Shrimpsvoices

Not easy but here goes

Must wins

Doncaster (H)
Gillingham (H)
Bolton (H)
Cheltenham (H)
Burton (H)

then

win 4 and draw 3 out of

Wimbledon (A)
Lincoln (A)
Shrewsbury (A)
Cambridge (A)
Bolton (A)
Accy (A)
Ipswich (H)

Can't see us getting much from the rest but then there's always likely to be a surprise result from somewhere.

Basically looking at play off form throughout the second half of the season. Tough tough ask but then the same goes for at least 5 other teams around us.

Unfortunately, Crewe & Fleetwood were 'must win games'.

There is now a mini-league of relegation sides. A couple more may get sucked in (Cambridge & Cheltenham). Shrewsbury, Bolton, Wimbledon & Burton Albion are probably all going to be okay.

The way we're playing, at less than a point per game, it will take eight games just to catch Cheltenham, so they may already have enough of a gap?

We've just played two 'six pointers' and failed dismally. Sunday is our third. If Doncaster, with a new manager, roll us over, then we're in real problems.

Fifty points isn't always enough to stop in League One.

'How are we going to get to 51 points and stay up'?
Good recruitment in January. What we currently have won't do it, either not good enough or don't want it enough.

Yet, a Director said last night it's too early to panic, I would have pressed the button a month ago.
Maybe there is something up his sleeve

The director is correct it`s far too early to panic (only half way through the season)

Last season Bolton were 18th in league 2 at xmas and ended up getting promoted (not saying we will do that but football changes on a daily basis - let`s just see what happens)

I personally think Robbo is the right man even if we go down

KEEP THE FAITH

The future of Stockton is a big factor in reaching over 50 points.

Do we sell in January and hope Martin Foyle can find a replacement goal-scorer ?

Or keep him till Summer and hope he continues scoring enough goals to get us 31+ points ?

marky No.1 wrote:Yet, a Director said last night it's too early to panic, I would have pressed the button a month ago.
Maybe there is something up his sleeve

If you'd pressed the button a month ago and I'd have thought you were a nervous wreck. Now you're still a nervous wreck but maybe you have reason to be.

Let's see who comes and goes in January then we can all shout 'Don't panic Mr Mannering!"

If we’d signed a Goalkeeper with L1 experience at the start of the season i honestly think we’d be like 6 points better off, and not in the drop zone.

I actually agree with John, Bolton were clever and played the loan market superbly and signed 6 players in January and went from 18th to 3rd.
We could sign a few and easily get mid table, hopefully!!!

Freez wrote:I actually agree with John, Bolton were clever and played the loan market superbly and signed 6 players in January and went from 18th to 3rd.
We could sign a few and easily get mid table, hopefully!!!

It's certainly our time to improve... Charlton, Ipswich, Shrewsbury, Fleetwood and now Crewe have all improved just hope Doncaster dont start on Sunday...

Ha ha Mr Morse

I have calmed down since Crewe..... there is no way we are getting anywhere near 50 points with the current squad - we just lost to bottom of the league, and barely laid a glove on Fleetwood in the game prior to that through fear of losing. Every area of the team needs improving. If you can't see this, then I am sorry but you are in compete denial - the manager pretty much acknowledges this himself. I don't care if we were 2 points above the drop or even if we somehow beat Doncaster - this team is going one way atm, and has been for the last 2 months. I hope I am wrong, and will continue my support of the lads - but I'm not going to sit here like a fool and say things like 'we are not far away', 'keep the (blind) faith', or 'fine dividing lines' when it is far from true.

Recruitment has been an absolute shambles - and I don't have much confidence based on the signings to date that it will improve, but I think the manager at least deserves the opportunity to fix this and should be backed with funds to buy players in this window to at least give us a chance. I do have massive sympathy with Stephen Robinson given the time he had available to put a team together, but he was aware of the situation before he accepted the position and has to own the decisions he made over signings.

I look at somebody like Wes McDonald (2 year deal) and shake my head in utter disbelief - and our squad is full of jokers like that who urgently need to stand up and be counted for the sake of their own football career. There are not many stops in professional football after Morecambe FC. We represent a fantastic opportunity to learn, develop and progress - and from the outside the work ethic shown by too many indicates a lack of effort in addition to limited ability in some cases. Contrast that to last seasons squad - a team full of winners. Mensah FFS - what is the actual point of his signing?!? We have 2 fit CB, want to play a shape that requires 3 of them, so shift our best player to RB (he can do a job here, but it negates his effectiveness) so that we can fit two other full-backs into the middle of the defence and still leave Mensah on the bench. When is he ever going to play if he does feature in the current circumstances? How will he ever improve if he never plays? I don't have the answers - but somebody needs to start making sense of the questions! If you don't have 3 fit CB, don't play a back 5 against the worst team in the league at home and let them come on to you. Square pegs in round holes, papering over the cracks, etc. etc.

We are largely dependant on young unproven loanees - we need to send some back before we can have anymore, hence why McPake (never given a go, again a waste of time signing) will soon depart. We need to spend some money on experienced pros IMO, preferably with leadership qualities. This won't be cheap - but we need to have an eye on next season anyway. Robbo notes these missing qualities himself interview after interview, yet leaves our most experienced player on the bench - baffling! Our heads drop too easily, and we lack personality on the ball.

Show us something lads - give us something to cheer. UTFS

Happy New Year btw!

Excellent assessment by RRW especially concerning Mensah who should have been given a chance to see if the has the potential needed but it appears that for some reason only known to the manager that Mensah is not to be given a chance given the suggested new import for the centre back position.

McDonald or Fairy Feet as I prefer to call him was a failure at Walsall on too many occasions and yet we give him a 2 year deal probably on better terms than at Walsall...what a complete waste of money..... and he's not the only one I suspect on a 2 year deal who it will be difficult to off load....

With any new signings being unable to play until January 4th due to EFL logic then v Donny we will have to struggle with what we have.

On McDonald - he's struggled massively, but the amount of grief he gets is incredibly unfair.

He's worked hard to do his pressing jobs and track back in most games. Doing step-overs when he has the ball doesn't automatically make him a lazy player. It's just his style of play and the tricks he uses to try and beat a man.

Has been particularly successful at beating his man in League One? No. It's clear he's not been able to make the jump in terms of quality. It's a shame and frustrating, but I can forgive a player for trying and not quite being good enough.

Like many of our signings, he was a gamble. He had a good first season with Walsall, but then blew hot and cold last season (although some of his underlying dribbling numbers were pretty good still). We have to try and unearth players that maybe have potential they haven't quite reached, or have some undervalued skills that aren't quite being properly harnessed etc. Some will be a success, some won't work out. McDonald seems to be the latter unfortunately. Can't say I'd be sorry to see him leave, but the hate he gets is unfair.

The abuse some of the players are getting is shocking ... When i went to Portsmouth a couple of weeks ago Jonah Ayunga was getting slated every time he got near the ball which is totally wrong

Personally abusing players is not going to help our situation not one bit and if it continues we won`t have any chance of staying in the division

PLEASE PLEASE SUPPORT THE PLAYERS / MANAGEMENT (it`s our first year in league 1 and the highest the club as ever been)

I don`t like us losing but i will back any player that wears a Morecambe badge on his shirt

Not that long ago VADAINE OLIVER got slagged off week in week out - he left and has certainly improved !!

YOU DONT NEED TO PUT THINGS IN CAPITAL LETTERS FOR EMPHASIS.

Let’s be clear and address a couple of things here, players are getting a good backing throughout the 90mins - that’s generally always been the case apart from very rare exceptions like shithouse Capaldi, and the players have publicly acknowledged the good support. So that argument is just plain bullshit that nobody should swallow, or worse still suggest that the atmosphere is shockingly abusive towards the players. There might be the odd grumble over repetitive errors, chuntering towards the end when things aren’t going well, and even boos at full time when it’s absolutely deserved - but this is very tame in comparison to 99% of clubs in the EFL…. We are a very fair set of supporters IMO, to the point that we let conmen sleep in the boardroom and drop them back at Lancaster train station afterwards…. But that blind, fanatical support does not need to extend beyond the confines of the ground and on unofficial supporters messagebords like this, and nor should it.

We’re discussing our own opinions about the team and individual events/players in a light hearted way - not fabricating smoke to blow up people’s arses for the sake of it. The example of Oliver proves my point - he was terrible for us, because he was often isolated in my opinion, but was always given backing on the terraces. Yes on places like here people didn’t rate him very highly and expressed it as much - but can you blame them given his goal output at the time? I think it was when he messed up an open goal trying to Cruyff turn it into the net that did it for me. There’s a difference, and some people need to appreciate that clearly!

I wish McDonald nothing but success - it would be mutually beneficial if he could learn to trap the ball without taking it out of play, show some awareness of space, run into space, run in general, occasionally use his non-dominate foot to make himself less one dimensional, look interested. I don’t think I’m asking for a lot really from a professional football player at any level. We’ve seen glimpses but not enough to warrant giving him a 2 year deal at this stage. He’s not alone by any means… until recently I would’ve advocated sending Phillips back to Burnley also (on the loan deadline day obviously). It won’t stop me supporting their efforts during 90 mins should he be selected to wear the Morecambe red again, but in the same breathe excuse people for formulating their own opinion based on what they see with their own eyes, and leaving the meaningless platitudes to the clubs expanding media department. It’s not unfair to say that some of these players need to get better, very quickly. In that sense, I’m being incredibly fair if not a little bit blunt.

other clubs pick up little gems in non league and they more than hold their own - why can't we ?

well we do have Mensah !!

sandgrown wrote:other clubs pick up little gems in non league and they more than hold their own - why can't we ?

well we do have Mensah !!

Well, for starters, Stephen Robinson had about three weeks, in closed season, to assemble almost an entire squad, from scratch. Not much time to go scouting for non-league players too!

Give him time.

The difference is now we have got Martin Foyle

Let the club do it’s player recruitment when it’s ready it’s only 1st day of Jan

It’s only a rumour but I’ve heard two new players signed already but let’s see