Getting a bit tired of the constant negativity and criticism and everyone at the club currently, it’s patently obvious we are on a dreadful run and the end of the season can’t come soon enough but lets try and find some reasons to at least have some optimism that next season will be a better season and we can mount that top 7 challenge we all desperately want.
A significant part of the budget for this season was tied up by players who have played very little football. In the cases of Wilkinson and Labadie they will either re-sign and get a full pre-season to hit the ground running or more likely be released and as top earners this will free up a fair amount of wages to reinvest in the quality we need.
Further to point one the players in contract - Riley, McAntee, Gordon, Matt will all be better for a full pre-season and able to contribute from the first ball being kicked.
The old addage is you build a succesful side from the back and whilst our defensive solidity away from home appears to have dissapeared somewhat we are still very solid at home and have been away for much of the season. In the likes of Evans, Daniels, McAntee, White, Monthe (if he stays) and then Kinsella/Comley holding we have a very solid defensive structure and for much of our time under Flynn we have been well organised and our shape out of possession has been excellent, now we need to recruit the attacking quality we desperately need.
This is the first time in several seasons we expect to have a manager at the club who was in charge for the full previous season. Flynn doesn’t suffer fools gladly and deserves some recompense for the sheer number of players he had to sign last year (I lost count but was it 18 in total?). He should now know this squad inside out and their character too and with the season being effectively over for a while now we should be quite advanced in our planning and making offers for targets with the emphasis being quality over quantity.
Things can change very quickly in this league, Carlisle and Stevenage both finished below us last season and Orient finished in the bottom half.
I know how good this side was before the new year with only 2 different players, whilst this run has been appalling and I think it’s about personality and character as much as quality, it doesn’t necessarily need wholesale changes to make it a very competitive side (but the changes have to be QUALITY).
This summer is massive for Flynn and Boycott, hopefully we can make a couple of marque signings that gets supporters excited again rather than the sense of doom and gloom that is hanging over us.
If we can secure quality players in attack this will have the added benefit of taking pressure off the defence. We’re so easy to get at as teams know we have no punch up front. Let’s face it we can’t muster a slap let alone a punch with the attackers we currently have.
People forget what Flynn did at Newport. Improved them year on year, cup runs, play off pushes. Not become a bad manager all of a sudden. Never known such bad luck with injuries, losing 2 best players and the replacements not working out. My only gripe is him picking Kinsella & Comley together, it just doesn’t work. On the whole though I think there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic for next season, I can see why people are down, not great currently but I think looking at the bigger picture we aren’t in a bad place at all for next season . Break the bank to get DJ on a permanent for a start
I think we’d have been more creative and most probably have won a fair few games more than we have if we’d have had actual wing backs in this system.Going forward I’d like to think Flynn is aware of that and gets a couple of good ones then I might be a bit more optimistic.
Flynn knows he can’t afford to fail next season or he’s out of a job, interested to see who he brings in as I’m sure he’s putting absolutely everything into getting the right people in already as his job quite literally does depend on getting this summers work done.
I broadly agree @KingCrod - i believe investment at the top end of the pitch rather than another change of manager is what we need. Hopefully Trivela have twigged this one now and we do better than some of the dross we’ve had to put up with in recent seasons
Especially with the signing of the Matt attack pair, granted Stevens is only a loan signing, but still scored his goals as did Jamma from 90% crosses into the area.
These are the KEY signings to make the 5-3-2/3-5-2 system work. Two dynamic, athletic wingbacks with the ability to get a decent cross in. If we can make those two signings alone it would have a massive impact on our results.