Plan B...

[Deleted]

Apr 21, 2014 8:44:50 GMT tim said:

As a club plan B that's fantastic, absolutely the right way to go, as someone who spent many seasons at Sittingbourne and Ashford I'm delighted to be where we are, also having watched just about every home and away in our last visit to the Ryman Premier we have nothing to feel unhappy about
However, we aren't in those dark days anymore, and as supporters if we have an opinion that isn't a ‘Jay total love in’, this is the place to discuss it.
I'll say it again, I'm not calling for him to be sacked this season, but all is not as great as some will have you believe
I've seen all but the Canvey game, which was re-arranged to a date when I was on holiday, and whilst we've has some good results I can't remember too many when we've been really entertained.
There have also been too many when we've been out thought by the opposition dug out
All I'm trying to point out is whilst our first season back in the prem will probably see us miss out on the objective, improvements must be seen. Yes we've has injuries but all clubs get injuries our second half season point tally is very disappointing
If you only want to sit on your hands and say everything is great that's fine, but don't knock those with a different view!

I think that this is a more reasoned view though than some of the Stalin type extremist views against Jay that have made the pro Jay side a little defensive.

Its not been overwhelmingly entertaining for the most part but i believe a lot will have been learnt about the players characters when things go well and when things go wrong. Time will tell

I believe the seasob has been a success however I am disappointed with how we have fallen away.

I also believe Jay is still the man to lead us forward. The club will be seeking Improvement but for me too many of the players have just not been at their best or have been too easily bullied in some games.

As has been stated a proper gritty experienced battler is needed to gee up the younger lads when its tough going and keep their heads up.

I believe with one or two additions and a little more confidence in the team will see a little less desperate defending with the hoofing currently endured.

We will be a force next season! We can be that force with Jay at the helm. This season has been no disaster and no way bad enough to demand Jays head.

[harryhaddock]

I think the reality of the situation is that we all want the club to progress. Some of us want it quicker than others and we're all entitled to our opinions. Some believe Jay's doing a good job, some think he's not, that's fine by me. I've just found the level of personal targeting of the manager recently in bad taste given what we've achieved and think some could be a bit more balanced in their views.

The manager's here for another year so let's get behind him and the team. Do I agree with everything Jay does? Not at all, check some of my previous posts about our shape and you'll see. I thought the same on Saturday and would have played a right winger personally and agree with NWS that we were too cautious. Problem is its difficult to have a sensible sharing of opinion about the football when some seem intent on saying the manager has no idea and should be sacked all the time.

Most importantly 3 points would be great today and you never know, results could still go our way. COYS

[mackster]

Plan? It's Plan A that's the problem.

We were playing decent football pre-Christmas but it has now descended mostly into hoofage. The match against East Thurrock a few weeks was bad as anything seen at Homelands. To be fair we played pretty well against Bognor, but our confidence looks shot, we look like a boxer who has taken too many shots.

I'm not entirely sure where it has gone wrong, I'm sure Jay is trying to figure out the same. We played really well early season with the Brown/Philips axis. Philips was superb and nailed on for player of the season before he got injured, but he hasn't been the same since. We had outlets and pace with Rory and Orlando, but both haven't figured much - or not at all in Orlando's case (what's the latest on him). Of course Watt missing meant we lacked leadership on the pitch. Several players have just looked like they have lost their form, most notably Frannie.

Rooney lifted spirits for a while, but you could see it was just a sticking plaster over the problem. Probably due to an amalgamation of the above, we lost our confidence and belief in how we set out to play this season. Jay of course deserves another shot at it, and I agree it is as much about instilling the ethos of the club in the players, not just signing those on big bucks. We were told we had a squad built for the Conny South and I still believe this to be true, and looking at the contract renewals it doesn't look like there will be household changes.

If we could sign one player that would make a major difference to the side, it'll be that little Turkish fella from Dulwich. Or at least someone in the same mould (but probably not 4 feet tall). It is worth remembering that AFC Womble found it a struggle to get out of this league, and despite our early pace-setting, both us and Dulwich are now out of the play-off places.

[Sennockian69]

So we don't have a plan B - I don't blame Jay. The players we have available are suited to plan A.

We need 4 more mature players - ideally 23 - 28 years old that are extroverts & leaders.

I classify only 3 of our squad as natural leaders - Steve Watt , Micky Phillips & Lee Worgan. 2 have been out for months on end.

We must also avoid players with bad injury records. We cannot be promotion contenders next season with this same squad - the

gaps in the squad will be revealed when the next injury crisis intervenes.

[rootsy]

Apr 21, 2014 10:44:30 GMT Sennockian69 said:

So we don't have a plan B - I don't blame Jay. The players we have available are suited to plan A.

We need 4 more mature players - ideally 23 - 28 years old that are extroverts & leaders.

I classify only 3 of our squad as natural leaders - Steve Watt , Micky Phillips & Lee Worgan. 2 have been out for months on end.

We must also avoid players with bad injury records. We cannot be promotion contenders next season with this same squad - the

gaps in the squad will be revealed when the next injury crisis intervenes.

I tend to agree that we need a 2/3 more experienced players in the squad as 'leaders' but the reality is that these players are likely to be currently plying their trade at a higher level to be better than what we have currently.

We have a decent youth set-up from what it appears but we have to remember the level at which they compete. It may be worth looking to try and get a bit more involved with Charlton, Millwall and Palace to see if we can establish a partnership to offer some of their more promising youngsters an opportunity to play in front of a decent crowd. Whilst I agree that isn't the most ideal solution, it does offer possibility to get a better quality of player albeit younger as opposed to the more experienced type player.

On the flip side, we could offer those clubs first shout on any youth prospects which we have as part of the partnership.

As for Plan A and Plan B, you probably need down to Plan Z to cover every eventuality across a season. Jay has done a great job, I personally feel that the whole 3G issue (whilst positive for football generally) has indirectly raised expectations above where they should be. I would like to see Jay supported by someone more experienced though, particularly at this level or above. What's Tommy Warrilow upto?

A good season all in all, although as a fan it can be frustrating at times as we all want to win every week!