Time to give up on this season

[Withdean Wanderer]

Yep.
A comfortable 2-0 win at Gillingham, followed up by a defeat against absolutely shithouse opposition with no manager today. Pretty much sums us up.

We're not going up - The players we have aren't as good as those who are at the teams currently in the top 6.

Problem is, we're convinced all our players are world beaters.

In reality, some of our 'better players':

Kuipers - nearing the end of his career now, nothing more than a mediocre League 1 keeper who makes the odd good save every now and again.

McNulty - has some quality stepovers, but if he was really as good defensively as many make out on here, he wouldn't be in this league.

Tunnicliffe - a reasonable League 1 defender with potential

Elphick - as above, but a bit more erratic. Can look outstanding, can look embarrassingly shit

Dicker - yes, he looks comfortable on the ball, but does he create goals? does he score goals? does he stop goals? Not really, he's just a composed but average player at this level.

Murray - brilliant skill, vision, control, and ability to net 15 goals a season. Has he got the pace to get us promoted? Nope.

Forster - A quality asset this level, but are teams at the top of the league reliant on a 36 year old striker who's picking up niggling injuries and after a scoring burst will then go 3 months without a goal?


It's early days yet, Bennett looks really quality, because he has pace and an end product. But he's the only midfielder who looks like doing serious damage on a consistent basis.

Face facts, we're not going up this year with these players.

However, Slade is doing the right thing in general. He's improved the players on the park a lot, and we certainly have a squad with a lot of potential. But ultimately, if we're going to get out of this league, we need to spend a lot more than a million quid on the squad, and we can't afford to be carrying the likes of Wright, Hart, Cox etc.

This season we need to consolidate in mid table, and next season, with whoever Bloom think good enough to be in charge (be it Slade or someone else) will have to spend big on some real quality players who aren't just going to improve the squad, but who are promotion material. Unfortunately, after all these delays, Falmer might just come a bit too soon in terms of getting back into the Championship, but with a bit of patience i'm sure we'll make it in a few season.

What we MUST avoid this season, with such an erratic bunch of players, is ensuring we don't get dragged into a relegation battle again. Our squad is not in the word 4 in this league, but it certainly isn't anywhere NEAR the best.

The problem the Club have given themselves though is that they have got to prevent discontent amongst supporters having driven expectancy up with frankly ludicrous ticket prices in the current economic climate, but that is an entirely different matter. For now, mid table will have to do, and Slade needs to sort that fast, before he gets the chop.

 

[Smithy]

Now that is how to write a pessimistic post.

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

Now that is how to write a pessimistic post.

As opposed to saying we're shit, going down, and calling for the managers head?

Ah, good old NSC, you can't beat it.

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

Oh well, no replies makes a change from being called a wanker I suppose.

I think Uncle Spielberg has overtaken me as NSC's most miserable

 

[Gerbil]

i aggre with most of that!!

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

That is a very good and intelligent post.

 

[murraymints4brighton]

Can't really disagree with any of that. Slade is changing the whole format of the club, from the backroom staff to the players. The squad age is down, we are not hoofing the ball, we are statistically retaining the ball and possession more than our opponents and for once we actually have a really good winger!!!!

 

[Simon Morgan]

We rate them too highly, that's absolutely correct, but doesn't every football fan do that? You're right though, we're not good enough to go up. I think the players we do have should be getting us higher up the league, which is what makes it all very disappointing thus far.

 

[deletebeepbeepbeep]

Yeah I completely agree with that.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Don't you rate Crofts? 6 points off the playoffs so one win away from midtable atm. Its a very strange league.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

WW has nailed it with that post. Nothing more to say.

 

[Horney]

Yup...pretty much sums up my feelings.
It feels like we are lurching from one mini crisis to another...looking for signs of improvement, getting the odd reasonable result and then crashing back down to earth again.
It feels like we are fiddling our way through the season, not building on a solid base.
I went through most of last season saying that the next game was ' must win ' and sadly, I've started again!

 

[Billy the Fish]

Now that is how to write a pessimistic post.

I'd say it was realistic.

There was a poll at the beginning of the season for people to predict where we would finish. Most people said mid-table and I'm pretty sure that's where we'll end up. I don't understand why people are surprised that we haven't won every game

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

You should never give up on a season in October. We may well end up in mid-table and if we do then so be it, but there are plenty of teams who've had STORMING second halves of the year to get in the play-offs. Similarly we might stay in the bottom six all season too! So no, don't give up.

There is one thing I hadn't factored in to my post - the January transfer window.

The ONLY way we're going to get anywhere near the play-offs is by bringing in some real quality in January, someone who will bang in goals, a proper right back, and a bit of experience in defence to stop all these shitty goals we keep leaking.

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

Agree with most of what you've said, WW, other than giving up on the season now because teams have gone onto reach the play offs from a similar position to what we are in now. But...

if all our current players are so mediocre, how do you explain the 7th place finish two seasons ago when the players were largely weaker than what we have now? Good management? Weaker league?

I think it's too easy to just say our players aren't good enough. There are various other contributing factors which need to be addressed if we wish to get out of this league.

There's a distinct lack of team chemistry/unity which can count for A LOT at this level as has been proven by inferior teams doing well; we're clearly lacking a PROPER leader on the pitch; we're in dire need of someone to actually COACH the defence properly because every week it is so obvious the defence aren't playing as a unit to instructions; we're without a strike partnership that you KNOW will link up well and enjoy playing with each other; we're still a side that absolutely NO team fears in this league, meaning sides are far more confident playing against us (obviously partly down to our current position but it seems near enough every side has a game-plan that undoes us); and most importantly I'd say, as annoying and tiresome it may sound, we need an assistant manager who can add something tactically aside from repeating shouts on the touchline that Slade has already bellowed.

Long way to go and I’m still sticking by Slade for now. However, some of his decisions this season have been far from impressive and have been a factor in our current poor position.

 

[Djmiles]

All we need now is for one of our players to come out and say we're too good to get relegated

 

[RM-Taylor]

We can look forward to the FA Cup.............



before being humiliated against some tin-pot team.

 

[Withdean Wanderer]

Agree with most of what you've said, WW, other than giving up on the season now because teams have gone onto reach the play offs from a similar position to what we are in now. But...

if all our current players are so mediocre, how do you explain the 7th place finish two seasons ago when the players were largely weaker than what we have now? Good management? Weaker league?

I think it's too easy to just say our players aren't good enough. There are various other contributing factors which need to be addressed if we wish to get out of this league.

There's a distinct lack of team chemistry/unity which can count for A LOT at this level as has been proven by inferior teams doing well; we're clearly lacking a PROPER leader on the pitch; we're in dire need of someone to actually COACH the defence properly because every week it is so obvious the defence aren't playing as a unit to instructions; we're without a strike partnership that you KNOW will link up well and enjoy playing with each other; we're still a side that absolutely NO team fears in this league, meaning sides are far more confident playing against us (obviously partly down to our current position but it seems near enough every side has a game-plan that undoes us); and most importantly I'd say, as annoying and tiresome it may sound, we need an assistant manager who can add something tactically aside from repeating shouts on the touchline that Slade has already bellowed.

Long way to go and I’m still sticking by Slade for now. However, some of his decisions this season have been far from impressive and have been a factor in our current poor position.

1) A weaker league.
2) In form, goalscoring midfielders (Cox & Hammond)
3) Settled team at the end of the season.

That's another reason for our expectancy levels. Much of our football that season was DIRE. Yet we still managed 7th? How, i'm not sure really, but we made Withdean a fortress, something Slade has yet to manage. But we had a Lynch and Elphick pairing that Adams royally f***ed up, we had brilliant end of season signings in Westlake and Racon, and a slightly younger Forster and a then interested Murray delivered the goods at the end of the season. That's the sort of thing we need too ensure this season doesn't just get written off - a bloody good transfer window, and an upturn in home form. There's no excuse for that - withdean atmosphere contributes, but it's not a reason why we should be losing games.