Iron V Wrexham

[ironmansimon]

Despite the down pour this morning it has not dampened my anticipation of tomorrows clash.
It has been an interesting week on the forum with lots of peoples views well and truly aired, which in my opinion is what this is a platform for.
Ok some are direct and strong views but just proves how passionate football can make people feel. Not going to try and predict the line up score etc as anything is possible, people know my views on certain players and I have always given what I see is a balanced view. Praised when right and pointed out some errors when things go wrong. I hope the boys are rested and are raring to go, Wrexham are not the once feared team of this league and lets hope this could be the springboard to safety and get where we belong. A repeat of the excellent 3-0 home victory last season would be the tonic though ! Perhaps my 2nd fave Iron performance of 13/14 season. Fingers crossed that due to internationals that the premier league dreamer fans come an experience The Miles Smith stadium. Lets all get behind the team and Devs and be proud to be Iron! Come on boys.

[athiattack]

Yes a lively debate this week as it should be considering our poor performances over the past 6 weeks. My observations start from my previous comment earlier this season that we had not suitably replaced either Wells or Holman. Not an earth shattering statement just a matter of fact. I also commented that if no suitable replacements were introduced we would struggle, guess what., we are now likely to be fighting for Conference National survival. So what has happened and why does Marks continue to feature when again it is patently obvious that his form has dramatically dipped and that he is struggling playing at a much higher level (the headed chance against Bristol Rovers that finished nearer the corner flag finally did it for me). So if these are my observations why hasn't something been done?. The Board must be congratulated for doing a fine job over many years in lifting BTFC to Conferece National status. The clue is that the Chairman has always maintained that we will play at the highest sustainable level, a comment I fully endorse and with average crowds of below 1000 we are a part-time side operating within a tight budget. So to replace Wells or Holman is going to cost money. Something the board are not prepared to countenance and therefore Devs has to make do with loan signings that is never the answer for long term stability but necessary for trying to survive. We have been punching above our weight now for 3 years and at some point this was likely to happen. Unless the Boaed have a change of mind, doubtful then a return to the Conference South is inevitable given our current form and prospects. COYI

[ozbrit]

In all our previous three seasons at this level our form has consisted of a series of fits and starts. Thats not to say this isn't our most prolonged fit.

The signing of Strutton was the long term replacement for Holman who didn't exactly fulfil his potential in the two years he was at the club. Dan scored 25 in 69 games and 1 in 8 since leaving. Dean Wells was a bigger loss and difficult to replace. But Devs did bring in Brundle and Clerima who are I understand decent midfielders for this level and Alan Massey has really stepped up to the plate. With the signing of Dan Walker we on paper looked to potentially have our best strike force ever.

Our problem is not with goals conceded 23 goals in 20 league games, as this statistic puts us in the top half of defences.

I tend to agree with fans suggesting that we're letting ourselves be forced back so we defend too deeply, which creates a big disconnect between the midfield and the top one or two, so when the ball is pumped upfield it's nigh on impossible hope for a striker to control the ball, take on a defender or two and beat the keeper.

From afar it occurs to me that when the injuries came thick and fast we were actually doing well and morale was high, then the management team dropped the ball in hoping against hope that key players would be back sooner rather than later. Akinola was a great signing, but a case of too little when compared to the magnitude of the problem, this was when we needed loanees, perhaps there weren't any suitable one's avaiable and within budget at the time?

Our form has slumped so badly that I fear that we now have a morale issue, just as winnings a good habit then losing consistently is the flip side of that particular coin.

All good fans support their team through thick and thin. It's natural to be pissed-off with a bad result in the first 24 hours but when you believe, you come through as the next game approaches and the hope and faith comes pouring back.

Today's the day we re-start our season - keep the faith :-)