Post by Alex BH on Oct 1, 2022 21:31:52 GMT
First half we were outcompeted by a hard working and well organised Stevenage side who played a very simple and effective game plan of getting the ball forward early and getting shots off at every opprtunity. According to BBC stats they had 22 shots and although only a handful were on target it was clear in the first half they were out to attack and they won the majority of the balls they lumped forward. Their first goal was a poor mistake from us with a poor header at the back, but a brilliant strike from former Crawley player Roberts who thundered the ball in off the crossbar on the volley after a neat piece of link up play from Stevenage.
Second half was much better and a somewhat fortunate goal from Nadders capitalising on a deflected shot from the impressive Fellows who shifted the ball to the side in box and shot with Nadders getting there just before the keeper and scrambling it in. From there we were on the attack and started to win more of the 50-50's but we were lucky Stevenage didn't go ahead on the break after a poor mistake from Craig at the back gave them a clear shot at goal which they should have scored from. Tilley also had a good chance from a pull back on the edge of the six yard box, but he somewhat scuffed the shot into the ground. From there it looked like we would get at least a point, but a break from Stevenage culminated in a shot from the edge of box supposedly hitting our players hand (will have to watch that one back) didn't look much difference from the Tilley one in the fist half with another shot from the edge of the box being charged down, but such in the luck we are having at the moment they got their penalty and their win and we didn't.
If we'd have won a few and lost a few I could write today off as a bit unlcuky as they had the first half and we had the second half, but we again looked vulnerable on the counter and it took Betsy half the game to work out how to play against Stevenage and it's yet another loss. We can't keep taking half the game to get going and keep being unlucky 1 win and 6 points out of 11 games is simply nowhere near good enough with an increased udget from last seasons comfortable mid table finish. Yes we were a bit unlucky against Doncaster and today as well with key decisions going against us and things seem to be conspiring againsts us at the moment, but 11 games in the manager is stil figuring out the best 11, the formation, the tactics, the style of play and we have no clear identity or direction on the pitch.
We saw today two teams of towns and football clubs of very similar size and status and one of them had an experienced lower league manager with a proven track record and one of them had a manager in his first job managing a mens team and we may end up swapping places eventually once we figure things out, but at the momement it's painful to watch.
Just how much longer can we give Betsy to figure things out? Will him and the players get there in the end? Maybe, but we can't risk going down to the conference again. We could buy our way into the football league last time, but as Wrexham are finding out, the conference is hard league to get promoted from with only one automatic promotion place.
It feels like it's not a question of if Betsy will go, but when!
It can't really get much worse than 6 points out of 11 though surely. Maybe bringing in a new manager will leave going back to square one, but how much longer can we give Betsy, a few more games, another month? Currently getting 44 points from 35 games which should see us safe is certianly very achieavle, but this will require a big upturn in form and longer we keep Betsy and things don't improve the more work we will have to do in the new year to get enough points to stay up. Yes it's early days, but relegation would be a disaster for this club that's waited generations to get where we are today.