We're weaker than last season

equaliser

Well-known member
Up for first live game of the season and distinctly underwhelmed. Firstly, poor Muniz: absolute class above, feeding off scraps. The best players are the loan players, basically, which is a bit depressing. Not impressed by Clarke at all, looks uncomfortable on the ball. Jones's poor first touch and absolute inability to cross a ball are now starting to outweigh his positive attributes, Crooks is so ponderous and casual on the ball at times, but you look at who we've got on the bench and who is better? Where's the creativity? At least Watmore tried to make things happen and McGree didn't hide, but the reason the team has gone backwards is that loss of Tavernier means there is no one to carry the ball from midfield. We lack that energy and forward momentum. I don't think we're as bad as our league position suggests but we are a mid-table team, and possibly bottom half. Beforehand I was hopeful, and of course confidence is such a big thing, but you just can't see that side putting a long run of wins together. Wilder could well be gone by Xmas if results don't improve significantly. Thank God for Muniz, and let's hope he stays fit, but you can't base everything on a 21 year old kid from far far away. Recruitment 4/10.
 
I don’t get how our starting XI can be poorer.


We’ve improved it with Steffan, Giles and Muniz, but lost Tav.


Has the loss of Tav really weakened us more than those 3 improvements? I think it’s more a case of a few players being below par, and a serious lack of luck
Lumley - was great every other game

Dijksteel - better than McNair
Fry - played with confidence
McNair - better than Clarke

Jones - less defensive
Crooks - faster, stronger, harder
Howson - he was solid and consistent
Tavernier - was by far our best player
Bola - Giles’s crossing is better

Sporar - better than nowt
Balogun - wasn’t that bad
 
Lumley - was great every other game

Dijksteel - better than McNair
Fry - played with confidence
McNair - better than Clarke

Jones - less defensive
Crooks - faster, stronger, harder
Howson - he was solid and consistent
Tavernier - was by far our best player
Bola - Giles’s crossing is better

Sporar - better than nowt
Balogun - wasn’t that bad
'Lumley - was great every other game'

Really?
 
I know one man doesn’t make a team but if Tav was still here we would probably be in the top half now, maybe even pushing top six. Midfield is lost without him. I think we are most certainly better up front with Muniz a big upgrade on Connelly or Barogan, and Giles is better than Taylor offensively, plus we have improved the goal keeper situation. So yeah the main problem is we lost our best midfield player and didn’t replace him - consequently we can’t compete in midfield, either offensively or defensively enough to win games
 
I don’t get how our starting XI can be poorer.


We’ve improved it with Steffan, Giles and Muniz, but lost Tav.


Has the loss of Tav really weakened us more than those 3 improvements? I think it’s more a case of a few players being below par, and a serious lack of luck
As good as Giles is going forward, I don't think he's as good defensively as Taylor was. Has this been part of the reason why we've been so poor defensively this season?

Teams have really exploited us down the flanks, which didn't seem to happen as much last season, although that could just be my imagination.

I think the loss of Tav has been huge, not because I think he should have been considered indespensible to us, but because we haven't replaced him with a player who possesses similar attributes.

We needed to sign a player with energy who could carry out that role of tracking back and winning the ball, or winning the ball in the oppositions half. How many times do we see our midfielders do this now during the game?
 
For me it’s just team chemistry— we’ve seen what can happen at other clubs when the confidence is down the toilet and chemistry is non existent. For me that’s the major problem with everything which can be solved by a good win or maybe a new manager coming in.
 
I think it's a very valid point about team chemistry and confidence is obviously shot right now, meaning players just try to get rid/make panicked decisions (witness Watmore's terrible sidefoot volley over which would have settled us down had he scored). We just didn't seem to have the tools to build pressure in midfield though. Maybe Luongo will add something. As for Steffen, what was that punch he did?! He's wide, with a showy stop-stopper feel to him, but at this level you're going to face a lot of crosses. He worries me on that count. Better than Lumley at least, one would hope.
Thing is, say we're 14th by December (basically where Warnock was) does Gibson give Wilder another window? You do feel for him a bit losing his best player but we should have done what other teams did, limed up a replacement before we let Tav go. You worry we never seem to pick up those gems from abroad like other teams. Where's that schemer who picks a pass, always wants the ball?
 
Two main reasons I think.

1. Loss of Tav resulting in a much weaker midfield, too easily ran over and dominated by the opposition.

2 . We pretty much defended with a back 4 last season as all our attacking threat was from the right, Taylor tucked in as more of a LB than LWB with dijksteel on the right behind Jones and Crooks. Giles is of course loads better going forward but our resulting changed shape makes it easier for opposition sides to get at the space outside our wide CBs.
 
I think man for man we have replaced the out goings with far better players.

The keepers are a massive upgrade. You'd say the likes of Hall/Coulson /Uche etc have been replaced by better.

So you'd have to say the recruitment has been pretty decent. The issue is they simply haven't clicked. The amount of times ball go astray or players are looking at each other with a look of 'why did you do that? '.

I'm guessing a turnover of 12 players will do that. Also some seem questionable like Hoppe and Forss. I don't see why we've signed either. They don't look like Wilder 'types'.

I just think it's going to take time. I didn't think it would take until October.

The other issue isn't just the new signings. It's players like Howson / Crooks/ Jones who look a shadow of last season. You'd say all 3 were arguably our best players last year. So f"ck knows what's happening with them.
 
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