Doesn't look a negative coach to me. I'm beginning to think/realise that it's the players at his disposal, that just aren't good enough to play the modern way of building through the lines that Marti favours. I am concerned that he tinkers too much, although, as usual, we have had a lot of injuries. I wanted Warnock to replace Ainsworth, but was happy that we'd gone with a young, progressive coach. However, it's becoming clearer and clearer that we needed someone like Warnock to scrap for enough points to potentially get us out of danger. I simply can't see us getting out of the bottom three now.
I'd get them chucked in the bin if I was you, thet must be past the "best before" date cos they ain't working anymore
I thought the same but I have some hope given our earlier results under Cifuentes. Hopefully we can rediscover some of that form.
Look we can't just keep changing the coach to fit our under performing players. We have made some bad decisions....Loungo and Ball being the powerhouse of high flying Ipswich. Barbet doing well. If Marti cannot keep us up with this mob and a loan or 2 in the next month, then we go down It is a sad fact. Perhaps he can start again like Ipswich have
At this point of time, l think we have the best possible manager in place. As others have mentioned, if we are not good enough because of the players, so be it ............ and we drop. The manager should stay. Hope TF & Co are looking at this and hanging their heads in shame.
5 of our next 8 games at home, which with our dreadful home record might not be an advantage. Crowd was very muted first half yesterday, slightly stunned mullet reaction to the dicking around with the ball at the back I think, but perked up when we showed some intent early second half. More performances like the first half though, things could get nasty. These games are all, on paper, winnable, and we really need to win at least half of them to get a little momentum going. No one is seriously calling for a new manager are they? That would be nuts, operating on a three game results cycle. I do seriously hope he gets the chance to bring one or two of his own picks in this window, though I doubt that will happen without departures.
I don’t think it can be the manager. Under the latter days of Beale, then throughout the Critchley and Ainsworth tenures, we’ve been poor. It would be easier to understand if we didn’t very occasionally see performances that bucked the (downward) trend. We CAN play well albeit rarely. We are not good enough to play out from the back all the time. It was losing a ball through such pi55balling about that gave away the corner leading to Cardiff’s winning goal yesterday. If we can all see that and if 15,000 fans need to be shouting at players to move the ball forward, I would hope the manager would realise that sometimes the only prospect of the ball reaching the other half of the pitch is if Berkovic boots it there.
I agree that there always needs to be a plan B and C etc, but playing out through the lines is the "in thing", just like 4-4-2 was in my playing days (apart from a few enlightened coaches, mainly from abroad). It would help immensely if we had a half decent centre forward to lump the ball up to occasionally, but Dykes is just woeful. I'm really hoping a Scottish side will buy him for 2 or 3 million and give us some funds to spend.
As to the crowd, it was near the point of getting ugly but the change in tactics and increased energy at the start of the second fended off any ugliness. One man did mutter 'worst manager we've ever had' as he walked by at the end. I do not agree with that at all.
I think most are agreed that we need to let this coach do his very best this season and then rebuild next season wherever that might be. So many managers. Same players. Same mixed results with most being poor. All points at the players. Who decided that they stay and don’t get changed? Plenty to debate around that one. At the end of the day we can only trust what we have now. I’d rather keep Marti and deal with the outcome. As for the players - we need that sort out now. I know it’s yet another rebuild, but our forward play is catastrophic and that all needs to change - no goals no results it’s simples. Don’t mind a bit of playing from the back, but please mix it up a bit and don’t be so obvious - passing the ball across the six yard line with opposition ready and waiting to run at you is just bloody stupid. We stupidly did it once and then did it again a few minutes later - bloody stupid!!
Dykes is always isolated, so hitting a long ball for him to flick on is pointless. He does hold the ball up quite well, but when he does he needs midfield runners to lay the ball off to, which again he doesn't have. Cifuentes wasn't dealt a good hand in terms of squad strength in depth but I can't help feeling he should be doing better with what he has. I think our best eleven, which does include Dykes in my opinion, really should be good enough to stay up. I'd play 3-5-2.... Begovic Cannon Cook Clarke-Salter Field Dixon-Bonner Smyth Paal Chair Dykes ??? Edit: Couldn't get the formation to appear properly, but it's supposed to be Smyth and Paal as wing-backs and Chair in behind the front two. With what we have, you could try any of Armstrong, Kelman or Kolli as Dykes's partner, but what we really lack is a Nahki Wells-like goal poacher. If we can find someone like that in the window, we might have a chance. (If Willock could be arsed to play, he'd improve that side, but I've assumed he'll be gone)
I believe Marti is the best coach we have had for a long time and certainly the best we could hope for at this present time. The Southampton game and Ipswich, amongst others, were good to watch. I can't name a single game under Crichley or Ainsworth that was good to watch. We all have opinions and we are all entitled to them. Personally I would have started larkeche behind Paal the other night and certainly wouldn't have brought Albert on for anyone. We all know we have needed a striker for around a decade! Hopefully we can bring someone with the movement necessary to play in Marti's style. It's no good hoping dykes can hold it up and wait for our defensive midfielders to join in. We need to be more fluid in this style but we also need the players to be capable of it. Let's see what January brings but I'm still sure that Martin will keep us up and it will be more entertaining than anything our previous manager could muster.
Amid all the doom and gloom, Kolli's ball to set up the equaliser was out of this world. I know he's crocked himself, but could he be the one to fill Chair's boots? He's surely got to be worth a run in the side, when fit.
