The Number 1 Reason we are playing so badly. Inexperience.

[portugull]

After just 7 games it is an absolute miracle that we have 13 points from a possible 21.
Our saviour has been Mark Halstead at 32 our oldest and most experienced player in yesterdays starting eleven.
The average age of our 10 outfield players was 23.9 years. Our back 4 of Craske, Marshall, Tomlinson and Martin averaged just 21.7 years of age.
Between them they have played on average about 50 games each in Pro Football mostly at very low levels like Plymouth Parkway and Tiverton.

The midfield was Stobbs 75 games, 40 for Oldham, Lapslie 225 games under his belt with ove 150 for Colchester, Donnellan 200 games and DeSilva age 21 and 25 games.

With the youth of the back 4 and without any ball winners in the middle of the park it is a tribute to Halstead we have conceded just 10 goals in 7 games.

Aaron Jarvis 180 games and Brad Ash must be in dispair at the lack of service from their colleagues who resort to hoof ball just to get it up the park only for the ball to come straight back.

In my opinion and I have only been to the Home Games we are lacking experience and we need to think how can we change our set up of the team to make us more competitive in what appears to be a very poor league judging by the results of the first 7 games.

Last season we got things together finally and were unbeaten in 8. It only takes 2 or 3 additions to transform the side and I suspect September will be pivotal to our season.

[portugull]

I should add I do think Tom Lapslie is a ball winner but he cannot succeed on his own.

[brucie]

The defence is awful. There are a few problems with the team but this is the number 1 issue. Johnson needs a whole new back four. None of those who played yesterday are anywhere near good enough.

[jono_Gull209]

Disagree, they have zero protection from midfield.

[culmstockgull]

Regardless of the games played by the four mentioned midfielders, stobbs is a winger, donnellan even by his own bio is a centreback, de silva out and out winger, i am not surprised the defence is getting no protection, with the exception of lapslie they are not midfielders, each role in a football eleven comes with its own skill specifics, goalies do not wander onto the right wing, centre forwards do not find themselves at left back, the more intelligent of player will pick up a new skill set in time but will eventually usually under stress revert to their positional default setting.
Because of injuries we have no choice but to play people out of position. find themselves
Regardless our back four is the weakest/least experienced/least able I have seen for three seasons. Do they receive role senstive coaching as opposed to throwing some high balls up to them ten minutes before a match starts.

[Dave]

Inexperience isn't the number 1 reason why we're seeing our team play badly, I think it's a small part of what could be the reason, there is little or no balance between the senior players all in their late 30's and younger players which doesn't help.

Also in part down to set-up, we're tier 6 , we have simple footballers, play them to their strengths , put square pegs in square holes. Worthing was a prime example, we're playing 3 at the back, we have no pace in midfield yet are pushing numbers forward, Worthing's no 8 took an advanced position in the centre of midfield knowing our midfield wouldn't get back, and had 2 wide players Felix on one side, and forgive don't know the name of the other, they were able to pick us off at will.

Take a look back at the video, if we've got a flat right back, the cross for their first goal doesn't even get delivered, agree about the midfield, there's no pace there, and in defence with the players we have, it must be a back 4, we don't have Wynter and Davis to allow a back 3.

[portugull]

Dave there are only 2 players in their late thirties Asa Hall injured and Dean Moxey who I hope will play on Tuesday night.

Dawson is 33 and Halstead is 32. Nobody else is over 30.

As culmstockgull says Stobbs and De Silva are wingers not midfielders.

I really feel Gary Johnson should give an honest interview to explain clearly why with all his experience we have started the season with a very youthful back four and one midfielder based on our starting 11 at Aveley.

He will say I hoped Hall and Moxey would not be injured, he knew Dawson was out for months,but he still has not addressed the issue. He is like our politicians, do anything you can to NOT answer the question!

Come on Gary lets be hearing from you please.

[UnitedinDevon]

More excuses to cover the blinding obvious

GJs squad
Budget blown
his tactics
his training
relegation back to the 6th tier
7 crap performances to start the season

Get him gone

[brucie]

Is Johnson ever going to give an honest interview - thats never going to happen. Why did he sign Dawson. This player didnt pick up this injury in pre season. He had this injury before pre season started.

Therefore he must have been signed on a contract when he needed an operation. Apparently he is at least 6 weeks away from returning + however long it takes for him to get fit. What a ludicous waste of the budget.

[desperado]

The most concerning thing apart from the fact we have been well below par in every game, is the fact that we have conceded in every match
11 in total in 7 matches ! Simply not good enough for a team who has intentions of winning the league.
A fit Hall, Dawson and Moxey and it's a different team but they will never all play together for many matches. Moxey is needed in central defence, Craske and Martin look good on the ball and going forward with pace but those are their strengths and defensively they are not great.

[SuperNickyWroe]

The most concerning thing apart from the fact we have been well below par in every game, is the fact that we have conceded in every match
11 in total in 7 matches ! Simply not good enough for a team who has intentions of winning the league.
A fit Hall, Dawson and Moxey and it's a different team but they will never all play together for many matches. Moxey is needed in central defence, Craske and Martin look good on the ball and going forward with pace but those are their strengths and defensively they are not great.

Not quite, but I get your point.
What a difference those three would make if/when fit and playing in the same team.
We saw it towards the end of last season and it nearly got us out of the mire.

[Taelee73]

As I've previously said, it's not just Hall, Moxey and Dawson we're missing. The loss of Nicho and Nouble as well has hurt us.
So we are 5 players down on the team that played well the last 10 games not 3.

[happytorq]

The most concerning thing apart from the fact we have been well below par in every game, is the fact that we have conceded in every match

well, except for the one we haven't conceded in.