Austin in

[everbrite]

Fancy a side bet who fineshes higher this season?

Thought not....

Don’t be so sure - never under estimate the Cobblers!!

[ClarenceInDefence]

Hard to argue with most of that but I would like to point out that our number 1 goalkeeper also didn't play a great part of the relegation fiasco .

True, add Cornell to the list. That's half the squad at least.

[ClarenceInDefence]

You can spin it ( and you are spinning it ) whichever way you want .
Most of the players in the current squad were involved in the relegation embarrassment. True , some didn’t play because they weren’t good enough and either got shipped out or dropped.
We looked like getting relegated from February  onwards and I would say we went down with a whimper.
Yes , some players should be better than league 2 but they have so far not shown that tonsny degree . It’s performances not reputations that count .
We will do well to finish mid table .
That said , I would keep Austin.

It's not 'spin'. What I wrote was virtually all fact. Unless you can point out which facts I have got wrong, rather than just dismissing it out of hand? On the other hand I think it's fair to say much of your post is spin.

You say we 'went down with a whimper'. Again, we were mathematically relegated on the last day. See my points about Wigan in my previous post. You can't blame the relegation on all the players in the squad when they only played bit parts. Was it Foley's fault that JFH kept playing the the useless Perreira - who was a winger - in midfield, despite him never tracking back, making a proper tackle or closing players down, when he had Foley available? Can you see how absolutely crazy that was and how massively it handicapped us during that time? Do you think the team might have done better if the manager had shown one shred of tactical nous?

You say the players have not shown they are better than L2. They don't need to show they are better than L2 to achieve better results than what they currently are.

McWilliams, O'Toole, Williams, Waters, Facey, Turnbull, Barnett, Ward, Odoffin, Morias and Powell have hardly played enough minutes so far to be able to show they are better than this division, some have hardly featured at all. If they'd all played 10 full matches each you might have a point, but they haven't.

There seems a tendency by many to write players off pretty quickly. Foley appeared to be mostly dismissed on here, yet his performances have been outstanding since he has come into the side. Remember he only came in after McWilliams was injured. Did Austin not start with him because he 'didn't rate him' the same way that his not picking of others means he 'must not rate them'? I'm convinced Williams and Turnbull would have a similar impact on the team if they were given a decent run of games.

Cornell, Taylor, Buchanan, Crooks, Foley and Hoskins have played the most. Foley is playing very well. Crooks is inconsistent, granted, but has had several very good games so far.

I think I'm right in saying that Cornell, Taylor, Buchanan and Hoskins have all been ever-presents this season. Three of these played regularly last year. IMO it's 3 of these positions that's costing us the most at the moment. Some of these need time on the bench and others now need an opportunity.

Regardless, anything less than a top 7 finish this season with the squad we have would be a gross failure IMO.

[everbrite]

True, add Cornell to the list. That's half the squad at least.

 

[guest2995]

It's not 'spin'. What I wrote was virtually all fact. Unless you can point out which facts I have got wrong, rather than just dismissing it out of hand? On the other hand I think it's fair to say much of your post is spin.

You say we 'went down with a whimper'. Again, we were mathematically relegated on the last day. See my points about Wigan in my previous post. You can't blame the relegation on all the players in the squad when they only played bit parts. Was it Foley's fault that JFH kept playing the the useless Perreira - who was a winger - in midfield, despite him never tracking back, making a proper tackle or closing players down, when he had Foley available? Can you see how absolutely crazy that was and how massively it handicapped us during that time? Do you think the team might have done better if the manager had shown one shred of tactical nous?

You say the players have not shown they are better than L2. They don't need to show they are better than L2 to achieve better results than what they currently are.

McWilliams, O'Toole, Williams, Waters, Facey, Turnbull, Barnett, Ward, Odoffin, Morias and Powell have hardly played enough minutes so far to be able to show they are better than this division, some have hardly featured at all. If they'd all played 10 full matches each you might have a point, but they haven't.

There seems a tendency by many to write players off pretty quickly. Foley appeared to be mostly dismissed on here, yet his performances have been outstanding since he has come into the side. Remember he only came in after McWilliams was injured. Did Austin not start with him because he 'didn't rate him' the same way that his not picking of others means he 'must not rate them'? I'm convinced Williams and Turnbull would have a similar impact on the team if they were given a decent run of games.

Cornell, Taylor, Buchanan, Crooks, Foley and Hoskins have played the most. Foley is playing very well. Crooks is inconsistent, granted, but has had several very good games so far.

I think I'm right in saying that Cornell, Taylor, Buchanan and Hoskins have all been ever-presents this season. Three of these played regularly last year. IMO it's 3 of these positions that's costing us the most at the moment. Some of these need time on the bench and others now need an opportunity.

Regardless, anything less than a top 7 finish this season with the squad we have would be a gross failure IMO.

Yet more spin

[Spinney cobbler]

Meanwhile we can drop to the confrence whilst his learning right??

You are so keen to sack Austin who are you suggesting come in to replace him on the Cobblers manager merry go round, another journeyman who may have do well at some clubs but sacked by other's.If we do go down we could always bring back JED unbeaten and top of the league with Leyton Orient.

[Clarity]

You are so keen to sack Austin who are you suggesting come in to replace him on the Cobblers manager merry go round, another journeyman who may have do well at some clubs but sacked by other's.If we do go down we could always bring back JED unbeaten and top of the league with Leyton Orient.

Mention of spin and you pop up

[Glastonbury Cobbler]

You are so keen to sack Austin who are you suggesting come in to replace him on the Cobblers manager merry go round, another journeyman who may have do well at some clubs but sacked by other's.If we do go down we could always bring back JED unbeaten and top of the league with Leyton Orient.

Gary Bowyer without question

[Spinney cobbler]

Gary Bowyer without question

Not a bad shout although did he not leave Blackpool to spend more time with his family.

[MCHammer]

I still think there is a lot to like about Austin.  He's getting some stuff wrong but I think even that is coming from a place where he is maybe trying too hard and cares too much.

He's under immense pressure and that is showing in the performances and his reactions on the sideline and post match.  But who can blame him.  I don't think the fans are helping in anyway to relieve that pressure and in some instances are making it worse.

I like that he's approached things in a positive mindset and he clearly still has the players support currently.  I don't believe for one minute he had the freedom to change the squad in the way some suggest during the summer.  Crooks, Van Veen, Waters and others in my mind would have gone if suitable offers hadn't been made and that would have given him massive freedom to balance the squad.  As it was those players stayed and i think he's done a good job turning round people like Van Veen who could have easily been a very expensive sulker in the reserves.

His hands have been tied and publicly he he just has to put on positive spin on it because anything else just sounds like excuses.

I definitely think this is an occasion where we all have to be patient suck it up, support the team and if we can just get a couple of results and the pressure releases we will really start to move forward.

[everbrite]

I still think there is a lot to like about Austin.  He's getting some stuff wrong but I think even that is coming from a place where he is maybe trying too hard and cares too much.

He's under immense pressure and that is showing in the performances and his reactions on the sideline and post match.  But who can blame him.  I don't think the fans are helping in anyway to relieve that pressure and in some instances are making it worse.

I like that he's approached things in a positive mindset and he clearly still has the players support currently.  I don't believe for one minute he had the freedom to change the squad in the way some suggest during the summer.  Crooks, Van Veen, Waters and others in my mind would have gone if suitable offers hadn't been made and that would have given him massive freedom to balance the squad.  As it was those players stayed and i think he's done a good job turning round people like Van Veen who could have easily been a very expensive sulker in the reserves.

His hands have been tied and publicly he he just has to put on positive spin on it because anything else just sounds like excuses.

I definitely think this is an occasion where we all have to be patient suck it up, support the team and if we can just get a couple of results and the pressure releases we will really start to move forward.

Well MCH, just what Dave Savage suggested.

[Manwork04]

Austin unfortunately isn't going to last the season, we've won one game this season out of nine, if KT was still interested and not selling the club he'd be gone and everybody knows it.
We will lose to Mansfield this week and I think the MK game will be his last with the cobblers crowd finally turning against him.
We are one of the bigger clubs in this division defiantly in terms of budget and attendance, there is no way we should be worried about relegation.
A more experienced manager would make a difference in terms of motivation and set up.

[ClarenceInDefence]

Yet more spin

I think you're confused. What am I supposed to be spinning? This is the 'Austin in' thread. My facts and observations don't look good on Austin.

I've pretty much proved that either very little or no blame can be laid at very many of the individual players in the current squad for last years relegation.

We had three managers last year who more or less had their own ideas. JED bought in several players and when JFH came in he chose not to use them very frequently if at all. He bought in numerous players in January and many players continued not to get a decent run of matches because of this.

Partly because of this turnover in managers we also had a massive turnover of players which was disastrous.

Ward, Cornell, Odoffin, Facey, Pierre, Turnbull, Foley, Bridge, Bowditch, Van Veen, Morias, Williams and Waters have played either no or no truly significant part in our relegation. That's 13 players of the current squad of which Pierre made the most starts (19) and he was out injured for the season in November.

One example. Barnett was bought in by JED and ended up making only 13 starts. What impact can you expect a player to have when he only start a mere 13 matches over the course of a full season under three different managers? If he had played 30 odd games in a settled defence under one manager then you may have a point.

[Glastonbury Cobbler]

Not a bad shout although did he not leave Blackpool to spend more time with his family.

Not sure the exact reason.  But he has been there and done it in this division. Keep blackpool up against the odds. Lots of expirance of working in difficult situations. Other than the reason for leaving blackpool he ticks all tge boxes

[Glastonbury Cobbler]

I still think there is a lot to like about Austin.  He's getting some stuff wrong but I think even that is coming from a place where he is maybe trying too hard and cares too much.

He's under immense pressure and that is showing in the performances and his reactions on the sideline and post match.  But who can blame him.  I don't think the fans are helping in anyway to relieve that pressure and in some instances are making it worse.

I like that he's approached things in a positive mindset and he clearly still has the players support currently.  I don't believe for one minute he had the freedom to change the squad in the way some suggest during the summer.  Crooks, Van Veen, Waters and others in my mind would have gone if suitable offers hadn't been made and that would have given him massive freedom to balance the squad.  As it was those players stayed and i think he's done a good job turning round people like Van Veen who could have easily been a very expensive sulker in the reserves.

His hands have been tied and publicly he he just has to put on positive spin on it because anything else just sounds like excuses.

I definitely think this is an occasion where we all have to be patient suck it up, support the team and if we can just get a couple of results and the pressure releases we will really start to move forward.

What exactly is his getting right then? I'm only intrested as I reckon in my opinion you could count it on 1 finger!

[Glastonbury Cobbler]

Austin unfortunately isn't going to last the season, we've won one game this season out of nine, if KT was still interested and not selling the club he'd be gone and everybody knows it.
We will lose to Mansfield this week and I think the MK game will be his last with the cobblers crowd finally turning against him.
We are one of the bigger clubs in this division defiantly in terms of budget and attendance, there is no way we should be worried about relegation.
A more experienced manager would make a difference in terms of motivation and set up.

Spot on assessment with where I see things MW

[ClarenceInDefence]

Yet more spin

This squad of players got relegated with ease and that included Long , Grimes and ODonnell.
We are some distance from finishing top half never mind top 7 at the moment.

Only 5 members of the current squad played 20 or more games last season. One of those is Powell who started 21. Buchanan, Taylor, O'Toole and Crooks are the others. Even O'Toole started in just over half the league matches. I've already called for the dropping of Buchanan and Taylor who played more games than any of the current squad.

My current 18 would be (last seasons starts in brackets):

Cornell (6)

Pierre (19 - was injured in November)
Turnbull (14)
Facey (13)
Barnett (13)

O'Toole (25)
Foley (15)
McWilliams (15)

Van Veen (6 - while carrying an injury)
Williams (0)
Morias (0)

SUBS:

Taylor (45), Crooks (29), Waters (9), Bowditch (3), Bridge (1), Odoffin (0), Ward (0)

That's leaves 4 in the 18 and only 2 in the XI who started in more than a third of the league matches last season.

3 of those 4 (Crooks, Pierre, JJOT) have made the L2 team in the year in the last 2-3 years.

9 of the 18 either weren't at the club or made less than 10 starts.

[Charlatan]

I still think there is a lot to like about Austin.  He's getting some stuff wrong but I think even that is coming from a place where he is maybe trying too hard and cares too much.

He's under immense pressure and that is showing in the performances and his reactions on the sideline and post match.  But who can blame him.  I don't think the fans are helping in anyway to relieve that pressure and in some instances are making it worse.

I like that he's approached things in a positive mindset and he clearly still has the players support currently.  I don't believe for one minute he had the freedom to change the squad in the way some suggest during the summer.  Crooks, Van Veen, Waters and others in my mind would have gone if suitable offers hadn't been made and that would have given him massive freedom to balance the squad.  As it was those players stayed and i think he's done a good job turning round people like Van Veen who could have easily been a very expensive sulker in the reserve

His hands have been tied and publicly he he just has to put on positive spin on it because anything else just sounds like excuses.

I definitely think this is an occasion where we all have to be patient suck it up, support the team and if we can just get a couple of results and the pressure releases we will really start to move forward.

Good post MC

[Winslow Lee]

Someone else who doesn't read my post correctly. I am not comparing their league points/position to ours. What I am saying is at the moment his team are not pulling up any trees in league 2 (mid-table) and with their budget and excellent manager (according to some on here) maybe they should be doing a lot better.   

At half time they are winning their game in hand and as it stands a result that takes them up to 5th

[guest2677]

Only 5 members of the current squad played 20 or more games last season. One of those is Powell who started 21. Buchanan, Taylor, O'Toole and Crooks are the others. Even O'Toole started in just over half the league matches. I've already called for the dropping of Buchanan and Taylor who played more games than any of the current squad.

My current 18 would be (last seasons starts in brackets):

Cornell (6)

Pierre (19 - was injured in November)
Turnbull (14)
Facey (13)
Barnett (13)

O'Toole (25)
Foley (15)
McWilliams (15)

Van Veen (6 - while carrying an injury)
Williams (0)
Morias (0)

SUBS:

Taylor (45), Crooks (29), Waters (9), Bowditch (3), Bridge (1), Odoffin (0), Ward (0)

That's leaves 4 in the 18 and only 2 in the XI who started in more than a third of the league matches last season.

3 of those 4 (Crooks, Pierre, JJOT) have made the L2 team in the year in the last 2-3 years.

9 of the 18 either weren't at the club or made less than 10 starts.

We only had nine players who made twenty starts or more last season, but we did have thirty seven who made at least one league start.
Does that constitute a squad or just a bunch of strangers?!