Maybe it's just going to be this way....

Until we can come to terms with the physicality and work rate of this division and the unpredictability of the opposition, maybe we are in for quite a few jekyll and Hyde performances. I'm convinced that we need stronger characters all over the pitch, it was obvious last season, we need a couple of midfield players and a central defender, although one of the midfiels players has to be able to carry the ball if BBM is to have another option at hand.

BBM has set this group up to play, work hard off the ball and move the ball quickly, but in my opinion that's probably quite difficult to sustain at this level because of the standard of the opposition. Players with less ability are better at spoiling, stopping, not really being creative, they make a career out of it, so that's something we need to look at in my opinion, how to counter teams with those tactics, teams who aren't going to take us on in the passing and possession play, teams who know that they can outwork us, bully us, disrupt, and know that our players are all capable of a lack of concentration or who have a mistake in them.

I think that if teams come to play against us and open up, then we will see entertaining football, goals and creativity, But if they don't (and why should they) we could struggle, have no way of adapting due to personnel, and become one dimensional, something we have suffered with for some time now. We struggle when the opposition work us out.

So, i do think that we will see really good and really bad, until we have some balance in this squad, because i don't think that there is a balance, and i do think that there's a weak mentality amongst these players, many of them involved in some sort of relegation battle for far to long, and far to long can solidify a way of thinking and make it easier for players to give up a bit on responsibility and belief. We need some winners.

We're a young side with a new style of play, new coaching setup etc.

Still yet to bring in any outfield players and there are obvious areas that we can be strengthened.

I think we'll get stronger as the season progresses

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Rjk

We're a young side with a new style of play, new coaching setup etc.

Still yet to bring in any outfield players and there are obvious areas that we can be strengthened.

I think we'll get stronger as the season progresses

---

I hope that you're right, but it could work the other way, we could get exposed as well. I'm still of the opinion that we will get top 6, 5th is my prediction. Yesterday was a bit of a wake up call by all accounts,and teams in this division are going to do everything they can in order to get us involved in a battle, because they will know that we aren't set up for that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tuerto

I hope that you're right, but it could work the other way, we could get exposed as well. I'm still of the opinion that we will get top 6, 5th is my prediction. Yesterday was a bit of a wake up call by all accounts,and teams in this division are going to do everything they can in order to get us involved in a battle, because they will know that we aren't set up for that.

---

Yeah with a bit of luck yesterday will have shown the coaches where we struggle and they can look to address that be it by changing the system or by bringing in some more resolute players.

they wou;dn't have seen much evidence of this weakness in pre-season, or against a very young peterborough team, but they've definitely seen it now.

The contrast between our two performances is pretty typical of what you can get from one game to the next with a team containing a lot of young players, but the worrying thing is that while the kids may improve and become more consistent with experience, what evidence do we have that the same will happen with the older players in the team?

For all of the talk that there are very few leaders about these days, I’m sure any half decent recruitment department would find plenty of them and there’d be a few who were good enough to get a starting place for us, while also having plenty of experience of what might be an unfamiliar division. It seems to me that our recruitment through the summer of last year was completely unsuccessful in that respect - off the top of my head, I can’t think of one player signed last year that could be called a leader.

As for this year, who knows as you don’t need to be able to count to any more than two or maybe three to list the number of credible rumours we’ve had for outfield transfer targets.

I still think our more experienced players are the biggest problem we have.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

The contrast between our two performances is pretty typical of what you can get from one game to the next with a team containing a lot of young players, but the worrying thing is that while the kids may improve and become more consistent with experience, what evidence do we have that the same will happen with the older players in the team?

For all of the talk that there are very few leaders about these days, I’m sure any half decent recruitment department would find plenty of them and there’d be a few who were good enough to get a starting place for us, while also having plenty of experience of what might be an unfamiliar division. It seems to me that our recruitment through the summer of last year was completely unsuccessful in that respect - off the top of my head, I can’t think of one player signed last year that could be called a leader.

As for this year, who knows as you don’t need to be able to count to any more than two or maybe three to list the number of credible rumours we’ve had for outfield transfer targets.

I still think our more experienced players are the biggest problem we have.

---

I'd agree with you about the senior players, and by that i will only exclude Ashford, Kpakio, Lawlor and J Colwill. The rest have been there long enough. I don't even think we need Leaders, and i'm not quite sure they exist anymore, your players like Morrison, Bamba, Gunnarrson etc are a thing of the past in my opinion. I think that what we need are players who are prepared to take responsibility on the pitch, players who wont let the opposition effect them, players who are prepared to fail, because we don't have any who will put it on the line when it gets tough. There's a mentality with this group of players Bob, and it's been harvested over a long period of time. My worry is that failure is a difficult thing to shake off and it can effect footballers to the point that they struggle to perform when things start going against them. A word for Chambers, i think that he's finished, he's been on the slide for three years.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tuerto

I'd agree with you about the senior players, and by that i will only exclude Ashford, Kpakio, Lawlor and J Colwill. The rest have been there long enough. I don't even think we need Leaders, and i'm not quite sure they exist anymore, your players like Morrison, Bamba, Gunnarrson etc are a thing of the past in my opinion. I think that what we need are players who are prepared to take responsibility on the pitch, players who wont let the opposition effect them, players who are prepared to fail, because we don't have any who will put it on the line when it gets tough. There's a mentality with this group of players Bob, and it's been harvested over a long period of time. My worry is that failure is a difficult thing to shake off and it can effect footballers to the point that they struggle to perform when things start going against them. A word for Chambers, i think that he's finished, he's been on the slide for three years.

---

I’m going to issue prior warning that I’m going to mention Rubin Colwill here! I’ve read a few times today that Rubin seemed to benefit from being named captain on Saturday and I can see why that is being said. Just the one match isn’t enough to form any definite conclusions yet about what sort of captain anyone could be, but it did seem to me that the extra responsibility Rubin had was not a burden, quite the opposite actually.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by the other bob wilson

I’m going to issue prior warning that I’m going to mention Rubin Colwill here! I’ve read a few times today that Rubin seemed to benefit from being named captain on Saturday and I can see why that is being said. Just the one match isn’t enough to form any definite conclusions yet about what sort of captain anyone could be, but it did seem to me that the extra responsibility Rubin had was not a burden, quite the opposite actually.

---

Maybe so Bob, he may well thrive in that role, although i'm not sure it would have made much of a difference to the performance yesterday, or his, not that he had a poor game. Even if the role did give him that extra bit of fire, he's have had to go some to make a difference to last nights performance. If you just mean on an individual level, then who knows, you could well be right :thumbup:

Jekyll and Hyde is a good way to put it. I think the big problem yesterday was enthusiasm and finesse. Everyone was playing lazy, unrefined balls and just hoping for the best, it was a half-assed effort. There was probably some fatigue from Saturday's game, but you can't afford to phone it in against any team.

Hopefully we turn up against Rotherham and Wimbledon, and put ourselves in a good position for our tougher games against Luton and Plymouth.

and which one of our players is a real threat to any of this divisions backlines?