Will SM take us to promotion?

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Originally Posted by upthemaggies

You're getting desperate now to try and make Maynard look good and digging an even bigger hole for yourself.

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No, I just want fair facts so that I am properly informed and not guided by bias and misinformation.

Maynard has not yet proved himself and I remain on the fence. He's certainly not an impact manager and it is hard to gauge his abilities in the light of a depleted first team squad and that is important and a concern going forward. What are we doing to our players?

It still feels to me that this season is mirroring last season with a relatively easy fixture list to start with putting us in an artificially high position.

That doesn?t change the fact our defence and goalkeeper are night and day compared to last season. Yes last two games only one of which was at our level we have conceded soft goals but more importantly we have conceded a goal a game in the league. One of the very best defensive records in the division.

If you want to concentrate on last two games only then we have conceded lots of soft goals but have also scored 5 goals, impressive. Better to look at the overall picture.

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Originally Posted by Old_pie

No, I just want fair facts so that I am properly informed and not guided by bias and misinformation.

Maynard has not yet proved himself and I remain on the fence. He's certainly not an impact manager and it is hard to gauge his abilities in the light of a depleted first team squad and that is important and a concern going forward. What are we doing to our players?

It still feels to me that this season is mirroring last season with a relatively easy fixture list to start with putting us in an artificially high position.

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This is where I'm at. Almost a year into his tenure, I'm still not sure what I think.

I've got no problem whatsoever forming an opinion of a new manager after listening to one interview before a ball has been kicked. If they're any good they will change my mind. I thought - and still do think - Maynard speaks like an 18 year old kid. He doesn't sound like a leader at all.

Almost a year in, he's turned out a fair bit worse than I thought he would - I was expecting him to be Burch Mark II, scraping into the play offs for a couple of seasons and getting knocked out before the final.

I?d like to believe he could but he reminds me just too much of IB in the way that we can play nice football but rarely look like beating a top side. He?s a good coach, I just don?t think he makes that crucial difference when it matters most.

If we get our top creative players back we could make the playoffs, but I just couldn?t see us beating anyone in them?..it?d be like Grimsby all over again.

I'd say it's a mixture of our budget and a manager with very little experience in the EFL that'll stop us getting promotion. We seem set on playing a possession based style that most players within our budget aren't comfortable with especially at the back although this seasons crop seem slightly better so I guess we're getting there. The brothers seem to think it will bring success without a top 7 budget needed, I'm not so sure. I think we have a fair few seasons in L2 ahead of us.

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Originally Posted by OP67

I'd say it's a mixture of our budget and a manager with very little experience in the EFL that'll stop us getting promotion. We seem set on playing a possession based style that most players within our budget aren't comfortable with especially at the back although this seasons crop seem slightly better so I guess we're getting there. The brothers seem to think it will bring success without a top 7 budget needed, I'm not so sure. I think we have a fair few seasons in L2 ahead of us.

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The bros want year-on-year progress. That way you are destined to get promoted eventually. This season, I'd like to see us finish top 7. I don't expect us to go up, but I expect us to be in the picture. Next season I expect us to improve on that, i.e. make a real push for automatics. I think with our best players back, Maynard can deliver at least the first part of that plan. But that's how I'll judge him - at the end of the season.

A very average league that has two auto places for the taking, MK seems sadly nailed on for the other.

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Originally Posted by maddogslater

A very average league that has two auto places for the taking, MK seems sadly nailed on for the other.

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Is it an average league or have most teams spent more than last season but we?re now without the 3 who went up who spent silly money and everyone looks similar now ability wise?

Only reason I ask is we?ve heard that line from the club, I honestly don?t know if it?s true or not.

Nope. Lovely possession football played mainly in our half and too slow. Nowhere near enough goal chances or goals for level of possession. Yes, not been helped by no striker recruitment, not enough depth in squad and unfortunate injuries but he doesn't seem able to motivate them like LW could and can make poor subs that cost us games. So, it's a no from me.