| Sub keeper 12:57 - Feb 27 with 890 views | truenorth |
Jim’s clearly not too fussed about having a sub keeper on the bench – think you’ve got to go back to October for the last time we saw one.
Heaven forbid… but if Oli goes down, who’s pulling the gloves on?
TN |  |
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| Sub keeper on 13:08 - Feb 27 with 856 views | D_Alien |
Oli has "gone down" in each of the last three games, maybe longer than that
I believe opposition forwards are told to try and target him without incurring a card, given we have no sub keeper on the bench. One of these days, it'll really, really cost us |  |
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| Sub keeper on 13:13 - Feb 27 with 828 views | 442Dale |
| Sub keeper on 13:08 - Feb 27 by D_Alien |
Oli has "gone down" in each of the last three games, maybe longer than that
I believe opposition forwards are told to try and target him without incurring a card, given we have no sub keeper on the bench. One of these days, it'll really, really cost us |
Yeah he’s been doing it all season long. Another example of teams across the game manipulating the rules to have a tactical break. It needs sorting so it no longer is allowed to happen.
Agree that we are taking too big a risk not having a keeper when we can have seven subs. |  |
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| Sub keeper on 13:18 - Feb 27 with 814 views | D_Alien |
| Sub keeper on 13:13 - Feb 27 by 442Dale |
Yeah he’s been doing it all season long. Another example of teams across the game manipulating the rules to have a tactical break. It needs sorting so it no longer is allowed to happen.
Agree that we are taking too big a risk not having a keeper when we can have seven subs. |
I agree about the tactical element involved, but the number of times we've seen forwards leaving a foot in with no real prospect of getting the ball tells another story, and i've no doubt on several occasions he's genuinely taken a knock. One of these days... | |
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| Sub keeper on 13:25 - Feb 27 with 789 views | 442Dale |
| Sub keeper on 13:18 - Feb 27 by D_Alien |
I agree about the tactical element involved, but the number of times we've seen forwards leaving a foot in with no real prospect of getting the ball tells another story, and i've no doubt on several occasions he's genuinely taken a knock. One of these days... |
I can’t recall an occasion when he’s looked to be injured after making the most of situations. It’s the boy who cried wolf though, one day it’ll happen and nobody will be concerned and we’ll be stuck.
It’s also quite amusing there doesn’t seem to be much criticism of the tactic amongst our fans, when in the past we’ve seen much wailing about the opposition breaking up the game doing similar. | |
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| Sub keeper on 13:39 - Feb 27 with 729 views | D_Alien |
| Sub keeper on 13:25 - Feb 27 by 442Dale |
I can’t recall an occasion when he’s looked to be injured after making the most of situations. It’s the boy who cried wolf though, one day it’ll happen and nobody will be concerned and we’ll be stuck.
It’s also quite amusing there doesn’t seem to be much criticism of the tactic amongst our fans, when in the past we’ve seen much wailing about the opposition breaking up the game doing similar. |
Fair point about having no apparent injury afterwards
So let's criticise the tactic here, if no-one else has done it. I seem to recall it happening in a recent game about 2 minutes before half time, really not sure what the point of that was, unless he was genuinely injured on that occasion | |
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| Sub keeper on 13:45 - Feb 27 with 705 views | 442Dale |
| Sub keeper on 13:39 - Feb 27 by D_Alien |
Fair point about having no apparent injury afterwards
So let's criticise the tactic here, if no-one else has done it. I seem to recall it happening in a recent game about 2 minutes before half time, really not sure what the point of that was, unless he was genuinely injured on that occasion |
Which game was it? I doze off when it happens as it’s so tedious!
Best way to stop it is to bring in a rule where the players are not allowed within a set distance of the bench when there’s an injury. At the moment, clubs will continue to do it (and we seem to be one of the worst culprits in the games we’ve played) so putting something in place that makes them think twice would help. | |
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| Sub keeper on 14:21 - Feb 27 with 631 views | D_Alien |
| Sub keeper on 13:45 - Feb 27 by 442Dale |
Which game was it? I doze off when it happens as it’s so tedious!
Best way to stop it is to bring in a rule where the players are not allowed within a set distance of the bench when there’s an injury. At the moment, clubs will continue to do it (and we seem to be one of the worst culprits in the games we’ve played) so putting something in place that makes them think twice would help. |
Can't recall which game now - they're coming thick and fast, but i distinctly recall thinking "it's nearly half time, why are we doing this?" | |
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| Sub keeper on 15:03 - Feb 27 with 578 views | frenzied |
| Sub keeper on 13:45 - Feb 27 by 442Dale |
Which game was it? I doze off when it happens as it’s so tedious!
Best way to stop it is to bring in a rule where the players are not allowed within a set distance of the bench when there’s an injury. At the moment, clubs will continue to do it (and we seem to be one of the worst culprits in the games we’ve played) so putting something in place that makes them think twice would help. |
Make them take the keeper off for 30 secs !!! | | | |
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| Sub keeper on 15:53 - Feb 27 with 500 views | EllGazzell |
Was made clear in the most recent forum that they're not worried at all about it. General concensus is one of the regular outfield team is a"dab hand" in goal. [Post edited 27 Feb 16:17]
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| Sub keeper on 17:07 - Feb 27 with 376 views | Daley_Lama |
Game changed v Halifax on Tuesday following Ollie’s injury.
Medium Jim has said it is his call to have no keeper to give as many outfield options as possible. He said there are a couple of outfield players earmarked for keeper duties in such a situation. |  |
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| Sub keeper on 17:45 - Feb 27 with 312 views | TVOS1907 |
What I don't get is why we had a sub keeper (Josh Lillis) on the bench in the National League Cup and FA Trophy games, unless it's a competition requirement. |  |
| Maestro? No.
Elite? No.
Heavyweight poster? No.
Able to be rational and not over-react to individual results? Yes. |
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| Sub keeper on 18:07 - Feb 27 with 282 views | Kentish_Dale |
I asked chatgpt to have a go at the question:
In what percentage of games does a goalkeeper have to be substituted through injury in the English professional game?
It came up with the answer that it happens a rate of 'far below 1%' of games and that a club might expect it to occur once every 'several seasons'.
Make of that what you will. Seems to fit with personal memory though. Myself, not being much of a gambler, I'd still have a keeper on the bench. Be a daft way to lose a game right? | | | |
| Sub keeper on 18:31 - Feb 27 with 238 views | D_Alien |
| Sub keeper on 18:07 - Feb 27 by Kentish_Dale |
I asked chatgpt to have a go at the question:
In what percentage of games does a goalkeeper have to be substituted through injury in the English professional game?
It came up with the answer that it happens a rate of 'far below 1%' of games and that a club might expect it to occur once every 'several seasons'.
Make of that what you will. Seems to fit with personal memory though. Myself, not being much of a gambler, I'd still have a keeper on the bench. Be a daft way to lose a game right? |
... or a promotion
Most of us are aware of what was said at the forum, but may still disagree, as with any other aspect of football | |
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| Sub keeper on 19:00 - Feb 27 with 174 views | rich_dale |
| Sub keeper on 15:53 - Feb 27 by EllGazzell |
Was made clear in the most recent forum that they're not worried at all about it. General concensus is one of the regular outfield team is a"dab hand" in goal. [Post edited 27 Feb 16:17]
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Factoring in the possibility of getting sent off pushes it up a bit - still 1-2% chance but don't think it's worth the risk and certainly not in the playoffs or a showdown v York last game. | | | |
| Sub keeper on 21:32 - Feb 27 with 8 views | EllGazzell |
| Sub keeper on 19:00 - Feb 27 by rich_dale |
Factoring in the possibility of getting sent off pushes it up a bit - still 1-2% chance but don't think it's worth the risk and certainly not in the playoffs or a showdown v York last game. |
I've asked my Gemini, and he came back with (point 3 underlines why the Gaffer is doing so - all about ringing out every last advantage possible):
"To analyse this, we have to look at Probability vs. Utility.
1. The Probability of the "Disaster Scenario"
Statistically, the chance of a goalkeeper being forced off (red card or injury) is approximately once every 35 to 40 matches.
The Danger: If it happens in the 10th minute, you play 80 minutes with an outfielder in net. You almost certainly lose the game and possibly take a massive hit to your Goal Difference.
The Reality: For Rochdale, as you noted, it hasn’t happened in years. If you go an entire 46-game season without a keeper injury, a sub keeper has provided zero value for 4,140 minutes of football.
2. The Utility of the "Extra Outfield Option"
This is where the benefit is extrapolated. By leaving out a keeper, McNulty gets a 7th outfield option on the bench.
Tactical Flexibility: In a 5-sub system, having 7 outfielders means you can swap 50% of your starting outfield 10.
Specialisation: Instead of just a "defender" and a "midfielder," you can carry a "defensive specialist," a "creative spark," a "speed merchant," and a "target man."
The Benefit: We’ve seen this season (like with the 4th/5th sub goals from Henderson and Amantchi) that Dale often wins games in the final 15 minutes. Having that extra attacking profile on the bench—who wouldn't be there if a keeper took the spot—directly leads to points.
3. Extrapolating the Value (The "Points-at-Risk" Model)
If we look at a 46-game season:
The "Extra Outfield" Gain: If having that 7th outfield option helps turn just two draws into wins or one loss into a draw, that is a 3 to 4 point gain over the season.
The "No Keeper" Loss: If the disaster happens once, you likely lose 3 points in that specific game.
The Math: If the disaster happens once a year, but the extra sub wins you two games, the gamble has a +3 point net profit.
4. Why it works for Rochdale specifically
Ball Retention: Dale plays a high-possession, technical game under McNulty. By keeping the ball, you lower the number of high-speed collisions your keeper is involved in, statistically lowering his injury risk.
The "Emergency" Plan: Most teams who do this have an outfield player (often a tall defender or a former youth keeper) who trains in net once a week "just in case."
The Verdict
McNulty is playing the "Accumulated Gains" game. He is betting that the marginal advantage of having one more tactical tool on the bench in every game outweighs the catastrophic cost of a keeper crisis in one game.
In a title race with York City that might be decided by a single point, that extra attacking sub could be the difference between League Two and another year in the National League." | |
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