andy g Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 Its pretty depressing watching these feeble displays from under-performing footballers. Confidence amongst our fans hasnt been this low for ages - probably since the mid nineties when we got relegated and were getting crowds of around 9k.A new manager is going to be announced and hopefully it will be an inspired appointment who will turn this club around. (and ideally without spending any money...)But are there any real reasons for optimism in what you've seen this season ? So many players have been under-performing, but are there any showing real signs of promise in a thoroughly depressing campaign ?I would say that for a young lad, Dave Cotterill is looking very promising. Brooker still looks as good as he was last season. And Matt Heywood has looked pretty commanding in the air.And I'd love to think that when the team is playing better, Marcus Stewart will play a big part... but maybe thats too much to ask... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_Ciderhead Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 Grounds for optimism?Hmmmm...- Cole Skuse, Scott Brown and Dave Cotterill all have very bright futures ahead of them (probably at Reading )- We've yet to see Alex Russell. Torquay fans rate him very highly and he could provide the midfield spark that we really need at the moment.- We've looked slightly better going forward in our last two matches.- Regardless of our dire midfield, we've got a group of very good strikers - Steve Brooker, Marcus Stewart, Gillespie and Bridges will all score plenty of goals if they get the right service.- And we still arent as bas as the Gas!! Thats just about all I can think of at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest routabout Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 Its pretty depressing watching these feeble displays from under-performing footballers. Confidence amongst our fans hasnt been this low for ages - probably since the mid nineties when we got relegated and were getting crowds of around 9k.A new manager is going to be announced and hopefully it will be an inspired appointment who will turn this club around. (and ideally without spending any money...)But are there any real reasons for optimism in what you've seen this season ? So many players have been under-performing, but are there any showing real signs of promise in a thoroughly depressing campaign ?I would say that for a young lad, Dave Cotterill is looking very promising. Brooker still looks as good as he was last season. And Matt Heywood has looked pretty commanding in the air.And I'd love to think that when the team is playing better, Marcus Stewart will play a big part... but maybe thats too much to ask...←I'd say that we do have reasons for optimism, for the future, in some of our players. For us to get the best out of Stewart, he needs to be used properly and be allowed to concentrate on his own job. He doesn't have the pace to be all over the pitch.Cotterill, Skuse, Keogh, Gillespie, Brown and Golbourne are great future prospects, but will need the right environment to prosper and develop their full potential. Unfortunately we do not have that environment at present.I like Heywood and Partridge, who I think could be a great central defence pairing, given time to establish a partnership and understanding of each other. Bridges and Stewart are quality, but all in all, they have had few real opportunities to shine. When the whole team begins to tick together, I think those two will have a great influence on things. I also firmly believe that Stewart and Bridges are best used one at a time, in the 'fox-in-the-hole' position. Playing them both at the same time, gives us two attacking players with no pace.I'm disappointed with Carey, as always and my old favourite Scott Murray looks to be well past his prime. Maybe time for those two to be shown the Carte D'Or, when we have the opportunity to replace them. On that note, I actually like Bradley Orr and see him as one of the few utility players at the club. Used and nurtured properly, I think there is a lot of good football to come from him. He can play at right back, or sit deep in midfield, providing some protection to the defence.Wilkshire has been disappointing in some ways, but he does at least seem to be giving it some welly, when he does get on the pitch. Russell's absence through injury is a crying shame and could be that missing jigsaw piece that has made a lot of the difference so far. There are other problems, granted, but he was intended as our midfield playmaker and organiser, something that any team would miss.Jamie Smith has been poor in his limited outings, he brings passion and fire to the field of play, but also risk. A shame. The less said about Fortune, the better, I think. I don't have much to say about him, to the positive, so I won't say anything.Brooker is my favourite player at the club at the moment and one of the best signings of recent years, in my opinion. We really miss him, to be fair. Phillips is a great shot stopper on his day, but he really needs to work on the other aspects of his game. In all honesty, he might be another one who needs to move on eventually, to freshen up his game and career.Grant Smith has been something of an anti climax, but I'm not sure we have been using him in the best ways so far, so I will reserve judgement on him for now. Craig Woodman might make the grade, but the longer things go on, the less confident of this I am. Again, I'll give him more games under a new manager, if he gets them, before I really decide.Overall, I think we are short of a few players. A decent left back and a couple of natural wingers and a commanding midfielder, if Russell doesn't fill this mould. At the moment, we are relying too heavily on youth and it shows in the naivety of many of their in-game decisions. I think they have been thrown in at the deep end and understandably, they are finding it very hard going.I see enough positives to keep me happy, but if we don't sort things out at management level and above, we risk losing out on even the potential positives that we currently have. We need to steady things out, or believe it or not, things could well get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red panda Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 Its pretty depressing watching these feeble displays from under-performing footballers. Confidence amongst our fans hasnt been this low for ages - probably since the mid nineties when we got relegated and were getting crowds of around 9k.A new manager is going to be announced and hopefully it will be an inspired appointment who will turn this club around. (and ideally without spending any money...)But are there any real reasons for optimism in what you've seen this season ? So many players have been under-performing, but are there any showing real signs of promise in a thoroughly depressing campaign ?I would say that for a young lad, Dave Cotterill is looking very promising. Brooker still looks as good as he was last season. And Matt Heywood has looked pretty commanding in the air.And I'd love to think that when the team is playing better, Marcus Stewart will play a big part... but maybe thats too much to ask...←I think you've answered your own question.You mention "under performing" several times. If it's true, then a new manager might be able to remedy the problem.Though it's frustrating, it's better to be crap because our good players are underperforming rather than being crap because all of our players really are crap (eg the gas ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_Ciderhead Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 Though it's frustrating, it's better to be crap because our good players are underperforming rather than being crap because all of our players really are crap (eg the gas )←Is that really the case though? I thought most of our players gave their all on Saturday, yet we were unable to beat a poor Blackpool side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red panda Posted September 21, 2005 Report Share Posted September 21, 2005 Is that really the case though? I thought most of our players gave their all on Saturday, yet we were unable to beat a poor Blackpool side.←As individuals may be. But in terms of formation, tactics, instructions to individual players, etc then surely we can get better. And who knows what a bit of confidence might do as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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