The Tisdale, Oakley, Gwinnett, Perryman, Moore-Taylor, Harley, Simpson, Wheeler Derby

[Moomin]

Stupid thread title I know but it just shows the number of former ECFC staff/players that will be returning to SJP on Saturday.

Just hope the game doesn’t descend into a bit of a circus due to the feelings some fans have toward Tisdale and the others. Apparently there were some idiotic chants on Saturday re Tisdale and I can only imagine those idiots doing the same again on Saturday. Personally, I wanted a change and was pleased Tisdale left but have no animosity towards him after what he achieved here.

As for the game, MK have hit a brick wall and they seem to be low on confidence. Reading their forum they’re not happy with playing a back 5 plus they seem to concede a lot of late goals. Moore-Taylor went off injured on Saturday which will help us if he’s missing.

We’re doing ok and seem to be keeping things tight at the back. I suspect Taylor will pick a ‘running team’ and try to get amongst them. Hopefully we can add another player this week, preferably a striker as we are light in this area.

I think it will be tight and will go for a 1-1 draw. Expect a good crowd of around 5-6k.

 

[Devon_Lad]

What about D'ath?

 

[Devon_Lad]

This is also a bit premature. MK Dons have a match tomorrow night still.

 

[Super_horns]

If you guys win he might be even less popular with the MK Dons fans!

 

[Franchisor]

Not looking forward to this. Likely to be missing JMT who has been our standout CB this season. None of the other ex-Exeter players have looked anything special. The only real boost for us will be if Rhys Healey comes back on loan from Cardiff before Saturday, we look far more threatening with him. Saying that, there's every chance we could lose Aneke by the end of the transfer window too.

Think Exeter and their fans will be far more up for this than we are, understandably so. We're on such a bad run of form too.

Don't expect big numbers of travelling fans - it's all down to distance for us lot. We took 1,400 to Northampton a few weeks ago, but don't think we'll take much more than 350-400 down there.

Prediction: Exeter 2-1 MK

 

[RebornKirtonRed]

1,400 to Northampton is only 19 miles up the road, don't even need a supporters coach. cheap day-explorer on local bus/train...supprised you didn't take more.......wish our aways were as close as that, apart from Yeovil nearest is Newport 112m........heck, City fans have to get the 85 m to Bristol before we even start our trips proper.............although Carlisle seems a long way up I reckon we journey even further than they do.....City fans travel well and give good support , I think many opposing clubs would second that....under the circumstances if MK don't fill our new away stand ( for the first time) they need their bumps felt.

 

[Trapdoor]

MK fans never travel well. Expect under 300.

I for one welcome Tiz and co back. Gotta respect the years of good service they put in to our club. Matt Taylor wouldnt be manager today if it weren't at least partly due to Tisdale and Perryman bringing him in from Bath.

 

[Moomin]

One thing Tisdale was always good at was getting a much needed result when the chips were down. So, we shouldn’t be lulled by MK’s poor recent form as they could easily batter us if they click again.

 

[denzel ecfc]

With them winning tonight means we won't go above them if we win. But we would consolidate a play off spot which is all that matters to me.
Couldn't care less about Tisdale now, it's a new era for us.
Hope we play players in the right position, Law and Collins in midfield could be a right handful, and I'm confident that Mox and Dara can keep Healy quiet.
2-0 City

 

[Franchisor]

1,400 to Northampton is only 19 miles up the road, don't even need a supporters coach. cheap day-explorer on local bus/train...supprised you didn't take more.......

...under the circumstances if MK don't fill our new away stand ( for the first time) they need their bumps felt.

Well we would have, but we sold out the allocation.

This game means far more to Exeter fans with it being your old, long-serving manager, backroom staff and a couple of players (JMT injured). There is no real draw to this game for MK fans other than it being 6th vs 7th, especially when we're in such a bad run of form.

It's like the equivalent of when our old manager Karl Robinson moved to Charlton and returned to MK for the first time. We had 11k at home for that one, which wasn't bad. Charlton fans weren't bothered, but it was a bit of a strange one for us having our old manager who had been at the club for 7+ years coming back with a new team.

MK fans never travel well. Expect under 300.

True. Exeter bringing nearly 1k to Milton Keynes in August was pretty impressive. For whatever reason our away support isn't great. I reckon around 300-400 at the most. I don't imagine many teams bring more than that down to Exeter.

 

[Franchisor]

If any Exeter fans are interested in how their old players are getting on..

JMT - Excellent, arguably our best CB and we definitely look a stronger unit with him. Shame he's out injured at the moment. He's signed until 2020 with an option of an extra year so I'm happy we've secured him until then, should be worth a decent fee if anyone comes calling.

Harley - Only played a handful of games. Scored on his debut, looked like he couldn't be arsed the next couple of games but then had a decent game last night involved in lots. Looks a good squad player but again his injury record is a problem. 50/50 on whether he'll get a new deal in the summer.

Simpson - Not played much recently, but first half of the season was regularly used as a sub. Scored a couple of goals, but generally seems used to hold up play and shield the ball. Just a solid, run of the mill mid-table L2 player IMO. Not sure he'll get a new deal, nothing really standout about him.

Wheeler - Played his second game for us last night. Too early to really conclude anything, but he has yet to contribute in any way. If we get Healey back tommorow or Thursday then I could see Wheeler getting less starts.

D'Ath - Bit of a scapegoat for some of our fans. Tisdale seems to rate him and he has had more games than he probably deserved. Doesn't really seem to offer much. Hopefully he'll be let go in the summer.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Interesting what you say about Wheeler. I'm sure the main reason he has come to you on loan is to get more starts, so if he doesn't what is the point in him being there.
As for JMT well we always knew he should be playing at a higher level which made him going to you equally baffling. Unless he gets promoted it is a waste IMO.

 

[Franchisor]

As for JMT well we always knew he should be playing at a higher level which made him going to you equally baffling. Unless he gets promoted it is a waste IMO.

Think this was the best 'sideways' move he could have possibly made. He'll be gaining lots of good experience in our defence alongside Lewington (captain, 730 career appearances), Martin (ex-Norwich captain, 545 career appearances) as well as Walsh (ex-Crawley captain), Baudry (ex-Leyton Orient captain) and highly rated defenders like Williams and Cargill.

Best defence on paper in this league, and only Middlesbrough and Mansfield have conceded less than us in the EFL. For JMT to still standout amongst that lot, just shows how good he is.

 

[Devon_Lad]

With them winning tonight means we won't go above them if we win. But we would consolidate a play off spot which is all that matters to me.
Couldn't care less about Tisdale now, it's a new era for us.
Hope we play players in the right position, Law and Collins in midfield could be a right handful, and I'm confident that Mox and Dara can keep Healy quiet.
2-0 City

Come on, even you Denzel, must want MK Dons at a Wembley Play Off Final

 

[Moomin]

Well it may be a few days since Saturday but still buzzing off that performance.

Full marks to Matt Taylor for highlighting a weakness with MK wanting to play slowly out from the back, which we combatted with a high press all game. We seemed to swarm all over them and they couldn’t cope.

Nicky Law was unbelievable and he showed again that we’re so lucky to have him in L2. He’s so creative and his fitness levels are something else. Add that to Lee Martin, Lee Holmes and Jonathan Forte having storming games too.

There was some chanting towards Tisdale and the ex players but all banter really. Can’t believe Tisdale actually brought a body guard with him though....he really is odd.

His post match interview was even more odd, saying the low sun and poor pitch were a big reason why they lost. Well we coped well with it....He does seem bitter and didn’t give us any credit.

As for MK, they need to produce far better than that. Aneke was awful when I expected him to be awesome and Wheeler got no joy all afternoon.

Overall, a great win and one we should use to give serious momentum for the rest of the season.