15-09-2020, 02:44 PM
I can think of 3 factors that make a slow start understandable:
1) A limited pre-season, and indeed a shorter one than other clubs due to coming back later. Now you can argue why we were later back, but given the club know the players and will have been tracking their physiology (and mentality), I will assume they know better than me.
2) New players to integrate and a change in balance of the side as couple of key first team players have left. Indeed we are still bringing in new players.
3) New formations to practice, now we have / are building a deeper squad that gives us more options.
You may disagree with them, but you asked how people can back it, and there are some reasons.
I do not like our style of play fwiw. I wouldn't mind as much if it was more effective, which it was early last season. I think we need more flexibility, and to be more adventurous. Hopefully when the transfer windows closes we will have the squad the coach wants that will allow for that, and have had time to put this into matches.
What I do need is to see signs of progression towards it. I have seen him trying 3 at the back in friendlies. I see the youth team lining up with 3 at the back. I see him trying the academy to overcome losing Cash without trying someone who I regard as a proven failure, and an unallocated no 2 shirt that gives me hope. I see Mighten being given a bigger role in the first team set-up, which will probably take some time to come to fruition. I see him/them bringing in an ambitious signing (Mbe Soh) in a position that I saw as a weakness (Figs) in terms of passing from the back and getting midfield further up the pitch. Maybe he gets selected for the next match (fingers crossed) which hopefully will be another step towards the target state. I think we need more signings, so I think it will continue to be a work in progress during the window. Until then we need to still pick up points, which if it wasn't for an individual error and poor finishing we'd have got at least a draw at QPR.
If I saw no signs of change, I'd vote to pull the plug. But I see signs of us having identified the weaknesses, and doing things about them. And frustrating as it is, I put the emotion aside and give it some time to see it consistently materialize at 3pm on a Saturday.
1) A limited pre-season, and indeed a shorter one than other clubs due to coming back later. Now you can argue why we were later back, but given the club know the players and will have been tracking their physiology (and mentality), I will assume they know better than me.
2) New players to integrate and a change in balance of the side as couple of key first team players have left. Indeed we are still bringing in new players.
3) New formations to practice, now we have / are building a deeper squad that gives us more options.
You may disagree with them, but you asked how people can back it, and there are some reasons.
I do not like our style of play fwiw. I wouldn't mind as much if it was more effective, which it was early last season. I think we need more flexibility, and to be more adventurous. Hopefully when the transfer windows closes we will have the squad the coach wants that will allow for that, and have had time to put this into matches.
What I do need is to see signs of progression towards it. I have seen him trying 3 at the back in friendlies. I see the youth team lining up with 3 at the back. I see him trying the academy to overcome losing Cash without trying someone who I regard as a proven failure, and an unallocated no 2 shirt that gives me hope. I see Mighten being given a bigger role in the first team set-up, which will probably take some time to come to fruition. I see him/them bringing in an ambitious signing (Mbe Soh) in a position that I saw as a weakness (Figs) in terms of passing from the back and getting midfield further up the pitch. Maybe he gets selected for the next match (fingers crossed) which hopefully will be another step towards the target state. I think we need more signings, so I think it will continue to be a work in progress during the window. Until then we need to still pick up points, which if it wasn't for an individual error and poor finishing we'd have got at least a draw at QPR.
If I saw no signs of change, I'd vote to pull the plug. But I see signs of us having identified the weaknesses, and doing things about them. And frustrating as it is, I put the emotion aside and give it some time to see it consistently materialize at 3pm on a Saturday.