It looks from this distance as though one of the first things we need is for Martin Allen to get his head together. I'd send him on his own on a nice away day out in the peak, to wander, ponder and cogitate.
The teams he is selecting smack of desperation.
They seem to have two common elements - Nelson and Weir. I'm convinced Weir is simply a loser's loser. He has three younger centre backs than Nelson. All of them would get into several other teams in this division. So I think he needs to ponder the wisdom of these selections.
For the season he brought us in the most experienced National League goalkeeper. Now he is playing a 22 year-old. He needs to ponder that decision, not just from the angle of which appears to have the sharpest goalkeeping skills, but also on the lines of which of them has the best effect on the team.
Up front he is giving only Zavon Hines a consistent game. He seems to see problems with the others and those problems are indeed reflected in our inability to score. Although Gozie scored goals at Woking, when successful he is more a 10-12 goal man who is part of a forward line with a goalscorer. Fortune we were warned is not a goalscorer. Amantchi is 17, has been scoring recently, but surely he is destined to be one of those big strong forwards who can ALSO score a goal ............ so I'd have said Lee Shaw is our only actual goalscorer and he hasn't done it yet. So Mr Allen has to ponder both our way of attacking and the personnel he deploys ....... or even recruits.
In midfield, even when Carter is back it seems obvious we need both a bit of a re-think and probably a new player who has both a spark of creativity and the energy and timing to run and tackle.
Once you say there are problems in every area of the field it seems a huge task to turn things round, but it is ALWAYS the whole team which isn't scoring and the whole team which is conceding. Relatively small, but judicious changes can and do alter the pattern of entire games. We've all seen this at every level. Martin Allen has been doing this job for years. He needs a clear plan and a calm frame of mind. Whether he is capable of those things is the question. Certainly he can get things right. Certainly he can turn things round that others have got wrong. Can he correct his own errors, or will his reaction be Donald-Trumpish and might we see either toys flying out of the pram, or him exiting in high self-induced dudgeon? I hope not.
But even if Martin Allen can get us a few results on the field, as Pooch points out, there are problems behind the scenes which are going to hobble our progress.
I just thought I'd add what Martin Allen said on his sacking from Eastleigh after 2 wins in 14 games:-
"I've had two clubs win championships, with Gillingham and at Barnet, and it's been through hard work, desire and everybody in the team competing week in, week out. I'm not getting that here at the moment and I'm not enjoying it.
"I haven't got the vibe. I love the place, I love working with the chairman, I love the atmosphere when the crowd do get behind the players, but the players haven't given the crowd anything to lift them."
The teams he is selecting smack of desperation.
They seem to have two common elements - Nelson and Weir. I'm convinced Weir is simply a loser's loser. He has three younger centre backs than Nelson. All of them would get into several other teams in this division. So I think he needs to ponder the wisdom of these selections.
For the season he brought us in the most experienced National League goalkeeper. Now he is playing a 22 year-old. He needs to ponder that decision, not just from the angle of which appears to have the sharpest goalkeeping skills, but also on the lines of which of them has the best effect on the team.
Up front he is giving only Zavon Hines a consistent game. He seems to see problems with the others and those problems are indeed reflected in our inability to score. Although Gozie scored goals at Woking, when successful he is more a 10-12 goal man who is part of a forward line with a goalscorer. Fortune we were warned is not a goalscorer. Amantchi is 17, has been scoring recently, but surely he is destined to be one of those big strong forwards who can ALSO score a goal ............ so I'd have said Lee Shaw is our only actual goalscorer and he hasn't done it yet. So Mr Allen has to ponder both our way of attacking and the personnel he deploys ....... or even recruits.
In midfield, even when Carter is back it seems obvious we need both a bit of a re-think and probably a new player who has both a spark of creativity and the energy and timing to run and tackle.
Once you say there are problems in every area of the field it seems a huge task to turn things round, but it is ALWAYS the whole team which isn't scoring and the whole team which is conceding. Relatively small, but judicious changes can and do alter the pattern of entire games. We've all seen this at every level. Martin Allen has been doing this job for years. He needs a clear plan and a calm frame of mind. Whether he is capable of those things is the question. Certainly he can get things right. Certainly he can turn things round that others have got wrong. Can he correct his own errors, or will his reaction be Donald-Trumpish and might we see either toys flying out of the pram, or him exiting in high self-induced dudgeon? I hope not.
But even if Martin Allen can get us a few results on the field, as Pooch points out, there are problems behind the scenes which are going to hobble our progress.
I just thought I'd add what Martin Allen said on his sacking from Eastleigh after 2 wins in 14 games:-
"I've had two clubs win championships, with Gillingham and at Barnet, and it's been through hard work, desire and everybody in the team competing week in, week out. I'm not getting that here at the moment and I'm not enjoying it.
"I haven't got the vibe. I love the place, I love working with the chairman, I love the atmosphere when the crowd do get behind the players, but the players haven't given the crowd anything to lift them."