Light at the end of the tunnel

[PedroTheFisherman66]

Ok things are bad at the moment.
Probably the worst I've seen in my times as a fan at the Lane for around 43 years now.
I think Ardley is the right man for the job ahead,even if that means rebuilding after relegation.
However I believe he has the ability to save us from the drop.
His three signings seem to show he knows a good player when he sees one.
He's now been at the Lane long enough to know where our deficiencies lay and has the intelligence to rectify it.
Given a little more backing in the transfer market and fingers crossed the return of Hemmings and Enzio there is still time to get out of the deep brown stuff we are swimming in.
It's going to take something special but as the Monkies sang I'm a believer...!,!

[slack_pie]

I admire your optimism! But it looks a tall order now. Defeat next weekend would all but seal if for me.

But as you say, if we can get Enzio and Hemmings back, we'd at least fix the glaring deficiencies in our forward line. O'Brien definitely looks an upgrade in midfield too. But the main problem is just that bulk of the squad are spent. They're done. Whatever self belief they once had has gone, and it now looks like they'd rather not be playing. I'm not sure a couple new faces can fix that.

[KintoreMagpie]

Ok things are bad at the moment.
Probably the worst I've seen in my times as a fan at the Lane for around 43 years now.
I think Ardley is the right man for the job ahead,even if that means rebuilding after relegation.
However I believe he has the ability to save us from the drop.
His three signings seem to show he knows a good player when he sees one.
He's now been at the Lane long enough to know where our deficiencies lay and has the intelligence to rectify it.
Given a little more backing in the transfer market and fingers crossed the return of Hemmings and Enzio there is still time to get out of the deep brown stuff we are swimming in.
It's going to take something special but as the Monkies sang I'm a believer...!,!

Agree with your comments about NA, Pedro. I think he has the acumen to take us forward even if it means taking some backward steps to begin with. You are quite right as well to say that all is not lost. As I mention on another thread I fear more surgery is needed by NA and the chances of us recovering from that and retain our league status are disappearing. Hope that we do stay up remains but expectation of achieving it is almost gone.

[HopefulPie]

Agree with your comments about NA, Pedro. I think he has the acumen to take us forward even if it means taking some backward steps to begin with. You are quite right as well to say that all is not lost. As I mention on another thread I fear more surgery is needed by NA and the chances of us recovering from that and retain our league status are disappearing. Hope that we do stay up remains but expectation of achieving it is almost gone.

I believe if the manager could he would take three quarters of the squad and flip them...
We need to start again but with the stability of the current manager.
Best hope is a couple more in and a couple of injuries come back and you never know.

[CheltenhamPie]

Ok things are bad at the moment.
Probably the worst I've seen in my times as a fan at the Lane for around 43 years now.
I think Ardley is the right man for the job ahead,even if that means rebuilding after relegation.
However I believe he has the ability to save us from the drop.
His three signings seem to show he knows a good player when he sees one.
He's now been at the Lane long enough to know where our deficiencies lay and has the intelligence to rectify it.
Given a little more backing in the transfer market and fingers crossed the return of Hemmings and Enzio there is still time to get out of the deep brown stuff we are swimming in.
It's going to take something special but as the Monkies sang I'm a believer...!,!

Delighted to read your thread Pedro. There is no doubt that we are in a perilous position, but on the plus side we appear to have a manager who understands what is required, and providing he has enough time on his side, he will save us.
We do however need some luck, and in particular an end to our injury issues. Our three new players seem to have made a positive difference, but for me, the biggest issue is at centre forward.
I have long been a fan of Stead, and his professionalism and commitment is undoubted. However, at this level we need a "bruiser" in the number 9 shirt, someone who will bully opponents the way our defence has been bullied all season. I pray that such a player will join us very quickly, otherwise I fear the worst.

[Pies4u]

We need more than luck, hope and blind faith! We need "play off form" and trust that 2 other teams will continue to falter.

I've clung to the hope that there will be 2 worse teams than us. For a while it looked like Cheltenham and Macclesfied, then Cambridge and possibly Yeovil. Now - I'm not sure there are 2 worse teams than us. Results and the table suggest otherwise.

The facts are that we have far too many incompetent players, we seem to lack pace, alertness and sharpness all over the pitch and successive managers have had to persevere with the below par tripe we've accumulated over the past 3 or 4 seasons.

Nolan is massively at fault for the pre-season fiasco and early season debacle, since then we've stumbled and wobbled with the exception of the 3 wins under Kewell.

Home defeats to our closest relegation rivals, 1 win in 16 games and continued reliance on players who are, clearly, inadequate is enough evidence to convince even the most die hard supporter, surely? We are a hopelessly poor side in a very ordinary division. If there are actually 2 teams worse than us I'd like to know where they are. The next 5 games are probably the most significant for a long while - we could be, effectively, relegted at the end of February. The prospect of gaining points at home to the slags and Lincoln is not great and we have 3 tricky away games too. Unless we can find 7 points out of that lot I think the last one out could maybe turn off the lights. The fat lady is certainly gargling, the stage call isn't far away.

[jackal2]

I believe if the manager could he would take three quarters of the squad and flip them...
We need to start again but with the stability of the current manager.
Best hope is a couple more in and a couple of injuries come back and you never know.

Agreed. Whether we go down or not, this needs to be the start of a long-term project with the current manager. Even if results aren't going well, we need to show some faith in the guy, based on the proven fact that he's been successful before. Chopping and changing all the time has got us where we are now, so we need a new approach.

[JoePass]

Ok things are bad at the moment.
Probably the worst I've seen in my times as a fan at the Lane for around 43 years now.
I think Ardley is the right man for the job ahead,even if that means rebuilding after relegation.
However I believe he has the ability to save us from the drop.
His three signings seem to show he knows a good player when he sees one.
He's now been at the Lane long enough to know where our deficiencies lay and has the intelligence to rectify it
Given a little more backing in the transfer market and fingers crossed the return of Hemmings and Enzio there is still time to get out of the deep brown stuff we are swimming in.
It's going to take something special but as the Monkies sang I'm a believer...!,!

As the older ones among us will correct you, it’s the Monkees.

[jackal2]

Daydream Believer also springs to mind!

We didn't pay peanuts but we certainly got monkeys!

[keldsyke]

Really bad times at the moment, I can see us swinging from league to league. But hopefully one day we will make it to the Chimpionship.