Twenty games in

We’ve played all but three teams. Two top half teams yet to play, but we have played nine of the current 12.

Let’s look at the results so far:

Portsmouth L 2-3
Peterborough L 1-3
Oxford L 1-3
Stevenage H 23/12
Bolton TBA
Derby L 3-0
Barnsley N/A
Blackpool L 0-1
Lincoln D 2-2
Charlton D 1-1
Bristol Rovers D 1-1
Northampton W 1-2

We have lost every game against teams in the top eight, and have won just one game against a top half team, Northampton. Who are twelfth, and even then only on goal difference. In nine games against the current top twelve teams, we have managed a total of six points. Woeful.

In eight games against the top ten, it is only 2 points. Actually quite scary.

In five games so far against the top eight? Nothing. Nada. Pathetic.

Compare it to the bottom half:

Shrewsbury W 3-0
Orient D 1-1
Port vale W 7-0
Cambridge W 0-4
Wigan W 0-2
Wycombe W 1-0
Burton W 2-0
Exeter W 0-1
Carlisle 16/01
Fleetwood D 2-2
Reading W 1-3
Cheltenham W 0-2

11 fixtures, 9 wins, 2 draws. 29 points. Incredible.

Overall, with an almost complete sample, I think it’s pretty conclusive that Collins’ team can consistently beat the dross, and are impressively consistent against weaker teams - but can’t lay a glove on anyone any good.

And any conversation about how many points we have or how close we are to the top six are all well and good - if we can’t beat anyone in the top six, or even top ten, we won’t finish in it.

Stevenage on Saturday is huge. Lose that, carrying on the pattern, and I honestly think the board have to make a decision.

 

Not sure he as the dressing room.
Really struggling to get to grips with Collins style and formation.
Really need to go back to a back 4 , clearly not working this season, we look Really vulnerable down the flanks especially the right side today.
O keefe looked out of depth in his defensive duties ,and was at fault for the equaliser.

 

The ‘poorer’ teams don’t trouble out defence as much.

The ‘better’ teams do.

And the defence imo is where it all stems from.

Even the board have admitted it’s their priority signing in January.

Bring a Sollbauer type figure in, move Williams onto the RH wing. And then I think we might see a big difference.

 

The fact that we cashed in the heart of our defence is entirely coincidental.

 

In their slight defence, Kitching's head was turned even when we initially turned down Coventry. He was horrendous for us when the season started. They did brilliant to get the money we did for him - hopefully by Jan we are still in touching distance the the play offs and the board spend some of that money on a defender.

 

And they all lived happily ever after!

 

Doubt it, they're still all losing money as it stands

 

What money? It's easy for them to claim we are getting a lot of money for him but any time anyone mentions using it they say they can't because we haven't actually got owt for him and it will be drip fed. Sounds a really bad deal to me if the amount we get in installments each time is so poor that we can't sign anyone apart from kids from local Sunday league sides

 

So why are they involved?

 

We are a top half team at best, destined to finish somewhere between 8th and 12th, nothing more nothing less. Any side with half decent attacking players is going to pick that back line apart and they do, every time.
We also don’t get bodies forward quick enough like we did last season and that’s all because the wing backs sit deeper to protect a fragile back line. I understand that we’d very little choice but to cash in on Anderson and Kitching (Thomas was only on loan) but to replace them with non league and foreign third tier players was unforgivable.

 

Because that's how we purchase players too? The reason we got that much is because we agreed to be paid that way, there's no reason we can't go out and look for a defender using the same methods. Most clubs do similar

 

The last thing the wing-backs do is "hang back" to protect the defence. It's actually the total opposite: the wing "backs" provide no defensive cover whatsoever. Combined with with a midfield who, apart from Connell, show no inclination to defend, this means we are always on the back foot. Today showed it many times, Charlton were able to play many 1-2s in our penalty area because our "wing backs" are, essentially, wingers who may get the occasional tackle in....

 

They certainly do have a decision to make.

Continue the relentless cycle of cashing in on the best players, trying to find imports and non league players on the cheap and continue the inexorable downward cycle of the last 15 years or for once reinvest some of the several millions in player inbound transfers they are due from the summer transfer activity to actually back one of the managers that they selected.

 

You might be right about them only occasionally getting a tackle in but they’re not wingers. I remember wingers, hugging the touch line, beating a man getting my arse off my seat. Are they wingers?

 

No way are they winger’s
Wingers should have white lining on their boots

 

Whilst I get what you're saying, it doesn't matter where the points come from... to take it to the extreme you could lose home and away to the top eight, but win home and away at the bottom fifteen and you'd finish on 90 pts.

 

And not a chance they will.
Personally, I don't think Collins is good enough even if he had a capable defence, but the board knows that with our defence, they are equally as culpable. They thought we could wing it, they got it wrong, but due to their lack of football knowledge, I dont think they comprehend that yet.
But we have discovered a few saleable assets in the youth team, which in their minds is a success.
I'll be amazed if we spend anything in the window, we'll finish up 12th-14th, Collins will still be here next season and they'll hope for more youth money pots.

 

But we're not winning home and away to the bottom fifteen are we.

 

We lack pace up front and in defence. Both Williams and Okeefe couldn't handle the guy on the right wing and Cosgrove and Macatee lack pace. We have signed league standard players at best and non league. We have sold many of our talented players over a number of season and papered over the cracks during the summer after the sale of our quality players and head coach. We are where we deserve to be due to the boards attitude to our transfer policy.

 

To be fair, we beat Port Vale 7-0 opening day, who then won five of the next six (drawing the other at Blackpool) and were top of the league most of August.

We beat Wigan away, who were top early days without their points deduction.

We've beaten Reading away for the first time in years.

Best away start to a season in years.

Lost one game in 10 (Derby away).

Charlton were good today for large parts. Unbeaten in six. Beat Wigan away, held Pompey away. They're no mugs. Ignoring their terrible August they'd be right up there. I think it was a positive performance and a fair result.