Perspective

[jim]

I am as disappointed with results over the last couple of months as most others, but I am trying to be objective about where we are and what we can expect. Seeing Alty's excellent 5-0 win last Saturday made me think about how they have fared since returning to BSP. They are not a rich club and don't seem to spend a fortune on players, nor do they have a big turnover of players. If memory serves me right, in their first two years they struggled and had a reprieve when Halifax went belly up. In the last couple of years they have hauled themselves up to mid table respectability. I feel that is pretty much what we should expect. I think it will be a case of inching forward, adding players of better quality as and when we can and, hopefully, in a couple of year's time, we will be at least in Alty's position.

I think we have been unlucky that the Cup and weather combined have disrupted what I felt was steady progress in performances. With the last home league win being October, we can hardly complain if gates hover around the 1200 mark. Fans want to see performances like Oxford and Mansfield and some goals. We desperately need to improve our attacking options and give fans something to shout about. I think most fans and the management know that the wide men need to create more and hopefully they are working on improving things. However, the team has improved since last year, we have accrued some more money from the Sunderland game and I believe we have the strength to survive and, with a bit of luck, push on a bit up the league. Yes, we perhaps hoped for better, but I feel we need to be realistic and patient as progress will be slow.

[The Chief]

agree with most of that.

we need to be patient but yesterdays game was a borefest and the goal was obvious, i said to the lad next to me "1-0" as the cross went in, luton were dire too but were the better side although we probably had the clearer chances, even though very very limited.

think we missed hulbert in the middle, chance for shez maybe yesterday?

with the games in hand yes its well in our hands but slowly we are getting dragged into a fight for survival that seemed miles away a few short months ago.

we need a win to restore confidence i feel.

[barrowaberdeen]

I agree with the realistic Alty comparison. The main problem is we draw too much at home against sides around us. Sort that out and we'll be mid table.

[Reg]

I agree with the realistic Alty comparison. The main problem is we draw too much at home against sides around us. Sort that out and we'll be mid table.

To do that, we need to bring players in that will give us a cutting edge. The players we currently have aren't good enough to give us that on a regular basis.

[barrowaberdeen]

But to do so, we must compete in a difficult market as we are 3/4 time rather than full time. Therefore, loan players are important. However this makes it hard to consolidate as they go back or we often can't afford them. There is no youth policy as such, so nothing to come from there. To pay bigger wages would mean taking a punt on gates going up with wins, and I wouldn't want to take that gamble with attendances as they are. However, if we don't play with more of a cutting edge as you say, attendances will drop more. Not easy decisions.

[John L]

Agree with what barrowaberdeen says and am concerned for next season.
Alty have the luxury of being in Manchester with a large pool of players to draw from whereas we don't and have to try and attract players to play for us and rely on the loan system quite a lot more than is ideal.
The thing I'm worried about is Fleetwood, if they win Conf North they will be competing for similar players to us and will be able to outbid us, if Southport are also promoted it will be even harder to get players to play for us especially if our budget is cut at the end of this season.

[andyg]

Agree with you all these are excellent comments. The last game I managed to attend was the one nil win at alty and we were excellent. but we have lost some of those loan players and it is obvious from some recent match day comments we are missing that cutting edge. I said this way back in the late part of the summer and will say it again - we desperately need to have a quality striker on board. We missed the boat last summer and i really hope it will not come back to haunt us. I also agree with D&D that we also need a good winger something Nelthorpe and the Morcambe lad (whose name escapes me) who gave us that much needed extra quality in the Autumn. It's all very well tarmacing the car park etc but I want us to be watching Conference Premiership football next season and money spent on the team must always be our priority.

We may have games in hand but we are also looking at a fixture congestion in March and we all know that can easily lead to injuries, loss of form/confidence if we are not careful.

[Optimism]

Plenty of sensible discussion here.

Sitting one place above the relegation zone naturally alarms. But we remain on target this season. Taking a broad view and paying less attention to the peaks and troughs we've had, we're doing all right.

The temporary addition of quality arrested our early season lack of creativity and got us some crucial results and confidence. There are a variety of mitigating circumstances, not least (publicly unseen) wage structures to stick to, but I'm disappointed we didn't secure the permanent services of at least one of impressive quartet who gave us more attacking purpose. They improved us and progressed the standing of the club. With all departed back up the football tree to more alluring clubs, I worry a little about the creative talent that remains.

Andy Bond and Robin Hulbert are smashing central midfielders with terrific attitude and work-rate, but neither quite has the subtlety to unlock defences with their passing. Bondy mostly threatens with his off-the-ball work and inclination to get forward in support. The young wingers could develop into very effective players for us, both have shown as much in patches, but currently are erratic with their delivery from out wide and their decision-making. Coughing up possession returns pressure onto a backline that lacks pace, which is especially troublesome on the counter-attack. Neither Spender nor Jelleyman are the quickest, and if they lack faith in their flank partner retaining the ball it could compromise their urge to support in attack.

A characteristic of the pre-Mansfield style was we didn't really have one. Everyone buzzed around with little shape or pattern of play. Jason roamed all over the place working hard, sometimes as a lone striker, without creating a presence up front or receiving support from midfield. Wainwright and Shaw gave us more purpose and structure in attack, meaning more goal threat, less wastage of possession and less pressure on the defence. Wainwright could get the ball and keep it, use it neatly; Shaw could play as a target man to bring others into play in the final third. Goodfellow and Nelthorpe continued this progress. Steady attack alleviated defensive work.

Now gone, I wonder how we can defend further up the pitch with reliable attacking options. Can Nick Chadwick be the man to muscle centre-backs and put fear into defences while bringing the best out of Walker or Blundell on his shoulder? Will Simon Wiles prove to be a more mature winger with more consistency?

10 points from the first 13, 18 from the next 13. A couple of timely wins over the coming weeks with our games in hand and I'm sure this flicker of worry will fade.

A final point: How secure is our deal to use the Salford facilities? The continuity of using a more cosmopolitian base is vital towards us tempting the best quality Northern-based players that their futures are with us, ahead of more lucrative deals further afield.

[philmac]

Good thread.
I seriously worry about us this season.
The comments recently from Bayliss re attendance, coupled with the '2010 for 2010' mistake, the lack of players being brought in and the recent poorish run of results are troubling.
I hope we have the nous and skill to pull clear.
Apologies for all this but it is monday morning!!

[donny bluebird]

Nowt wrong with a touch of realism - the management & team need to act now to ensure we get some points from our next three games. If we lose all three, our games in hand will start to run out and then we really will be in the doo-dah.

[Jonty]

stay positive people. If we win 2 of the 4 games we have in hand over FGR then that takes us to lower mid table on 34 points. We will get that win soon and kick on.

[Optimism]

...The comments recently from Bayliss re attendance, coupled with the '2010 for 2010' mistake...

The ambition is to be applauded. I wouldn't call the concept of 2,010 a mistake, but I'd certainly say, to my knowledge, there's not been enough active promotion of it. Please correct me if I'm wrong and have overlooked community promotion. Numerous dry press releases through paper and website help a little perhaps, but realistically to put hundreds more on the gate in these relatively fallow times, we need to spread ideas and grab minds.

I'm not bold enough to suggest I have the answers - it's a challenge I empathise with - but feel the present methods aren't working and won't work as well as hoped.

[donny bluebird]

stay positive people. If we win 2 of the 4 games we have in hand over FGR then that takes us to lower mid table on 34 points. We will get that win soon and kick on.

We need a minimum of 5 points from the next three games or I reckon we are toast.

[Steeley]

stay positive people. If we win 2 of the 4 games we have in hand over FGR then that takes us to lower mid table on 34 points. We will get that win soon and kick on.

We need a minimum of 5 points from the next three games or I reckon we are toast.

Jesus.

[Optimism]

Chester and Grays are unsalvagable burnt toast made from budget own-brand bread. Our crusts are starting to singe slightly, but still very edible. Pop-up, re-position, and we'll be fine.