Is our squad fit and able enough

[mr c gull]

our no 1 aim at the start of the season was to do better than last,as we only need 11 points from 14 games this should be achieved,so therefore we have improvedthis season,without our top goalscorer being available for most of the saeson.

 

whats the panic

[richard sparkes]

the thing is we have to get the 11 points 1st,at the moment we just cant seem to score.Jason really needs an old head up front with him

[Phil Old Boy]

Some observations are:

 

We need more of a presence in midfield.

We need to create more chances in a game.

We need more pace at the back.

Generally, our physique seems to be that of the Ryman Premier still.

Other teams look fitter & faster (probably due to full time status).

Assuming that we need 11 points to be safe, We are still going to have t scrap as positions become more crucial at both the top and bottom of the table.

[ken]

if tate was playing for the reserves hopefully he will be back to first team soon, could be just whats needed

[South Mouth]

I think people might be over-reacting slightly and maybe my comments sounded that way too.

 

I dont think we are going through any sort of crisis and i dont agree with ribbit that these are depressing times for the club. We knew what to expect in this league and i for one haven't expected more than 12th/13th this season. When i started supporting in 1993, i would never have imagined my team would be playing in the fuc*ing Ryman, let alone the top league in non league football. So i am still enjoying where we are, even if we are struggling in this league.

 

I was just suggesting a way forward from here, not a solution to a sinking ship which is not what is happening like some people are stupidly suggesting.

 

We will not get relegated and we will be competing in this league next season. Absolutely no doubt about it. I was just saying that to move onwards and upwards, a more experienced manager/coach would probably be needed to get promoted and become a league team. And this was not a slur to Jeff and Glenn who in my view do a GREAT job. It's just that we are stuck at the mo and we might need a change to take us that little bit further so this club can carry on with its amazing climb!

[ken]

who got to you? <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/spank.gif" alt="" />

[South Mouth]

Nah, i just am not gonna worry so much. We are NOT going down and Jeff and Glenn have done wonders to get us this far and i think supporters from only the last 5 years or so dont appreciate how far we've really come over the 12.

 

My point was that i think a change is needed to challenge for the play-offs and get promotion.

[YELLOW]

Seems to be alot of negative thoughts. What needs to change is the passion of the players. They seem a beaten side before they even set foot on the pitch!!

[yellow angel]

Quote:

YELLOW said:
What needs to change is the passion of the players. They seem a beaten side before they even set foot on the pitch!!

lack of confidence?

[YELLOW]

Quote:

Linneycifc said:
i'd agree with jeff especially after saturday they looked like they were out till 1am the night before drinking and having a good time then got up again at 5:30 to get ready and get on the coach.

(a big thankyou goes out to pro plus for keeping me n' gal awake)

One moment you two were bouncing all over the place, the next you wanted to go to sleep. Weird day Saturday!!!

[Matt H]

It's been interesting reading the comments in a couple of these threads. Here's what I have made from it all...

 

There is no reason to go into a game against the team bottom of the league with a lack of confidence. It's unfounded as to why the players would be down. What they might have had though is a similar negative mentality along the lines of "We're slipping down the League. What if we don't get something from today's game. Will we slip even further?" That's negative thinking not really a lack of confidence. When the players enter the field for the first time, they should all be thinking that there are 11 players on the field who are going to try and stop them putting the ball in the back of their goal. What they need to be thinking is to play with 110% dedication, commitment, flair, enthusiasm, stamina etc. to complete their role in the team in making that ball hit the back of the net, while attempting at all costs within the rules to not allow the other 11 men on the field from doing the same.

 

Is our team able enough? Yes, of course they are, otherwise it would be us and not Crawley at the bottom of the table. Is our squad fit enough? No I don't think it is. From many of the games I've seen this season, I have been able to tell that come the 60 minute mark, the majority of our team is beginning to tire. They're slower at getting to the ball, finding it harder to beat their man and will 99% of the time lose out on the second ball.

 

Sometimes tactics have played a part in it. E.g. Morecambe at home, 3-0 up and Jon Keeling would not venture past the half-way line until they had pegged back to 3-3. That to me, is madness. But that combined with their goals all coming almost in the last half an hour of the game goes to prove that the players cannot currently last the full 90 minutes on top form - The disadvantage of only being part-time. The starting XI has sometimes been extremely questionable, but we don't know what happens in training and what niggly knocks players might've picked up outside of football. Favouritism should definately be a BIG no, no though. You pick the best team not your favourite eleven players. Especially if it means playing some of them out of position to fit them all in, which has been the case.

 

As for "Have Jeff and Glenn taken us as far as they can". Once again, I don't think so. I believe it was Glenn who masterminded both of our victories over Grays, and almost clinched a victory at Kidderminster on a good performance bar the last couple of minutes. Glenn knows his stuff and is Canvey through and through. He was able to point out where it went wrong against Cambridge and rectified it to complete the Grays double. We need Jeff for the money. No-one else on Canvey or the surrounding area would consider putting as much money into Canvey as Jeff does. If he walked away now, then as far as I'm aware there is nothing to keep us afloat and we would rapidly descend back down the Leagues and dare I say it possibly even fold if we can't afford the wages and running costs. Especially on the attendances we're getting at the minute.

 

Speaking of attendances, they have improved on last season. Last time I looked our average attendance this season from last has increased by exactly 100 from 801 to 901. No doubt Grays might have had a hand in that but it's a good statistic that shouldn't be overlooked.

 

Recruiting players - With the current occupations of some of the ex-Canvey players I think we could make good use of their 'expertise' and status in Football League hirachy to try and keep tabs on a few players.

 

Ex-Gull David Kerslake is Ass. Manager of Northampton.

Steve Tilson is at Southend and we could get a cast-off or two from there.

Goalkeeping Legend John Keeley is a Coach at Brighton, he might be able to point a few younglings in our direction.

Plus there are of course Glenn's contacts. It doesn't hurt to have people in the know from Ipswich, Colchester, Southend, West Ham, Spurs, Charlton, Millwall, Orient, etc. The Reserves and U18s seem to be doing pretty well and hopefully we will see the majority of them following the likes of Hallett into the first team in about four or five years. But before them we need to consider replacing our aging backline and uninspiring midfield.

 

It was good of Jeff to point out where he felt he went wrong on Saturday, leaving McGhee on the bench, not playing Wardy etc. and he was quick to point out the Midfield was lacking. I would hope that after all of this finally becoming a realisation, the Managment will actually have the balls to drop Minton once in a while or at least take away the armband and give it to someone like McGhee or Wardy or Sedgemore. What worries me is that I don't think we have anyone in the centre of Midfield that is really any better in an attacking sense than Minton and going by that, that's the position we need to look into right away. Noto could do it, but currently not for a whole match.

 

At the moment we're stuck in a vortex. We can't really buy any better players until our attendances improve and/or we go full-time, (65% wage capping and all that). We can't locate to a new ground until the attendances increase to more than at least 1200 week in, week out but then the attendances won't grow unless we're doing more successful than we are currently, (which to me is a disgrace going by the population of this island in ratio to how many people actually attend a game). The Club can only do so much to promote the next fixture, but it's if those people want to really part with their cash judging by what is going on, on the pitch that counts. It's a big Catch 22 and all that.

[Ribbit]

Performances must increase before people decide they want to watch us play. No-one's going to want to watch a team who can't score.

[blooming barmy bongo]

i dont know people go and watch arsenal ;o)