What HAS gone wrong??

Talking of Ash Taylor. Is he injured, or just so far down the pecking order. We never hear anything about him.

Banks and Crichlow have been massive losses to our team in my opinion.

Impressed with the Pattison signing, and that's it this summer.

We seem to have gone for quantity over quality, again, despite what Sparks was telling us about a leaner looking squad.

Hughes out

 

See negativity thread

Negativity

people were calling out the hangover from the play offs, lack of any real positive output from the club during preseason and some seriously questionable signings. All adds up!!

 

A lot of players are probably disillusioned or frustrated which is always likely with such a big squad, despite what the soundbite and cliche ridden Sparks said about a leaner squad. Time for changes at the top, but at least we’ve got nice sponsorship deals to keep the fans happy…

 

I don't think you can pin point it on 1 area. Football is often fine margins and last season we had a lot go in our favour whereas this season they haven't. Lewis has been poor this season and has been partly responsible for a fair few goals. I think the pressure is also showing. At home last season I don't think the anxiety and panic set in as early as it has this season. Cook's injury along with no cover for him hasn't helped. Last season we had Banks who would create a lot. The constant changing of formation and team won't help with continuity and I don't think the partnerships in the attacking areas have really formed

 

It's not baffling at all, we were very lucky that everything Cook touched turned to gold and Lewis was breathtaking. All we're seeing now is them 2 players returning to a level that was expected. The standard of players in the league last season all round was poor which meant those with the better managers were more successful. This season there's better players and better teams and we didn't improve the team anywhere on the pitch. In fact not replacing Banks and Crichlow with similar standard players has meant we have regressed. We gave new contracts to a less than average Gilliead and a terrible Ridehalgh. We have filled our squad with players that will be non league players or retired next season

Gent, Hughes, the scouts and Sparks are all to blame.

 

To me the difference is,

1. Harry Lewis is low on confidence and is a shadow of himself from last season.
2. Cook hasn't been able to carry the team on his back again, gaining us points out of nothing.
3. We don't have a dynamic player like Wright or Banks.
4. After about 18 months in charge from Hughes, this team doesn't have an identity or style. It's just defensive minded turgid garbage.

 

Beat me to it in my post.

 

And our best form of last season was with Platt & Stubbs at the heart of the defence, so losing Critchlow isn't really an impediment.

 

Things won’t improve until things change at the top. That simple!

Our squad lack quality and signings have been poor.

On the pitch we just look lost. Watch Walker play to highlight this.

 

Maybe so, but perhaps they played well cos they knew Critchlow was waiting in the wings? Stubbs and Platt don't really have to bust a gut, because they know Taylor and the lad from Norwich aren't going to get a game. There's another centre back too isn't there - Kelly. In defence of Stubbs, I think he's a decent player (for our level) and I liked the way he actually sounded like he cared (when he got hung out to dry by MH and fronted the radio interview). For all the signings we've made, there's still not really any competition for places. I really hope on Tuesday that Pointon returns to the squad, because Odour really needs a kick up the arse after his last performance.

 

I can go back a bit and I’ve seen it before. In 1979/80 season we played some great football and missed out on promotion on the last day of the season while other results went against us. We got 60 points which was a record for a team not going up under 2 points for a win. The following season with the same players minus Steve Baines a centre half ,we were terrible and finished below half way. I think it’s a hangover from the defeat at Carlisle,the manager and players have to go again when so near and they lack that spark,that extra 5% that they gave last year. It may come back but it took a manager change to alter our fortunes in that era and we went up as runners up in 81/82. it might have to happen again, a new manager with a fresh outlook.

 

That’s exactly where the problem lies…..on the pitch. The playing side has gone stale and is now oh so predictable.
The only problem who? Someone touted James Milner over the weekend.. or is going for another player who has “ done it all before” just another mistake?

 

Preseason was baffling.

Hughes didn't give the senior players a single winnable game. Cook was doing all right, but sometimes it's about rattling in a few goals and getting the players used to winning/scoring.

Turning up to BPA and watching only Jake Young (who was awful) waltz around with a bunch of kids was not good at all, but for some reason we favoured a behind closed doors friendly that I'm pretty sure we lost, and didn't bother telling the fans.

 

Hughes ruined everything by trying to implement five at the back - the players just didn’t take to it.

we wasted pre-season trying to force it as Hughes didn’t know his best side. With scattergun recruitment since, he still has no idea now, and we’re 10 games in.

all he needed was to upgrade the CDMs with someone a bit livelier and try get more pace in the side, and we could have progressed.

i know we lost Wright, Banks and Critchlow, but to lose them and rip up the set up……too much change.

who is the best RB option?
Who is the best LB option?
who is the best CB pairing?
Which two CDMs compliment each other best?
Where does Walker best fit into this set up?
Who are the best supporting wide players to play behind Cook?

10 games in, that’s most of the team that have positions with unanswered questions. Lewis and Cook are auto starters. But after that, well……

 

He also did not give them 90 mins.When the season started,only Lewis had played a full game,so no chance for the new players to gell.

 

The signings, up post someone posted quantity over quality = Stephen Gent.

The change of tactics from the manager. The team from last season needed quality players in certain positions to move forward but we changed team formation from 4 at the back to 3 centre backs with wing backs and it confused our players. = Mark Hughes.

The big part of our team from last season, players like lewis and Cook (except for Newport) seem to be out of form or the teams confidence is low, maybe the players have lost confidence in the manager? =Again Mark Hughes.

A win at Tranmere and over Swindon might just call my post Bullsh!t but what I have seen so far from the team is a backward step from last season.