The Real Plan A 2.0?

Evatt said the above in June 2024:

With the appointment of Schumacher, I figured we now have the Real Plan A 2.0.

Q - What do we think about targets for the second half of the season?

Just looked through our fixture list and fuck me, it’s got potential to be spicy!

Upcoming Fixtures:
Sat, 1 Feb – Reading (A) (10th)
Sat, 8 Feb – Crawley Town (H) (22nd)
Sat, 15 Feb – Shrewsbury Town (A) (24th)
Sat, 22 Feb – Leyton Orient (H) (6th)
Sat, 1 Mar – Wrexham (A) (3rd)
Tue, 4 Mar – Birmingham City (H) (1st)
Sat, 8 Mar – Burton Albion (A) (21st)
Tue, 11 Mar – Bristol Rovers (A) (19th)
Sat, 15 Mar – Stockport County (H) (5th)
Sat, 22 Mar – Rotherham United (H) (14th)
Sat, 29 Mar – Blackpool (A) (13th)
Tue, 1 Apr – Wigan Athletic (A) (16th)
Sat, 5 Apr – Bristol Rovers (H) (19th)
Sat, 12 Apr – Barnsley (A) (9th)
Fri, 18 Apr – Wycombe Wanderers (H) (2nd)
Mon, 21 Apr – Lincoln City (A) (11th)
Sat, 26 Apr – Peterborough United (A) (18th)
Sat, 3 May – Stevenage (H) (15th)

I've underlined some of the tougher runs. It starts off fairly chill, so maybe we can build confidence before the Wrexham and Birmingham games. Then from 15 March - 1 April, we’ve got a local derby bonanza (plus Rotherham).

Q2 Are automatics on the table?

14 points off 2nd-placed Wycombe with 18 games remaining!?

I’ve run the numbers, and if Wycombe kept up their current 2.07 PPG, we’d need a ridiculous 2.9 PPG just to catch them—basically winning every game. But factoring in a 10-20% drop-off and leapfrogging the teams below them, we’d still need 2.4-2.7 PPG—that’s at least 14-15 wins from 18.

Doable? Maybe. But it leaves zero room for slip-ups.

Can we finally put together the kind of ruthless run we’ve been waiting for? Or is it playoffs again?

2 hours ago, Dr. Feelgood said:

You reckon?

Whilst it would be crackers to suggest he deliberately made people shite he certainly made people play 'the Evatt way' & implemented his solo plan which had been found out & exposed.

Take just Forrester as an example. Highly rated, young, athletic & has shown his capability in the recent run. Evatt barely considered him & it was becoming known that he wanted out for want of opportunities. No way was he getting in as it meant 'the best defender at the club'* being rested or changed.

*except this title was be increasingly shown to be questionable.

I do. The system was overcomplex but that didn't hide the occasionally poor passing and movement that the caused it to break down so often - and Evatt's system was dependent on not giving the ball away when practically everyone bar Santos was forward as it left us wide open. In a way, Evatt's system was dependent on Santos' form. Playing Santos at the back gave license to get more bodies forward - hence it became overcomplex and overcrowded in the final third. And I agree Forrester was relegated to back up CB because of the over-dependence on Santos as a sweeper.

Since Julian took over, our WBs have been more cautious and Murphy is primarily a defender anyway so we are more compact defensively than when Santos was given all that responsibility which is why there are more long balls, more running from midfield and Vic ploughing a lonely furrow as a target/hold up man - hopefully Etete will come good in that role when he's fit to give Vic a break occasionally.

I still think Santos has a role in this team but it's a different role than under Evatt - more a traditional CB role.

Not sure it comes under "Evatt holding them back" but I think the new defensive compactness has given the midfield/forwards more confidence having a security blanket behind them and with less bodies forward in attack (and therefore less defenders marking them) they are playing with more freedom with more space for killer through balls - rather than facing two lines of defenders to try to tippy tap it through/around.

On 01/02/2025 at 10:37, Whitesince63 said:

I can’t really understand some of the pessimism on here about us making the play offs. I’d be amazed if we didn’t because whilst the squad isn’t completely fixed we’ve surely enough to challenge most of those above and around us. If SS can get a couple more in before Monday night it could improve everything. Even if not, I’m convinced that what we have is better than most and we now have a manager who can use it. All systems go now for me.

I take it your views have changed 😀

Its OK, its allowed, but you've gone from the above positive endorsement of the current squad to "I just don't think the squad's anywhere near strong enough to challenge the top 6" on Marc Iles blog.  That's a big turnaround in a couple of days 😀

6 minutes ago, Johnnyrotten said:

I take it your views have changed 😀

Its OK, its allowed, but you've gone from the above positive endorsement of the current squad to "I just don't think the squad's anywhere near strong enough to challenge the top 6" on Marc Iles blog.  That's a big turnaround in a couple of days 😀

Don’t worry come every match day we’ll be back to don’t worry if the opposition have x/y/z if BWFC perform to their best, we have nothing to worry about and I fully expect us to win 😂

If folk don't think our sqaud is strong enough to challenge for play offs then I suggest they take a look at all the other piles of shite in and around the play offs.

 

36 minutes ago, gonzo said:

If folk don't think our sqaud is strong enough to challenge for play offs then I suggest they take a look at all the other piles of shite in and around the play offs.

 

We must be nearing a fully fit squad? For the first time all season?

Once Forino and Santos are fit that’s everyone isn’t it?

There’s a lot to look at for SS. Lots of players and combinations to try out. Exciting times. 

25 minutes ago, desperado said:

We must be nearing a fully fit squad? For the first time all season?

Once Forino and Santos are fit that’s everyone isn’t it?

There’s a lot to look at for SS. Lots of players and combinations to try out. Exciting times. 

Dempsey is out for the rest of the season.

2 minutes ago, Cheese said:

Dempsey is out for the rest of the season.

Oh yeh, of course 🤦‍♂️

Completely forgot about him.

He’ll be like a new signing for SS in the summer 😁

22 minutes ago, desperado said:

Oh yeh, of course 🤦‍♂️

Completely forgot about him.

He’ll be like a new signing for SS in the summer 😁

Or for Evatt at Blackpool

26 minutes ago, gonzo said:

Or for Evatt at Blackpool

or at Carlisle

2 hours ago, gonzo said:

If folk don't think our sqaud is strong enough to challenge for play offs then I suggest they take a look at all the other piles of shite in and around the play offs.

 

aye, failure to get in the play offs would be a failure

 

no biggie as next season is the big one, but to say play offs shouldn't be an expectation from here is rubbish

14 minutes ago, Casino said:

aye, failure to get in the play offs would be a failure

 

no biggie as next season is the big one, but to say play offs shouldn't be an expectation from here is rubbish

I just want to see us play well for the rest of the season, and preferably stop conceding so many fucking goals. Wouldn't be disappointed in the slightest if we finish 7th. Anything else is just a bonus.

2 hours ago, desperado said:

Oh yeh, of course 🤦‍♂️

Completely forgot about him.

He’ll be like a new signing for SS in the summer 😁

Every time Dempsey plays for us it feels like a new signing, like we've borrowed him 😀

We talk about other players being interchangeable (Sheehan or Morley, Matete or Tomo, Randall or a 2nd striker etc) but Dempsey stands alone, a huge miss for this squad and a big improvement when he plays, IMO.

11 hours ago, desperado said:

Don’t worry come every match day we’ll be back to don’t worry if the opposition have x/y/z if BWFC perform to their best, we have nothing to worry about and I fully expect us to win 😂

Followed by a comment 15 minutes into the 1st half that we're playing like a pile of shite 😀

Just having a laugh @Whitesince63, all in good taste!

2 hours ago, Zico said:

or at Carlisle

Demps isn't too popular up there.

10 hours ago, Cheese said:

I just want to see us play well for the rest of the season, and preferably stop conceding so many fucking goals. Wouldn't be disappointed in the slightest if we finish 7th. Anything else is just a bonus.

I think that's where I am at. I would love better of course but it's been such a weird season I would take it.

4 minutes ago, Winchester White said:

I think that's where I am at. I would love better of course but it's been such a weird season I would take it.

Aye, that's what I meant when I said the season is a "write off" - in my head, it is. But of course I'd still wank myself raw if we went on a massive run and got promoted.

I just can't shift this nagging feeling that Evatt is right about some of the players and their attitude and application. 

I just hope he's wrong and he just wasn't the man to get the best out of them. Yes I know he signed them and I'm not for one minute resolving him of any blame.

I just have doubts over the mentality of a few of them. I have no doubt on paper they are good enough mind.

 

3 minutes ago, gonzo said:

I just can't shift this nagging feeling that Evatt is right about some of the players and their attitude and application. 

I just hope he's wrong and he just wasn't the man to get the best out of them. Yes I know he signed them and I'm not for one minute resolving him of any blame.

I just have doubts over the mentality of a few of them. I have no doubt on paper they are good enough mind.

 

With good reason considering our record in the big games which have an increased level of pressure / intimidation.

I’ve no doubt that Evatt was a key component, but the players were on the pitch when they froze against Oxford and capitulated against Stockport - there’s hardly been an example of them showing strong mentality.

It’ll be very very interesting to see how the same players fair in those big games in the second half of the season under SS. A strong record would be very incriminating on Evatt because his record over his whole tenure was terrible in them (you could already point to the Huddersfield game as something that would never have happened under Evatt).

36 minutes ago, gonzo said:

I just can't shift this nagging feeling that Evatt is right about some of the players and their attitude and application. 

I just hope he's wrong and he just wasn't the man to get the best out of them. Yes I know he signed them and I'm not for one minute resolving him of any blame.

I just have doubts over the mentality of a few of them. I have no doubt on paper they are good enough mind.

Know what you mean. We've got a squad of 'nice lads'. Not saying we should sign a load of cunts of course, but there has to be some sort of 'character' in a team to take a game by the scruff of the neck. Unfortunately, the only one we've got (Dempsey) has spent more time in the treatment room than he has on the pitch.

Having said that, he played in all our pathetic defeats last season, so I'm probably talking shite.

Edited February 4, 20251 yr by Cheese

38 minutes ago, gonzo said:

I just can't shift this nagging feeling that Evatt is right about some of the players and their attitude and application. 

I just hope he's wrong and he just wasn't the man to get the best out of them. Yes I know he signed them and I'm not for one minute resolving him of any blame.

I just have doubts over the mentality of a few of them. I have no doubt on paper they are good enough mind.

 

He doesn’t know fuck all. He signed em all. Say it again. Clean slate for every single one of them.

11 hours ago, Johnnyrotten said:

Every time Dempsey plays for us it feels like a new signing, like we've borrowed him 😀

We talk about other players being interchangeable (Sheehan or Morley, Matete or Tomo, Randall or a 2nd striker etc) but Dempsey stands alone, a huge miss for this squad and a big improvement when he plays, IMO.

The only one who stands out as captain material to.

53 minutes ago, gonzo said:

I just can't shift this nagging feeling that Evatt is right about some of the players and their attitude and application. 

I just hope he's wrong and he just wasn't the man to get the best out of them. Yes I know he signed them and I'm not for one minute resolving him of any blame.

I just have doubts over the mentality of a few of them. I have no doubt on paper they are good enough mind.

 

I'm telling myself they just couldn't train or play the way or to the level IE expected of them, whether that was reasonable expectation or not, I don't know

but I keep coming back to GT's comments about the way he wanted them to play is/was really complicated

and this after Oxford, over the summer and into the season with the fucking around with the formation, they just lost confidence in it

and IE wasn't always there in training so they just couldn't be arsed with it

also presuming there the backroom staff he hired (and fired) weren't up to much either other than Hird

it's not a great reflection on them as a collective

but a new manager and coaching team with fresh ideas and approach can turn it around

I'm sure

5 minutes ago, Zico said:

but I keep coming back to GT's comments about the way he wanted them to play is/was really complicated

I also keep thinking about that quote

I'm hoping the fact they knew they were going to have to play a complicated system against a good team/under a lot of pressure and expectation was contributing to their nervousness

6 minutes ago, Lt. Aldo Raine said:

I also keep thinking about that quote

I'm hoping the fact they knew they were going to have to play a complicated system against a good team/under a lot of pressure and expectation was contributing to their nervousness

and further to that

be interesting to see if he got the Carlisle job, whether he woudl take his complicated system with him to the team currently propping up the entire football league

Evatt took us to one game from the Championship - a game in which the opposition crocked our best player in the opening minutes and weren't punished for it and a game in which several of our current squad didn't show up. It seemed like we were victims of a tactical masterclass but IMO Evatt lost us because he didn't change tactics or make subs when it was blindingly obvious what was happening - and as usual he kept faith in his starting eleven and his plan until it was too late - even though some of the players were having an off day and seemed to have the attitude that they had a right to win.

With SS at the helm I doubt very much those mistakes will be repeated.