We had an odd-squad: Some good players who were part of a great team who'd seen their mates leave and probably fancied a bit of that themselves; a few duff signings from the previous regime who knew they didn't fit; a load of dodgy signings who knew nothing of the league they were joining, some of whom were clearly unfit and seriously injury prone; and no-one who seemed capable of rippling the onion bag. And a striker, while not a brilliant one but a 16-goal one from last season, sent out on loan and replaced by Mehmeti and Obika (7 goals between them).
Yes, Pep didn't have a pre-season to build a squad. But there is no excuse for MOST of his signings. Xemi, for instance, paid off after a handful of appearances, given a three-year contract. Williamson? Tiendalli? Peklaski?
Then the mega-blows: Curtis Nelson's injury. Rob Hall at the same time. Then Payne's recall (if Payne was happy, do you think Huddersfield would have forced him to move?). If you're looking for a turning point in our form, it wasn't Pep's sacking. It was when Nelson's achilles snapped, and when Payne moved up North.
We've offered no fight ever when it's mattered. Any team that has battled us has won. We won a few games in the first half of the season when teams let us play. But that was never going to survive in the second half of the season when teams start scrapping for survival. Word was always going to get out that we were a soft touch. We lost in the two cups in the first round with barely a whimper. That deflated everyone. To lose to Cheltenham having been 3-1 up? There was a big warning right then.
Port Vale. Wigan. Bury. Walsall x 2. Aarrggh.
Sacking Clotet wasn't a mistake. It seemed no-one liked him at the club, and his signings alone were a sackable offence. And of course a 7-nil home defeat. But to wait 6 weeks to replace him was a calamity. We should have replaced him quickly and given the new person a chance to fiddle with the squad. Meanwhile our new owner just wanted to have meetings with famous football names of the past to appease his ego, promised a 'Wow" factor, presented us eventually with anything but. (I'm not passing any comment of KR btw, I'm even discounting Charlton fans' obvious delight that he's left... KR has been dealt an awful hand and doesn't deserve to be judged yet. He was also given a poisoned challis after Tiger's big promises). The only WOW I can see about his appointment so far is that we're With O Wins.
It is still in our hands. A win and a draw might well be enough, especially if we can beat Rochdale (although I really can't see it as they're in great form and have more fire in their belly than we seem to.
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We can do it. We need an early goal (preferably two) against bloody Southend, preferably from a striker. But my god, I'm worried.