There hasn’t been a worst prediction of the future in football and it continues to haunt my mind at the end of every defeat during this miserable run.
We all know how we felt after that defeat in May butyet there was a sense of it being Millwall’s day and next year it should be ours. So, it frustrates us all the more to see where we currently lie.
We have heard all the excuses this season from ‘we haven’t replaced Greer, Paynter and Ward’ too ‘Does Wilson even know his first 11?’ and the classic of ‘we just aren’t as good’ and that’s the simple truth. We aren’t as good as last season and with that achievement it’s making this run look a lot worse than if we had just had a season of mid table obscurity before it.
It now stands at 10 games without a win and so where are the faults, the problems and what’s the way out of this mess?
A first eleven
Last season, I could name you the starting eleven every week. It was so consistent that I’ll name it again: Lucas, Amankwaah (Darby), Cuthbert, Greer, Sheehan,McGovern, Douglas, Ferry, Ward, Paynter, Austin.
You look at that and see partnerships along with a real team. Amankwaah and McGovern’s link up was a joy to watch, Paynter and Austin being one of the most successful partnerships since Parkin and Mooney or Finney and Allison. Douglas and Ferry had the right balance of defence and attack to cover each other and support the play. It was ‘liquid football’ as Alan Partridge would put it.
This season Alan Partridge would have a field day at thinking up expletives to describe our teamand performances. Let’s take the team from this Saturday, which was the first time we have had the same 11 two weeks in a row since our last league win at Charlton back in early January.
(442) Lucas, Caddis, Cuthbert, Frampton, Rose, McGovern, Douglas, Timlin, Ritchie, Obika, Benyon.
Straight away it doesn’t strike you with as much confidence as the playoff season and this is the first downfall. The team is full of individuals rather than team players.
Too many players this season are unsure as to what their squad status is, dropping and changing every week. The odd injury is fine, but changes have been made to formation and teams most weeks so the team hasn’t settled. No players have gelled together as one minute it’s a 3-5-2, then a 4-3-3 (4-5-1?) 4-4-2, some weeks it takes me half the match to figure out what we are playing.
‘We never replaced Greer, Paynter and Ward’
The saying that has come out of every Town fans mouth. The statement to start with is a true one. They have pretty much been replaced by Frampton, Dossevi (Benyon?) and Ritchie. These players aren’t as good so where do you begin with the rant?
Greer shouldn’t have ever been sold. From what we know, Greer wanted a contract and he wasn’t offered one. After a season of helping us to a playoff final you should offer him a new deal after a very solid season. It’s no shock that our defence has crumbled without him. Cuthbert isn’t an experienced centre defender and has struggled without the Scot by his side. Frampton might be experienced, but has struggled with injury, only in on loan and isn’t a replacement for Greer. He is barely someone brought in to patch up the back.
Paynter wasn’t a player we could stop leaving. He had one good season at the Town and left. If we had of got promoted, him staying was probably still unknown. So, we had the entire summer to replace him and it didn’t happen. People may say he got in Pericard and Dossevi to try and replace him but they haven’t been good enough. Pericard was never going to make the step up, and Dossevi scored two good headers v Forest and got a contract. It was a last minute ditch attempt signing when you see it from a fans perspective.
Danny Ward was the energy behind towns attack from the left wing. He could get into areas up front and had formed a good understanding with Sheehan. We have almost certaintly tried to get him back to no avail. These things happen, so we signed Matt Ritchie, the player who when he came on loan couldn’t get a game. He was signed for around 200k and came with much hope. I didn’t rate him before, and in a side not playing well, he stands out still. He is a winger with no pace and no strength.
Transfer Dealings
We went into this season as big favourites for the playoffs, so we should have been an interesting proposition too many league one or out of favour championship players. We didn’t strengthen our squad and it has cost us.
The signings of Rose, Sheehan, Caddis, Ferry and Prutton are all fine and necessary but their performances have been another matter. Sheehan was a good signing following his successful spell on loan from Leeds along with Ferry, one of the players of the season.
Ferry though has come in and been behind Prutton in the pecking order. Prutton was a big name signing for us and has played in some good sides like Southampton but hasn’t lived up to his reputation. Simon Ferry still can’t get a chance to settle again with Jonathan Douglas in centre midfield and changing that from last season has been a decision that still baffles most fans.
The signing of Paul Caddis hasn’t worked out so far and at least Michael Rose has scored from goals from dead ball situations. Rose for me isn’t much better than Sheehan, but neither have set the town defence on fire, they have rather made other team’s strikeforces look on fire.
Thomas Dossevi…well that one just hasn’t worked either. An energetic striker, who along with Pericard just can’t play two games the same (that’s if he actually plays one game well.) He has shown signs of potential at least, but it hasn’t happened and he isn’t a goal scorer. Elliot Benyon has now come in with Jonathan Obika last minute and these two are our only hope for goals.
So, Is Danny Wilson the man?
So, we currently sit in 20th, one point above the drop but have played more games than a majority of the sides around us. This has been overly negative, but with the situation being the complete opposite to last, its expected.
Danny Wilson I feel could get us out of this mess, but it’s not what me or the fans think. It’s the players who have got to have confidence and I struggle to see it from the stands. The players don’t know whether they have a regular place or a regular system along with no confidence.
Wilson came in and kept us up before and so why not again? But at least in that squad we had Simon Cox scoring 31 goals in a season, and our man to keep us up, Charlie Austin has gone.
We move onto Southampton away on Saturday, a team yet to beat us since they came down to League One, but that side they faced in those four defeats is so different to the one they will come up against this weekend. A point would feel like a win, and that’s the situation we are in.
Our destiny is in our hands with games against Walsall, Plymouth and Dagenham to come in March. These are games we can’t afford to lose or who knows, we could go from Wembley to the Kassam Stadium in just over 12 months…
2 comments:
The way things are going that lot from the up the A420 will be bypassing us.
It doesn't look pretty does it. I have been to watch Oxford this season(sorry)and they look an average league two side. Don't think they have promotion in them.
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