The Lounge

[Windlesham Don]

Eloquently put, as ever, Pete. Agree with all of it.

We desperately need pace in the heart of midfield, but that will not be provided by Hartigan or Wordsworth (why on earth did we recruit him!?) Wagstaff possibly.

I worry about drafting Hartigan into this side without a ‘ratter’ working alongside him, and without any movement off the ball – he will just look up for a pass and see ‘statues’ ahead of him.

I currently have no idea how we are going to get this squad to be good enough to earn survival. At the moment I am resorting to hoping that there are four sides worse than us come May…

[onyadon]

As soon as I saw the result I knew there was going to be big trouble for Neal Ardley. Sure enough, reading the various Twitter and forums there was an outpouring of disgust over the form of the team, culminating in the loss to the struggling Bantams at home. What took me was the views of people who normally would be supportive of NA, not now. To some this might all seem a gross over-reaction, but coming on top of last season’s dire campaign (only salvaged from relegation) and the signing of 11 new players and the reported 100,000 pound transfer fees in a bid to rejuvenate the team, we are back to square one again. We are not losing to the top teams, we are struggling against the lower-ranked ones, of which we are undeniably one. Ardley faces a huge task to turn things around. I just wonder if the run of dreadful lethargic form continues, and key players are not turning up, then the pressure will only continue to build on the gaffer. Obviously it’s only one-quarter of the way through the season, there are plenty of games left. Yet the issue might be that Ardley may not have the players to get the club out of trouble. The January transfer window is still a long way off. It’s not going to be pretty, somehow Ardley has to find a way, or …..

[Devon Womble]

There hasn’t been this sort of outpouring on WDSA for quite some time. Since I didn’t get to see the Bradford game on i(dont)follow, I thought I’d find the courage to watch the ‘Highlights’… (wow was there ever such a breach of the trade descriptions act!)
For me, it really is down to NA now, no ifs or buts. He started the season with what looked like a very good squad, but, as noted by the sages among you, the rot has set in once more. Those we depend on to carry out the master(NA)plan just don’t seem to get it (or, more likely, understand it). Meanwhile, those who do get it, play only part-time or watch from some far off land while they score goals for other clubs. Personally I think Wagstaff should be Captain, he clearly knows what needs to be done and is clearly capable of delivering it, irrespective of what NA might otherwise instruct him to do. I think Hartigan needs to be in the midfield and working with some of his U21 colleagues ~ when he plays, opponents give him room because he makes quick and usually penetrating decisions…. when he’s got someone to play the ball to that is. (Trotter can go empty the bins and Soares serve the hotdogs… may as well get something back from them.) Deji needs to go home and do some parenting until he’s tired of the 3am baby feeds and wants to play the football we all know he can, and Jim Hanson (wasn’t he something to do with the Muppets?) needs to get up to the speed and desire level of the Pig… (God save the Pig, he’s all we’ve got) or make way for some goal-thirsty U21’s…. people I long suspect the Pig would rather play alongside.
Time to throw away the clipboard NA and start reading Sun Tse, you’re going to need it. I’ll wager shorter odds on the end of your reign by Xmas than us being bottom… and on this form, those are very short odds indeed.

[Colum]

I agree with a lot of what others have said, but our problems aren’t just in midfield. There are big problems right through the spine of the team.

Clearly the arrival of Tom King hasn’t worked. McDonnell has done really well so far, but it was clear that wasn’t the original plan.

In defence Oshilaja has been mistake prone, but he’s the captain so can’t be dropped right? At least in Ardley’s world. McDonald has done well, but both our full backs are shaky at times.

Midfield… well I lot has been said. One of our big losses in the past two seasons in a player that can disrupt play and pick a pass. Jake Reeves was that player. To a lesser extent, so was Danny Bulman. Soares and Trotter definitely aren’t.

Up front Hanson may as well not have signed, and Appiah still flatters to deceive. Apparently he’s Championship potential. If he ever achieves that, I’ll promise to donate all worldly goods to the We Are Wimbledon fund and leave the wife and children on the streets.

How to solve this? Who knows. Unless things change, it looks like we’ve recruited badly yet again, so have to work with what we’ve got. One of the most depressing sights last night was looking at the bench, and realising there was no one there who could improve the sordid state of affairs. Perhaps giving the likes of Hartigan a go would help, but he’d have to told to do things differently from what the others are doing now. Somehow I doubt that direction will be given.

[liamwimbo]

I wrote my article for the current newsletter just after the Scunthorpe game. Basically it said we started the season well but things were going pear-shaped by the time of that game. That now seems like a massive understatement. In particular, I was concerned about the forward line, not that we don’t have problems elsewhere. Hanson and Appiah are ineffective and without goals, the outlook is very bleak. Never thought I would say it, but maybe it is time to change the manager. History may be repeating itself, in that Terry Brown survived his first season in a higher league, only for a bad start the next year causing his departure. If we do need someone else at the helm, now is the best time to change to give a new manager time to bring fresh ideas and motivation to the squad, while there is still time. If that happened, Neil Ardley would still be regarded as a legend for what he has achieved and be welcome back at the club anytime, in the same way as Terry Brown and Dave Anderson.

[Windlesham Don]

I’ve been trying to put my finger on why I am feeling more worried about this season than I was during the last two. I have come to the conclusion that what concerns me most is the lack of leadership in this season’s squad.

Gone are the leaders of last season, the big personalities, such as Fuller, Charles and Taylor. I will never forget Lyle’s “not on my watch” interview on iFollow, where he effectively promised that we would not get relegated while he was at the club – a parting gift from a club legend?

Looking at the current squad there is no one with similar personalities. Soares and Trotter may be well liked in the squad, but they are not going to drive us forward if we are staring into the relegation abyss. Oshilaja leads by example, but he is not a leader of men.

In my opinion we need leaders in this squad and I have seen no sign of any so far, that is why I fear for us this season…

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