Promotion chasing Squad?

[GloucesterGull]

I’ve not been able to go to many games due to my job requiring me to work weekends. However, I’ve been to Maidenhead and the Grimsby games, I’ll also be at Solihull tomorrow. I’ve been to many games over the years and I’m somewhat dismayed at how poor the squad is. There seems there is little communication and a lack of leadership in key positions.

Goalkeeping is a thankless position but when you get it right you can become a fan favourite quickly. Halstead seems out of his depth. He’s committing to balls that he has no chance of getting; I’m sure he thinks he taller than he is. He’s also very quiet; not sure if it’s confidence but I’m really not impressed.

From my view, the boys are weak all the way through the middle of the field. Opposition players can jog through and barely have to change speed or course. Centre back and centre midfielders look weak, they have no muscle and no speed to hassle.

Centre back distribution is horrendous. Booting the ball away rather than feeding the attacking players or wingers is criminal! My positive points are that the boys still look lively coming in from both sides.

As far as attacking goes, it’s a bit of a worry when relying on Wright to do it all when he’s not getting any younger, still a great player but no one looks willing to make the runs Danny does.

Looks like it’ll be another frustrating season. I’ve written off thoughts of a promotion challenge, that’s just not happening with this squad. I just hope we’re able to loan some players in who look hungry for games.

[knightmaregull]

The doomsmongers may well be proven right at the final reckoning but I'd encourage everyone to just show a bit more perspective. An opportune time to reflect on where we were 3 years ago, travelling to Hungerford expecting the worst. For me, that away day is up their with my best ever and the start of some incredible times.

Personally things will have to get a hell of a lot worse before i start putting the boot in. All we have to do is reach 7th place by the end of Southend away. There's a lot of football to be played by then and all these negative vibes are not helping anyone!

[DWB]

I see in his post match interview GJ admits that several players are not up to the standard required and that he takes the responsibility for that. Well he signed them on in the first place, did he not do his homework on them? IMO they are worse than the ones he let go!! (Billy Waters for one scoring for fun at Halifax). Not only that the players he has brought in are all on contracts so that won’t be easy, and, any decent player would have found a club by now so surely there aren’t going to be many around? Although I suppose some clubs may be looking to offload one or two now the season has started??
Not an easy task but one that needs to be done I’m afraid

[TerryTorq]

It seems that getting to the Play-Off Final and remaining in the NL did us no good at all. I felt that not knowing which league we would be playing in this season gave us little time to assemble a new squad when pre-season training was only 4-5 weeks away.

I’m sure the club already had several targets in mind but couldn’t go ahead until they knew the outcome of the Play-Off Final which would have dictated the standard of the players required. Also at what point were the club informed by the 4 leavers who rejected their new contracts? This would have added greatly to the problem.

If as GJ suggested some of the players aren’t good enough for the NL, perhaps they were the best available at the time as others clubs would already have snapped up the better options.

The Play-Offs are a double edged sword. Great to be involved in but you risk f***ing up the following season if you get to the final.

Whatever happens let’s all stick together and enjoy the ride. It may be bumpy at times but it is never dull.

[SuperNickyWroe]

It seems that getting to the Play-Off Final and remaining in the NL did us no good at all. I felt that not knowing which league we would be playing in this season gave us little time to assemble a new squad when pre-season training was only 4-5 weeks away.

I’m sure the club already had several targets in mind but couldn’t go ahead until they knew the outcome of the Play-Off Final which would have dictated the standard of the players required. Also at what point were the club informed by the 4 leavers who rejected their new contracts? This would have added greatly to the problem.

If as GJ suggested some of the players aren’t good enough for the NL, perhaps they were the best available at the time as others clubs would already have snapped up the better options.

The Play-Offs are a double edged sword. Great to be involved in but you risk f***ing up the following season if you get to the final.

Whatever happens let’s all stick together and enjoy the ride. It may be bumpy at times but it is never dull.

Sums it up well.
Also GJ isn't happy...... :no:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58568980

[SimonJones]

Sums it up well.
Also GJ isn't happy...... :no:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58568980

It’s all well and good GJ saying some players aren’t up to the standard and they won’t get a “group of games” here, but we have an injury depleted squad. So all of these players he is criticising, he will no doubt have to rely on to go out and perform whilst he attempts to off-load them and try to bring in their replacements. Seems a strange man-management tactic!? May be reverse psychology at play in a last ditch attempt to get his new recruits at least showing some passion?

[SuperNickyWroe]

It’s all well and good GJ saying some players aren’t up to the standard and they won’t get a “group of games” here, but we have an injury depleted squad. So all of these players he is criticising, he will no doubt have to rely on to go out and perform whilst he attempts to off-load them and try to bring in their replacements. Seems a strange man-management tactic!? May be reverse psychology at play in a last ditch attempt to get his new recruits at least showing some passion?

Looks like he's already acted according to the new thread.......

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=13970

[culmstockgull]

I do not accept the excuses being put forward that the majority of this seasons ills are down to the play offs. Every business has a current plan and a forward plan .Regardless of what league we were going to play in Johnson would have known by March who he wanted to keep,who he was going to bin and a very good idea who was looking elsewhere for a better deal, patently nothing much happened in the intervening months as the only press releases were of those that had left or the existing players that had re-signed. We know he said he was getting a few possibles round his house in July. that might have happened but when their agents heard what we were offering they probably wet themsealves laughing and all that was left were those grateful for a full seasons contract at any club. Did we scout them or watch them play, probably not. Then we tried to compete publicity wise with Hollywood Wrexham and have a cringe worthy day of mass signings. Johnson is taking the flak and rightly so on the basis of the buck stops here but they were undoubtedly signed on the recommendation of his brother. this has not been the first time he has messed up, last season we acquired three players on loan that were too green, too naive and couldnt adapt to our way of playing. It seems this trend continues.

[MellowYellow]

Every business has a current plan and a forward plan .

I accept the premise of your reasoning and you make a persuasive argument. Nonetheless, as they say the best laid plans... I do think GJ was blind-sided by the departures of Cameron, Nemare and Whitfield and a little more than pissed off that they went to non-league clubs. Coupled with our goal-keepers departing on amicable terms and our loan signings returning to parent clubs there appeared a gaping hole in the squad that the best of us could not predict. I am sure best efforts were put in place to bring in suitable replacements in a short space of time and I heard no-one bitterly complain about the signings we made. Are you not a tad harsh on GJ, whilst the buck may stop with him, you appear to give him no credit for quickly accepting the players are 'not up to the level' and will be replaced if we are to have any chance of a play-off place. There is nothing you or I could tell GJ about the players that he does not already know.

[culmstockgull]

MellowYellow, I try not be critical of GJ, I still think he is the best manager we have had in a decade, but the benchmark in all honesty wasn't that high. I fully understand you can buy a dud, in our normal lives who hasn't, but you then make extra effort not to repeat that error, Johnson quotes several players not being up to scratch , but in truth that is a conservative figure, ask yourself , how did they arrive, who scouted them, who touted them, who had us over, because that is what in reality it means. Three, maybe four players who are now on the payroll for the season with little hope of getting anyone naive enough to take them, In a squad of 20 that is a high failure rate and with our finances one we can just not afford. Now, as he says a million phone calls later he is desperate to bring in quality loans when he shouldn't be distracted from his core role of trying to turn round a losing team. The issue is compounded by the annual Torquay curse that has come early this year with the treatment room already looking like a war zone.

[Dave]

I'm in part agreement Culmstockgull here, this shouldn't be taken as a Gary Johnson out post. A manager of GJ's experience should not be allowing himself to get into a position where he could become blindsided, GJ has been in the game long enough, and has managed at this level many times before to know things like 1 year contracts are common place.

Had the club been promoted it's likely all out of contract players would have wanted to stay. Gary Johnson should have sat done with Pete Johnson in January not March (they may have done I don't know)and said we need to prepare for the worst case scenario, of remaining in the NLP and all out of contract players leaving the club, that would have given 5 months to prepare a comprehensive list of potential targets, rather than the 5 week rushed summer recruitment we saw.

Every post I've made since the Altrincham game has been heartfelt and honest, and no means meant to stir, I had little or no knowledge of any of these signings apart from Holman, I turned up to the Altrincham game more in hope than expectation, but it was patently obvious from that game, game one, that the club was a million miles away from a competitive team, I've been calling for honesty ever since, to be fair we've not had that, sadly GJ was up until last Tuesday night playing the 'manager speak' book of excuses by numbers, something we used to slam Paul Buckle for, but we like Gary Johnson, so one fan after another have just been reposting it.

What I've seen this season and yes it's early, things can change quickly, and boy I hope they do, is the same apathy and slumber we saw during our relegation from the EFL, Gloucestergull's post about getting a ticket and trying to get into the ground, to a post I saw on the BTPIR, about someone witnessing a bloke sent away from the ground with two kids at 2.25pm, lets hope there next experience isn't at Home Park and they don't become life long Argyle fans. People can bang on about putting money into the club to help, agreed, but at some point the club has got to start helping itself.

From the shoulder shrugging after the abject tripe performances we've born witness to on the pitch, we're not on course for the top 7 at the moment. To finish however, I would like to thank Gary Johnson for at last giving an honest assessment Tuesday night, and look forward to see how he's going to fix the footballing side of things.

[MellowYellow]

players not being up to scratch... ask yourself , how did they arrive, who scouted them, who touted them, who had us over, because that is what in reality it means.

To reiterate " I heard no-one bitterly complain about the signings we made". Who scouted/touted? Lets take Klaidi Lolos as an example. He came from Home Park highly recommended At the time most thought this a great signing and although he put in a 20 minute turn at Solihull his displays up to that point have been as GJ puts it 'not up to this level'. GJ must be perplexed as we all are that a young talent that the Argyle manager praised and said “He could go and easily sign for a League Two team" cannot handle non-league football. There is no accounting for that.

[Dazza]

We need to remember that we have signed a number of players who have been in Under 23 or Reserve team squads. The number of games they have been more limited and often at a lower tempo. They are immediately pitched in against seasoned pros on a weekly, sometimes twice weekly basis. They are on a steep learning curve and it gets even more difficult when the whole team starts to lack confidence after a disastrous opening game. Some will gradually find stronger form others won’t. That’s life.

[Dave]

Klaidi Lolos so far to date has had;

V Altrincham 8 minutes
V Notts County 0 minutes
V Woking 32 minutes
V Maidenhead 0 minutes
V Grimsby 27 minutes
V Solihull 28 minutes

So Lolos has played 95 minutes of the 540 minutes played thus far and still scored more than Holman for instance and the same as Wright, instead of making excuses out of blind loyalty, can someone please tell me how how Lolos is supposed to prove he's up to this level if he's not picked to play ?

[Dave]

Just add: personally think we're too, one dimensional with Wright in the team, he has no pace, and mobility these days.
I'd put Lolos in he'd add a second dimension, and would benefit Holman who's been feeding on less than scraps.