If we are patient, will it come right?

Serious question. Just watched the post match reaction with Ben fingering his tie when he talks about the inexperience of the side he has assembled. He's seen something there and he talks about one, or two experienced players coming in. Can we do that before January?

 

We'll never know unless we try. There is no one, or very, very few, who are confident it will happen, even amongst those who are dead set against sacking Johnson. But we can't be sure it won't come right either. We don't know. But past experience has taught us that sacking yet another manager is unlikely to improve our position and has the very real possibility of making us even worse.

 

You are probably right, but surely you have to see proof that thing's can improve, no matter how slight. Has it stand's if johnson is given time the only thing i see us achieving is a league 2 status.

 

It's possible that may happen, I'm not ruling it out. But it's equally possible results will improve. Going on last night, I'd say not. Going on the Gillingham and Swindon games I think there's every chance. And we could sack the manager and be relegated to League 2.

 

I think that the idea that we will be able to sign a Manager with Cloughie like qualities is a pipe dream. We are in division three (you know what I mean) though and it shouldn't be beyond a club like us to acquit ourselves well in it. There are some sizeable outfits who have struggled with this division though, so it's not easy. We've some good young players and some experience in the treatment room, we probably need our resolve stiffening with some more experienced. The question is, does LJ have the tactical nous to win games with what he's got. For me, it's not proven yet and his win ratio is appalling, but so was Alex Ferguson's in the early days.

 

With things as they are not a chance!

 

Ben?

 

Hypothetical question. If we had scored one of the two very good chances that came our way at 0-0 (Winall and Smith, both 1st half) do you think we would still have lost? I think we're bereft of confidence, the player's heads visibly dropped when the first goal went in. We may as well have stopped then, because we were not coming back. I'm not sure if I'm blinkered, too optimistic or just daft, but I think we're a couple of good wins away from being ok. Don't ask me where they're coming from.

 

Wacky Backy ?

 

I don't disagree but you can find examples of this in every match of every team that struggles.

 

I thought when I saw the team sheet good an attacking formation but alas it was the same tactics one up front , playing our best goal scorer in midfield.

Smith I thought played ok [although i am not a great lover of his skills ] but one forward will never beat 4 defenders . Then when he took George off I was dismayed After the recent managers Hill, Flitcroft. I really believed a young manager with a vision on the game but unfortunatley his vision is clouded and whatever the circumstances he will not budge from this one forward plan it WILL cost him his job ultimatley if not after over 50 years there will be one less season ticket holder there

 

Sorry, I meant LJ.

 

I doubt it. There isn't even the faintest sliver of hope but we have to try and stick with someone

 

I dunno. We scored first against Southend and still lost. I thought Walsall were a better team than us. That doesn't mean they would have definitely still won had we scored first, but I think they would have put us under an awful lot of pressure. I'm not sure how our young team would cope with that, but I'm guessing not well.

 

Fair point, I honestly thought we shaded the first half and they grew into it. Smith's chance came at a great time from a psychological point of view (if he scores). 2nd there was only one team going to win, it was probably a question of 'when' rather than 'if'.

 

That's fair. But over the 90 minutes I thought they were a long way ahead of us. We've shown we're capable of playing well in patches in a number of games this season, but we have a real problem in sustaining that over a full match. Even against Swindon, when we produced some great football, we looked extremely dodgy for significant periods of the first half.

 

First half I thought both teams looked better going forwards - their keeper looked a liability. Pity we didn't (couldn't) put more pressure on him. Then we started well 2nd half until Lee Johnson's statement that he doesn't like playing centre halves at full back was shown to be a decent point of view.

 

Yes, I forgot about that one

talk the talk....

 

George Smith was having a good game too. It's not just that he keeps doing it and it keeps biting him on the arse, it's that, like you said, he specifically said he didn't want to do it when he first got here. Genuinely don't understand it.