Semi-watched the game live while cooking, and gave up at about 70 mins, hoping that on the replay we would manage a draw - or better.

Sounds from the comments that the performance was similar to several recent offerings - not very merry or anything to do with good tidings.

My perception is that we don't have a proper 'target' man amongst our so-called forwards. The last one who did the job effectively was Smith M., late of this parish.

It doesn't have to be 'hoofball' or the Man City way. Liverpool, as an example that I see regularly, mix both styles very effectively. However, their direct way is often via a diagonal long pass to a winger/half back, a move that seems to be absent from our tactical masterplan.

Barlaser could do it, but it seems that no one in our current crop has the ability. Or could it be that the master tactician prefers 'route one'?

Perhaps stats show that at this level route one results in more mistakes by the defenders, or more possession for the attacker when the receiver has the ability to hold the ball and lay it off.

Currently we don't seem to be able to achieve success with any of the above. JCH clearly had his best days with P'boro; his movement now seems limited due to inflexibility. Nombe is a perpetual puzzle - will he? can he? And Wilks? Well he can, but very intermittently, with too many promising moves ending with his attempt to perform a solo 'piece de resistance' ending in failure. S frustrating!

So where do we go from here? Evans will probably have the benefit of a January window to pull things around. But he must realise that his chances of finding even one 'gem' are, at best, very slim. This is not the time to be making serious improvements/changes. And that is exactly what we need.

Chances are Evans will be gone by February, giving someone the chance to show a different approach and cement our position in this league. Who knows, perhaps the promise of play-off contention will materialise, and NWC can say "told you so."

Stewart must have been hoping that our centenary year would result in a successful outcome (ie., promotion). In August he probably never entertained the thought that we would be candidates for relegation.