| Frustrating end to the season..... 21:52 - Apr 23 with 5072 views | itfcjoe |
....lets a hope a positive is that it ensures McKenna leaves no stone unturned in improving things - and that players who shouldn't be here next season haven't earned a stay of reprieve by turning up in some dead rubbers.
Lots to do this summer |  |
| |  |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:13 - Apr 24 with 1071 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 09:27 - Apr 24 by textbackup |
For me Ashton acted as soon as he reasonably could with sacking PC
He gave the man a fair crack at it, identified it needed changing, acted, and has brought in a quality manager.
Whilst there have been a few iffy results of late I’m sure KMc smashes the arse out of the closed season/pre season… and we hit the ground running next year |
I'm not saying he didn't act, but he also has to take some responsibility for transfers going wrong, and not persuading cook to appoint some professional coaches.
This season has been an abject failure on the pitch.
Lambert and Evans threatened the play offs more with inferior players.
I do think we are heading in the right direction now though. |  |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:15 - Apr 24 with 1068 views | wkj |
Edmundson staying fit is key, and I don't mean defensively. Burgess did indeed come back and look much better as a CB than he did at the start of the season, but Edmunson seems to allow Woolfenden to get much higher up the pitch and make some beautiful passes.
We need to invest on the left, Town has consistently been poor here since Jonas. One player who can think off the ball like Burns does will make a huge difference.
As well as a striker who can do the business, we need to learn how to put early crosses in the box. I have made this point a few times, but watch the highlights for L1 on the tele (not just our games) - such a high amount of goals come from early crosses whipped in toward the edge of the box while the backline are tracking the player on the wing. When we cross deep we simply don't have the height to beat the congestion in the box. |  |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:17 - Apr 24 with 1035 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:09 - Apr 24 by bluefunk |
Why December 1st? KMc took charge from Wycombe at home , and we are 8th in the table from that point one point from 6th, despite our poor April. |
Alot is said about the relentless wins of those in and around us. But at the time of taking on the reigns KM has ended up further away from the top 6 than we were. Only 1 club had a game in hand on us when PC was sacked.
It started OK. And People kept throwing in the ppg over a season etc etc but whilst it sounded great, the truth is it has nosedived in regards to progression.
People will say trust KM. And absolutely we have no choice but to. But we know knowing of him as a manager other than his results whilst here, that's all we can go by. And despite the football at times being great to watch, it's been pretty much Lambert football. Big summer ahead. |  |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:22 - Apr 24 with 1024 views | Steve_M |
Yes, yesterday was really disappointing. None of the intensity of Tuesday night let alone the performances against Oxford and Plymouth and really quite sloppy at the back - even Walton put the ball directly into touch twice and kicked poorly before their goal.
I still don’t think we need to change the approach greatly but we need to start the season as solid defensively as a few matches back and, obviously, make the right signing up front. |  |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:27 - Apr 24 with 1002 views | tractorboy1978 |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:22 - Apr 24 by Steve_M |
Yes, yesterday was really disappointing. None of the intensity of Tuesday night let alone the performances against Oxford and Plymouth and really quite sloppy at the back - even Walton put the ball directly into touch twice and kicked poorly before their goal.
I still don’t think we need to change the approach greatly but we need to start the season as solid defensively as a few matches back and, obviously, make the right signing up front. |
Norwood and Pigott were terrible again yesterday. Just not good enough. The Jackson injury has really hurt us. I really think a couple of decent forwards that can play how McKenna wants them to will change the dynamics of this team. |  | | |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:28 - Apr 24 with 1001 views | C_Jam_Blue |
I think the next few weeks are absolutely crucial for our club. KMK has shown that he can organise a team, improve players and create an attractive playing style. But the next few weeks are all about Ashton and our new off-field team, especially recruitment. Even though it was a bit hit and miss, MA did quite a job getting in and moving on a large number of players last year. Now he has a backroom team that he has appointed so we really should be seeing far greater professionalism and noticeable improvement in recruitment, pre-season organisation and fitness as the club have invested heavily in these areas. Going to be an interesting few months, looking forward to lots of def info posts on here and signs of progress in pre-season. | | | |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:29 - Apr 24 with 991 views | hadleighboyblue |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 08:46 - Apr 24 by Guthrum |
As Alex Mathie said yesterday, we need to get off to a strong start to next season.
In a hypthetical world where we'd been in the top six but Cook had still been replaced by McKenna when he was, there is a very good chance we'd be in the play-offs now. The fact we'd fallen so far behind was what, in the end, made it impossible to catch up. |
We all know we had a bad start , but it's the recent form which is a concern .
Failing to finish teams off has become a habit ....is it 1 win in 8 now ? | | | |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:31 - Apr 24 with 979 views | pointofblue |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:29 - Apr 24 by hadleighboyblue |
We all know we had a bad start , but it's the recent form which is a concern .
Failing to finish teams off has become a habit ....is it 1 win in 8 now ? |
Exactly. Hiding behind Cook’s tenure is all well and good but we’ve fallen below the standards set by McKenna himself in that run, Plymouth and Wigan aside. | |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:35 - Apr 24 with 962 views | wkj |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:31 - Apr 24 by pointofblue |
Exactly. Hiding behind Cook’s tenure is all well and good but we’ve fallen below the standards set by McKenna himself in that run, Plymouth and Wigan aside. |
This is why the summer window is important. Morsy is much better when playing along side Evans. Woolfenden moves the ball higher up the pitch when playing along side Edmundson. Our dip in form coincides with those players being out of the running.
A solid transfer window where KM can creat other little partnerships across the field - jobs a good'en.
I know this is the usual thing of 'give 'em a transfer season before you judge' - but unlike Cook and Lambert - it seems we now have a plan and the resources to work on the plan. | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:51 - Apr 24 with 945 views | Guthrum |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:29 - Apr 24 by hadleighboyblue |
We all know we had a bad start , but it's the recent form which is a concern .
Failing to finish teams off has become a habit ....is it 1 win in 8 now ? |
Sure, but when our strikers are struggling (or attacks are not being converted into shots), then it is difficult to win games*. However, even including that recent run, our form has been at least respectable since McKenna arrived. We are also missing one out of both our best midfield pairing (Evans) and our first-choice back three (Edmundson)**. Plus not having Burns or Aluko available yesterday probably didn't help, with the former being one of the few who will take opportunistic shots.
* I've commented about that elsewhere in this thread.
** We've only won three in 12 since the former was injured and one in eight since the latter was. |  |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:57 - Apr 24 with 940 views | Guthrum |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:31 - Apr 24 by pointofblue |
Exactly. Hiding behind Cook’s tenure is all well and good but we’ve fallen below the standards set by McKenna himself in that run, Plymouth and Wigan aside. |
It has to be remembered that this is pretty much the same squad which was struggling under Cook and without having had a dedicated training and organisation period to deal with problems (i.e. pre-season). | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 11:07 - Apr 24 with 929 views | itfcjoe |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:15 - Apr 24 by wkj |
Edmundson staying fit is key, and I don't mean defensively. Burgess did indeed come back and look much better as a CB than he did at the start of the season, but Edmunson seems to allow Woolfenden to get much higher up the pitch and make some beautiful passes.
We need to invest on the left, Town has consistently been poor here since Jonas. One player who can think off the ball like Burns does will make a huge difference.
As well as a striker who can do the business, we need to learn how to put early crosses in the box. I have made this point a few times, but watch the highlights for L1 on the tele (not just our games) - such a high amount of goals come from early crosses whipped in toward the edge of the box while the backline are tracking the player on the wing. When we cross deep we simply don't have the height to beat the congestion in the box. |
Whilst there must be lots of elements of coincidence in this - I was told yesterday and haven’t fact checked but in the 30 games Edmundson played we’ve dropped points from winning positions 4 times but in the 23 Burgess has played it has happened 10 times | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 11:08 - Apr 24 with 912 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:57 - Apr 24 by Guthrum |
It has to be remembered that this is pretty much the same squad which was struggling under Cook and without having had a dedicated training and organisation period to deal with problems (i.e. pre-season). |
We are further away from the top 6 since PC got sacked. With only 1 club having a game in hand at that point.
You have a point regarding not his team etc. But it's not an inexpensive squad to choose from and even Wycombs manager didn't understand how we have failed to make the most of the strikers available to us. | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 11:48 - Apr 24 with 876 views | pointofblue |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 11:07 - Apr 24 by itfcjoe |
Whilst there must be lots of elements of coincidence in this - I was told yesterday and haven’t fact checked but in the 30 games Edmundson played we’ve dropped points from winning positions 4 times but in the 23 Burgess has played it has happened 10 times |
Both - Bolton (H), Accrington Stanley (A), Cambridge (A)
Edmundson without Burgess - Plymouth (A), Sunderland (H)
Burgess without Edmundson - Cheltenham (A), MK Dons (H), Wimbledon (H), Oxford (A), Shrewsbury (A), Wigan (H), Crewe (A)
5 dropped point games from a lead in 32 appearances for Edmundson.
10 dropped point games from a lead in 18 starts and three sub appearances for Burgess.
Woolfenden has all of the ‘without’ games above to his name, so nine from 30 league appearances.
Donacien has Cheltenham, Wimbledon, Bolton, Accrington, Cambridge, Sunderland, Oxford, Shrewsbury, Wigan and Crewe so ten from 42 league appearances. | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 11:54 - Apr 24 with 865 views | Jimmy86 |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 09:19 - Apr 24 by Veggie |
Who are you referring to with regard to turning up in dead rubbers? Hopefully not Chaplin, as I think he’s one of our best players and probably our best finisher. |
Personally, I think next season Chaplin should start every game, when fit... to score 11 goals in 27 starts is a good return!! | | | |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 12:15 - Apr 24 with 845 views | pointofblue |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 11:54 - Apr 24 by Jimmy86 |
Personally, I think next season Chaplin should start every game, when fit... to score 11 goals in 27 starts is a good return!! |
Going by his interview, it’d probably be best if we played him in his best position and worked around him. | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 12:15 - Apr 24 with 846 views | LankHenners |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 10:57 - Apr 24 by Guthrum |
It has to be remembered that this is pretty much the same squad which was struggling under Cook and without having had a dedicated training and organisation period to deal with problems (i.e. pre-season). |
I think this is a prescient point that many aren’t or are unwilling to accept - to come in mid season into a team that is finding things difficult (both scoring and conceding, losing games in a similar fashion etc.) and turn them around into a lethal, promotion-winning unit is incredibly difficult. As you say, he’s not got the luxury of several weeks to drill his ideas into the players and map out game plans etc. - he’s straight into the cut and thrust of preparing match-by-match. That he did as well as he did for the first half of his games borders on remarkable.
There’s been no blaming of what he was left with or excuse-making, he’s just got on with the job and only this weekend has he started to make noises about changing a few things personnel-wise. It’s disappointing that the season’s fizzled out but McKenna will now have a very good idea of where to improve and how to do it. |  |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:02 - Apr 24 with 801 views | Veggie |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 11:08 - Apr 24 by FrimleyBlue |
We are further away from the top 6 since PC got sacked. With only 1 club having a game in hand at that point.
You have a point regarding not his team etc. But it's not an inexpensive squad to choose from and even Wycombs manager didn't understand how we have failed to make the most of the strikers available to us. |
If it all go tits up under KM we could do worse than nick Wycombe’s manager off them. Might be the only way we get out of this League, by learning to sh1thouse and make the most of our players. |  | | |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:09 - Apr 24 with 788 views | pointofblue |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 12:15 - Apr 24 by LankHenners |
I think this is a prescient point that many aren’t or are unwilling to accept - to come in mid season into a team that is finding things difficult (both scoring and conceding, losing games in a similar fashion etc.) and turn them around into a lethal, promotion-winning unit is incredibly difficult. As you say, he’s not got the luxury of several weeks to drill his ideas into the players and map out game plans etc. - he’s straight into the cut and thrust of preparing match-by-match. That he did as well as he did for the first half of his games borders on remarkable.
There’s been no blaming of what he was left with or excuse-making, he’s just got on with the job and only this weekend has he started to make noises about changing a few things personnel-wise. It’s disappointing that the season’s fizzled out but McKenna will now have a very good idea of where to improve and how to do it. |
The issue is he seemed to turn it around and then it’s slowly slipped away again. | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:13 - Apr 24 with 778 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:02 - Apr 24 by Veggie |
If it all go tits up under KM we could do worse than nick Wycombe’s manager off them. Might be the only way we get out of this League, by learning to sh1thouse and make the most of our players. |
I just feel we are falling into that trap of entertaining the fans first over actually doing what's needed to score goals.
When ever have seen a CB go uptop for the final 5 minutes of a game. Or we pretty much play the final 5 minutes with 3 at the back 1 in midfield and overloading their box with the rest of the side with long balls going down the throats of their defenders.
I love the football KM gets us playing. But is it only suited to higher leagues with better players able to finish off all the passing displays.
I just don't see how you can norwood. Bonne. Piggott. And struggle to make use of them in half a season. | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:34 - Apr 24 with 770 views | Guthrum |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 11:08 - Apr 24 by FrimleyBlue |
We are further away from the top 6 since PC got sacked. With only 1 club having a game in hand at that point.
You have a point regarding not his team etc. But it's not an inexpensive squad to choose from and even Wycombs manager didn't understand how we have failed to make the most of the strikers available to us. |
That's partly a function of how the top six have galloped away this season. Until the last few matches, we've kept pace with that. In hindsight, closing the gap was never actually possible (short of winning nearly every game).
We have failed to make use of the strikers, but that goal drought was a situation which existed before McKenna arrived. We'd scored 9 goals in 13 matches in all competitions (plus losing a penalty shoot-out). Only four of those were scored by strikers (five if you include Chaplin). | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:38 - Apr 24 with 765 views | Guthrum |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:09 - Apr 24 by pointofblue |
The issue is he seemed to turn it around and then it’s slowly slipped away again. |
In other words he had a honeymoon period, a new manager bounce, then some of the fresh excitement subsided and things became a little stale or desperate as it proved impossible to haul in the top six, even with excellent form ourselves. | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:43 - Apr 24 with 757 views | Kieran_Knows |
Yup, I can see another turn around of 8 players or so. |  |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:58 - Apr 24 with 736 views | LankHenners |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:09 - Apr 24 by pointofblue |
The issue is he seemed to turn it around and then it’s slowly slipped away again. |
Why does it have to be so black and white? It’s going to get incredibly tedious if every disappointing result or iffy run of form is met with thinly (or not at all) veiled suggestions that he’s failing or making us worse etc. accompanied with general doom and gloom.
He came in and immediately stopped us conceding which allowed us to win games by a narrow margin, then for what could be a variety of reasons (injuries, the mental switch going from ‘lots of games to play for’ to ‘we need to win almost every game now’, a drop off in intensity with the season done) we haven’t quite replicated that consistently since. We’ve still only conceded more than once in a game twice under McKenna, and the main issue has shifted, generally, from ‘being bullied and out fought every week’ to ‘not doing enough to make sure we don’t end up on the wrong side of fine-margin moments’. That’s a much healthier position to be in and, to me at least, it seems McKenna is very aware of what he needs to do and I’m sure he’s absolutely relishing the opportunity for a proper pre-season. | |
| |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 14:04 - Apr 24 with 730 views | chicoazul |
| Frustrating end to the season..... on 13:43 - Apr 24 by Kieran_Knows |
Yup, I can see another turn around of 8 players or so. |
Lots of people get annoyed when this simple fact is pointed out. It’ll be 8 at minimum and prob more like 10 but at least we have a solid core of 10 or so players here now so hopefully it won’t look quite as janky early in the season. |  |
| |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
