Groundhog Day

[Chris P. Bacon]

Last night……

Woeful show yet again. Players showing very little skill, pace or tactical nous. We can’t pass a simple ball without it going astray. Pretty standard for most games these days. We’ve scored just 5 goals in 8 games and it’s hard to see where further goals will come from. 

Is our recruitment policy totally and utterly broken? Is it the way we train? Are we playing them out of position? Or is it that our players just don’t give a stuff? 

I have no enthusiasm for watching them this season.

[chipbarm]

I thought our whole shape looked off. There was a massive gap between defence and what passed for our midfield and no coherent plan to attack if we ever got there. Fornah had probably his worst game for us so far and Austerfield was missing for huge parts of the game. Newport just seemed to be able to win the ball and cut us apart at will whilst we struggled to put more than 2 passes together.

Our attack is non existent. Kouassi is willing but seems more of a link striker than a number 9. Okoronkwo runs down blind alleys and loses the ball and Nmai flatters to deceive. We look lacking in pace, strength, positional awareness and defensive stability and that is a bad combination.

KR is going to have to go back to the drawing board. These are his players as most of last season's team has gone. I heard he has always favoured a 433 with wingers but we haven't once played that way. As Dannyboy said in one of his podcasts we played all pre season with a back 4 in a kind of 4231 and then once the league starts we go with a back 3 with only one specialist CB and nobody out wide as we continually run into trouble in the centre. Something has to change and quick as we are fast heading for the relegation zone once again.

[Chris P. Bacon]

Indeed. This is in no way at all a ‘KR out’ call, because if he can’t do it I don’t know who can? But this is defo HIS team and he has to find a way to make them play.

It really bothers me that KR said they’d talked for 2 weeks on the situation that led to their first goal and we were nowhere near it. Are they incapable of taking simple instructions?

[jayb99]

We've massively missed the mark with our signings. Yet again. The players we brought in to be our 'stars' have all flopped and this squad is now very KR heavy so few excuses there.

I have league 2 fans of current and former clubs like Bury message me waxing lyrical about Stockton, Woodburn etc. They're adamant they're absolutely class and it's salford letting THEM down. I go back telling them they're adding absolutely nothing! (Then Stockton scores 🤦‍♂️).

As a squad we are simply poor. Or is it that this was the aim all along, just survive no matter what, don't go up and don't go down. Just stay in league 2 for years to come whilst hoping we bring a £1mil player through from somewhere and BINGO. Mission complete?

Last night there was a huge disconnect between defence and the attack, players getting pushed out into aimless channels and final product lacking (as it has been for a long time!) N'Mai looked the most lively but I find his end product is absolutely atrocious.

And what about Luambas guest appearance, reappears in the squad and continues to offer very little.

All hopes now on a swift Adelakun return. Feel completely flat for Saturdays home return now!

[Chris P. Bacon]

We do seem to have a history of taking apparently good players, getting very little from them and then letting them go, only to see them do well elsewhere. Mind you, that can’t be said for Watt, who looks like he’s coming back down with Burton.