If JD's Staying...

[Gruff]

...what's the plan to stop the rot?
What does he need to do to get this bunch of players playing football?
What is his best starting line-up?
What is his Plan-A formation?
What is Plan-B?
Are the players actually fit enough?
What has really changed since last year, except DF and Tyler Walker?
What has happened to the best defence in the League?
Does he need to bring players in, in the January transfer window?
Are any contracts of the current squad worth renewing?
You can't win anything with kids, but can you fight off relegation with them?

If he doesn't know how to get the answers to these questions then I fear we're in for an absolute nightmare (it CAN get worse).

I still want him to succeed, to turn this shambles into a quickly forgotten dream, but he's got to do something significant.

If I was a Director of the club, these would be the questions I would be asking JD now. Not to sack him, but to make him think seriously about the position we are now in.

[robbingdog]

All very valid points but you do not think he is thinking about
I’ll the perilous position we are in? Yes I said perilous

[oldweststander]

There is no plan except back to the training ground on Monday.

[adamstag]

There is no plan except back to the training ground on Monday.

And even then they’ll be no plans.

They clearly don’t practice anything at training.

[yorkshire stag]

lost interest atm

[cassellswasmagic]

lost interest atm

Yes.

[MTFCMusings]

The first goal is so crucial to us. We've won all but one game in which we scored first. We've only picked up three points when we've conceded first, all draws, all after going 2-0 down and throwing caution to the wind. JD utterly panics when we go behind, his substitutions are so bad.

[Jamie]

That doesnt suggest he panics. Its suggests going behind paralyses him and leaves him unable to turn games round.

[georgefostersbeard]

That doesnt suggest he panics. Its suggests going behind paralyses him and leaves him unable to turn games round.

Agree entirely, anything that goes against what he expects renders him incapable of making a decision.
This is where his backroom staff should then step up but they don't

[Chrisuknottm]

That doesnt suggest he panics. Its suggests going behind paralyses him and leaves him unable to turn games round.

We are sat right behind him in IGU and he looked bewildered with what to do yesterday. He immediately turned to Danny and got him ready when we went behind but after that he must have had 5 or 6 conversations with that waste of space Glover as to what else to do. He clearly wasn't going to throw any of the three youngsters into that so his options were straight forward....Khan and OSJ. If you're not going to use your full bench why bother??!!??

[MTFCMusings]

That doesnt suggest he panics. Its suggests going behind paralyses him and leaves him unable to turn games round.

Not necessarily, given he's got three draws from being 2-0 down when he's been forced to go for broke. He doesn't know how to change games that's the problem.

His method seems to be, throw on as many offensive players as possible for midfielder players but don't worry what position they play in and then just continuously lump balls forward. You need midfield players when chasing a game.

[EdwinstoweStag]

That doesnt suggest he panics. Its suggests going behind paralyses him and leaves him unable to turn games round.

More than that, the PLAYERS’ confidence seems to evaporate as soon as we go behind.

[Jamie]

It was clear for all to see we struggled by being out numbered in wide areas, as can happen on a bad day with wingbacks. The change to bring Khan on should have seen us go 442 but instead we just swapped a defensive midfielder for an attacking one. It changed nothing as it didnt address the problem.

[EdwinstoweStag]

It was clear for all to see we struggled by being out numbered in wide areas, as can happen on a bad day with wingbacks. The change to bring Khan on should have seen us go 442 but instead we just swapped a defensive midfielder for an attacking one. It changed nothing as it didnt address the problem.

Spot on, Jamie

[Jamie]

That doesnt suggest he panics. Its suggests going behind paralyses him and leaves him unable to turn games round.

Not necessarily, given he's got three draws from being 2-0 down when he's been forced to go for broke. He doesn't know how to change games that's the problem.

His method seems to be, throw on as many offensive players as possible for midfielder players but don't worry what position they play in and then just continuously lump balls forward. You need midfield players when chasing a game.

So you do agree?

On your final paragraph, he does do that and it's worked a couple of times but often those subs have been too late in the game.

Anyone can go for broke when a game is lost, throw some forwards on and hope for the best. Sometimes it works...

[Vice President]

...what's the plan to stop the rot?
What does he need to do to get this bunch of players playing football?
What is his best starting line-up?
What is his Plan-A formation?
What is Plan-B?
Are the players actually fit enough?
What has really changed since last year, except DF and Tyler Walker?
What has happened to the best defence in the League?
Does he need to bring players in, in the January transfer window?
Are any contracts of the current squad worth renewing?
You can't win anything with kids, but can you fight off relegation with them?

If he doesn't know how to get the answers to these questions then I fear we're in for an absolute nightmare (it CAN get worse).

I still want him to succeed, to turn this shambles into a quickly forgotten dream, but he's got to do something significant.

If I was a Director of the club, these would be the questions I would be asking JD now. Not to sack him, but to make him think seriously about the position we are now in.

The fact that JD doesn't have an answer to any of these questions is the reason why he must be replaced straight away.

[Stringy]

I like a lot of the first team. Looking at the first team squad, if managed properly I rate Olejnik, Logan, White, Benning, Preston, Pearce, Sweeney, Bishop, Mellis, Cook, Maynard, Hamilton and Rose (who I would've released at the end of the last season). I am mindful of the question mark over Olejnik and White due to those injuries.

However, beyond that core of players I think there is a real lack of quality in the squad. I also don't think that our signings over the last couple of windows have been very good. Shaughnessy, Tomlinson and Gordon are okay but unremarkable. Not seen much of Afolayan so can't comment. We've then got a load of young lads on the fringes like Clarke, Gibbens, Smith, Law, Graham and Knowles, who I'm not certain there is any real necessity for. OSJ is a bit of a non-entity.

I rank MacDonald and Khan in the same category as Shaughnessy, Tomlinson and Gordon. I don't feel there is any use for MacDonald or Khan in the system we should play. I feel our best formation, if we could acquire another Mellis would be 5-3-2 wing backs, with Bishop in the middle of the three (surely we can't ask him at 38 to play in a two man central midfield as we have on occasion this season, we have to show the opposition inside and reduce the distance he travels to tackle). We need to make better use of Cook and the wing backs.

There has been a dearth of tactics/preparation/strategy in the games that I've watched, but I think it is compounded by the lack of strength in depth and a really weak midfield.

I am also not convinced that the performance consultant is having any impact on performance. I asked him recently what we were measuring and his answer indicated very little.

I am under no illusion that unless we improve quickly we in a relegation battle or at least very close to being drawn into one. If we aren't changing manager, he must improve quickly or else we are relying on the quality that we do have to get us out of jail.

[Stringy]

It was clear for all to see we struggled by being out numbered in wide areas, as can happen on a bad day with wingbacks. The change to bring Khan on should have seen us go 442 but instead we just swapped a defensive midfielder for an attacking one. It changed nothing as it didnt address the problem.

I didn't go to the one yesterday but I would rather have superior numbers in the middle. However, the players have to actually be coached not to let the opposition down the sides, and that isn't happening based on the games that I've seen.

[Jamie]

It was clear for all to see we struggled by being out numbered in wide areas, as can happen on a bad day with wingbacks. The change to bring Khan on should have seen us go 442 but instead we just swapped a defensive midfielder for an attacking one. It changed nothing as it didnt address the problem.

I didn't go to the one yesterday but I would rather have superior numbers in the middle. However, the players have to actually be coached not to let the opposition down the sides, and that isn't happening based on the games that I've seen.

I'm not saying 3 in the middle doesnt work. Just that we created nothing out wide and struggled defensively yesterday due to lack of numbers out wide.

The fact our middle 3 consists of Mellis who doesnt really put a shift in, Bish who has started going missing and Macca who's mostly a headless chicken is also a problem.

Usually in a 532 a midfielder covers wide or the wide centre back helps out to help match up against 2 wide players. We usually do neither.

[victor A block]

If he's staying we can probably make the guy who plays the goal celebration song redundant .That might save a bit . We haven't scored a league goal for over 5 weeks .

[Sandy Pate Best Stag]

Sorry but with the current crop of injuries and lack of good cover, I can't see how we can continue with 5-3-2. We simply don't have the quality of player to make the system work effectively and that just leads to big gaps and defeat.

We would be better reverting to either a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 and ensuring that we are fairly solid at the back in the first instance. Our main weakness is at right back where Clarke can do a good job as a traditional right back but comes unstuck a bit when expected to play as a wing back. We should therefore play a system to suit the available players rather than try and make available players suit a system which they can't achieve.

Playing four at the back would also make opposition teams think twice about committing men forward which should also relieve some of the pressure. Mellis and Shaughnessy should be our go to midfielders with either Macca or Smith making the numbers up as a midfield 3. I would then play CJ and Maynard with either Rose or Cook as the target man for them to run off, CJ and Maynard switching across the front to give the defence the runaround.

This would probably lead to using the longer ball a bit more but we are resorting to that anyway. Obviously we would need to play with pace to create the space but that is usually quite successful at this level.

[SINA STAG]

No IFS Geoff


He's staying for the entire season due to the Radfords tightening of the financial belt taking into consideration that only one team will be relegated out of Division 2 this season. The Radfords have done what farmers do every 4th year to a field they leave it without crops so the ground can revitalise itself for the next 3 seasons bumper crops.

[Tippy Tappy Football]

If JD stays then we could soon be joining Notts County and the Spireites in the National League. Project Promotion is in tatters and we are now in a relegation battle. JD has admitted that he has failed and cannot do the job in his post match interview. It is not fair to JD to let him continue.

John Radford is a savvy businessman. I can't believe he would have let JD sign a contract without some kind of break clause or agreed compensation figure after having to pay off Holdsworth and Flitcroft. We must all now hope that JR has a cunning plan and Carolyn is going to find him a new manager for his birthday present.

If we are going to avoid relegation then we need to focus on our defence as you always build a team from the back. That boring 0-0 draw at Macclesfield may prove to be a masterstroke by JD.

[MTFCMusings]

If JD stays then we could soon be joining Notts County and the Spireites in the National League. Project Promotion is in tatters and we are now in a relegation battle. JD has admitted that he has failed and cannot do the job in his post match interview. It is not fair to JD to let him continue.

John Radford is a savvy businessman. I can't believe he would have let JD sign a contract without some kind of break clause or agreed compensation figure after having to pay off Holdsworth and Flitcroft. We must all now hope that JR has a cunning plan and Carolyn is going to find him a new manager for his birthday present.

If we are going to avoid relegation then we need to focus on our defence as you always build a team from the back. That boring 0-0 draw at Macclesfield may prove to be a masterstroke by JD.

Agreed. This talk of 8 or 9 points from five games is about as ridiculous as it gets. Does anyone honestly think we will even get half that amount in our current state. Instead of waiting until that total is mathematically impossible get rid of him now. If he was any respect for the club, which he claims he does and that the club owe him nothing, he should resign. He should have resigned last night. How can he honestly think that he might turn it around?

It makes me so angry but I don't know why as the board don't seem to have a clue what they're doing.

[Tippy Tappy Football]

Carolyn is on her way back to the UK to get John a birthday present.