Where did it all go wrong ? | Page 2 | Vital Football

Where did it all go wrong ?

Gills93 said:
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 can 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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I can't see any reason why Bonne's accident would have upset the Cambridge dressing room.
He might well have killed at least one passenger. Don't you think that is enough to piss you off imagine for a moment driving the other way or just crossing the road as Bonne came down it.I often get a lift into work I certainly would not want to share a car with someone who drives in that manner.
As I said some like yourself dismissed it .I am not alone in believing that another day all those in that car would be dead and possibly joined by others.
 
chris who said:
I can't see any reason why Bonne's accident would have upset the Cambridge dressing room.
He might well have killed at least one passenger. Don't you think that is enough to piss you off imagine for a moment driving the other way or just crossing the road as Bonne came down it.I often get a lift into work I certainly would not want to share a car with someone who drives in that manner.
As I said some like yourself dismissed it .I am not alone in believing that another day all those in that car would be dead and possibly joined by others.
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I doubt that anyone accepted a lift from him from training after that, but it is a bit fanciful to pick a non football issue as the reason for a team being wildly inconsistent and having no cutting edge for the best part of 3 seasons.

Being pissed off for a couple of days is one thing but using that as an excuse for not performing over the remaining 90% of the season, nearly 50% of which did not even involved Bonne being at the club, seems somewhat questionable.

Much more recently, having finally learned how to come back from behind, we have started losing leads at places like Harrogate and Mansfield. Something that didn't happen under Harris and now occurring well after Bonne's exit.
 
shotshy said:
Sliding down the table
We was one point off the autos
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On the 9th September we were top, when he was sacked on the 5th October we were 8th so that is sliding down the table, would it have carried on or would Harris have turned it around we will never know.
 
GillsBluenose said:
I doubt that anyone accepted a lift from him from training after that, but it is a bit fanciful to pick a non football issue as the reason for a team being wildly inconsistent and having no cutting edge for the best part of 3 seasons.

Being pissed off for a couple of days is one thing but using that as an excuse for not performing over the remaining 90% of the season, nearly 50% of which did not even involved Bonne being at the club, seems somewhat questionable.

Much more recently, having finally learned how to come back from behind, we have started losing leads at places like Harrogate and Mansfield. Something that didn't happen under Harris and now occurring well after Bonne's exit.
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If the question is why did we fail to make the play off's? Then I believe that Bonne incident cost us more than enough points the three against Colchester that day for a start.
The other decision that cost us was the non recruitment of cover for Hawkins until far too late in the season. Even when he returned he wasn't his old self and possibly should have been a sub for a far larger number of games he started?
That decision was the decision that cost us any chance of a automatic spot in my opinion.
 
chris who said:
If the question is why did we fail to make the play off's? Then I believe that Bonne incident cost us more than enough points the three against Colchester that day for a start.
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IMO the Colchester game was a blip (possibly the crash being one factor. I admit), of which there has been many in this league over the season. How did Sutton beat Notts Co 5-1? or Mansfield beat Harrogate 9-2 and 4-1 (13-3 on aggregate) and the losers go on to stick 5 past us? And yet champions Stockport didn't score against us in either game?

NH would have won every other home game (including Southampton), both before and after the Colchester game, if it had not been for the free kick controversy v Mansfield. It was only the away form that was deteriorating.

Trauma and bad feeling in the dressing room would have caused more consistent bad form, but it didn't. Good one week, bad the next. Or probably more accurately good one half, bad the next or vice-versa.
 
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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Please correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Brad say something along the lines of “Neil deserved to start this season in charge”?

If he had concerns about him not being the right man he should have dealt with it immediately. I’m pretty sure that any time Millwall came calling that NH would have been off (who can blame him). Loyalty is a funny thing.

Not having someone else lined up to come in straight away out of respect to Neil was a mistake in football terms.

SC might be the right cultural fit AKA a decent bloke, but does he have the right skills for this club right now? I’m not sure.

I hope we aren’t going to make the same mistakes re mid season managerial change again.
 
SE1_Gills said:
I hope we aren’t going to make the same mistakes re mid season managerial change again.
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BG needs to make a decision in the next week or two (if he hasn't already) as to who is going to be in charge next season and, barring a disastrous situation, back them in the summer to build their squad, to play their way and give them the whole of 2024-25 season to show what they can do.

No good sacking off SC at Xmas just because we're not in the top 7 in October. If we're going to back SC back him properly. If not get rid after Doncaster.
 
Captainreblue said:
BG needs to make a decision in the next week or two (if he hasn't already) as to who is going to be in charge next season and, barring a disastrous situation, back them in the summer to build their squad, to play their way and give them the whole of 2024-25 season to show what they can do.

No good sacking off SC at Xmas just because we're not in the top 7 in October. If we're going to back SC back him properly. If not get rid after Doncaster.
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Problem here though is BG has already backed him for next season. It would look bad if he back-tracked.
 
Hampshiregills said:
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.
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Apart from the poor striker recruitment i think the midfield bar Coleman, have been totally forgetable.

Why cant Williams play 90 minutes? I also think he's not delivered what he should of, along with Lapslie, Dieng, Clarke and Mahoney.
 
I honestly think the sacking of Harris was due to more than the style of play and ' direction', what exactly we will never know but it explains the strange timing and no replacement lined up. The poor recruitment in attacking areas has been our biggest downfall, the lack of goals is an embarrassment.
 
HullGills said:
On the 9th September we were top, when he was sacked on the 5th October we were 8th so that is sliding down the table, would it have carried on or would Harris have turned it around we will never know.
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I strongly believe that Neil's way of defensive play was sussed after those early games. As far as the Colchester game is concerned, they sat back & caught us on the break with speedy players, something that we never had.
 
HullGills said:
On the 9th September we were top, when he was sacked on the 5th October we were 8th so that is sliding down the table, would it have carried on or would Harris have turned it around we will never know.
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Yup, we non of us have the gift of "what would have happened". And I think it's daft to debate that. As the saying goes, "We are where we are".

My main beef is that I can't see any difference between what was happening under Harris and what's happening under Clemence. To me it looks exactly the same. This amazing "Different Direction" isn't apparent and don't pretend it is please. Be honest.

What I can see is the difference between the team performance from January to May 2023 and what's happening now.

If I were Brad, I'd be looking for that answer. And I wouldn't be talking to the previous owner to find it. Nor any of his "recommendations" in either structure or personnel.

If he isn't doing that then BG has dropped like a stone in my estimations.

I (hopefully) await a night of the long knives quite soon after the season's end.
 
Think most agree with bulk of issues,Harris sacking wrong time,Way to long replacement coming in,Atrocious transfer window in January,that for me was main issue bar Hutton,Not knocking Clem but seems no different to Harris era,
Over to you Brad,Shannon,big decisions to make,off field it amazing on field poor.Do you keep Hess,Jackett,Clem seems cert to stay
This season been poor for me I’m afraid,never seen 90 minutes of effort and passion barely 45,like Saturday ran out of steam after 40 minutes,just don’t get that
 
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It was quite evident yesterday that we are someway off being promotion contenders if Mansfield is the standard. BG said we should expect 2-4 signings in the summer, not a mass overhaul. If that is the direction, then those additions will need to be of significant quality to turn this squad into being good enough for promotion.
 
Cuxton Blues said:
It was quite evident yesterday that we are someway off being promotion contenders if Mansfield is the standard. BG said we should expect 2-4 signings in the summer, not a mass overhaul. If that is the direction, then those additions will need to be of significant quality to turn this squad into being good enough for promotion.
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Don’t know if I agree, we were comfortably the better side first half, and despite being poor in the second half I cant help thinking it was self inflicted. No denying we need goals but I don’t see us as that far off.
 
Gills93 said:
Don’t know if I agree, we were comfortably the better side first half, and despite being poor in the second half I cant help thinking it was self inflicted. No denying we need goals but I don’t see us as that far off.
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We were the better side in the home game against Mansfield as well IMO, at least again in the first half.
 
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