Yesterday, it looked to me like Mellon decided that all he needed to do was win handsomely and the job was his. He filled the team with supporter favourites and waited for the goals to mount up. From the kick off, I had a feeling of impending doom. A manager is not there to do what the fans want. He is a professional. He should have a better understanding of the game than the fans. He needs to think about balance, he needs to think about defence as well as attack and he needs to consider how the opposition will play. The system that we began with was one that could have worked, but not with the players he chose. Pedersen looked confused. McCourt looked lost. He ambled around unsure of what to to do and positively refusing to move around in order to find space. Mellis played deep, a recipe for defensive collapse. It clearly was not working. The goal, when it arrived went to the opposition. It was a mess. I clearly heard a shout from the keeper. Ramage stopped, The keeper missed it. Nightmare. The manager changed the system to 4-4-2 with a diamond in mid-field and soon after McCourt pulled up with a hamstring to be replaced by JoB. Immediately there was more energy and movement. Cywka went down and the ref gave us a soft penalty, which Tugay scored. The full back were encouraged to make it a 6 man midfield in order to provide the width that is absent with the diamond. Yeovil played on the break, exploiting the gaps behind the full backs. We made chances, but they made more and theirs were the better chances. The game took on the appearance of school football. Finally, Perkins succumbed to a calf injury that he had nursed for the previous 10 minutes and Mellon brought on Big Jean at centre forward, the actions of a desperate man. The system became 2-5-3 and any semblance to a game of football went out of the window as the team were instructed to find Big Jean in the air. In my opinion, we were lucky to get a point. Furthermore, I do not want a manager at my club who has no principles. I want someone who leads and who is prepared to say, "this is who I am and this is how I believe we should play the game". If that was how Mellon believes his team should play the game, I do not want him because he is a fool.
Good post. Mansford has to feel the apathy of the fan base and do something about it.....quickly. For me, Mellon has done a good "sitting in" job and he's got us 4 points, we should thank him for that. We now need to move on with a fresh managerial change and use the Jan transfer window to cut the deadwood from the squad.