Jolley back under pressure

I read this earlier in Codalmighty and thought it pertinent. Something needs to change, and fast.

http://www.codalmighty.com/site/ca.php?article=6909

I've tried and I've tried to think the best of John Fenty and his merry band of 'yes' men but I've got to the point where I can make no more excuses for 16 years of consistent inadequacy. This isn't Jolley's fault. It wasn't Bignot's or Woods' or maybe even Slade's. Maybe not Rodger's or Newell's, certainly not Hurst.

One common denominator, one defunct football club.

I’m afraid I’ve been left with no alternative to come to the conclusion that MJ is out of his depth
We are going backwards
I don’t have an outfield player who I relate to
I really don’t have an answer
All I / we cling to is hope
We will suffer same plight as York or Torquay etc if tough and strong decisions aren’t made soon
We don’t look like a team at all
We are so slow
Tough been a Mariner at this time

Quoted from ginnywings

I read this earlier in Codalmighty and thought it pertinent. Something needs to change, and fast.

http://www.codalmighty.com/site/ca.php?article=6909

Yes I agree.

I wasn't there tonight, but I was at Cambridge on Saturday.

I was thinking about last season's game at Cambridge and how we have changed since then. Last time we were dreadful. This time we were awful. So you could say that there has been some improvement.

Last time was the first game after Slade was sacked and the entire team was pretty much a shambles. (Macca excepted). This year we looked more organised at the back, though still pretty vulnerable on occasion. We certainly put in more effort all over the pitch this time. But crucially we still have no more creativity in midfield or threat in attack.

Bear in mind that the team that turned up in last season's fixture was, according to the form table, the worst team in the country, and had been for some time. So being slightly better now is a disaster.  I say that because last year we had thirty odd points on the board by the New Year and that buffer kept us out of the drop zone despite a twenty game winless run. Right now we are four points off the drop zone having played  a game more than the team in 23rd place.  It's clear that with the current level of performance we are likely to be in the drop zone by Christmas.

We might just get away with a shaky defence if we had a strong midfield capable to shielding them, and capable of winning and holding possession. Unfortunately we see a proliferation of bad passing, and a habit gifting possession to the opposition that keeps us on the back foot and exposing our defensive frailties. There is also no creativity going forward. There is very little movement off the ball to ensure a pass is on for whoever has the ball.

The side lacks pace and composure in the final third. Poor decision making time and time again. The lack of quality is shocking. We can gripe about individuals and the mistakes they make. But the big picture is that we have a squad of very poor players. Despite a couple of good games now and then, we didn't really think  Woolford, Dixon and Collins were good enough last season yet they were all in the squad tonight. Welsh looks beyond his sell by date. Rose is in and out of form. Clifton is not the finished article yet and it's unfair to place such a heavy burden on him at this stage.

As a priority I think we need some better midfield players. I happen to think Thomas, Embleton and Vernam can be a threat going forward if they get some service. But unless we shore up the middle of the park we are only going one way this season.

We probably can't afford a huge influx of players in January. But if we could sign a couple of good central midfield players and perhaps a speedy winger I think we can transform our fortunes. Maybe Whitehouse might be nearing fitness and could come into the reckoning in the new year.  

Luckily the standard in L2 is pretty poor, so a relatively small number of good additions could be enough to at least make sure we stay up. But I'm afraid any thoughts of play offs or promotion look totally delusional given our current squad.          

Thing about that article, it looks like too much hyperbole to me. As are so many posts in this forum tonight. We know Mansfield have a richer owner than us and pay higher wages, but are we really below most other teams in the division in terms of wages paid? A good few of them, certainly, but most? I wouldn't know for sure (neither does anybody) but I'd guess not.

We've got too many mediocre players, not enough pace and not enough strength but I can't help but feel that there has been a massive overreaction tonight. We're playing poorly have a poor away record and were playing a team well above us in the table with one of the stronger home records. Didn't play anything like well enough by all accounts but then it was hardly a capitulation of the type seen at Bury or in a couple of home games this season. I didn't expect much tonight and neither did anybody else before the game so the outpouring of angst following a narrow defeat is a bit too much for me.

At present, it seems there are a few teams who are worse than us (or at the very least just as bad) in this division. With almost two thirds of the season yet to play, I'm hoping that we can find another run of form to drag us away from the relegation spaces by Christmas before seeing what happens in the January transfer window.

Unlike many on the forum, I do think Jolley has a lot to answer for with many of our problems this season as the squad he assembled is unbalanced and lacking in many areas - both lightweight and slow isn't a winning combination. I know his hands were tied to some degree with the players already under contract, but he's signed and re-signed enough players to take most of the responsibility (Mills is a better defender than RHJ, for example). Obviously, I don't know if his hands were also tied due to the budget available but I'd imagine a good chunk has gone on the wages of Woolford, Welsh and Collins and at least two of these three shouldn't have been signed.

There's no prospect of a change at boardroom level so I'm not going to exercise myself on that whole topic.

Quoted from RonMariner

It's clear that with the current level of performance we are likely to be in the drop zone by Christmas.

One point to note is that the three teams currently below us are in even worse form than we are. And some of those just above us in the table aren't much better. We only have to be less bad than two of those teams.

We certainly need to improve, no arguing about that, but we're not the worst team in the division at present. You have to hold on to these little crumbs of comfort.

Quoted from Maringer

Thing about that article, it looks like too much hyperbole to me. As are so many posts in this forum tonight. We know Mansfield have a richer owner than us and pay higher wages, but are we really below most other teams in the division in terms of wages paid? A good few of them, certainly, but most? I wouldn't know for sure (neither does anybody) but I'd guess not.

We've got too many mediocre players, not enough pace and not enough strength but I can't help but feel that there has been a massive overreaction tonight. We're playing poorly have a poor away record and were playing a team well above us in the table with one of the stronger home records. Didn't play anything like well enough by all accounts but then it was hardly a capitulation of the type seen at Bury or in a couple of home games this season. I didn't expect much tonight and neither did anybody else before the game so the outpouring of angst following a narrow defeat is a bit too much for me.

At present, it seems there are a few teams who are worse than us (or at the very least just as bad) in this division. With almost two thirds of the season yet to play, I'm hoping that we can find another run of form to drag us away from the relegation spaces by Christmas before seeing what happens in the January transfer window.

Unlike many on the forum, I do think Jolley has a lot to answer for with many of our problems this season as the squad he assembled is unbalanced and lacking in many areas - both lightweight and slow isn't a winning combination. I know his hands were tied to some degree with the players already under contract, but he's signed and re-signed enough players to take most of the responsibility (Mills is a better defender than RHJ, for example). Obviously, I don't know if his hands were also tied due to the budget available but I'd imagine a good chunk has gone on the wages of Woolford, Welsh and Collins and at least two of these three shouldn't have been signed.

There's no prospect of a change at boardroom level so I'm not going to exercise myself on that whole topic.

Narrow defeat.....on the score sheet but for 3 cracking saves by Macca ...woodwork....desperate defending and riding our luck could have been more......now I can swallow losing by a goal to what was probably a higher budget, top end team in our division...but we also lost to a single goal against a poor struggling side on Saturday as well...
And what we all can see is we have not at any point this season looked like smashing goals in with any regularity...tonight I would say we played one decent cross into the box...played one good ball through to the striker and without the defender turning the ball into his own net I doubt we would have scored either....no pace...little quality..and that is what is depressing...we just don't have anything to get behind...play well and we just might not lose....hardly inspiring

I think the bigger problem is 53 goals in 63 games since the start of last season. That is desperate. 2nd fewest goals last season, fewest so far this season. We haven't addressed our root issue (in terms of football at least) and I fear it could come be our killer this year.

Would / Could Sam Jones coming back help?