Rovers v Dover

[Rockford's Love Child]

Repeatedly changing managers has got us nowhere in recent years, and I would agree with Sparky that Brabin will be here for the medium term, as disappointing and frustrating as recent performances have been.

 

[Boz]

My view as to what constitutes a satisfactory season hasn't changed. If we go into that last game at home to Grimsby with a chance of making the play-offs, that will meet my expectations. Others may think we should achieve more and I understand that on the basis that top four budget ought to equal top four placing and at least the play-offs.

It's also understandable that we would prefer to avoid another managerial merry-go-round. However Brabin does himelf no favours by trying to tell us black =white eg we created many chances yesterday. Has the team significantly improved from the one that beat Woking, Gateshead and Halifax in the opening games? Debatable, despite the some of the talent recruited. Many more games like yesterday and the calls for him to go will intensify to a point where the Palioi will find it hard to resist.

 

[Sparky]

My expectations are top 10. Having seen enough games this season I can see why so many teams come down to this level and struggle to make an immediate return to the football league. Palios will know this.

Plenty of so called big teams will have come down with decent budgets, Buying players with good experience etc. But like us many will have struggled against the lesser sides who raise their games, and home supporters expectations. Obviously Cheltenham are bucking the trend in this regard at the moment, but as I said earlier, unless things get a lot worse, I don't expect any sackings.

The stats don't lie. Hardly any team goes back up straight away. Good budget or not.

 

[Boz]

My expectations are top 10. Having seen enough games this season I can see why so many teams come down to this level and struggle to make an immediate return to the football league. Palios will know this.

Plenty of so called big teams will have come down with decent budgets, Buying players with good experience etc. But like us many will have struggled against the lesser sides who raise their games, and home supporters expectations. Obviously Cheltenham are bucking the trend in this regard at the moment, but as I said earlier, unless things get a lot worse, I don't expect any sackings.

The stats don't lie. Hardly any team goes back up straight away. Good budget or not.

Think you've just nicked my role as resident pessimist on this forum, Sparky

Mostly agree with what you say. As my earlier comment, can see a situation where a sacking might happen. Perhaps expectations have been raised unrealistically by Mark Palios mentioning the top four budget.

 

[Ian]

The big problem here is that expectations have been raised. By the club as we buy into the top four budget and #CBS campaign and naturally by supporters who think because we've gone down, we'll have no problem going straight back up. Whether you agree with it or not a lot of supporters are expecting a swift return to the football league. If we don't improve especially at home, supporters will grow anxious and you'll see more pressure being put on the team as the season goes on.

I don't neccessarily believe we will, but I would at least expect a bit more than what we got served up on Saturday.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

If we finish outside the play-off positions the season will have been an unsuccessful one as far as I am concerned, but that does not mean we should remove the manager if we are not in the top five. While not many teams go straight back up, clubs like Wrexham and Grimsby have been in or around the play-off places most of the years that they have been down here, and it is reasonable to expect we can do the same.

I think most supporters appreciated we probably would not go up this year, but it is the standard of the home performances that has been the problem. I did think we would control the home games against the lesser sides, play some decent football and score goals, but too often that has not happened. If our home and away form was reversed things would not seem so bad.

I always thought the #CBS stuff was daft: remember 'The fightback starts now' under Lorraine ? Fourteen years later and we are still waiting.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Has the team significantly improved from the one that beat Woking, Gateshead and Halifax in the opening games?

The answer is no, although the team that played in the nine game unbeaten run was a significant improvement. Unfortunately that line-up is not available at the moment and Brabin has to respond accordingly.