I haven't heard Flicker's excuses for this afternoon's lacklustre display, but to be honest, they have already worn thin. "Difficult start" was the first one. Thumpings from Wigan, Blackburn, Watford - none of whom are in the top six. Points have been thrown away against Blackpool, Forest, Charlton, Wednesday, Ipswich and Doncaster. All from games where we were unable to put out for a full 90 minutes. What happened to the "most intensive" pre-season we've ever experienced? What happened to "we can't carry on like this"? OK, we've finally kept a clean sheet this afternoon. But in all honesty, what's that worth against a side who posed such little attacking threat as Doncaster? O'Grady is undoubtedly industrious, but his lack of pace is becoming more apparent with every game - no wonder Jones was prepared to let him go. The penalty kick was unprofessional and inexcusable, and cost us the extra two points. Pederson is so starved of service from midfield that his early promise is rapidly evaporating. McCourt is talented, but in no way, shape or form a team player. Dawson and Etuhu started on the sidelines in a game that called out for someone to impose themselves. O'Brien is another "trier", but his Hollywood display last week has not turned him into a skillful plyer or an accurate passer. We have no link between midfield and attack, and our strikers play like strangers. The defence is looking a little better, but to be honest it would be a mistake to judge them against the likes of Wednesday, Ipswich and Donny. All in all, this team, composed as it is of largely League One and Two players (in no small part Keith Hill's fault) is beginning to find it's centre of gravity. It may be that when we've dug ourselves sufficiently into a hole, we will effect another miraculous escape. But is that progress? I've been more disappointed with the Wednesday and Donny draws than some of the heavy losses - because those games were very winnable. Both beforehand, and as the matches turned out. Flicker is a brilliant bloke. But he's a firefighter. He is clearly not equipped to build a team that can achieve more than bare survival. If it were down to being a "good guy", Flicker could have the manager's job for life for me. But there's a little too much respect going on. I'd like him to come out and say "that Dickov's a right ****". If this club is going to move forwards (by which I only mean avoiding the annual crapfest at the bottom) then we need someone with more tactical awareness and some vision of what constitutes a balanced side which can play as a team. 11,000 today, on the heels of only 13,000 for Wednesday. The fans (and potential fans) are voting with their feet, Ben. Danny Wilson is out there - go get him.
Slightly unfair really to be honest, on another day we could have had five without really playing any different and the mood would have been totally different on here, it just didn't go for us today, it happens. Jack Butland must have been bored as f**k.
Springvale Red and myself have had a change of heart, having sat through that shower of (insert here) today, John. We're going down, mate. No doubt about it.
Hmm! ******* new badges, ******* tellies in t'stands, ******* oakwell ales in t'non-existent bar? What about a team?
To be honest, I agree with you wholeheartedly Orsenkart. We kept saying when we were getting trollied that the winnable games are coming, but they are here and we are not winning them. Every time people seem to be seeing something to take as a positive but it seems to me that it just means that we weren't quite awful enough for people to lose patience. But all the time our position at the bottom is becoming more entrenched and "sleepwalking to relegation" is about the right description. There were no positives for me today at all. I thought that Donny were one of the worst sides I have seen in years, following on from the worst Wednesday side in years, and we have beaten neither of them, at home. I was bored sh1tless to be honest and along with being cold and wet, couldn't wait to go home.
On another day we could have had five really is wearing thin. We can't keep throwing these points away, not now we're deep in the **** again.
By Christmas we'll be gonners. We won't repeat what we did last season. Remember that last season felt like quicksand, we played amazing and turned in a play off series of points, but never pulled away until the very last game. And at present, we have fewer points than this time last season.
totally agree, ive been saying it for weeks now but i seem to get slated on here, WE ARE LEAVING IT TOO LATE FOR A NEW MANAGER TO SAVE US. Get rid of Flicker now. Get a new man in the next two weeks whilst we have a break. I trust our board to deliver a decent manager.
Who? Who will want to come here? We tried numerous options last season and all turned us down. We stuck with Flicker and got lucky. So who do we go for? Ferguson? Why leave Peterboro where promotion looks likely and he's very well thought of for a club that will offer him nothing he doesn't already have? Wilson? Would split the fanbase further. Holloway? Admitted to needing time out of the game and is probably out of our price range. Warnock? See Wilson. Parkinson? Fantastic with Bradford last season but would be seen as another lower league, cheap option. I'm currently not happy with what we've got but I don't see that there's a better option available.