fbm
Blue tinted optimist⭐
Ok, the morning after. Going out of the cup is a pain and takes away the opportunity of some much needed revenue. But lets look at a few facts.
We are 7th in the league and ok position wise. The away form is good, up there with the best in the division. It's the home form that is poor.
The Cup performance bears no relation to league form. I recall when we won the D4 championship in 1981, we were awesome at home, only conceding 4 goals all season and unbeaten in the league. We drew Hereford at home in the FA Cup round 1. They were near the bottom of the league at the time and we lost 1-0. There is no correlation between league and cup form.
There aren't enough goals in the team. That's a very simple truth. Brown has tried to resolve this and has been really unlucky in the last couple of weeks with what he has tried to do. To bring in a player of the calibre of Elliott Lee was a real coup and we wouldn't have got him if Brown wasn't so high profile. That's a plus. He wanted Barnard to get games so loaned him out as well as the other young strikers. Nothing wrong with that. To lose Lee after half an hour of the first training session is awful luck and no-one's fault. The rules don't permit us to recall the loaned players so we are stuck with Corr, Coulthirst and Weston for a month. We have to make the best of it.
The crowd are angry and yesterday, as I said on another thread, was the worst Roots Hall has been for years, probably since the Jobson era. Even prior to the Worrall substitution, there was not a great deal of encouragement for the players. They look nervy and anxious and we essentially have a young side. Let's remember, they don't do this on purpose... they will want to win.
But I think we have a pivotal week or so and it all hinges around Brown's contract.
I think this is actually unsettling for everyone. It seems more than co-incidence that since the talk all started a few weeks ago we've barely won a game. The team I saw at York I cannot believe is the same one currently playing. There needs to be a decision one way or the other.
Does Ron put the deal to bed and end the uncertainty?
If he says to Brown the form has to turn around first, then the unsettling atmosphere continues and I can't see us coming out of it at the moment... there is too much negativity.
But let's say he pulls the trigger and gets rid of Brown. Who on earth do we bring in? Does he promote Penney and Coughlan? What available managers would do a better job?
It's a tough one. It's all well and good saying go Brown but the alternative could be worse... and don't say it couldn't, because remember, we are 7th in the league and there are plenty of decent ex-league sides that can't get out of the Conference.
Personally, if it were me, I think I would end the uncertainty and get the contract done. I do feel the players that we have are decent enough and they have shown that they can play decent football. Corr can score goals given the right service, Worrall looks decent, we know what Hurst can do (he just needs to get on and do it!), we have Payne coming through, Lenny and Timlin can chip in. I do feel that we need a stronger spine of the team and I don't think Prosser is good enough to be the main centre back. Coker will be back soon and again, our form has dipped since he got injured. I'm sure we will recall Barnard and hopefully he will have banged in a few and found his form.
As for the crowd, we need to step up the support a bit, to be more encouraging rather than slagging them off all game every time something doesn't go well. After all, we want them to win, don't we?
Hartlepool is another game. Come on you Blues.
We are 7th in the league and ok position wise. The away form is good, up there with the best in the division. It's the home form that is poor.
The Cup performance bears no relation to league form. I recall when we won the D4 championship in 1981, we were awesome at home, only conceding 4 goals all season and unbeaten in the league. We drew Hereford at home in the FA Cup round 1. They were near the bottom of the league at the time and we lost 1-0. There is no correlation between league and cup form.
There aren't enough goals in the team. That's a very simple truth. Brown has tried to resolve this and has been really unlucky in the last couple of weeks with what he has tried to do. To bring in a player of the calibre of Elliott Lee was a real coup and we wouldn't have got him if Brown wasn't so high profile. That's a plus. He wanted Barnard to get games so loaned him out as well as the other young strikers. Nothing wrong with that. To lose Lee after half an hour of the first training session is awful luck and no-one's fault. The rules don't permit us to recall the loaned players so we are stuck with Corr, Coulthirst and Weston for a month. We have to make the best of it.
The crowd are angry and yesterday, as I said on another thread, was the worst Roots Hall has been for years, probably since the Jobson era. Even prior to the Worrall substitution, there was not a great deal of encouragement for the players. They look nervy and anxious and we essentially have a young side. Let's remember, they don't do this on purpose... they will want to win.
But I think we have a pivotal week or so and it all hinges around Brown's contract.
I think this is actually unsettling for everyone. It seems more than co-incidence that since the talk all started a few weeks ago we've barely won a game. The team I saw at York I cannot believe is the same one currently playing. There needs to be a decision one way or the other.
Does Ron put the deal to bed and end the uncertainty?
If he says to Brown the form has to turn around first, then the unsettling atmosphere continues and I can't see us coming out of it at the moment... there is too much negativity.
But let's say he pulls the trigger and gets rid of Brown. Who on earth do we bring in? Does he promote Penney and Coughlan? What available managers would do a better job?
It's a tough one. It's all well and good saying go Brown but the alternative could be worse... and don't say it couldn't, because remember, we are 7th in the league and there are plenty of decent ex-league sides that can't get out of the Conference.
Personally, if it were me, I think I would end the uncertainty and get the contract done. I do feel the players that we have are decent enough and they have shown that they can play decent football. Corr can score goals given the right service, Worrall looks decent, we know what Hurst can do (he just needs to get on and do it!), we have Payne coming through, Lenny and Timlin can chip in. I do feel that we need a stronger spine of the team and I don't think Prosser is good enough to be the main centre back. Coker will be back soon and again, our form has dipped since he got injured. I'm sure we will recall Barnard and hopefully he will have banged in a few and found his form.
As for the crowd, we need to step up the support a bit, to be more encouraging rather than slagging them off all game every time something doesn't go well. After all, we want them to win, don't we?
Hartlepool is another game. Come on you Blues.
