We are currently 3rd in the form table.... http://www.footballformguide.net/form/npower-league-2 I still cant believe the impact that John Ward has had. Ward has been unlucky with injuries, just like McGhee. Ward has the same players to work with that McGhee had. But Ward has brought in quality like McChrystal. McGhee brought in Branston from Aldershot who was bottom of the league. Wards record now is... Played 17 Won 10 Drew 3 Lost 4 Scored 27 Conceded 15 GD +12 Points 33 (from a possible 51 points) Ward is 1 point away from averaging 2 points a game. Having a +12 goal difference from 17 games is a great return, especially our strikers are not the most experienced! Ward had also watched his side get 6 clean sheets from these 17 games. Before Ward joined us we were conceding nearly 2 goals every game and couldnt score. Just how has Ward managed to turn that around where we are not conceding but still scoring goals? Remarkable. Points scored by all teams in last 17 games... (in order of current table) Gillingham.............27 points Port Vale..............27 points Burton.................33 points Cheltenham..........25 points Exeter.................29 points Northampton.........33 points Rotherham............27 points Southend.............22 points Fleetwood............23 points Oxford.................29 points Chesterfield..........22 points Bradford..............19 points Morecambe..........24 points Bristol Rovers.......33 points Wycombe............27 points Dag & Red...........16 points Rochdale.............16 points Wimbledon...........26 points York...................11 points Torquay...............9 points Plymouth.............19 points Barnet................24 points Aldershot............19 points Accrington..........14 points So in the last 17 games since Ward took over, we are joint top with Burton and Northampton. Fantastic stuff. John Ward for manager of the season.
JW has been amazing and those stats speak for themselves. Quite simply, if JW had been our manager from the start of the season, then with almost 2 points a game we would currently be top! It's got to be the most impressive turnaround of any professional football club in all four leagues this season. From rock bottom to comfortable mid-table in less than three months is an incredible achievement. I really hope that the board backs John in the close season so that we can kick on in 2013-14 and get the hell out of this league. UTG!
i think ward will stay and he has shown in all his dealings with players that he has brought in so far he will bring in the right players needed. ward will have the difficult job of making decisions on the players that have been injured like harrold, kenneth, bevan, gill, virgo. do they have a future here? im guessing wages for them maybe all on the higher end and could be used to get in mildenhall, mcchrystal and o'toole for example and have £ left as well for others. i would be really interested to know whose contract runs out end of the season. if ward stays, this summer will be a interesting summer and i cant wait.
Yes, it will be a very interesting summer. I think we should say goodbye to Gill, Bevan and Virgo. I like Virgo as a bloke and even as a squad player, but his best days are far behind him and his wages are likely to be large. I'd keep Harrold as he's an effective player at this level and we need another big lad up front when Ryan's not playing/misfiring. Ryan can also learn from Harrold. Kenneth I'm not sure about. Could be worth keeping for experience - I'm pretty sure that JW can get the best out of him. We should sign JJOT permanently if possible, another striker when Hitchcock goes back and possibly cover for Lee Brown. Like you, I'm really looking forward to this summer and next season.
It couldn't happen again, could it? Christ, that would be three 'brimful of optimism' summers in a row followed by devastating disappointment - I don't think I could stand another!
Looking at those stats I can't really see any of the top teams choking. I thought maybe Rotherham or Cheltenham may have a bad run in. But I reckon we'll probably miss out on the playoffs. Ward's career stats are pretty impressive too. But I wonder whether he's ever had such an impressive run in his career - particularly taking a team right at the bottom of the league to where we are now. I doubt it.
I can see him letting all four players go including Harrold depending on how he recovers from injury and how cheap he is to keep. As for Calamity Kenneth as he has a 3 yes 3yr contract unless we can offload him or JW can get him to play better we are stuck with him.I hope he recovers well and moves on,JW seemed to like him though? COR
There must be a Scottish club who would take him for a nominal fee - £10,000? I'm sure he'd do well back there.
