[Dancingwilldoit]

That was pi55 poor today. We went in late and when I heard the team I felt I needed a drink before taking my seat. That line up would have struggled against Matlock never mind a dirty team of long ball specialists like Lincoln and a dodgy ref.
2 back post unchallenged headers ( how many times have we seen that this season, what the hell do we do in training? ) and a player running into our area with no challenge and everybody backing off (how many times again) to kill us off completely.
O'grady really is just crap - no other word for him, he should be put out to grass. Talbot was just awful, McCourt was dreadful, Kellet was somewhere else instead of playing a game of football, Dennis when he came on carried on where O'grady left off. Our passing was just plain shocking. Am running out of adjectives to describe dreadfull so will stop there

JL has taken a massive backward step and there is absolutely no way we will avoid the drop and I believe we will go down bottom. Can he do it for us in the conference next season? The jury is out for me, there was promise a few months ago but the players he brought in are worse than the shite Caldwell brought in and that pains me to say that.

I said at the outset he was the right man at the wrong time, I hate to say I was right but I was - again.

[spireitematt]

We've got

Cheltenham
Notts County
Port Vale
Newport
Grimsby
Morecambe
Mansfield
Exeter
FGR
Wycombe
Barnet

April is going to be a very very important month because games are going to come thick and fast.

11 games left, 33 pts on offer, need at least another 18 which work out as 6 wins. I can't see us winning another 6 games seeing as we've only won 8 all season and 1 in the last 5. Right now we need a miracle A MIRACLE!

I've come to the conclusion its time to accept the inevitable and realise we are down. When your in a relegation dogfight you need experienced players who have been in this situation before who can dig deep and get you out of trouble.

If we can't deal with physical teams in L2 then we won't last long in the Conference.

Also just read today that Kevin Davies didn't win his first 10 games in charge of Southport but he's now won 7 in his last 9 and turned Southport from relegation candidates to 4pts outside the playoffs. So at this rate we are likely to see Kevin Davies back at the Proact but in the away dugout.

[Dancingwilldoit]

He should be in our dugout. We need somebody with determination and grit not nice honest sounding interviews.

[Devongone]

Kev, as I once tried to tell Bob's before I left, has made some very good signings at Southport. The other week they only had one player in the team who was playing when he took over. Dion Charles who scored yesterday was a particularly good signing. But the only team Southport might catch to make the play-offs is Kidderminster and if they did Brackley, York and Salford/Harrogate look too good. But Kev has done great, but Southport are currently 10th.

My objection to what Jack is doing is that not only do the teams he selects look dodgy, but also he is apparently not casting an eye to OUR future. Five of Saturday's players were on loan. Whilst I've nothing against Jacob Brown, we've given him a better chance than we've EVER given Ricardo German. On Tuesday night German terrorised Nantwich's goalie who was on-loan from Blackpool, on Saturday Ricky was sitting out a waterlogged game whilst we gave invaluable experience to a Barnsley player! Where's the sense in that? We picked a centre back combo which had no chance of handling Lincoln's aerial threat - we might have gone for Talbot, Willock, Maguire, Whitmore and have learned how close our players were to handling the kind of threat next season will bring. Willock's young, but he's big and combative. We were without possibly our best player in Reed, so do we give more experience to Rowley? No he gets to watch until we are behind. Basically from the players available, I think we'd have struggled anyway on Saturday, but it seems as obtuse that the man who the supporters were so worried about losing in the transfer window is now down the pecking order to a player who rarely ever scores, as it is that we blood a Barnsley youngster for them when our own young players are the only successful aspect of our club.

I've said this a thousand times but loaned players are only any use IF they get you more points than your own players. Does it look like they could do worse? I hope Jack is asking what his current aim is. Is it to stay above Barnet and hope Sutton win the Vanarama and choose relegation over a new playing surface? Maybe Jack is thinking of hitting the road before next season in the Vanarama. If not he needs to be bringing through our young players for next season and scouting currently successful non-leaguers to turn them into a viable team.

Our remaining games are of developmental interest only. Like West Brom, we went down yesterday.

[bluepooch]

When we had the good run before Christmas I said I was happy with Jack but would judge him on his recruitments and to say I'm underwhelmed by the players he's brought in is an understatement .Not only have we not improved but Id argue we have gone backwards.Now we don't know the budget he was given but 11 players is a whole team .
I said a few weeks ago it seemed that Jack had decided to sacrifice flair for a more workmanlike solid looking team ,I take that back, he's sacrificed flair but we have become dour and worryingly haven't been more solid at all, we still have the same vulnerable soft core.I think I counted 2 efforts on target yesterday ? which for a home team is shocking.Like Dancing said,that starting 11 just did not look enough and so it proved.
It was clear from the first minute how Lincoln were going to play ,the old fashioned percentages game, get the ball forward quickly and try to achieve as many set pieces as possible, ie corners , free kicks and long throws which clearly is their strength, so If I was Jack I would have emphasised this and tried to minimise the number of free kicks and corners we gave away .We didnt do this and were so naive it was unbelievable.
Poor tactics ,poor recruitment ,Jack has lost over half his games since taking over and is now losing his credibility with some fans, including me .Of course it would be pointless sacking him while these clowns are in charge as it could not be guaranteed they would employ someone better .If there is a takeover I'm afraid the new owners wont be so tolerant of the manager.

[spireitematt]

Whilst I've nothing against Jacob Brown, we've given him a better chance than we've EVER given Ricardo German.

I'm currently playing Football Manager 18 and started a new save with Chesterfield again and made changes this time before I started the season by bringing in a new keeper, LB, a few CBs. Ricky German is in my first team and currently has scored 5 goals in 3 matches because I'm playing him out on the right as a wide player.

So far I've won 7 drawn 3 and lost 1. My formations and tactics seem to be working.

[Dancingwilldoit]

Dev,
Rowley isn't a tackling type midfielder, he is lightweight and the last place he should have been was on that pitch in any way shape or form. Lincoln were dirty but we should have expected it, we recently played against them, we knew their style. In the warm up they were practicing their backs playing long balls, did we not expect it ? To throw on a young lightweight skillful ball player in the 80th minute was just plain dumb and crazy.
Jack made a statement at the AGM that he believed JBW's best position was further forward. If any game was calling out for a bulky solid combative substitute, it was JBW on Sat - but no, we put on Rowley who after 1 heavy tackle kept well out the way.
Our tactics were so pathetic it defies belief that a manager with the alleged footballing brain of JL could even dream we might get a result. In the first 10 minutes they missed a couple of good chances. That should have rung alarm bells. Rhead won every header he went for - who did we have marking him? Well he's tall so lets put COG man marking at set pieces, who on average wins about 1 header a game, he didn't win 1 on Sat.
If it wasn't so laughable I would have cried buckets at our ineptitude. I'm just glad I squeezed in that pre match drink and had a fridge full of beer to go home to.

[Devongone]

Yes I could accept that about Rowley. It isn't a bad argument. But to be successful a young ball player has to function against the tough guys, or he never gets to play. When do Xavi and Iniesta get kicked out of a game?. No one was more lightweight than Tigana; he found a way through the Vinny Joneses. My opinion is Saturday's game is exactly why you DO put in a young lad. We picked Kellett for gawd's sake, hardly a heavyweight and Talbot's injury-prone ......... and Reed himself isn't Mr Physique. To make players you have to make men IMO, and I hope Rowley is really disappointed. If one tackle finishes him he's going nowhere - and next season will be just one long nightmare for him. As for JBW, well I assume he's injured - he wasn't on the bench to bring on. And yes I'd have put Willock in against Matt Rhead - I'm betting he'd have loved the challenge - if he'd lost out a couple of times no-one would have blamed him and if he'd have done well his future would have been assured.

I think - I certainly don't know - we are seeing far too much influence from Tommy Wright. He's landing us some Barnsley planks as players and I'm guessing he's the source of Jack's conservative team selection and poor recruitment. First thing I'd do is sack him and try to recruit an assistant like maybe Marcus Law from Kettering, who has years of non-league experience, must have contacts too and certainly can't be accused of being conservative.

After 36 games the tactics of the opposition should never come as a surprise to us. We should always have ways of combating them. That doesn't mean what we do will always work ....... but nothing I've seen or read smacks of us having a viable plan and that is worrying for the rest of this season and all of next. That's the real difference between Kevin Davies at Southport and Jack with us. Kev's early struggles demonstrated the hopelessness of the players he had inherited and he replaced them. Jack had to wait for the January window to do that and then of his signings Coke, Smith, Mottley-Henry, Dodds and Talbot are rarely fit, Ramsdale makes young-goalie mistakes, the jury's out on Kay, Brown has zero experience, Hines has yet to recover his early-season Vanarama form, who does that leave, Nelson, who Yeovil tried and and discarded ................ ? Apparently an injury crisis is about to stall Kev's new recruits at Southport, but I'm sure he'd rather have his own worries than Jack's.

[Dancingwilldoit]

We had Maguire sat on the bench, at times we needed him for his height and he has shown he will fight back when it gets a bit rough. Rowley isn't that type of player. When you start a game with a week midfield and things go tits up, you don't change it by making the midfield weaker. In the first 10 minutes I would have realized my mistake and put Maguire on for McCourt and sat Whitmore in front of the back 4 and gone 4-1-4-1. He looked useful going forward, had a good pass on him and actually scored a good goal. At least then we could have defended the long balls better and marked Rhead with somebody useful.
I don't know if its TW or Jacks fault but if JL is the manager then that's where the buck stops. If somebody who works for me comes up with a good idea and I take on board and it works I get the benefit, on the other hand if it turns out to be a crap idea, I take the blame.

[Devongone]

I agree with what you say about taking responsibility Dancing. It IS down to Jack. Danny Wilson made the crass mistake of employing Morgan - he should've come clean and sacked him way before the club moved in. Like young Rowley, Jack has to toughen up quick. Rowley has to find ways to ensure his skill is a threat to those who can only run and tackle. To be a threat to them he has to be able to stay on the field and play his game. Otherwise he's done. And Jack, if the advice around him is leading to defeat after defeat he sounds bright enough to work that out. Disregarding advice is the first step, but he needs people round him - get better ones mate.

And yes, in my book you need your midfield to provide both defensive cover and an attacking threat. I still think Rowley should have been our most likely attacking threat, but I do agree, if midfield can't provide defensive cover ...... one option is to put a defender in there who you know can tackle and who might have the skill to handle being further forward.

One thing Joe Rowley and several others may have to take on board is regularly illustrated in the non-league paper. Young players who have come down to the Vanarama or loanees down from the EFL all say how steep a learning curve the physical side of the game has been for them. They all say how the experience has toughened them up and how they feel that has developed them as players. They like it because they are getting games and they feel a sense of achievement because it is a tough environment. Naturally you never read about the ones who wimp out and drown.