Match Thread vs. Dagenham and Redbridge 25.01.20

[Elite_Pie]

... what makes me laugh at you armchair expert managers is that you think our players are top drawer for this division. It's nothing to do with the manager. That clearly is an 'on paper's observation. Some players in this division and many who never even make professional status - and are therefore 'unknowns' - have superior qualities to our players. It's just that we have no awareness of their capabilities. Some current professional players achieve more than their skill set deserves when compared to others. In the past, we have the perfect example of our very own Brian Stubbs who had limited skill but great attitude and worked hard. Patience please; or apply for the managers job next time ...

Horse manure is usually useful. Unfortunately this example of it isn't.

[BigFatPie]

In other words apparently ours now isn't the best squad according to Blackhorse. According to him anyone who thinks our squad is the best in the league is wrong and should only have an opinion if you applied for the managers job (so how come you're allowed an opinion, did you apply BH?)

All the players for Solihull, Maidenhead, Boreham Wood, Dover etc are better than ours, we just haven't heard of them...……………….

Oh right, thanks for clearing that up because I didn’t have a clue. To be fair, I have no idea whether our players are any better or worse than anyone else’s in the league, but I definitely don’t think Barrow’s are 12 points better. I think Ardley’s team could have done much better last season, as could the one this season.

That’s based on watching his team semi-regularly over the last year or so and seeing the results, rather than any actual managerial experience.

[navypie]

Oh right, thanks for clearing that up because I didn’t have a clue. To be fair, I have no idea whether our players are any better or worse than anyone else’s in the league, but I definitely don’t think Barrow’s are 12 points better. I think Ardley’s team could have done much better last season, as could the one this season.

That’s based on watching his team semi-regularly over the last year or so and seeing the results, rather than any actual managerial experience.

They have a manager who's 12 points better.

[jackal2]

Oh right, thanks for clearing that up because I didn’t have a clue. To be fair, I have no idea whether our players are any better or worse than anyone else’s in the league, but I definitely don’t think Barrow’s are 12 points better. I think Ardley’s team could have done much better last season, as could the one this season.

There's a fair case to say we could have been, say, 6 points better off if we'd had anything like a normal start to the season, rather than having to build a team on the hoof and in effect hold pre-season in September. By mid-October, blaming the events of the summer had probably run its course, but most managers would have struggled with the circumstances prior to that.

I wouldn't dispute that other managers, like a Steve Cotterill for instance, may have played slightly more for results than Neal Ardley, who seems committed to a particular style of play, but I'm certainly not panicking about the current manager's performance at present. I was more concerned at the start of December when it seemed for a while that we really were losing our way, but Saturday's defeat at Dagenham came after a decent unbeaten run, and a few good results in the next few games will keep us well in the play-off picture.

[upthemaggies]

They have a manager who's 12 points better.

The incredible thing about Barrow is that they were in the relegation zone after 9 games, with us 5 places above them. So we can't use the excuse (in relation to them) that we were trying to catch up playing with a team that "hadn't had a pre-season", they gave us a head start and have still left us for dead.
Has Ardley improved us over the course of this campaign or have we stagnated? We were 5th in October.

[jackal2]

Has Ardley improved us over the course of this campaign or have we stagnated? We were 5th in October.

We were 5th in October because of a good run of results from Saturday 14th September onwards, but we had a sluggish start with defeats to the likes of Eastleigh, Barnet and Yeovil, and only draws against Ebbsfleet and Wrexham who it turns out are not that good. I think with the benefit of a 'normal' summer we could have gathered more points in August.

The worrying period for me was from mid-November to early December when we should have been kicking on but actually regressed. Then we followed that with a long unbeaten run, so it's fair to say there have been ups and downs and Ardley's overall performance can be rated as adequate rather than impressive. However, as we know from the Munto season, a strong finish can make all the difference, so the final narrative on this season, and the manager's performance, is still to be written.

[nw6pie]

A question for any fans who follow us home and away: Out of the 31 league games so far this season, how many times have you come away from the ground thinking, “I enjoyed that, we played well today”?

[bridpie78]

A quick glance at the table tells you why we are where we are, too many draws

If we had a manager who went out for the wins rather than respecting the point and we could have turned 4 or 5 of those draws into wins then we would be in the mix for the title right now.

I believe we have a squad that should have been turning over teams like Dover,Maidenhead and sutton home and away but then again im not a manager so what do i know?

[laddo]

Less than an actual manager?

Solid balanced post Jackal, plenty of ups and downs.

Tbf Barrows form has been simply sensational since their poor start, they've rightly left eveyone for dead

[BigFatPie]

They have a manager who's 12 points better.

Yep. The interesting thing for me is if the Reedtz brothers run the stats and the numbers on Mr Evatt and discover he may be a better bet than our current manager, would they have the inclination to go and get him?