Most liked posts in thread: Why hasn't this squad really clicked?

He knows his best eleven at the moment. The keeper, the back four, the central midfield, the lone striker, the left winger. Only two positions he's unsure about are right wing and the '10', only because Periera isn't doing as well as he hoped and Chapman is probably better out wide than central but deputises for the much missed Walker.

 

There really is no pleasing any of our supporters ffs
4th best defence in the football league.
1 defeat in 10.
Unbeaten away in 5.
25% more points at this stage of the season compared to last.
Keep to this kind of form and we will be in the autos based on previous seasons.
Stop whinging and get being happy.
Any derision or a spread of discontent amongst supporters is our biggest threat this season, no other team.

 

He isn’t tinkering, unchanged in the last two games and just East coming in for Gilliead at Salford when his wife had a baby .So quite the opposite of tinkering.

 

Never tinkers with keeper or defence, unless injuries force his hand

Smallwood and Gilliead constant pairing, unless injured

Chapman and Wright constantly picked

No tinkering whatsoever up front, despite some fans wanting him to do so.

So your charge of constant tinkering is an absolute nonsense.

Just stirring it up for no reason at all

 

The irony is, our performances were better when Hughes was forced to work with Adams squad. Having reshaped the squad in the summer he's imposed a different playing style that's less convincing.

 

I sort of get what he is saying, we are handy placed in the league with only 3 defeats from 14 and won 50%, but i have yet to see a match where we have been in complete control, even the 3-0 against Stevenage was not as one sided as the score might suggest. Hopefully Walker will make the difference in that no 10 role allowing Chapman to move out wide, where i think he will have more impact, Osadibe is also an attacking midfielder and if he is going to be out well into the new year , then a replacement needs to be found.

 

I get what @Inspector is saying, I posted similar in yesterdays match thread.

I genuinely believe we have one of the strongest squads in the league and probably, based on experience, the strongest manager. However for some reason performances, not so much results, aren’t quite where I expected them to be. Results wise I’m ok - Stevenage and Salford cracking results and decent performances. However despite Grimsby’s recent form and very good performance on the day, I expected more from yesterday - a feeling I’ve had from a number of games this season.

I ask the question - why do we keep hearing from opposition related fans/media etc “that’s the best we’ve played all season” when coming up against us? Perhaps testament to us that we’ve heard it a number of times and yet not dropped many points, but for some reason I keep going back to the feeling of expecting more.

I mentioned yesterday, i don’t expect us to walk every game or put in worldy performances every 90 mins (despite how this post may sound). However i have this constant nag that I feel we haven’t reached 5th gear yet and keep wondering why???

Part of me still genuinely believes we aren’t starting games, selection and tactically wise, as Hughes intended. I believe he brought Oliver in as his lead CF and a combination of Cooks goals and Oliver’s slight lack of impact when played, has thrown him a little. Add to that injuries to Walker and Osadabe and Gillead partnering Smallwood (which I feel like also wasn’t the plan) - I think he’s had to adjust his original plan for the season and we’re still working some of it out.

All this is counter balanced however by a clear sign of good recruitment. We’ve got relatable characters back in the squad - a lot of them. We have as good a keeper we’ve seen in many years. We’ve developed a solid looking LB in Foulds. We have young players with a management & coaching team to help them develop. We have our club back (nearly) again.

So not a doom and gloom post - just a good topic of debate.

 

The reason is less talented Squads know how to counter playing from the back with a high press giving ball players no time on the ball.
At times especially at home our football is a bit predictable we should if the occasion demands it sacrifice football principles and be prepared to mix it up

 

You make some good points, but don't do yourselves any favours with the last sentence.

 

It makes sense that it would take some time given the huge overhaul of the squad but I had hoped/expected things to have ‘clicked’ as we got into October/November.

As has already been said in thread, I think the back 5 is looking good. I think the issue is getting the ball in the opposition half and building sustained pressure in the attacking third. Currently our approach play seems a bit lacking and we aren’t creating as many chances as I would expect from a team aiming for a top 3 finish. Results have been good but performances are a bit behind and I’m hoping this is partly due to the injury to key players (Walker and Osadeba) which I’m hoping will be rectified once they return.

The glass half full viewpoint is that we’ve had 2 first team players out all season and still manage to be well in the mix for a top 3 finish.

 

This time last season the current points tally would have got us second.

 

It's probably just as we got 17 new players in 10 weeks ago... Not doing bad given that. I also don't think people appreciate that every time we play there's actually another team on the pitch and they're going to do everything they can to stop us playing. Certainly no-one is turning up to have their belly tickled and half the time it's their cup final

 

After todays absolute shambles if he doesn't change it up for next week and we lose again then he's massively failing in my opinion.

 

People need to remember we ended 14th last season and 15th the season before, look at where the likes of Mansfield, Northampton and Swindon ended in comparison. Fair enough Stevenage and Orient have taken everyone by surprise(although if we had George Moncur the league positions might be reversed he’s exactly what we lack imo). What them two teams have done is make less changes than us, if we had Vernam and Watt instead of Dion and Gilliead we’d be higher up imo. A few decent players is what we’re missing yet some already want the manager gone, players contracts ripped up.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, I wonder how many wouldn’t have taken 6th come November pre season.

 

If you say so, most of these players wouldn’t get into a league 1 team and have played mainly league 2 football. Doesn’t scream walk the league to me. Sometimes they can barely get the ball under control let alone walk a league.