What’s Happened??

Quoted from sydney

11th Last Season and FA Cup Glory
New Owners saying and doing the right things
New Squad,Selected and paid for by us
So Much Positivity and Good feelings for this season
And, here we are, in the crap again?
Why?

That was a long sleep, you just woke up?

Quoted from sam gy

We got our recruitment wrong, to put it simply.

I disagree. I think PH brought some decent players in , certainly good enough for this level and some better for the next level. Unfortunately he didn't seem to know how to get the best out of them or use a system that played to their strengths. SP and BD have shown some indications of how to get more out of these players but it will take a while to restore confidence in a squad that is lacking in self-belief.

The enigma that is Paul Hurst I think is what went wrong. He had everything going for him including a very supportive board brought about by his play off success and cup run.

He lost his way; maybe he needed a break from the game but I'm sure he will come back refreshed and revel in the underdog tag somewhere.

Managers are transitory just like players, so it is much more important that the owners get the overall strategy right. This managerial appointment will be the first of many they make so let's hope this one can get us back on track.

Not just one thing but a few of them.

Recruitment - I think we signed a number of good players to bolster the squad but still have some significant vacancies. A left back with genuine pace, an experienced keeper, a replacement for Taylor and a ball playing central midfielder. What we’re never likely to know is how many times we had players lined up for roles but couldn’t get the signature due to whatever reasons (pay, location, contract length etc).

Injuries - a number of players starting or in the squad in recent games have not been available a great deal so far this season.

Tactics - we tried a few different systems this season but it often seemed to me that the players either didn’t understand how they should be playing or they weren’t capable of playing those systems.

Finally, confidence. Once you start falling it’s hard to turn round. Sometimes a change of manager can help with that as it acts as a reset - especially when you’ve already got a reasonable bunch of players.

From what I’ve seen, Paul Hurst is extremely hard working, diligent and experienced but it just goes to show that even with those qualities, things can still go wrong in football.