DB9
Very well known Exeweb poster
Always think 10 games in is a reasonably good way to guage how things are going. You don't get promoted or relegated this early, No matter how some react to results. For me we are doing extremely well, We know our financial situation and how hard it is to finely balance things (Between signings we want and not putting the club at risk) There is no magic money tree (Unlike The Government! ) As for the team, ATM we are showing we can compete, Still early days and we have not played a lot of the "Big Boys" of this league but we're holding our own and more. I do worry as the season progresses and the pitches get heavier and the games come thick and fast, Recovery time needed for players does seem less nowadays (Not injuries but just recovering from the last game) and i think this will affect us as the season goes on, Also we do have a thin squad and injuries we get we just can't easily replace them if they're long term for some players, That's a fact but we all know that. The players who can will want to play, I think some of us fans we're of a certain age may have forgotten that when we were in our late teen's/20's we had bundles of energy and the players have that, MT probably has to think for them in this respect and knows the need to rest some at one time or another but our squad when fully fit are the dogs bollox, I'd just love it if they could all stay fit but it won't happen, Managing them through injuries, the backroom staff are doing a great job (so far)
As for MT himself, He is proving to be a very astute young manager and I'm sure others are keeping an eye on him, He proved himself in L2, Against teams with much bigger budgets and squads and if he continues in the same vein in L1, That will only enhance his stock, There are teams out there who could entice him with decent budgets and squads but saying that they would expect "More" than ECFC does because as we're all aware of we do give managers time to develop and create squads, We don't hire and fire at the drop of a hat. My only fear is that the club might not be able to match his ambitions, As a couple of interviews the frustration was there to see, It wasn't a moan by MT or publicly dissing the club, More of a "I wish i had a few more quid to offer this or that player" Any manager worth his salt wants to prove himself at the biggest club they could get or the highest league they could manage in and MT is no different, He does a dam good job this season with us and i think that puts him in the shop window come summer time when clubs are looking for new managers and TBH i would not blame him one iota.
The club itself off the pitch seem to be doing ok too, The C&F is coming along nicely and I'm sure will attract youngsters, Not only those new facilities but that fact we have so many players come through the ranks that get a chance in the 1st team (Like we have now) must be an incentive. Its long term and fair play to the club for being long sighted in that respect. There is a downside with regards to the club ATM i think is the merchendise in the shop, Its very poor compared to other clubs and someone mentioned they saw in the programme a lot of players/kits etc still waiting to be sponsored, Which I'd thought would have been quite easy to do after the excitement of promotion last season.
So 10 games in, We're not struggling by a long way, MT is proving himself (I'm forgetting the Exeweb meltdown when we lose a game or the euphoria when we win a game) to be dam good at a higher level, The club seems to be doing ok off the pitch, Needs a few tweaks here and there. I don't think any of us can be complacent, The squad is thin and could be a problem later in the season but all in all i'll give ECFC as a whole 8/9 out of 10.
As for MT himself, He is proving to be a very astute young manager and I'm sure others are keeping an eye on him, He proved himself in L2, Against teams with much bigger budgets and squads and if he continues in the same vein in L1, That will only enhance his stock, There are teams out there who could entice him with decent budgets and squads but saying that they would expect "More" than ECFC does because as we're all aware of we do give managers time to develop and create squads, We don't hire and fire at the drop of a hat. My only fear is that the club might not be able to match his ambitions, As a couple of interviews the frustration was there to see, It wasn't a moan by MT or publicly dissing the club, More of a "I wish i had a few more quid to offer this or that player" Any manager worth his salt wants to prove himself at the biggest club they could get or the highest league they could manage in and MT is no different, He does a dam good job this season with us and i think that puts him in the shop window come summer time when clubs are looking for new managers and TBH i would not blame him one iota.
The club itself off the pitch seem to be doing ok too, The C&F is coming along nicely and I'm sure will attract youngsters, Not only those new facilities but that fact we have so many players come through the ranks that get a chance in the 1st team (Like we have now) must be an incentive. Its long term and fair play to the club for being long sighted in that respect. There is a downside with regards to the club ATM i think is the merchendise in the shop, Its very poor compared to other clubs and someone mentioned they saw in the programme a lot of players/kits etc still waiting to be sponsored, Which I'd thought would have been quite easy to do after the excitement of promotion last season.
So 10 games in, We're not struggling by a long way, MT is proving himself (I'm forgetting the Exeweb meltdown when we lose a game or the euphoria when we win a game) to be dam good at a higher level, The club seems to be doing ok off the pitch, Needs a few tweaks here and there. I don't think any of us can be complacent, The squad is thin and could be a problem later in the season but all in all i'll give ECFC as a whole 8/9 out of 10.