Rate the season

[Ozzymac]

I'm gonna remain glass half full. We were only 13 points shy of last season and only won 2 games less. We only conceded one more goal as well.

For all the doom mongering on social media that's not a bad slump in light of the poor performances.

Add to that everyone had the 3 relegated teams as certs to go back up so in theory that was potentially 18 points that most would have written off

 

[LD19SAFC]

6 for me as we stayed up which i thought would be difficult with 2nd season blues.

Results on the pitch could have been better and transfers were ****e but i still think we're heading in the right direction.

Sorry like but a 6? 6 points above the relegation zone…

How are we heading in the right direction? You’re easily pleased…

 

[Ozzymac]

Sorry like but a 6? 6 points above the relegation zone…

How are we heading in the right direction? You’re easily pleased…

I gave my reasons. Heading in the right direction is relative to whether you believe we overachieved last season.

If you feel we overachieved then by how much? If anyone thinks we underachieved last season they need their heads examining.

 

[Monkey69]

I think style of play has contributed massively to our season as after about 8 games in we started playing more defensively and were setting up defensively which had an adverse effect on our squads playing style. Looking at the stats this change only achieved in us conceding roughly the same amount of goals but scoring less ? Which kind of proves that this change has not worked.
The change in style seemed to happen as MD became more involved in first team affairs which he kind of hinted at when doing the pre match press conference. I hope a new head coach can change this style and play a more attacking formation which I believe is more suited to our squad, at the moment we often have 2 3 or 4 defensive midfielders and our transition into attack is woeful when last year we were one of the best in the league for transition into attack. This IMO is the reason we have struggled so much thus year.
The season started off well but negative tactics and formations meant eventually the wheels came off the bus.

 

[Blond Bombshell]

I think style of play has contributed massively to our season as after about 8 games in we started playing more defensively and were setting up defensively which had an adverse effect on our squads playing style. Looking at the stats this change only achieved in us conceding roughly the same amount of goals but scoring less ? Which kind of proves that this change has not worked.
The change in style seemed to happen as MD became more involved in first team affairs which he kind of hinted at when doing the pre match press conference. I hope a new head coach can change this style and play a more attacking formation which I believe is more suited to our squad, at the moment we often have 2 3 or 4 defensive midfielders and our transition into attack is woeful when last year we were one of the best in the league for transition into attack. This IMO is the reason we have struggled so much thus year.
The season started off well but negative tactics and formations meant eventually the wheels came off the bus.

Thanks for the insight. I knew something changed but couldn't put my finger on it.

 

[Coastal Dolphins]

We are heading in the wrong direction big style. The only positive is Mowbray won enough points to avoid relegation, giving the ownership a summer to reset the clubs footballing side. If they don't I dread to think about next season.

Some good young players but nonexistent competent management for this level who are surely busted flushes now and need to be shown the door.
The reason it's been ultra disappointing is it's being self inflicted disaster with bad decision after bad decision - the club wrote off near half a season and for the first time we gave up accordingly and didn't bother attending the last few games, depressingly.

 

[TonyG]

Went for 5, obviously would have been much higher if you had asked me at the time we sacked Mowbray but cruelly fate, as it happened intervened with his new club as well so in the end I think the outcome would have still been the same had he stayed.

not having any of this “we would have been relagated if the season was a few months longer” it isn’t and we aren’t relagated.

Onwards and upwards next season!

 

[Reggie the Cheddar]

From a personal enjoyment pov only Southampton at home stands out so a 1

From a wider view you could say a lot of young lads got minutes but honestly we can't guage the benefit of that till next season.

Glad it's done

 

[cumbrianmackem]

4 for me, second season syndrome, harder division this season and our version of the manager merry go round have all conspired against us.
Chuck in the age of the squad and inexperience and it was almost the perfect storm.
Busy close season for our senior management and we go again in August full of hope.HTL.

 

[Chip]

2

At least we weren’t relegated, the only reason it wasn’t a 1. If we continue to follow our current path we will be in league one this time next year. We need to make big changes and bring in some real quality and experience to halt the slide. I can’t pull any positives from this season it’s been an abject failure.

 

[Downeys Loup]

4. If the plan is to be pushing for automatic promotion then we were 40 points shy of where we need to be this coming season. If the idea was to bed a crop of youngsters in then again we’ve not had a great deal of success as Seelt had nowhere near enough games before we lost to injury, Pembele only just started to get game time, strikers enough said elsewhere.,
Positives are Triantis on loan, Jobe developing, Rigg getting regular game time towards the end.
Only reason for the 4 is we weren’t scrapping for survival.

 

[Robertson]

4. It’s been a car wreck in the second half of the season and some of the decisions this year have been unfathomable. There are good signs that we aren’t miles away though. We’ve been ‘in’ so many of the games but missed chances and paid for it after weak defending. There is a lot for a new HC to work with. Our attack has been toothless when chasing games and that’s got to get sorted out, with new personnel coming in.

 

[Grizzled Wanderer]

3. Shambles, on and off the pitch.

Massive rebuild now required, and experience of losing and being generally uncompetitive is no good to anyone.

If we sold Clarke for 30 million it wouldn't be enough to sort this squad out.

 

[Iain]

Depends on how you want to look at it. If you rate it on performance and quality I don't think you can look more than a 3 or 4.
However I want to look on the positive side and rate it on how this season will affect the club and for that I would give it a 10.
I know that probably seems very strange but as a result of this season, there has to be a massive reality check.
The whole club needs a reset, I believe how well we did last season resulted in how **** we were this season. If you'd asked the same question last season most people would have rated it around a 9.
I think the club thought the recruitment were doing a great job and recruitment probably thought they just needed a few minor tweaks.
I'm so pleased this season is over but I'm hoping it's actually done more good than harm. Let's hope it was the kick up the backside KLD needed, speakman isn't god, the model needs a tweak, it's beneficial to loose some money on experience as that will help make money developing the youth.
Everyone has different opinions that's life, but why so much doom and gloom that we are still in free fall and looking at relegation next season.
I'm actually more excited now than I have been for a while

 

[The Norton Cat]

Compared to last season, it was clearly a disappointing one. Mistakes have clearly been made and, as has been said, with hindsight, it might have been better to replace Mowbray at the end of last season. Given the way that things have gone under Dodds, it looks like sacking Beale may also have been a mistake. The balance of the squad is clearly not right and that needs to be sorted.

These are all fairly obvious problems. Putting all of this down to incompetence on the club's part is ridiculous without knowing exactly what decisions were made and why. At least some of these problems are more than likely to be the result of circumstance, which is one of the fundamental aspects of sport- you can't control everything. If we can all see what the problems are, it's insane, logic defying, to think that people within the club can't. As it obvious that they can, I think people need to have a bit of a think about why they haven't rectified them.

I can't get on board with negativity. The only way is not down, there hasn't been an implosion, its not inevitable that we'll be relegated. People must forget some of the seasons we've had in the past. All that's happened is we've had a duff year, a poor vintage. We've still got an owner with a plan (albeit the plan has stalled), the first one that's tried to get us operating like a 21st century football club while still trying to connect with the fans (see West Ham for the contrast). I don't see anything to suggest that we won't come back stronger next year. People within the club will learn from what went wrong. Its already becoming obvious that a lot of the 'facts' about what's gone wrong are incorrect. I can't believe people's lack of resilience. Things still look really good.

 

[Robertson]

Compared to last season, it was clearly a disappointing one. Mistakes have clearly been made and, as has been said, with hindsight, it might have been better to replace Mowbray at the end of last season. Given the way that things have gone under Dodds, it looks like sacking Beale may also have been a mistake. The balance of the squad is clearly not right and that needs to be sorted.

These are all fairly obvious problems. Putting all of this down to incompetence on the club's part is ridiculous without knowing exactly what decisions were made and why. At least some of these problems are more than likely to be the result of circumstance, which is one of the fundamental aspects of sport- you can't control everything. If we can all see what the problems are, it's insane, logic defying, to think that people within the club can't. As it obvious that they can, I think people need to have a bit of a think about why they haven't rectified them.

I can't get on board with negativity. The only way is not down, there hasn't been an implosion, it’s not inevitable that we'll be relegated. People must forget some of the seasons we've had in the past. All that's happened is we've had a duff year, a poor vintage. We've still got an owner with a plan (albeit the plan has stalled), the first one that's tried to get us operating like a 21st century football club while still trying to connect with the fans (see West Ham for the contrast). I don't see anything to suggest that we won't come back stronger next year. People within the club will learn from what went wrong. It’s already becoming obvious that a lot of the 'facts' about what's gone wrong are incorrect. I can't believe people's lack of resilience. Things still look really good.

Yourself and Iain have made some very good points.

The lack of positivity from a lot of people is understandable however. Football is an emotional sport and it’s been depressing following us for several months. Some of us are more down than others.

The foundations of a good side are there (including the academy) and I hope those that are down become more positive as the first team gets improved. Appointing an exciting HC will also help.

Off the field activities are getting better at high speed as well.

 

[Young Ted]

Five from me must do better in a few departments I did miss a big chunk of the season with work so maybe that’s why my score is 5 might of caught a few good bits

 

[alcoauth]

I'm usually deemed a "happy clapper", but it's impossible to see this season as anything but an abject failure.

There are a lot of elements to think about:

We over achieved last season, considering the talent we had.
We were at least one (maybe even two) seasons ahead of schedule by getting into the playoffs.
We started this season well, being in the top-6 until January, and the top-10 until March.
The end of season collapse, encapsulated by our run of 6 defeats took the season from disappointing but acceptable to a failed season.
Sacking Mowbray, despite being in poor form, was an error in hindsight.
Mike Dodds might be an elite developmental coach, but he is not ready for a head coach role.

I'm being kind and giving it a 5, but I was very close to giving a 4. The only redeemable features of the season have been the emergence of Riggler and the fact we weren't relegated.

 

[The Redbaron]

Before and up to Christmas a 7/8 looking to push on in January. After the clusterfuckup that was December until now, and overall, a 3/4 .

 

[Neil]

unsure between 3 and 4, but went 3.

The first half of the season was reasonable, hopes were high, but then it went downhill. On the pitch even from the start we lost too many points from the young lads either getting bullied by the physical sides, or just making mistakes / inconsistency. Second half of the season I'd say it was that again, but combined with having the wrong gameplan most of the time

The manager position has just been a mess. Mogga leaving was a bit of a shock. The appointment of Beale just so misjudged, and should never have happened. Leaving Dodds in charge was just a like we'd thrown the towel in on the season, and it's almost certainly going to (and after his last presser, it should) spell the end of his career here, as well as having spoiled any enjoyment of the end of the season for may fans.

Recruitment, I'm not going to knock the signing of young prospects, in fact I'm all for it, but the lack of any balance to that by having a core of experienced players in the side has been negligent.

We didn't even have the distraction of a decent cup run.

Thank goodness that there's still a spark of hope. Dan Neil, Jack Clarke, Chris Rigg, Dan Ballard, Trai Hume, Patto, and Luke O'Nien generally haven't disappointed (although sorry Luke, but I'd prefer to see you as a utility player on the bench). Jude's been a bit hit and miss, but when he's good, he's good. Pat Roberts has been disappointing this season, but we know he's got the quality if he can use it effectively. There's time for many of the other youngsters to come good too, I'm not writing any of them off just yet. With the addition of an effective striker or two, and a few more experienced physical defensive / DM players, I think we should have enough to escape this league. We don't need a complete remake, just a few specific additions, and a better use of what we've already got.

So, this season's been a bit **** really, but I'm hopeful for the next one.