Relegation? Should We Be Worried?

[Andrew - North Hill]

I didn’t say it was in fairness. Good enough to stay in the league though? I think so.

Ok. With your references to quality and depth, I must have mistaken it for meaning something else.

 

[swansvalleyjack]

Do you think we have one of the three worst squads in the league?

Probably not. But maybe not far off.

Trouble is we don't know if the players full potential is being achieved. And whether they can mesh into an effective team.

Big input by a manager here. Culture as well.

Sheehan was not the man. Time will tell with Matos. But I'm afraid my instincts tell me we have a very average squad, no matter the manager. I hope I'm proved wrong.

 

[Nottinghillbilly]

Probably not. But maybe not far off.

Trouble is we don't know if the players full potential is being achieved. And whether they can mesh into an effective team.

Big input by a manager here. Culture as well.

Sheehan was not the man. Time will tell with Matos. But I'm afraid my instincts tell me we have a very average squad, no matter the manager. I hope I'm proved wrong.

Oh dear. Your instincts are clearly from a non-football perspective.

Clear as day that almost all of our new signings are proper players that deserve proper coaching

The massive latent talent needs to now be unshackled from Sheeezy's simple ways

 

[swansvalleyjack]

Oh dear. Your instincts are clearly from a non-football perspective.

Clear as day that almost all of our new signings are proper players that deserve proper coaching

The massive latent talent needs to now be unshackled from Sheeezy's simple ways

1. Instincts totally from a football perspective. I've been a fan for 50 + years
2. SOME of our new signings are proper players. But sorry not almost ALL.
3. "massive latent talent" - Christ almighty, and those are your instincts

But I really want Matos to bring out the best in everyone, then we'll see what we bought in the Summer.

 

[Nottinghillbilly]

1. Instincts totally from a football perspective. I've been a fan for 50 + years
2. SOME of our new signings are proper players. But sorry not almost ALL.
3. "massive latent talent" - Christ almighty, and those are your instincts

But I really want Matos to bring out the best in everyone, then we'll see what we bought in the Summer.

1. being a fan for 50+ years matters not a jot re football intelligence, clearly
2. all are proper footy players, just need proper coaching, as per
3. my instincts are fact-based, founded upon elite level playing experience and a proper eyeball for the game

We ALL want and expect Vito and his team to unshackle our massive latent talent....watch and learn

 

[swansvalleyjack]

3. my instincts are fact-based, founded upon elite level playing experience and a proper eyeball for the game

F**k me, why on earth did we appoint Vito with you about

 

[sit_down_jack]

My issue with people saying we have bad players or that they aren’t good enough is the fact that we looked like the worst side in the league under Williams until Sheehan came in and won 5 in a row. Most of these players didn’t do too badly then.

Those games were against sides with something to play for too so it wasn’t just a bunch of beach dwellers. We’ve seen them play better than they currently are

For me it’s confidence, it’s at the lowest it’s ever been. It’s a massive factor in football and we need to give ours a boost desperately.

 

[Nottinghillbilly]

F**k me, why on earth did we appoint Vito with you about

lols

The thing is, proper Jacks are now fully expecting our new, highly talented young gem of a manager to get the very best tune out of our highly talented wide 'n deep gem of a squad

Sheeezy was a simple hedge to appease fans' simple sentiment

Time to now kick on......back on track

 

[cmajack]

After tonight’s result and a pretty poor performance I think relegation is a very real possibility.

The one positive I can take from tonight is the managers comments in his interview, he sees the same things that we do, there was no BS about stats etc just an honest appraisal about the team’s shortcomings. Let’ hope he can turn this around.

Just watched the highlights today as i was travelling home yesterday so missed the game. Their second goal was awful , Cullen loses possession in the middle of our half, and then Cabango tees up their goalscorer with his clearance. Truly awful awful goal to concede.

 

[cmajack]

If more people just accepted that for the most part we don't have very good players, it would make things a lot easier.

Coventry were 17th , 2 points off relegation spots, when Lampard took over. He's basically had the same players that Robins had ,with one or two additions. Sort out our right side, replace Key and Ronald, get Cullen and Fulton out of the squad and who knows. New manager, January window, with a couple of additions , couple of wins and confidence grows, I'm not giving up yet. Look at the difference in Coventry in 12 months , Simms last year was crap, look at him now under Lampard.

 

[Colin-swansea]

If we continue playing as we have been doing we will be relegated. We have gone from a team that started the season well and we have been sliding down the table since September.

Ronald's inability to beat his man and send the defence splitting passes into the danger zone has gone missing and the same applies to Inoussa. Where is the left winger that terrorised the Birmingham right back at the start of the season gone. The lad is playing now as if he has 45 games under his belt and he is looking forward to the end of the season.

Who has replaced Yalcouye's drive through the middle. Why all of a sudden are we back playing in our own half and just inside the opposition half, to me to you.

Eom and Tymon are our only outlet for attacking while our opponents know full well that they would get plenty of opportunities to counter when we lose control of the ball.

We are not halfway through the season and gates will continue to slide unless Vitor can turn this squad around by playing as a team that can open up the opposition and keep clean sheets.

 

[Andrew - North Hill]

Coventry were 17th , 2 points off relegation spots, when Lampard took over. He's basically had the same players that Robins had ,with one or two additions. Sort out our right side, replace Key and Ronald, get Cullen and Fulton out of the squad and who knows. New manager, January window, with a couple of additions , couple of wins and confidence grows, I'm not giving up yet. Look at the difference in Coventry in 12 months , Simms last year was crap, look at him now under Lampard.

Coventry were also in the play off final in 2023 and were a penalty shootout away from promotion, with a lot of their current players involved. So there was plenty of evidence their players were underperforming and capable of better, they'd just stopped playing for Robins for whatever reason.

There is no such evidence available here.

 

[cmajack]

Coventry were also in the play off final in 2023 and were a penalty shootout away from promotion, with a lot of their current players involved. So there was plenty of evidence their players were underperforming and capable of better, they'd just stopped playing for Robins for whatever reason.

There is no such evidence available here.

Well there was when Sheehan took over from Williams, that's why it was hard not to give him the job , because of the dramatic upturn in form. We were only a couple of wins from getting in the play offs ourselves last season
Admittedly we had O' Brien.

 

[swansvalleyjack]

Well there was when Sheehan took over from Williams, that's why it was hard not to give him the job , because of the dramatic upturn in form. We were only a couple of wins from getting in the play offs ourselves last season
Admittedly we had O' Brien.

Yes, O'Brien did make a difference, wish we had him now tbh

 

[tardylum]

We need at least one of Widell, Inoussa or Yalcouye to step up quickly. I can see the promise in Inoussa and what he could offer differently from other players we have but Sheehan went off him at the end, O'Dea didn't pick him and now he was Benched for Matos first game. That could be down to Allen being a fan of Eom, but if he remains out of the side then it will be a worrying development. Yalcouye and Widell have shown much less promise and have followed an even more extreme path to Inouusa, both going through long stretches of barely being played at all. Cullen will not be completely discarded so there is probably only room for one as a sub, let alone as a starter right now. Yalcouye has not been seen on the pitch for a whole month and it is two months since he played more than 30 minutes. I am not sure we will see much more of him as his loan will be cancelled unless he establishes himself asap. Widell is starting to look like a busted flush and it would not be surprising if we signed more attacking midfielders. Completely unused in the last two games and two starts all season. If he is not seen as an impact player and is not trusted to start then he is just pointless.

Our squad depth has improved but our squad was so poor last season that it was hard not to. If only Burgess and Galbraith are established as starters from our summer signings and the rest look further away from starting than they did on the opening day, we are looking at a lot of money being spent on players to not immediately impact the first team. Stamenic increasingly looks like an odd one out in the system too and even though I have faith that he will continue to play and contribute unlike Widell or Yalcouye, that is significant money for us that is going on a player who plays the same role as all of our other midfielders.

To survive, I would be targetting a Fulton replacement and big upgrade as Stamenic was pigeonholed there because he is tall but does not seem to play that role at all and we are suffering for it. An attacking midfielder who scores goals and can create would be important too. If we did sign them players, we would end up with Stamenic, Franco, Galbraith, Yalcouye and Widell all fighting for one place in the team and it is hard to argue against it being Galbraith's to lose. That shows how unbalanced our squad is right now and how incoherent the summer transfers were.

Defensive midfielder who can pass the ball to the creative players
Right back who can defend against quick wingers and get forward
Creative attacking midfielder who can also chip in with goals
Right winger who can dribble, create and score

I do not think we will have the money for all of those and so we will have to pick one or two and leave the rest for longer term. Key will probably have to remain as first choice all season and maybe Benson is replaced by another loanee. Widell back to Scandinavia, Yalcouye back to Brighton, Samuel Smith back to Chelsea because of a lack of minutes, Benson back to Burnley. Those four will free up some wages but maybe not that much for permanent transfers that we need.

If I had to bet on it, I think we will survive but it will be closer than it should be because we have spent so much money on players in the same positions and left ourselves with one of the worst attacking sides in Championship history.