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DB57 wrote: ↑13 Aug 2023, 08:28 It'd be interesting to hear your justification of your belief that Johnson is the man and that we are heading for promotion.

He’s fishing

My only gripe is the way the referee let all that man handling, bear hugging, shirt pulling by that wrestler at centre back on Jarvis go.
It was laughable. Once it happened once or twice he just carried on because he knew he was getting away with it
On another issue how on earth does Johnson think he can get away with playing a back three of Donnellan, Tomlinson and Craske ?
Be better off playing Moxey and Hall there.

Admiral wrote: ↑13 Aug 2023, 08:33 He’s fishing

Fair enough - I'll consider myself hooked

Why buy De Silva if he's not going to get more than 15 minutes?
He didn't get much of the ball but in the last few minutes beat his man and got a cross in two or three times. We needed that all game (amongst many other things!).

99% percent of the problem yesterday was the non existent midfield, they simply cannot run. Lapslie and Dawson both out, two games in. Absolute shambles.

Didnt go but listened on the radio. Feared the worst with the team sheets and the lightweight midfield. Sounded awful on TUFC radio and the co commentator could barely bring himself to comment come the last 10 mins such was the abject display in front of him. If you know you are missing some key players (Lapslie) why play the same way in the hope it will turn out ok. We miss Lapslie, Dawson and a CB or defensive shape suitable to the personnel. You cant blame him for injuries (although we seem to have a few early on in recent seasons) but you can blame Johnson for the tactics with the players available.
I am going Tuesday (largely because i already bought my ticket) but i fear the worst again based on what we have available, so soon at the beginning of the season (AGAIN!) and the arrogant tactics being employed. We shall see!

Embarrassing, quite simply no other words for it. My family and myself made the 380 miles round trip from Worthing, to support the team we love, follow and support. Having returned home, my phone was full of messages from my mates taking the pi$$, now to keep my head down for a week.

We were embarrassed by Collage Academy Players, part time players and a coaching team paid per hour.

Skillsy wrote: ↑13 Aug 2023, 02:29 Two poor performances, agreed. But so easy to pick fault and it worries me how eager people seem to be to be to criticise. I firmly believe Johnson is the man, and at the end of the season we will go up.
Mr Johnson, if you read this then please ignore all the nonsense. A resounding win on Tuesday and it will all go quiet, such is the fickle nature of football fans. If we are nowhere at Christmas it may well be the time to go, but until then please keep the faith.

is this SG alt account?

Complete nonsense

Can we please have a wrestler at centre half with man handling, bear hugging and shirt pulling?

Just as an aside, terrible performance and all that but have you ever seen officiating like that ?

Skillsy - you really must give up smoking the crack, its a bad habit you know. Presumably you are winding everyone up.

God forbid you are serious but in the likely event that you are, then you are part of the problem. What exactly is ridiculous about accepting a management team that is taking the supporters as mugs.

You are right though - players havnt become useless overnight. The likes of Mcgavin ,Hanson have been useless ever since they got here. We are in a part time league FFS wake up. You are in denial.

Nick Potkins wrote: ↑13 Aug 2023, 11:16 ...we were embarrassed by Collage Academy Players, part time players and a coaching team paid per hour.

Sorry, I simply can't just let that hang in the wind.

I appreciate the sentiment you are trying to convey with that remark (ie it was meant as a jibe towards Torquay not Worthing) but living so close to the 'enemy' your reconnaissance should be waaay better than that.

There were no "Academy players" on the pitch. There were former Academy players who have been brought through the age groups schooled in the system and tempo we play that runs right the club . The set-up has taken years to bear fruit and with players brought through from our Academy now playing in every league from the Championship down its the envy of most clubs at this level, and above... it should not be glibly tossed about as a jibe.

Yes we have some part time players but you could also say we are semi-pro. A group does train in the week as we enter year two of our three year plan to go fully pro. Again, to suggest we're a 'bunch of amateurs' is disingenuous.

Coaches. One that I know of, two that might be
PPH, on the specialism side, but the main coaching core are contracted full time professionals.

So yes, I get your yellow focused aim with that but no, to a greater or lesser degree all of that is wrong. We are a club doing well but its taken over five years of hard graft to get us where we are now so comparisons with some sort of thrown together pub team are massively wide of the mark.

Its an interesting dilemma innit... were you to embrace the same organic growth model/ethos and build from an Academy with a single focus of producing and developing your own players playing an attractive, attacking and passing game it would undoubtedly yield fruit...

...but could your club, your fans, be patient enough to stomach a five year+ project?

I suspect the answer is empatically no. Because from the outside you appear to still be in a football league mindset, a mindset that requires almost instant gratification. Its born out for me by your pre-season, every one an EFL club.

You're not in the league though, you'd have been better served spending the summer properly understanding the level you are at, not the level you aspire to. You have now fallen to regional non-league football, what is your plan for getting out of it? More ex EFL players, more EFL loanees?

Some hard truths need to be learnt at Plainmoor and some hard choices need to be made, getting out of this league either ain't cheap or ain't easy. Either spend a fortune (Ebbsfleet) or understand where you are and work bloody hard.

Its not just gonna happen... and its not simply about changing a manager. Changing your mindset and getting everyone on board with it, that's the challenge I feel. I really don't envy it.

6667GULL wrote: ↑13 Aug 2023, 11:47 Can we please have a wrestler at centre half with man handling, bear hugging and shirt pulling?

Well we don’t want the return of Ross Marshall , things are bad enough as they are.

I did not waste my energy calling for Johnsons head after yesterday, although along with many others it would have been justified, whats the point, we are saddled with him for bad or even worse. How many times have we said on here that you can only play three at the back under two circumstances, one, the back three, are experienced and mobile, the wing backs should be just that wing backs with the certificate to prove it, not some inside forward or out and out wingers that we try and shoe horn into those positions. Johnson on past seasons will brook no arguement that his tactics are in anyway defective, its the players, the ref, the wind, the rain, but not me. So listening to his post match comments when he said we all had a frank talk and everyone had their say, wow betide anymore who has the balls to call out Johnson for his inept tactics, we will never see them again.
On paper we have a squad of 20, take away lovett, then take away dawson,lapslie, kraske who was strapped up last night, Moxey who definetely did his knee again and we have 15 available, will jenkins davies in the middle was the sacrificial lamb yesterday and will take months for the mauling he received to become a bad memory, crowe and marshall will only see the first eleven if hell freezes over, and if they play tuesday night you know the barrel has been well and truly scraped, can they be any worse than donnellan and Tomlinson, doubtful, but on past showings I am sure they will prove me wrong.
A crowd 2700 yesterday was more that I hoped for but showed that our resilient fans still believe in the club , new beginnings and all that, maybe Dover was a first day bump in the road, come tuesday and I doubt 1700 will make it to the game, tuesdays always have a reduced appeal but that is roughly 15000 pounds in lost revenue, that loss of the bottom line is the only way the club will sanction getting rid of Johnson.

Some loan signings urgently needed as well as a change of formation based on our first 2 games. 1 CB, 1CM and 1 striker as a minimum.

Saturday wasn't an unlucky 1-0 defeat, and being the 1st home game of the season was a shop window for future ticket sales.

Hard to believe we'd actually welcome the return of someone like Omar, Ellis or even Niate, at least they showed some form of ability at the back.