Back or Sack

[anthony.brown]

Were we looking for a manager (perish the thought!) Mark would be top of my shortlist. Saying more would obviously incite the naysayers, so I'll leave it there.

[Brian]

Jackie, credit where it's due. I think your posting on this thread is probably one of your best on the forum, balanced, not emotional and raises some very strong points.

I certainly agree with some of the points you have raised. I too watched two pre-season games where I came away extremely concerned about our chances on doing well this season.

There have certainly been some low points this season, home to Needham Market in the league where we just capitulated and home to Cheshunt in the FA Cup.
I did wonder whether we needed a fresh approach.

For me the turning point was home to Rushden in early December where we lost again but worked really hard and didn't have much luck however we showed incredible team spirit. During the second half when we put Rushden under considerable pressure and galvanised the supporters at the Fishponds Road end. There was at atmosphere that we don't see very often at Top Field.

The second half of the season has been much better.
The youngsters have come good. Players who looked totally out of their depth in the first half of the season suddenly looked like Southern League Premier Central players in the final weeks of the season, especially those who had to play out of position and actually looked better than the positions they had started in.
The latter half of the season has seen some tremendous crowds, families, young children, chanting and just a brilliant atmosphere. I've been incredibly proud to stand at a re-energised Top Field with a vibrant fan base.
Likewise a massive thank you and credit has to go to everyone involved in updating the ground. We all say how wonderful the new Fishponds Road end looks but whoever came up with the idea of The Aviary childrens play area in the old terracing between the dug outs and Lancaster Road end - absolute genius.

So fast forward to now. We are at a crossroads. I back Mark and hope he will stay on. If I had anything negative to say about Mark, I would have the decency to speak to Mark personally and raise my concerns with him. He's an approachable guy and whether I agree with some of the points raised by various people or not, I would rather they were put to him during a fans forum in the clubhouse rather than across the faceless social media platforms.

It is clear we need a stronger playing squad. One that has a mix of experienced senior players and youth where the new up and coming players through the academy can be eased into the first team and not thrown in at the deep end as appeared in the early part of the season. It has been disappointing not to find players from Luton and Stevenage, however as Luton are close to a Premiership club, the gulf between us is so wide, they are less likely to send their fringe players or top youth players to Top Field now. Also with Bedford promoted and other local clubs doing well it's imperative that we stay at this level.

I too did not think Roy's Back or Sack news item did the club any favours. We didn't over achieve reaching the play-offs two years running as that was the target set by Mark at the time with the squad he had and players he and Parks had been able to bring to the club. Likewise the target with resources available to Mark at present has been to stay in this division so I guess you could argue he has meet the target set for this season although we all want the club geared up to be pushing for the play-off places.

It is important that we get it right for next season and start aspiring to be higher up the division otherwise all the hard work on the ground and brilliant job done by the volunteers will be wasted and the terrific support we have seen this season could be lost.

I do think given we have not been able to have a face to face forum with Mark due to Covid for the past two seasons that with no restrictions currently in place, one should be organised by either the Trust or the club. It would give Mark chance to explain his thoughts on this season and how he hopes to take the club forward next season.

[ClubAdmin]

Expressing an opinion isn't libel or slander

Exactly.

[Chris_N]

Some good stuff here, but as has been correctly pointed out, please remember what is an opinion and what is personal. One thing I will agree with Brian on is that your posting here Jackie was one of your best, and as I saw it you have worked hard to keep it balanced and objective. Brian a great summary of how things are, the support has been fantastic both in numbers turning up and in terms of the unreal level of merchandise purchased in the past year.

I had a chat with Mark face to face back in December when we were at a low. I don't think I pulled any punches and I said it how I saw it. Whatever my opinions are, the fact that Mark afforded me an hour plus of his time to hear what I had to say, explain certain things that I didn't know and take it away speaks volumes for the man he is. Can't see very many other Managers doing that, my views were listened to and respected by him.

I do get incredibly emotional about football, sorry can't help it, it can make or ruin my week until the next week. I am the eternal football pessimist and I thought we were going down this season, I really did. I hurt badly when we lose, I hurt even worse when we lose but should have got something (all the 2-1 defeats away from home this season), I hurt when we blow a lead and draw, and I am over the moon when we get a hard earned point that wasn't expected (Rushall and Alvechurch away this season best examples). I also get really miffed when we don't have a full bench of fit substitutes. It's the message it gives out......

I don't always agree with some of Mark's decisions but then I'm like many other fans and am the stereotypical terrace football manager. What do I know about football? I have felt really frustrated this season, maybe because I felt that we sailed closer to the wind than we should have and it played on my emotions more than any other season since 2008-09. Mark achieved the end result I didn't think he would have, so egg on my face there big time, but I'd rather have eggy face than be looking forward to next season at Step 4. And a massive thank you to all of the players, who gave their all week in week out to put egg on my face. Thanks lads

I have to disagree with some of the postings that say we overachieved in 2016-17, the whole squad was stronger and more balanced. Also "overachieving" ? Does it indicate low expectations or aspirations, or unrealistic ones? This season, we're seventh in terms of attendance, we were ninth on our second half season form, surely between 7th and 9th should be a reasonable and realistic aspiration for 2022-23? Something to aim for.

But for me, the thing I want most next season is to see us start strong and stay strong . I personally really don't want the emotional rollercoaster of starting weak, finding ourselves in a relegation position in October/November and then having to pull rabbits out of hats to play catch up and survival for the second half of the season. We may not have a budget that anywhere near competes with the big boys in our division, but arguably nor did Banbury have anywhere near the biggest budget in our division this season, but they shopped smartly and made sure that first and foremost, they had the right balance of experience and youth.

Finally, I would say that it is a massive challenge to find the right players, I don't forget that, but is it a matter of being there when they are in the shop window?

2022-23 will be interesting. And I hope, successful.

[Canadian]

I would like to congratulate Jackie, Brian and yeah Chris for three of the best postings I have read over the twenty years I have been on the forum.

[DarrenW]

I would like to congratulate Jackie, Brian and yeah Chris for three of the best postings I have read over the twenty years I have been on the forum.

I will say the same. Although disagree with certain points I dont wish to go into. But that's part of the fun of it :)

Player recruitment is critical and how we start next season is a big thing for me as I for one dont wish to see another season like this one. We are better than that.

Chris mentioned Banbury and find there progress interesting. Last 10 years or so they have pretty much been no better or worse than us. Where did there progress come from?

[RST]

For those who haven't seen it, Freddie and Marac interviewed Mark earlier this week which makes for a good listen:

[pudgy]

Have to agree with Canadian, excellent, well-reasoned posts from Jackie, Brian and Chris. I’m mostly an armchair supporter these days, but sometimes distance gives a better perspective. It seemed to me that our season was going no-where until the loan acquisition of Jake Hutchinson. At last a goal-scorer, things suddenly improved, and we avoided relegation. A master-stroke you could say, except that the team had obviously lacked a striker from day 1. Should Mark have spotted that before the season began, and rectified it then, or at least before December? Maybe the money wasn’t there, and it’s obviously more difficult to sign players once the season begins.

And yes Jackie, we were a force in Isthmian League days, with results, league positions, cup runs and gates to prove it. Maybe we should have stayed there, might have made it easier to sign quality players.

[RST]

It seemed to me that our season was going no-where until the loan acquisition of Jake Hutchinson. At last a goal-scorer, things suddenly improved, and we avoided relegation. A master-stroke you could say, except that the team had obviously lacked a striker from day 1. Should Mark have spotted that before the season began, and rectified it then, or at least before December? Maybe the money wasn’t there, and it’s obviously more difficult to sign players once the season begins.

To be fair, we had Callum Stead from Day 1 and he scored 5 goals in the first 7 games before he went to South Shields (after the 8th game).

EDIT: Luke Brown was our other striker at the start of the season and he scored 3 in the first 5 games, but his goals rather tailed off after that.

[Piltdown]

After the surprise of this article being posted .I did wonder why the writer felt he actually needed to write it, because a few people on the forum questioned the managers ability?
I don't buy that . Did he also write the same article the previous full season prior to covid where we were equally as bad?
I can see why people are saying is It a pro manager pr stunt..
It says it is a balanced view , not for me !
It gives lots of excuses as to why the manager has put us in this position. It states player injuries, players leaving , decisions going against us , even the budget gets another mention.
Sorry you can copy and paste all these reasons to every club in the league!! They are part and parcel of the game
There's mention of not getting a striker on board , that does just not apply to this season but every one since Frendo left , Yet has never been addressed .
I have had my fair share of "debates " with jackie over the years but I find my self agreeing with alot of what she is saying especially the loan players that were never used.
I will upset people by saying being a club legend does not mean you cannot be criticised or exempt from being given the push if you are not performing , in truth and in my opinion if it was anybody else other than Mark Burke they would have been sacked by now.