Thoughts on another loss….
Afternoon all. It’s still the holidays, and I bet some of you have been out in the sales, trying your best to pick up bargains. And I bet you got some.
Well, in that case, maybe you can pass on how you do that to Dougie, because after yesterday, he is going to need to get some.
I haven’t been paying a great deal of attention to games recently, only because my work have decided that the best way to really get on my nerves is to make me work a lot of weekends. But even I couldn’t have missed the gutless way the team crumbled as soon as Sidibe scored. I learnt nothing from yesterday’s game, other than if we continue to play the way we are doing, and getting the results we are doing, we are in danger of either having our season finished by March or, and this is the bigger worry, be pulled into a relegation battle of our own making because we can’t stop losing to the teams below us. Next up, another team that are below us.
I think to call this holiday programme a crushing disappointment is an understatement. I understand that Peterborough have suddenly gone on a run, but that still doesn’t excuse scoring four goals and still losing. Wednesday are pants, yet they still won. There are no good points to take from this, unless you appear to be our manager:
‘In the second half I thought we gave it a real good go. We upped the tempo, passed the ball well and showed lots of desire to get forward. I felt we were unfortunate not to get a goal. Overall we weren`t consistent over the full 90 minutes.’
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine another Scottish voice saying that, one from earlier this season. It appears that the new manager smell has worn off and what we are left with is a manager who can’t rouse the troops. Maybe the ping pong table has been smuggled back into Euxton?
I don’t know where I saw mention of the comparisons between Coyle and Freedman, and I apologise to those who wrote it somewhere else, but there isn’t a great deal of difference this season. Don’t believe me? Take a look:
Coyle
P 10 W 3 D 2 L 5 F 13 A 16
Freedman
P 11 W 3 D 5 L 4 F 17 A 16
Three points better off after playing one game more and the same goals against. Granted, the Peterborough game is an aberration, but at the end of the season when the goals are counted up, the statisticians won’t worry about that.
This isn’t all Dougie’s fault. The blame lies somewhere between the doors of Owen Coyle and Gary Megson. But after eleven games, can we say that we have improved. We rely on Kevin Davies to score goals, when we shouldn’t. Our defence, albeit with injuries, still makes you hide behind your hands. Our midfield still gets overrun and doesn’t put the tackle in. I understand that Dougie prefers to wait until sixty minutes are up before making a move to win. But when the players heads drop, they show no motivation TO win. And, after a good November, we have now taken four points from five games. Never mind push for the play offs form. THAT is relegation form.
We can’t rely on injured players to come back and help us out. There needs to be fast and decisive action from the beginning of the transfer window. Purse strings are tight, but the defence needs sorting out and, if we are to lose Sordell, then a striker with some sort of record has to be brought in. If not, I’ll be getting on the aussiemike train of thinking. And I don’t need that for the New Year.