Passion, fight, energy, intent, aggression...

[SedRA]

Where the hell has it all gone? 

- Are the players struggling to be up for games after their taste of the limelight in the cup? 

- Are we burnt out after putting too much into the first half of the season? 

- Is Johnson asking them to play 'calmly'/'intelligently' (I see a lot of 'calm down' signal from players during the games recently) and we are losing our aggression? 

- Are we actually trying to avoid getting in the play offs as a strategy for the club? 

- Something going on in the squad which has effected harmony? 

- Just a gradual decline in confidence after a poor run? 

 

I've got no idea but something seems really off after a number of such lacklustre, heartless, dispiriting performances. 

[DaveInSA]

 

4 minutes ago, RedSA said:

Where the hell has it all gone? 

- Are the players struggling to be up for games after their taste of the limelight in the cup? 

- Are we burnt out after putting too much into the first half of the season? 

- Is Johnson asking them to play 'calmly'/'intelligently' (I see a lot of 'calm down' signal from players during the games recently) and we are losing our aggression? 

- Are we actually trying to avoid getting in the play offs as a strategy for the club? 

- Something going on in the squad which has effected harmony? 

- Just a gradual decline in confidence after a poor run? 

 

I've got no idea but something seems really off after a number of such lacklustre, heartless, dispiriting performances. 

All of the above mate. I see it this way:

1) We never were good enough to get promoted. 

2) The players and coach started to believe the hubris around us getting promoted - very and completely dangerous.

3) Our stand out performers have vanished - Bryan, Patterson, (to some degree) Wright, Diedhiou and Smith (half the team nearly!)

4) We're playing to the level we aspire to, after all Ashton said it was probably too early for us to get promoted. And thus what the players believed has come true. The self-belief goes and then that's very difficult to address.

5) We had a few injuries at the wrong time.

6) We will have played 55 odd games come the end of the season.

7) The loan players have been "trousers". When we needed an Abraham we got a Robinson.

8) Other sides have figured out how to combat our plan A, Johnson has lost his way (again) and has no conceivable plan B with the players he has available. 

But, we've made progress this season and for the last two seasons. I think we're short of two full backs (unless Kelly makes the grade next year) - Bryan isn't a full back. We need some experience, guile and skill in the centre of midfield. We need a keeper and a championship level forward. Total spend to be competitive of £15-20m. 

I'm sure we'll see some leave in the summer - that may not be a bad thing. I believe Johnson will get one (at a push two) more seasons to cement us in this division.

We must be realistic too, this is a very tough division, with wily, seasoned managers and players (from the fall out of the foreign invasion in the premiership). We've been here two years, with largely an inexperienced squad (note I didn't mention age here) and a rookie manager. 

 

 

 

[JoeAman08]

31 minutes ago, RedSA said:

Where the hell has it all gone? 

- Are the players struggling to be up for games after their taste of the limelight in the cup? 

- Are we burnt out after putting too much into the first half of the season? 

- Is Johnson asking them to play 'calmly'/'intelligently' (I see a lot of 'calm down' signal from players during the games recently) and we are losing our aggression? 

- Are we actually trying to avoid getting in the play offs as a strategy for the club? 

- Something going on in the squad which has effected harmony? 

- Just a gradual decline in confidence after a poor run? 

 

I've got no idea but something seems really off after a number of such lacklustre, heartless, dispiriting performances. 

All of it except avoiding playoffs on purpose. Don’t think anyone would actually commit to that. 

[Aizoon]

1 hour ago, JoeAman08 said:

All of it except avoiding playoffs on purpose. Don’t think anyone would actually commit to that. 

Exactly. If a club really didn't want to go up they'd throw the Pray Off Final like...

Damn! His name's on the tip of my tongue...

 

[SedRA]

19 hours ago, JoeAman08 said:

All of it except avoiding playoffs on purpose. Don’t think anyone would actually commit to that. 

When LJ says things post match like ‘well, we’re here so we might as well go for it, but if we don’t succeed we’ll be in a better position next season’. It makes me question how much we really want it. It sounds like it’s not part of the plan to be going up this season. 

[CyderInACan]

Instead of the thread title I'm better off quoting the Fast Show - it was more a display of cunning, understanding, nouse and tenacity. 

[JoeAman08]

5 hours ago, RedSA said:

When LJ says things post match like ‘well, we’re here so we might as well go for it, but if we don’t succeed we’ll be in a better position next season’. It makes me question how much we really want it. It sounds like it’s not part of the plan to be going up this season. 

When I wrote that I hadn’t listened. At one point it sounded like he was saying we have to decide whether to go for it(the playoffs i presume?) or release the pressure from the players(to me sounds like rest some key players and let the young uns get time). So yea maybe there are those daft enough at the club. Could have been playing some of these younger players all season but instead ran the first XI into the ground

[wendyredredrobin]

For the last 10 games, I have seen our players display all of these qualities for the first 10 minutes of each game. For the remaining 80 mins though.........?

What I don't see is a team come out after the half-time break as if they have all had a kick up the backside. what does Lee do with them at halftime? give them a cup of tea and have a nice chat?

in reality it seems that having beaten Manchester United they think that they have done everything they need to this season and just stopped bothering (except for the QPR game).

[Guest]

I thought the headline was about some of our fans who are going to Millwall on Saturday.