Where did it all go wrong ? | Vital Football

Where did it all go wrong ?

H

Hampshiregills

Vital Youth Team
It's another season in League 2 for us, and no doubt we'll all be looking at the what's, if's, and why' about a team who have been there or thereabouts all season. For there are 2 key moments which stick in my mind ................... firstly the inept home display against Colchester after our blistering start of four straight wins, and secondly when we didn't turn up for the second half against Harrogate earlier this month. Add to that our inability to score more frequently, not helped by a less than inspiring January transfer window.

Given that he's been in charge since the end of October, eyes will of course turn to SC, and if he the best man to take us into next season. Clemence is no idiot, and I'm sure this season will have served to make him a better manager. However, the jury is out for many on the question, but for me Brad should continue to back him as the man best able to take us not just into League one, but beyond that, to emulate those five seasons the Championship.

Others have done it, so why shouldn't we.

Who knows, perhaps we are a sleeping giant.
 
When we didn’t get rid of NH sooner and followed by mid-season debacle of a managerial appointment.
 
"Blistering start" ?

Crawley and Sutton away were poor performances masked by lucky 1-0 wins.

It all went wrong when we failed to sign players best suited to league 2 i.e. power and pace. We compounded it by sacking Harris without having someone ready to come in the following week. We dallied and it cost us. I don't think someone with zero league 2 or managing experience was the right call but time might prove me wrong.

It went further wrong when Swindon clogged a player who could have set the a season alight - if nothing else he would won a few penalties.

Off the field we are on the right path and we will be better next season, of that I am sure.

On the field this season has been poor - we shouldn't try to dress it up any other way.
 
getting rid of Harris mid season, without an immediate replacement. As I, and others have said, Harris' record since the 2nd half of the previous season was promotion winning form, and I'd have given him until the end of this season. He's unlikely to have done any worse!
 
I think we’d have made the playoffs under Harris, he’s back to getting 1-0 wins with Millwall (another one away at Sunderland today), it’s not pretty to watch but he knows how to structure and organise the defensive unit.
The squad was never built to score loads of goals, when we open up to try and score more we concede.
Clemence was the wrong man and trying to change the style part way through the season with players not suited to it didn’t work.
 
We failed to find decent strikers last Summer.
Harris was sacked because we weren't attacking enough - he had no decent options up top so we played to a defensive strength.
People seem to forget this sort of thing happened in early November.
Clemence was asked to improve the squad.
We had an aberration of a January transfer window.

The fault is 100% squarely on our recruitment of forwards which has - in terms finding anyone who can score regularly been - dismal for several years.

It's not that shocking.
 
Lot’s of reasons, but above all is the failure of the owners, manager(s) and three stooges to address the obvious problem we have up top. Had we got an extra forward or two that we needed and seemingly can afford in the summer or even December, we’d have walked a playoff place, probably automatic in such a poor and inconsistent division. Criminal not to address that. Maybe sorting that out rather than fancy advertising boards may have made us more money?
 
We were a 'nearly' team as Clemence identified a few months ago if we could not score goals. No recriminations from me. No point.
I enjoyed riding the wave of good feeling that the Galinsons brought to the club. Wasn't enough this time. We go again and we will be stronger.
Everything is already in place to improve the side in the summer. Clemence has earned the right to improve us in the obvious issue areas of leadership and goalscoring.
 
Trashbat said:
When we didn’t get rid of NH sooner and followed by mid-season debacle of a managerial appointment.
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Harris went to Cambridge to get them safe.
They are pretty well safe
He then went to Millwall to get them safe.
They are safe.
I’m pretty sure that has we kept him on at the time, we’d be at least safely in the playoffs.
We had a blip when he was fired but still well in touch with the top.
Every team in this division has had a blip including the three promoted teams.
We will never know for sure where we would have ended but it’s obvious that sacking him was the wrong decision
 
markinkent said:
"Blistering start" ?

Crawley and Sutton away were poor performances masked by lucky 1-0 wins.

It all went wrong when we failed to sign players best suited to league 2 i.e. power and pace. We compounded it by sacking Harris without having someone ready to come in the following week. We dallied and it cost us. I don't think someone with zero league 2 or managing experience was the right call but time might prove me wrong.

It went further wrong when Swindon clogged a player who could have set the a season alight - if nothing else he would won a few penalties.

Off the field we are on the right path and we will be better next season, of that I am sure.

On the field this season has been poor - we shouldn't try to dress it up any other way.
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In a nutshell
 
shotshy said:
Harris went to Cambridge to get them safe.
They are pretty well safe
He then went to Millwall to get them safe.
They are safe.
I’m pretty sure that has we kept him on at the time, we’d be at least safely in the playoffs.
We had a blip when he was fired but still well in touch with the top.
Every team in this division has had a blip including the three promoted teams.
We will never know for sure where we would have ended but it’s obvious that sacking him was the wrong decision
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Had we given him some proper assets up front, I think he'd have done well.

If we are now turning on SC for the same reason, we need our heads checking.

Our recruitment - for at least 3 years - of real attacking quality has been atrocious.
 
For me the wheels fell off the moment Bonne screamed down Woodlands.
It is no coincidence that is the same moment that points started to go wrong. It divided fans on here and around the ground. I am guessing it also divided the dressing room. Togetherness wins promotions this squad was a team of individuals from that moment on.Perhaps it always was a little bit that way.
Harris possibly should have been harsher on Bonne. But perhaps the damage had already been too great to repair.
 
I am not too despondent.

I probably felt lower when it became clear a few weeks ago that we would not reach the automatic spots.

We have done well in play offs before but there is no escaping that fans of three of the four "lucky" teams will be left disappointed. Imagine being a Shrewsbury fan losing the chance of promotion in injury time at Wembley when Simeon Jackson scored. Or our experience during Halsey time at the end of the Man City final.

The lowest we can finish now is 14th which statistically is an improvement on last season.

Yes, we had reason to expect more but the Galinsons have had another year of experience and are getting so much right off the field that I believe they will learn from their mistakes and improvements will be seen next season.
 
AbsoluteCarnage said:
It's not obvious at all. We were sliding down the table and not scoring enough goals.
And he would have gone to Millwall anyway, leaving us needing a manager at a crucial stage of the season.
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And possibly very safe in the playoffs.
We all have opinions and mine is that sacking Harris was the wrong decision.
Sliding down the table
We was one point off the autos
 
chris who said:
For me the wheels fell off the moment Bonne screamed down Woodlands.
It is no coincidence that is the same moment that points started to go wrong. It divided fans on here and around the ground. I am guessing it also divided the dressing room. Togetherness wins promotions this squad was a team of individuals from that moment on.Perhaps it always was a little bit that way.
Harris possibly should have been harsher on Bonne. But perhaps the damage had already been too great to repair.
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Nothing more than a coincidence imo, I doubt the players would be divided after such an incident. Bonne’s departure didn’t see an upturn in results. I just can’t buy into a car accident derailing the whole season and if there was any ill feeling and questions around Bonnes attitude I doubt Harris would have signed him for Cambridge.
 
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3 fundamental reasons. Lack of goal scorers which is solely down to the recruitment team. Timing of the Harris sacking. Controversial one of probable appointment of wrong replacement.

Final table will not lie & it will simply confirm we haven't been good enough to get the promotion the Galinsons wanted.

Lessons to be learned.
 
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