Give the manager more time

[slack_pie]

I think that this is actually just as big an issue, if not bigger, than our obvious shortcomings in defence. No doubt the whole squad were gutted when Luke left, and SM therefore inherited a downbeat squad and a shortage of decent defenders whilst taking on a club way bigger than the one he left. We don't have an inspirational captain to drive the dressing room, and it seems some of our players are sensitive to fans criticism. All in all that is a potent mix of negative factors to contend with.

Best realistic case might be gradual improvement in performances and results to end mid-table, SM finds his way in the process, the summer sees some successful business and we start next season competitively though without Macca and Jodi. This is the best achievable outcome because we have completely lost momentum and have to fight to get it back.

There definitely seems to be an attitude problem. It's not that our players collectively have a bad or unprofessional attitude, it's more that they simply don't have the mindset to battle and fight when needed. You can't really teach that.

We have some incredibly gifted players, but the clubs has become a sort of refuge for talented players who have lost their way, and Luke Williams was a big reason why they rediscovered their form and love for the game. We'd do well to mix up that kind of player with battle-hardened warriors who won't crumble when things go wrong, or lash out at fans.

[durhampie]

There definitely seems to be an attitude problem. It's not that our players collectively have a bad or unprofessional attitude, it's more that they simply don't have the mindset to battle and fight when needed. You can't really teach that.

We have some incredibly gifted players, but the clubs has become a sort of refuge for talented players who have lost their way, and Luke Williams was a big reason why they rediscovered their form and love for the game. We'd do well to mix up that kind of player with battle-hardened warriors who won't crumble when things go wrong, or lash out at fans.

They had lost their form way before LW jumped ship. Partly due to his inability to change things, and his insistence of playing square pegs in round holes.. If he had stopped, things would probably have been no better than what they are now....

[60YearsAPie]

They had lost their form way before LW jumped ship. Partly due to his inability to change things, and his insistence of playing square pegs in round holes.. If he had stopped, things would probably have been no better than what they are now....

I’ll throw a couple of observations into the discussion.

The first table backs up durhampie. The monthly PPG average shows a steady decline month by month up until LW’s departure. Since then, though, the PPG has fallen off a cliff.



Another interesting stat shows how massive the loss of Matty Palmer has been. We’ve averaged exactly half the PPG without him that we were averaging before his injury.

[jackal2]

They had lost their form way before LW jumped ship. Partly due to his inability to change things, and his insistence of playing square pegs in round holes.. If he had stopped, things would probably have been no better than what they are now....

I think that's mostly true to be honest, but I wouldn't necessarily use it as a criticism of either the previous Head Coach or the current one. I think it's just the nature of getting promoted and finding out what you have, and indeed don't have, to compete in the new league.

We had a way of playing, with the personnel available, that really worked for us in the National League and still worked for most of the first half of this season as we rode the momentum wave of promotion, but opponents at this level have "worked us out" and are noticeably better not only at disrupting our style but also exploiting it to score goals against us.

That means going through a process of gradually adapting both the way we play, and the personnel in the squad, to improve our competitiveness at this level. Scott Robertson and Lewis Macari are more combative players than some of our previous recruits, and we will need more incoming, especially in the centre-half position, but they won't all be brought in at once.

[matt_magpie]

I think that's mostly true to be honest, but I wouldn't necessarily use it as a criticism of either the previous Head Coach or the current one. I think it's just the nature of getting promoted and finding out what you have, and indeed don't have, to compete in the new league.

We had a way of playing, with the personnel available, that really worked for us in the National League and still worked for most of the first half of this season as we rode the momentum wave of promotion, but opponents at this level have "worked us out" and are noticeably better not only at disrupting our style but also exploiting it to score goals against us.

That means going through a process of gradually adapting both the way we play, and the personnel in the squad, to improve our competitiveness at this level. Scott Robertson and Lewis Macari are more combative players than some of our previous recruits, and we will need more incoming, especially in the centre-half position, but they won't all be brought in at once.

I hate the saying but “we are where we are” I’ve no doubt in retrospect the club wished they’d brought in a couple of strong defenders in the summer as the winter transfer window is always difficult.
They will know this and there’s little point harping on about it now.
SM now has the simple task now of getting what he can out of the group in that we can’t add now like the last few seasons.
I think performance wise away he’s improved it and tbh it’s been more individual mistakes costing us at home.
I really hope the fans get behind them and if people want to boo, then boo but I’d wish they’d use their head and showed a bit of backbone that it’s not going to help, it’s easy being positive when winning all the time but nows the time to get behind the team.