Apologies in advance for the long post! Longest one in forum history?
I can explain the logic in replacing him. he is making the same mistakes EVERY single week with his lineups and is not learning from them and doesn't know how to create a team to attack which ends up being boring as fuck to watch.
3 subs at half time may have made a difference, (we were 3-1 down at home!) just like at the end of most matches when changes are made. It is showing he is reactive and not proactive in his selections.
at the start of the season we started getting some good performances- not as much results. now we are getting consistantly shocking performances and shocking results.
we had more rest than Franchise last match, we had extra time on the training pitch, we have players returning from injuries. we get smashed 4-1 by a team close to us the league table.
Sheridans record so far:
11 games- average goals scored 1.09, average goals conceded 2.09.
Pre-Sheridan:
9 games- average goals scored 1.66, average goals conceded 1.77.
He is lining up with players in the wrong positions, in a defensive mindset and we concede more goals and score less as a result. I have seen enough shit from swindon sides in the past to know what a relegation side looks like.
Kovar
Fryers- Conroy- Odemayo- Caddis (Hunt)
J Smith (Stevens)- Grant (Lyden) - M Smith- DJ (Hope)
J Smith- Pitman
This is not a team deprived of goals and a team that would win 2 in 11. This is not the horrific squad that our peformances and results reflect.
Instead we see the same failing cb partnerships and our best cb in midfield, no natural full backs starting, no strike partnerships and an imbalance all over the shop. for all of jonny smiths criticism he is our most creative player going forward- he clearly players better with a caddis and options of support. this gaffa played him at lwb recently!
As much as I detest Wellens for leaving, our results and performances would be nowhere near this standard. You can forgive results, you can't forgive the performances like that every week and i honestly think its all down to the selections, formations and instructions that are forcing them.
Likewise mistakes happen- we have had about 3 seasons worth of mistakes already this season. Sheridan can't be blamed for some of these errors- but its not like we have played well except for them.
Come onnnn, we were on the end of some shocking performances before Sheridan rocked up. I agree with you about the concern of playing attacking wingers at wing-back positions, like Jack Payne playing left wing-back just looked odd against MK but who else do we actually have right now that can fill that gap when Donohue sat out a game and now left us?
However, I can see what he's trying to do, playing someone who is naturally left-sided that can run and attack. If Sheridan played Caddis on the left and got turned inside and out, ripped to shreds and we conceded, we'd be whinging about how stupid it is to be playing a right wing-back on the left side..
When he rocked up and looked at how we were playing in the formation that we were, we were shipping goals far too easily from individual mistakes. What does a new manager do to stop that? Change the formation and get a solid backline to make it harder to concede. MK is the first game this season where players just completely switched off and didn't do their jobs. If we had the ability and the players to sub more players off at half-time without overextending ourselves, I'm sure we would have!
Let's put a bit of human realism into this, if it works out where Tom Broadbent goes up top and scores our first goal at Kassam, he's a hero. If Tom Broadbent didn't score - he's the devil that was stupid enough to put a centre back upfront and had no effect...
The bloke is working with what he has, managing fitness/ injuries, personalities adjusting to change and doing what he thinks is best to get results on the pitch. He has a window to sort the team out and restore balance, give it a chance.
2. Really? I think it also stems from that the manager doesn't also seem up to it. TW may well have got a bit of his nape up last night but he was only covering his own ass. It also shows how outdated their management style is. They keep banging on about people having to be vocal. You don't need to be giving everyone a bollocking every 5seconds, in fact for some players (and employees) that just won't work. They are out of touch and losing the dressing room as well as faith in the fans. Unless we want a squad of Chris Robertsons and other lower league mouthy twats then L2 will likely be the direction. Good management at any relative level seeks to understand and manage it's players/staff according to how they respond to certain treatment. It's called people engagement now days. These pair don;t have it.
5. I'm not sure how old you are or your length of time following Town but I do admire your positivity. I'm considered too positive for the TEF at times...the thing is FDB, i hate to break it to you but in this coming transfer window (unless new ownership comes in) Town have no money to spend in it. There will be some shuffling of the pack and whatever is left of favours done via whatever limited contacts (Power has been good at burning nearly every bridge sourced. Even those that are the main funders have seemingly had enough after being hustled out of several million) but I seriously can't see anyone wanting to sign for us right now - in fact for different reasons we have had 3 staff under contract leave the club. Who's next? Or who next asks to have their contract ripped up? The big rumour is Grant.
On another note people talk about who we should send back from the loan spots but I'm more concerned about the loans Town want to keep and their parent clubs recalling them to loan to a better club (I'm talking M&J Smith in all honesty). I'm concerned because I don't think of those two loans, we would currently get or source better ones. Like I say, currently the clubs toxicity is at extreme alert level. Barge poles and all that.
I don't know how you can honestly say someone isn't up for it when the most we all get is 90minutes of football and 15 minutes of sound bites every week. Not exactly any grounds for forming a reliable conclusive analysis to how they manage people, their motivations and the decisions we make. Let's face facts here and learnt from many years of following Swindon Town, we are on the outside looking in. When a light is shone into a spectrum crystal, the light splits into many different angles and colours. Does that mean that what we are seeing is the true colours of what light is or are we merely seeing what colours are in the spectrum crystal?
However, I adamantly believe that what we are lacking is 2-3 players (plus replacements for a few others who are simply not performing) and confidence. The players have had a rough season where not a lot has gone right and when it all goes wrong, the players must feel it. They are human beings as you mentioned Joe Hart, but it takes hard work to get confidence and changing that takes time. If I was in Sheridan's shoes, I'd start off by focusing on conceding less. Once we have a reliable defence, we build the attack. No point attacking if we can't defend and a game of who can score more is uncontrollable and unsustainable as we have all discovered this season.
The off-field issues are a massive worry but if again, let's face reality - if you were Lee Power, you will believe you have your ass covered to deal with these legal issues. If so and we do have a buyer waiting in the wings, Power will need to keep funding it to maintain it's value. It's all well and good reading the gossip but what does anyone actually ever know to be the truth of what's actually going on? If Grant does go, he'll be a massive loss but on the other hand, he's a big earner that has rarely hit the levels of performance that he gave us last year...
Apologies for the long posts and I don't mean to come across as antagonist (apologies if I do) but I tend to operate on what we do know, more so than adding 2 and 2 together and hoping that it makes 4. If I was a player reading these forums, it would wind me up because the truth is, we know absolutely fuck all about what happens off the pitch. Over the years, I've accepted that I am merely a passenger on a rollercoaster that I will need to endure the dips and cherish the climbs. It's all part of the fun and if we were in the Premier League, I have no doubt all those that complain on here will still find something to complain about despite achieving what currently looks impossible... Sadly it's human nature to be cynical but it never helps anyone.
I don’t know how old Drummer Boy is but I remember him in the Town End during the Kingy days (unsurprisingly he was the one with the drum) and posting on the original thisisSTFC. I think he was early teens then...
So, he’s got to be around the 30 mark with a minimum of 17 years watching the Town home and away.
I was merely a young whippersnapper back then in comparison to today
You're a little undercooked but not far off at all.
One of my fondest memories with that drum was in the Nationwide, started in the top left corner singing the Great Escape theme tune, setting the beat with the drum and at one point looking down the Nationwide stand to see the entire Nationwide clapping along to the beat. Kept it going for what felt like the entire 2nd half. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
If it wasn't for losing a bet to my best mate who supported the club all his life, Big Dave, I would never have made it to my first game (the last time we played Reading back in 2002). It was a boring shit game but the atmosphere from the crowd and watching live sport got me hooked. Even though Big Dave sadly died way too young (
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6046645/21-year-old-father-to-be-drops-dead-on-the-maternity-unit.html), I've not stopped supporting the team and I know he's there watching Town week in, week out.
I feel closest to him at The County Ground but it's also my anchor to regularly remind me that worrying about shit I do not know all the facts about and/ or cannot control outcome is exhausting and pointless, rather than appreciating more of what we have and making a difference when possible. Now, give Bitcoin 10-12 years to reach it's true potential to the point I'm a Bitcoin Billionaire, watch out because I'll be buying the club from whichever dodgy owners we have and climbing the leagues until we win the Champions League...
