fbm
Blue tinted optimist⭐
Over the last month or so, we have had much discussion on this board as to the pro's and cons of Maher, Constantine, Warren, Cort and Flahavan, whether we would be bothered if they were to stay or go.
So, lets sum up; (and these are not all necessarily my opinions personally, just what I have gleaned from various posters opinions)
Maher - pro - Gives his all, solid in a defensive/holding role, ball winner
Against - scores few goals, not commanding enough as skipper, rarely passes forwards
Constantine - pro - Has scored 25 goals
Against - Never looks like scoring - therefore possibly this season is a fluke?
Warren - pro - commanding, passionate, monster tackler, fans favourite
Against - injury prone and getting on a bit
Cort - pro - Superb in the air
Against - lousy at everything else and hoofs it too much
Flahavan - pro - Great shot stopper and very agile
Against - Rarely comes off his line and doesn't command his box. Also about 4 inches too short
One of the recurring comments I have read when discussing any individual is that
"there are 10 other players on the pitch"
Well, yes, that is true... but there's nearly half a team listed above, who, if they were all so great, would surely be enough to carry a poor side into mediocrity or a mediocre side into something semi decent.
So, with a few decent players around that core, you might then expect the side to be pretty good, wouldn't you?
But then we HAVE got some decent players in the team. Gower, Dudfield, Hunt, Bentley, Pettefer... I personally rate Jupp as a right back but I know that some fans haven't taken to him, and there's Nicolau who looks good but is actually unproven and prone to the odd howler, Bramble and Broughton who haven't had the greatest of seasons, Smith who was pretty darn good before he got injured... hang on! This is a decent side! A few question marks, sure, but there should be 8 or 9 who pick themselves.
Even allowing for the settling in period for the new team, and the fact that we had a managerial change in November, this was still long enough to put together a decent run and get into play off contention. I mean, Northampton managed it... and Boston only started their run after we demolishd them at their place, when they looked relegation certs to be honest.
So how come we only finished 17th (and actually, had other results gone against us, we could have been even lower!)?
Something is wrong. There is a general feeling that a strong spine of the team equals success... well, the five players listed at the top ARE the spine of the team, with the possible exception of Constantine who spent some time wide right.
No Div 3 player (in fact any player at all) is perfect and they all have strengths and weaknesses. It would be no good replacing Flahavan with a big keeper who makes schoolboy howlers like Mel Capleton, for instance. I mean, we had one of those in Emberson.
But clearly there is something in the blend that is not right. Dave Webb worked on this theory... he wanted players to do certain jobs, and focused on improving their positives so that they became even more valuable in that particular area rather than trying to improve their weaknesses; in other words, he was more bothered about what they could do rather than what they couldn't.
Now it may be that Tilly, having served under Webb, is adopting the same philosophy. I don't know. But I think we need some work on strengthening the spine in order to become a decent side. Andy Edwards I believe will be a positive asset, so the work has begun. Depending on Cort and Warren we may need another defender or two.
But either way, the blend needs changing... we concede far too many goals and cannot rely on scoring 3 every time we need to win a game.
Maybe this explains why some people would not be too upset at the departure of certain players. It will force a change in the mix.
So, lets sum up; (and these are not all necessarily my opinions personally, just what I have gleaned from various posters opinions)
Maher - pro - Gives his all, solid in a defensive/holding role, ball winner
Against - scores few goals, not commanding enough as skipper, rarely passes forwards
Constantine - pro - Has scored 25 goals
Against - Never looks like scoring - therefore possibly this season is a fluke?
Warren - pro - commanding, passionate, monster tackler, fans favourite
Against - injury prone and getting on a bit
Cort - pro - Superb in the air
Against - lousy at everything else and hoofs it too much
Flahavan - pro - Great shot stopper and very agile
Against - Rarely comes off his line and doesn't command his box. Also about 4 inches too short
One of the recurring comments I have read when discussing any individual is that
"there are 10 other players on the pitch"
Well, yes, that is true... but there's nearly half a team listed above, who, if they were all so great, would surely be enough to carry a poor side into mediocrity or a mediocre side into something semi decent.
So, with a few decent players around that core, you might then expect the side to be pretty good, wouldn't you?
But then we HAVE got some decent players in the team. Gower, Dudfield, Hunt, Bentley, Pettefer... I personally rate Jupp as a right back but I know that some fans haven't taken to him, and there's Nicolau who looks good but is actually unproven and prone to the odd howler, Bramble and Broughton who haven't had the greatest of seasons, Smith who was pretty darn good before he got injured... hang on! This is a decent side! A few question marks, sure, but there should be 8 or 9 who pick themselves.
Even allowing for the settling in period for the new team, and the fact that we had a managerial change in November, this was still long enough to put together a decent run and get into play off contention. I mean, Northampton managed it... and Boston only started their run after we demolishd them at their place, when they looked relegation certs to be honest.
So how come we only finished 17th (and actually, had other results gone against us, we could have been even lower!)?
Something is wrong. There is a general feeling that a strong spine of the team equals success... well, the five players listed at the top ARE the spine of the team, with the possible exception of Constantine who spent some time wide right.
No Div 3 player (in fact any player at all) is perfect and they all have strengths and weaknesses. It would be no good replacing Flahavan with a big keeper who makes schoolboy howlers like Mel Capleton, for instance. I mean, we had one of those in Emberson.
But clearly there is something in the blend that is not right. Dave Webb worked on this theory... he wanted players to do certain jobs, and focused on improving their positives so that they became even more valuable in that particular area rather than trying to improve their weaknesses; in other words, he was more bothered about what they could do rather than what they couldn't.
Now it may be that Tilly, having served under Webb, is adopting the same philosophy. I don't know. But I think we need some work on strengthening the spine in order to become a decent side. Andy Edwards I believe will be a positive asset, so the work has begun. Depending on Cort and Warren we may need another defender or two.
But either way, the blend needs changing... we concede far too many goals and cannot rely on scoring 3 every time we need to win a game.
Maybe this explains why some people would not be too upset at the departure of certain players. It will force a change in the mix.
