Nervous Times

[all]

Following todays poor result I see we are now only four points in front of Leyton Orient but they have a game in hand. We have the worst defensive record in English football which is worth a point to the others below us. We have to play away at two top seven clubs and also have games against three teams below us.
Assuming that we need ten more points to stay up(including our goal difference) I think it is going to be a very close run thing and whilst I really hope that we can avoid the drop I will not be risking my shilling on a bet to stay up.

[NewtoCrewe]

Cannot keep having the worst defensive record in English Football each year. We will not be able to fully develop our younger players, if SD continues to start with this defensive formation. It still leaks goals and allows opposition possession. His decision to replace tate today was mind blowing..i can understanding trying to be attacking minded but in this game NO when previous games have been crying out for it.
There are bigger cracks in this team camouflaged by loan players that we realise. i by that i don't mean problems with players i mean management of players,including our current crop of youngsters.

[lyndongrange]

The necessary mental/psychological aspect of competitive sport always seems to have eluded us. We often start games slowly and on the back foot then crumble when pressured near the end of a half.
Frustrating why this has never adequately been addressed.

[itwasin]

Last two posts spot on.The next loan Crewe bring in should be Tony Pullis sort this Defence out once for all,as our past and present Management are clueless.

[Timmy58]

I find it quite interesting that when the Alex have been on the wrong end of a pasting, you always come on here describing the board and management as clueless etc. You, of course, are entitled to your view and I am more than happy for you to air it. Partly because that is how life should be, and partly because I find it amusing. I didn't attend the game yesterday and I suspect, neither did you. But the snippets I heard on the radio suggest it was a game we were most definitely "in" until the substitutions and the 3rd goal went in for Preston. I would respectfully suggest that we are no worse off after that defeat, and the almost inevitable loss against Bristol City on Tuesday as we will still be out of the bottom 4. Our home form has been very good and with home matches against Leyton Orient , Oldham and Crawley to come I expect us to remain out of the bottom 4. Our management have been anything but clueless, in the signings they have made this season which have proved to be very good

[itwasin]

On the Defence Timmy the Facts speak for themselves over the past severall years!and as one poster says they DONT address the problem!

[IICECOLDINALEX29]

The team does get in a mess sometimes , we inch foreward and bang we get smashed of the field ,we seem to be going backwards .

[Timmy58]

I agree that the defence has been decidedly iffy over the last few seasons, although there have been indications of improvement with 4 successive clean sheets and 10 points from a possible 12 at home. However, Itwasin, you never seem fit to comment on the positives. I guess we are all different.

[itwasin]

I was Positive yesterday listening to the Game, I thought Crewe Equalized to 2.2 ,then I thought Crewe had a Penalty! then the commentator said Preston had gone 3 up but that was disallowed also. Then I realized I was listening to G. McGarry that said it all?
Morse and Mindy, tell you anything!

[AlexLeicester]

I can't remember when we had a rock solid defence - maybe, most recently, SD's first season when he took on us an amazing run culminating in the successful play-offs? But we are not, in a medium or long term historical 'going backwards'.
For the next few weeks we have absolutely no chance of rectifying the goal difference, so we will just have to score more than the opposition. (I'm sure I've heard that phrase from successive managers?)

As an old 'un, we've been here so many times that my nervousness has dissipated - to be replaced with fervent hope, crossed fingers, and belief in the squad's belief in themselves.