Can't beat Swindon, how about Newbury?

Devongone · 06-03-2017, 13:56

This season every ten games we pick up eight to ten points at best. So after 45 games we might just manage 41 points ........ in that situation winning the 46th and final game would only give us 44 points. After 45 games we need to be on 47 points AND then win our last match AND hope four other teams have put in a worse finish! So that is sixteen points from our next ten games .......

It's not just that mathematically such an improvement is unlikely in the extreme, but also we reached that perilous position with what looked like a better team than we can now field. O'Shea certainly didn't turn up every week, but we might have expected two or three good games out of eleven before the end of the season (including a match-winner!). Ariyibi was perhaps our big hope for the season and disappointed, but would anyone say he wouldn't make this team? And even our much-disliked Liddle, do we look a better side without him? And Ched, who I would never would have signed, meant we at least carried a potential goal threat. Even our manager had succeeded and failed in relegation campaigns .......... and for part of this unsuccessful season we were also a reasonably stable club with an owner who was our Chairman ...... and now, well we're a basket case aren't we?

All of that and maths too, stir in a manager of limited experience and a team made of naive youngsters and men whose better days are well-behind them ....... Against that weigh in a a 93rd minute winner from a lad who hasn't scored all season, a surprise clean sheet, 4 shots in the game, 21 against us. No wonder Swindon are nice about us. We're not even serious rivals in their battle to stay up. Repeat Saturday in our next game and we'll at least be in the race. Lose our next game and we'd have to play like a side chasing automatic promotion for the rest of the season. Does that look likely?

Dancingwilldoit · 06-03-2017, 22:20

Only just watched the "Highlights" today. Just how lucky were we?

bluepooch · (This post was last modified: 07-03-2017, 01:14 by bluepooch.)

Lucky ? Wasnt that the gameplan ?.The plan was to stay in the game and then introduce 3 attacking players as the game opened up in the latter stages and those 3 were all involved in the goal even though Dan's flick wasn't deliberate .
Inspired substitutions from Caldwell ?
I know what you're thinking Dancing,On another day we could have been hammered but we werent and time will tell if these sort of tactics pay off.I used to complain about Wilson giving up possession and sitting back but under him we always seemed to concede whereas under Caldwell, if you take out the Oxford debacle and Northampton game, we have conceded just 4 in 6 including 3 clean sheets.I dont think we had 3 clean sheets in the league all season under Wilson.
You know the old adage,goals win games but defences win trophies.

Dancingwilldoit · 07-03-2017, 12:10

At least under Wilson we did score goals. Its ok having 3 clean sheets in 8 but 4 goals in the same 8 games with about 10 shots on target is just plain unacceptable. Its why they have nets in between those white sticks at each end of the pitch - to stop the ball. If we played without nets, what would be the chance of a fan sitting behind the goal getting a ball in the face? I would say non existent. Think of the money we could save with our cost cutting drive - no nets.

Devongone · 07-03-2017, 12:15

Oh Pooch we played a naive team not much better than ourselves. We got a last-minute break and scored a goal that shocked everyone and sent our travelling fans into such a delirium most of them had to be hospitalised.

I hope tonight doesn't come as too much of a shock to you.

Caldwell hasn't got any resources to work with. I'm not judging him; I'm judging us. Lots of managers approach a relegation battle by concentrating on defence (Sheri when he took us down for instance did it in a second half of the season of 0-0 and 1-0 results). The trouble is if your resources are limited the cost of not conceding is not scoring either. That's what has been happening to us. And almost any fool can buy you a clean sheet at a cost of four efforts on goal in a game. I'm not trying to criticise Mr Caldwell it's just that he has to repeat Saturday several times before it is a viable plan. I hope I'm wrong about tonight and that Walsall with nothing to play for have an idle Tuesday.

bluepooch · 07-03-2017, 20:49

Im worried about your second paragraph Dev ,its like you know something I don't .Are we going to get hammered tonight ?.
I'll be on later to say you told me so .

Devongone · 07-03-2017, 23:54

I was forecasting 2-0. We did better than I thought. We had a few efforts on goal, but it isn't a way to get us out of trouble. After tonight we're definitely done. How could that side win six more games?

The few resources we have got this manager doesn't recognise and doesn't seem interested in developing at the moment.

Surely now it's all over he'll blood a few of our own players ..........?

**spireitematt** · 08-03-2017, 00:14

What really worries me is L2 next season as I don't think it will be a walk in the park.

bluepooch · 08-03-2017, 01:30

I still am not sure if Caldwell is the answer but I do think we should stick with him ,tonight we lost one nil to a decent Walsall team who have an excellent home record and apparently it was a mistake by Angel which led to it .
We arent good enough you only have to look at the teamsheet to see that ,I think Caldwell is trying to make the best of a bad situation by setting us up to be hard to beat but its still worrying that we dont look very good going forward.I was out tonight so didnt listen to the game but Ill be there Saturday as hopeful as ever that we can get a win and looking for a glimmer of hope in the display.

Dancingwilldoit · 08-03-2017, 10:55

Blue, that decent Walsall team had nothing to play for and only managed a 1-0 win over 9 man Oldham on Saturday. Not sure what that says about us that I didn't already know.
What I really would like to know is where are our own players? Nolan, Dimaio, German, Beasley etc etc. Ebanks Blake has really done bog all and is going at the end of the season so just let him go now with the rest of our non retained list. Lets get our own players in and give them a chance to play together and start next season with 11 players who know each other rather than 11 strangers.