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Post by steve on Dec 18, 2016 13:17:55 GMT
So this season we have already seen three managers, four different goalkeepers and used 29 players (not including the youngsters at Harlow). Performance wise, in the league we have been poor the only positive this season again is the FA Cup.
Why are we struggling? so many factors...
Credit where credit is due I wasn't Richard Hill's number one fan but the reason we were successful in the Conference South & our first season in the conference was the fact we had a tight knit squad of 14-15 players in the South & 17-18 in the conference. He added some quality into our side from the Championship winning squadnotably Constable & Midson. I can only recall two bad signings under Richard Hill and that was Jamie Hand & Alex Grant who didn't last long.
This season Chris Todd invested heavily, sacked. Ronnie Moore comes in with 3-4 players, departed. Now Martin Allen has already made three signings (Plus Strevens). The squad we currently have is made up of Todd, Moore & Allen's teams. The biggest problem we have now is a lot of these players have signed 18 month, 1-2 year contracts...
We are 10 points off the play offs and still have a chance midway through the season however it would be a miracle if we do end up in the top 5.
I'm confident Martin Allen is the man to move us forwards, he has good pedigree and his experience is unquestionable. But this will be his toughest job in management...
IMO he needs to prepare a squad for next season now... something we need is STABILITY.
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Post by nobadspitfire on Dec 18, 2016 13:31:48 GMT
Good post, Steve. I'm sure when Martin came in, his brief was to get into the pay-offs. He may do it, he may not. I won't be disappointed if he doesn't. It will be very interesting to see who leaves in the next few weeks & who else he brings in. Will Luke Coulson go to a Championship club? Has there been any interest in Mikael Mandron? As always, life at Eastleigh FC is going to be interesting over the next few weeks. And beyond.
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Post by sufc on Dec 18, 2016 17:27:43 GMT
How is Stearn fitting in to your side?
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Post by tenacres on Dec 18, 2016 21:44:50 GMT
I think a large part of the root cause of the problems goes back to the end of last season. With all due respect and without meaning to sound cruel - we should have parted with Chris Todd late April/early May. He did very reasonably for us, taking us to 7th and of course the great cup run - I place no blame on CT whatsoever.
He was obviously reaching make or break time at that point following a poor league run spanning 20 odd games. He was under great pressure right from the start of the season & no manager should start a season like that. I think many of us predicted we would lose his job early in the season and it was sad (but almost inevitable) that he did.
So the summer and significant player recruitment was done with an inexperienced manager who was on the brink. Not a good combination. Of course its easy to say this about the players signed in hindsight, I certainly would not profess to be a football expert & was excited/optimistic about our summer signings as many of us where.
I think the call on the manager was a bad one (as I quietly thought at the time) & it was a similar error (IMO) to keeping Ian Baird on for the start of the season 4 years ago.
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Post by tenacres on Dec 18, 2016 21:47:44 GMT
Jury is out on Stearn at the moment, but then I would say that about a lot of our players.
I really hope we leave the squad as it is for a good few weeks (obviously a couple of quality additions are always welcome to any side!) but I think we have a lot of players and a lot of good players for MA to suss out and work out what our best team is.
Just think MA is fairly new in the job and has a lot of players to assess - who maybe haven't had much of a chance so far for whatever reason - so for me lets properly look at what we have at the club already before moving yet more players in and out again.
Happy that MA is the right man to lead us forward at this time and I hope there is no calling for his head in a week or two if we get a couple more bad results.
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Post by tenacres on Dec 18, 2016 22:40:27 GMT
The other point I missed out from above is fan expectation -
we have currently won 9 and lost 7 and are in the 3rd round of the FA Cup. Its not awful!
Is it disappointing? Yes. Is it underachieving with our current squad/resources? Yes it is. But it could be a lot worse. Wrexham are well below us and were many peoples tip for this season. Braintree came 3rd last season, currently 21st. York have around 700k parachute payment from last season - they currently sit 24th and last.
I think there are a few Eastleigh fans that start every season expecting us to win the league. Now I like optimism, but when it becomes expectation then a fan is just setting themselves up for a fall. We've been in this league a while now, we know its tough, Tranmere, FGR, Lincoln, D&R etc etc we all know the sides that were contenders at the start of this season. There must be a dozen or so that fancy a top 5 spot. Its not easy to get top 5, let alone win the league.
Even when we started poorly and RM came in I read a couple of fans state that they "expected us" to win the league. Now come on people, we were about 16th and already 10 points off the top, reality check! Again I have read more than once that we have the "best squad in the league". Really?! Better than Lincoln, FGR, Tranmere etc etc? The league table would strongly suggest we don't have the best squad in the league!
So possibly over optimistic ambitions lead to peoples disappointment and judging the season over harshly.
The closest thing we have to objectivity is the bookies, who pre season had us 4th favourites. So 4th would have been "par". Of course a million things have happened since then. Still a long way to go and chances of a top 5 spot certainly not over.
Here's hoping :0)
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Post by westendspitfire on Dec 19, 2016 10:38:38 GMT
Don't think there is anything wrong with fans looking at the situation with rose tinted spectacles, surely that's what being a fan is all about you have to believe no matter what the odds.
However first target now is to somehow build a settled team/squad who are all playing for the team, after Saturday think we are a long way off this at the moment.
In the meantime hopefully MA can get the team up for the Brentford game and at least get them back here for a replay, I've no doubt that next season there will be one target only and that will mean the cup competitions will not be allowed to distract us in any way, so this could be our last season of cup excitement for a while!
On the positive side we now have a 4 month period of warm up games where MA can have a proper look at where we are currently compared to where he wants to be, lets hope we win a few early doors so we don't get dragged backwards.
Be interesting to hear what MA thinks tomorrow night
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2016 12:04:26 GMT
We do have the best squad in the league.....what we don't have is the mentality that we can beat everybody!!!! That's the job for MA, its an old chestnut of mine and I'll say it again, some teams raise their game against us, and I'm talking about those down the bottom. So far of the bottom seven teams we've played away at Maidstone (18th) lost, Woking (19th) draw, Southport (20th) lost, Braintree (21st) draw....2 points from 12, they were must win games for this football club to sustain a title challenge. With 22 games to play we need to win 15 to reach 80 points, and I'd say we need 83+ for a PO spot. Our next 4 league games as it stands, Boreham Wood twice, FGR at home, and Sutton away will tell us if our season is over, if we drop 6 points or more then the target becomes next to impossible requiring 14 wins from 18 to achieve a total of 83 points...that's the reality of our season. I don't know much about our wage structure but is there a win bonus deal, or are they on a flat rate regardless of the result each week? Having said all that, how long did it take Luton and Grimsby to get out of this division? We've no divine right, but we all believe it is going to happen eventually.
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Post by durkiboy on Dec 19, 2016 12:19:21 GMT
Great replies. MA has got a difficult job to do, but I feel he can do it, he has the tenacity and experience as has been shown in previous seasons at other clubs. We now have a good bank of players, and am sure MA realises that and will start to structure the team. Only fly in the ointment are the two red cards on Saturday. Clarky will be out for potentially another 3 weeks, so hopefully Huddart can grasp the mettle and show his worth, ok, we need a decent line in front of him, which I think we now have the bank of players for. We are as good as any team on the day, if not better, and I think that was proven at Swindon. As others have said, I just think it's a bit of a lack of confidence at the moment, after all, all this "turmoil" at the club must be affecting the players. Personally, I feel the best way to deal with this is to use our voices by cheering them on and singing loud and proud. After all, if the players hear that from their fans, this will give them the boost that's needed. So, let's hear those voices and cheer the team on!
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Post by swb on Dec 19, 2016 13:33:31 GMT
I agree that MA is the man for the job but he has his work cut out to turn what is a talented squad into a talented team
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Post by michaelefc on Dec 19, 2016 14:29:28 GMT
And there's the nub. We might have the most talented group of players in our league, but so what! Its a bit like the possession figures or the corner count, its irrelevant. The only question that is relevant is how good is the team? Having played virtually half the season, fact is we around 10th or 12th best team, hence the league position. It's MA job to improve that position. That starts on the 27th. Victory over Borehamwood please.
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