I think we have a tendency to overhype our players (as do most fan bases) and this squad isn't as strong as last season (maybe with Mannion and A Mitchell being the only strengths). I think we're 4/5 top end league 1 players short of a promotion push. That said January is the worst time to try and bring in that type of quality without spending ridiculous fees on players and even then clubs are reluctant to part with their top players. I think without getting another solid defender, an attacking minded midfielder and a better forward we will finish mid table this season. Which would be an improvement on last season's position, which puts into context how really bad we were last season. This isn't an over night fix and we need to keep with Jones. I probably sound ridiculous saying this as it's only October but I believe we need another summer transfer window to fix this squad to stand a chance of top 6.
"we have a tendency to overhype our players". Really! Do you ever come on CL. I think the only player hyped was Taylor when he wasn't playing!
We are 1 point off the play offs everybody. Far too much pessimism around. Will we make top 6? Maybe, maybe not but I don't think we will be far away.
We keep sacking managers and recruiting average players and expect things to change, madness.
No investment of quality players = no promotion.
Exactly this. For all the talk of Methven & Co improving things off the pitch, running things sensibly, owners being excited by the challenge etc etc, the fact is that on the field they have:
- Sold CBT to use the money to fund cheap deals for REG, Gillesphey and a signing on fee for Coventry. - Tried to sell Dobbo in Jan. - Sold May to pay for Adadme and Godden.
They've put in so little of their own money really.
There isn't some magic system where you can outwit others - put in their own money, we could have kept Dobson and May, and had better players than Gillesphey, Ahadme, A.Campell.
We won't go anywhere if it carries on.
Who funds the Club's operating losses if not the owners?
"On the field", as I stated.
I don't know why people buy a club making a loss in L1 then skimp on the playing side (whilst trying to make a bit less of a loss off the field) - all it leads to is more years making a loss in L1.
I've no idea what's they've spent on the field, but I do know what they are allowed to spend isn't unlimited as it's constrained by our turnover. Them's the rules.
But as far as I understand it, turnover can include money the owners put in if they are gifted, not loaned? Presume they aren't willing to do that, which takes me back to people buying a club and then not sticking the necessary money in to be successful.
Take Ipswich for example - took them a couple of years to get it right, but they funded a promotion push, and then sold a chunk of the club for a profit.
What do the current owners get out of a few years of L1 mid table mediocrity while they lose a few million a year?
We've scored a paltry 13 goals in 12 games. Had we kept May, one wonders, would some of these draws have resulted in 3 points? Yes, I know, boring, boring, boring, he was keen to leave, but we should have held him to his contract and made him run it down. Instead we're lumbered with a "strikeforce" that's never going to help us achieve anything beyond mid table mediocrity. That would almost be palatable if there was some exciting football on offer and a few goals to enjoy.
May has scored 1 goal in his last 7 games, and that's for a team producing a hell of a lot more than we are. He's always been a streaky player with very good purple patches but I don't think he would be the difference between us winning and drawing many more games at the moment as we create so few chances. May has 5 goals in 14 games across approx 848 minutes this season, Godden has 4 goals in 12 games across approx 494 minutes. May has started 10 games, Godden 6. He might have taken one of Godden's chances yesterday but he misses chances too, as any L1 striker will. I'd much, much rather have had him this season than not but I think we have far wider issues to work on than just having a goalscorer, and Godden's not produced substantially less so far this season than May has in a much weaker team. I don't think May would have more than 4 or 5 goals in our team this season based on what we've created so far.
Lol, “Streaky”
21/22: 23 goals 22/23: 20 goals 23/24: 23 goals
If that’s your idea of “streaky” I would love to know what you class as consistent.
Streaky as in goes through phases of scoring lots of goals and then phases of scoring not many at all in chunks. Last season for instance he didn't score for his first 3 games then scored 4 in his next three which led to a run where at one point he scored 11 goals in 10 games. He then scored 1 goal in his next 13 for us. Then he got 5 in his next 5, followed by 2 in his next 7, both of which came in one game. 11 goals in 10 games is unreal, but 1 in 13 is terrible. Overall for that period it's 12 in 23 which is a good record but he does go through periods where he's red hot and periods where he's useless in front of goal.
In 22/23 for Cheltenham he got 1 goal in his first 7 games, got injured and came back to score 6 in his next 9, followed by 0 in 7, then 11 in 13. The season before that it was 3 in his first 17, 4 in 4, 0 in 7, a slightly insane 8 in 4, then 8 in 14 which is his most normal run. He's feast or famine across a season. This season you can't really draw too much from such a limited data set but 4 in his first 4 followed by 1 in his next 7 indicates it's probably going to happen again across the season. He'll likely get 20 goals again unless he's dropped for an extended period but it'll be in streaks across the season.
If I was just to judge the 1st half performances , it would have to be the most boring football I have ever seen. We don't seem to try and win the game until the 2nd half. The midfield is the main problem , all too similar with no creativity. We will never be successful if we are rebuilding the side every summer. The best 2 players from last season being let go.
midtable again and another year festering in the 3rd division of english football another year closer to the eventual closing of the gates i would say.
Lol if clubs closed up shop because of a few shit years, there wouldn't be any football clubs left!
take your point but attendances are dwindling, many people i know no longer bother going..... what's the point in having a 27k stadium when we struggle to get more than 10
weve spent 8 of the last 10 years in league 1 which is not where i think a club of our status and previous successes should be.
I'm confident that once Ahadme is up and running we'll have four years of glory over the course of his contract. Promotion, Promotion, Premier League Title, Champions League win. Off to the bookies to lay some money on that dead cert right now.
I think we're building a squad that attempts to equal (or better) 22 teams across the season, whereas we should be building a squad that can equal or better just one - i.e. Birmingham.
The high press, high energy, high impact games are impressive when we get them right, but I wonder if they also lead to high injury rates? When Bowyer demanded this from his squad it led to the biggest injury crisis I can recall. I think we need to mix it up, great to have that energy up your sleeve, but we can't do it game after game. We need a bit more guile and a bit more craft - it don't come cheap - so better to hold onto those players that have it while you've got them.
I think we have a tendency to overhype our players (as do most fan bases) and this squad isn't as strong as last season (maybe with Mannion and A Mitchell being the only strengths). I think we're 4/5 top end league 1 players short of a promotion push. That said January is the worst time to try and bring in that type of quality without spending ridiculous fees on players and even then clubs are reluctant to part with their top players. I think without getting another solid defender, an attacking minded midfielder and a better forward we will finish mid table this season. Which would be an improvement on last season's position, which puts into context how really bad we were last season. This isn't an over night fix and we need to keep with Jones. I probably sound ridiculous saying this as it's only October but I believe we need another summer transfer window to fix this squad to stand a chance of top 6.
"we have a tendency to overhype our players". Really! Do you ever come on CL. I think the only player hyped was Taylor when he wasn't playing!
We are 1 point off the play offs everybody. Far too much pessimism around. Will we make top 6? Maybe, maybe not but I don't think we will be far away.
Coventry has been labelled as one the best midfielder in the league on here even before he kicked a ball for us
We've scored a paltry 13 goals in 12 games. Had we kept May, one wonders, would some of these draws have resulted in 3 points? Yes, I know, boring, boring, boring, he was keen to leave, but we should have held him to his contract and made him run it down. Instead we're lumbered with a "strikeforce" that's never going to help us achieve anything beyond mid table mediocrity. That would almost be palatable if there was some exciting football on offer and a few goals to enjoy.
May has scored 1 goal in his last 7 games, and that's for a team producing a hell of a lot more than we are. He's always been a streaky player with very good purple patches but I don't think he would be the difference between us winning and drawing many more games at the moment as we create so few chances. May has 5 goals in 14 games across approx 848 minutes this season, Godden has 4 goals in 12 games across approx 494 minutes. May has started 10 games, Godden 6. He might have taken one of Godden's chances yesterday but he misses chances too, as any L1 striker will. I'd much, much rather have had him this season than not but I think we have far wider issues to work on than just having a goalscorer, and Godden's not produced substantially less so far this season than May has in a much weaker team. I don't think May would have more than 4 or 5 goals in our team this season based on what we've created so far.
Lol, “Streaky”
21/22: 23 goals 22/23: 20 goals 23/24: 23 goals
If that’s your idea of “streaky” I would love to know what you class as consistent.
Streaky as in goes through phases of scoring lots of goals and then phases of scoring not many at all in chunks. Last season for instance he didn't score for his first 3 games then scored 4 in his next three which led to a run where at one point he scored 11 goals in 10 games. He then scored 1 goal in his next 13 for us. Then he got 5 in his next 5, followed by 2 in his next 7, both of which came in one game. 11 goals in 10 games is unreal, but 1 in 13 is terrible. Overall for that period it's 12 in 23 which is a good record but he does go through periods where he's red hot and periods where he's useless in front of goal.
In 22/23 for Cheltenham he got 1 goal in his first 7 games, got injured and came back to score 6 in his next 9, followed by 0 in 7, then 11 in 13. The season before that it was 3 in his first 17, 4 in 4, 0 in 7, a slightly insane 8 in 4, then 8 in 14 which is his most normal run. He's feast or famine across a season. This season you can't really draw too much from such a limited data set but 4 in his first 4 followed by 1 in his next 7 indicates it's probably going to happen again across the season. He'll likely get 20 goals again unless he's dropped for an extended period but it'll be in streaks across the season.
Does it really matter? 20 goal a season striker’s are like rocking horse shit and we let him go
We keep sacking managers and recruiting average players and expect things to change, madness.
No investment of quality players = no promotion.
Exactly this. For all the talk of Methven & Co improving things off the pitch, running things sensibly, owners being excited by the challenge etc etc, the fact is that on the field they have:
- Sold CBT to use the money to fund cheap deals for REG, Gillesphey and a signing on fee for Coventry. - Tried to sell Dobbo in Jan. - Sold May to pay for Adadme and Godden.
They've put in so little of their own money really.
There isn't some magic system where you can outwit others - put in their own money, we could have kept Dobson and May, and had better players than Gillesphey, Ahadme, A.Campell.
We won't go anywhere if it carries on.
Who funds the Club's operating losses if not the owners?
"On the field", as I stated.
I don't know why people buy a club making a loss in L1 then skimp on the playing side (whilst trying to make a bit less of a loss off the field) - all it leads to is more years making a loss in L1.
I've no idea what's they've spent on the field, but I do know what they are allowed to spend isn't unlimited as it's constrained by our turnover. Them's the rules.
But as far as I understand it, turnover can include money the owners put in if they are gifted, not loaned? Presume they aren't willing to do that, which takes me back to people buying a club and then not sticking the necessary money in to be successful.
Take Ipswich for example - took them a couple of years to get it right, but they funded a promotion push, and then sold a chunk of the club for a profit.
What do the current owners get out of a few years of L1 mid table mediocrity while they lose a few million a year?
That has been the case as you say, but I thought the gifting of money, or injecting equity to boost turnover as previously allowed is being restricted now.
I think we have a tendency to overhype our players (as do most fan bases) and this squad isn't as strong as last season (maybe with Mannion and A Mitchell being the only strengths). I think we're 4/5 top end league 1 players short of a promotion push. That said January is the worst time to try and bring in that type of quality without spending ridiculous fees on players and even then clubs are reluctant to part with their top players. I think without getting another solid defender, an attacking minded midfielder and a better forward we will finish mid table this season. Which would be an improvement on last season's position, which puts into context how really bad we were last season. This isn't an over night fix and we need to keep with Jones. I probably sound ridiculous saying this as it's only October but I believe we need another summer transfer window to fix this squad to stand a chance of top 6.
"we have a tendency to overhype our players". Really! Do you ever come on CL. I think the only player hyped was Taylor when he wasn't playing!
We are 1 point off the play offs everybody. Far too much pessimism around. Will we make top 6? Maybe, maybe not but I don't think we will be far away.
Coventry has been labelled as one the best midfielder in the league on here even before he kicked a ball for us
Nonsense . I presume your on full troll mode again today .
We've scored a paltry 13 goals in 12 games. Had we kept May, one wonders, would some of these draws have resulted in 3 points? Yes, I know, boring, boring, boring, he was keen to leave, but we should have held him to his contract and made him run it down. Instead we're lumbered with a "strikeforce" that's never going to help us achieve anything beyond mid table mediocrity. That would almost be palatable if there was some exciting football on offer and a few goals to enjoy.
May has scored 1 goal in his last 7 games, and that's for a team producing a hell of a lot more than we are. He's always been a streaky player with very good purple patches but I don't think he would be the difference between us winning and drawing many more games at the moment as we create so few chances. May has 5 goals in 14 games across approx 848 minutes this season, Godden has 4 goals in 12 games across approx 494 minutes. May has started 10 games, Godden 6. He might have taken one of Godden's chances yesterday but he misses chances too, as any L1 striker will. I'd much, much rather have had him this season than not but I think we have far wider issues to work on than just having a goalscorer, and Godden's not produced substantially less so far this season than May has in a much weaker team. I don't think May would have more than 4 or 5 goals in our team this season based on what we've created so far.
Lol, “Streaky”
21/22: 23 goals 22/23: 20 goals 23/24: 23 goals
If that’s your idea of “streaky” I would love to know what you class as consistent.
Streaky as in goes through phases of scoring lots of goals and then phases of scoring not many at all in chunks. Last season for instance he didn't score for his first 3 games then scored 4 in his next three which led to a run where at one point he scored 11 goals in 10 games. He then scored 1 goal in his next 13 for us. Then he got 5 in his next 5, followed by 2 in his next 7, both of which came in one game. 11 goals in 10 games is unreal, but 1 in 13 is terrible. Overall for that period it's 12 in 23 which is a good record but he does go through periods where he's red hot and periods where he's useless in front of goal.
In 22/23 for Cheltenham he got 1 goal in his first 7 games, got injured and came back to score 6 in his next 9, followed by 0 in 7, then 11 in 13. The season before that it was 3 in his first 17, 4 in 4, 0 in 7, a slightly insane 8 in 4, then 8 in 14 which is his most normal run. He's feast or famine across a season. This season you can't really draw too much from such a limited data set but 4 in his first 4 followed by 1 in his next 7 indicates it's probably going to happen again across the season. He'll likely get 20 goals again unless he's dropped for an extended period but it'll be in streaks across the season.
Does it really matter? 20 goal a season striker’s are like rocking horse shit and we let him go
It matters in the sense that I'm not talking about the overall number of goals across a season, I'm talking about the fact Alfie May is a streaky striker, and as such in the limited number of games we've played so far based on his last four consecutive seasons he probably would have gone on a run of around 4 goals and then not scored for 5 or 6 which means that it's unlikely he'd have turned many of our draws into wins at this point, because we don't create many chances and Godden is currently scoring about as many goals per game as him. Which was the original statement I was responding to. You're talking about something completely different.
I think we have a tendency to overhype our players (as do most fan bases) and this squad isn't as strong as last season (maybe with Mannion and A Mitchell being the only strengths). I think we're 4/5 top end league 1 players short of a promotion push. That said January is the worst time to try and bring in that type of quality without spending ridiculous fees on players and even then clubs are reluctant to part with their top players. I think without getting another solid defender, an attacking minded midfielder and a better forward we will finish mid table this season. Which would be an improvement on last season's position, which puts into context how really bad we were last season. This isn't an over night fix and we need to keep with Jones. I probably sound ridiculous saying this as it's only October but I believe we need another summer transfer window to fix this squad to stand a chance of top 6.
"we have a tendency to overhype our players". Really! Do you ever come on CL. I think the only player hyped was Taylor when he wasn't playing!
We are 1 point off the play offs everybody. Far too much pessimism around. Will we make top 6? Maybe, maybe not but I don't think we will be far away.
Coventry has been labelled as one the best midfielder in the league on here even before he kicked a ball for us
Nonsense . I presume your on full troll mode again today
So many points to play for and currently there isn't much to choose from being 5th to being 12th. But there is a bug difference in a team playing well & getting results to a team not knowing its direction & already needing to strengthen due to having a few injuries.
However, I cant see the owners giving NJ more money in January if all he is going to do is bring in more players.that have played under him.
I don't subscribe to sacking him if we are no further in January, so he is here to stay. And sadly that means more mediocrity & more powder puff displays.
He said managers live & die by their decisions so selling your top goalscorer & not adequately them (either by one player or by altering your system to incorporate others) could ultimately be his downfall.
I expect us to finish outside the play offs - somewhere between 8th & 12th.
We keep sacking managers and recruiting average players and expect things to change, madness.
No investment of quality players = no promotion.
Exactly this. For all the talk of Methven & Co improving things off the pitch, running things sensibly, owners being excited by the challenge etc etc, the fact is that on the field they have:
- Sold CBT to use the money to fund cheap deals for REG, Gillesphey and a signing on fee for Coventry. - Tried to sell Dobbo in Jan. - Sold May to pay for Adadme and Godden.
They've put in so little of their own money really.
There isn't some magic system where you can outwit others - put in their own money, we could have kept Dobson and May, and had better players than Gillesphey, Ahadme, A.Campell.
We won't go anywhere if it carries on.
Who funds the Club's operating losses if not the owners?
"On the field", as I stated.
I don't know why people buy a club making a loss in L1 then skimp on the playing side (whilst trying to make a bit less of a loss off the field) - all it leads to is more years making a loss in L1.
I've no idea what's they've spent on the field, but I do know what they are allowed to spend isn't unlimited as it's constrained by our turnover. Them's the rules.
But as far as I understand it, turnover can include money the owners put in if they are gifted, not loaned? Presume they aren't willing to do that, which takes me back to people buying a club and then not sticking the necessary money in to be successful.
Take Ipswich for example - took them a couple of years to get it right, but they funded a promotion push, and then sold a chunk of the club for a profit.
What do the current owners get out of a few years of L1 mid table mediocrity while they lose a few million a year?
That has been the case as you say, but I thought the gifting of money, or injecting equity to boost turnover as previously allowed is being restricted now.
Should have got in before that then, shouldn't they?
I think we have to be realistic as to how far we regressed under Roland/the crooks and sandgaard.Relegation was a real possibility last season and Jones was and still is a good appointment. I am Prepared to be patient and judge what progress we have made after Jones has been here a year .if we stick with it I reckon next season is our year
My thoughts after 12 games? That by and large we have a mediocre group. I keep clinging to the hope that the whole will click into a unit that far exceeds the sum of it's parts. Nathan came in last year and resolved the most important issue by tightening up at the back and making us difficult to beat. I hoped the recruitment would supplement this by making us a potent attacking force. I didn't expect that our gameplan would primarily revolve around high energy high press to apparantly force errors of indeterminate nature which we would theoretically capitalise on by scoring in some indeterminate way. We are mostly unexciting, error-strewn, pedestrian and unconvincing. Our players aren't crap, they are competitive, energetic and hard-working ("front footed and aggressive", yawn ffs). We were outstanding against Birmingham, primarily because the players played out of their skin to nullify a superior side. Not all the players are mediocre. Godden deserves better service. Chuks is thrown on like a footballing Red Adair. Leaburn is still feeling his way back in. Ramsay, what a tragic time to get that injury. But there is nobody to excite, no Yann, no Lyle Taylor. Coventry our best midfielder, hampered by a set piece duty he is hopeless at is, if I am harsh, a shit Josh Cullen. Tyreece is our nearest to gifted wildcard, but with no assists or goals can't carry our hopes on his shoulders. I spend most of my time watching us in utter frustration and without a fcuking clue how any game might pan out.
All being well we should be safe from a relegation battle but not convinced we can push on for play offs or automatic promotion even though the margins in terms of points are narrow above us.
A match fit Leaburn and Aneke could make a big difference though and that is what I am clinging to at the moment.
Like last season, too many draws, too inconsistent and now the injuries are taking their toll.
A top six finish is still possible but we're not able to string a long run of wins together (one in the last six) and until we do we'll be hovering around 6th to 12th.
We do have good players but few outstanding ones but there are some average ones in there too.
Really interested to know who you think are our outstanding players?
I think we have a tendency to overhype our players (as do most fan bases) and this squad isn't as strong as last season (maybe with Mannion and A Mitchell being the only strengths). I think we're 4/5 top end league 1 players short of a promotion push. That said January is the worst time to try and bring in that type of quality without spending ridiculous fees on players and even then clubs are reluctant to part with their top players. I think without getting another solid defender, an attacking minded midfielder and a better forward we will finish mid table this season. Which would be an improvement on last season's position, which puts into context how really bad we were last season. This isn't an over night fix and we need to keep with Jones. I probably sound ridiculous saying this as it's only October but I believe we need another summer transfer window to fix this squad to stand a chance of top 6.
"we have a tendency to overhype our players". Really! Do you ever come on CL. I think the only player hyped was Taylor when he wasn't playing!
We are 1 point off the play offs everybody. Far too much pessimism around. Will we make top 6? Maybe, maybe not but I don't think we will be far away.
I think the SMT / Nathan Jones said top 6 was bare minimum.
If we end up 7th we might as well up 17th. Makes no odds does it.
We've scored a paltry 13 goals in 12 games. Had we kept May, one wonders, would some of these draws have resulted in 3 points? Yes, I know, boring, boring, boring, he was keen to leave, but we should have held him to his contract and made him run it down. Instead we're lumbered with a "strikeforce" that's never going to help us achieve anything beyond mid table mediocrity. That would almost be palatable if there was some exciting football on offer and a few goals to enjoy.
May has scored 1 goal in his last 7 games, and that's for a team producing a hell of a lot more than we are. He's always been a streaky player with very good purple patches but I don't think he would be the difference between us winning and drawing many more games at the moment as we create so few chances. May has 5 goals in 14 games across approx 848 minutes this season, Godden has 4 goals in 12 games across approx 494 minutes. May has started 10 games, Godden 6. He might have taken one of Godden's chances yesterday but he misses chances too, as any L1 striker will. I'd much, much rather have had him this season than not but I think we have far wider issues to work on than just having a goalscorer, and Godden's not produced substantially less so far this season than May has in a much weaker team. I don't think May would have more than 4 or 5 goals in our team this season based on what we've created so far.
Lol, “Streaky”
21/22: 23 goals 22/23: 20 goals 23/24: 23 goals
If that’s your idea of “streaky” I would love to know what you class as consistent.
Streaky as in goes through phases of scoring lots of goals and then phases of scoring not many at all in chunks. Last season for instance he didn't score for his first 3 games then scored 4 in his next three which led to a run where at one point he scored 11 goals in 10 games. He then scored 1 goal in his next 13 for us. Then he got 5 in his next 5, followed by 2 in his next 7, both of which came in one game. 11 goals in 10 games is unreal, but 1 in 13 is terrible. Overall for that period it's 12 in 23 which is a good record but he does go through periods where he's red hot and periods where he's useless in front of goal.
In 22/23 for Cheltenham he got 1 goal in his first 7 games, got injured and came back to score 6 in his next 9, followed by 0 in 7, then 11 in 13. The season before that it was 3 in his first 17, 4 in 4, 0 in 7, a slightly insane 8 in 4, then 8 in 14 which is his most normal run. He's feast or famine across a season. This season you can't really draw too much from such a limited data set but 4 in his first 4 followed by 1 in his next 7 indicates it's probably going to happen again across the season. He'll likely get 20 goals again unless he's dropped for an extended period but it'll be in streaks across the season.
I wish I could lol a post more than once.
Don't worry because Ahadme is half the player Alfie is.
The problem is he isn't the 11 goals in 10 games player. He is the 1 in 13 one.
Comments
We are 1 point off the play offs everybody. Far too much pessimism around. Will we make top 6? Maybe, maybe not but I don't think we will be far away.
Take Ipswich for example - took them a couple of years to get it right, but they funded a promotion push, and then sold a chunk of the club for a profit.
What do the current owners get out of a few years of L1 mid table mediocrity while they lose a few million a year?
In 22/23 for Cheltenham he got 1 goal in his first 7 games, got injured and came back to score 6 in his next 9, followed by 0 in 7, then 11 in 13. The season before that it was 3 in his first 17, 4 in 4, 0 in 7, a slightly insane 8 in 4, then 8 in 14 which is his most normal run. He's feast or famine across a season. This season you can't really draw too much from such a limited data set but 4 in his first 4 followed by 1 in his next 7 indicates it's probably going to happen again across the season. He'll likely get 20 goals again unless he's dropped for an extended period but it'll be in streaks across the season.
weve spent 8 of the last 10 years in league 1 which is not where i think a club of our status and previous successes should be.
The high press, high energy, high impact games are impressive when we get them right, but I wonder if they also lead to high injury rates? When Bowyer demanded this from his squad it led to the biggest injury crisis I can recall. I think we need to mix it up, great to have that energy up your sleeve, but we can't do it game after game. We need a bit more guile and a bit more craft - it don't come cheap - so better to hold onto those players that have it while you've got them.
Finish between 7th and 12th.
Lack of goals will be the downfall.Not enough shared around.
Jones has no idea what his best team is.
Owners will have to dig much deeper come January, and we all know that will not happen.
So many points to play for and currently there isn't much to choose from being 5th to being 12th. But there is a bug difference in a team playing well & getting results to a team not knowing its direction & already needing to strengthen due to having a few injuries.
However, I cant see the owners giving NJ more money in January if all he is going to do is bring in more players.that have played under him.
I don't subscribe to sacking him if we are no further in January, so he is here to stay. And sadly that means more mediocrity & more powder puff displays.
He said managers live & die by their decisions so selling your top goalscorer & not adequately them (either by one player or by altering your system to incorporate others) could ultimately be his downfall.
I expect us to finish outside the play offs - somewhere between 8th & 12th.
That by and large we have a mediocre group. I keep clinging to the hope that the whole will click into a unit that far exceeds the sum of it's parts.
Nathan came in last year and resolved the most important issue by tightening up at the back and making us difficult to beat.
I hoped the recruitment would supplement this by making us a potent attacking force.
I didn't expect that our gameplan would primarily revolve around high energy high press to apparantly force errors of indeterminate nature which we would theoretically capitalise on by scoring in some indeterminate way.
We are mostly unexciting, error-strewn, pedestrian and unconvincing.
Our players aren't crap, they are competitive, energetic and hard-working ("front footed and aggressive", yawn ffs).
We were outstanding against Birmingham, primarily because the players played out of their skin to nullify a superior side.
Not all the players are mediocre. Godden deserves better service. Chuks is thrown on like a footballing Red Adair. Leaburn is still feeling his way back in. Ramsay, what a tragic time to get that injury.
But there is nobody to excite, no Yann, no Lyle Taylor.
Coventry our best midfielder, hampered by a set piece duty he is hopeless at is, if I am harsh, a shit Josh Cullen. Tyreece is our nearest to gifted wildcard, but with no assists or goals can't carry our hopes on his shoulders.
I spend most of my time watching us in utter frustration and without a fcuking clue how any game might pan out.
God I miss him as manager.
A match fit Leaburn and Aneke could make a big difference though and that is what I am clinging to at the moment.
If we end up 7th we might as well up 17th. Makes no odds does it.
Don't worry because Ahadme is half the player Alfie is.
The problem is he isn't the 11 goals in 10 games player. He is the 1 in 13 one.