Are we actually underachieving?

[PeteUSA]

AP: Did you really ignor my post above re the real reason Tisdales struggling?

 

[Banksy]

So, mid table is about their level.

Even mid table is optimistic the way things are going at the moment.Wonder what the reaction here will be if , heaven forbid , we get caught on the fringes of a late relegation scrap. Highly unlikely I know given the dross below us but hardly achieving.Interesting too that our arch rivals managed to reach the playoffs last season and look at least likely to do it again this season under a different manager.I can see Tisdale failing all over again next season whatever resources he's given ,he's just run out of ideas..

 

[CREDYGRECIAN]

Underachieve or overachieve I want to see 11 blokes working there nuts off to get 3 points on a Saturday afternoon - i didn't see that against Newport I saw a team confused what the was expected to do & unsure of a game plan

 

[CITYFANINCALNE]

We,ve had around 3 Million injected into the club since the Warrington TV cash.Spent some on Hoskins,Oyeleke,McReady etc who rarely are fit &/or dont get selected.
this is one example of why we are underachieving in league 2

 

[Terryhall]

In my view it is hard to argue that we are not underachieving - playoffs were a realistic target this year and we will be very lucky to do that.

 

[manc grecian]

FBH summed it up quite well. I don't expect us to be a shoe in for the top 7 or win every game but I'm just very confused at what the plan is. One of the reasons I think he should go I that he seems to have completely lost the plot in what he's trying to achieve.

The balance of the squad is an absolute shambles, the manager either recruited or retained them all.

Noble, Harley, Taylor, Nicholls, Grant, Holmes, Watkins, Davies. 8 players none of whom could tackle an egg custard.

Then there's the pensioners. Butterfield, Oakley, McAllister, Morrison, Woodman. Most of them would struggle in the conference south. Throw in Hoskins as well who has been an utter waste of time.

Too many bits and pieces players, too many players who can't cope with the big naughty physical teams in league 2. Too many old players which contribute to the slow tempo and boring football.

Tisdale has failed to evolve as a manager and his approach to the game has been the same for four to five years despite the facts telling him otherwise.


Maybe mid table in league 2 is our natural place in football but theirs got to be a better way of approaching it.

 

[CREDYGRECIAN]

Great post Manc and I fully agree.

The lack of grit , the lack of leaders , the lack of 2-3 wiling to kick somebody up in the air is obvious.

Nobody wants to watch football like Wimbledon back in the day - but league 2 is tough and we're soft - the two just don't work

 

[Red Bill]

Hi Heinze

On the money point and the geography point, both of these things are self evident and get highlighted on this forum every so often to counter some of the more consistent Tis objectors, but it doesn't really work like that on here !!!! Ha !.
My personal view is Tis had astonishing success by our standards in the past, so people have witnessed it, and therefore somewhere in a corner of their mind they believe it is possible he can do it again, as most others have achieved nothing. This to me is where the real "over expectation" lies, for me people look back and fail to correlate not imitating that earlier astonishing success, so he gets a very hard time on here.
He doesn't help himself with odd tactics, odd selections etc, but I think your OP was more about the club than the manager, and I have you spot on with the correlation between funding and success, with the geography thrown in as well. Pure fact, people can throw in the odd Wimbledon or Rochdale or Accrington this year, but they are blips, and the natural order goes back to normal eventually.

Whilst I can't say I agree with the general thrust of your post AP, as I do think we're underachieving, don't agree with some that there are 7 or 8 teams with better players, and don't think the financial argument is quite as cut and dried as the OP suggests, I think there is a lot of truth in what you say about people's perception of tisdale being coloured by what he achieved in the past.
Up until about 18 months ago, I was a staunch supporter of Tisdale and regularly fought his corner. I recognise myself as one of those people who thought his style of football was the beast I'd ever seen, and was quite blown away by it after a long gap of not having seen City. As a result when that disappeared about 5 years ago and we started to see the incessant tinkering with the team, players out of position all the time and some really turgid home displays, I suppose I felt a little betrayed for my loyalty, but all the time hoping he would turn it round.
I think in the back of my mind I'm still hoping he'll turn i around, but as that becomes increasingly unlikely, and he seems still not to recognise that anything's wrong or certainly nothing that he's doing, I just get more frustrated, let down and convinced that his just too comfortable and has been here too long.
I just long to be able to look forward to going to the park on a Saturday, to watch the football we saw 7 or 8 years ago, and talk with pride about our manager.

 

[antman]

I don't think anyone outside the club would say we're underachieving. We definitely aren't, given our support size, finances (too recently buoyed to show any long term effect, surely).

But there are supporters that think more could be made of the resources at our disposal (as some familiar writers have pointed out above). That is more the debate, which rages day in, day out on here. I have seen four games on telly this season and two very disappointing games live, home games in which we were bookies' favourites to get three points - Wimbledon and Dagenham. In those games we had no Harley, Noble, Wheeler, Ribeiro (coming back from injury). These are some of the players listed above as to why we should be higher up the league, but these were critical games in our push for the playoffs and they weren't there. Even now Wheeler doesn't appear to be quite match fit. If he had been we could have picked up those few more points necessary to keep us in the hunt. We haven't had good luck with key players out, that is not an excuse, it's a fact.

The other factor in the games around Christmas was the upcoming fixture with Liverpool. That seemed to play a part in distracting players in the league in those games leading up to it. My only criticism of Tis this season - as with every season - is that he's not a big motivator (or at least doesn't appear to be) on a matchday sometimes, he's like the opposite to most British managers. He's very consistent and fair to the players although probably quite stern at times in private (I reckon), and very aware of movement and passing, which is all good, but sometimes they come on to the pitch looking hesitant, especially when the fans expect them to win. Against Warrington last season and then in several league games this season against the teams worse off than (even!) us, we haven't won. But then we beat Swindon, Portsmouth, Slime, Orient twice, Port Vale and got a draw with Liverpool. It seems we suffer from fear at the oddest moments. Underachieving one week and overachieving the next. I can understand how frustrating that can be for the home fans who often see us drop points against teams they expect us to beat. However I always think on here people suggest we should be so much better than teams like, say, Stevenage or Carlisle, when actually there's no reason why we should.

I have had several magic moments as a City fan this season and if Paul continues as manager I expect many more. I am as disappointed as anyone about our league position, I expected better, but given our injury problems this season and lack of back-up in central midfield I don't think we've underachieved. I'm hoping we either bring through or sign good central mids for next season, because for me, without Noble or Harley, there is a hole there.

 

[Banksy]

Next season , always next season.