The only thing wrong was Cheltenham not taking the lead. Cos we only start playing as though we mean it when we go behind. Admittedly when we get in front we do go back to negative mode.
To me the team dont play like a tight unit. Players seem unsure of their roles a lot of the time and are inconsistent as a result. The team looks disjointed and its only because of occasional, intermittent pieces of skill that something good or inspiring happens. All down to the coaching for me. The team shape is nowhere near as tight and fluid (if that's not a contradiction) as it was last season. Again, down to the coach. Players are underperforming, unsure of themselves and possibly lacking in confidence as a result. I suspect the board will stick with Collins come what may, but as has been said, ST sales will take a hit if the team dont finish the season well and Collins remains. He's not getting the best out of these players in spite of being dealt a shi.tty hand.
I’m not a Collins out man by any means, & despite only attending two matches so far this season, I think the above sums this season up perfectly, from gut feeling alone. It’s clear there’s a togetherness lacking, from the players as a unit, to the management team, the board & the supporters. We definitely aren’t all pulling in the same direction, a lot of the fan base are disillusioned with Collins tactics & style of pay, coupled with the home performances in general, it’s been poor, and it’s a shame there isn’t such a thing as away season tickets, as that would be far better value. The board are a law unto themselves, completely unprofessional & lacking any type of experience or quality in how to run a professional football club. And then on top of all that the dire state of English football presently, clubs like ours are struggling to compete, & it shows when supporters are worried about promotion rather than relishing it! The above might be something the Supporters might gloss over if Oakwell & the matchday experience in general was better, what we’ve got currently is quite honestly below national league level.
I would suggest signing players who aren't duds. If we stay in this league 100% we will sell less season tickets next season. We would have even without hiking them up.
I thought the first half performance was pretty good. Imo we moved the ball faster and got forward more quickly and certainly created chances. The fact we didn't score was partially due to their keeper pulling off several good saves and partly due to poor finishing. The thing that annoyed me the during the second half was the lack of intensity in everything we did. Goal-kicks, throw-ins, corners, all took too long as players meandered into position. We needed to generate pace and build momentum and we didn't do that. I felt a bit let down that the players didn't seem willing (or able) to bust a gut in search of the goal we needed, it was too 'controlled'.
We must have some kind of consistancy when we've won 20 drawn 11 and only lost 7 with a plus 26 goal difference.
I did try to explain myself but perhaps I didn't do it well enough. I wasn't referring to the points total, rather the level of performance and quality of skill on the pitch. The points and stats are there for all obviously. Hope that's a bit clearer. Apologies for my clumsy explanation.