The problem is................

[everbrite]

..that we are losing too many games against (rightly or wrongly) as what is perceived as inferior opponents. Macclesfield is a classic example, with gates of sub 2000 and with a smaller player budget. Our next home game against similar "lowly" opposition fills me with a fair amount of apprehension. I hope the proposed 2 loan signings are good 'uns and not the dross we have become accustomed too.

[defender]

Quite right, we are loosing to teams that use long ball tactics, because we cant defend against that type of play, why not, it's because Johnson thinks he is a premier div. manager, We will not get out of this, unless  he excepts this fact. This Mr Johnson this is the basement, you would do well to remember that.

[The 12th Marquis of Sixfields]

I thought he was our manager? And therefore responsible for stuff like how we play

[defender]

I thought he was our manager? And therefore responsible for stuff like how we play

           Well said, Marquis.

[Trotty]

This is one area (defending the long ball) where perhaps we’ve been okay. As far as I can see the problems are more down to understanding. That is understanding of each other and understanding what the manager is expecting of them. We lost on Saturday because we constantly gave them the ball back all over the pitch.

[TheEdgeyMole]

This is one area (defending the long ball) where perhaps we’ve been okay. As far as I can see the problems are more down to understanding. That is understanding of each other and understanding what the manager is expecting of them. We lost on Saturday because we constantly gave them the ball back all over the pitch.

Which is ironic because GJ said he wanted us to play like Barcelona and demoralise teams by keeping the ball.

[nathan r]

the problem is.........expectation levels are too high.  

We've been a bottom half league two club for the last 2 season's now, I think we have a better attacking squad this year but the defence isn't as good as previous seasons.

In summary nothing has changed, we're not better, we're not any worse, we're just a different type of team with a different type of manager in the same position.

[The 12th Marquis of Sixfields]

 Whose fault are raised expectation levels?
Keeps coming back to the same person doesn't it?

[sven]

not saying its right ...... but he's gotta sell his season tickets somehow. By being honest and saying we'll be looking to stabilise and finish mid table this season and then push for promotion next season isn't going to shift many tickets this season. I agree with Nathan, its expectation thats killing us and it has been for a while.

[Sancho Panzer]

Where there is hope there is life.

[LondonRoad]

Whose fault are raised expectation levels?
Keeps coming back to the same person doesn't it?

He does have previous in this respect too. Kept telling us that teams we should be beating eg Brighton were 'our cup final' and building everyones expectations only to go and lose 3 nil on match day. He builds expectations but then struggles to get the team to realise them, a really bizarre management strategy. The opposite has worked wonders for us under Ferguson - we now play everything down and raise to the occasion although I admit it is hard to play anything down in your situation, I mean how much lower can you get?

As soon as our striker Hibbert is fit he will be heading your way on loan I should think, another Johnson babe. This is actually a shame as he did show some potential but Championship is likely beyond him and as he was a Johnson signing i would imagine will be shown the door by Fergie Jnr. He could easily do a job at your level though.

Jacobs to us in january as part exchange possibly? 

[ArmchairCobbler]

He does have previous in this respect too. Kept telling us that teams we should be beating eg Brighton were 'our cup final' and building everyones expectations only to go and lose 3 nil on match day. He builds expectations but then struggles to get the team to realise them, a really bizarre management strategy. The opposite has worked wonders for us under Ferguson - we now play everything down and raise to the occasion although I admit it is hard to play anything down in your situation, I mean how much lower can you get?

As soon as our striker Hibbert is fit he will be heading your way on loan I should think, another Johnson babe. This is actually a shame as he did show some potential but Championship is likely beyond him and as he was a Johnson signing i would imagine will be shown the door by Fergie Jnr. He could easily do a job at your level though.

Jacobs to us in january as part exchange possibly? 

Nice one. It'll make it all the better when you fall flat on your arses in a couple of years 

[SteveRiches]

The problem is that less-well-funded clubs with average squads are making us look poor when actually we should be making THEM look silly! There is still time to rectify this, of course, but at the moment we are largely a shambles. If Johnson can rectify this in the next month or so then all the moaning will be forgotten as we climb the table, however if he doesn't, then he'll have to fall on his sword or be sacked. Or, of course, Cardoza could just stick with him in a way he has never done with any previous manager. Too early to tell, but it isn't looking good for us if we analyse Johnson's success rate since he arrived. It's in all our interests that he gets it sorted, if he sinks we all sink.

[Gonzales]

The problem is that we're not as good as we think we are. There are fans on here who believe that we should be in League One and that this league is beneath us, but infact I think that we're probably about mid-table quality, as has been supported by our league positions for a few seasons. If we think that we should be walking into places and easily getting 3 points then that's where complacency comes in and makes us lose. If we have respect for our opponents and stop thinking that everyone else is crap except us then we'll probably start to do better.

[The 12th Marquis of Sixfields]

If we think that we should be walking into places and easily getting 3 points then that's where complacency comes in and makes us lose. If we have respect for our opponents and stop thinking that everyone else is crap except us then we'll probably start to do better.

let the players know this please because it means fuck all what the fans think.

[Gonzales]

let the players know this please because it means fuck all what the fans think.

That depends on if you think the players read this site or not. If they don't look on here then you are obviously correct, but if they do read this site then  if there are people on here saying we will walk this league then for some players it will inflate their ego and make them either complacent or cocky. That then leads to us not playing to our best and therefore losing.

[cricketside]

Tell me - please - that you don't really think players might be influenced by loonies saying that we'll walk the league.

The only thing it might do is make other teams' supporters laugh at us!

[Gonzales]

Well I think the main factor is poor player recruitment and having too large a squad, but I think that we may well have a small impact.

What doesn't help at all is the chron hyping us up every year. This raises fan expectations and therefore after one game we're all on the manager's back. Perhaps I should've said that the chron was to blame as it is certainly a factor

[GrangeParkCobbler]

Was it the Chron who made up the "5 year plan" then?? Was it the Chron that said we want to be in the Championship? Was it the Chron who said we were too good to go down, or the Chron once we had gone down who said we must bounce straight back? Is it the Chron who make up lines which say we've been given the budget for promotion?
As someone else said on another thread these things are said every single summer....mainly in a bid to boost season ticket sales. If the chairman or the manager are coming out with such soundbites then the Chron will report them!
"The problem now is" that these same lines are trotted out every year and yet expectations are not realised!

[St Edmundsbury Cobbler]

The target laid out by David Cardoza to Gary Johnson for THIS season is promotion. NOT next season or the season after, its THIS season.

That's why he sacked Sammo and recruited the experienced Gary Johnson when he did last season, so he had time to evaluate last seasons squad and start planning early for this seasons promotion push.

The expectations we raised by him and Gary Johnson, the promise of attacking entertaining football was used to try and woo Rushden & Diamonds season ticket holders to Sixfields were laid out by these two men. NOT the Chron, NOT the fans but by the owner and manager.