Just Back in the car

Quoted from pontoonlew

Not a great performance, but those poor individual displays came from existing players and not new signings, so I don’t buy that it’s just a poor window that’s done it. Clifton was absolutely woeful, how he’s getting 90 mins when players like Conteh are getting hooked every week is beyond me. Rodgers, Efete and Glennon the other culprits for being only just slightly better than useless.

How Artell is getting any stick this soon is baffling to me. We’ve just lost to the side most of us cited as promotion winners in waiting after we played them in August, that hasn’t changed either. Artell has had us playing noticeably better football bar these last 2 games, he’s going to need time and a good January window to fix some of our flaws. Turning this around is a long term project and he’s going to need longer than 6 games to do that.

Exactly that mate, you don't build a promotion winning squad in one window either. He'll get time and it'll take a couple years but we've seen the blueprints already and performances have improved. The past two have brought us back down to reality of just how bad this squad is.

I think it's about ensuring survival now and it means bringing in several new faces in January.  It's certainly possible to turn things around in January, but it will take serious action to do so.  

Last time we were in this situation in 2020 Bradford were in as bad a position as we were. So they brought in 13 new players and shot up the table while we sank right into the drop zone and got relegated.

I imagine we don't have the kind of cash to basically buy a new team like they did, but we could bring in several quality loanees to steady the ship ahead of a major rebuild in summer.  I'd say two experienced centerbacks,  a central midfielder and a striker. Four players minimum. The spine of the team.  

Quoted from RonMariner

I think it's about ensuring survival now and it means bringing in several new faces in January.  It's certainly possible to turn things around in January, but it will take serious action to do so.  

Last time we were in this situation in 2020 Bradford were in as bad a position as we were. So they brought in 13 new players and shot up the table while we sank right into the drop zone and got relegated.

I imagine we don't have the kind of cash to basically buy a new team like they did, but we could bring in several quality loanees to steady the ship ahead of a major rebuild in summer.  I'd say two experienced centerbacks,  a central midfielder and a striker. Four players minimum. The spine of the team.  

Yep, this is the situation. It’s gonna be tough. It’s all about survival. Let’s think about developing a decent team if we stay up.

Awfull it could have been double figures well done harvey

Quoted from Phil the cod

I went on Saturday to the Harrogate game with my young niece, whilst in the osmand end I pulled out a can of coke that I'd bought her from the spar shop on way to the ground, immediately two stewards pounced on me demanding I give them the can as it is an offensive weapon! I said how is it it's a coke can ffsake, oh,you can snap it in half and slash someone with it was the reply, wtf! I was with my niece for god sake. Point is (yes there is one) instead of this woke health and safety b.llshit and £5 sausage rolls they should focus more on the playing side as we are a laughing stock, even my Scunthorpe supporting work colleagues think we are a joke.

🛎️🔚

Quoted from pontoonlew

Not a great performance, but those poor individual displays came from existing players and not new signings, so I don’t buy that it’s just a poor window that’s done it. Clifton was absolutely woeful, how he’s getting 90 mins when players like Conteh are getting hooked every week is beyond me. Rodgers, Efete and Glennon the other culprits for being only just slightly better than useless.

How Artell is getting any stick this soon is baffling to me. We’ve just lost to the side most of us cited as promotion winners in waiting after we played them in August, that hasn’t changed either. Artell has had us playing noticeably better football bar these last 2 games, he’s going to need time and a good January window to fix some of our flaws. Turning this around is a long term project and he’s going to need longer than 6 games to do that.

Exactly!

Two new centre backs definitely required. For the first goal Glennon goes  down the wing - Maher stood in no mans land instead of covering.  Second goal Rodgers loses the ball stupidly - defence backs off until player in shooting range. 2 goals down - game over. They seemed to get a free header in from every corner.    Pyke seemed like the only one with any goal threat . When he went off our heads went down as if the players knew the outcome.  Why are we getting so many off the ball injuries ?  Getting very worried.

Cartwright motm. Brilliant saves.

Rodgers was awful.

That's all I wish to say.

We go again Friday.

Quoted from golfer

Two new centre backs definitely required. For the first goal Glennon goes  down the wing - Maher stood in no mans land instead of covering.  Second goal Rodgers loses the ball stupidly - defence backs off until player in shooting range. 2 goals down - game over. They seemed to get a free header in from every corner.    Pyke seemed like the only one with any goal threat . When he went off our heads went down as if the players knew the outcome.  Why are we getting so many off the ball injuries ?  Getting very worried.

When things are going well, players rarely get injured. When they're going badly they feel every knock. I think it's a psychological thing more than cynical, but these niggles wouldn't be happening if things were going well.

Isn't it a shock.  The exact same players that produced the performances that left us near the foot of the table have produced a bad performance!

How good do people think Dave Artell is?  He has literally broken it down into the most basic of terms in every interview I've heard him do.  This is a process.  We're trying to completely change the way we play.  It will not happen over night.

The worst thing we can do, which is what we did at the beginning of the season under Hurst and in my opinion one of the major reasons we're in this position, is that we abandoned a change in style and went back to and old faithful type approach that our squad wasn't equipped for.

It's mid-season, the players are now on their third approach and style of the campaign.  Anyone who seriously thought we were going to get a Kieran McKenna type bounce with Artell and everyone take to his set-up instantly as we rocketed into the play-off spots was deluded.  After the Harrogate game he came out and more or less said this is a write-off season.  We're not going anywhere but we'll be building for next year.  Don't get me wrong, that's gutting to hear and then to acknowledge because we all had high hopes for this season.   It should have been a better campaign.   But the reality is we're doing a lot of pre-season work in December.    

If we want to go into next season and then the season beyond that with this pressing style, where we play out from the back, feel comfortable with the ball under pressure and most of all entertain the fans, then there is no magic button.  It'll take time to implement and I dare say Artell is going to need to make his own changes to help introduce it.

He's got what he's got at the minute.  A talented squad of individuals that aren't quite sure how to work together with this style of play.  The challenge is down to them to either step-up and figure it out or be prepared to move on and let someone else come in who can do the job.   I don't think Artell can be any fairer than that and in fairness he hasn't really got much choice until the window opens in a few days, even then any movement is dependent on availability of players and the willingness of other clubs to take our players.

I know it's limited but the calls for a 'big man' are way off the mark.  Firstly it's pointless as we're not going to be going route one.  You might not like but you'll probably save yourself a heart attack in accepting it rather than frothing about it.  Secondly in terms of someone to lead the line and hold up play, I don't think you'll find anyone better at this level than Danny Rose,  Certainly someone who we can afford anyway.  

The bounce is over.  This is where Artell gets to see who is made of what and I think he's gently hinting at things to come in the next few weeks.  But I'm very confident that for the rest of the season we'll have outstanding performances (like Crewe) that make us think we've cracked it.  Then we'll have awful displays (like yesterday) which make us think we're heading down.   Neither will be true, just a reflection of the yo-yo nature of performances when you're trying a different approach.    See it as a very extended pre-season, preparing us for next season.  Trust me, it'll feel a lot less disappointing if you just accept that and try to enjoy the process.