Jake Cassidy

[Rockford's Love Child]

Cassidy has scored 16 in 38 appearances for Rovers; Stockton 8 in 48, albeit a number of those were from the bench. So I think it is fair to say that at this level Cassidy is the more proven goalscorer. There is also a big difference in terms of pressure and expectations between playing with household names at Molineux in front of 20,000 and turning out for Rovers, cetainly for an inexperienced player. Time will tell of course......

Regardless of their goalscoring statistics I would say that Cassidy offers more outside the box, leading the line and acting as a link payer. Cole has all the attributes to play this role but blows hot and cold.

I would actually be surprised if we are obliged to play Cassidy in every game, as you can count on one hand the occasions we have played 4-42 away from home this season. If he does have to start every match there certainly is an element of risk in Ronnie's strategy.

 

[drwhoman]

Will be interesting to see how he goes. I assume Sodje will sit it out until the end of the season or whenever a decision is taken on his alleged fraud. Shame we have to pay him but such is life. On players, I see that McNulty has been released by Barnsley and has signed for Bury on a free.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

Great news about Jake. It will certainly lift the team, unless the planned demos have the opposite effect. If we can just get the central defence sorted, we will have a settled squad that can start to win a few games. We've had wretched luck with long-term injuries and illness over the past 15 months. A change of luck is overdue.

 

[Ian]

Great news. Putting aside the away games for now, i want to see 442 against Crewe with Lowe and Cass up front and the wingers supplying them all game. Be positive and get at them from the start.

 

[Boz]

I agree that Ronnie's handling of Cole Stockton is less than impressive. Yes, he did get some starts in the second half of last season, but this was in a stuggling side with the likes of Sidibe and O'Halloran and an out of form Akpa Akpro alongside. He should have been given a proper chance of playing alongside Lowe, before trying someone else's player.

Current form suggests Stockton is in the better form than Cassidy. I think Jake only had one effort (off target) when he featured for Wolves on New Year's Day and if ever there was a game he was destined to score in that was it. Now he's here, I hope he can rediscover the form of the start of last season. However even if that happens, unless the manager addresses the lack of defensive cover, there is still a problem

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

We have already brought in two defenders in January and now have seven players to cover four positions. So I am not really sure what further strengthening we can do at the back, given that it is highly unlikely that an experienced centre half has been, or will be, available to us (assuming it was the right decision to get rid of McNulty, which I accept is contentious). If Cassidy was not here, we would simply have another loan signing from a Premier League / Championship club sitting on the bench. Rather than endlessly tinkering with the back four I would rather we simply stuck with the current occupants - who have done fine in the last three matches - and let them develop a relationship.

Stockton has not done as well as Kirby or Power when he has been given an extended run in the first team, it is as simple as that. Cole's run of games after the Bolton win sums his form up really: he did really well in the cup game and was then pretty anonymous in the two league matches that followed and dropped out of the side again. Contrast this with Power's performances after his man of the match debut at Sheffield United last season and Kirby's contribution after the Bradford game this year.

Moore wants to ship Akpro and Sodje out on loan and keep Cole, so there is no suggestion he does not rate Stockton. In a strange way, switching to a 4-4-2 formation could actually help Cole as he is likely to get more time on the pitch, even if he starts the majority of games on the bench: as it stands he can only get on if we change formation.

 

[bigmart]

well with crewe winning tonight than we really d have to g for it and beat them saturday

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Yes, terrible result for us that. If we don't win on Saturday we are in real trouble.

 

[Sparky]

If we lose on Saturday Moore should go IMO.

Over the last few months Carlisle, sheff utd and notts county have moved out of the relegation zone following a change in manager. Bristol city are improving too.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

This thread is going way off topic onto Ronnie, but I don't agree with Sparky that changing the manager will guarantee an improvement. It didn't work the last time Rovers sacked Ronnie!

For the first time this season, we have a reasonably full squad with no suspensions and hardly any injuries. We SHOULD now start to make progress. If we don't, then maybe I'll join Sparky, but at the moment I believe Ronnie is doing a good job under difficult circumstances. There's no sign he's lost the dressing room.

 

[andrewesq]

Back to Cassidy!, if he produces the form he did previously for rovers and if lowe continues we should have a decent strikeforce but as others have said we need to shut up shop at the back

 

[andrewesq]

Over the last few months Carlisle, sheff utd and notts county have moved out of the relegation zone following a change in manager. Bristol city are improving too.

Be interesting to see how our old friend Mike Jackson does at Shrewsbury, apparently he will have 3 games to prove himself!

 

[Sparky]

Jake has gone back to wolves. Odd timing but apparently always part of the deal.

I like many was pleased when he came back but for whatever reason it hasn't worked out. Although I did wonder whether jake and Lowe would work.

What the future holds for jake remains to be seen as wolves won't want him.

More importantly it begs the question, who will partner Lowe on Saturday? Surely not cole?!? Assume JLAA possibly.

 

[bigmart]

Not sorry to see him go he has been very poor on his return and to start him on Saturday when ill sums up McMahon as a manager for me. I think Lowe will start up front on Saturday on his own with Koumas just behind him.

 

[Boz]

It didn't work out for Jake this time round. I also feel that it has been to our detriment often deploying Lowe out wide, as we have missed his cutting edge in the middle and if Saturday's performance is anything to go by, it's taken it's toll on Ryan who looked shagged out. Given it's win and pray v Bradford, I'd be wary of playing a half-fit Koumas/JLAA with Lowe up front and McMahon will never start Stockton, so it may be a case of lone striker with the midfield told to press forward at every opportunity.

 

[Tartantranmere64]

I think the whole thing is just nuts. Moore and McMahon played Cassidy each and every week, almost for the entirely of each game, keeping faith with him when he couldn't hit a barn door with a banjo - and in the week of our most crucial game of the season, Cassidy wanders off back to Wolves. Is it just me? Surely McMahon has known Cassidy would be on his bike before the Bradford game - you would have thought giving Stockton some game time would have made some sense? He's on the bench after all. I'm not suggesting Stockton is the answer, but it does look like either bad planning or just stupidity - or both. We will never know the terms of Cassidy's loan agreement, but if it was that he had to start each game then that was a bad bit of business. There were plenty of people sceptical about Cassidy when he came back from Wolves this time - after all he's failed to score in a top 6 team!

Anyway, time to move on. Doubt we'll see him in a Rovers shirt again.

 

[Ian]

It was a disappointing spell for Cassidy especially considering his excellent first spell. Hope it works out for him.

 

[Ian]

It was a disappointing spell for Cassidy especially considering his excellent first spell. Hope it works out for him.

 

[bring back the cowshed!]

He is a quality player who's just out of form. I'd expect to see him playing regular football in the Championship one day, certainly League One. If we could afford him, I'd love to see him back at PP next season after a summer off and some pre-season training.

 

[Ian]

If we could afford him, I'd love to see him back at PP next season after a summer off and some pre-season training.

That actually might make a difference is he's part of the squad full time and has a good pre-season. Can't see it happened though, especially if we drop down a division