Halfway

So we have now completed 23 of our 46 league games this season, with every team to play once again.  

The quality of the team's performances will be well debated on other threads, so how about a discussion on how we think this league has changed since our exile in 2010?

Also, of the new grounds we have visited so far, which has been your favourite?

And happy new year to everyone!

Only been to 4 games, performances to one side looking at the table I'm content. I was hoping for a play off push but mid table is a sensible realistic target.. Look forward to seeing a pre season under Bignot with a majority of his own squad he picks (obviously some have 2 year deals)

A couple of shots below par, solid start, despite the handicap of losing nearly everyone who was here last year

I think we are doing ok but with plenty of room for improvement. League 2 is either better than it was or just better than i remember it being due to being away too long. Can't decide which.

Quoted from ginnywings

I think we are doing ok but with plenty of room for improvement. League 2 is either better than it was or just better than i remember it being due to being away too long. Can't decide which.

I think teams are fitter and we are playing against clubs who have 'been ahead' of us for 6 years. Certainly doing better than Cheltenham which makes our no-show against them in Hurst's last game even more galling.

If you asked me at the start of the season, I would have said I was happy with 12th in the table. But because we spent a brief spell in a play-off spot, I still (wrongly) feel a bit discouraged at our current table position.

Like most of us, I guess, I've spent the last 6 years thinking there was very little difference between the bottom half of league two and the top half of the conference. I think that may have been the case when we were relegated 6 years ago, but not any more.

In spite of our league position, I'm enjoying the faster, better quality football that we're seeing now. Yesterday's 0-0 game was far more entertaining to watch than a 0-0 draw with Guiseley in our wilderness years!

Quoted from wigworld

If you asked me at the start of the season, I would have said I was happy with 12th in the table. But because we spent a brief spell in a play-off spot, I still (wrongly) feel a bit discouraged at our current table position.

Like most of us, I guess, I've spent the last 6 years thinking there was very little difference between the bottom half of league two and the top half of the conference. I think that may have been the case when we were relegated 6 years ago, but not any more.

In spite of our league position, I'm enjoying the faster, better quality football that we're seeing now. Yesterday's 0-0 game was far more entertaining to watch than a 0-0 draw with Guiseley in our wilderness years!

I think that your thoughts on the bottom half of league 2 and the top of the conference are probably spot on. The bottom half of this league is weak and that's proved by how we are sat comfortably mid table without really playing very well. In the top half it certainly is of a higher quality, but not by as much as I had thought.

disappointed overall, while Hurst did my swede in with his defensive mindset, stubborness and lack of plan b i was sorry to see him leave us so soon after finally earning his League Manager status, i always felt his job would be easier in League 2 and we could push for play offs......him going has stalled our season and we are now in for an uncertain season and an MB rebuild in the summer.

Worryingly we use to dominate matches and make plenty of chances albeit not always converting them. Now we just contain teams but pose little or no threat. If anything I thought we would play a even more attacking game under Bignot

I've actually been quite impressed with the general level of ability of many of the teams we've played. Lots of skill and application in almost all of them. What most have been lacking is a real cutting edge up front which is something we've actually had (for all our other failings) in certain games where Bogle has been on form.

You can certainly see why big money is paid for strikers with that extra something to offer.

Quoted from Mrs Doyle

Worryingly we use to dominate matches and make plenty of chances albeit not always convert. Now we just contain teams but pose little or no threat. If anything I thought we would play a even more attacking game under Bignot

Apart from the second half against Stevenage, I haven't seen us dominate at home all season.

Pretty happy so far but there is definitely room for improvement. A good run saw us pushing for the play offs but the managerial change has killed that off for the time being. The league is so tight that a run of four wins in six could see us challenging again but likewise a poor run could put us in danger. I'm expecting Bignot will start to form his own squad in the other week and I'm hopeful that will provide an upturn in fortunes rather than the other way.

The only two teams I've thought were better than us (that I've seen) over ninety minutes were Pompey and Carlisle. I expect they will both be promoted. There have been a few teams who have looked good in patches though.

Individuals wise whilst Bogle is the obvious choice for player of the season honourable mentions go to Dannys Collins and Andrew. Andrew has had a tough season due to having to do the defensive work of two men at times while Collins is just a class player at this level - a really good signing by PH and good on GTFC for trying to extend beyond this season.

I said at the start of the season that I would be happy with a midtable finish with a foundation to build on for next season and that is being achieved so far.

I'd love to have seen this play off chasing, dominant side, making loads of chances under Hurst. We looked decent in a couple of games but i think people are looking back with some kind of member-eyed nostalgia to 8 weeks ago. We lost to Cheltenham in Hurst's last game, the team second from bottom. We lost to Crewe, Orient and Hartlepool at home and just about scraped a win against Newport, the bottom side. We were the first team to give Exeter a point at their place having lost all their previous home games to that point. We lost tamely at Wycombe and Colchester and failed to beat Notts County when they were there for the taking. I really am struggling to understand how people think we have gone from a good side to a bad one since MB came in. The only really disappointing result under Bignot has been the loss to Crawley IMO.

Bar Portsmouth I haven't seen anything in this league to trouble me. Carlisle were a good footballing side but we exploited an obvious soft underbelly as we rattled them for a long period. Doncaster produced one moment of quality and showed nothing else all game. Plymouth looked half decent first half but they crumbled under pressure and lacked ideas after we scored.

Crewe looked a half decent outfit. Had some good players, dominated our midfield, but we did have a clearly onside goal disallowed and a rugby tackle not given as a penalty. Notts County gifted us two goals but we looked like we would have scored lots more that afternoon, they showed some desire and fight, I'm surprised they're down at the bottom. Orient benefitted from our profligate finishing and costly errors but didn't look anything special. Nor did Wycombe, another game we should have at least drawn but a poor free kick given away and an inability to defend a long throw cost us big time.

Newport, Stevenage, Morecambe Mansfield and Accrington looked poor sides.

3-0 flattered Hartlepool and Podge was massively fired up. We again missed two good chances before their goal. Barnet looked utterly devoid of anything bar Akinde's wonderful propensity to win penalties. Cheltenham was a right off as the players were distracted, the management likewise and then we had two fingers stuck up at us with the "sniffer" Doig sent to blatantly lie to us. I lost a lot of respect for Hursty then, having previously defended him to edge of the earth. In wasn't at Luton, Colchester, Cambridge, Exeter, Crawley or Yeovil.

Marcus has come in, talked an excellent game, won at Plymouth and everything was rosy, I am too be convinced either way but I am perfectly happy to allow him at least 2 windows to get his own men in. What I would definitely say though is we always posed a threat under Hursty, we now look devoid of ideas bar passing the ball to Bogle the messiah and when you put 3 men on him, even he isn't that brilliant.

However, there doesn't appear to be a huge gap between top and bottom and the Conference looks a poor league in comparison. Cheltenham are a case in point as we are 10 points ahead of them and they basically have the same team.

So basically, all of Hurst's poor results can be explained away by refereeing decisions, poor defensive lapses and poor finishing but Bignot's losses are because he doesn't know what he is doing and only talks a good game, despite his run of fixtures being much tougher?

Looking back, if we had turned a few of our draws and losses into wins we could easily be in the play-offs or further. The Notts County game has to be my favourite, awesome songs, nice stadium and turnout, and crazy game where Notts missed a penalty.

I am happy with where we are, there are some good teams in this league and no walk overs.

We are back in the football league, we have a new manager who has come in and had to get to know the players, all of whom he hasn't signed. The new ground now looks more like it will go ahead than ever
and we are still within a chance of making the playoffs.  

I think we all would have settled for mid table after finally getting out of the conference., but after seeing the quality in league 2 we should really have pushed on for at least a playoff place by now.
I blame this on Hurst as he let too many players go, i think Arnold would have been decent at this level, certainly no worse than we have currently.
Defense id reasonable but we should be looking for a younger replacemant for Gowling as i think he has had his day tbh.
Center mid is my great concern at the moment, we really seem to struggle to get 2 players that can operate together in the middle with Summerfield and Berret being the worse that we have had there for some time, Craig Clay would have been better! Would like to see Venney get a few games there to try and develop him further.

Quoted from ginnywings

I think we are doing ok but with plenty of room for improvement. League 2 is either better than it was or just better than i remember it being due to being away too long. Can't decide which.

That's my thoughts too Ginny seems so much better than it was than perhaps it was just us remembering the good old days of the 2nd tier of footballl and thinking gawd isn't league 2 excrement and after 6 years in the excrement we really now know what sh@t really is

Quoted from crusty ole pie

That's my thoughts too Ginny seems so much better than it was than perhaps it was just us remembering the good old days of the 2nd tier of footballl and thinking gawd isn't league 2 excrement and after 6 years in the excrement we really now know what sh@t really is

Think you may be right Mr Pie. I suppose it depends what you are comparing it to but it's a bigger step up than a lot of us were imagining and i think we were right to have a big cull of the playing squad- Cheltenham's league position is showing that. I keep reading about all the players we should have kept from last season and then i look at them. On the other hand B.Rovers went straight through without changing personnel, so it's hard to say. We seem to be somewhere between those two, at least for the moment.

someone beat me t it saying about the run of games bignot came in to... Even the best manager in the wold wouldn't have got this team picking up many points in those games. He can only work with what he's been given.. I'm content and if I had a choice I'd prefer Bignot over Hurst as our manager. I feel he has that bit more to give and he gives us a good vibe and talks well. I just hope he walks the walk once he has a squad he has chosen, which I'm sure he will.

Quoted from MarinerDevil

So we have now completed 23 of our 46 league games this season, with every team to play once again.  

The quality of the team's performances will be well debated on other threads, so how about a discussion on how we think this league has changed since our exile in 2010?

Also, of the new grounds we have visited so far, which has been your favourite?

And happy new year to everyone!

one of the things that has suprised me though is the opposition strikers and a lack of real quality, now whether you can put that down to our own qualities in defence or the standard of striker but so far i havnt really seen anyone i have been massively impressed with.....Green at Mansfield gave us problems with his style but hardly threatend the goal and Podge scored when almost doing absolutely nothing else but other than that no one stands out for me. Obviously Akinde continues to be a menace but we have seen him previously.
I thought we have had bigger threats from the opposition strikers and wingers in non league than so far in this division.

We are where I hoped we would be this time last year, sat comfortably mid table with a small cushion above the bottom 2 and a run of form away from a play off place.

Unlike many I think PH did what he could to pull a squad together as did the board with a sensible budget, sorry to lose Podge, Arnold and Tait but they where all offered deals but chose not to stay with GTFC.

Missed a few games this year due to work commitments but from what I have seen we have often lost due to player error/poor defending or odd selection by both managers. So I am optimistic that we have learned from our mistakes. The recent defensive improvements have been encouraging. Worth noting though that some performances where abject before and after PH left.  

Looking at the first 23 games are we a play off side? No, why? because Omar apart we lack quality in the final 3rd of the pitch which isn't helped by a lack of cohesion & creativity in mid field.

Wishes for the next 23?

- We retain the ability to grind out results away, without wins at Cambridge, Plymouth, Mansfield & Luton we may have been in trouble.
- The home form improves, 3,000 season ticket holders deserve better than what we have seen..
-  The manager does his best with the players he has and we get behind them rather than making excuses about what we don't have.

UTM!

I've been lucky and not seen us lose yet in the flesh (Morecambe, Luton, Notts Co, Cambridge, Accrington) but highlights and footage of other games show the form, like the season, to be a bit unpredictable, much like the rest of the league.

The quality of the play is much better, and much faster than the conference and it's been nice to add three new away grounds to the list!

We seem to be like a lot of teams in the league, in that we're capable of beating the top sides one week, then losing to Cheltenham or Crawley the next.

This does give some hope though, as if we're able to keep the tight defence and improve the home form, we've every chance of getting to March in the top ten.  I think four or five the top seven are pretty nailed on now (Plymouth, Pompey, Donneh, Luton, Carlisle) so we're in with the likes of Wycombe, Cambridge, Blackpool, Colchester, Exeter for the remaining two or three slots.  As long as we can keep in touch, it'll come down to which clubs out of the chasing peloton is able to put together a run to get in the playoffs.

Quoted from ginnywings

Think you may be right Mr Pie. I suppose it depends what you are comparing it to but it's a bigger step up than a lot of us were imagining and i think we were right to have a big cull of the playing squad- Cheltenham's league position is showing that. I keep reading about all the players we should have kept from last season and then i look at them. On the other hand B.Rovers went straight through without changing personnel, so it's hard to say. We seem to be somewhere between those two, at least for the moment.

From what I have seen there is less reliance on the big lad up front than in previous years and some teams have mastered "playing football" and other have not. The standard of tactics looks better as well and coaches seem to know how to avoid losing and nullify sides from playing with a pressing game or shape change.  

The first touch of the players is better than the NL and the better sides keep their shape better in defence and mid field. Overall I think its a bigger jump than I expected in that in L2 you will come up against more decent/savvy sides than you do in non league.

Defense is mostly sound, midfield needs strengthening and at least one more out and out winger.

Yussuf looks good on one appearance, but both Jackson and Tuton looked the same in their first games.