We will be absolutely fine according to Hastingsbuoy on the Guernsey thread. He's already planning for promotion to the Ryman premier next season!
We keep talking about must win games and the biggest games in our history, well the next two home games are just that. Sittingbourne and Horsham are must wins but just cannot see where the goals are coming from. I am guessing no one is coming in as there is no sign of new arrivals after all the 7 day letters we have sent out so we go with what we have. Sam Adams will be back but God help us if anything happens to Razor or Ade. We just look so thin on the ground.
As I said in a previous post,we played really well last night and the Guernsey fans around me were surprised that we are in such a lowly position.We desperately need a win but our finishing is letting us down.From what I saw,I think our confidence IS quite high but we really need to get the breaks,which unfortunately are going against us at the moment.Teams around us are beginning to get results at the moment,we really need to follow suit before it's too late.WE ARE NOT TOO GOOD TO GO DOWN
See, we played well against Merstham, and threw the game away conceding a goal in the last ten minutes. We played well against Guernsey and missed another vital penalty and went down to ten men. We need to keep our heads in gear and not get complacent. Trouble is, we haven't been winning enough to know how to get complacent! We still haven't been leading once at half time at home this season.
Saturday was a bad day for us regarding the teams around us, like Conquest1 said, we're just not getting the breaks. We said after the Merstham game 'There's so many positives to take from this, if we play like this next week we are guaranteed three points!' And then we drew 2-2 against Three Bridges (throwing the game away) then lost to Folkestone, again missing a penalty. The lack of consistency is bringing us down and I still don't see where the next point is going to come from.
We were lucky to beat Horsham last time when we played them away, I think Evan popped up in the last few minutes? Evan has scored more than anyone else under NK, but I thinks that's only about half a dozen. We are no where near clinical enough and with Ade getting visibly tired after about an hour, we need a striker, urgently, from a higher league if possible. Maybe put the budget up again? We need a clinical striker asap.
Crucial we get a striker in NOW or it is a distinct possibility we will go down.Saw a lot of promise in our build up play on Saturday but no end product.Evan runs his socks off and Ade puts himself about but neither are clinical enough in front of goal.A proven goalscorer will mean the difference between a loss and a draw,or a draw and a win.Every point is now vital
I really don't see how we are going to get a prolific striker from a higher league when our 7 day targets seem to be from the County League. If we want a striker, we'll have to pay top money. And word will get around that we are desperate, which will put the price up further. It's too late. It's a bit like turning up at Sainsburys 1 minute before closing time on Xmas eve with a wallet full of cash, and finding there's only a few unwanted turkeys left. All the plump-breasted ones have gone.
Sounded a bit like Melchett there OTH. - yes you are right in that it will take a lot of money to get someone in now. Putting that cost though against the amount we will lose when we are in the county league - it must be worth a try surely? If we do nothing - I seriously doubt our chances of survival .
Its too late, if you pay big money you will get another dud who is just turning up for his holiday money, we have just got to hope that what we have gets us by. The only reason a player will sign for us is money, its sad but true.
Other teams around us are obviously splashing the cash in order to survive by bringing in not one but a handful of players.For some its working and for others its not.If we only bring in one very decent striker I believe we can survive but its got to happen NOW.
Agree, don't need ( or will be able to get ) lots of decent players at this stage, but do need a striker, reinvest Tasers wages and stick a bit more in if required but get a proven striker in ASAP to help Ade & Evan.
Billy Medlock, Elvis Hammond ( rated him
Despite not being prolific last time in Ryman Prem ), Josh Oyinsan are all sitting on the benches at their clubs and have all been here before so we know they have travelled here in the past.... Worth a chance and surely better for them as well to be playing even a level lower if the money side can be agreed.
I agree with Dan. We need a striker urgently and we must do whatever we can to get as good a one as we can for the remaining games. There are surely players who would prefer to be actively involved in a campaign (albeit one to avoid relegation) than just sitting it out? and there are surely a lot of clubs whose season is effectively over who would not object to losing a second choice striker .......?
It seems to me just about everyone is saying the same thing, but it is falling on deaf ears, I would have thought that has been discussed at a higher level, but alas it ain`t gonna` happen, is it ?
If it doesn't happen then would be very disappointing and surely damages our chances, Evan and Ade both decent but need help!
A decent signing may help to excite the crowd as well and keep the gates higher and therefore paying for the strikers wages anyway!
If it makes the difference of just 10 - 15 adults coming in combined with Tasers wages that's got to be in the region of what a good striker would want for this level?
Well it's certainly true that from before the start of the season most of were saying that Ade could not be expected to play every or even most games and that there was an obvious shortage of goals in the side. That problem has been made worse because - and I don't know why - Sean has not been scoring headed goals from set pieces as he has in previous seasons.
Sean had a header cleared off the line on Saturday, funny how the highlights tend to favour Guernsey. Delivery is a fair point Overthehill but Geoff is right Razor does normally pop a few in each season.
Buying in mercanries like Sawyer won't help, the money would be better spent on rewarding the players we have for getting points £25 a point seems fair.
Our players are just about good enough if they pull together and give 100%, if we bring others in will they give 100%? Experience over the past few seasons says no
Can I just state some facts here. 2 wins in 19 league games, 9 wins all season (37 games), 1 win under new manager, worst home record in the league, just 5 more goals than the lowest scorers in either Ryman South or North, top goal scorer has just 8 goals, 2 clean sheets in 21. Can someone please tell me why they think we have the players to get us out of this?
John: I'm with Chris and Steve on this. I think the players are good enough ('just about' as Chris says) and as said in earlier threads I think we must stick with Nigel. But you are right to say the stats don't give great support for that view.
The obvious problem is goals scored. That is not Ade's fault. To my mind he's had a good season; but he's 32 and plays a physical attacking game and looks spent before the 90 minutes, though he tries well beyond what many would to keep going. Many of us said from the start that he couldn't play every game and that's proven to be the case. He's also not had consistent support. We've needed another attacking central forward all season and I find it odd that successive managers have not made that a priority. I don't think that playing a lone striker is ever a good idea at our level, certainly not at home. Kenny, in my view, was completely wrong in that role. Ewan Archibold must be given credit for persistence and loyalty and he can head a ball, but he cannot be thought of as a first choice striker at Ryman South level. I said earlier in this thread that we've also missed goals from Sean this season. Overthehill might well be right that that the problem is one of delivery (because Sean does still go forward for set pieces).
So, I think there are tactical things that we can do. Most obviously I would play a standard 4-4-2 game in game out so that the players know just what's expected of them. I would emphasise basics: getting players forward, moving the ball more quickly and playing a more direct game than we have - not very purist perhaps; but we're well past such considerations.
But, primarily, I still think we will get out of this mess on the basis of the really modest total of additional points we in all probability will require. I still think 8 points will be enough and I think if we play with the sort of commitment we can show we will likely get that in the next 5 games. Of course, if we play as we did against Corinthian Casuals then we're sunk whatever we do.
I really enjoy Geoff's reasoned approach to the challenges we face. I think that we have run out of time for tactics, and I have read nothing to suggest that anybody really believes that we have sufficient skill or awareness to plan and execute an effective 4-4-2 (which is just about the easiest formation to coach). We appear to be relying on a roll the sleeves up and have a go approach, which in this rubbish league, might just be enough. We will survive only because there are other teams who are, gladly, even less competent than us. When survival is assured, my only hope is that we treat this season as the humbling, low point in our history that it truly is, and do not allow any back-slapping and well dones, because in my view, the whole thing has been a disaster. Only time will tell if we have learned anything. Plus ca change, as they say.........................?
-- Edited by Overthehill on Wednesday 4th of March 2015 08:55:23 PM
