Meant to do this after game week 23 so probably a slight change in perception from then. First off I’m clearly no football manager. This is just opinions and a launch pad to discuss. The positives I’m taking are a substantial increase in entertainment from the dourness of Collinsball and the league position which all considered is probably a bit ahead of where we should be. I thought that a season of rebuild was reasonable given that the team had been gutted of its better players. The appointment of DC on the surface looked a little odd for a promotion chasing team but the flip side of that is having someone with a big opportunity to develop their career. The negatives have been the home form and some odd substitutions and the form of Cosgrove who I just feel sorry for tbh. 36 points after the 23 games puts us close to the play offs and 2 good wins since then has strengthened that. Birmingham will clearly win the league at a canter and Wrexham are very good at home. Both Wycombe and Huddersfield have very good L1 managers which leaves 2 spaces to fill. Looking at the league a third tilt at the playoffs looks difficult but achievable. Bolton if they sack Evatt will be real contenders. Anyway scores on the doors. 7 - Head Coach DC clearly he a lot of influence in bringing DKD to the club so definite plaudits for that. His honesty is refreshing though sometimes he does seem over critical of players in public. The fewer decisions he has to make the better manager he is. Subs are definitely not his thing. Plaudits for easing Nwakali into the side given his obvious talent it must have been tempting to rush him but DC seems to have handled it very well. 7 - Killip I have to be honest post Orient I thought his race was run but he has bounced back well. His distribution is poor and he doesn’t command his area well but has really Improved his shot stopping. 6.5 Gent. Bags of potential and I’m really looking forward to watching him develop. Needs to work on his positional sense as he is often not in the right place a the right time and on his final cross shot. A work in progress but he will progress 7 - Cotter Barry is a mad as a box of frogs and I love him for it. A defensive liability sometimes but great to watch he started off the season very well. Does he fit the system? I’m not sure 7.5 - O’Keefe. Can be a really frustrating player sometimes but seems to be shoring up his defensive game and our top assister so gave him a bonus .5 for that. 6.5 MDG. Switches off. Makes too many basic errors played 50 odd games and we’d have rarely kept a clean sheet during that period. Can pick a pass and change defence to attack quickly but his defensive shortcomings outweigh that for me. 6.5 - Pines. Who can do anything but love Donny. Seems a great guy. A bit limited as a player but 100% effort 100% of the time. 7.5 - Roberts started off very shakily but was playing excellently prior to his injury. Brilliant to have Marc back at the club shame it couldn’t happen a year or two sooner. 7 - Earl. Again started off the season poorly but seemed to Improve in the weeks leading up to his injury. Brilliant to watch when he joins in attacking moves. 8. Russell. Probably the most Improved player at the club. Still needs to work on using his physicality and decision making but we are starting to see the player he was initially at Huddersfield. Massive plaudits to DC and the staff in getting a tune out of him. Needs to stop fannying about with it near our goal though. 7. Phillips it’s been a stop start campaign for Adam. This mark may be a bit low but I’m basing it on what he is capable of doing and what he is actually doing. 6.5 Connell. Luca still hasn’t recovered that first season form and is awful at shooting. Improved after we dropped Craig but still way below his standard. 7.5 Nwakali. Obviously very early days for him but the weight and direction of some of his passing is several layers above L1. He just needs to work on the more simple stuff and short passing. Maybe the key to turning those draws into wins at Oakwell. 8. DKD. A few games ago the money we had invested seemed questionable but he has really stepped up his game over the last month. Not just the goal scoring but his overall play. Reminds me of Craig Hignett a lot. Defenders know what he is going to do when he cuts in onto his right foot but stopping him is a different matter. Needs to work on his heading and close range finishing but will hold the key to a successful season alongside Phillips 7. Watters. We missed him when he wasn’t there. Does a lot of unselfish running which creates space for DKD and Phillips. Needs to add goals to his game. 3. Cosgrove. Let’s face it. It’s just not worked. It’s almost painful to watch him struggle. I hope he can kickstart his career somewhere else 7. Humphrys. All the personality to be a fans favourite. Needs a little more consistency but he is the replacement for Norwood that we have finally signed. Pace, strength and good movement. Defenders must hate him being in their face 5. Gaga. The loan didn’t work out. He will be a good keeper. Just not now 4. Craig. Not the type of signing we needed. Our quality is all in midfield so was always going to find it a struggle. 4. Marsh. Some cameos but still not showing enough really. A new start needed. 6.5. McCarthy not seen enough of him to score more highly but hasn’t let anyone down. 7. Yoganathan. There’s clearly a lot of talent there if the coaching staff can work on his physicality. My player of the season so far probably Russell just for the improvements in his game. DKD and Roberts a close second Game of the Season - Bolton. Always a pleasure to beat an Ian Evatt side. overall I’d give us a very solid 7 out of 10. We have a team full of players that are developing and a coaching staff that are increasingly getting things right Goal of the Season DKD against Crawley. Nightmare of the season Orient. Still a WTF performance Anyway onwards and upwards
I try to keep the expectations down so as not to be too disappointed lol. And we're doing much better now than my first guesses from back in Jul/Aug, which I think was around the top 10. As this season has moved on though, I keep thinking the potential is definitely there, and that we really should be hoping to make the Play offs again. And then if that happens, we'll take it from there.
I would agree with pretty much all of that. However it’s worth pointing out the storming run that Leyton Orient are on. They’ve won something like 8 and drawn 1 of their last 9 games and looking like they can make a push for a top two finish. The battering they gave us was certainly not a one off.
Mael I would give a 7. Last 4 or so games I'd give him a 9. I really like him, reminds me so much of andersen when he arrived. I know he's been here a while longer now but I really do think he will be a big player for us when we look back years from now.
Pretty much agree with the general info. I haven't seen a lot of live games so my judgment is limited. Positives. I think we are in a positive position and perhaps a few places above where i expected. It gives us a platform to build. Some talent seems to be improving as individuals (Gent, Watters, Russel, DKD, Nwakali). We seem to have a game plan now. Challenges. I still think we as a squad are short of quality. I am not convinced by MDV, O’Keefe and our strike force in general is weak. We need to see more from the likes of Cotter, Connell and Lofthouse. Loanees havent been a success at all. Home form is awful. Personally there are 2-3 players we could move on in this window permanently and 1-2 where loans out will help them. This opens the door for maybe 1-2 quality signings plus 1-2 better loanees in. You could argue we lost a midfielder in Hourihane. The season so far as been 6/10 in general. The cups dont seem to suit is of late and not a great success. The direction of developing the club. Well im encouraged with the concept of consolidating fan engagement but lets see how it works. I still thing the game day experience is poor 4/10 The board. Not a lot to discuss. I feel we missed an opportunity with a true footballing head in as DOF. Im not sure we have seen any major decisions that make us sit up and listen. Transfer windows are a usual test. 3/10
Agree with the comments around fan engagement and the board but I’d probably score them a 4 and a 6. DKD was obviously the managers top target and they went after him and delivered so some credit in the bank due for that.
