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Post by Bagheera on Dec 4, 2022 17:08:59 GMT
Yes so I now see. That’s a real shame when he’s travelled all the way to Nottingham. Dont think he has. It was known Friday he didnt fly as he had Covid.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 4, 2022 15:07:14 GMT
So empty in the arena, sad really. No sign of Ling. Caruso doesn’t appear to be icing either Sadly a lot of factors having an impact. The poor hockey will be having an impact, rightly or wrongly. A hell of a lot of people having to be careful how they spend their pennies, me including. I'd have been there if it wern't for money.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 3, 2022 23:05:03 GMT
5 away wins tonight. Storm winning at Belfast a surprise. Panthers back to 6th but 8pts off 5th 2 points tonight is a tiny step in the right direction but depending on results tomorrow we could find ourselves only 1 point ahead of 9th and should a minor miracle happen, even 1 point off bottom spot. At the same time we could be as much as 21 points off top spot. Even with a very good run it's going to be difficult to break that top 5 now.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 3, 2022 21:03:53 GMT
I don’t think either goalie are suited to playing behind the style Neilson will want the team to play. That goes along with my next comment to some degree. Neither have had the easiest job have they. Playing in front of a team that collectively cant defend for toffee.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 3, 2022 20:48:14 GMT
3-4, Barriga. Juicy rebound from Berry tucked away. Dubeau was very, very poor last night but I don’t think there’s any doubting that he’s not as good as Berry, is there? Berry has been hyped because of Debeaus actions early on and him coming in for a short string of wins, including back to back Clan. Each at their best id argue Debeau is better. When Debeau is poor he is aweful. On average there really isn't much between them. Neither are any way near good enough to be championship winning goalies. It's goalies like this pair that must really frustrate the Brits not given a chance at this level.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 3, 2022 15:20:09 GMT
Id not expect any forwards to log 30 minutes a night. 25 if you’re riding them hard. Your gun D man may get 25+, but not many much more. 9/90/19 should be high scoring, but something’s not clicking at all. 9/90/94 looked top notch early doors, but has been split up ever since. Fair that. It is usually the stud D men that log the big minutes isn't it. Anyway. Im sure you get the point i'm making. Those top lines on the smaller teams log significantly more minutes than on a bigger(cough, cough) team.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 3, 2022 14:31:20 GMT
Going out on a limb here, but could a reason for the lack of goals from the forwards be that they've had success previously on smaller, tighter rinks (manchester, coventry) and they aren't suited to the wider and better ice pad at Nottingham? No stats to back up but certainly Brady, Hammond and Ferrara would fit that category. Discuss. It's an all to familiar tail of some of these kind of players moving from a smaller budget team to Nottingham in particular. I dont really know the reasons. Some will certainly come down to treatment and engagement. The main reason I believe is the way the smaller teams build a roster. They stack the top line and expect them to log huge minutes. They work hard to ensure they have all the peices for a succesful top line. A good supporting 2nd too. They are prepared to sacrifice their bottom end to ensure the top end can give them soemthing to get behind. Often they dont even role 4 lines. Coming to Panthers. Certainly the last few years they appear to be signed as an overall group and then its worked out how to best fit the peices together. A top line centre almost guarenteed the same lines mates all season logging 30 minutes a night = big points.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 3, 2022 8:16:13 GMT
And strangely I don't disagree with most of what CN said. The effort was there,the transition was there, the passing at times was crisp. We were let down by a couple of bad bounces, deflections, a very night from Dubeau and a reminder that good goalies are hard to find so you hang on to one when you've got him. Owen had a very good night, don't say we kept shooting at him cos that is good positioning. BUT, the same players keep starting the game then disappearing - Brady, Puffer, Anderson, Sorensen, where do they go.? At least Hammond is trying to do something, just not very well at the moment. But we have to keep going. I think I largely agree to. I dont think lack of effort came in to it. Lack of confidence and lack of quality absoloutly. In many respects it was an old school type game vs Fife. Outshoot them 2 to 1 with their goalie being outstanding. They usually finish 2 1 to the road team. If Debeau didn't stink the place out it would've been much closer. To be honest I saw more of what I want to see from Sorensen towards the end, and a few others. It's a shame it took being out of the game and them getting stroppy to see it. If we played with that bit of a chirpy edge to start a game it may make an actual difference.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 3, 2022 0:28:06 GMT
I’ll stand by the opinion that it was the wrong decision to sack Graham, the players signed, the squad balance and an underperforming Brit pack are the issue, as we’re continuing to witness. The biggest issue we have now is the fact that we’ve already made 17 import signings this season which means we only have 3 left. If I was Neilson I’d be looking to make 3 signings, however I’d also be looking to release multiple players, including Brits, to free up more money to attract the right players Am I right in thinking Injury reserve cover signings dont count agaisnt your quota? So for example, if Corey managed to bend Lepines ear this weekend he could hang around for a month and not impact the 3 signings we have left.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 2, 2022 23:09:43 GMT
A side note. I'm a fan of Kens but the starting 6 announcements need sorting. Shouting them loadly for the first 25/30 seconds of the game is really poor.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 2, 2022 23:08:11 GMT
You mean player of the month Ferrera.🤣 How did that happen. Debeau stunk the place out. Looks like one of those goalies that 1 bad bounce early and he is gone for the game. I agree on him though. Not a bad goalie but he isn't a Shane Owen type who can win you games on your own. As far as Iggys comment on Hammond. For me he has more time to prove himself now GG has gone. Apparently big issues between the 2 of them. Considering the limited changes we have left Id gamble on Hammond coming good. Have a look at Hammond’s stats in the last two games, they aren’t good. He’s missing in front of the interview camera, when he has appeared he seems miserable,he got healthy scratched by GG and under Corey he’s been a liability so far. He’s bounced around the EIHL too without landing at a big team despite his small club points. Gut feeling,but says to me he’s a problem. He could well be. Right now though we are desperate for a Dman. Then we have Puffer and Anderson. That's it. 3 changes left to make. Coreys had him before so just got to hope he can get a tune out of him.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 2, 2022 22:27:38 GMT
Neilson was a financial decision and not a hockey decision. Pacha wants and needs to improve the attendances, that was his big achievement at Dundee and bringing Neilson in was not in a genuine, long term attempt to improve this team. There was a reason why Neilson got the boot before, after the grand slam season he led the Panthers through some abysmal seasons. For whatever reason, and I’m not even going to try and speculate, but this years group have well and truly checked out. Dubeau, should have gone back in September. Would be ok with a decent D, but not a good fit in Nottingham. Ferrara has gone from a PPG player to being out-done by Jordan Kelsall (no knocking Kelsall, but Ferrara was brought in to rival him). Anderson, must have some dirt on someone somewhere. An import forward entering December with 3pts in the EIHL, 4 PIMS and a +/- minus 4… should not be here. I could continue but it’s the same old, same old. You mean player of the month Ferrera.🤣 How did that happen. Debeau stunk the place out. Looks like one of those goalies that 1 bad bounce early and he is gone for the game. I agree on him though. Not a bad goalie but he isn't a Shane Owen type who can win you games on your own. As far as Iggys comment on Hammond. For me he has more time to prove himself now GG has gone. Apparently big issues between the 2 of them. Considering the limited changes we have left Id gamble on Hammond coming good.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 2, 2022 21:39:14 GMT
I dont understand why Debeau is still in goal. He has been aweful.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 2, 2022 21:29:46 GMT
Why. Why am i here.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 2, 2022 21:23:05 GMT
A lot of people aren't staying for the third. Why am I such a glutton for punishment? If my 10 year old wasn't determained to stay I wouldn't be here for the 3rd. Plenty are staying in the pub and not returning.
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Post by Bagheera on Dec 2, 2022 21:04:42 GMT
Bring back GG
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Post by Bagheera on Nov 28, 2022 17:30:13 GMT
Exactly. The financial squeeze will have a big impact on numbers for sure but Black surely has to realise soon, as many of us thought he had in the off season that the on ice has to be there to some degree. It isn't a cheap alternative to foitball any more. We now have Forest back in the Prem and Notts, albeit in the National league are a much more attractive product than they have been for a few years now. The hardcore fans keep turning up to Panthers for sure, the Saturday night crowds still get a boost from the night outers but any night of the week crowds are well down. Towards the end of Coreys stint we were seeing 5k+ on Sunday nights and near sell outs against lower clubs on Saturdays. This season overall is by far the worst i've seen in the last 10 years or so. Plenty of ST holders walked away in the summer and on the quieter game days it's easy to see just how many. Masses and masses of emty seats that were previously always occupied. When I look around the arena there's not many faces I recognise from 20 years ago when the arena opened and certainly not many who used to go to the old building. Think many have moved on or just found other things to do . If you did a survey from the crowd last Saturday I bet there's a high percentage who's have only been going in the last 5-8 years.. these punters don't know about the on ice successes previous it's just something 'to do with the family' at the weekend so the actual result is of little importance. Absoloutly. Still plenty of old faces I see on a weekly basis but I got in to hockey through people who had been going since the 80s. A chunk of them still go. Just as many faces dissapered though. For many years old fans trickled away as the new type fan flooded in. Now though(covid + last season being a particular watermark momment) for the first time people walking away is vastly outnumbered new regulars. That's because the hockey has been poor and more and more are fed up of Blacks money grabbing antics. The new fan base is 100% made up of a different type of fan. Some of them are propper sports fans who put winning first of course, but they are newer as we all were once so less jaded by it all. More and more though are happy to just be there and dont really care about the result. The hockey fan base is quite unique. We all know the biggest problem is Black and Cultural. More and more though older fans are changing from anger and frustrstion to anger and just walking away.
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Post by Bagheera on Nov 28, 2022 15:13:25 GMT
But that's his job in one sense, and that's all NB is bothered about and he's making it very clear an empty arena is not what he wants. I can see Pacha signing the Brits because he knows what this league requires but the imports is GG. That said Pacha has been around long enough to know whats needed and just looking at the team you cant help but wonder how he didn't think it was imbalanced. Making money with an ice hockey team isn't just selling tickets and pumping out dross like we have seen in the last few years. Last season ended up in the smallest crowds I have ever seen at the NIC and the way things are now it will only get worse. Nottingham fans are different and happy to put up with a lot worse than most other teams but if your business plan is to get the money, overpromise and then serve up rubbish you are not going to keep your job long anymore. Interest rates, cost of living problems, etc are going to make even shooting fish in a barrel hard work at some point. I was happy to see GG being appointed but: He loved the sound of his own voice, he talked utter crap, promised one thing, and then delivered another, and to cap it all wheeled the worst Panthers team onto the ice I have ever seen in modern times. Personally, I don't think he knew anything about the EIHL before his first game behind the bench and quite possibly got an even bigger shock than we did. He wouldn't get a job as Paul Dixon's stick tape man. No good being a "Chief Executive Officer" if the only people still watching are the few Panthers zealots and the Showsec staff. Exactly. The financial squeeze will have a big impact on numbers for sure but Black surely has to realise soon, as many of us thought he had in the off season that the on ice has to be there to some degree. It isn't a cheap alternative to foitball any more. We now have Forest back in the Prem and Notts, albeit in the National league are a much more attractive product than they have been for a few years now. The hardcore fans keep turning up to Panthers for sure, the Saturday night crowds still get a boost from the night outers but any night of the week crowds are well down. Towards the end of Coreys stint we were seeing 5k+ on Sunday nights and near sell outs against lower clubs on Saturdays. This season overall is by far the worst i've seen in the last 10 years or so. Plenty of ST holders walked away in the summer and on the quieter game days it's easy to see just how many. Masses and masses of emty seats that were previously always occupied.
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Post by Bagheera on Nov 27, 2022 21:08:08 GMT
Pretty much as bad as it gets. Can only scramble one goal at home against argueably the worst team in the league. A team that shipped 5 in their own barn against another bottom half team the night before. Never like to see us lose but i'm not entirely displeased. Highlights to all that need to know that changes to roster must be made. Coaching wise Corey has had little time to make an impact but if you cant raise your energy levels and overall game to try and impress the new boss then there really is a problem. Agreed. I was expecting the dead cat to bounce. It's telling that it didn't really, in fact we had pretty much the same weekend as GG finished with; one decent result, made not good enough by the context of the other. You wonder though if this delays changes again though, so Neilson can get a look at them and make his own mind up? Plus the rules limit what we can do of course, you could rip this lot up and start again. I think you may be right. I'm fairly certain Corey knows changes are needed, but perhaps wants time to be fair and work out who should go. For me we need a Dman to replace Lagrone. Then we need a real live wire forward to throw the body and a big power forward. As much as we are struggling for goals I still believe they are there in the players we have. It's still the same issue it has been all season, balance and diversity. Puffer and Anderson are the ones making least impact. This set wont be able to turn it around no matter who is in charge. You'd like to think Corey insisted on some things when taking the job, such as being able to make changes needed. I'm not sure we ever heard about this dry player market when Corey was here before so hopefully his contacts can come through again. Right now i'd take one of those washed up, on 1 leg ex NHLer types he used to sign to bring some quality.
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Post by Bagheera on Nov 27, 2022 20:11:36 GMT
3 points off Bottom. 19 off top.
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Post by Bagheera on Nov 27, 2022 19:58:08 GMT
Pretty much as bad as it gets. Can only scramble one goal at home against argueably the worst team in the league. A team that shipped 5 in their own barn against another bottom half team the night before. Never like to see us lose but i'm not entirely displeased. Highlights to all that need to know that changes to roster must be made. Coaching wise Corey has had little time to make an impact but if you cant raise your energy levels and overall game to try and impress the new boss then there really is a problem.
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Post by Bagheera on Nov 27, 2022 18:13:51 GMT
Poor Twitter updates tonight. No idea how long left. Just got our first PP with 3m16s left Which has been garbage with 8 seconds left on it. 2 1 down. 1m23s left
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Post by Bagheera on Nov 27, 2022 18:11:32 GMT
Poor Twitter updates tonight. No idea how long left. Just got our first PP with 3m16s left
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Post by Bagheera on Nov 26, 2022 22:29:33 GMT
Obviously the Cage was down at the time of the incident so not mentioned as yet. I think Lagrone could now be done for the season. Left the game on a stretcher after a strange collision. Essentially skating into the back of a Steeler, perhaps catching and elbow. Appeared to be out cold for a little while and then on the ice for a good few minutes before being put on the stretcher.
The obvious guess is that it's now his second concussion of the season. If so that should be his season done for his own health. Regardless of Hockey here's hoping for a speedy recovery.
Panthers now need to be in the market for a new Dman. They should've been anyway so hopefully the process is already underway.
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Post by Bagheera on Nov 26, 2022 21:53:04 GMT
Damn. Did a Sheffield to Sheffield in Sheffield but couldn't quite finish it off.
A really dull game. Only enhanced by the late equalizer and following OT. A very good point snatched at the end.
Didn't expect to much to change considering the time Corey has had and nothing much did. The only thing I found dissapointing from the performance was the lack of any energy or physicality. I really thought we might at least see that lift with a new coach to impress.
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