We played quite well yesterday till we ran out of steam and good fight at the end. Made me more inclined to see what SM could do with some new players. If he goes he goes but if he stays then ok Stu, let's see what team you can serve up next season.
We played quite well yesterday till we ran out of steam and good fight at the end. Made me more inclined to see what SM could do with some new players. If he goes he goes but if he stays then ok Stu, let's see what team you can serve up next season.
How does this even warrant being set up as a new thread?
Going into yesterday's game MKD were 13th in the away table (and on a last 10 away games table, 19th). So maybe some people are getting a little carried away with the 1 point. Harrogate might be a better test of whether or not Maynard is turning a corner with the home games, they've only lost once in 11 on the road, a lot of draws but the 2-9 defeat at Field Mill is their only away loss since November.
I was indifferent to Maynard as a person, but he annoyed me post-match yesterday. By doubling down on his delusion, I feel he's being disrespectful to what Luke Williams and the players had achieved before he came in.
We were 2nd in the home results table when LW left, we're now down to 12th in the home table.
LW was conceding 1.72 goals per game (17th best defence in L2) when he left, Maynard has since conceded 1.93 goals per game (worst in the division), so he's made the problem he identified worse, as well as scoring less - LW 2.12 goals per game in 2023/24, Maynard 1.43 goals per game.
['Hooray, we've got 1 point....' thread merged into this one.]
SwalePie
After allowing a fair amount of time, I reached the view a couple of games ago that Stuart Maynard probably isn't the right man to lead us into next season, but of course it's not my decision - it's my opinion.
The owners of the club - as is their right - will make the decision on whether and when to change manager. Without doubt they will be aware that a section of the fanbase doesn't want the current Head Coach to continue, but they will also have noted yesterday that Maynard got a supportive/sympathetic reaction from a good number of fans after the game, so clearly supporter opinion is mixed at present.
What has been clear over the past three years is that these owners don't rush decisions, and they don't get overwhelmed by the emotions - positive or negative - of vocal groups of fans on social media or indeed holding up banners at matches. This is probably a good thing when you remember the chopping and changing that occurred under previous owners, often seemingly driven by fan emotions, ultimately leading us downwards.
As things stand, I would be concerned about going into next season with SM in charge, but if the owners decide they want to risk giving him that opportunity then I'm not going to throw my toys out of the pram or seek to make Maynard's job more difficult than it already is. I don't dislike the guy and I sincerely hope he goes on to prove my opinion wrong, and to vindicate (again) the owners' calm, patient approach.
Yesterday's game was entertaining. My concern in some recent games was that we were still conceding goals whilst losing our attacking/entertaining edge, the worst of both worlds, but yesterday (and at Bradford) we looked more like Luke Williams' team in the attacking sense.
What we simply have to do - whoever is Head Coach - is find players who are better at defending, which includes dramatically improving the physical strength of the team. It isn't inconceivable to me that if we sign the right players to keep goals out of our net, and retain the current creative and goalscoring ability further forward, we could quickly become a very strong team at this level. The goals for and against column tells us exactly where we're good, and where we need to improve.
Last edited by jackal2; 02-04-2024 at 10:52 AM.
Lets just hope there's 2 teams worse than us next season as I can't see there being a change in the summer. The brothers will allow him another season because they're just too damn nice!