Am I becoming cynical in my old age......why do I only sneer and nearly laugh when I read the weekend headings like these. 1).....Fletcher hails "brilliant" Argyle. 2).....Young hails "Argyle performance" Am I getting it wrong or is one draw and four defeats in Argyles last five games a success and I being old and stupid cannot see that. Do I need to be more optimistic and hope that we can continue this hailed and brilliant form for the rest of the season. Meaning 5 games= 1pt.......another 29 to play = another 6pts....add to our 18 pts already amassed.....gives us a total of 24 pts total for the season. I'm sorry Mr Fletcher and Mr Young.......but it will take more than that to brainwash me to believing that Argyle are Brilliant. One damn good game doesn't off-set a season of total dross......I'm being too hard on rooky Fletcher aren't I.....Mr Brent is obviously more tolerant of what is on show at present.......are the fans as patient as he is........answers on a postcard please.....and no swearing.
Strewth I just about give up. This performance, not the last one or the one before but this one, was very good. I defy anyone who watched it to suggest otherwise without being totally biased against. What you should be looking at is not this particular one but the ones that were definately not brilliant. They outnumber the good ones. It's a mystery to me. When they are good they are very very good and when they are bad they are rubbish. They are rubbish more often than they are good and I cannot fathom why. If you can play that well in one match why can't you do it again and again. Gillingham are a cut above anything I've seen so far this season. They will get promoted unless there is a massive turn around somewhere. Argyle looked every inch as good as they did and better at times. They are No.1 and we are 19th. How, why? I can only harp on that this is down to leadership or rather the lack of it. They are predominently young lads and rookies and therefore the need for leadership and confidence building is paramount. It just simply isn't there. Fletcher does not inspire and this can be the only reason that I can see because it isn't about effort or ability. They need a proper leader and proper coaches. Despite this point that was unexpected by most of us if we are honest, I suspect they will revert to type in the next match when realistically they should now fear nobody. For me it is still Fletcher out and I can't see that changing now. Decent enough bloke and all that but I want a winner not a loser.
It does need Fletcher to inspire them in his roll as manager......to be told well done lads....you've worked your socks off .........isn't inspiring as they sit in the dressing room totally knackered.......they could of told him that once they can catch their breathe. Reshuffling the pack during the match to counter the opposing manager.....can be like a game of chess........that is how Fletcher should be inspiring them at the coal face where it's happening......how many points have we dropped because we haven't responded to what is happening on the pitch.....enough to put us in the top half of the league ?..........it's quite possible.
I don't think this is entirely an isolated occurrence. If you are willing to take 2nd hand opinion on board - and I am up to a point if there's enough of it to make a representative sample - then there have been several good spells in away games. Not always sustained for 90 minutes to bring home 3 points it's true...... Why that happens less frequently at home than away has been debated before. I know what I think. The good news is that if there's the capacity to play well against the likes of Gillingham, the potential is there to do it more often. After all, we went through a long spell in the fall from the Championship when there were hardly any decent performances to point at, never mind the results. The bad news is there's some way to go to get where we want and sorting out that back 4 [or 5] is the first task. Is Fletcher the man for the job? His lack of a track record means the jury's been out from his appointment but given a) he kept us up in difficult circumstances and b) there's some potential in this squad, you'd have to be aware of something we aren't to waste that much cash.
So it's down to cash rather than Fletcher's ability to either manage or inspire notdistant? I have said numerous times there is potential in this squad. They cannot become good at times without having something there in the first place. They aren't good often enough either at home or away. What is the common denominator in all of that? The motivator and coach.
