Down or not?

[WildRover]

Are we going down? And if so, when?

I have a feeling of irony that Exeter will be our undoing, and we will be down by then...yes, even with 7 games remaining after that, unless LP is gone

 

[Ian]

Down I'm afraid. The teams below are slowly creeping up behind us and are still winning the odd game. When was our last win? 30th Dec.. I simply cannot see us winning another five games considering we have only won 8 all season and that includes the purple patch at the start of the season.

In fact, we are the only team in the league to not record a win in the last 10 games.

In the last ten games we have picked up 5 points.
Yeovil have picked up 13 points.
Exeter have picked up 12 points.
Walsall have picked up 10 points.
Scunthorpe have picked up 13 points.
Wycombe have picked up 9 points.
Rochdale have picked up 10 points.
And rock bottom Chesterfield have picked up 13 points.

So it's safe to say we are currently the worst team in the league on recent form.
Can't see this changing significantly.

 

[Roachyfella]

I hate to say it but the way we are going it looks like we might. I have recently moved to China but went the games before i left and i pray on a Sunday morning when i get up and i turn on the internet that we have drew another one. Not that i don't want us to win games. But when. Please when.

.....And i don't think getting rid of Les is the answer, he has done a strerling job since he has been here, better than John Barnes (Joker), so with that if you are going the game please give the boys a shout from China!

 

[SonkORLY?]

.....And i don't think getting rid of Les is the answer

Interesting. In that case, what is?

For the vast majority of our fans our current run of form is the worst in living memory and Les appears to be unwilling to change anything.

 

[Boz]

I have a feeling of irony that Exeter will be our undoing, and we will be down by then...yes, even with 7 games remaining after that, unless LP is gone

Even if we lose all games up to and including Exeter, I cannot see us being 21 points adrift of safety by that point. On a worst-case scenario, we might have to go to Franchise on Easter Monday needing a result to stay up, but on current form we'd be on 37 points by the end of March, so theoretically in with a chance if we won 4 out of the last 6.

While it is quite possible for Rovers not to win again this season, I think that unlikely. It could be argued we've had our bad run already in the last four months. However without either a sea-change in Les' approach or a change in management, it is hard to see us gathering the necessary points for survival.

Roachyfella, if you bump into any wealthy Chinese wanting to buy a football club, point them in our direction.

 

[Sparky]

Roachyfella - if you think Les doing a sterling job consists of one win in the last 19 games or whatever it is then you must have very low standards. Yes he did well to keep us up - but that is history now.

Maybe I am being overly optimistic but I still dont think we will go down. I wont say we are too good to go down, as recent results have shown that may not be the case, but I still think we have enough to stay up.

Les has to go now. Time is up. And for those who say who could take the job with our budget and Les' wages...there will be managers out there.

Dont forget lower league managers especially still have bills to pay and will accept I reckon that many clubs these days would have a small budget. But they still need work. Below is a list from the LMA website that although contains some probably beyond our club and some with not spectacular records, arguably something must change, at least so PJ can say he has tried. I dont go along with all this he doesnt care nonsense.

Liam Watson - Southport
Mickey Mellon - Fleetwood
Jimmy Harvey
Phil Brown
Billy Davies
Paul Ince
Iain Dowie
Dave Jones
Ronnie Moore dare I say ?
Dave Challinor ?!

Before people start saying things like Mellon etc wouldnt move I know all this but there are options out there that are worth a try, rather than doing nothing,

 

[Ian]

Most of the managers out there we can't afford. Of those we can afford, they don't want the job (can't blame them) and then there's just the ex-managers left, sitting in the stands waiting for Les to go.

Which doesn't leave you with much choice really.

 

[DIW]

Absolutely down if Les stays. If we make a change it might not work but at least we will have tried. Worth a go surely.

 

[WildRover]

Most of the managers out there we can't afford. Of those we can afford, they don't want the job (can't blame them) and then there's just the ex-managers left, sitting in the stands waiting for Les to go.

Which doesn't leave you with much choice really.

I remember his rant about managers waiting for him to fail, but who exactly, if it Mathias, Id have him in like a shot, but who else? If he goes it will be an inexperienced/non-league manager, but maybe we need to take a punt on a NL one...

 

[bigmart]

as pj wont change off the pitch and les wont change on the pitch down im afraid.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I think we need at least two wins from the next five games to stand any chance of survival. If, for example, we were to go to Sheffield United still without a victory, that would leave us needing five wins from nine games to stay up, promotion form of which we are clearly incapable.

We need a big upturn in form in the next couple of weeks if we are to stay up, by whatever means.

 

[Davidchallinor]

As ever, I think 50 points guarantees safety, 16 points away = 4 wins and 4 draws.
Les and the team should target these games :


Chesterfield draw
Notts county win
Orient win
Rochdale draw
Exeter win
Bury draw
Walsall draw
Hartlepool win

 

[Roachyfella]

Roachyfella - if you think Les doing a sterling job consists of one win in the last 19 games or whatever it is then you must have very low standards. Yes he did well to keep us up - but that is history now.

Maybe I am being overly optimistic but I still dont think we will go down. I wont say we are too good to go down, as recent results have shown that may not be the case, but I still think we have enough to stay up.

Les has to go now. Time is up. And for those who say who could take the job with our budget and Les' wages...there will be managers out there.

Dont forget lower league managers especially still have bills to pay and will accept I reckon that many clubs these days would have a small budget. But they still need work. Below is a list from the LMA website that although contains some probably beyond our club and some with not spectacular records, arguably something must change, at least so PJ can say he has tried. I dont go along with all this he doesnt care nonsense.

Liam Watson - Southport
Mickey Mellon - Fleetwood
Jimmy Harvey
Phil Brown
Billy Davies
Paul Ince
Iain Dowie
Dave Jones
Ronnie Moore dare I say ?
Dave Challinor ?!

Before people start saying things like Mellon etc wouldnt move I know all this but there are options out there that are worth a try, rather than doing nothing,

I was saying that he has done a sterling job, no money, very small crowds and not much experience.
Yes we have hit a bad patch now and it's not good and we may go down, but that was going to happen at some point anyway i am afraid. I am a positive person when it comes to the Rovers but i am also a realist, we do not have the funds to compete. Maybe if people from the Wirral had a bit of pride of where there from and started supporting their local team then maybe we could do a lot better, more money, a better atmosphere.

 

[SonkORLY?]

most people are sympathetic to the lack of funds that les has at his disposal but that is no excuse for our current run of form and his reaction to it, both tactically and in terms of pr

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

In response to Roachyfella's comments, despite the supposed apathy of the local public we still have the 13th highest average attendance in League One this season. The reason for our relatively low budget is the absence of any additional funding from owners or directors aside from matchday revenue, not that I blame Johnson for this given his considerable outlay in the nineties. We certainly have the funds to compete with Rochdale and Yeovil.

The squad of players we have is perfectly capable of a mid table finish, but has been poorly directed in recent months. The fact the club is operating under financial constraints is not a reason to meekly accept any sequence of results, however appalling.

 

[Tartantranmere64]

Given that we couldn't afford either of Stalybridge Celtic's forwards there's no chance of getting their manager (Harvey). PJ tried hard I believe to get someone in after Barnes got the boot and he got no-one. What's changed since then? The budget is probably smaller. Forget every name on that list.

Just because there's a job going doesn't mean there will be a queue to take it. Look at Wolves, not exactly the same, but people like Curbishley and Walter Smith didn't want it. You think "why?' But there's always behind-the-scenes reasons that we fans no nothing of.

Will we stay up? Dunno. Actually, I don't think it's down to the chairman (he won't sack Les), the manager (he won't alter the system) or the fans (divided) - I think it's down to the players. If they make Les' system work, like they did early season, then yes, we will stay up. If their attitude is "this ain't working, to hell with it" then we're down. Still don't know....

 

[bigmart]

Tartantranmere, your telling me that accrington can afford and can attract a new manager and yet we wouldnt be able to? i think that is wrong.

If les was to be sacked or goes at the end of the season there would be quite a few people interested in the job. Keith Hill would have took it last time if he was allowed to bring his backroom staff in.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

PJ tried hard I believe to get someone in after Barnes got the boot and he got no-one. What's changed since then?

Budgets have been cut significantly at most clubs since 2009 due to the impact of the financial crisis, and I am sure our wage bill does not lag as far behind our competitors now as it did then. I would imagine the job was particularly unappealing when Barnes went because of the rag-bag of players his successor would inherit, and the fact we were seven points adrift at the foot of the table. We now have a decent squad of players and a reasonable chance of survival if changes were made.

Like it or not, it is difficult to imagine a situation at any other club where a manager would win 1 in 19 and keep his job. If Johnson has decided that relegation is a price worth paying to avoid the cost of replacing the manager that may be acceptable in business terms, but I find it unacceptable in footballing terms.

The players must obviously take their share of the blame, but they can only perform if they are played in a system which allows them to perform. In early season our problems were masked by the incredible number of clean sheets we kept, which was never going to be sustained over a whole nine months: we struggled to score goals as much then as we do now. Andy Robinson's performances in the hole were also central to our success in the early weeks. He has either been absent or lacking match fitness since then, yet the tactics have never been adapted.

 

[Tartantranmere64]

Tartantranmere, your telling me that accrington can afford and can attract a new manager and yet we wouldnt be able to? i think that is wrong.

If les was to be sacked or goes at the end of the season there would be quite a few people interested in the job. Keith Hill would have took it last time if he was allowed to bring his backroom staff in.

But that's the point: Keith Hill didn't come because of a lack of money at Tranmere. That's why Les got the job in the end. We don't know what the situation at Accrington is. I take the point that our squad is miles better than when Barnes left (credit to Les) but that might not be enough to attract a manager of any calibre. Remember we couldn't even afford Stalybridge Celtic's centre forwards. Not even one of them! Sure we'll get a manager after Les. But exactly who and where will that leave us/take us I really don't know. We've got a lot further to fall....

 

[Tartantranmere64]

Ryan Brunt has signed for another month. A good thing. Hope he plays!