Acceptance of mediocrity

[Andy Holland]

I have thought the same thing for a while John.

I think it might be a general Plymouth thing, acceptance and reluctance to believe things can be improved seems to be a Plymouthian trait.

 

[Greenrod]

John, it is all very well expressing your thoughts in a succinct manner and I agree with them, but what are the answers?

How can the fanbase respond to this malaise?

 

[KCJ]

Great post,
We are, i believe , the 14th largest city in the country and many of the larger citys have more than one league team. We should be aiming for a return to the championship as soon as possible, a new five year plan would seem to me to be realistic. This year with our budget we should have been competing in the top half of this league as a absolute minimum with next season being a promotion campaign. I think deep down this is what most supporters and James Brent and the board were looking for. James Brent has made several references to seeing us back in the championship and that should be the vision. With that mentatlity the crowds will return and it should be easier to attract a better quality player. We should not be messing around in this league, whatever the recent history and anyone who is content with that is not asking enough of their Club.

 

[Nobby]

I'm accepting mediocrity for ONE season while we get back onto our feet and get the club running with some stability. I'm more than happy with mid-table this year, not because i'm accepting mediocrity but because i'm realistic.

Next year however, I expect us to be a lot higher.

 

[monkeywrench]

It's not about accepting mediocrity, its about being realistic.

 

[Andy Holland]

Ok, and realistically, a club the size of ours, with our budget, facilities, ludicrous squad size, should be doing a whole lot better than clubs who are at a considerable disadvantage to us in those areas.

 

[pilgrim_pete]

It should Andy, but you and I both know it's not as simple as that with 5 years of historical debt hanging over our shoulders.

 

[bandwagon]

I think mr Brent could be viewing this as a poison chalice - everything that could go wrong, is!! The only high spot is that the crowds have been incredibly forgiving, in both size and leniency to manager!! Beware mr Brent, the elastic is taught!!

 

[monkeywrench]

It should Andy, but you and I both know it's not as simple as that with 5 years of historical debt hanging over our shoulders.

Quite.

Can I also add that we should be doing better than we are. I'm far from happy with the situation.

 

[monkeywrench]

John, I'll read your post properly and reply to it properly later when I'm not at work, but it seems to me that you had overly high expectations and you are basing most of your arguments on speculation and supposition. I do agree with some of what you say though.

 

[Cerbera]

I'm accepting mediocrity for ONE season while we get back onto our feet and get the club running with some stability. I'm more than happy with mid-table this year, not because i'm accepting mediocrity but because i'm realistic.

Next year however, I expect us to be a lot higher.

Mid table? We're two points off relegation. Torquay are mid table.

 

[Gareth Nicholson]

I think there are a number of barriers for the current board. My assumption that they're forced to operate from the business plan devised by Ridsdale and agreed to by the Football League being one.

But on the pitch, it seems there are two clear issues. If Brent believes that Fletcher is the right man for the job, then QED it's the players who are to blame as they are not able to deliver to the plans and tactics laid out by the coaching staff. On that basis, an investment is needed in January to get the right people in (and out - round pegs in round holes applies to playing staff as well as the potentially redundant).

If it isn't that (and if we discount 'luck'), then the barrier to mediocrity is Fletcher. We all wanted it to work, many of us thought it was a good idea, I'm absolutely certain it's not personal with Fletcher like it was for some with previous managers. But it hasn't worked.

We need a bas***d. Someone who treats the players as subordinates rather than pals or kids. Someone who'll protect them in public but run them to water and rollock them in private.

 

[Andy Holland]

This whole Plymouthian mentality of capping ambition winds me right up. It's why Plymouth is a second-rate city in many aspects, and why we have a 4th rate football team. Negativity and reluctance, the two defining traits of the city.

The only manager we've had recently who didn't buy into it was Ian Holloway.

 

[BadBoy]

Do we have one of the biggest budgets in the league? I haven't seen a league table of budgets perhaps one of the financial experts can produce one, large squad not really if you take into account we have at least 7 that are all but teenagers in it, Port Vale were only really in administration in name as the council was picking up the tab to an extent I don't remember any wholesale player exodus like ours. I agree its not good but I think he deserves at least until after the Exeter game to turn it around.

 

[Cerbera]

Exeter have a budget of around £800,000. We have a budget of £1,800,000. Those are facts as uttered by James Brent to me at the ATD meet the board night earlier in the year. I have also heard the Exeter budget figure from Exeter.

So, if we look a pure budget, why are they 7th and us 19th if it isn't the manager? Okay, so Cureton might be giving them a bit of a false dawn, but we have some good players warming the bench and no discernible tactics or ability to change our pattern of play.

The manager is at fault here and there is no other outlook. He's had his chance, time for Teflon Taff to go.