The Players

Quoted from LH

Why does he keep picking them then?

Is the question ..

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

Is the question ..

Well name names then? I'm assuming Collins & who?

Quoted from jamesgtfc

Someone posted about "the enemy within" last week and everyone assumed it meant Limbrick. There were strong rumours that a gang of senior pro's went crying to the board about Bignot and got him the sack. 2 of those players remain and are an ever present when fit thus far.

I don’t know names but have strong suspicions whose being disruptive and limbrick isn’t one of them

6 defeats  on the trot with only one gaol scored is bad enough.

How long can we put up with this ?

i dont see the players not trying, or not giving a t0ss at all.

I see players with battered confidence.

I see players who have not built up any partnerships in key areas. (hardly suprising when they dont play more than a couple of games in the same line up)

I see a real lack of cohesion.

and today i saw a manager who doesnt know how to use his players and who appears to have lost confidence in himself.

Today was almost a carbon copy of the FGR game, lucky to get a half time lead but MJ didnt learn from a poor first half. Sent out the same team, same formation, same tempo for the second half...watched on as we continued to flounder and then reacted with subs when they had turned the game on its head.
MJ was quite quick to make changes to the system in his first few games here....he has started to hesitate and doubt himself i think...the constant tinkering of the starting 11 and today a 4-4-2 ....the most basic of formations....last week a very definate attempt to play for a point.

When the manager loses confidence the players arent going to get any help.

Quoted from HackneyHaddock

I wonder if any of them have any idea of the anguish they cause the fans week-in week-out?

Can't they look at the stands and see that they're getting turned over at home by teams bringing 70, 80 100 fans here when they get consistently backed by 500-1000 when they play away?  Doesn't that shame them just a little bit?

I recall a few seasons ago, Luton were on a dreadful run and their manager got a supporter to come (either onto the pitch or into the dressing room) to give a team talk, and tell the players what they mean to the fans.  

I look at a video today of an opposing player being allowed to run, unmolested from his own half to score and not one player even tried to tackle him.  Not "their bloke did well to ride some challenges and got a lucky break", but didn't even have to face a tackle.  Our players are on a winless run and should be defending a lead as if their lives depended on it.  Oates should have been cleaned up Benjamin Massing-style and been picking Lower Youngs red seat plastic out of his teeth.  

I'm at a loss as to what happens from here.  Does it take MJ to get a supporter in to go over this with the players and deliver some Poojah-style rant at them?  To call out individuals like Danny Collins and ask them what they hell they're doing?  Is MJ too nice and intelligent for them?  Because he's a bit younger and not played professionally do they think they get a free pass?  Because I'm damned sure Danny Collins wouldn't have dared defend like that if he was still playing for Big Sam or Roy Keane.

This. All of it. Agree completely.

Quoted from dapperz fun pub

Seems like a couple of senior players are causing problems and not Jolley signings by all accounts , having too much say on things

Hmmm. Read similar.

It starts with the warm up for me the complete lack of any intensity, variation or imagination and the players just going through the motions and taking that into the game. Out of the 4 managers we've had since the return to the EFL only under Hurst & Bignot did the players look happy, smiling in good humour and ready to go to work whilst warming up - That sits with the leadership amongst the staff and senior pros to get people going.

Similar to the Slade era after Notts County A things have gone South quickly since MK Dons but worryingly with a handful of points on the board, what could it be?

- Read Macca's interview with GET from last week again he intimated they need to be working harder in training, instead MJ took the players away this week to "take them out of their comfort zone"???    

- Picking players out of position, some can adapt some can't, some shut up and get on with it some shrink, some go through the motions. Many quite resent it.

- Leaving good players on the bench and starting ones who don't deserve the shirt. Big Mistake! That usually leads to doubting the manager "who has never played the game"....

- Swopping and changing every week, squads need to settle.

-  Getting what in [professional terms are average players working to a system and not a system that works to the players.

- Allowing players to walk back in and not earn a return.

- Over complicating things

All of the above is about man management, yes today the players where a disgrace IMHO and should be embarrassed that they didn't stand up and be counted when it mattered. Usually though if you keep it simple, train them hard and explain what you want they'll be competitive something today that we never where.


    

Quoted from Bigdog

The players look devoid of confidence and belief and I'm now pretty sure that it's down to the manager. We've got better players than second bottom of League Two. With the players we had available today he could have played the following team in a formation that he set out to play this season..

McKeown

Davis
Whitmore
Hendrie

RHJ
Rose
Embleton
Hessenthaler
Pringle

Vernam
Thomas

No Collins, no Woolford, no Welsh and players playing in familiar positions. This side is quicker and much more dynamic than the one we had today. If I'm scratching my head and being very doubtful before a game starts, trust me the players will have the same feelings. Any wonder they look lost and unconfident when they can't trust their boss, their manager, to pick the best side and formation available game after game, defeat after defeat? Collins and Woolford picked after their raft of poor performances and Welsh playing in a two with a back injury? Jolley is having a laugh and probably too much in awe of our older (very) senior pros.

Jolley is far more culpable than the players, another manager would get more out of them..

Bang on for me.......... feels like what MJ and his team haven't quite fathomed is that they are not dealing with programmed and compliant U23's or semi pros who have grown up to be told what to do and work within the culture & system that is imposed on them. In fact the majority of the squad are capable pro's who have been around the block a little or a lot and have therefore formed their own experience, opinions, views and have already done their apprenticeships,