❔Score, scorers and attendance predictions v Walsall [H] 09.12.2023 [EFL L2]

[jackal2]

Luke Williams in his interview basically said that almost halfway into the season we're finding out which players can be consistent at this level and which can't, and that the squad will be gradually re-shaped to reflect that. We already know that the owners aren't the type for silly five-year plans or promotion deadlines, so it will be a case of evolution rather than revolution.

[Willie-Wotsit]

Jeez...I thought Wrexham fans were negative...but I guess we ALL are, when things go a bit askew. Remember though, form comes & goes during the season.

You lot will be be OK at the business end of the season...keep the faith, you play the best footie in the league, Dec & Jan don't lend themselves to good football. When the pitches improve later, you'll come back into your own..

And remember this year...it's THREE not ONE that automatically go up...

[Rez1862]

Ffs. Yes, we were dreadful today but how can LW go from the Messiah to worst manager we've ever had in two weeks.
Win the next two games and we'll be worried about losing him to a PL club.

[Davy500]

Ffs. Yes, we were dreadful today but how can LW go from the Messiah to worst manager we've ever had in two weeks.
Win the next two games and we'll be worried about losing him to a PL club.

I thought neither last season or now. The poor level of the NL and our above average players such as Jones, Bostock , baldwin and Macca made LW look very good at that level, and ultimately gave us promotion
I remember some supporters saying the level does not matter, of course it matters , now we have risen a level to League 2 which remember is the basement division, LW has been made to look average as a manager only backed up by the stronger players mentioned above
So in terms of LW i never thought he was that good, and today i dont think he is that bad. He is average at this level, but he is young as a manager, and with the backing of our owners over several years should gain the experience required to step up a level
This season we would do well to finish top 7, then there is a chance of promotion if you can win 3 games, but would promotion be to soon, with our current team we would get trounced in L1
But we are not going down , so we wll stabalise in L2, where the owners and LW will replace the weaker players and next year and the year after we will get stronger till we gain promotion to L1

[Elite_Pie]

So in terms of LW i never thought he was that good, and today i dont think he is that bad. He is average at this level.

I'm struggling to explain why we were so bad today, but I wouldn't really blame Luke Williams. His subs didn't work, we didn't seem to have a plan B, but the real problem was that the players didn't come close to executing plan A. Our style is that we play it around at the back, then a few quick passes beat the press and we create a chance. We played very few quick passes, it was all very laboured and half-hearted. A lot of simple passes were too short, too long, or straight out of play. More worrying than that was the lack of passion and desire, it's unusual for us to be outfought.

A big improvement is needed at Harrogate, because we seem to be at a bit of a crossroads. We need to get to the January transfer window still in touch, and trust the radar to fill the gaps. If we don't, at least we've started well in our relegation battle!

[jackal2]

I'm struggling to explain why we were so bad today, but I wouldn't really blame Luke Williams. His subs didn't work, we didn't seem to have a plan B, but the real problem was that the players didn't come close to executing plan A. Our style is that we play it around at the back, then a few quick passes beat the press and we create a chance. We played very few quick passes, it was all very laboured and half-hearted. A lot of simple passes were too short, too long, or straight out of play. More worrying than that was the lack of passion and desire, it's unusual for us to be outfought.

A big improvement is needed at Harrogate, because we seem to be at a bit of a crossroads. We need to get to the January transfer window still in touch, and trust the radar to fill the gaps. If we don't, at least we've started well in our relegation battle!

I think yesterday was a collective brain fart by the players and manager, and perhaps the crowd too, picking up on TSANHO's point about the atmosphere sounding a bit like the 'toxic' Meadow Lane of years gone by. Nobody emerged with any real credit, and it's clear we're going through the first definably 'tough' spell since Williams became Head Coach, but there's absolutely no reason to panic. We've got plenty of points in the bank, in fact we're still very much in a promotion race none of us had a right to "expect", so it's a case of clearing our heads, re-setting for the Harrogate game and just working through the current difficulties. Unlike the situation 10 or 15 years ago, we know we've got plenty of very talented players in our squad, so it's a case now of gradually addressing the weak areas. Injuries are definitely playing a part too, with good players like Palmer, Scott and Bajrami all unavailable.

[uysapie]

I thought neither last season or now. The poor level of the NL and our above average players such as Jones, Bostock , baldwin and Macca made LW look very good at that level, and ultimately gave us promotion
I remember some supporters saying the level does not matter, of course it matters , now we have risen a level to League 2 which remember is the basement division, LW has been made to look average as a manager only backed up by the stronger players mentioned above
So in terms of LW i never thought he was that good, and today i dont think he is that bad. He is average at this level, but he is young as a manager, and with the backing of our owners over several years should gain the experience required to step up a level
This season we would do well to finish top 7, then there is a chance of promotion if you can win 3 games, but would promotion be to soon, with our current team we would get trounced in L1
But we are not going down , so we wll stabalise in L2, where the owners and LW will replace the weaker players and next year and the year after we will get stronger till we gain promotion to L1

Said from the outset that this should be a consolidation season.

[ajojones]

Think the criticism is totally justified but it's weird how happy some posters seem to be about it. Is it the 'I told you so' effect, subdued over much of the last 18 months. It is an interesting phenomenon not restricted to football on social media.

[LaxtonLad]

We're sinking back to the miserable days of L1 where your safest bet at the bookies was a Notts loss or draw, when we were beaten not by a team of better players but by an organised team with a better team spirit.

We seem to have the better players but not the best cohesion and how can you build that in the middle of a game that you appear to be dominating yet losing? LW seems to think multiple substitutions might do the trick but it hasn't worked yet. The statistics will show we have
the higher possession but as we have seen, most of that possession is in our own half between our defenders, gone are the days when we could tap the ball around on the edge of the enemy's penalty area.

We can see Langstaff to-ing and fro-ing, waving for the ball to be lobbed forward just for a change but no, we appear to be under orders to keep the ball in our own half or pass it to a winger who already has two markers and expect him to "do something".

You are being out-thought, LW.

[Elite_Pie]

Think the criticism is totally justified but it's weird how happy some posters seem to be about it.

Are you sure you haven't imagined that?

I don't see anyone who seems to be happy.