The defensive frailties are down to playing a back 4. Butler is weaker defensively. Demetriou, a left back, has been found out as a centre back sometimes this season. Poole is not a right back.

Some.times the midfield works better and there is a win.

Mostly played with wing backs in the cup and earlier this season, as we need 3 centre backs to cover errors.

Not making the play offs is all down to the manager and tinkering with the formation.

Frank Nouble 3 wrote:If fans are happy with league mediocrity I am happy for you but I want better.

I'm most definitely happy. The profile of the club has risen significantly over the past 2 years, as has our bank balance, and the football on show has been more than acceptable plus quite a few memorable moments along the way.

Do I want better? Of course. What better looks like? We could be here all day.

Where do we think we are as a club? 2 years ago this weekend we were out of the league, if people are upset because we are underachieving this season then we have progressed massively in 24 months

johnny1972 wrote:At the start of the season where did you think we’d be now honestly?

Mid table.....where we are now.....

Thats not the issue.........I know our budget limitations, expectations etc and accept that......

What I am questioning is that at least 6 times this season the manager has stated in the press that on match days the team didn't look ''UP FOR IT'' , that I find an issue.

Get beaten by a better team on the day , I accept that but I expect the team to give their ALL for every game, even if we get beaten....MF is saying himself that they aren't by them being ''very flat '' or not ''up for it'' ..that is an issue that he needs to solve..
.Is it the players mentality that will ultimately stop the team progressing?
Is it his pre game preparations and he will need to alter them to progress ?
Is it his and the teams ability and tactics ?


we will not get to the next level unless changes are made because its not just a player having a bad day when it happens , its the whole team . Promotion with the current set up/ methods we are using/tactics is totally out of the question.IMO.. I would love to be proved incorrect but I cant see any evidence to go against what I type

Not a real criticism of Flynn but I do believe he has been a little naive at times this season. Using the same formation yesterday as Carlisle last week doesn’t work. I know we won well last week but it’s horses for courses. Colchester are a good side and could well get promoted. I would’ve gone 352 against them. Bit more cover at the back and let them break us down, hit em on the counter.
Midfield was all at sea yesterday, looked like they’ve not played together before. Last week’s diamond midfield worked well but we were a mess yesterday.
Also I think we need to rotate a few. The boy from Villa took on their full backs as soon as he came on and one was booked as a result. Robbie and Azeez didn’t do this all game.
Early bookings for Butler OBrien and Regan didn’t help either as they were reluctant to put a foot in thereafter and sat off.
Thought Podge pulled out of a couple of tackles too, maybe the call up is on his mind ?
Some of the comments from our supporters during and after the game were frankly embarrassing. Yes we spend time and cash watching our team but I think they deserve a bit more support especially after the memories they have created this season and last.
A crap day all round but been watching L2 and below for a long time and this happens. Thankfully not too often since Flynn has been in charge.

neilcork68 wrote: Promotion with the current set up/ methods we are using/tactics is totally out of the question.IMO.. I would love to be proved incorrect but I cant see any evidence to go against what I type

So as a club in 12th position, what you are saying is a more experienced manager with better players, better tactics, better attitudes, better back room staff with better preparations would make us better? It could work.

I went yesterday and its only the second time this season I haven't applauded the other time being fgr home and both times its been the manner of defeat.

That said I'm not worried and I'm also not sure what articles Neil has been reading, a flat performance which is a fair assessment is totally different to a team not being up for it, this group of players care too much about the club not to be up for it, we got beat by the better side.

MF has said in the past we made poor mistakes and its cost us which I agree with. We were the better side at Swindon, Lincoln and Stevenage, we should've seen the game out at Crewe, we murdered MK Dons at home and got mugged, 6 points in those games and we'd be looking good and performance wise we probably should've picked up 9 points minimum.

We'll bounce back hopefully Tuesday but if we don't I'd take the following 3 games of Cheltenham, Oldham and Yeovil all day, now win those 3 and its interesting, win Tuesday followed up by those 3 winnable games and its very interesting.

End the season like we started and we'll make the playoffs, if you look at the upcoming fixtures they're all playing each other, 3 weeks ago I thought fgr were closing in on a top 3 spot, fast forward and they're struggling to make the playoffs. 7th spot is up for grabs just need to put that run together.

Neil where did Fylnny state that ''The team wasn't up for it today'' ? Show the evidence or retract that statement

Frank Nouble 3 wrote:The 10 teams above us clearly do play better than us week in week out.

Its not to much to ask the squad to turn up.

Win, draw, loose but turn up ffs

If fans are happy with league mediocrity I am happy for you but I want better.

We have Div. 2 players playing in Div. 2. If they were able to produce top form performances on a regular basis, they would be playing at a higher level.

As far as mid-table mediocrity is concerned, I should imagine that the 5,000+ Wrexham fans who turn up week after week, would give their eye teeth to be in our position, seven points off the play-offs with a game in hand.

11 points adrift might be a worry with 11 games to go, but with £1m plus in the bank,' Les momey-bags' almost paid off. These are not our worrying days.

The thing about the 4th these days is the money just doesn't add up. Every club makes a loss and squads are all short-term projects.(Players on one season deals or loanees.) Lincoln were able to build from a cup run. The important thing is we spend wisely and then who knows. We've got a great manager and few decent loyal pro's.

Having said that the next four games are winnable. Do that and those elusive play-offs could be a dream end to another dream season.

Hey ?

County are above where they should be based on aspirations from the start of the season. In reality with a 37 goal strikeforce and a defence that kept a cleansheet against boro and kept the best team in the country out for 45 mins then they should be a lot higher than they are.

Based on our performance and achievements since being promoted into the football league I'd say we are punching well above our weight in relation to others.

If you look at the whole picture the players we have defensively are more than capable to get us into the play offs Day, Demetriou, O'Brien, Poole, Franks, Butler would be able to hold their own playing for Lincoln, Bury, Mansfield etc.
In midfield the same cannot be said possibly Labadie if he behaves himself and Willmott for his assists.
Amond and Matt certainly have impressed and surely with the right service will score playing for the big boys I have mentioned.

So cut to the chaste something has seriously gone wrong defensively away for so many goals conceded and losses. Is it a tactical issue, a confidence thing or they are not mentally tuned in for the away challenge because it has been the case for a few seasons. Is it the players or the coaches, team talks and tactics whatever the problem a team cannot be like night and day home and away.
So many questions and no talking done on the away pitches.
From my point of view it is a mix of everything including bottling out when they are not on terra firma,

Tomorrow will see if things have changed odds are they have not.

yet again the usual suspects read what they want to read and not whats written and being debated.

I never posted anything about being worried about the teams position , finances , or to have a go at any players individually etc.
I posted that at least 6 times this season so far MF has come out and said the WHOLE TEAM is ''flat'' , ''not switched on'', ''up for the battle ahead'' , call it what you want and he has no idea why this is.
Every play will have bad days and put in poor performances every now and again, That I accept.

The worrying thing is ( what the thread is about ) why when we have 'off days'' does it seem to involve the whole side ?

Is it preparation , mindset of the players , tactical , players not listening to instructions ? I just dont know...As does it seem MF doesnt either and he is with the group daily.
Has he had them together and individually to address the problem to see why it happens ?
There must be something for it to happen as often as it does..
There seems to be no 'middle ground'' with us where we can play bad and scrape a win or a draw. We either win well ( playing good) or are beaten quite easily.

I will however have a go at MF because I believe he plays 'his team' and not the opposition many times . Tactics that can beat one team doesnt mean it will work against different opposition but he seems to stick with his first choice starting line up.
I dont believe many fans would have kept the same starting line up , formation and tactics away to Colchester last Saturday even though they worked the week before against Carlisle..On Saturday the main problem was we were outplayed in midfield and the defence were under constant pressure because of it and we conceded three. Colchester are a better side than Carlisle and are much stronger in midfiled but MF kept the same system. Podge isn't a midfielder, he is our best striker. Wilmott is not a midfielder in a three, He is a right winger. MF seems to have chosen to go with this system to accommodate Azeez rather than pick a side to face the opposition

neilcork68 wrote:yet again the usual suspects read what they want to read and not whats written and being debated.

After fifteen years you expect anything else?