To be faithful in your support for something or someone is a trait that is highly commendable and it is worth it's weight in gold once found. Blind faith and support in a cause can see you through a situation, or can be proven to be a foolish thing to be doing. How do we see PAFC's support for Carl Fletcher and his management team at the moment.......is it giving Fletcher every chance of seeing it through to a successful conclusion...... or an act not built on a good foundation of reliable and proven fact of being able to succeed. Was it an act of desperation and hope that this was all PAFC could afford to do and with fingers crossed and a prayer or two lets hope it works ? We all know that hindsight is a wonderful gift to have........and backs up at times the well known comment "I told you it wouldn't work".......the problem is a lot of people said it without the need of hindsight..........so why did James Brent and Co put all their eggs into one basket ? Making Fletcher up to be a stand in for the failed Peter Reid to start with was an acceptable proposition...........the warning lights started flashing when he was made permanent manager quite quickly afterwards.........without real success even with a squad that was being strengthened beyond Peter Reids wildest dreams. So where are we and where are we going........the old adage of only worrying about what you can change, and not other peoples situations has a lot of truth in it. Whilst other teams in the basement of League 2 were struggling like ourselves the opinion was we can get out of this, when the situation starts to change and too many teams around us start to improve more than we are doing........alarm buttons start to ring and all those recent points that where there for us to take and we didn't come home to roost and worry us. So reluctantly other teams situations start to become more important to us........and we start looking over our shoulder at what other teams are doing. THIS IS RECENT FORM AT THE BOTTOM OF DIV 2. 18th.....Bradford........P6...W3...D2...L1...GF10...GA5.....11PTS..........39PTS...........2 games in hand. 19th.....Barnet...........P6...W1...D1...L4...GF6....GA15.....4PTS...........37PTS...........1 game in hand. 20th....Macclesfield.....P6...W0...D5...L1...GF8...GA9.......5PTS...........35PTS. 21st....Hereford.........P6...W2...D2...L2...GF11..GA11.....8PTS...........35PTS. 22nd...Northampton...P6...W4...D1...L1...GF13...GA9.....13PTS..........34PTS...........2 games in hand. 23rd...Plymouth.........P6...W2...D2...L2...GF7...GA4.......8PTS...........32PTS. 24th...Dag & Red.......P6...W2...D1...L3...GF4...GA12.....7PTS............31PTS...........1 game in hand. Form teams......Northampton & Bradford. Matches to play. Bradford.....Wimbledon (A).....Aldershot (A).....Crewe (A).....Gillingham(H).....Crawley (H).....Plymouth (A).....Southend (H).....Shrewsbury (A).....Northampton (A).....Macclesfield (H).....Cheltenham (A).....Swindon (H). Barnet.....Morecambe (H).....Dag & Red (H).....Macclesfield (A).....Torquay (H).....Swindon (H).....Cheltenham (A).....Crawley(H).....Hereford (H).....Southend(A).....Wimbledon (H).....Burton (A). Macclesfield.....Dag & Red (A).....Rotherham (A).....Barnet (H).....Gillingham (A).....Shrewsbury (H).....Port Vale (A).....Crewe (H).....Bradford (A).....Burton (H).....Southend (A). Hereford.....Southend (H).....Port Vale (A).....Crewe (H).....Rotherham (A).....Plymouth (H).....Accrington (A).....Barnet (A).....Northampton (H).....Crawley (A).....Torquay (H). Northampton.....Dag & Red (A).....Accrington (A).....Burton (A).....Plymouth (H).....Crewe (A).....Oxford (H).....Swindon (A).....Bradford (H).....Crawley (A).....Hereford (A).....Gillingham (H).....Rotherham (A). Plymouth.....Shrewsbury (H).....Bristol R (H).....Northampton (A).....Bradford (H).....Hereford (A).....Aldershot (H).....Swindon (A).....Oxford (H).....Morcambe (A).....Cheltenham (H). Dag & Red.....Northampton (H).....Macclesfield (H).....Barnet (A).....Accrington (H).....Port Vale (A).....Burton (H).....Gillingham (A).....Aldershot (A).....Crawley (H).....Shrewsbury (A).....Bristol R (H). To me it looks like.....Bradford.....Barnet.....Hereford.......have the hardest run in. Northampton the easiest finish. I think the bottom two is between.....Dag & Red......Plymouth.....Macclesfield. During the time that I have been doing this........sensible has probably been sleeping like a baby..........and if he reads this he will either fall asleep or lose the will to live.
Seriously Plym strengthen beyond PRs wildest dreams..... No not really.... strengthened within a extremely tight budget and IMHO actually well done. Why all in the eggs in one basket..... well maybe because we couldnt afford a pot to p1ss in yet alone a whole new basket I ve been quiet for a while but have been watching the slow crucifiction of Fletcher by a few on here and sorry but shame on u all... Wake up and smell the roses We where/are broke, PR will always be a legend BUT he had lost the team and did not have a clue how to turn it around. We had a bunch of kids, and had sold the best of them, could not get a point for love nor money and where going out the league without a whimper. Fletch is a new manager and he maybe not the most articulate however if anyone thinks he has not improved the team and our chances of survival, however slim, then frankly they are full of it. Actually read the comments coming out of HP.... next season we will unload some wages, we want to bring in some new players within our budget etc Basically there is limited money available for players and to spend now,or before, what little funds we had on a new manager is just dumb. I have read a lot of comments about Fletchers lack of knowledge and tactics... yeah right the guy has played top level league football and international football without learning a thing NOT. He was never blessed with great speed or exceptional skill but has a good engine and wait for it..... is a reader of the game ie knows a little bit about football. Now will we survive..Who knows, to be honest if we have our own fate in our hands come last game of the season I will take that at the moment. Could anyone have done a better job than Fletcher...maybe Should we have spent what little funds we had on an alternative to Fletcher.. Hell no. Has Fletcher improved the squad... Has he improved the results... Has he instilled some backbone... Has he found some fight... Come the end of the season if its tears on the last day yet again so be it, we will just turn that blue square green and be greatful we are still in existence but to blame Fletcher, Le Keeper or Brent is beyond belief. Its gonna be a rollercoaster of a ride for the last few games but thats what u get for being a Janner.. ATID
Mexijan I am showing the same courtesy towards Fletcher as he showed to Reid ! After the comments he made about Reid after he left and under Fletcher's leadership where are we now ..... exactly the same place, in the relegation zone and Fletcher has a different squad to what Reid had to play with. I will always support Argyle but I wont blindly support things that I don't agree with and I'm sorry I didn't agree with him being made manager and from what I've witnessed up at Home Park lately in my opinion I was right to feel that way as he really doesn't have a clue tactically and in my opinion again we are yo yoing in and out of the relegation zone not because of Fletchers managership style but due to the results of the teams around us.
I don't necessarily blame Fletcher or Brent for that matter. He never promised us the world and as far as I can see hasn't failed to deliver what he did promise. The blame for everything lies firmly with the last encumbants of the Boardroom and maybe since then the Administrators for failing to sell the club properly. I am convinced there was an attempt at a carve up between buddies although there is no actual proof. Had they done the right thing and put the club on the market in a proper and dilligent manner from the outset we will never now know if anyone else with a higher ambition would have been out there and come in for the club. As it is we got Brent after months of shambles. Not the worst scenario there could have been in fairness to him. However, people who are hurt and upset often lash out and as it is the only ones to lash out at are the officials in charge of the club now. Most of it is simple disappointment but understandable given our situation. I have said and repeat that even if we suffer a third relegation in as many years I will still be there next season handing over my dosh and as hopeful as ever when the season starts. I would reckon several thousand others will do the same but not the 6000 we get now. The club won't die unless Brent decided to let it and it will come back in the end. The disappointment is the rapid decent to get to this point. Not Fletcher's fault but it will always be the Manager in the seat who gets the blame as that is the way of things in football. It wasn't his fault Reid got sacked either Gat.
I know that Sensible but after all Reid did for the club, one of the first things Fletcher said was now you'll see what we can do when we are trained properly ..... oh yeah lol
Not being a trained trainer or football coach I wouldn't know what proper training was for a professional football team. Maybe they were'nt being trained properly I don't know. You maybe confusing the Reid that put his hand in his pocket and stayed despite not being paid with what happened or did not happen on the training ground. They are not the same thing. I wasn't kean on Reid getting shoved out of the door either or rather the way he was shoved. But as said that wasn't Fletcher's doing.
In a situation like this, there is some advantage in an unyielding commitment to each other, owner to manager, manager to players, players to club [hopefully]. And of course fans to the club.... It's good for morale which is much needed in these circumstances. I think Fletcher's been handed a poison chalice which perhaps he'd have been better off personally to decline and wait for a better opportunity to come along. I'm not convinced he's the man for this particular job nor that this is the job for him as the first step on a managerial career. However, you do get to the point at which the benefits of unity outweigh any marginal improvement a new man could make at this late stage. I think we're well past that point.
And PS, never rains but it pours - never a penalty was it? Given by a ref with no view on the blind side of the linesman on the far side away from the incident. Bloody referees, useless the lot of them.
