Message to COSU

[* ORM *]

Neil Harris? Adam Barrett? With exactly the same squad we have now? Good luck with that!

 

[Holy Joe]

I think we will see out this season and rebuild for next. I'm just not sure I trust Kev and Co to bring in the quality needed and a style that gets promotion. Nothing I've seen this season gives me any hope of that.

What about last season or the season before?

 

[Roger The Alien]

Basing what on sorry?

The bit about IF Maher gets it right? If that’s the case, and sorry if it isn’t, I’m just putting a hypothetical situation out there. But, last two seasons we have gone into the final game of the season with a chance of the playoffs, so he does have a track record of knowing what he is doing.

I would be supporting the manager assuming it’s the same situation we find ourselves in with the takeover etc etc. I believe Maher deserves the chance to have an uninterrupted pre-season, a summer with no pay issues, no sagas over a takeover and so forth. I’d believe the same if you was manager. Feels harsh to bin them off.

You say he did well last season, he did the season before as well…

Size and history doesn’t come into things in my opinion. Forest and Villa have won the Champions League, should they be competing for that every year because of this? Leicester won the premier league less than 10 years ago, shouldn’t they be challenging for the title instead of a relegation battle. It’s about the here and now, not history.

I agree that things need to change, and quickly, but I don’t agree that it’s the management.

Finally, you say about a decision maker, but is that a new guy, or another cook to spoil the broth?

He totally lost the dressing room and pick his favourites who was under performing and drop players who did well to merit a place in first team like Morton.

 

[Tommy2holes]

What about last season or the season before?

What about them. Last season was an anomaly although I'd say the limited squad we had was better in quality and performance, despite lower numbers. It was an us against the world mentality. Loosing fonguck, Powell, cardwell and kensdale took so much out of the team.

The previous season was decidedly average.

I still maintain that this seasons squad is being very poorly managed and the players are better than what is being shown, despite being depleted.

 

[Roger The Alien]

Personally, I shall be pretty miffed if the boo-boys drive King Kev out. Give him the tools and he'll do the job. He showed that when he was a player and has shown it again (last season) as a manager.

I don’t mind we lose a game, long as the players showed fight and passion for us and enjoying their football. All I see was none of all 3 on Saturday, we looked like a team that don’t want to play for Maher anymore.

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

I don’t mind we lose a game, long as the players showed fight and passion for us and enjoying their football. All I see was none of all 3 on Saturday, we looked like a team that don’t want to play for Maher anymore.

Guy next to me said similar, 'it's like Maher has lost the dressing room'. IF he has, it's surely just a matter of time. What concerned me most was our reaction to going 1-0 down. We looked beaten, there seemed no appetite to roll our sleeves up and fight back. Total opposite to last season.

 

[Smiffy]

I would like to know how we have spent most of/all of the playing budget on assembling the second smallest squad (19 players?) in the NL? And they are bang average as well.

Has the recruitment been dog****?, Are we overpaying players massively?, do we have a small budget? or are COSU holding back a warchest for the summer?

It doesn't make sense when the league average squad size is around 25-26 players.

 

[Linda Loan Shark]

We just have to be patient and wait for the summer. Then we will have a better budget and make some decent signings

 

[Holy Joe]

What about them. Last season was an anomaly although I'd say the limited squad we had was better in quality and performance, despite lower numbers. It was an us against the world mentality. Loosing fonguck, Powell, cardwell and kensdale took so much out of the team.

The previous season was decidedly average.

I still maintain that this seasons squad is being very poorly managed and the players are better than what is being shown, despite being depleted.

Weren't all those players you mention brought in by kev and co - it could happen again? I agree something isn't clicking this season, but it has previously - what's the anomaly and what's the norm?

 

[Roger The Alien]

Guy next to me said similar, 'it's like Maher has lost the dressing room'. IF he has, it's surely just a matter of time. What concerned me most was our reaction to going 1-0 down. We looked beaten, there seemed no appetite to roll our sleeves up and fight back. Total opposite to last season.

I would taken the loss on the chin, if we looked liked we cared and making the opponent work damn hard to keep us out after we knocking on their door waiting to smash the door in.

 

[Leeboy]

We just have to be patient and wait for the summer. Then we will have a better budget and make some decent signings

in the National League South

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

Weren't all those players you mention brought in by kev and co - it could happen again? I agree something isn't clicking this season, but it has previously - what's the anomaly and what's the norm?

Last season was clearly a unique one, due to the stuff going on off the pitch, the tiny squad, the collective spirit etc. .. it was SUFC vs the world which probably means we over achieved and squeezed the life out of the players (clearly completely in some cases as they've not been able to replicate it this time round). Maybe that was the peak for Kev and the likes of Bridge, Miley, Husin, Gus. The Kensdale stuff didn't help. It's like we're all out of fight.

I'll be fair to Kev and say yep a few players could make a difference and spark something. I'd be out there trying to get a few pacy, strong loanees in, to give a bit of a kick up the arse to this squad. Pepple made a huge difference. It's vital we beat Sittingbourne and keep the trophy run going. That'd help lift spirits as well.

 

[Sunnyshrimper]

I’d like to think I’m fairly reflective and not one to make impulsive statements but I will on this occasion. If we lose at home to Sittingbourne he should walk out of sheer embarrassment and we should seriously question which, if any, of that team are what we need moving forward into next season. They are going well but are many levels below us. I’m confident even if not at our best we will have too much quality for them.

 

[Thundersley Blue]

We just have to be patient and wait for the summer. Then we will have a better budget and make some decent signings

We need to be a position to be active in May. In Non League most Clubs contract players until the end of May, rather than the end of June. Hence why many of our targets opted for other Clubs when were under yet another Embargo. Since Kevin and the management team were put in place they have had their hands tied. I still have complete faith in them.

 

[Linda Loan Shark]

We need to be a position to be active in May. In Non League most Clubs contract players until the end of May, rather than the end of June. Hence why many of our targets opted for other Clubs when were under yet another Embargo. Since Kevin and the management team were put in place they have had their hands tied. I still have complete faith in them.

Exactly. We only gave 4 months to go until be can make some decent signings

 

[Tommy2holes]

I’d like to think I’m fairly reflective and not one to make impulsive statements but I will on this occasion. If we lose at home to Sittingbourne he should walk out of sheer embarrassment and we should seriously question which, if any, of that team are what we need moving forward into next season. They are going well but are many levels below us. I’m confident even if not at our best we will have too much quality for them.

This is the team that conceded 3 away at Brentwood Town

 

[ms brush]

Personally I think COSU have found themselves at a bit of a crossroads far earlier in their tenure than they had hoped. Once the club was purchased I am sure they thought stage one was to clear debt and start to sort out the stadium with a small but manageable amount of budget for the squad. Sensible approach but the issue is that the squad has suffered from chronic underfunding and embargo’s for years meaning that although those who performed admirably last season they are now finding it difficult to dig deep and perform the same miracles hence seeing some of our top performers drop a level such as Miley and Husin.

So what do they do now? The options are few but what is clear is that the crowd are now turning and they need to do something quickly to prevent the place becoming toxic. So stick or twist? If they stick (and I hope they do) then money needs to be found to properly back Kev and give him a fighting chance. Not necessarily to make the play offs but to show what we can do for the remainder of the season. If they twist, well then that budget will no doubt have to be used for paying off of managers and finding a new one.

Difficult times and I am very glad it isn’t my call.

I totally agree with this. I always thought that COSU had a mounttain to climb, before we even reach other club's starting points.

In my humble opinion, the clubs problems were far more severe and ran a lot deeper that have been acknowledged publicly. If so, and I have no reason to think otherwise because nothing has been said, this means that even if the deal had gone through when it was supposed to, I wonder whether a full pre-season and a better playing budget would have been possible? Because of the level of asset stripping that had gone on, it is highly likely that every single part of the club has needed a lot of attention, before you even start paying off the debts! That will clearly have an impact on the playing budget, as although a lot of money has gone in, it is probably a drop in the ocean to what is really needed to get back on track properly. One thing is very clear, COSU are made up of a lot of talented people, so I would trust them far more to do the right things than I would have ever trusted Ron.

I also totally agree with the points about Miley and Husin, and the rest of the squad who were here last season. You can only dig deep for so long, because eventually you get burnt out, and I think that might be happening. The players and the management team went through a lot of turmoil, and now we are suffering the consequences of that. One sensible thing that COSU did was to secure longer term contracts by way of reward for their efforts, which means that the players (and management) could leave, but it would allow some money to come back in the event of a departure - as per Cardwell.

The big problem is, football fans are notoriously fickle, which means that you can go from hero to bust in no time. I think some fans have forgotten that 6 months ago we were still in very great danger of not having a club. Kev and the management team are suddenly not bad coaches, just as the players are not suddenly terrible. Something has happened behind the scenes, that is clear, and at the moment the unity that was there last season seems to have departed. There has also been some illness in the camp, so it could be one of the reasons for Saturday's shocker. Howevever, i think the problems are more fundamental than that, and that might take some time to sort out.

So what do COSU do now? If we stick (and I also hope we do) maybe we just need to state our intentions of aiming for a mid table finish, and see how far we get in the FA trophy. That would at least set some realistic expectations. However, how many clubs are actively going to come out and say that outright...? We wont be any different! This means that we will have to come up with one or two things quickly to keep the more vocal fans onside. If we twist, there are no guarantees that another manager will be able to do any better with similar / less money available at this stage of the season. The budget is unlikely to change much, and you are then spending money on paying the current team off, when that money would be better used to invest in better players for next season.

I am also glad it isnt my decision, because either option is a roll of the dice!

 

[JAL]

It’s worrying how many people are so okay with mediocrity or even worse. Happy to wait until summer for any actual change when we’ve made little to no moves in January like we were told was going to happen.

The RM reign has caused softness and acceptance of poor performance and running of a club/transfers.

 

[ms brush]

It’s worrying how many people are so okay with mediocrity or even worse. Happy to wait until summer for any actual change when we’ve made little to no moves in January like we were told was going to happen.

The RM reign has caused softness and acceptance of poor performance and running of a club/transfers.

I dont think that anyone has gone soft or is accepting poor performances as being ok - it isnt.

But, there are a lot of people who understand that there are a lot of cogs turning to make a transfer happen, and it isnt always as easy as we would like. The key thing is, I am still hearing that transfers have been agreed in principle, and for whatever reason they havent made it over the line. Doesnt mean the work isnt going on behind the scenes to fix the million and one problems the club faces. I am still in the camp of just being glad we still have a club, so if it means a couple more years of mediocre at best while things get sorted out longer term then it is a price worth paying.

But then, while other people have seen the takeover and want to see instant Wrexham style success, I know we cant do that, and I am not impatient!

 

[onceknownasrab]

People keep going on about how close we were to the play-offs in the previous two seasons and say the coach doesn't become bad overnight. It was not embargoes or point deduction, they didn't help, but we lost out because of our boring, pedestrian predictable play. It's not an overnight situation but one that has been there throughout the Maherball reign. The fact we got so close to success was down to the incredible, almost superhuman, effort of the players and that despite Maher's attempts to undo all their hard work. We are not poor this season only. We have been poor all along but the team galvanised and got more good results than perhaps we were entitled. We could have had more but we're easily found out and dropped too many needless points through lack of nous or flexibility from the coach. This season is a step too far for the poor players who, between the lines, are told you are playing for nothing more than stagnation. If COSU want to keep KM then give him and the team the fillip they need, the bodies required, and let them have a bash at playing for something meaningful. COSU won't and I doubt KM could do any better than the dross he is already overseeing without him having a complete injection of humility.

Our hero players have been consigned to the Blues scrapyard, hung out to dry and the reward for their incredible effort and loyalty is meaningless, boring football, just seeing out a season or more. How do you motivate that?