argyleforever":tk1ciyrp said:
Lowe is being too stubborn and we definitely need a plan B. Teams have got us sussed and know exactly how we play!! What manager doesn't have a plan b or even c or d????
You say this, but actually the last 3/4 games we've been playing noticeably more direct.
I think Lowe has flexibility in his approach to different games and I wouldn't say we are necessarily predictable. For me his problem thus far seems to be tactically shifting things during games. If we don't score first, teams are happy to sit in deep and counter. If we were more direct and got some balls into the box, we may have more chance.
Whilst I admire the way that Lowe is trying to play and we have seen in games we can win playing that way (particularly at home), I think away from home we need to look at the way we setup because at this point its not working. I've said it plenty of times, but away from home I'd play a back four with proper wingers. Our wing backs get caught too high up in the current setup and our defence is too ropey to deal with it. It'd allow us to get both Cooper and Mayor in without sacrificing Sarcevic, and Baxter could come into a midfield three with Edwards and Sarce to help us control the ball more.
I still have confidence that this side will be in the top 7 come May. Lowe's comments appear to be what has rubbed people up the wrong way. I've never understood why so much weight is put on what the manager says to the press, it was the same with Fletcher, Adams etc. After the shambles of last season, Lowe came in extremely confident, trying to lift the fans and make us excited about the season. It's exactly what he should have done. Imagine if he'd come in and said; 'It's going to take time to rebuild and we need to be realistic'. He'd have got slaughtered for that too. He tried to talk up Danny Mayor, who has been good, if not great so far. But if you looked at the pining over Lameiras and Carey on Social Media, he was right to point out that we've got excellent players here. I mean, we've still got posters on here talking about Sonny Bradley!
He's in managerial terms a bit of a rookie and he'll learn to temper expectations as these comments have bitten him in the arse a bit. But I get the impression from comments on this site and social media, that there is a real element of fans that whilst wanting the club to succeed (obviously), don't care if Ryan Lowe is the guy that makes it happen. Supporting the club, but not the manager almost. Why? Not sure. In parts, because people wanted Holloway - or someone else - to be in charge and can't get over the fact he isn't. In large parts, I think it's because the pain of last season is still fresh and there is an impatience for us to get back to L1 at the first attempt. So it's a mountain out of as molehill every time there's a bad result or performance.
I'm certainly not delighted with how we've started the season. We're extremely inconsistent, our away form isn't up to scratch and tactically we're not flexible enough during games. But we're also playing some great football, scoring goals and sat just outside of the playoffs and it's not even November yet. This is with a new manager, new style and largely a new squad, which has been affected by injury.
Yesterday was poo in every sense, but if we bounce back and go on another run of results and climb the table then it'll soon be forgotten. The challenge for the players and staff now is to show that they've got the determination and quality to do it.
