There's definitely a mental problem with this set of players

The last league game in which we went a goal down and came back to win was on Boxing Day 2003 against Hartlepool. When you go well over two years without being able to recover from going a goal behind it stops being anything to do with luck and highlights that you've got a serious problem. The same problem I believe accounts for our awful away record. That needs addressing, but I'm not sure our manager even knows it exists. If he did I'm positive he would have signed an experienced player during the transfer window. Ritchie went in for Horlock, was told he was available, but decided against signing him for reasons best known to himself. Donny snapped him up and according to the radio commentary today he was man of the match. A signing like that could make the difference between promotion and also rans, so I think Ritchie has made a huge error.

Having said that, I think the majority of things Ritchie has done have been right. All I wanted this season was an improvement and I think we've seen that and then some. I thought Ritchie inherited a very average squad and he's turned them into genuine promotion challengers. Not that I think we've looked like a team capable of that for much of the time, but we've achieved the results and despite today's debacle we've still got a very realistic chance.

Let's hope we turn it around on Tuesday.

 

the problem is..

that we lack backbone and in fairness when things go wrong ritchie has not got the B*ll*cks to change things. the best example of this is not signing someone so he does not upset any of his mates....

 

And his awful indecision...

...combined with his inability to spot a decent player has us hovering in an unacceptable position just above the relegation places in sixth.

 

this board gets on my nerves sometimes

the point is, we bottled it today. alright, we're doing better than expected on the season as a whole.

BUT

there ARE problems. we could be doing better. are we supposed to just sit and accept that andy ritchie knows everything? he blatantly doesn't, and while i accept he's doing a lot better than we thought, and by all accounts we are doing well, that doesn't mean we aren't allowed to complain when we get shat on by a mediocre bunch of cloggers form down the road, who we should have thrashed, especially as half their first team is injured!

 

RE: this board gets on my nerves sometimes

Never said he knows everything. People know our recent results against Donny, but somehow it still comes as an unacceptable shock when they turn us over.

Sometimes teams have our measure. It happens.

 

what does that say about the manager then?

if he cannot see that doncaster beat us everytime using his standard (only?) tactic and doesnt know how to change it

 

Show me a team who can vary their style.

Just one in this division. Or any division.

You play to your strengths. Sometimes those strengths are negated by another team's strengths.

If he'd played about with formations, tactics or substitutions, it'd be "like Spackman all over again" or something to that effect.

You win some, you lose some. Last time I checked, we were winning more than we were losing. Call me an idiot, but to me that sounds like he's doing something right.

 

we have varied it

from passing against decent teams to hit and hope long ball against everyone else

 

Perspective.

I said Wilson did that, especially when we had Ward as the targetman. That's not just Ritchie: we've done it for years.

 

one key difference

we had a proper target man then. we havent got one now that can consistently do the job. we also havent got a midfield that will support those tactics.

 

The number of goals scored by our midfield this season...

Suggests otherwise. Everyone's chipping in. I'd prefer that myself.

 

Once again your spot on

 

how does that prove otherise?

they cannot support the long ball style of play and saying that they have scored a few goals is irrelevant because the vast majority of them havent come from the long ball.</p>

 

Okay, I'm wrong.

Our midfielders are only scoring from absolute gimmes that in no way occurred from hit and hopes. They're obviously a rarity.

Ritchie out.

 

I bet

You've been out and had loads of mucky beer and some gaycopops

 

That obvious?

Given how much I've spent, I'm pretty disappointed with the result.

 

RE: this board gets on my nerves sometimes

Top point Gaz. Why does everyone reach for the doom and gloom button after loosing to Donny? If we had played to our absolute maximum we would probably stll have lost.
Why? just because we always do.

 

He talks a reight loada ballocks.