Will Covid save Matt Taylor’s job?

[geoffwp]

No there was n't I can remember going to matches in the mid 80s where no one sang. there were measely crowds and there was a large gap where the legendary cowshed choir was supposed to be.

I'll have to trust your word on the 80's era suzi. I was living in leicester that decade, bringing up a young family so my attendances at home games were very restricted at best.

 

[Boyo]

It all boils down to playing budget. I suspect we’re not currently in the top 5 of L2. There are of course regular occurrences where teams in a lesser budget get themselves up (just like we did in 2008) but inevitably they only stay there for a few years. For the first time in my lifetime (I’m 43!) it feels like we are regularly able to put up a “competitive” playing budget for L2. It’ll never be the highest but for a few seasons now we have been in the top third (my assumption). Getting over the line requires us to avoid injuries/Covid and a little luck. I can’t see too much that MT has done wrong.

Keep the faith and UTC.

 

[SaintJames]

It all boils down to playing budget. I suspect we’re not currently in the top 5 of L2. There are of course regular occurrences where teams in a lesser budget get themselves up (just like we did in 2008) but inevitably they only stay there for a few years. For the first time in my lifetime (I’m 43!) it feels like we are regularly able to put up a “competitive” playing budget for L2. It’ll never be the highest but for a few seasons now we have been in the top third (my assumption). Getting over the line requires us to avoid injuries/Covid and a little luck. I can’t see too much that MT has done wrong.

Keep the faith and UTC.

Boyo I'm 55 and with the exception of a few halycion days in the late 70's and early 80's where we had 7 seasons in the old Div 3 (L1) we have always been perennial L2/D4 strugglers. Turning a club like ours into a competitive club (without a rich owner) has been relatively incredible> I can remember in the mid 1980's if we ever got a crowd above 3,000 announced over the tannoy it lead to delirium

 

[ExmouthMart]

I'm not Chief anything, I actually do all the boring meetings with the club and non match day stuff, carry on being league two or a huge dip in form and most of the others at the top of the bank who have come when the going is good will **** off and the atmosphere will suffer because of it.

It’s what’s on the pitch that you react to that generates the ‘atmosphere’, unfortunately with Tisdale and after we have got into this proper chaps playing chess type game plan. Where you see what the other team have got and then react to that. The best game under Taylor by a country mile was 4-0 demolition of our friends down the road, where we tore into them and bossed the game.
On the question of atmosphere check out the YouTube video of the The Derby in 93 at Home Park. No cheerleaders, no nothing. Just purely everyone going mental inspite of the Neanderthals and the terrible weather reacting to our great team performance on the day. I was lucky enough to be there on that day and experience that. That was an atmosphere.

 

[Grecian Max]

On the question of atmosphere check out the YouTube video of the The Derby in 93 at Home Park. No cheerleaders, no nothing. Just purely everyone going mental inspite of the Neanderthals and the terrible weather reacting to our great team performance on the day. I was lucky enough to be there on that day and experience that. That was an atmosphere.

Winning 3-0 away at Argyle and the atmosphere is class shocker

Exeter has never had a more consistently good atmosphere than in the last 10 years. I've not been involved since RL but the Bank was transformed from being a silent wasteland (I was there from the start and in the Cowshed previous) after the Cowshed move when, without the tin roof and closeness to the away fans and the pitch the old boys were clueless in how to generate noise from that stand.

 

[Grecian Max]

Regarding Matt Taylor.

He's good. He's not a bad manager and has a lot of plus points, however it's looking like this season is going to follow the others and not achieve what we're capable of which is top 3. League 2 is the easiest league to get promoted from with 4 spots and yet season after season we watch other teams, often not as well supported or funded beat us to the punch.

I personally would have looked to have changed after our tepid end to last season which mirrored the first MT season in charge, strong start before falling away. Even in the play off PPG season we showed signs of falling away and failing to win in the big moments (namely Swindon away when it was 1st v 2nd). We won't move him on mid season so he has my continued support and frustratingly when it goes right it's a fantastic watch (smashing Bristol Rovers in a style that was impossible under Tisdale) but the W0 D1 L5 of our last six league games is alarming.

He is good at recruiting decent players and our squad looks good when fully fit so it's not like we'll finish bottom half, I expect us to be scrapping for that 7th spot again.... but is that really good enough and show progress? Those who like to mitigate constantly will say yes, for me I want to see a little bit more now. We're stable and not the basket case club we were for most of the 90s but that time still leaves it's imprint because the baseline of success was always so low (hope to stay up with an epic comeback run every year) that some revert to type and consider that what we are as a club in 2021.

The club and trust have done an great job overall transforming what City is and means, the progression needs to be matched now on the pitch and IMO it won't be with Matt Taylor. Still a legend though and not a bad job steering the ship after Tis.

 

[John William]

I like MT as a manager and don't think his job is at risk.
I just wish he was a bit less prickly and didn't criticise players so publicly. Better done one-to-one IMO.

 

[Alistair20000]

I like MT as a manager and don't think his job is at risk.
I just wish he was a bit less prickly and didn't criticise players so publicly. Better done one-to-one IMO.

A touch of of the Lancashire curmudgeon baked into KMT's psyche perhaps ?

I don't think his job is at risk either and I support him to carry on as manager with a review at the end of the season.

 

[Pobbop]

Talking about crowds in the 80s, early 90s, is a bit silly, terrible facilities, horrible crowd problems, meant the atmosphere was violent or silent. Yet this was the case with the vast majority of Lower League teams, even these so-=called massive clubs like Man City, Chelsea and Newcastle were often getting 18k, and averaging about 26k. Always invidious to compare across eras.

Most teams have improved crowd and atmos since then. It was poor under Tis for about 4 years, but pretty good when we won back-to-back promotions, and his last two seasons, particularly the Wheeler/Watkins/Reid year after the appalling start.

I think Taylor has done okay, but after all the talk of increased budget, we need to be challenging this year. If we fail to make play-offs again, that's a clear regression.

The thing I've been most disappointed about the last month is the lack of getting in a big-name loan signing as soon as Nombe was injured. Why are we not bringing in young guys from the top leagues to spruce things up a bit? Our rivals seem to be.

Has he just not got the pull of other managers. Anyway, we keep him until the end of the year, then we see, but honestly if we're about 10th again, I won't be yelling for anyone head, ut I feel questions need to be asked. Seymour still here when we need a striker, and WTF is he doing with Sparkes?

 

[ExmouthMart]

Winning 3-0 away at Argyle and the atmosphere is class shocker

Exeter has never had a more consistently good atmosphere than in the last 10 years. I've not been involved since RL but the Bank was transformed from being a silent wasteland (I was there from the start and in the Cowshed previous) after the Cowshed move when, without the tin roof and closeness to the away fans and the pitch the old boys were clueless in how to generate noise from that stand.

Obviously beating Argyle creates a great atmosphere but what I am getting at is the crowd reacts to how the team performs. You don’t need ‘ultras’ to start an atmosphere. Perhaps dedicated singing sections in the stands would help the ‘clueless’ old boys understand what is going on then?!…… Someone seems to think it’s a good idea to go down the Rugby/American Football route of having a day out all sat together with other supporters having an ‘experience’. Football is partisan no matter how you dress it up.