Are we any better than last season.

I am going to say we have a better energy, organisation, a plan, pace and a great manager. Furthermore, a more positive outlook at the club adds.

Is the playing personal better? A good percentage of starters are those whom played last season. The addages are in 'jury out' mode with the exception of Ridehalgh, whom stands out Imo. Goals scored is my fear if Cook dries up or gets injured.

Based on us finishing 15th last season, I'd be incredibly disappointed if we didn't beat that. If we didn't hit the play offs, I'd be equally incredibly disappointed. I'm hoping my disappointment is not here in May but......

Its strange I feel like this averaging 2 points a game.

 

we are currently 2 points ahead of this time last year. We only lost one of the first 5, only difference is one draw/win, Forest Green scoring in injury time when we were down to 9 men.

 

Just the honeymoon thread regurgitated me thinks.

 

In response to the OP.

One key answer imho is the Manager. That’s the difference for me, the squad appears to be stronger and devoid of loanees , is another. Taking it down to individual players doesn’t work for me in this instance, but collectively my response is a yes.

 

Far too early to give a considered comparison.
However, what I will say, is the victory over Stevenage was better than anything I saw last season, and the one before that.

 

Too early to judge the squad, however early indications IMO is we are stronger than this time last year and as others have said, with a superior better manager and all that comes with him.

On the playing side midfield is stronger, albeit I’m still worried if Cooke gets injured. On the striker front the injuries that have occurred to Angol and Eisa are bad luck. Yes, they’ve (certainly Angol) come with a risk from their past but you still cannot compensate for this. The same in which we couldn’t with Novak. Rowe came and started with promise but ultimately didn’t deliver and we’ve so far lucked out with Cook (fingers crossed this continues). We now have options in Lavery and Robinson to add to the injured players which we didn’t have last season, both which are more experienced than untried U21s on loan!

At the back we are stronger in Canavan and POC. Ridehalgh looks a more compete LB than Wood. At RB I’m hopefully Threlkeld is an upgrade and with FCD and Sutton as cover feel we have enough there.

So for me, we are better set than we were last season but the big difference been the manager who has a winning mentality and I believe has the ability to diversify our squad and style to win games.

Let’s see. I certainly feel much more connected to the manager, team and club than I have for many years……..even from overseas!

 

I think we are better. We're certainly stronger on the management side. Songo'o adds something to the midfield that we didn't have and Gillead adds something. That aside, we're still soft at the back and whether we've improved enough to go up only time will tell. We haven't exactly gone all out with a properly ambitious build of the squad and the who 'too big as a club for this league' narrative only has any real meaning if it translates into a bigger budget to help bring in better players.

We look 2-3 quality players short of what we should be at this level. The Kelleher signing baffles me, I'm not sure Adams actually fancies Eisa, Lavery and Robinson are just squad filler and Angol is clearly a sicknote. From the very early glimpses we've had, our key players will be Cook, Cooke, Vernam and Canavan - who were all here anyway. Possibly add Gillead and Songo'o to that, but the majority of what we've signed look to be just numbers. Journeymen with experience. OK, you need some of that, but we don't look to have unearthed any gems.

 

When looking at the Morecambe squad last season at this stage of the season would you have taken any of the 3 players mentioned. Stockton had a worse goal scoring record than Robinson and the other 2 I'd never even heard of. It's only down to Adams getting the best out of them that made them what they are today.

 

This.

and this is why I am still fully optimistic.

we don’t have to have promotion sealed by January. We need to be in the hunt, as we were under Bowyer, by January, and may end up strengthening then if it looks like it is happening.

i’m backing Adams to get more out of the old players than Sellars/ Trueman did

 

Fair comment.

 

Far better than in the first 3rd of the season last year when we got just 14 points from the first 16 games. We are now more or less using the same players that revived us after the January transfer window that got us 45 points from 30 games with the addition of 3/4 of Adams signings. I know we only finished 15th last season but that was because of the awful start and the squad that was built in January was capable of a play off place. Hopefully Adams can get us the extra push to automatic promotion.

 

We were on 8 points after the first 5 games last season which is only 2 less than we have now, so it's maybe a little premature to say we are far better now than we were then. Hopefully we will quickly get back to winning ways and prove that we are far better but right now, it's too early to say imo.

Just to add, tomorrow will be interesting as Walsall at home was our 6th game last season as well. We drew that one 1-1.

 

After the draw against Walsall though, McCall then lost 8 out of the next 10 .I can guarantee that we have a far better squad now than the one that started the season last year under McCall. If we win today against Walsall we will have 13 points, just one point fewer than McCall took before his sacking after 16 games.

 

Spot on Sir!

 

Would that be a fair comparison , based on the quality of opposition, or just raw numbers. Don’t forget we have played 4 teams already that more or less everyone said would be in the top six before the season started?

We can’t say that for last season?

 

Exactly, it was after today's game last year that the wheels started to come off, so although it feels like we are in a better place now, I've experienced too many false dawns over the years to be able to say with any confidence that we are far better now than we were this time last year. I need to see evidence that we can bounce back from a defeat and start another unbeaten run. I think we have every chance of doing that with Adams at the helm, but I need to see it actually happen before I get too carried away.

 

Mansfield and Stevenage have each lost 2, Exeter have drawn 3. You could argue that we've been lucky to have played them before they've really got going.