Season so far

Has gone as well as i expected.

We had an average team last season, that once PPG taken into account etc, we finished 15th out of 24th, which is about right for the team we had.

We was 21st when Holloway come in.
He made a difference with majority of the same team than Jolley - So we've improved on that basis

Then Corona hit, and made any plans Ollie had, change very quickly.

i don't feel our team has changed much, in where i would expect us to finish.

Fitness side:
we've made 8 permanent signings.
4 from non-league, where they haven't had full time training etc, so fitness will be lower than the standard we are use to
Mohsni hasn't been playing so again, fitness lower than should be.
Scanell wasn't playing at Blackpool...
Williams was on his way back from an injury i believe

Quality of players:
Mohsni hasn't played, so can't compare him to Harry Davis who we lost
He wanted to keep Vernam & Clarke but they didn't want to stay - Are Williams and Scanell any better?
Released Hess - Early signs to me, are that Rose is a better player
Released Cardwell & Rose, Who i didn't rate - got Gibson who is raw, but looks to have potential, Ira Jackson and Sisay, who haven't played

We've got loads of loans, and so far Preston looks solid, Windsor has potential, and we are missing Edwards already.
The rest haven't stood out to be making a difference

We currently sit in 16th with a game in hand on most, so similar to last season.

Holloway is trying to get the team playing, which at this level, is going to take longer to get in place, than the standard Holloway is use to.

The last thing we should be doing is moaning about our players passing it around the defence and midfield.

I'm not saying Holloway is doing great, but he's also not doing poor like many people are stating.

I think Edwards coming back will make a real difference, and I think he's back training now.

His end product is nowhere near good enough, but he occupies 2 or 3 defenders which creates space for other players. It's no coincidence to me that Preston looks worse without him in front of him. If somebody like Bennett, Williams or Scannell get a bit of space, they have the quality to unlock defences.

Before the season started, everybody seemed to have the expectation that we'd be a mid table side this season, and that's what we look like.

Quoted from pen penfras

I think Edwards coming back will make a real difference, and I think he's back training now.

His end product is nowhere near good enough, but he occupies 2 or 3 defenders which creates space for other players. It's no coincidence to me that Preston looks worse without him in front of him. If somebody like Bennett, Williams or Scannell get a bit of space, they have the quality to unlock defences.

Before the season started, everybody seemed to have the expectation that we'd be a mid table side this season, and that's what we look like.

When you are a mid table side you go through spells where the play offs look like a real possibility and spells where you start to worry about being dragged into a relegation fight.

We should have a lot more time on the grass this week though. No pre-match meeting for Ollie to do 4 times over. Hopefully he does something Saturday as we play like strangers at times and need to make the most of our free weekend.

I get the COVID but, losing Chas, Clarke, Hess etc and the wage stuff can’t help talent attraction but quite honestly I’m still feeling like I’m waiting for this season to start as on the pitch it still looks a bit pre season.

The continual bashing of the young players IH has brought in from a number of the usual suspects on here shows a lack of realistic thinking . The non league signings will take a lot longer than a handful of games to get to grips with the professional game while the lads signed from the cosy world of U23 football will take a while getting their heads and bodies around physical L2 football . Not all of these 2 groups will be a success but I’m pleased that as a club we’re looking for these type of players . I’ve seen enough in games so far that once they’ve settled in , our more experienced players are back, we’ll be ok and come through this season with a group of players we can add to and have a go next season. I’m really not bothered with promotion this season as it’s just a write off this year .

From a purely selfish perspective I am happy for town to win more than they lose this season and hopefully finish in the top half. Whilst always wanting the team to win part of me would resent missing out if we were up near the top of the league pushing for promotion as when this does happen ( optimistic outlook) I want this done in front of our fans and particularly my son so he can experience that euphoria we’ve been fortunate to enjoy albeit too infrequently and too long ago.

Good analysis Jarmo.

It’s a fair assessment but we’re always another transfer window away from success, or so it seems.

I think the openness about our approach to contracts during Covid, whilst praised by some, has clearly had a negative impact. I don’t believe for a minute some of the players brought in from lower down the pyramid would’ve arrived here in a more traditional season. I also think Holloway realises perhaps, that some of them aren’t good enough. We’ve barely seen some of them, they have to be fit now, if they’re not, they never will be.

I think plenty of us knew we’d be mid table/bottom third for many a reason. I wasn’t convinced by Holloway personally but as with any manager you have to give them a chance. In reality though I don’t think it will matter who our manager is, Covid or no Covid, ambition has to start at the top or any organisation and the club as a whole seems happy to just plod.

Prior to Covid, existing seemed enough. Which is fine, but in the end it tends to end and something negative will happen. You don’t have to break the bank to be competitive.

I actually thought that, assuming Covid hadn’t become such an issue, that Holloway would eventually part ways due to that lack of ambition but I guess we’ll never really know.

There are naturally some positives and some players have looked sharp and whilst we’ve made mistakes, I don’t have an issue with playing it about or playing out from the back; the mistakes we’ve made aren’t the fault of the style, more the players just not doing something many of us would recognise as a basic element to their job.

We can blame Macca for their second at the weekend or we can look at a midfielder who’s job is to play with the ball seemingly panic at the sight of the spherical object and make a mistake. That’s like a doctor being scared of a patient, a fish filliter scared of knives and so on.

Will we improve? Who knows? It’s clear that a fair fee in and out of the club seem happy for this season just to fizzle out and for nothing to really happen, which is fine, but surely if that’s the viewpoint, even wasting ones time to watch us is verging on pointless as clearly the result, in a results based business has become irrelevant.

Quoted from louth_in_the_south

The continual bashing of the young players IH has brought in from a number of the usual suspects on here shows a lack of realistic thinking . The non league signings will take a lot longer than a handful of games to get to grips with the professional game while the lads signed from the cosy world of U23 football will take a while getting their heads and bodies around physical L2 football . Not all of these 2 groups will be a success but I’m pleased that as a club we’re looking for these type of players . I’ve seen enough in games so far that once they’ve settled in , our more experienced players are back, we’ll be ok and come through this season with a group of players we can add to and have a go next season. I’m really not bothered with promotion this season as it’s just a write off this year .

We should be aiming for promotion every season. Being happy with mediocrity all the time is one of the reasons we are so poor. We need a winning mentality from top to bottom.

Quoted from realist

We should be aiming for promotion every season. Being happy with mediocrity all the time is one of the reasons we are so poor. We need a winning mentality from top to bottom.

I mean, having a positive turnover for the year during a pandemic is a lot better than getting promoted to go bust a few months later...

Sometimes you have to be happy to have a club at the end of the season...

The season so far has been the same as normal a few highs a few lows.

The younger players who came from non league will not be ready to start regularly this season and I understand that.

What has been disappointing for me is the experience players we brought in who came injured or very unfit.

Thats an excellent point Pete

Quoted from aldi_01

It’s a fair assessment but we’re always another transfer window away from success, or so it seems.

I think the openness about our approach to contracts during Covid, whilst praised by some, has clearly had a negative impact. I don’t believe for a minute some of the players brought in from lower down the pyramid would’ve arrived here in a more traditional season. I also think Holloway realises perhaps, that some of them aren’t good enough. We’ve barely seen some of them, they have to be fit now, if they’re not, they never will be.

I think plenty of us knew we’d be mid table/bottom third for many a reason. I wasn’t convinced by Holloway personally but as with any manager you have to give them a chance. In reality though I don’t think it will matter who our manager is, Covid or no Covid, ambition has to start at the top or any organisation and the club as a whole seems happy to just plod.

Prior to Covid, existing seemed enough. Which is fine, but in the end it tends to end and something negative will happen. You don’t have to break the bank to be competitive.

I actually thought that, assuming Covid hadn’t become such an issue, that Holloway would eventually part ways due to that lack of ambition but I guess we’ll never really know.

There are naturally some positives and some players have looked sharp and whilst we’ve made mistakes, I don’t have an issue with playing it about or playing out from the back; the mistakes we’ve made aren’t the fault of the style, more the players just not doing something many of us would recognise as a basic element to their job.

We can blame Macca for their second at the weekend or we can look at a midfielder who’s job is to play with the ball seemingly panic at the sight of the spherical object and make a mistake. That’s like a doctor being scared of a patient, a fish filliter scared of knives and so on.

Will we improve? Who knows? It’s clear that a fair fee in and out of the club seem happy for this season just to fizzle out and for nothing to really happen, which is fine, but surely if that’s the viewpoint, even wasting ones time to watch us is verging on pointless as clearly the result, in a results based business has become irrelevant.

I know it seems like a "transfer window from success" but apart from Hurst I don't think any of the previous few or subsequent managers have had more than 2 transfer windows to acquire a full squad to their liking. Continuity is the key to success, not only in the team week on week, but also the manager and his squad.

Quoted from rancido

I know it seems like a "transfer window from success" but apart from Hurst I don't think any of the previous few or subsequent managers have had more than 2 transfer windows to acquire a full squad to their liking. Continuity is the key to success, not only in the team week on week, but also the manager and his squad.

Agree with this !!

We have been stuck in a rut for years and our spell with Hurst was probably the only exception. We have had a huge turnover of players culminated by managerial changes, 1 year contracts and loan signings.

We seem to get caught in the cycle of manager gets appointed, signs a few players, up turn in results and then the summer hits. We lose some key names, rebuild with practically a new team, poor start to the year, new players are underwhelming then manager gets sacked...repeat cycle over and over.

On the initial post, I agree as well. It feels many think IH should have us at the right end of the League because said manager is an ex Premier League manager with a book of connections. Unfortunately when you are managing on a tight budget even before a global pandemic hits then I'm sure he is going to struggle to convince the Jason Puncheon's, Omar Bogle's and Charlie Adam's of the world to come and take a monumental pay cut to play in League Two.

I don't like the idea of hounding Ollie on these results because what else more can you really expect at this stage? and I mean who else would really come in and be a better option? I don't need to elaborate too much as the first post sums up the current situation with the playing squad, the manager needs time to build his own team and as they say "Rome wasn't built in a day", I think he even said upon making the signings he had that he won't get them all right, he always gets at least one wrong, he said.

My only slight worry at this stage is with a squad so large, how are they coping with only two coaches (not including Russell). It must be pretty tiring for Ollie and Davies to run the whole ship, I was quite surprised that Holloway didn't move to appoint an Assistant, or at least bring in an experienced coach with him when he took the job, No disrepect to Ben Davies, he is a very young an inexperienced coach, as with Sam Russell, I wonder if bringing in a seasoned coach to work under them would at least take the pressure off?  

Either way, trust the process.

The season so far where do we start , first & foremost excrement pre season set the tone for what's happened since & i don't blame covid for that but 99% of teams managed pre season perfectly , too much messing about with team/ formations 3/5/2 one week 4/3/3 week after ,resting players after one or two games , why? repeatedly saying we played well when we as fans know differant , think ollie been lucky so far i'v seen town managers in past with a better record than his get pelters, he needs to settle on his best 11 & play em week in week out & remember it's league 2 , i know most succesfull teams at our level don't mess with team week after week , do not say players can't do two games a week , come on ollie your reps on the line here prove me & many more on this forum wrong & get us firing you signed the strikers excluding green & hanson..

For me if you could stop faffing about with team selection and start putting  together your strongest 18 then presuming when everyone is fit the below still doesnt look bad to me. I have a feeling that Gibson will come good as well.

Macca
Hendrie
Waterfall
Pollock
Preston
Rose
Bennett
Tilley
William's
Windsor
Edward's
Subs
Battersby, Hanson, Gibson, Wright, Clifton, Ohman, Scannell/Green

Quoted from chipsandgravy

For me if you could stop faffing about with team selection and start putting  together your strongest 18 then presuming when everyone is fit the below still doesnt look bad to me. I have a feeling that Gibson will come good as well.

Macca
Hendrie
Waterfall
Pollock
Preston
Rose
Bennett
Tilley
William's
Windsor
Edward's
Subs
Battersby, Hanson, Gibson, Wright, Clifton, Ohman, Scannell/Green

Think many fans keep forgetting Hewitt who would certainly make the subs bench and may yet prove a more than adequate option in our midfield.

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Think many fans keep forgetting Hewitt who would certainly make the subs bench and may yet prove a more than adequate option in our midfield.

Yes, guilty as charged. A good option for the squad.

How can Ollie pick his best eleven ffs when most of them have injuries. We have to wait and be patient and in the mean time we're still picking up points in the league. UTM!

Quoted from oochiad

How can Ollie pick his best eleven ffs when most of them have injuries. We have to wait and be patient and in the mean time we're still picking up points in the league. UTM!

FFS? I did say "when everyone is fit". The point I was making is when they are I think there is a decent team in there!!

Quoted from Lincoln Mariner 56

Think many fans keep forgetting Hewitt who would certainly make the subs bench and may yet prove a more than adequate option in our midfield.

Entirely agree

With this little break from competitive games ( hull don't count)

There's a good chance we might have a nearly full squad available for Ollie to choose from when we play our next league game.