Hunt out.

[Hound]

Marriott is keeping us afloat at the moment - the two wide players Kyerewaa and Lane have been absolutely shocking and if we had suitable replacements should be dropped. Kelvin E has made some contribution as had Ritchie - but its those starters combined with a both weak and uncreative midfield exacerbated by Wing's tactical position that is causing us pain.

A lot of people wanted to switch from 4-3-3 and inverted wingers although DK/Marriot/Lane were just starting to combine better together and get the press right.

Hunt then switched to 4-2-3-1 (presumably to shoehorn Doyle into the team), swapped Dk and Lane over and they've both been absolute shite since. But I totally agree Kelvin E and Ritchie both look more suited to the new system.

I also think defensively things were getting a lot better with Williams. Never mind O'Connor, Williams can't come back soon enough for me.

Kelvin did very little on Saturday and was disappointing in the cup last Tuesday - just don’t see a consistent player in there worth persevering with

Know he split opinion a fair amount but would quite like to have seen Campbell back in the summer - doing OK at Stevenage and thought he was our most effective wide player last season (low bar admittedly!)

Campbell was pretty poor tbh. Definitely wouldn’t have been the answer for me. Had some awful games

Kelvin also did nothing wrong on Saturday - didn’t lose the ball and kept possession, 100% pass completion I think, won a couple of headers, defended a couple of corners well.

The fact that he didn’t have a great deal of impact is we played everything down the right and barely used him at all. Can’t blame him for it - he can’t go chasing the ball. When we did go left Jacob seemed to have taken up some left winger position half the time as well

[leon]

A lot of people wanted to switch from 4-3-3 and inverted wingers although DK/Marriot/Lane were just starting to combine better together and get the press right.

Hunt then switched to 4-2-3-1 (presumably to shoehorn Doyle into the team), swapped Dk and Lane over and they've both been absolute shite since. But I totally agree Kelvin E and Ritchie both look more suited to the new system.

I also think defensively things were getting a lot better with Williams. Never mind O'Connor, Williams can't come back soon enough for me.

Kelvin did very little on Saturday and was disappointing in the cup last Tuesday - just don’t see a consistent player in there worth persevering with

Know he split opinion a fair amount but would quite like to have seen Campbell back in the summer - doing OK at Stevenage and thought he was our most effective wide player last season (low bar admittedly!)

Campbell was pretty poor tbh. Definitely wouldn’t have been the answer for me. Had some awful games

Kelvin also did nothing wrong on Saturday - didn’t lose the ball and kept possession, 100% pass completion I think, won a couple of headers, defended a couple of corners well.

The fact that he didn’t have a great deal of impact is we played everything down the right and barely used him at all. Can’t blame him for it - he can’t go chasing the ball. When we did go left Jacob seemed to have taken up some left winger position half the time as well

yeah - he put in a defensive shift and looked to protect his full back. Something Campbell routinely failed to do whether by decision or instruction I don't know.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Aside: I’m not entirely sure where the high regard for Kelvin really comes from. I’m not sure where or how we play him to get anything consistent out of him. His name might be on the team sheet but I have difficulty remembering anything he does.

[URZZZZ]

Kelvin did very little on Saturday and was disappointing in the cup last Tuesday - just don’t see a consistent player in there worth persevering with

Know he split opinion a fair amount but would quite like to have seen Campbell back in the summer - doing OK at Stevenage and thought he was our most effective wide player last season (low bar admittedly!)

Campbell was pretty poor tbh. Definitely wouldn’t have been the answer for me. Had some awful games

Kelvin also did nothing wrong on Saturday - didn’t lose the ball and kept possession, 100% pass completion I think, won a couple of headers, defended a couple of corners well.

The fact that he didn’t have a great deal of impact is we played everything down the right and barely used him at all. Can’t blame him for it - he can’t go chasing the ball. When we did go left Jacob seemed to have taken up some left winger position half the time as well

yeah - he put in a defensive shift and looked to protect his full back. Something Campbell routinely failed to do whether by decision or instruction I don't know.

I think pretty poor is harsh. 21 year old in his first proper season at a competitive level and made a decent ish contribution

Sure - he had flaws such as the above and had some poor games but I think somewhat this was a reflection on our limited squad depth. Akande (constantly unfit and now in L2), Bodin (benchwarmer in L2) and Camara (OK but not a game changer) as our backup options meant no matter how poorly Campbell was playing, there was no one to really swap him out for. Think he’d have been viewed differently if he was more of a rotation option, as he’s being used at Stevenage!

Know it’s something we’ve discussed a few times before but our wide options are very much something we haven’t conquered for a while now, not least since Stam’s first season. Makes a huge difference having effective wide players

[Snowflake Royal]

Marriott is keeping us afloat at the moment - the two wide players Kyerewaa and Lane have been absolutely shocking and if we had suitable replacements should be dropped. Kelvin E has made some contribution as had Ritchie - but its those starters combined with a both weak and uncreative midfield exacerbated by Wing's tactical position that is causing us pain.

A lot of people wanted to switch from 4-3-3 and inverted wingers although DK/Marriot/Lane were just starting to combine better together and get the press right.

Hunt then switched to 4-2-3-1 (presumably to shoehorn Doyle into the team), swapped Dk and Lane over and they've both been absolute shite since. But I totally agree Kelvin E and Ritchie both look more suited to the new system.

I also think defensively things were getting a lot better with Williams. Never mind O'Connor, Williams can't come back soon enough for me.

Kelvin did very little on Saturday and was disappointing in the cup last Tuesday - just don’t see a consistent player in there worth persevering with

Know he split opinion a fair amount but would quite like to have seen Campbell back in the summer - doing OK at Stevenage and thought he was our most effective wide player last season (low bar admittedly!)

KelvinE is the most likely to create something, but also is the most likely to go missing for long stretches.

I wonder whether he might do better behind Marriott linking with him, or perhaps Kyerewaa in there running around like a mad thing.

We're close, but we haven't quite found the right combination yet.

[Hound]

Campbell was pretty poor tbh. Definitely wouldn’t have been the answer for me. Had some awful games

Kelvin also did nothing wrong on Saturday - didn’t lose the ball and kept possession, 100% pass completion I think, won a couple of headers, defended a couple of corners well.

The fact that he didn’t have a great deal of impact is we played everything down the right and barely used him at all. Can’t blame him for it - he can’t go chasing the ball. When we did go left Jacob seemed to have taken up some left winger position half the time as well

yeah - he put in a defensive shift and looked to protect his full back. Something Campbell routinely failed to do whether by decision or instruction I don't know.

I think pretty poor is harsh. 21 year old in his first proper season at a competitive level and made a decent ish contribution

Sure - he had flaws such as the above and had some poor games but I think somewhat this was a reflection on our limited squad depth. Akande (constantly unfit and now in L2), Bodin (benchwarmer in L2) and Camara (OK but not a game changer) as our backup options meant no matter how poorly Campbell was playing, there was no one to really swap him out for. Think he’d have been viewed differently if he was more of a rotation option, as he’s being used at Stevenage!

Know it’s something we’ve discussed a few times before but our wide options are very much something we haven’t conquered for a while now, not least since Stam’s first season. Makes a huge difference having effective wide players

Agreed wide players have been an issue. Meite was good on the right until his injury tbf.

Ritchie should have the nous to do a job on the right. For me it’d be Kelvin on the left but I don’t disagree with some of the criticism of him - he needs to stay fit and consistent - but we’ve seen what he is capable of at times. Or swap them over. Lane has done it at this level before as well, it’s suprising he has been so ineffective so far

Camara, Garcia and Kyeweera should all be able to contribute as well

If we still can’t get it right this year I don’t think it’s because the players don’t have the ability

[leon]

A lot of people wanted to switch from 4-3-3 and inverted wingers although DK/Marriot/Lane were just starting to combine better together and get the press right.

Hunt then switched to 4-2-3-1 (presumably to shoehorn Doyle into the team), swapped Dk and Lane over and they've both been absolute shite since. But I totally agree Kelvin E and Ritchie both look more suited to the new system.

I also think defensively things were getting a lot better with Williams. Never mind O'Connor, Williams can't come back soon enough for me.

Kelvin did very little on Saturday and was disappointing in the cup last Tuesday - just don’t see a consistent player in there worth persevering with

Know he split opinion a fair amount but would quite like to have seen Campbell back in the summer - doing OK at Stevenage and thought he was our most effective wide player last season (low bar admittedly!)

KelvinE is the most likely to create something, but also is the most likely to go missing for long stretches.

I wonder whether he might do better behind Marriott linking with him, or perhaps Kyerewaa in there running around like a mad thing.

We're close, but we haven't quite found the right combination yet.

I agree with the second part of the last sentence not necessarily the first

[South Coast Royal]

Kelvin did very little on Saturday and was disappointing in the cup last Tuesday - just don’t see a consistent player in there worth persevering with

Know he split opinion a fair amount but would quite like to have seen Campbell back in the summer - doing OK at Stevenage and thought he was our most effective wide player last season (low bar admittedly!)

KelvinE is the most likely to create something, but also is the most likely to go missing for long stretches.

I wonder whether he might do better behind Marriott linking with him, or perhaps Kyerewaa in there running around like a mad thing.

We're close, but we haven't quite found the right combination yet.

I agree with the second part of the last sentence not necessarily the first

+1
I don't see signs of us getting there (yet) -it all feels very disjointed and poorly managed.

[linkenholtroyal]

I agree with some of the comments on here. But I think there is an element of square peg round holes as some of the issue. We have got rid of through no fault of our own ball playing centre backs who are comfortable on the ball and replaced them with old school defenders who can’t play the ball ( with the exception of Williams who can play the odd pass from the back)
With this the formation or jobs need to change within the team. Rather than before when attacks would be started from the back the midfielders need to drop deeper to pick the ball up and drive forward or the age old lump up forward but this does not work well with one central forward.

We either need to play the CDM role but as a playmaker with the defence doing the defence. So a wing or Savage there to thread balls forward. The ACM with the 2 behind dropping back to bring balls forward to drive play forward.
Or I believe I have said it before 4-4-2 with the forwards holding the balls up from long balls for the others to drive forward and link up play. (We do lack striking options for this).

With this form of drive forward will bring more opportunities we have the 4th lowest corners per game in the league and funny enough all the teams with less are below us.

So long and short we are not the same team as last year, so stop trying to play like it, look at the players you have and adapt to a new way of being. You signed them so find a formation and tactics that suit.

Rant over

[Extended-Phenotype]

Genuine question. What exactly is it that people are seeing that can be attributed to Hunt’s ineptitude?

This could be my limitations as a spectator, but all I’m seeing that seems to contribute to the impression of a poor performance, are mistakes by players. We are capable of some nice build up play that only fails to translate into a solid chance due to it breaking down towards the end - a poor decision, a wrong pass, a hesitation, a lost ball, a lame shot. I don’t think any of those are tactics Hunt is suggesting.

The only point of contention for me is my argument that Wing seems a bit wasted being played the deepest of the midfield, but I also appreciate there is a reasonable argument for doing so too and it’s not like my preference is anywhere near a consensus among fans and pundits.

So what is it? What are the things you see that make you go “FFS that is a Hunt issue right there”? I get that the manager has some responsibility for player performance, but inconsistency and mistakes are largely a player thing; if Savage delivered a decent corner, or Wing didn’t lose the ball, or Kyerewaa didn’t pass to the opposition, or Lane didn’t miss from 6ft away, or Dorset didn’t double-take at a man running past him… would we be even discussing getting rid of Hunt?

[Snowflake Royal]

Genuine question. What exactly is it that people are seeing that can be attributed to Hunt’s ineptitude?

This could be my limitations as a spectator, but all I’m seeing that seems to contribute to the impression of a poor performance, are mistakes by players. We are capable of some nice build up play that only fails to translate into a solid chance due to it breaking down towards the end - a poor decision, a wrong pass, a hesitation, a lost ball, a lame shot. I don’t think any of those are tactics Hunt is suggesting.

The only point of contention for me is my argument that Wing seems a bit wasted being played the deepest of the midfield, but I also appreciate there is a reasonable argument for doing so too and it’s not like my preference is anywhere near a consensus among fans and pundits.

So what is it? What are the things you see that make you go “FFS that is a Hunt issue right there”? I get that the manager has some responsibility for player performance, but inconsistency and mistakes are largely a player thing; if Savage delivered a decent corner, or Wing didn’t lose the ball, or Kyerewaa didn’t pass to the opposition, or Lane didn’t miss from 6ft away, or Dorset didn’t double-take at a man running past him… would we be even discussing getting rid of Hunt?

I'm sure an answer you'll get is that the manager should coach errors out of players, and if the system was good the players wouldn't make /be forced into errors.

Some of Hunt's selections haven't been brilliant. But that's the case even with the best managers.

It's why I think things will improve, because I don’t see Hunt actually doing much wrong.

[Snowflake Royal]

One thing I think is underplayed.

We had a poor defensive record, Hunt brought in Williams. Results and defence improved. Williams got injured, results stagnated/went backwards.

[Hound]

Genuine question. What exactly is it that people are seeing that can be attributed to Hunt’s ineptitude?

This could be my limitations as a spectator, but all I’m seeing that seems to contribute to the impression of a poor performance, are mistakes by players. We are capable of some nice build up play that only fails to translate into a solid chance due to it breaking down towards the end - a poor decision, a wrong pass, a hesitation, a lost ball, a lame shot. I don’t think any of those are tactics Hunt is suggesting.

The only point of contention for me is my argument that Wing seems a bit wasted being played the deepest of the midfield, but I also appreciate there is a reasonable argument for doing so too and it’s not like my preference is anywhere near a consensus among fans and pundits.

So what is it? What are the things you see that make you go “FFS that is a Hunt issue right there”? I get that the manager has some responsibility for player performance, but inconsistency and mistakes are largely a player thing; if Savage delivered a decent corner, or Wing didn’t lose the ball, or Kyerewaa didn’t pass to the opposition, or Lane didn’t miss from 6ft away, or Dorset didn’t double-take at a man running past him… would we be even discussing getting rid of Hunt?

I'm sure an answer you'll get is that the manager should coach errors out of players, and if the system was good the players wouldn't make /be forced into errors.

Some of Hunt's selections haven't been brilliant. But that's the case even with the best managers.

It's why I think things will improve, because I don’t see Hunt actually doing much wrong.

I guess the counter to that is Hunt isn’t doing anything especially wrong now, so why would things get any better? Not like he is doing something obvs wrong that if he changed we’d improve

(I’d argue it wasn’t a huge change anyway but with Selles the move from that 4222 to the 4231/433 did seem to make a difference)

There’s something that just isn’t there at the moment. We don’t look creative, we look like we’ve mistakes in us at the back. The midfield doesn’t seem balanced. But I don’t think there is a simple answer - certainly not one I can think of - to change it

Maybe getting Williams, O Connor, Yiadom, Ritchie all back in may help with their experience. Let’s hope so

[Snowflake Royal]

Genuine question. What exactly is it that people are seeing that can be attributed to Hunt’s ineptitude?

This could be my limitations as a spectator, but all I’m seeing that seems to contribute to the impression of a poor performance, are mistakes by players. We are capable of some nice build up play that only fails to translate into a solid chance due to it breaking down towards the end - a poor decision, a wrong pass, a hesitation, a lost ball, a lame shot. I don’t think any of those are tactics Hunt is suggesting.

The only point of contention for me is my argument that Wing seems a bit wasted being played the deepest of the midfield, but I also appreciate there is a reasonable argument for doing so too and it’s not like my preference is anywhere near a consensus among fans and pundits.

So what is it? What are the things you see that make you go “FFS that is a Hunt issue right there”? I get that the manager has some responsibility for player performance, but inconsistency and mistakes are largely a player thing; if Savage delivered a decent corner, or Wing didn’t lose the ball, or Kyerewaa didn’t pass to the opposition, or Lane didn’t miss from 6ft away, or Dorset didn’t double-take at a man running past him… would we be even discussing getting rid of Hunt?

I'm sure an answer you'll get is that the manager should coach errors out of players, and if the system was good the players wouldn't make /be forced into errors.

Some of Hunt's selections haven't been brilliant. But that's the case even with the best managers.

It's why I think things will improve, because I don’t see Hunt actually doing much wrong.

I guess the counter to that is Hunt isn’t doing anything especially wrong now, so why would things get any better? Not like he is doing something obvs wrong that if he changed we’d improve

(I’d argue it wasn’t a huge change anyway but with Selles the move from that 4222 to the 4231/433 did seem to make a difference)

There’s something that just isn’t there at the moment. We don’t look creative, we look like we’ve mistakes in us at the back. The midfield doesn’t seem balanced. But I don’t think there is a simple answer - certainly not one I can think of - to change it

Maybe getting Williams, O Connor, Yiadom, Ritchie all back in may help with their experience. Let’s hope so

I think the defence is key. Any team is going to struggle if they keep going 1-0 down in the first 20 minutes.

Mansfield - 7 - D
Stockport - 22 - D
Orient - no - W
Barnsley - 9 - L
Vale - no - W
Wycombe - 10 - D
Bolton - 52 - D
Wimbledon - 32 - L
Huddersfield - 74 - L
Lincoln - 20 - L

At least Lincoln and Mansfield were also completely against the run of play.

Give teams an early lead, and they sit and protect, and it emphasises our creative issues. If they have to keep trying to score themselves, it gives us more room and we'll often score. We're not great going forward, but we're not that bad either.

That's half our games roughly.

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Genuine question. What exactly is it that people are seeing that can be attributed to Hunt’s ineptitude?

This could be my limitations as a spectator, but all I’m seeing that seems to contribute to the impression of a poor performance, are mistakes by players. We are capable of some nice build up play that only fails to translate into a solid chance due to it breaking down towards the end - a poor decision, a wrong pass, a hesitation, a lost ball, a lame shot. I don’t think any of those are tactics Hunt is suggesting.

The only point of contention for me is my argument that Wing seems a bit wasted being played the deepest of the midfield, but I also appreciate there is a reasonable argument for doing so too and it’s not like my preference is anywhere near a consensus among fans and pundits.

So what is it? What are the things you see that make you go “FFS that is a Hunt issue right there”? I get that the manager has some responsibility for player performance, but inconsistency and mistakes are largely a player thing; if Savage delivered a decent corner, or Wing didn’t lose the ball, or Kyerewaa didn’t pass to the opposition, or Lane didn’t miss from 6ft away, or Dorset didn’t double-take at a man running past him… would we be even discussing getting rid of Hunt?

I'd say it's the following:

Several players, the younger ones in particular, have regressed under Hunt. Kelvin, Lane, Abrefa, Savage this season, Elliott. I can't think of any except maybe Kyerewaa that have improved.

The football is boring and turgid.

Other managers work out how to play against us rather than the other way round.

We are relying on the goals of one player to get us out of jail

I mainly go to aways due to location and the atmosphere/mood on the terrace is back to the Ince days

I read a stat at the weekend that we are only side in the EFL that has not scored from a set piece this season

Hunt sounds deluded in his after game comments.....its a shame there are no longer local journos to challenge him more as he's being an easy ride.

[Hound]

Kyeweera has improved? Christ what was he like before?

[morganb]

Genuine question. What exactly is it that people are seeing that can be attributed to Hunt’s ineptitude?

This could be my limitations as a spectator, but all I’m seeing that seems to contribute to the impression of a poor performance, are mistakes by players. We are capable of some nice build up play that only fails to translate into a solid chance due to it breaking down towards the end - a poor decision, a wrong pass, a hesitation, a lost ball, a lame shot. I don’t think any of those are tactics Hunt is suggesting.

The only point of contention for me is my argument that Wing seems a bit wasted being played the deepest of the midfield, but I also appreciate there is a reasonable argument for doing so too and it’s not like my preference is anywhere near a consensus among fans and pundits.

So what is it? What are the things you see that make you go “FFS that is a Hunt issue right there”? I get that the manager has some responsibility for player performance, but inconsistency and mistakes are largely a player thing; if Savage delivered a decent corner, or Wing didn’t lose the ball, or Kyerewaa didn’t pass to the opposition, or Lane didn’t miss from 6ft away, or Dorset didn’t double-take at a man running past him… would we be even discussing getting rid of Hunt?

I'd say it's the following:

Several players, the younger ones in particular, have regressed under Hunt. Kelvin, Lane, Abrefa, Savage this season, Elliott. I can't think of any except maybe Kyerewaa that have improved.

The football is boring and turgid.

Other managers work out how to play against us rather than the other way round.

We are relying on the goals of one player to get us out of jail

I mainly go to aways due to location and the atmosphere/mood on the terrace is back to the Ince days

I read a stat at the weekend that we are only side in the EFL that has not scored from a set piece this season

Hunt sounds deluded in his after game comments.....its a shame there are no longer local journos to challenge him more as he's being an easy ride.

Guess you could also add:

Playing players in unfamiliar positions/square pegs in round holes - Fraser being the obvious one but our wingers (Lane, Kyerewaa) have played on both sides however you'd expect them to have as stronger side so play them there

Half time team talks - we often start the second half badly so can that be attributed to what he says

Like for like subs - we rarely make a sub to change the game/change formation to adapt for the opposition (though that may have got better recently thanks to Richie)

Hoofing the ball rather than playing on the ground - we don't have a lump up front or play two strikers so it seems to often be a hit and hope rather than anything more educated

A settled first 11 - I know injuries have affected this but we've all heard 'they need time to gel' however if the starting 11 changes every game this won't happen

[Mid Sussex Royal]

Kyeweera has improved? Christ what was he like before?

I'm probably being generous....maybe 5% better than when I saw his first game

[Extended-Phenotype]

I guess the counter to that is Hunt isn’t doing anything especially wrong now, so why would things get any better? Not like he is doing something obvs wrong that if he changed we’d improve

Well, if it’s NOT Hunt then there is the potential the players will improve as they gel, get used to what is expected of them and grow in confidence and ability.

[Extended-Phenotype]

Several players, the younger ones in particular, have regressed under Hunt. Kelvin, Lane, Abrefa, Savage this season, Elliott. I can't think of any except maybe Kyerewaa that have improved.

I’m not sure Kelvin has particularly regressed. Savage might be form, Elliott is back from injury (and I still think he’s better than he was under Selles) and Lane has been shit since he got here. Point being, I would struggle to assign blame to Hunt with any confidence.

The football is boring and turgid.

No antagony meant here, but I rarely understand what this means. What do you think Hunt is asking the players to do or not do? This sort of criticism feels a bit like saying “Hunt’s tactics are poor”, which always feels like a sweeping statement given to support a pre-held bias.

Other managers work out how to play against us rather than the other way round.

I guess. Though there is a decent philosophy behind honing a generic all-purpose approach versus chopping and changing things on a match-by-match basis. I’d argue we are currently in a period of getting everyone gelling together and perhaps ad-hoc tweaks come later. I could be being generous though.

We are relying on the goals of one player to get us out of jail

Hm. I’d say that we have been heavily relying on goals coming from all over the pitch rather than one player, mainly due to the fact our strikers haven’t been particularly reliable.

I mainly go to aways due to location and the atmosphere/mood on the terrace is back to the Ince days

I think that’s probably more down to irrational expectations and/or an emotional vacuum being left behind a period of immense “in it togetherness” while under the pressure of non-existence. We are out of trouble now, so people think we should be kicking on and winning the league. I don’t find that realistic, personally.

I read a stat at the weekend that we are only side in the EFL that has not scored from a set piece this season

Aye, we have been poor at corners and free kicks. Is that tactical deficiency, or player deficiency? I’m sure Hunt isn’t telling Savage to deliver every corner to nowhere useful.

Hunt sounds deluded in his after game comments.....its a shame there are no longer local journos to challenge him more as he's being an easy ride.

Yeah, I’d like a little more honesty and realism from his post match interviews. But all managers play up their performances and their players. I don’t think this is much of an indicator of managerial/tactical deficiency.