'Papering over the cracks'

[BensGrandad]

There is no doubt we have been poor this season. Some players have lost form (Cox, Whing), some have been injured (Forster, Murray, McLeod), some have not been replaced by anyone better (Butters, Racon, Westlake), some have failed to live up to expectations (Thomson, Livermore, Hawkins) and some think they are too good for the club (Lynch).

)

Cox and Whiing true
Forster Murray McLeod injured true
Butters not replaced that is the whole crux of our defensive problems.
Raccon and Westlake not true as I believe Thornton and Johnson are better than those.
Thomson (brought by Wilkins) Livermore and Hawkins not lived up to expectations.

Our season hinges on the continuance of our loanees or signing similar players either as loans or permanent transfers during January.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

You would expect us to win at least 10 of the 30 left, as for the other 20, who knows....

At the current ratio, we should only 'expect' to win 7 more games....

 

[bright1064]

Oh trust me mate, I've been going to the Albion long enough to know exactly what we are, and to set my expectations accordingly. But that doesn't stop me from feeling frustrated when we start to get things right - as I felt we were doing last season - only to turn it all upside for no apparent reason.

You won't find a "sack Adams" post from me anywhere, because it is far too soon, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm thoroughly hacked off with how things have gone since the end of last season, and I won't make any appology for expressing my displeasure.

You have hit the proverbial nail on the head there.

Spot on

 

[andybaha]

Over a 46 game season you generally end up where you deserve to be. No team is ever too good be relegated or too shite to be promoted. We ended up 7th because that's where we deserved to be. Another couple of wins and we would have been in the play offs.

The team needed tweaking to move it up to the next level. I think that Kuipers, Whing, Elphick, Lynch and Richards in defence were pretty OK as were Forster and Murray upfront. We were weak in midfield all season and this is where we needed to make changes. Wilkins would have needed to make changes and they might have worked or they might not.

MA has been unlucky with injuries, but he has made mistakes as well. Even if Lynch is Billy Big Bollocks he is better than Hawkins and should have been nurtured to the point where he could have been sold for a fee. At the moment I would think he's worth very little to us. His obsession with Virgo is wrong. Virgo is a decent defender but not a midfielder or forward. Our over reliance on loan players has not paid off. Quite afew of them have come to the club unfit and we have had to get them fit before they can make an impression. Their instant inclusion in the team pisses off the rest of the squad who have trained week in week out and at some stage they will up and leave.

We will never know if Wilkins would have signed the players in the summer that would have got us fighting for promotion or battling against relegation. Remember Carlisle only needed tweaking to get automatic promotion.

 

[NMH]

Wilkins had his head down and was trying hard to succeed. In my view he WAS putting his back into it.

Somehow I am not getting that impression from Adams.
Nowadays we are 'BHA lite' compared to before.

 

[NMH]

Over a 46 game season you generally end up where you deserve to be. No team is ever too good be relegated or too shite to be promoted. We ended up 7th because that's where we deserved to be. Another couple of wins and we would have been in the play offs.

The team needed tweaking to move it up to the next level. I think that Kuipers, Whing, Elphick, Lynch and Richards in defence were pretty OK as were Forster and Murray upfront. We were weak in midfield all season and this is where we needed to make changes. Wilkins would have needed to make changes and they might have worked or they might not.

Pretty much, yeah. I recall a few points we absolutely threw away last season, and matches where we clearly should have won, but ended lucky to draw. Those were unfortunately valuable points lost, if we wanted to play off for possible promotion.
This season I don't see us as superior to opposing teams, and 'just letting our foot off the gas' - I have the impression we just aren't up to it. Tactically, we aren't even at the races. No holding tactics when we are ahead, no attacking tactics when behind. Lights may be on, but nobody's home.
It's a distinct lack of ambition from Adams, and if we are just a nice club in his career - but not the most important thing on his mind - then he can just pop off to assist some 2nd division manager somewhere as soon as possible.

 

[Questions]

Harty clearly did not like Wilkins. He clearly loves Adams, because of what he did here before.

No its because Adams is all pally with Ian Hart (likes a drink, one of the boys blah blah) whilst Dean Wilkins could be a little aloof at times and was not one of the gang.
I would like to add that I have met Dean Wilkins a couple of times at weddings/functions and found him a smashing chap.