Matt Taylor - 2 Years As ECFC Manager...

[ExmouthMart]

Slightly ironic that for a number of months we stayed on the edge of the playoffs not by our own efforts but due to the failings of others but today when it mattered most everyone of those under performers came up with the goods.

Bottom line to take only 17 points from the possible 42 available is atrocious, clear evidence that we are not good enough and certainly did not deserve a place in the playoffs.

Is the correct answer! All the people on here saying top three next season are in cuckoo land. It will be more of the same. Inconsistent displays with the odd unexpected result. Taylor already saying no big changes. So the rumours about Atangana etc. must be true. You can’t expect a step up with the same old players. We are not good enough under the current structure and Management. Some of the people on the committee should be looking at themselves because it’s too easy to look elsewhere for the reason why we have stagnated. Taylor is a lucky boy to be at such a soft club who give so many chances for under performance. The Cambridge and Bolton results showed what we can do and what the players can do but how were those games followed up?! If you can’t learn on the job at Exeter City you got no chance progressing in Management. Stop blaming the pitch, tiredness, physicality, lack of quality in messy games.

 

[Trapdoor]

I think the expectation needs to be set for next season that we expect automatic promotion. Anything less than that should result in MT being replaced.

 

[Topsham Boy]

Couldn't agree more with this. It was always going to be a season of transition, and the real positive is that many of our youngsters have now got a full season under their belts. Yes of course we could have done better, but the club will be in quite a strong financial position relative to other L2 clubs, so I'm optimistic for next season. Absolutely no need to call for the managers head like some seem to want to do.

MT has got next season or that’s it for me.
Transition season is over. We weren’t good enough. Some of our signings were **** poor. Big summer coming up.
We need to get promoted to break the cycle of underachievement.

 

[raleighnc]

More of the same, insanity

 

[Alistair20000]

Set KMT a performance target of promotion next season. If he cannot deliver then he will have taken us as far as he can and it will be time to give someone else a go.

 

[Martin Lawrence]

Set KMT a performance target of promotion next season. If he cannot deliver then he will have taken us as far as he can and it will be time to give someone else a go.

Whilst I see the logic, I am not sure i support such blunt target setting. Context is key and I wouldn't want the Club and Trust boards to be blinded by this in their assessment of success and failure.

 

[IndoMike]

Whilst I see the logic, I am not sure i support such blunt target setting. Context is key and I wouldn't want the Club and Trust boards to be blinded by this in their assessment of success and failure.

No you wouldn't. You would much prefer
the club to.bumble along in Div 2 for another 10 years, not rock the boat, keep a nice and cosy small club atmosphere, and deprive the fans the chance of having new and more exciting experiences in Div 1.

Football is a business, not a local parish committee. I don't know the world you move in , but In business you get results or the boot. Four years for a manager who has inherited a fairly good team, been provided sufficient funds, and been given quite a lot of freedom is sufficient. And if the club is not providing the funds for the team to progress it is the directors who should get the boot.

I want Matt to stay, but being "a nice bloke" is not enough. We want results. We have to progress on the field and establish ourselves in Div 1. Standing still eventually results in a downward trajectory

I know some of our posters are close to the club and club people and don't like to read criticism of the club, but criticism is the driver for improvement, or at least it should be if taken in the right spirit

Finally, I too like Matt and hope the club will back him with serious intent, but if they don't back him or if they do but we still end up stuck in Div 2, Matt must carry the can, just the same as all managers must.

 

[Smithyno6]

Dunno how people are saying it’s going to be different. Taylor had two seasons with experiences pro’s and the first season this happened, second season was better but still had no answers to physical teams. This season for the second half was atrocious. You don’t stop being a good team overnight. Blame injuries but I think it’s down to Matt Taylor and his decisions this year. We’re too soft as a club, anywhere else he would be gone. We’d need to buy quality league two players next year to compete. He clearly doesn’t have the contacts and we don’t have the location. We’re on a roundabout that won’t stop till he’s gone.

 

[ryancooper327]

We did ok this season. Too many poor performances in the latter half as per. There were a few teams this season though who were able to recruit well Bolton/FGR for example and some tough teams who just played better football. Next season is the final chance for MT getting us up automatically I feel. The teams coming down are not Bolton/Tranmere-esque and we have the opportunity to recruit well (surely?!). Big summer, hope the Head of Recruitment helps Matt out a bit...

 

[Topsham Boy]

Is the correct answer! All the people on here saying top three next season are in cuckoo land. It will be more of the same. Inconsistent displays with the odd unexpected result. Taylor already saying no big changes. So the rumours about Atangana etc. must be true. You can’t expect a step up with the same old players. We are not good enough under the current structure and Management. Some of the people on the committee should be looking at themselves because it’s too easy to look elsewhere for the reason why we have stagnated. Taylor is a lucky boy to be at such a soft club who give so many chances for under performance. The Cambridge and Bolton results showed what we can do and what the players can do but how were those games followed up?! If you can’t learn on the job at Exeter City you got no chance progressing in Management. Stop blaming the pitch, tiredness, physicality, lack of quality in messy games.

Here’s my view, having supported City for over 50 years.
Many things have improved…..the ground for one….although the atmosphere in the Cowshed could be unbeatable on a good day. But almost all clubs have better grounds now….so we have moved with the times.
Our training facilities are some of the best in L2 and set to improve further.
We all know the success of the academy, which is financially keeping us going and producing some great
players.
We are the best team in the entire country for fan engagement so we are doing many things right off the pitch, and obviously the Trust has a chair at the board table.

However. We are STILL in L2, although I remember those Div 4 applying for re-election years, and the Conference. We are a top half rather than bottom half team now, so I guess that’s some (albeit slow) progress.
The pitch believe it or not is better than it used to be…but again, pitches everywhere have mostly improved from the bad old mud bath days.

Crucially…The standard of football isn’t that much different, we all remember standout players over the years, but we haven’t had many standout teams…..teams that blend skill with the physicality required at this level. We certainly haven’t had that this season.

Attendances haven’t changed dramatically over the years either…..because of our lack of progress on the pitch and despite the population growth of Exeter.

City are consistently inconsistent which many teams are…but we seem to have turned it into an art form.

We’ve had good and bad managers through my time supporting City…the difference is the good being able to blend a team to be better than the sum of the parts for an entire season. Hasn’t happened very often.

We could be a L1 team, but we need clear ambition paired with a clearly thought out plan for the team and some hard nosed decisions on players, managers and staff and need to be clear on the consequences of failure.

Everyone saying what a friendly well run club we are these days is pleasing, but the fans are tired of being the nearly men of L2. The last three play off final losses, the way we underperformed in those games, and the fizzling out of this season have been very tough to take, for
all of us but I suspect more so for the younger supporters.

Are we too ‘nice’? Yes, I think so.
Same again next season unless we are serious about not accepting what we have been in the past, and change our approach to what we want to be as a club in the future.