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Glass half full - an alternative view - Rocketman - 10-05-2021
1. At Christmas we were top, had a great run. At that point we were on course for promotion.
2. It wasn’t great football, but promotion was what we wanted most of all.
3. The squad proved it was capable of getting us to the Championship. Jacket was doing what he was
paid to do.
4. The owners were doing what they said they would do, step-by-step approach
5. After Christmas it was dire.
6. We had no idea why. Then Jacket was fired.
7. Next few games were a delight to watch (at least compared to the previous few years)
8. Then it started going wrong again.
9. The big question is why?
10. The Cowleys couldn’t turn bad players into good players in such a short time, but see 1 above.
11. They had a week to prepare for last Saturday. Nothing much changed. Why?
12. Marquis is a perfect example of the problem. He’s not useless (despite numerous comments inc from
me on several posts). He’s proven himself as a top L1 forward. So did Pitman, but both of them had
little service, and in Pitman’s case he was slowing down and put on too much weight.
13. (If Pitman hadn’t been paying for Swindon, we’d probably be in the playoffs now!)
14. Only the players know what went wrong, and possibly/probably the Cowleys now.
15. Personally I’m glad the owners have moved fast and signed them up. They have the whole period to
mid-August to sort player contracts out. Catlin is highly respected amongst other clubs, I’m sure he’ll
back the Cowleys as much as he is able to.
16. I still think we have the basis of a good squad for L1, as long as they fully commit to the club. If not,
boot them out.
17. Money is going to be very tight even this coming season. I trust the Cowleys to get decent players in
far more than Jackett.
18. With crowds back to some degree from the first game, I think we could be in for a very good season.
We have no right to be in the Championship, but we have the right infrastructure.
19. Glass half full
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - Pedalo_menders - 10-05-2021
The silver lining is that the owners acted quickly. With the hole that Kenny and his band of misfits had dug, playoffs were always going to be a bonus.
Imagine scrambling round now to find a manager. At least now, that piece of the puzzle is done and they can get to work trying to build a squad capable of promotion.
You have to view promotion as 2 year project though. At least the Cowleys have had a head start and know the current players inside out. Id imagine they're already drawing up a list of In's and Outs.
Add to that a pre-season to make the players get fit enough to last a whole season.
Looking forwards now, not back.
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - Jizbag - 10-05-2021
Point 3 is wrong.
Just because we were top doesn't prove we were capable of getting to the Championship, other wise you could say the scummers were capable of winning the Premier League.
And I'm struggling to think of the basis of a good squad, this is the one that's failed 3 seasons in a row.
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - DeepBlue - 10-05-2021
It all went wrong at Christmas, and what happened at Christmas ? Covid forced the squad to have a enforced gap. So either the effects of Covid affected players, or the number of games crammed into a short period when they were allowed to play again affected the players. Or a combination of both ?
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - Gerry Hatrick - 10-05-2021
1. I completely agree with the order of numbers.
2. Why don't more posters do that?
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - Rocketman - 10-05-2021
1. Jizbag, we only needed to get into top 2 or win playoffs to get into Championship. Stripeys would have had to come top! Apples & oranges.
2. DB, most other teams had same Covid and crammed schedules so I don't think they can use that as an excuse. However, I don't (yet) have any better explanation!
3. PM, fully agree ?
4. GH, agree too ?
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - Hammie - 10-05-2021
half full for me too.
We do have the basis of a squad, but it is extremely unbalanced.
It was made more difficult by the imposition of the wage and squad cap. Also by the sudden lack of funds caused by lockdown.
Now we should be in a better place than most clubs, cash wise. Personally I'm pleased that we will not once more risk our future by splurging silly money.
So try and get in some decent youngsters and play them. Off load anyone who cannot handle the pressure of a big noisy crowd.
Have summer off and go again.
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - bluetagagain - 10-05-2021
Disagree with your points 3,12,13 and 16
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - Rocketman - 11-05-2021
Hey Bluetag, glass half full, that means you agree with 15 of my 19 points :-)
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - Gerry Hatrick - 11-05-2021
I think it's clear from Rockman's post that what we really need is a spreadsheet.
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - Jizbag - 11-05-2021
(10-05-2021, 06:58 PM)Rocketman Wrote: 1. Jizbag, we only needed to get into top 2 or win playoffs to get into Championship. Stripeys would have had to come top! Apples & oranges.Rocketman, the season lasts 46 games. Whether we were top at Christmas or even 2nd is irrelevant if we end up 8th. Doesn't prove the squad is good enough to get promoted.
2. DB, most other teams had same Covid and crammed schedules so I don't think they can use that as an excuse. However, I don't (yet) have any better explanation!
3. PM, fully agree ?
4. GH, agree too ?
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - Pedalo_menders - 11-05-2021
Drilling down into point 3, there are the following reasons why it is both correct and incorrect:
1: Being top at Christmas is statistically indisputable that we were the best team at the half way point. (Although you could dispute that we hadn’t played Accy yet lol)
2: The players weren’t physically fit enough to last the season out. This is due to the manager having a massive blind spot to this crucial aspect of squad planning.
3: The players don’t have the mental strength to see out the season. Every single one of them is mentally weak and do not understand what is needed for promotion.
4: The manager lacked the tactical creativity to adapt to round 2 of games where teams have sniffed you out.
RE: Glass half full - an alternative view - Rocketman - 11-05-2021
P_M, yup, can't disagree with any of those, and I'm sure DC already knows that. That's why I feel positive about next season (don't we always before the 1st game!). Good to see McG claim he definitely wants to stay.