So, the start of the season hasn’t gone to plan. Probably better to re-phrase that, it hasn’t gone as we had hoped; there was never a plan. The hope was that the new manager would come in and, with the aid of an unspecified number of signings and his magic wand, turn things around. So far that hasn’t happened and the failings of last season are still evident for all to see. Too painful to catalogue them, we all know what they are.
What is also evident is that we need to get some players in. King Kenny says five or six and I wouldn’t argue with that. A goalkeeper, a right back, a centre back and a left back would be a start. After his performance last night, I am going to give Greg Taylor the benefit of the doubt and say he was tired following his exertions on Wednesday. I know the issue with Bolongoli but if we are not going to give him any game time, he needs to go.
And that is the other thing which is evident, we need to get players out the door. I read in an earlier post that Nitcham has left the building, which is a little bit of good news in such dark days. If Edouard and Christie aren’t signing new contracts, it’s time for them to leave also. Oh, and despite what the coaching staff may have told the new manager, Edouard cannot play on his own up front.
And now for the elephant in the room, and it’s a large one with big flappy ears looking me straight in the face….. I don’t see us buying our way out of this mess; there is not a short term fix. Sure we need to get more players in and, once they are bedded in, we may just have a decent team. What we won’t have is a decent squad to allow us to compete on both domestic and European fronts. We didn’t compete on either last season and turning that around in a short period of time is impossible.
Ange will need at least this season and probably another one to rebuild. Why has he waited until very late in the games to make substitutions? Could it be that he feels there is nobody on the bench that could make a difference? Giving four minutes to Tom Rogic is possibly a good indicator that he felt he should do something but knew it was futile.
I hope I am wrong and Ange is some kind of miracle worker. The sad fact is that the domestic/European quandary may not be an issue after next Thursday. The team, without any further additions, will fly out to Czech Republic more in hope than expectation. If we are to go out of Europe, please God let it not be with the same players playing the same as previous games.
Remember, when Tony Mowbray bought virtually a completely new team in the January transfer window and made significant changes to the line up? We had a team of strangers and he was our of a job in a matter of weeks. Neil Lennon came in and managed to get more out those players. That is what Ange needs to do as well.
Yes we need new faces but sadly bringing them in in big numbers in a short period of time doesn’t usually work, certainly not in the short term.
I recall John Kennedy said something similar when he was appointed interim manager. Amidst all the calls for change, he said didn’t favour wholesale changes to the team and that it takes time to rebuild.
Don’t shoot the messenger.
Christopher Wotherspoon
