Where is it all going wrong? A managers job is to make the whole better than the parts, Leicester last season showed the way it's done, looking at the Leicester players individually they would never win the championship, yet as a team they were better than the sum of the parts. Looking at our players individually we should be better than we are, Jed doesn't seem to know how to get the best out of them. Why is Dack playing so deep this year, last year he was up with the strikers making runs into the box and scoring goals, this year he is spending more time in deep positions. Why was Osadebe left on the bench when he has been one of our best players this season, why (injuries aside) does Jed not settle on a defence and stick to it, most pundits, managers, players agree that you need a settled defence. Having seen us in preseason matches, all league home games and away at Southend, my feeling is that we aren't always well organised. Southend played really poorly and gave us plenty of space to play our passes and score our goals, the other matches, where teams have closed us down quickly, mean we struggle to even complete a decent pass, yet when the opposition have possession we back off and give them time and space. Look at our most recent debacle against United, when we had the ball(as in Jackson losing it in the corner) United put pressure on the ball straight away forced the era and scored the goal, when they had possession we all dropped back and let them pass the ball unchallenged, we failed to pick up the runners, failed to mark players in and around the box. This isn't new, it's the way we finished last season, and the way we have slowly developed since Jed eased out the old gang of 4, Steve Lovel being the last remnant of our good start to last season. I know I'm risking the wrath of some, but Jed's tactics, and continual tinkering don't seem to be working, for me he needs to show some sign of improvement before the start of November, other wise sadly he needs to go.
I am sure you know the answer to your question Grumpy. JED rode along on the back of the excellent but juvenile squad that Taylor had put together for the first half of 2015 and he relied on Hessy telling him what to do. The first part of 2015/16 went amazingly well but I think many of us thought that maybe JED did not know why it was going well. when he did not know why it was going well it was hardly a surprise in the new year when he had not got a clue how to remedy things when they started going badly. This season looks completely bizarre. He has assembled a real assortment of oddballs more suited to a relegation battle than any sort of assault on promotion. We have gone from a squad of developers whose best days are ahead to a selection of mercenaries looking for one last payday. Loanees are fine in very small quantities for very specific purposes but they tend to lack the commitment of home grown talent and they come with promises of playing regardless of performances. Most of JED's bad luck is self inflicted. Nelson seemed a safe bet but now seems past it with a new contract. Konchesky is showing composure at times but his lack of pace is exposing what Garmston and Dickenson concealed, that Wright is too slow. The young talent we had in midfield is being squeezed out to accommodate big names on big wages with big egos. I am sure JET will notch 15 goals but his lack of effort will lose far more games than he will win. Cody runs up front with real commitment but everyone in Priestfield will tell you that he is only really effective alongside a Kedwell or Akinfenwa heavyweight who knocks the ball on in the penalty area. So JED has a bit of time left to prove he does know what he is doing. Things that can go right would be to try and get the defensively brittle but potentially matchwinning pairing of Jackson and Garmston fit and attacking. Ehmer is crude but effective and a loanee can slot alongside him. Midfield might be constructed around Osidebe, Hessy and Knott and if they fail most gills fans will have more patience and tolerance than seeing the alternatives fail as they surely will. That leaves up front and A N Other who needs to run hard and be capable occasionally of unsettling 6ft 3 central defenders needs to be discovered to give Cody a modicum of support. Not easy now! This script belongs to Summer and anyone except JED could subscribe to it but the fact is he did the opposite and that puts the pressure on him to prove he is not so incompetent as Mr Average Supporter sitting in the Medway stand and spouting garbage on noticeboards otherwise in about two months time Mr Average will be showing him the door. I just hope PT will answer the phone to Scally when the call comes.
Agree with some of your points but apart from Konchesky and Nelson we still have a youngish squad and you tell me which players Taylor signed apart from Egan will play at a higher level. If Taylor was around we would have been in league 2 already. Dack would also be stuck in the reserves loaned out to a non league team if Taylor was still around
Thanks to gumpygit and bistol407 for pointing out the huge elephants in the room ( I'm actually being serious )
I'm still frankly quite bewildered that we didn't bring in an experienced Centre half in the mould of El-Abd to sit alongside Ehmer or Deji. Yeah you can we've got Konch but with him spending most of his time in the left midfield position, they don't have a real leader to shout instructions. Ehmer and Deji don't talk enough and Pask is very inexperienced so they need some more leadership at the back. Bond in goal didn't give out many instructions on Saturday so he needs to do his bit too although I'm certainly not blaming him. I think our main problem is that we've used the diamond for so long now that teams are judging how we're going to set up at Priestfield. Away is a bit of a different scenario currently but we're far too predictable at home.
