|
|
Post by barringtongobi on Nov 25, 2015 7:34:47 GMT
So what's behind this situation then? Would be interested to know why you guys think we are in this situation....
Some things look obvious - this is the second season running, that the team we were building over pre-season, has been rebuilt within 2 months of the season starting.
That several players don't look good enough is pretty clear, yet this side contains 5 of the players who played a part in getting Boreham Wood promoted last season. Have we gone backwards while everyone else has improved & that has turned us from a mid table side to relegation certainties?
There doesn't seem to be a spine to the side. In my opinion (based on 30 years watching the saints) we lack quality at centre half & centre mid (actually, we are poor all over midfield). We just look a bit naive there - overrun in midfield & exposed at the back. There's no protection for the defence & we have no pace at the back & our high line is an invitation to sides to play on the counter.
Playing decent sides at the start seems to have taken away confidence the team may have, but it has given us a set of fixtures where we could put a run together...
Some things just don't add up.. On here, I read that the chairman set a target of 20 points after 10 games; yet our budget is one of the lowest in the league... Are these unreasonable pressures on the team?
I think the majority of fans (if not all) really want the management duo to succeed. I do, certainly. We should remember that they only have about 3 seasons of experience at senior level - all with us. What do they need to to do differently or what support do they need to turn this around.... (I really like their loyalty to players & honesty - however think that they can be a bit too loyal & honest at times)...
So what do we need to do to stay up then?
|
|
kroofs
Saints Trialist
Posts: 74 
|
Post by kroofs on Nov 25, 2015 8:59:10 GMT
totally agree. I find it strange that a team is built up and put together during pre season and then by December all those players seem to have come and gone. Don't have my finger on the pulse of what is going on, but what has happened to Steve Wales ?
How was Kalozci not begged to stay (and Howard Hall) ?? As mentioned above, some of the players look very lightweight.
Corcoran is magnificent in Midfield, Comley is woeful in defence (how many more penalties is he going to give away) ?
At the home game a few weeks ago Theophanous looked really defeated upfront on his own and kept looking to the bench with his arms outstretched as if to say "WTF is going on". Indeed........... WTF is going on ??
|
|
yellowalf
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 301
|
Post by yellowalf on Nov 25, 2015 9:35:07 GMT
Some things just don't add up.. On here, I read that the chairman set a target of 20 points after 10 games; yet our budget is one of the lowest in the league... Are these unreasonable pressures on the team? Actually, I do think that was a silly mistake on the part of the Chairman. Firstly it sets a public target and, as happened here, if that target is not met then there is nowhere for either the Chairman or the players to go in the eyes of the fans. Secondly it stinks of playing fantasy football or Football Manager - how on earth can anyone forecast how many points can be won playing against teams we haven't seen or played against? These are sides who are doing their damnedest to stop us winning so suggesting we can win at least half of our opening ten games is patronising and arrogant at worst, and misguided at best. Any target should be made privately to the management and should be set over the timescale of the entire season or, at worst, halfway through the season. If that target is not met then that's a discussion between the chairman and the management to be had behind closed doors. Nick Archer made a rod for his own back and unfortunately that chicken came home to roost (mixing my metaphors there!). Whatever happens this season, he should never be allowed to utter any similar "target" ever again. Interestingly, that interview ended with this line from Nick: " But we’re here to win and entertain games of football, and that is what St. Albans City is really all about." At the moment I would suggest the club is failing on both points! |
|
|
|
Post by PaperSaint on Nov 25, 2015 10:18:20 GMT
totally agree. I find it strange that a team is built up and put together during pre season and then by December all those players seem to have come and gone. Don't have my finger on the pulse of what is going on, but what has happened to Steve Wales ? How was Kalozci not begged to stay (and Howard Hall) ?? As mentioned above, some of the players look very lightweight. Corcoran is magnificent in Midfield, Comley is woeful in defence (how many more penalties is he going to give away) ? At the home game a few weeks ago Theophanous looked really defeated upfront on his own and kept looking to the bench with his arms outstretched as if to say "WTF is going on". Indeed........... WTF is going on ?? Steve Wales was injured and is on dual registration to Dunstable to regain his fitness Kaloczi is an interesting one but his misdemeanours would have ended in similar results in most clubs - but I wouldnt be surprised if he returns at some point in the future |
|
|
|
Post by casper on Nov 25, 2015 11:13:26 GMT
|
|
gdog
Saints Trialist
Posts: 57
|
Post by gdog on Nov 25, 2015 11:43:43 GMT
We are averaging 0.7 points per game so far on this form we will end up on 32 points and relegated , I think we have a big decision to make by 2nd January , if no improvement we will be relegated , so maybe changing manager may be the answer
|
|
|
|
Post by Boomer on Nov 25, 2015 12:32:10 GMT
....................Corcoran is magnificent in Midfield, Comley is woeful in defence (how many more penalties is he going to give away) ?................ Are you sure? Because you must have been watching different games to me, this season. Magnificent? For a start, Corcoran has been out for over half our games this season and since his return, has not looked anything like fully fit. Comley has been our best central defender by distance so far and if it wasn't for him clearing up behind his playing partners, we would have a far higher 'goals against' total than the 29 we currently have. You clearly were not at the Havant & Waterlooville game or you would not make such bald statements. He has actually been responsible for conceding one penalty this season, the one against Ebbsfleet but don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. |
|
gdog
Saints Trialist
Posts: 57
|
Post by gdog on Nov 25, 2015 12:37:41 GMT
Think Corcoran needs an operation and was hoping to wait until end of the season he is off the pace , this may be the reason
|
|
yellowalf
Saints Reserve Team Player
Posts: 301
|
Post by yellowalf on Nov 25, 2015 14:04:53 GMT
We are averaging 0.7 points per game so far on this form we will end up on 32 points and relegated , I think we have a big decision to make by 2nd January , if no improvement we will be relegated , so maybe changing manager may be the answer I really don't know where my attention has wandered over the past few months but I am now simply stunned to see that we have only scored 13 goals in 17 league matches. Perhaps we need to start a shoot-on-sight policy in the hope that some of them go in because it doesn't take much of a genius to spot that we're not going to win many games scoring three-quarters of a goal per game! |
|
|
|
Post by ad43footsoldier on Nov 25, 2015 17:01:41 GMT
....................Corcoran is magnificent in Midfield, Comley is woeful in defence (how many more penalties is he going to give away) ?................ Are you sure? Because you must have been watching different games to me, this season. Magnificent? For a start, Corcoran has been out for over half our games this season and since his return, has not looked anything like fully fit. Comley has been our best central defender by distance so far and if it wasn't for him clearing up behind his playing partners, we would have a far higher 'goals against' total than the 29 we currently have. You clearly were not at the Havant & Waterlooville game or you would not make such bald statements. He has actually been responsible for conceding one penalty this season, the one against Ebbsfleet but don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. Yep, complete twaddle. So woeful in defence Grimsby fans remarked how well he played in 5-1 defeat. Where he's been poor is when he's played in midfield. He tries to do it all himself, taking far too many touches at times. He's very skillful and technically good dribbling with the ball, but his final ball often lets him down or he takes too many touches and gets tackled. I was an advocate of him staying midfield until this season, but I know think his best position might be in defence. |
|
|
|
Post by Boomer on Nov 25, 2015 17:09:54 GMT
Are you sure? Because you must have been watching different games to me, this season. Magnificent? For a start, Corcoran has been out for over half our games this season and since his return, has not looked anything like fully fit. Comley has been our best central defender by distance so far and if it wasn't for him clearing up behind his playing partners, we would have a far higher 'goals against' total than the 29 we currently have. You clearly were not at the Havant & Waterlooville game or you would not make such bald statements. He has actually been responsible for conceding one penalty this season, the one against Ebbsfleet but don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. Yep, complete twaddle. So woeful in defence Grimsby fans remarked how well he played in 5-1 defeat. Where he's been poor is when he's played in midfield. He tries to do it all himself, taking far too many touches at times. He's very skillful and technically good dribbling with the ball, but his final ball often lets him down or he takes too many touches and gets tackled. I was an advocate of him staying midfield until this season, but I know think his best position might be in defence. Spot on, ad43footsoldier, you could not be more on the money. |
|
|
|
Post by casper on Nov 25, 2015 21:30:58 GMT
That several players don't look good enough is pretty clear, yet this side contains 5 of the players who played a part in getting Boreham Wood promoted last season. A Borehamwood side managed by a manager with 25 years managerial experience in non-league and as a player played nearly 500 football league games with over 100 appearances for Arsenal. Someone with the experience to get the best out of a group of players who he signed, at admittedly a club with financial support through their links with Arsenal. Our management team have been in the job for 3 years and this is their first job in management, at a club with little money. I wouldn't expect 5 players from a promoted team last season to suddenly all have a sharp drop in form inside 6 months, so the current management/coaching may well be affecting players form. Looking at our form in the current calendar year we have Played 35, Won 11, Drawn 8 and Lost 16, which is 41 points out of a possible 105. This includes 4 wins at the end of last season which were games with not a lot to play for. Couldn't agree more with the comments about Comley being more suited to defence than midfield this season. Always feel he is better suited to playing with Darren Locke than Ben Martin though. |
|
|
|
Post by bob666 on Nov 27, 2015 4:06:49 GMT
Two of our next 3 league games are Margate at home and Basingstoke away. The term must win is clearly overused but I think these are genuinely must win fixtures. Win both these and we at least in a fight, lose and we are adrift. I think need a clear decision on management prior to these games. `if we perform badly in these we need a miracle worker. So either we sack the managers now or give them the rest of the season. As others have said, the key thing is the lack of goals. In a sense the 13 goals from 17 games statistic falters us. Our last two goals were both scored in situations were the game was already lost, we scored very few goals in 'live' situations. I think defensive issues are compounded by lack of firepower. The lack of goals puts more pressure on defence. I doubt we let four in against Gosport if we managed to go 1-0 in early part of the game which we, arguably shaded. Also its difficult to maintain any form of intensity when we go behind as collectively there no real believe we can equalise.
I undecided about the managers. I need to know (1) how does our budget compare? If we got a bottom 3 budget that has to be mitigation. Although given some of biggish names we signed i find hard believe it is that low (2) do they actually have a coherent plan to address the issues we face, beyond hoping for a change in luck (3) how else is available
If they do stay I think need to be more clearly defined roles. who is responsible for what? logically, it makes sense for one to led on player recruitment (director of football style role) and for the other to be a head coach/ pick the team. At the moment I no idea what the division of reasonability is. Because he more vocal from outside it seems like Grey is the manager but that could be a misleading impression
|
|
|
|
Post by PaperSaint on Nov 27, 2015 6:13:19 GMT
Regarding budget, I cannot be 100% certain but I have heard we may now have the smallest budget. Basingstoke certainly have a larger budget but are bottom but unlike other teams retained their team from last year but increased their wages (so they would stay). They are now however bringing in loan players - and promoted their assistant manager to manager - to change their position. Teams like Maidstone, Margate and Oxford City all arrived in our league with bigger budgets - replacing two low budget teams.
We are helped in bringing in players by our geographical location ie it will be more economical for a player to join us on a relatively lower wage than if they have to travel further afield (especially for mid week games and training)
|
|
|
|
Post by St Michael on Nov 27, 2015 6:29:07 GMT
I would be surprised if our budget is that much less than several clubs; Concord, Bishops Stortford, Hayes, Weston etc. we just have the wrong mix. There are some good players in our squad as Gray keeps telling us, but they are not performing well nor as a team should. Who knows why that is, but the people who should know are Gray and Golds.
I agree that we need at least two or three wins before the New Year, ten points somehow or we will be adrift and beyond redemption. Someone from the bottom 3/4 will start winning regularly and that needs to be us.
|
|
|
|
Post by PaperSaint on Nov 27, 2015 7:24:37 GMT
I completely agree that the current mix of players is not working but there is also no reason why that mix shouldn't work well. It's how that change occurs which is the key here...
|
|
|
|
Post by Boomer on Nov 27, 2015 11:24:56 GMT
............I undecided about the managers. I need to know (1) how does our budget compare? If we got a bottom 3 budget that has to be mitigation. Although given some of biggish names we signed i find hard believe it is that low (2) do they actually have a coherent plan to address the issues we face, beyond hoping for a change in luck (3) how else is available............ Change in/of luck? I don't buy it and I am little tired of continuously hearing it. Gary Player had it right - 'It's a very strange thing but the harder I work (and practise), the luckier I get'. The overriding factor, though, is that the hard work and practice have to be channeled in the right direction. |
|
