Mav wrote:It's not a case of we went to the wall in january, we have been pretty ropey for most of the season. the only difference is that early on we got lucky in games and managed not to lose. We didn't play well against plymouth in Sept, We scraped a win against Morecombe in october but we just happened to be the better of too poor sides. Harrogate and Southend in November. they have played the odd game where they performed better, but it's been too few and infrequent. It would be quicker to list the games where we have played good football this season.
2-2 with auto promotion candidates and perpetual table toppers (ish) Cheltenham. 4-2 over Rochdale when they would have been lucky to get 0 and we could have had 10. 1-1 away to Vale with half the youth team on the pitch, theirs was an OG and they are the top scorers in the division and just this evening stuck 7 past auto promotion candidates Burton. A bit rubbish for a few games... 4-3 over Aldershot recovering from 3-0 down. 3-1 over Accrington in one of the most comfortable nights at Plainmoor I can remember. 2-2 against Championship hopefulls Yeovil who had all the luck in the world on their side. 3-2 against a Rovers side who, by their own admission (boasting) haven't played that well for 5 years, a Rovers side featuring some prick who has now scored three dozen goals in 5 minutes in the Championship and us down to 10 men after 30 seconds. Beat runaway league leaders Gillingham 2-1 from 1-0 down. Batter Barnet, and I mean BATTER Barnet for an hour and a half. They get in our half once and score the winner with their only shot on or off target. Lose 1-0 to a goal he'll never score again if he had a million goes at it from Connell against a Bradford side against whom we played 89 minutes with 10 men. 1-1 against auto promotion hopefulls Northampton Town with their thoroughly undeserved equaliser coming in the 117th minute. 1-1 with Plymouth with their only shot on target from some kid who is tipped for Barcelona in the 125th minute. 3-2 Wimbledon in the stupidest match I've ever seen. 2-1 to auto promotion hopefulls Burton featuring yet another goal that the kid will never score again if he plays until he is 100.
That does not sound to me like a team getting lucky and scraping wins. We were alright until late December, then we started conceding late goals, then the manager did a bunk and, well, you know the story. I'll grant you, the football we have seen this season hasn't been brilliant, but that has been the case for both sides. I have seen maybe a couple of genuinely good sides this term Rotherham away passed the ball well, although they were assisted by one of the worst TUFC performances of all time and they still only beat us with a comedy goal. I thought York looked handy enough when they were at Plainmoor recently. Some of the worst sides going are Wycombe who have beaten us twice and Northampton, who want to stop calling themselves a 'football' club before someone takes umbrage under trades description.
We have really been hamstrung this year by all sorts of things. We have had more red cards this year than we have in the last 5 years combined and not one of them for a nasty tackle. JOastler's at Rovers was a travesty, as was Saah's at Bradford. The 4 Downer has received have all been technical "last man" offences (two of which weren't even really his fault, the clumsy oaf just lost his footing and brought the striker down with him) and so was that of Tom Cruise.
How many other managers have ever gone off sick mid-season. I can think of Houllier (sp?) at Liverpool a few years ago and it's not as if they are struggling to attract managerial candidates or they were really likely to be allowed to be relegated given their finances and this infernal history their supporters are so keen to tell us all about loudly and often.
We lost the opportunity to do anything about the situation which was developing until we did. Once Dinger wasn't around and Taylor was at the helm, there were no changes that could be made. Knilly isn't a magician, he can't pluck players out of thin air and he got quality guys in as soon as he was able.
Yes, the Board turned down Dinger's request for a loanee or two just before he checked in to Betty Ford, but at the time, loanees probably weren't the answer, certainly not loanees we couldn't afford. This squad would, under normal circumstances, be mid-table. As it is, with all that's happened, they're a little lower than that, but the squad (and to a large extent, the Board) are victims of unbelievable, unforeseeable and unprecedented circumstance.
And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, we have our best loanee for 5 years recalled by his parent club who don't need, want or rate him. Plymouth get a guy on loan who scored 6 in 10, he doesn't get recalled and nor do any of the loanees at other relegation threatened clubs, it's only ours. Something else beyond the control of the club. I'm not saying it's all down to bad luck, we have been terrible in a number of games this season, but there must be a reason for this. The last relegation year demonstrated what effect off field turmoil has on on field performance, don't underestimate it's effect this time round.
This squad has the talent and now has the settled leadership to stay in the division. We can beat Barnet and we can beat Morecambe and we can get a point against Rovers. If we go down with 53 points and a -5 goal difference, then so be it, we will have to offer hearty congratulations to the teams below us for winning all four or five the their last games and by a healthy margin too.
Matt.
