I thought we were loads better

I think there are less aimless long balls than under Clarke but our possession is often really pointless. It's slow, it doesn't progress a lot of the time, the passing is timid and invites pressure, there isn't any transition up the pitch and our centre backs are far too high given our lack of pace.

We had that little spell second half where we put together a period of pressure and got a head of steam, but it ceased pretty quickly.

I'm certainly not at a point where I'm clamouring for Hourihane to get the job. But I'm not sure whoever we appoint is going to make a huge difference either. We badly need to get some people involved around the club who actually know something about football.

 

It's glaringly obvious that word has gone out we're the softest of touches if you just press us in our own half. Managers do speak to each other, believe me. Time and time again we've seen visiting teams - particularly those struggling down the table - just put the press on, right across our backline, who're simply not technically good enough to beat it.

 

Exactly. Who would you rather look at?

 

I saw improvements in this game and the last, but wouldn’t say they were significant, mainly due to our long standing issues around how the team defends as well as continued individual errors.

Personally, I feel Conor will be the appointment of last resort, which - judging by the last appointment - is a strong possibility. I still feel we’ll try and bring in a young continental coach who’s been exposed and immersed in the ‘high press’.

Agree that we need to move a significant number of players on. Watters, O’Keeffe and Nwakali can go now, but I feel that a good coach could get something out of MDG and Russell, though that’s almost based on blind faith, so I can understand the other viewpoint.

 

It'd be an incredible shame if Flavell doesn't start next season as number 1 IMHO.

We've signed and spent good money on two young international goalkeepers this season based on their ability on the ball and Flavell has looked better than both and probably made fewer errors.

 

I wondered where my glasses had gone, your wearing them. Its still so very crap but I can see some minor improvements. I dont expect much whilst the squad is so injury ravaged.

 

Were there a few positives in the games so far under Conor? A few yes. But there were under Clarke. A team doesn't win 15 games without any positive aspects to their play. We'd won more than we'd lost when Clarke got the boot. It's now the other way around.

I've no interest in Conor bashing. I like him a lot. I didn't want him to get the job because it's a hiding to nothing. His poor record while he's in charge of us may adversely affect his future prospects when the reality is he's got nothing to work with. I didn't want that to happen to him.

But Clarke had nothing to work with either and yet we spent much of the season in the play-offs. We're now in full on relegation form.

I'm not claiming that Clarke was any better, I just don't see the results and performances of the last 4 games as any sort of improvement. If anything, things have got worse.

 

I put our average to poor season entirely down to the absolute wasters that make up a lot of our squad. Limited ability, no heart.

Doesn't matter who the manager is.

 

I think the squad and Clarke ran out of steam. Lots of reasons for that - imbalanced squad, reliance on small number of senior players, bad recruitment, failed promises etc. You only have to look at the Clarke of the first few months compared to the last to see how shot he looked.

I don't think he's a bad manager and I don't think he did a bad job either. But a change was needed.

 

I think it's clear to everyone that Warne is the best available candidate, which leads me to believe that he won't be coming here. There will be more attractive propositions for him. Huddersfield primarily.

 

I've always wanted to go to Cork.

 

I think any change of head coach is papering over the cracks. The problems we have are much more deep seated than that. We've had, in the last couple of weeks, the majority share holder give a number of interviews in which he has dictated the style the team has to play. The last two managers were dismissed because they didn't conform to this style and the next will be recruited only if they play this style. That wasn't a coach talking or the sporting director or the CEO but the majority share holder. You ever heard of that before? Do you think it's good practice?

I don't know if he was repeating the values of the sporting director or if it's his own philosophy, but when we get our next head coach we already know how we're going to play. No concession will be made to the type of players we have, we don't appear to sign players that can play a press, the tactics and style preferred by the head coach will not be utilised, we're playing a high press. Our opponents next season can start planning a strategy against us now if they want.

Conor has come in and gone along with it, press, press, press. That's all he's talked about in terms of game plan. But it doesn't make any difference who Conor is, he's just instructing the team to play the tactics favoured by the majority share holder.

It's nuts.

 

I think the entire thing is insane for the size of club we are and especially insane when you think that we can't f.cking afford any of these people who are being paid to run it.

A big simplification needed. Any other business our size wouldn't have this many people to 'manage' it.

 

Warne is nailed on for Rotherham. He’ll sell season tickets and I believe they’ve already brought in one of his old assistants.

 

The usual twenty minutes where the players effectively admit they can play football but then seventy minutes of presumably choosing not to. Receive the ball in space, on the edge of the opponent's area, try to pass back to a crowded teammate. Have a chance to cross in, cut back and play it around midfield then back to the defence when pressed. Get caught dwelling on the ball. Concede. Receive a pass through, get caught flat footed. I won't even bother ranting about the weak link who's careless play demoralises the whole team match after match. It could so easily have been 4-1 to Exeter today.

 

I put it down to the absolute waster who signed the bulk of our squad.

 

Aye, part of the problem.

 

Just an opinion.
Ist half. gash, schoolboy errors for both goals. Ist one, entire defence. 2nd what a gaff. From MDG.
But (and I know he is not still at his best.) When Connell came on he changed the game. Controlling the ball out of defence and not as much as the sideways backwards stuff, like in the 1st half. All it does, is allow their defence to get organised, and does nowt for us.
Jalo was not man marked by just one player. it gave them the opportunity of 2 players sometimes 3 to close him down. As our midfield generally didn't get forward quick enough to assist. With him having to take on multiple defenders. He may have to get used to that.

 

I still can't help feeling the squad has under performed.Top 6 for a big part of the season to a shadow of what we can do.
Big changes needed in the summer but ready as always for whats to come.