Re: Surprised

by Marc Monitor Tue Oct 28, 2014 1:04 pm

I have to say that, aside from idiots that seem to think that Stearn is to blame, the Twerton Park crowd has been remarkably patient (although Saturday may be different). I can think of some clubs where there would be mass protests.

by BenE Tue Oct 28, 2014 1:37 pm

Some very well considered posts on here.

I haven't been able to get my head around this 7-1 result. It still seems unbelievable. But as has been pointed out elsewhere it is not an especially freakish result given other games this season.

I don't agree that we have played poorly though. When we have the ball we have been pleasing on the eye this season. There were games last season when it would have been more pleasurable cleaning the drains.

But the defence has been shambolic. I put this down to a number of things.

1. Jason has had a number of inconsistent displays. He has been responsible for goals in a way we do not expect. His kicking at times has been atrocious putting more pressure on the defence. He couldn't save a penalty if his life depended upon it.
2. Andy Gallinagh has looked out of shape. When he is struggling with pace he tends to have a scurrying run and this has been evident all season.
3. The midfield provides zero protection to the back four. We have got away with it over that unbeaten run period but the fact is Adelsbury and Kington do not provide sufficient steel in midfield.

No doubt the management are pinning their hopes on the return of Artus and Walsh. I think this is justified.

When Walsh returns Gallinagh can go to left back where he appears to be much more comfortable. For me this would release Ball to play in midfield and this would add the resilience we lack there. Artus will provide the movement we don't get from Hemmings.

I do not feel all is lost this season. But I do feel this management team do not know how to motivate the team for cup games.

by yuffie Tue Oct 28, 2014 2:23 pm

Marc Monitor wrote:
yuffie wrote:Well, we've had the first and I would hope the third is happening but there is no reason for that to be made public.

Him saying "we cannot understand why it happened as it did" and "It was absolutely shocking but equally as hard to explain why it occurred." suggests it isn't happening.

To my mind it is not unreasonable to express (understandable) shock to the paper but this does not mean a further more detailed analysis won't take place beforehand and when the players are at training this evening.

by Marc Monitor Tue Oct 28, 2014 4:51 pm

I hope you're right.

As an aside, I thought the players trained on a Thursday?

by yuffie Tue Oct 28, 2014 5:06 pm

Tuesday and Thursday.

by stillmanjunior Tue Oct 28, 2014 7:51 pm

This is what is going on at the moment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpWUaRtZ-JU

by miker Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:29 pm

Getting back to the thread title of "Surprised", I'm not at all surprised that we lost on Saturday. Disappointed of course and shocked that it was 7-1 but not surprised at the loss because both Poole and Shortwood both came very close to beating us in the original games at Twerton. In the recent five cup games our record is won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1. If that were league form we would have 8 points from 15 and this against teams from lower leagues than us.

by Roman Mike Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:48 pm

I don't think I have ever come across a more reasonable and tolerant set of fans. Either that or there is a very vigilant moderator.

For those not calling for a change of management, what on earth would have to happen for you to get to that point?
Do you understand how much of a wasted opportunity our FA Cup exit was - both financially and in football terms?
Have you seen the league table recently?

by Marc Monitor Tue Oct 28, 2014 9:52 pm

I think that reasonably pointing out that there needs to be some sort of change in the management - in some sort of shape or form - isn't the worst way to go about things.

by BenE Wed Oct 29, 2014 9:02 am

Roman Mike wrote:For those not calling for a change of management, what on earth would have to happen for you to get to that point?
Do you understand how much of a wasted opportunity our FA Cup exit was - both financially and in football terms?
Have you seen the league table recently?

It is no good looking at the league table for the health of the club. We are only 13 points off the top with games in hand despite our disastrous start.

What was disappointing for me about Saturday was that generally our away form has been better than our home form. That was blown away on Saturday.

by Peteboa Wed Oct 29, 2014 8:35 pm

SteveS wrote:The way I feel about things is that Adie is basically a good guy and does not deserve any 'stick'. He has always done what he has felt is the best for the club and this has included putting in his own money, although that has backfired to an extent as it puts the club in a very difficult situation at the moment. I have always found Adie willing to talk things over and put his point of view, you may not agree with him but you can discuss things in an amicable way.
The same cannot be said of Howells who in my view seems to think he is right about everything and no body, in particular supporters, should question anything he says or does.
Recently Adie just seems to have run out of ideas and is tired. This does not bode well when it comes to trying to motivate the team. I look at him over the past year and it is like an injured anmimal, you just wish you could put him out of his misery. In some ways I think he would not be unhappy to be sacked but because of the somewhat unique situation at Bath City that cannot really happen, nor would I like to see his time at the club come to an end in such a way.
I do not want to see Adie leave Bath City but I would like to see him move completely away from the playing side and concentrate on helping to sort out the future of the club off the pitch where his business skills would be a great asset. As for Mr Howells I would see no future for him at the club and would bring in someone completely new as I think things have gone so stale that it needs a fresh outlook on the playing front with new ideas and in particular new motivation skills.
As for the chances of this happening? Very low and I fear for the future of the club.

Couldnt agree more

by City 'til we're relegated Thu Oct 30, 2014 8:40 am

Managerial success and failure is a mysterious beast, and the answer is not always found in terms of money available. Gary Johnson was King Midas who could do no wrong. He took Yeovil into the Football League and to the Championship. Bristol City, who were struggling in the Championship, snapped him up and he lifted them to the play-offs and only just lost in the final at Wembley. Then it all turned sour and the following season the club dropped like a stone and poor old Gary had to be booted out. There are many examples of this. Yes, the current management team at Bath City have achieved success, but one can only make judgements based on what is currently happening. I think, as I have said before, that the current managerial set up is confusing because, what appears to be the case does not reflect job titles. The director of football should be working for the development of football at the club but standing back from day to day coaching and team affairs. It appears that he could actually be the manager. The manager should be motivating the players, deciding tactics and app
Using his skills from the edge of the technical area, as managers seem to do as a rule. The coach appears to be the manager but is not by title. How confusing is that? The downside of this weird set up is that one cannot really tell who is at fault when things go wrong. Is that a clever ruse or simply an accident? I believe that this needs sorting out ASAP and the team needs to be led so that it plays to its potential.

by Roman Mike Thu Oct 30, 2014 5:45 pm

BenE wrote:
Roman Mike wrote:For those not calling for a change of management, what on earth would have to happen for you to get to that point?
Do you understand how much of a wasted opportunity our FA Cup exit was - both financially and in football terms?
Have you seen the league table recently?

It is no good looking at the league table for the health of the club. We are only 13 points off the top with games in hand despite our disastrous start.

What was disappointing for me about Saturday was that generally our away form has been better than our home form. That was blown away on Saturday.

Eh? What is the table for then?

by comrade powell Thu Oct 30, 2014 7:00 pm

I assumed Benny was being sarcastic. To me, the other end of the table is of greater concern.

by BenE Thu Oct 30, 2014 9:36 pm

Roman Mike wrote:
BenE wrote:

It is no good looking at the league table for the health of the club. We are only 13 points off the top with games in hand despite our disastrous start.

Eh? What is the table for then?

No I wasn't being sarcastic. I simply meant that we got 4 points from the first 6 games so our form since then has been much better than the table suggests. Until Bromley we had been steadily moving upwards.

However we have had a lot of cup games recently against lower league opposition where we have struggled, just as we have in most seasons under this management. There is something wrong with our approach to these games and they have disrupted our improved league form.

by Marc Monitor Fri Oct 31, 2014 12:59 am

The table is quite simply for one thing - to tell us where we are on the 25th April. Up until then, it is largely illusory especially in the sort of tight league we are in. Personally I think that, league-wise we will be alright. We have been pretty abysmal this season and the unbeaten run is merely flattering to deceive being, as it is, only 4 league matches (and, perhaps tellingly, only one at home). However, even with this appalling start, we aren't far off the Ebbsfleets with 3 games in hand.

What is a more pressing and financial issue is that we have still got possible cup dates, some big league matches and I am not sure we are going to get the crowds. Bath City is a hard club to sell at the best of times, even leaving aside our questionable PR, but, with mid-table obscurity looking the best, I can't see where we are going to get bumper attendances, let alone re-engage with regulars, to get the club the cash it needs.

by comrade powell Fri Oct 31, 2014 9:05 am

This is my concern, Marc. Whoever was to blame for our cup exit, it would be nice to think we would have a real go at the trophy this season. With so many Conf Prem clubs treating it as very secondary to the Mecca of promotion to the league, is there any reason why we can't do a Gosport? The early rounds attract little interest, but with the luck we had with the 3 cup draws, it's surely time for us to improve our appalling record in this competition. That would perhaps shift the focus away from BathRugby for a few days and attract some missing fans back. I can't see the upcoming league fixtures doing that.

by Jon_BOA Fri Oct 31, 2014 9:40 am

Couldn't agree more about having a real go at the Trophy, the only glimmer of fun in the year we went down was the unexpected little trophy run (a run for us at least...) Think of the extra exposure a run to Wembley would gain, and the significant boost to the gates. I'd rather finish 15th and get to the semis/final than finish 7th and go out in the first round.

by stillmanjunior Fri Oct 31, 2014 10:10 am

I think Nomads could knock us out of the trophy. It's fair to say we're overdue a moderately good run.

by comrade powell Fri Oct 31, 2014 10:18 am

I believe the draw is on Monday and I'm getting very excited!

by Marc Monitor Fri Oct 31, 2014 11:30 am

comrade powell wrote:I believe the draw is on Monday and I'm getting very excited!

Easy now.

by LB Fri Oct 31, 2014 9:47 pm

comrade powell wrote:I believe the draw is on Monday and I'm getting very excited!

Contain yourself for a while, it is only the 1st Qualifying Round tomorrow so you will need to wait a couple of weeks.

by comrade powell Fri Oct 31, 2014 10:01 pm

Damn!

by bonzodog Sat Nov 01, 2014 9:49 am

I too agree with Steve S on his post. As the ground move looks dead and buried Adie Britton should concentrate on ground development, maximize twerton parks full potential.

by Mcnulty Sat Nov 01, 2014 12:41 pm

I think steve makes some good points. I also think the majority of fans are very patient and have basically backed aide and what he has achieved at the club. No one doubts how much he loves the club but As has been alluded to, the current situation where the coaching team seem bemused by what is going wrong suggests a change is very much needed. The reluctance to make a change most likely comes down to a lack of funding but We just haven't been competitive in several games this season and that is a real concern. It might seem a bit simplistic but I personally think a battle hardened defensive midfielder would go a long way to solving a number of on field problems. I presume either there aren't any suitable candidates or the finances aren't there to fund it. The balance has never seemed right with the current midfield even when artus was fit. Our defence is exposed and our strikers are bing fed scraps.

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