Thoughts on Plymouth Draw and the Rest of the Season
There’s a lot of doom and gloom around following a draw against our promotion rivals. Real concerns about whether our automatic chance has gone, some questioning of the manager (unjustified in my mind), and some criticism of individual players (very justified and a core issue).
I’d like to share some points to give you my point of view.
1. AUTOMATIC PLACE - we are still some weeks away from a top two place no longer being a REAL outcome for this season for Town. We are 7 points off Plymouth with a game in hand; 4 points off Weds and we play them at home. But I think the next 3 games are key - I’ve used the phrase before over many seasons - “How soon is now?”. We keep saying after a missed opportunity for league table progression there are other chances coming up - but given the form of our rivals, we need a run NOW. We need a minimum of 7 points from our next 3 games. As fans we should expect to win at Oxford, but a draw can be handled, given their form. We HAVE to beat Morecambe (h) and Cambridge (a). Simples.
2. THE BIG GAME HOODOO - I thought the Derby and Pompey home games had dismissed the issue of Town not turning up for big games. Plymouth at home in front of the biggest crowd since the Norwich play-off was the chance to prove this. Alas, 4 or 5 players froze in the first half, and that’s not good enough anymore. I do think the fans needed a win yesterday to settle their nerves and get belief - that’s a missed opportunity. I still think Charlton away and these last gasp give-away goals is in our mentality. And only a run of wins will fix this. Winning against Sheff Weds at home with 7-9 points already in the bank is out best chance to get that springboard!!
3. UNDERESTIMATING OUR AUTOMATIC RIVALS - I saw some comments about how we have a right to beat Plymouth due to their ‘shoe string’ budget! This misses the point completely . Firstly they had a US investment in the summer. Secondly their excellent director of football has been in place since 2019, and is critical to their success. This guy (Neil Sewsnip) has a great CV, and is the backbone of their excellent recruitment and strategy, and means changing manager has minimal impact. They also had a strong season last term, we didn’t. As for Sheff Weds their squad is better than ours. End of. I would also caution Derby coming up on the rails, huge club, a manager who has had our number for some time. Also Bolton have a fan momentum that is compelling, and some of the best players in the league.
4. NEW RECRUITS ARE VITAL - harness, Chaplin, burns and Ladapo have been way too inconsistent this term, costing us a significant number of points - Wycombe away, Pompey away… I could keep going. From what I saw of Hirst yesterday and from what Sunderland fan mates have told me of Broadhead… we’ve made huge strides to fixing this problem.
5. MCKENNA MAY NEED TO SWITCH THE TEAM - Walton, Donacien and Evans were poor yesterday. So as well as changing the front line; it may be we make some changes around the team and stick with it. Freshen it up. Luongo, Humphreys (albeit he was culpable for the Plymouth goal) and Edmundson - why not?!
So keep the faith people, if we can go on a run it could be significant. But we have a confidence issue at present and a glass jaw. Wins and a run will fix. BUT HOW SOON IS NOW? when will the talking stop and the run come - don’t forget the Oxford and Rotherham performance guys, WE CAN DO this… it’s just belief, being ruthless and building confidence.
FINALLY - remember just how good that atmosphere was when the teams came out, and the ten mins after the wunder strike from Burns when we grabbed the game. Savour that. Best it’s been for years and years. This is a project, these players and managers are growing together, the fans are returning as a result. Trust in it. We are behind Plymouth just now. Latter part of this season, or even next we will match and exceed them and any rivals.
COYFB
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