A week to change things

[palexander]

We thought last week was the 'biggest week in our history' - and may yet prove to be, but feels like the upcoming week is huge too;

• Fallout of the £30m loan and council approval Monday
• Stan vs Tom thrashing out a vitally important deal. Utmost importance Stan joins officially ASAP.
• Very much dependant on the above I would think, the recruitment specialist
• Can we get ANYONE in through the door in time for Saturday.

Off the field aside, Kev & Co have really got to take stock of what we have got available. I get injuries are hurting us (wow, who predicted that pre-season? Thanks once again Phil!), but we need to get back to basics ASAP and as clichéd as it is, get a solid 442 (or 451) in place to stop the rot and most importantly, stop playing players out of position because its crazy to continue this way.

If Arnold is looking dodgy for Saturday, first job on Monday is get on the phone and get a loan keeper in from somewhere. HAS to be major priority because Seaden is shot.

Getting Ralph fit is absolutely vital, but either way work with a back 4. JD, White, Hobson Ralph/Sayers. No more back 3 that includes a rookie RB and Hobson who cant play in one.

Midfield has to include Phillips. Poor kid was doing little wrong then Brown blanked him. Get him back in. He's the one who wants to get on the ball. Pair him with one of the slow donkeys. Probably Dunne - Dunne, you just sit in MF and cover for Phillips getting forward. Bridge can stay left and get Walsh on the right. Egbri has no end product. Its a cliche again, but show me anything he's done that proves otherwise. When was his last assist/goal?.....

Up front, Dalby is good, he can flick it on, he can hold it up. Murphy... just dont know whats going on. But Rush deserves his chance to have a go. He offers something different, is quick and also pops up like a fox in the box. Get him in, give him, tell him he's on a run of starting 3 games and bench Murphy.

For Gods sake... employ a Physio. Get Akinola fit and figure out whats going on with Arnold.

If I see a makeshift side with 3 at the back at Borehamwood, I'm gonna be ****ed. I get today, they had limited time and a few injuries. Its fine who they picked, no issue, but it should have made it crystal clear we CANNOT play that way, so please... PLEASE.... dont do it again! Hope the guys put their own stamp on the team rather than going with Brown's 3 at the back and a totally immobile midfield.

Its a huge week.

 

[shrimperjon]

Great post and hard to argue with any of that. Phillips needs more game time as does Walsh. Egbri, hopeless. Murphy no doubt is a good player but it’s just not happening for him at the moment. Dalby is playing ok but needs support.

 

[rayleigh dan]

We thought last week was the 'biggest week in our history' - and may yet prove to be, but feels like the upcoming week is huge too;

• Fallout of the £30m loan and council approval Monday
• Stan vs Tom thrashing out a vitally important deal. Utmost importance Stan joins officially ASAP.
• Very much dependant on the above I would think, the recruitment specialist
• Can we get ANYONE in through the door in time for Saturday.

Off the field aside, Kev & Co have really got to take stock of what we have got available. I get injuries are hurting us (wow, who predicted that pre-season? Thanks once again Phil!), but we need to get back to basics ASAP and as clichéd as it is, get a solid 442 (or 451) in place to stop the rot and most importantly, stop playing players out of position because its crazy to continue this way.

If Arnold is looking dodgy for Saturday, first job on Monday is get on the phone and get a loan keeper in from somewhere. HAS to be major priority because Seaden is shot.

Getting Ralph fit is absolutely vital, but either way work with a back 4. JD, White, Hobson Ralph/Sayers. No more back 3 that includes a rookie RB and Hobson who cant play in one.

Midfield has to include Phillips. Poor kid was doing little wrong then Brown blanked him. Get him back in. He's the one who wants to get on the ball. Pair him with one of the slow donkeys. Probably Dunne - Dunne, you just sit in MF and cover for Phillips getting forward. Bridge can stay left and get Walsh on the right. Egbri has no end product. Its a cliche again, but show me anything he's done that proves otherwise. When was his last assist/goal?.....

Up front, Dalby is good, he can flick it on, he can hold it up. Murphy... just dont know whats going on. But Rush deserves his chance to have a go. He offers something different, is quick and also pops up like a fox in the box. Get him in, give him, tell him he's on a run of starting 3 games and bench Murphy.

For Gods sake... employ a Physio. Get Akinola fit and figure out whats going on with Arnold.

If I see a makeshift side with 3 at the back at Borehamwood, I'm gonna be ****ed. I get today, they had limited time and a few injuries. Its fine who they picked, no issue, but it should have made it crystal clear we CANNOT play that way, so please... PLEASE.... dont do it again! Hope the guys put their own stamp on the team rather than going with Brown's 3 at the back and a totally immobile midfield.

Its a huge week.

I’ve liked your post, I agree with much you say and I agree we do need to go back to 442, however I fear a central duo of Dunne/Phillips would get walked through easily by any half decent opposition. We need a CM with some energy and bite badly, thanks Phil for lumbering us with slow has beens.

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

Hmm, just “going back to 4-4-2” won’t help us. Neither will keep telling the players how **** they are. Confidence goes a long way. I’m sure KM, DC and MB can, quite quickly, instill a bit of it into our battered team and identify where we need help. I also disagree we need to rush people through the door in time for Boreham Wood. Quality not quantity (sadly not something we’ve been had for a while). We need to be patient just a bit longer and give our full support. It’s quite a mess to sort out!

 

[rayleigh dan]

Hmm, just “going back to 4-4-2” won’t help us. Neither will keep telling the players how **** they are. Confidence goes a long way. I’m sure KB, DC and MB can, quite quickly, instill a bit of it into our battered team and identify where we need help. I also disagree we need to rush people through the door in time for Boreham Wood. Quality not quantity (sadly not something we’ve been had for a while). We need to be patient just a bit longer and give our full support. It’s quite a mess to sort out!

Yeah, agreed. I’d prefer us to play 442 but I don’t think our current squad is viable to make it work. If Kev decides to stick to a back 5 for now, please don’t get on his back.

 

[palexander]

Yeah, agreed. I’d prefer us to play 442 but I don’t think our current squad is viable to make it work. If Kev decides to stick to a back 5 for now, please don’t get on his back.

We certainly haven’t got the players for a 5 tho. The only way a 5 works at the moment is with Ralph coming back into it. But then we don’t have any decent wing backs. I think a 442 fits what we have right now - and even then what “that” is isn’t great :(

 

[onceknownasrab]

Who cares about formations? We could put twenty players on the pitch and still lose. We are not competitive. End of. We do not have the athleticism, strength or speed that is required to win consistently.

You can change the tacticians, the tactics, the formation, the diet or even your lucky underpants, but nowt is improving until you change a significant chunk of the squad.

Our recent history of recruitment is abysmal and is the key element that needs to change. What is the underlying problem? The budget has been there and we have had a succession of managers who supposedly know the game inside out. So it's not the money, it's not the experience and it's not the expertise. So what's left? All good conspiracies on a postcard please.

PB twice, numpty or nice? Sir Chrissy, useless or luckless? KB, unpopular but experienced in football. MM a new way, shackled or baffled? Sol, well, we can leave that one there.

So for years, throughout numerous tenures, our recruitment has been catastrophic. Why? I know, let's bring back PB and then go on to get a CEO. Every fan knows the lack of a CEO caused all this, right? PB and a new CEO oversee some of the worst player recruits in years. Seems the fans were wrong on this one.

Let's have a DoF. Ricky is just the man. Hmm, let's not! Ok Ricky, as you were, PB and CF out. Seems many fans were wrong again.

Now we have the Gospel according to Stan and have enlisted the three wise men of Maher, Currie and Bentley. Ron will be pushed to release even more funds to change the team, again, and some fans will call for patience and others will hit the panic button.

If I believed in curses I would say we were cursed. I do wonder if we have got to the bottom of the rot or whether, despite the shake up, it still remains unidentified? Are we moving forward or tying ourselves to yet another 'voice of experience' that may be no better than before?

Well we have to do something that's for sure, but before all the experts on here get carried away with the demands, remember how many times we were wrong before.

 

[Chapperz]

Maybe we should give any system time before casting it off as a failure?

When Liverpool first went down the data route for scouting with Michael Edwards, they were mocked as it didn’t produce results straight away. Firmino was signed under Rodgers and Edwards was blamed for him being sacked. Fast forward and I’m sure the Premier League and Champions League trophy in their trophy cabinet show they got it right.

We want stability but we want it straight away, there’s the problem.

 

[Kenny]

I hope, that with a full week to work on things and get players more used to different routines in training, Kev will change the system next week.

I get the feeling he didn't feel there was enough time to start making sweeping changes this week.

I saw some criticism for Kev saying the players "worked their socks off", when perhaps many didn't. Maybe behind closed doors, he was less flattering but he probably wanted to get away from Phil's approach of throwing them under the bus.

 

[Blues ‘n’ twos]

Some contracts just need ripping up, don’t live close enough to a bus route to say who ( ala PB ), but it is plainly obvious we need some injection of new blood!
Stan get your contacts book out ASAP.

 

[palexander]

Some contracts just need ripping up, don’t live close enough to a bus route to say who ( ala PB ), but it is plainly obvious we need some injection of new blood!
Stan get your contacts book out ASAP.

All this talk of “ripping up contracts” - I’m sure it’s not an easy thing to do. Players should be desperate to play, so being paid off whilst could be nice, means they are clubless outside the league transfer window. Not a good place to be.

I imagine we can’t rip up anything legally without a mutual agreement, so yea whilst nice, incredibly unlikely I’d imagine.

 

[wiggy]

We thought last week was the 'biggest week in our history' - and may yet prove to be, but feels like the upcoming week is huge too;

• Fallout of the £30m loan and council approval Monday
• Stan vs Tom thrashing out a vitally important deal. Utmost importance Stan joins officially ASAP.
• Very much dependant on the above I would think, the recruitment specialist
• Can we get ANYONE in through the door in time for Saturday.

Off the field aside, Kev & Co have really got to take stock of what we have got available. I get injuries are hurting us (wow, who predicted that pre-season? Thanks once again Phil!), but we need to get back to basics ASAP and as clichéd as it is, get a solid 442 (or 451) in place to stop the rot and most importantly, stop playing players out of position because its crazy to continue this way.

If Arnold is looking dodgy for Saturday, first job on Monday is get on the phone and get a loan keeper in from somewhere. HAS to be major priority because Seaden is shot.

Getting Ralph fit is absolutely vital, but either way work with a back 4. JD, White, Hobson Ralph/Sayers. No more back 3 that includes a rookie RB and Hobson who cant play in one.

Midfield has to include Phillips. Poor kid was doing little wrong then Brown blanked him. Get him back in. He's the one who wants to get on the ball. Pair him with one of the slow donkeys. Probably Dunne - Dunne, you just sit in MF and cover for Phillips getting forward. Bridge can stay left and get Walsh on the right. Egbri has no end product. Its a cliche again, but show me anything he's done that proves otherwise. When was his last assist/goal?.....

Up front, Dalby is good, he can flick it on, he can hold it up. Murphy... just dont know whats going on. But Rush deserves his chance to have a go. He offers something different, is quick and also pops up like a fox in the box. Get him in, give him, tell him he's on a run of starting 3 games and bench Murphy.

For Gods sake... employ a Physio. Get Akinola fit and figure out whats going on with Arnold.

If I see a makeshift side with 3 at the back at Borehamwood, I'm gonna be ****ed. I get today, they had limited time and a few injuries. Its fine who they picked, no issue, but it should have made it crystal clear we CANNOT play that way, so please... PLEASE.... dont do it again! Hope the guys put their own stamp on the team rather than going with Brown's 3 at the back and a totally immobile midfield.

Its a huge week.

Agree and Seaden is the first position that needs replacing, especially as Arnold doesn’t seem to be able to string many together.
He has had so many chances to impress and just gets it wrong every time……loan keeper in this week required!

 

[Floval Flyer]

I guess the game v Dover being postponed by a week is a blessing. I seemed to have missed why it was deferred though? Anyone able to enlighten me.

 

[graingerroad54]

I guess the game v Dover being postponed by a week is a blessing. I seemed to have missed why it was deferred though? Anyone able to enlighten me.

What is going on at Dover, are they in a better position than last year or is it going to be a repeat?

 

[OldBlueLady]

I guess the game v Dover being postponed by a week is a blessing. I seemed to have missed why it was deferred though? Anyone able to enlighten me.

Was literally about to say the same thing about the match. A clear week to work on the players in training.

I think it's rumoured covid, but not seen that confirmed.

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

I guess the game v Dover being postponed by a week is a blessing. I seemed to have missed why it was deferred though? Anyone able to enlighten me.

Because Dover have a cup re-run against Yate Town. They decided not to play the first game against them last minute in controversial circumstances, with fans in the ground. Yate should’ve got a bye if you ask me. But yeah, might suit us actually.

 

[Floval Flyer]

I think it’s harsh to single out young Harry Seaden, as our weakest link. Agree he isn’t really ready, but from what I heard he was terribly abused by a small minority yesterday. Shame on them, remember Ted Smith?

Harry has no protection, as our defence is totally depleted through injury. He’s not the problem.

Please don’t destroy another young lads career before it’s even started.

 

[Murkey_Mouse]

I think it’s harsh to single out young Harry Seaden, as our weakest link. Agree he isn’t really ready, but from what I heard he was terribly abused by a small minority yesterday. Shame on them, remember Ted Smith?

Harry has no protection, as our defence is totally depleted through injury. He’s not the problem.

Please don’t destroy another young lads career before it’s even started.

He is Basildon Utd level!

 

[harveyoe]

Good idea! If we could loan him to Basildon, he would gain the experience of playing behind a defence.

 

[Wingnut]

Your only as good as the defence in front of you