Hard to maintain the same optimism that I held after the first few games of the season but not given up alltogether yet.
I still find it hard to believe that this group of players is as bad as the TB1 +TB2 teams that they are drawing comparisons with. This team still includes several full internationals and others who have represented their sides at U21 level.
Rodgers clearly isn't useless or he wouldn't have gotten as far in the game as he did. What has pleased me in the last 2 weeks is his own admissions that the players aren't performing and doing what they've been told and he's actually starting to sound critical rather then using the same excuses he did in the first 5-6 games. The talk of going 'back to basics' is a welcome one and I honestly believe that he SHOULD be able to find 11+7 players from the 25 or so we currently have to get us out of trouble.
Abandoning this manager after 13 games is folly in my own opinion. If you look at the season so far and break it down on realistic expectations we're not doing THAT badly.
GAMES YOU'D EXPECT A REBUILDING/AVERAGE SIDE TO WIN
BURTON (H) CUP - WON
BARNSLEY (H) CUP - LOSS
DONCASTER (H) LEAGUE - DRAW
WATFORD (H) LEAGUE - DRAW
BARNSLEY (A) LEAGUE - WIN
PETERBORO' (A) LEAGUE - LOSS
NOTTS FOREST (H) LEAGUE - DRAW
RETURN - 6/15
50/50 GAMES
CARDIFF (H) LEAGUE - LOSS
SWANSEA (A) LEAGUE - DRAW
SHEFF UNITED (H) LEAGUE - LOSS
RETURN 1/9
GAMES YOU WOULD TAKE A DRAW AS REALISTIC BEST CHANCE
MIDDLESBORO (H) LEAGUE - LOSS
NEWCASTLE (A) LEAGUE - LOSS
WEST BROM (A) LEAGUE - LOSS
PRESTON (A) LEAGUE - WIN
RETURN 3/12
In my heart of hearts it's only the top category that I'm really looking at this season, with maybe that second sections. Truthfully the only results that have worried me was the defeat to Peterboro (which COULD be put down to 45 minutes of maddness) and the failure to find the killer goal at home to Donny, Forest and Watford (games in which we probably deserved to win, just didn't get that luck) similarly you could throw Cardiff into that where we deserved to win but didn't.
So the short version of all that crap is this. We're actually competitive/picking up points in the games that matters. However what's annoying the general fanbase (and myself included) is that we're losing games we probably should be losing on the back of failing to win a game we should win. Therefore the frustration carries over into the hard to win games, if that makes any sense at all.
It doesn't need stating again but I will
that the next 3 or 4 games are crucial. Anything less then 3 points in the next 2 games will crank up the pressure to levels not seen since we lost at home to Swindon 3-1 under AP or perhaps greater.Overall though we're still not even into Novemeber during a new managers first season, with many players in their first year for the club. Yes it's a worrying time but despite what many will say I still do believe we have SOME reasons to be optimistic.
