by Snowflake Royal »
05 Feb 2023 10:23
Vision AthleticoSpizz Snowflake Royal Just to be clear, Ince took us from where we'd just been on a 7 game losing streak and 11 game winless run, with a points deduction, looking very like relegation.
To 21st.
And now has us 16th and looking safe.
With a massively restricted wage budget. Including one defender who hasn't played a minute taking up almost 10% of it.
And some of us aren't willing to see what he can do with his hands untied?
agree 100%
Don't want to be nit-picky because I agree with the general sentiment but the bit in bold simply isn't true. We drew at Peterboro and won at Preston directly before Pauno left and Ince was barely through the door when we then beat Birmingham so I'm not sure he can claim that one really. . Just my opinion but with a few key players returning from injury I think we'd have been just about ok with regard to relegation even with Pauno staying.
The big positive difference, and what Ince has been outstanding with, between Pauno and Ince is how they manage those above them. Pauno had no middle man and wasn't strong enough to stand up to the owner. Ince pretty early on identified what needed to change as far as running the club was concerned and subsequently Bowen came in as a like minded facilitator.
What I'm getting a little bit tired of is the inferiority complex Ince seems to be installing in the team. All we seem to hear is how many great players the opposition have or have just signed and how many players he can't pick. It's no wonder we start every game as if we're lucky to get a 0-0 or nick a 1-0.
I know the perceived wisdom is that coming from 2-0 down shows "character" but I'd argue it's actually a lot easier if you've nothing to lose. In my opinion it takes as much, if not more, "character" to be brave enough from the beginning of a game.
The first hour or so Saturday we were absolutely dismal and unfortunately it's become the norm in recent games. We're not world beaters by any means but we've a better squad of players/talent than people are making out.
I worded it carefully, I didn't say it was immediately prior to Ince taking over, or that we were on those runs when he took over. We absolutely had only just been on those runs. Yeah they ended before Ince came... it's still the context in which he took over.
I know the players said they didn't know Paunovic was going, but we saw a completely different performance from them in that last win, they may not have been told but I'm convinced the atmosphere at the club was clear he was off and that released the pressure.
Ince had very little time to implement anything for his first win, but imo he didn’t have to. He just had to instill a different attitude and confidence, and that can be done in minutes.
I agree it's easy to play without consequence at 0-2 down. But the pressure mounts once you've got 1 back and the other team know they're under threat and your dander is up. It is character to keep the comeback on, make it and then protect it, and even nearly win. Yes, we do need to start better.
I disagree we were awful for the first hour. We were definitely the better team after the first 10-15 minutes to their first goal, then had a wobble and then started the second half badly again.