Tinkerman

[ty cobb]

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/oxfor ... st_season/

Interesting article, rather suggests that we were doing well to be in touch with the automatics for a large part of the season especially given a fair few of the squad were players who had never played a professional game before.

[Kairdiff Exile]

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/oxfor ... st_season/

Interesting article, rather suggests that we were doing well to be in touch with the automatics for a large part of the season especially given a fair few of the squad were players who had never played a professional game before.

Or, to look at it a different way, the strategy of reducing the tinkering and frenetic loan signings of recent years was paying off (and clearly worked for other sides as well - the automatically-promoted teams generally used smaller pools of players than those at the bottom end of the league). Unfortunately, because the change of manager came when it did (right at the end of the transfer window) there was no time to bring in players at the one moment when perhaps that might have benefitted us.

But - as someone once said - "we move on". The lesson for the season ahead has to be to broadly adopt the same approach of having the strongest starting XI we can muster, with a decent pool of utility players and youngsters to provide cover. Which makes it all the more worrying that as things stand we haven't filled any of the glaring holes left by recent high-profile departures and that we've ruled out bringing in anything other than free transfers. If we're going to have a starting XI come the start of the season who can compete, I would want to see a few early signings as reassurance that we're bringing in our first choices rather than (as in previous years) waiting until mid-July and then signing the players who no-one else wants.

I still have that lingering feeling that we're in for a long slog this season.

[neilw]

With regards to building a team and knowing whom we want, this quote from GW fills me with no confidence at all: “There are a lot of good players out there who are going to be out of contract. We will be able to pick up a couple of them, I’m sure".

Since GW arrived there hasn't been a single indicator of better days ahead.

[Brahma Bull]

Since GW arrived there hasn't been a single indicator of better days ahead.

I think there have been a number of indicators of better days ahead. They include the 90 minute performance at Plymouth, 20 minutes on the last day before Williams lost his head and we were in complete control, the release of Sean Rigg and Deane Smalley, a number of players commenting on how impressed they are with him on the Training Ground with his methods and his man-management skills.

To name but a few.

[Old Abingdonian]

If you are right, Mr Bull, then it is a slight shame that the club publicity machine is not doing more to support GW. Whereas old fans know that there is nothing really worth saying until the first ball is kicked, I think there is a real danger that the idiot negativity so prominent on the other forum develops its own momentum, which - say - affects season ticket sales.

[JoeyBeauchamp]

Since GW arrived there hasn't been a single indicator of better days ahead.

I think there have been a number of indicators of better days ahead. They include the 90 minute performance at Plymouth, 20 minutes on the last day before Williams lost his head and we were in complete control, the release of Sean Rigg and Deane Smalley, a number of players commenting on how impressed they are with him on the Training Ground with his methods and his man-management skills.

To name but a few.

Straws. Clutching.

[The Enforcer]

With regards to building a team and knowing whom we want, this quote from GW fills me with no confidence at all: “There are a lot of good players out there who are going to be out of contract. We will be able to pick up a couple of them, I’m sure".
Since GW arrived there hasn't been a single indicator of better days ahead.

I would have expected something more along the lines of "We have identified several that we believe will improve our squad and are/will be doing are utmost to sign them."

These attacking conference players all appear to be out of contract this summer and personally I'd be quite happy if we signed any of them:

- Brett Williams - 26 years - striker - 24 goals 158 mins/goal in 19th placed team

- James Norwood - 23 years - right-wing/striker - 19 goals 188 mins/goal in 11th placed team - also 13 assists (seems similar to Williams, including disciplinary record, mind)

- Scott Boden - 24 years - striker - 18 goals 185 mins/goal in 15th placed team

- John Akinde - 24 years - striker - 17 goals 216 mins/goal in 9th placed team - also 13 assists

- Louis Moult - 22 years - striker - 17 goals 193 mins/goal in 13th placed team

- Ross Lafayette - 27 years - striker - 16 goals 196 mins/goal in 16th placed team

- Dan Holman - 23 years - striker - 13 goals 164 mins/goal in 6th placed team

[Kernow Yellow]

Since GW arrived there hasn't been a single indicator of better days ahead.

I think there have been a number of indicators of better days ahead. They include the 90 minute performance at Plymouth, 20 minutes on the last day before Williams lost his head and we were in complete control, the release of Sean Rigg and Deane Smalley, a number of players commenting on how impressed they are with him on the Training Ground with his methods and his man-management skills.

To name but a few.

Better than what though? Than his first 8 games? I'd bloody well hope so, else he'll be out of management again sharpish. But that's no yardstick to measure anything by.

Better than when we had a caretaker manager? Again, that's a fairly minimum requirement for any permanent manager and no kind of achievement.

Better than our last proper manager? Well that's what everyone's hoping. Everything that has happened under Waddock's tenure so far though has been far, far from that level.

One match against a pisspoor Plymouth side (look at their other results around that time)? And twenty minutes against a team at the foot of the table? You're easily pleased BB. Players always claim to like a new manager - they're hardly going to say anything else if they want to get in the team are they?

[Snake]

Since GW arrived there hasn't been a single indicator of better days ahead.

I think there have been a number of indicators of better days ahead. They include the 90 minute performance at Plymouth, 20 minutes on the last day before Williams lost his head and we were in complete control, the release of Sean Rigg and Deane Smalley, a number of players commenting on how impressed they are with him on the Training Ground with his methods and his man-management skills.

To name but a few.

I think you should change your password as your account appears to have been hacked.

[Brahma Bull]

I never said I was happy or easily pleased but I will dispute claims such as "Since GW arrived there hasn't been a single indicator of better days ahead".

He took over a side which was on an awful run, had a captain who had lost his head, a side lacking of any confidence, had our best player missing through injury that he picked up at Chesterfield. He has released several players who had done nothing to deserve a place in the side or the silly wages they were probably picking up.

If people want to dismiss a few of the bright spots that have happened since Lewis was relieved then I can't help that. If a player tells some random fan (whilst they were under the influence at a social evening) that in his opinion Waddock's coaching is exceptional in comparison to what he has been used too then I have no reason to dis-believe him. If releasing Smalley and Rigg isn't somehow an indicator of better days ahead then I'd suggest others are easily pleased.

[Kernow Yellow]

If a player tells some random fan (whilst they were under the influence at a social evening) that in his opinion Waddock's coaching is exceptional in comparison to what he has been used to

Fair enough that does at least sound encouraging.

I still take issue with the rest of your post though. We might have been on a pretty poor run under Lewis, but the 'awful' bit came after Waddock took over, not before. If we're going to somehow excuse this by saying basically it wasn't his team and he's going to make big changes, then getting rid of two of our poorer o.o.c. players is a pretty basic requirement - hardly revolutionary stuff. It can only really be seen as an indicator of better days ahead when we know who's coming in to replace them and when we've seen how those replacements perform in a competitive match or two in a yellow shirt. Assuming we are at least going to have yellow shirts next season...

[GodalmingYellow]

I never said I was happy or easily pleased but I will dispute claims such as "Since GW arrived there hasn't been a single indicator of better days ahead".

He took over a side which was on an awful run, had a captain who had lost his head, a side lacking of any confidence, had our best player missing through injury that he picked up at Chesterfield. He has released several players who had done nothing to deserve a place in the side or the silly wages they were probably picking up.

If people want to dismiss a few of the bright spots that have happened since Lewis was relieved then I can't help that. If a player tells some random fan (whilst they were under the influence at a social evening) that in his opinion Waddock's coaching is exceptional in comparison to what he has been used too then I have no reason to dis-believe him. If releasing Smalley and Rigg isn't somehow an indicator of better days ahead then I'd suggest others are easily pleased.

Really Simon? Really?

If GW is such an exceptional coach, he should have been able to get far more from the players who under Wilder were doing far better and who only dropped off the cliff when Lewis took the reigns.

For me, GW has got a shed load of work to do to convince me he is in the right job, and so has IL for that matter.

[joepoolman]

If releasing Smalley and Rigg isn't somehow an indicator of better days ahead then I'd suggest others are easily pleased.

Since when was Sean Rigg such a burden on this club?! If memory serves me correctly in our 2nd to last victory this season (the last game before GW took over) Rigg won two free-kicks for which an opposition defender was shown 2 yellow cards, and the free-kick from which we scored the only goal of the game. Under GW Rigg was hardly given a kick.

[Brahma Bull]

If releasing Smalley and Rigg isn't somehow an indicator of better days ahead then I'd suggest others are easily pleased.

Since when was Sean Rigg such a burden on this club?! If memory serves me correctly in our 2nd to last victory this season (the last game before GW took over) Rigg won two free-kicks for which an opposition defender was shown 2 yellow cards, and the free-kick from which we scored the only goal of the game. Under GW Rigg was hardly given a kick.

I am pleased there was an occasion where Rigg justified his wages. Sadly for most part, he was out of form, ineffective or injured for most of his stay. Then he had other issues he and the club had to deal with which may have impacted on his non-selection.

[Brahma Bull]

If GW is such an exceptional coach, he should have been able to get far more from the players who under Wilder were doing far better and who only dropped off the cliff when Lewis took the reigns.

For me, GW has got a shed load of work to do to convince me he is in the right job, and so has IL for that matter.

Fair point Terry but I am relaying only what a senior player said to me and having come from Head of Coaching elsewhere, probably has some truth to it. His man-management in and around the training ground had also been mentioned as being a breath of fresh air.

I think Waddock has a huge job and I can't help feel that it will be he who takes the brunt of this from disgruntled supporters over the debacle and mistakes of last season (that's a personal view) - which stem back before his appointment.