Can't listen to Ollie.

One thing that's not been considered is that Ollie is targeting games.......he's rotating the team and looking for his best options against the teams at the top of the table and is prepared to lose those games so that we have the right eleven when we play teams in the bottom half where we reasonably can expect to pick up points.

I don't know if he's doing this but it's standard practice at a lot of clubs to set points targets for games based on what your overall target for the season is.

Maybe 0 points against FGR is a good result if we get 3 against Stevenage.

I don't like it, but I can live with it.

To Golly and others, the situation the whole country is in places understandable constraints on the club’s budget. We all accept that. The part we don’t get is why we didn’t have a proper pre-season.

I think Croxton’s hit the nail on the head with the phrase ‘critical friend’.

Quoted from GollyGTFC

I think we chose to hit the reset button though because of the current situation. In normal times we would have taken up contract options (Vernam etc..), offered new deals to existing out of contract players (Hessenthaler etc...), maybe offloaded players still under contract (Green etc...) and signed better quality players on higher wages.

I think the club decided that this season would be an opportunity to bring in a large number of inexperienced players and give them experience and a year to develop with the hope that normality would be restored for 2021/22, we could then sign some better quality players and then aim to be competitive at the top of League 2.

I think this is the most sensible post regards the current situation I've seen in a while.

It's best to take this season as a very extended pre-season, ironic considering we're bemoaning the lack of an actual pre-season.

Our young lads and those coming up from non-league will get an extended period to bed in and adjust to life as a professional.  The raft of loan lads are effectively on trial to see if we go for signing them again on loan next season.

Can understand those getting frustrated with Holloway's soundbites but more so the constant changes. It's good to keep things fresh but it just feels a bit much.  Probably made worse by the fact that the experienced lads brought in don't appear to either be fit and/or up to it.  

Quoted from diehardmariner

I think this is the most sensible post regards the current situation I've seen in a while.

It's best to take this season as a very extended pre-season, ironic considering we're bemoaning the lack of an actual pre-season.

Our young lads and those coming up from non-league will get an extended period to bed in and adjust to life as a professional.  The raft of loan lads are effectively on trial to see if we go for signing them again on loan next season.

Can understand those getting frustrated with Holloway's soundbites but more so the constant changes. It's good to keep things fresh but it just feels a bit much.  Probably made worse by the fact that the experienced lads brought in don't appear to either be fit and/or up to it.  

Hmmm....I take your point but the only flaw in your suggestion is that you're not in danger of relegation at the end of pre season.

Quoted from oochiad

FGR have and always will be cheats......

Well I suppose when Holloway has run out of excuses and for once he can't blame the referee then something as pathetic as this will have to do - embarrassing really

Quoted from BobbyCummingsTackle

Hmmm....I take your point but the only flaw in your suggestion is that you're not in danger of relegation at the end of pre season.

I personally don't think we're in enough danger of going down to have any real concerns.  We're mediocre enough to be lower mid-table in a plodding fashion.  

I don't think it was ever the intention then but I'm treating this season a bit like how the 2004/05 season panned out (Slade's first season).  A lot of prodding about, trying to find the right style and system.  Building something that resembled a spine and core before making some very key and crucial additions the following summer.  During that season we were capable of going from sublime to dreadful in the space of five minutes, largely a season of frustration.  My abiding memory is still the team getting booed off at half-time at home to Kidderminster because we were only 2-0 up!  

I also doubt the season will be completed but even if it is I can't really see all 72 Football League clubs lasting the course.  Rescue package or not, I think the 'worst' teams in the ladder will be saved by a few clubs going to the wall.  

Forget the Salford game which was a farce 3 pens !!

We have played 3 of the top 4 and won drawn and lost one by a single goal.

We have also dropped 3 points when Macca  gave the opposition 2 goals.

OK we have not played well in some of the games but that is to be expected when you have so many young players and lots of new signings still getting to know each other.

Once we get everybody fit which should be soon and a settled side we will be comfortable in mid table or just above.

Promotion will have to wait for another year but we are used to that.

Losing 1-0 to a team in the top three is not the end of the world and some of the comments on here are completely over the top.

Keep the faith.

Worth remembering where we were a year ago under Jolley. At that point we’d struggle to string more than a couple of passes together each half. Despite the mixed results I’m enjoying watching us be braver in possession. Most of the time we are moving the ball quickly and with purpose. I understand the frustration with going back to the keeper but on the whole we are moving it well and passing forward through the lines as much as possible. It breaks down a bit in the final 3rd but we get into lots of good positions and just lack the right decisions or quality. What does concern me is that if it is to be a season of transition we are heavily reliant on loan signings who won’t be here next year.

Quoted from grimsby pete

Forget the Salford game which was a farce 3 pens !!

We have played 3 of the top 4 and won drawn and lost one by a single goal.

We have also dropped 3 points when Macca  gave the opposition 2 goals.

OK we have not played well in some of the games but that is to be expected when you have so many young players and lots of new signings still getting to know each other.

Once we get everybody fit which should be soon and a settled side we will be comfortable in mid table or just above.

Promotion will have to wait for another year but we are used to that.

Losing 1-0 to a team in the top three is not the end of the world and some of the comments on here are completely over the top.

Keep the faith.

Pete I wouldn't argue with much of what you have said but it all pre-supposes that the signings Holloway has made (young players and more experienced ones too) will be any good when they are all fit and all know each other and I am far from convinced that many of them are. No one wants to say so as Holloway is supposed to be such an excellent judge and spotter of talent but I'm afraid he has signed / loaned some duffers (hopefully they won't feature in the 'settled side' we are all dreaming about

Haven’t we been having a season like Slades first season since PH walked out the door?

I’m not sure the discussion in this thread was ever really to discuss the pros and cons of penny pinching/being economically astute during the most peculiar of times but more about Holloway and the constant hyperbole that comes out of his mouth.

Be it management cliche or just ‘passion’, his post match comments last night just make him sound and look a fool. We barely laid a glove on FGR, highlighting ball boys and the likes is just ridiculous. Surely a man of his so called ability and experience would prefer to be honest and just come out and say ‘we got it wrong, they’re a good side. We tried something and it didn’t work etc’.

Instead there were thinly veiled digs at players, swipes at ball boys and then some waffle really.

We can bemoan the lack of pre season, we can discuss whether just existing and having a club to support is more important than even attempting to be competitive. We can keep saying that there’s likely two teams worse than us (we’ve heard that before, turned out well for us) but let’s face it, Covid or no Covid, that would be the narrative trotted out regardless. It’s the narrative from the club and fans either lap it up or push against, those that push against are seemingly wrong or have expectations above our station so to speak (I mean this isn’t true. Many of the fans pushing back were and have always been realistic about our level).

Holloway’s appointment was handy for all parties. We needed a manager and had tried and failed with two unknowns, Fenty needed to claw back some support, Holloway was out of work and wanted one last go after his poor attempt at millwall...win win.

We’ve brought in players that aren’t good enough, we’ve brought in players who are young and hungry and then we’ve got the likes of Hanson left. I understand balancing that is tricky but as someone has suggested, may be he’s picking games and realising some we’ll win and some we’ll lose, that’s ok but what happens when we don’t win the ones he believes he will? Then what? Football, as we’ve seen time and time again isn’t an exact science...