⚽Match Thread vs. Mansfield Town FC 03.02.24 [EFL L2]

[crazyfists]

Well i obviously wont have to come on here again for a few years ,not whilst you are hiring managers from the bargain basement ,you got lucky with signing that striker from non league though he was non existent again against a good team you should cash in on him sooner rather than later before everybody realises he does nowt against a decent team anyway anyway enjoy your season all in all not been too bad for a newly promoted non league side

Well good luck to you in the league above as you're definitely on course to go up. I'm not sure we'll take ten (I believe you came up in 2013?) seasons to join you though so I look forward to the rematch. In regards to Macca then you would say lucky, I would say good scouting but of course there's an element of luck in every transfer. As I'm sure you know, most poacher type strikers need good service which wasn't there on Saturday but with Jones easily on course to beat the EFL record then it often has been. Maybe on Saturday, the combination of a squad built over a decade and the referee letting Cargill foul time and time again was preventing this happening. We definitely hope Macca stays though but any decent offer would be great for a 50 grand investment.

It was a good game though and you also did well for a team coming up from non league a decade ago. All the best and enjoy the rest of your season.

[kill_the_drum]

He could just be saying it to wind you up.

He wasn’t.

[MancMagpie]

We could have defo won that game on another day. It just wasn't happening for us.
I'm still remaining positive though. Maynard has improved the defence within a matter of weeks. Only conceding 1 goal in 2 games against 2 of the top 3 is pretty decent.
I'm hoping we'll start to fire again within the next couple of weeks and put together a decent run. In the meantime, results could be quite mediocre.
However, at this moment in time I do have faith in SM despite being winless under him. The thing is, most of the time a new manager 'bounce' is successful for teams that have sacked their previous manager and not 'sold' them. So, for me, there was always going to be a transition period.
SM has clearly tweaked things defensively and I see that as a good start.
Onwards and upwards.

[TSANHO]

We could have defo won that game on another day. It just wasn't happening for us.
I'm still remaining positive though. Maynard has improved the defence within a matter of weeks. Only conceding 1 goal in 2 games against 2 of the top 3 is pretty decent.
I'm hoping we'll start to fire again within the next couple of weeks and put together a decent run. In the meantime, results could be quite mediocre.
However, at this moment in time I do have faith in SM despite being winless under him. The thing is, most of the time a new manager 'bounce' is successful for teams that have sacked their previous manager and not 'sold' them. So, for me, there was always going to be a transition period.
SM has clearly tweaked things defensively and I see that as a good start.
Onwards and upwards.

Yes, some good points in there, especially regarding the new manager ‘bounce’. It’s kind of in reverse, isn’t it? Most of the time when a manager leaves the fans and players are probably relieved but in our case that’s not true so SM was always going to come into a difficult situation, albeit in a strong position.

I only managed to catch the last 15 minutes v Mansfield, which by the sounds of it must have been the worst bit as it never looked like we were going to score. Clear penalty on Macca though.

[matt_magpie]

We could have defo won that game on another day. It just wasn't happening for us.
I'm still remaining positive though. Maynard has improved the defence within a matter of weeks. Only conceding 1 goal in 2 games against 2 of the top 3 is pretty decent.
I'm hoping we'll start to fire again within the next couple of weeks and put together a decent run. In the meantime, results could be quite mediocre.
However, at this moment in time I do have faith in SM despite being winless under him. The thing is, most of the time a new manager 'bounce' is successful for teams that have sacked their previous manager and not 'sold' them. So, for me, there was always going to be a transition period.
SM has clearly tweaked things defensively and I see that as a good start.
Onwards and upwards.

Exactly, anyone who’s trying to judge him after 2 games after the team has had so many indifferent results in the previous 2 months really needs to get a grip. I imagine it’s the people that are underwhelmed that he was previously part time but there’s 2 ways to look at that.

[slack_pie]

Exactly, anyone who’s trying to judge him after 2 games after the team has had so many indifferent results in the previous 2 months really needs to get a grip. I imagine it’s the people that are underwhelmed that he was previously part time but there’s 2 ways to look at that.

Yeah, I think some people will use the fact he was previously part time as a stick to beat him with if results aren't great, but in reality, even the most experienced manager would struggle to come in and replace a popular and successful predecessor during this tough run of fixtures. Maynard needs time and support. As far as I'm concerned, the rest of this season is about him making the necessary tweaks to make us better, so we can approach next season as genuine promotion contenders.

[kill_the_drum]

Yeah, I think some people will use the fact he was previously part time as a stick to beat him with if results aren't great, but in reality, even the most experienced manager would struggle to come in and replace a popular and successful predecessor during this tough run of fixtures. Maynard needs time and support. As far as I'm concerned, the rest of this season is about him making the necessary tweaks to make us better, so we can approach next season as genuine promotion contenders.

Agreed.
However, to make us better I think will take moving some emphasis from attack and putting it in defence, if only when playing away.
So we might see a decline in the number of goals we’re used to scoring.
I’m fine with that if it puts more points on the board.

[slack_pie]

Agreed.
However, to make us better I think will take moving some emphasis from attack and putting it in defence, if only when playing away.
So we might see a decline in the number of goals we’re used to scoring.
I’m fine with that if it puts more points on the board.

Absolutely, me too. It's clear that something needed to change towards the end of Williams' reign, and a more pragmatic approach away from home will help restore confidence among the players and fans.

[SmiffyPie]

Absolutely, me too. It's clear that something needed to change towards the end of Williams' reign, and a more pragmatic approach away from home will help restore confidence among the players and fans.

Correct. It's not all about attacking football, especially when you're attack is ineffective more times than is acceptable.

[matt_magpie]

Agreed.
However, to make us better I think will take moving some emphasis from attack and putting it in defence, if only when playing away.
So we might see a decline in the number of goals we’re used to scoring.
I’m fine with that if it puts more points on the board.

The fact we let in 9 goals in the previous 2 games against 2 teams in the bottom half to just 2 against 2 in the top 4 shows he’s trying to sort it. It’s all about balance, we could have possibly won both and there’s the fact we do need another quality striker to freshen it up as we have, hopefully gives room for optimism.