A few thoughts, a few questions

[InvictaSaint]

Although a season-ticket holder, I was unable to go to SMS yesterday. However, having read others' reactions and musings, I feel compelled to put our current situation into some sort of context, as much as to help myself understand where we are, and where we are heading, as to allow anybody else to contribute. I don't want to provoke any kind of argument, or polarise opinons amongst fellow posters; I have *no agenda* or established viewpoint; rather, I want to try and make sense of our situation on a day when, for reasons I can't quite understand, I feel more angry and more let-down, but above all more confused than I have done in a long while. Forgive me then, if this seems a little self-indulgent, but consider me the patient and yourselves the understanding (but also occasionally challenging :-) ) therapist.

 

Going into yesterday's game, NA seemed very upbeat (OS, Saintsplayer interview), pointing to a great 10 days' training and a positive mood within the camp. We had previously not lost at home under Adkins, and popular consent was that we had shown good passages of play in most of those home games. However, post the 2-0 defeat to Brentford, we have accounts of players not looking bothered; of an inept performance by Lambert / Hammond / Schneiderlin; of poor decision-making by NA. All of the above seem to have resulted in a very poor performance, and a very disappointing result.

 

We must bear in mind that this is but one result and that this was only our fourth defear under Adkins (MK Dons, Carlisle, Huddersfield being the other three). These facts notwithstanding, the questions I am having trouble with are as follows:

 

- Why was the performance - if reports are to be believed - so inept? Are we over-preparing (over-training)? Or is it a lack of effective preparation? Players (some) complain of becoming tired when games flow thick and fast and yet when they have two weeks off. they come back looking less effective than when they were 'tired'.

- Is NA' s tactical nouse as good as it needs to be / is reported to be? He has of course already got two promotions from this league, and, in his Solent interview yesterday spoke quite reasonably, I thought, about what he tried to do when it was clear Guly and RL as a pairing weren't working. And yet many of us seem already to be criticising a lack of decision making earlier on in games where things aren't working. Where does the truth lie?

- Does NA have the 'respect' of the players? I ask this without any sense of knowing the answer, but should we be questioning whether NA works well from NC's point of view (controllable, maliable - will accept the ethos NC wishes to establish because this is his big chance) but less well from the players' perspective? We already have reports of a bust-up between Pucnheon and Crosby, leading to the former's departure. Is this a harbinger of other such 'bust-ups' to come?

- Did NA succeed at S****horpe because he had a group of players who had no delusions of grandeur? There were no Billy Big ******** there, and thus NA's much-vaunted sports psychology approach would more than likely have got more out of the players, given their base level, than is likely to be the case with our more highly-paid, more pampered under-performers.

- Will NC act sooner or later if he feels things don't go the way he wants them to? His recent interview stated that promotion was 'essential' this season, but at the same time he made a slight allusion to the fact that the 5 year plan could still work without promotion this season. If this is the case, how long will he give NA?

- Would NC have been impressed yesterday? Obvious question, I know, and we all know the answer, but the point is, if he saw what the rest of us saw, he cannot fail to have been angered and I would suspect, confused. If so.....

- Which players will be needed, and brought in, in January? Will cash be released? Everything stated thus far seems to suggest that it will, but will NC trust NA to do the right thing? After all, we seem to be accepting that Pardew didn't get the cash/players that he wanted when the 'trust' and belief in him had allegedly gone.

- Is it fair to judge NA before he bring in his own players? Chaplow has had a major impact, and we have missed him in recent games, and many have alluded to Scheniderlin and Hammon not being quck enough or athletic enough. Should we only judge once / if NA has had the opportunity to bring in these sorts of players to help us get out of this wretched league?

 

Bemoaning the loss of Pardew, for whatever reasons, will get us nowhere. Let us not forget the performances under AP which many were quick to criticise last season - Bristol Rovers at home (2-3), Oldham at home (0-0), Brentford at home (1-1), Gillingham away (1-2), Brighton at home (1-3). We were not immune to the type of result we got yesterday, under AP - and the results I list are from across the season, not just the first couple of months - so we have to accept that there is something more fundamental wrong, as many of you have pointed to.

 

I cannot tell you how much I want us to get promoted this year. NA said in his interview after yesterday's game that he was 'hurting' and we can only assume that he is telling the truth, and feels the defeat as keenly as we do. It is difficult to understand why we are so inconsistent, but in writing all of the above (and well done if you have got this far!), I think I am coming down on the "he is the right man for the job" side of the fence. However, I think the following should be considered / should happen:

 

- RL needs taking out of the firing line sooner rather than later

- NA needs to be backed - fully - in the transfer market in January, to allow him to be able to stand or fall by his own team

- we need in January to buy athletic, pacy players who are going to cause the opposition problems, particularly midfielders who can break quickly when the oppo are holding a high line

- we need to see where we are and act accordingly in May. If promotion is a pipe-dream, NC has a big decision to make. Have things progressed in the way he wants them to progress? Can he see success being achievable next season at the latest? If so, should NA stay?

 

As I say, just some thoughts and reflections, with the odd question thrown in, on our current situation.

 

Over to you....

[RedArmy]

"few"......

[InvictaSaint]

"few"......

 

OK, maybe I was underplaying it a little...! :-)

[Mowgli]

It was a poor performance all over the pitch. Even the crowd were not their usual enthusiastic self (apart from that good burst in the 2nd half). At half time we all thought we could go on and win it 3-2 providing NA shook them up in the dressing room. His record of half time pep talks is pretty good. In the end I think there have to be question marks over the lack of substitutions but in ome ways it was a lost cause and not one to pitch youngsters into.

 

NA is proving to be a good appointment (and I was gutted when Pardew left) and NC will have no problem sticking by him even if we miss out on promotion.

 

I don't think we will miss out on promotion though. The players are clearly benefitting under NA and we should view yesterday as a blip. Come on - it wouldn't be Saints if we got promotion easily!!

 

Lambert lack of goals from open play is a concern but he is still one of the best players on the pitch. Hopefully we can secure another stirker in January to support him, a back up for Chaplow, and another winger.

 

Then again - what do I know? I thought Hammond played well yesterday.....