Texts after the game against Fitton

[Colin Todd]

Totally agree Hertha, and with some of what Si pie said.   

Was it unreasonable of the board to expect an improvment this season given that we finished 13th had coxy to look forward to all season and macca was looking like the best player in the division at the end of last season / pre season? 

Most people on here seemed to think that.

I dont expect instant sucess and I'm willing to wait. Some money pumped into the team would be nice, but I dont expect the owners to do that just because they have money. i dont give every penny i have to STFC so why should they?

We already have a massive squad, its not the boards fault that malpas signed shit players (Casal, Nalis in the main) and several players who we could do without had contracts already (sturrock, pook) 

[Batch]

Well said Herthab.

Though I'd hope we will at least maintain our league status running this tight ship, don't think I could take relegation to the conference.

[Luci]

Great post by the divine bald one.

On another note, Ive kind of convinced myself were going down now so am coming to accept it.  I was away for the league two season before so theres loads of grounds I haven't done which I'd quite like to do

[Lumps]

Look all of this is bollocks and those that have a pop at the boarrd over this are out of order.

It's legitimate to get the hump with the chairman when the clubs on it's arse, bills aren't being paid, season tickets prices for next season are announced and they've doubled, and the bastards still flying to away games in a rented helicopter at the clubs expense.

It's legitimate to have a pop if the manager is doing his best to get you out of trouble but is constantly hampered by the playing budget, and then they sell his best player on transfer deadline day. (I grew up watching Swindon in our best times under Macari, Ardiles and Hoddle and that happened just about every bloody season - but not this year or last. We have a decent sized squad, Wilson's been allowed to add to it. Since the new board have been in place the playing staff budget has been bigger than a lot of clubs in this division and right on the border line of the leagues wages to turnover ratio).

You can also have a go if the chairman has clearly appointed a mate as manager and stuck with him despite him being shit. (But most of you were happy with the Wilson appointment, despite my dire warnings, and most of you aren't looking for him to be sacked now).


So what exactly is it that you moaning bastards want Fitton to do that he isn't doing now? Or are you all just throwing the toys out of the pram because things aren't going the way you want them to and someone has to be to blame?

[jonny72]

I don't think throwing money around to get new players in is the answer, as I don't think we'd improve the team that much without spending big money which would be pointless and stupid. We shouldn't be in the drop zone with the players we've got, its mainly due to Malpas but partly due to Wilson not turning things around as quickly as we needed him to.

If Wilson can get things to click (and he needs to do it quickly) then we'll end up mid table and will be laughing about the time we talked about getting relegated. Even if he doesn't and we do go down its not the end of the world, there will still be a clear out and re-grouping over the summer and things will be better next season. If we're in League 1 we'll challenge for the play offs and if we're in League 2 we'll challenge for the title.

Things could be a lot worse, look at Luton for a good example of that.

[RobertT]

People moaned at the Board in charge when we were promoted to the highest league we've ever played in.  Nothing will ever be good enough, so there is no point worrying about them.

[Sippo]

We shouldn't be in the drop zone with the players we've got

Well the league table doesn't lie. The players aren't good enough. Simple as.

[Colin Todd]

Well the league table doesn't lie. The players aren't good enough. Simple as.

As I've been saying all day its not that simple at all.  The players have the potential to be good enough when they are up for it.  There is plenty of evidence of that. 

Why have we lost 10/12/15 points or whatever it actually is with last minute goals conceded?  Is it beacuse they are not good enough or is it a mental thing?  If they are good enough to be winning after 88 mins surely that is a sign that they are not as hapless as you make out?

Yes the league table does not lie. but for every abject performance this season there is another when we have played quite well and not won.  Again I dont see this as an issue of quality, more one of mental strength and character.

I'm going to stop going on about this now.  maybe.

[pauld]

Thing is CT, you say they're good enough on the basis that they can occasionally play well. They don't consistently or even usually. On that basis they may well have the potential to be good enough, but as it stands they just aren't. Equally, they're not shit either, the fact they can occasionally pull a performance out of the bag shows as you say the potential's there. But that's all it is. Until they can do it consistently (or in fact I'd settle for "often"), the majority aren't not good enough.

[Colin Todd]

i suppose thats true.

It just does my head in knowing they can do so much better.  If we had played half as well against Hartlepool or Cheltenham as we did the Dongs then we'd be 6 points better off for a start, let alone the rest of the season.

I'd find it a lot easier to take if we were outright shit, with some very limited players,  took some proper beatings off the good teams and scraped some points against the shit.

[juddie]

whatever it is Toddy, it isn't – and hasn't been – working. And whatever it is, it needs to be sorted out when we play the nine games against teams in the bottom half, otherwise we're fucked. We can;t afford to have potential anymore, it's time to start winning games. Sod playing well, we need points by any means.

It's no good having potential if you don't fulfil it or show it on a consistent basis. It's not like we're talking about young players here either, there's enough experience and ability in our squad to be able to finish mid-table. None of us would be so bothered if that were the case, but this bunch of underachieving clowns has got us into a right mess that, personally, I don't think we're going to get out of.

And whether that's down to Malpas, the players, Wilson or a combination of them all - it doesn't matter, If Wilson sorts it out now no-one will remember how shit this season's been. It'll be consigned to the history books and we'll move on, with Wilson's populairty assured. It f*cks me off everyone saying it's Malpas' fault. Yeah he was awful, but we weren't in the bottom four when he left and he's been gone three months. This is everyone's fault, and the players and manager need to work together to sort it out. It's their responsibility now.

It's a fine line isn't it. We were great against Leicester/ Franchise and organised at Millwall, yet here we are struggling to win a game.

It's still in our own hands and I still believe Wilson is a good thing for this club, regardless of whether we stay up or not. We're not the only team struggling for form at the moment so there'll be ups and downs in the next 11 games. The key one for me is the first one or two against the shitter teams. Lose them and all confidence will be gone.

If we do go down I can't help but feel slightly cheated. There's no way this side should have been in this position in the first place IMO, but if we do slip up it will be because the players either weren't that bothered, complacent or simply didn't have the bottle at various stges of the season, and that will hurt so much more than being shit.

Regardless of all that, I'll be there to the end of this season and back for next, whatever the division. I just hope that all the players who don't share our passion find somewhere new to play. I'd much rather see a team battle it out and win some/lose some than have to put up with what we've had to watch this year, the few positive performances aside.

 

[Colin Todd]

totally agree juddie

[pauld]

I'd find it a lot easier to take if we were outright shit, with some very limited players,  took some proper beatings off the good teams and scraped some points against the shit.

Just been saying exactly that to a work colleague who was puzzled at our predicament

[Arriba]

even if we had a mass clear out of players,we will only end up with more of the same calibre anyway.what is key, is a manager being able to get the best out of what mr fitton will fund,whether that be new, or remaining players at stfc.
not convinced wilson is capable of this personally.if he isn't, and fitton doesn't dig a bit deeper to fund transfers of higher calibre players, we will not really progress imo.
hopefully wilson is good enough to get players doing well on a limited budget, but he hasn't exactly had a start that would suggest he is.

[REDBUCK]

Looking at last years table is interesting, it has been assumed that the players were good enough therefore they should have been able to move up the league this season. However this appears to have been more in hope than judgement. We effectively haven't improved the team and thus have stood still. The 6 places we've lost can be explained from the table by the two demoted teams, two promoted teams and two other teams, Milwall and Rovers improving.