adequate replacement, has shown what the club really want to do this season.

 

[StuC]

He didn't have to make so many tackles as his positioning meant he read the play better and made more interceptions than diving tackles.

Shorey is the reason we won't go up this season, in my opinion.

I'm surprised that you of all people can hold such a narrow minded view, yes we didn't sign shorey but he was always going to hold out for a premiership move (this is a world cup year and he must have felt he had a outside chance).

The problem was that we didn't sign anyone to play at left back, and then made the decision to play a very right footed player in Perch at left back (why not go back to Cohen, he might not like playing left back but he can do it a lot better than Perch)

 

[Rich]

When I say 'Shorey', I'm not actually just talking about nicky Shorey, rather using it as an umbrella term for a decent left back.

As regards England, Cole is injured, Bridge has retired and Shorey's name has still not been mentioned. Perhaps he'd have had a better chance staying here.

 

[RICH1977]

moving cohen back leaves Mckenna exposed and on his own at a time when he is bolloxed and playing stranger and stranger passes every game. cohen is what is keeping our midfield together atm imho, drop him back and we could be in a even bigger mess.

I believe that we where caught out by fullham tbh and got lazy and agreed pushed for anther loan deal with shorey with option to buy at the end of the season shorey said himself he was expecting to be back at forest and fullham came from nowhere.

my main concern is with such a young squad if we do fail this season heads might get down and have a negative effect on next season similar to reading,

 

[Rich]

Perhaps giving McKenna a week or so off would be a wise move.

Raddy and McGugan could play in the middle.

 

[RedDogChris]

He didn't have to make so many tackles as his positioning meant he read the play better and made more interceptions than diving tackles.

Shorey is the reason we won't go up this season, in my opinion.

Spot on,he was the difference between playoffs and automatic promotion for sure.

 

[garrilla]

We were never going to sign Shorey on a permanent in January. He has said in interviews that he came to get fit and that the Fulham move was a both last minute and a surprise.

 

[adam09]

He didn't have to make so many tackles as his positioning meant he read the play better and made more interceptions than diving tackles.

Shorey is the reason we won't go up this season, in my opinion.

Totally disagree. I can't remember any time where Shorey ever had any pressure on him, either a midfielder or full back pushing up, or a player running with the ball. Until Kebe came on.

For me, if we don't go up, it's because we're just an ok team. We played some verey good football in a run of games, but were mostly average away from home and lately, at home, we've just done enough.

We got up to a great position, in a very tight league. Over expectations grew and a playoff place is probably just about representative of how good we are.

We'd have needed more than Shorey to go up. The midfield looks tired and uncreative at the moment. Things are hitting the bar, not dropping into the net. That's nothing to do with Shorey.

 

[Beasty]

I do wonder.

 

[Forester]

I also don't understand why Anderson has been playing on the left midfield recently, is it because he has the best chance of catching up with the ball when Perch clears it?

 

[wemaybefamousagain]

Surely we have done the whole Shorey thing to death now. Yes we miss him and yes we need a left back but we have played pretty well without him as well. Our squad is inexperienced and lightweight in key areas. Add a glut of very physical teams and boggy pitches into the equation and bingo, our form starts to dip.

It's hardly rocket science.

 

[Anthony]

Is this the same James Perch who the majority of the forum said could do a good job at left back after the QPR game?

He is not a left back and shouldn't be playing their in a team that is looking at automatic promotion/playoffs.

 

[Kier]

The QPR game was not a test of anyone's credentials as they were so shit! Perch cannot play left-back, in the majority of games there has been a steady leak of pressure coming through that position. This is really costing us!

It was a huge failure of the acquisition panel's front to address this and we are now paying the price. If we don't sign a competent left back on loan, I don't think we will go up.

 

[Anthony]

The QPR game was not a test of anyone's credentials as they were so shit! Perch cannot play left-back, in the majority of games there has been a steady leak of pressure coming through that position. This is really costing us!

It was a huge failure of the acquisition panel's front to address this and we are now paying the price. If we don't sign a competent left back on loan, I don't think we will go up.

That was my point.

Even at the QPR game you could see Perch was not a left back and that he was a massive weak link in the side.
IMO James Perch is not a good enough player for a club aiming for the top end of the championship.

 

[Kier]

Agreed, should be used as back up to fill in as and when needed, but a long way from being good enough to start games regularly.

 

[RICH1977]

just hope we get someone in before the play offs

 

[TrickyTart]

Personally agree with the sentiment that our midfield has been struggling for a while. Rady is off the boil, mac the knife is in a weird place odd passing, anderson has always been over rated and the moose is too inconsistent. Still easier to close our eyes and pretend its all down to the fish at left back

 

[Strummer]

Personally agree with the sentiment that our midfield has been struggling for a while. Rady is off the boil, mac the knife is in a weird place odd passing, anderson has always been over rated and the moose is too inconsistent. Still easier to close our eyes and pretend its all down to the fish at left back

Absolutely spot-on.

We've lost a bit of creativity from midfield, Billy has previously dropped Raddy, saying his head wasn't right, and McKenna has looked a bit tired.

We've lost three away games 1-0, but - somehow - lost 3-0 to the Bin Robbers (a scoreline which flattered them, to say the least).

To blame it all on James Perch is nonsense.

To say that having lost Nicky Shorey from the squad (an experienced professional) is perhaps more accurate. It just highlights the lack of depth we have in a squad of something like 23 professionals (including Julian Bennett who has been injured all season!)

 

[RICH1977]

Absolutely spot-on.

We've lost a bit of creativity from midfield, Billy has previously dropped Raddy, saying his head wasn't right, and McKenna has looked a bit tired.

We've lost three away games 1-0, but - somehow - lost 3-0 to the Bin Robbers (a scoreline which flattered them, to say the least).

To blame it all on James Perch is nonsense.

To say that having lost Nicky Shorey from the squad (an experienced professional) is perhaps more accurate. It just highlights the lack of depth we have in a squad of something like 23 professionals (including Julian Bennett who has been injured all season!)

this for me is why we are not yet in a sound position to go up this year not becuase we are not good enough for promotion but becuase the squad isnt anywhere near big eneugh to survive next year even with new faces added in the summer