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Harsh on Close to single out one mistake others made them too, who I thought put in a good performance last
Worrying for me is Grants comment that Anderson would be back for next game. I hope he means on the bench
Quote from: ravenrover on December 30, 2023, 12:04:18 pmWorrying for me is Grants comment that Anderson would be back for next game. I hope he means on the benchThe thing that concerns me most is Tom's mistakes this seasons have mostly been the same thing - failing to win headers or at least put any pressure on opposing forwards as they come in and attack the ball - he used to win the vast majority and has always been brave enough - so why is this seemingly simple thing now beyond him?
Resurgent!!!! We’ve drawn a game after some horrific defeats. Love your optimism that a draw constitutes a resurgence.
They are on an unreal run. 1 loss in 10, winning 7 and drawing 2. The loss was at the start of that 10 game period, back in late October. Away form generally is pretty good this season, although they have only managed 2 clean sheets away from home.
Quote from: Chris Black come back on December 30, 2023, 12:03:08 pmThey are on an unreal run. 1 loss in 10, winning 7 and drawing 2. The loss was at the start of that 10 game period, back in late October. Away form generally is pretty good this season, although they have only managed 2 clean sheets away from home.One statistic you failed to mention CBcb as you only seem to post negative statistics and omit the positive ones.We have never lost to MK Dons at home.Oh wish I hadn’t mentioned it now.
Faulkner not possibly in contention to start as he has only had 45 minutes in a training match according to GM interview.
This was the club that sacked Graham Alexander after a great start - top after five games - then after a bad run of only 4 draws in 9 games he was replaced on 17/10/23 by Mike Williamson, previously successful in getting Gateshead back from National League (N) to the National League proper and 6th position. Since then, MKD immediately went on the current excellent run beginning with a 4-1 victory over Bradford which on 6/11/23 appointed Alexander to replace Hughes. 7 wins have come from 9 games with two draws. Up in Bradford, Alexander took a couple of games to get going, but soon they had chalked up 5 league wins and one Cup win out of 5 and they remain unbeaten in the league since then. (There are a lot of numbers in there and there could be slight inaccuracies, but I hope you get the drift!)So what can you make of that? Alexander cannot be a bad manager, but is Williamson really that good? How can 2 random teams suddenly turn from bad to good? Manager 1 gets 7 wins from Day 1 and Manager 2, who could not get a win out of the 7-wins-out-of-9-team turns round the team his old lot beat 4-1. Two matches later he gets wins 5 in succession.Perhaps it is all about attitude. Cynically you might argue that a team can get rid of a manager they don’t want by not trying, because it’s easier to sack one person than 11, but how else do you explain it? You might be tempted to even draw a parallel with Rovers’ 3 recent dreadful team performances, but it seems incredible to imagine that players, or some of them could believe that they could work such a move here. I suppose that in the case of MKD and BC it could be more subtle, like we don’t like playing your system, can you please allow us to try something which suits us better? Once you are on a run you raise concerns amongst opponents though and it perhaps makes them feel more vulnerable.Fundamentally then, the question is how much real substance underpins a run like MKD’s? If the answer is more psychological than substantial, then Rovers, whose potential is surely superior to the place they currently occupy, have a reasonable chance of winning.Footnote: MW joined us on loan in March 2004 for the rest of that season, but never played in the first team.
Quote from: ForsolongaRover on December 31, 2023, 11:54:17 amThis was the club that sacked Graham Alexander after a great start - top after five games - then after a bad run of only 4 draws in 9 games he was replaced on 17/10/23 by Mike Williamson, previously successful in getting Gateshead back from National League (N) to the National League proper and 6th position. Since then, MKD immediately went on the current excellent run beginning with a 4-1 victory over Bradford which on 6/11/23 appointed Alexander to replace Hughes. 7 wins have come from 9 games with two draws. Up in Bradford, Alexander took a couple of games to get going, but soon they had chalked up 5 league wins and one Cup win out of 5 and they remain unbeaten in the league since then. (There are a lot of numbers in there and there could be slight inaccuracies, but I hope you get the drift!)So what can you make of that? Alexander cannot be a bad manager, but is Williamson really that good? How can 2 random teams suddenly turn from bad to good? Manager 1 gets 7 wins from Day 1 and Manager 2, who could not get a win out of the 7-wins-out-of-9-team turns round the team his old lot beat 4-1. Two matches later he gets wins 5 in succession.Perhaps it is all about attitude. Cynically you might argue that a team can get rid of a manager they don’t want by not trying, because it’s easier to sack one person than 11, but how else do you explain it? You might be tempted to even draw a parallel with Rovers’ 3 recent dreadful team performances, but it seems incredible to imagine that players, or some of them could believe that they could work such a move here. I suppose that in the case of MKD and BC it could be more subtle, like we don’t like playing your system, can you please allow us to try something which suits us better? Once you are on a run you raise concerns amongst opponents though and it perhaps makes them feel more vulnerable.Fundamentally then, the question is how much real substance underpins a run like MKD’s? If the answer is more psychological than substantial, then Rovers, whose potential is surely superior to the place they currently occupy, have a reasonable chance of winning.Footnote: MW joined us on loan in March 2004 for the rest of that season, but never played in the first team.Think you’re trying to ask something that’s impossible to answer. Football is strange and teams go on good runs and bad runs for varying reasons. Sometimes a new voice in the changing room gets the desired effect but sometimes it doesn’t.Football is 50% ability and 50% confidence. Trying to be a philosopher about why a team is doing well or badly is futile. There are so many different factors and ingredients to being a successful team.