Best Of

It’s all about momentum. And today again showed that ours is not just slowing it’s stuck. So many underperforming players need to be getting back to somewhere near their best or even their ‘good enough’. Set pieces we look lost at. We have giants in the team and can’t get a cross in to challenge a defence. Today was on the back of a Cambridge performance we deserved to lose.

Don't know if you missed @Chris's post earlier, but don't take the "vermin" thing to heart - it's a gasroom tradition, most famously used by @oilysailor

Leahy and Scowen do not have the breadth of passing in midfield to unlock doors so I’m not surprised we’ve gone more direct.

Simons little cameo was brilliant. Two excellent balls straight out to the winger to move us forward at pace. Brilliant track back and tackle.

I also think Taylor has been a massive loss as he really brings the ball out well.

Skura has been solid but he is no Grimmer or Pattenden.

Morley, Taylor, Jack/Jasper and Kone have been big losses and why our form has dipped.

Im sure if we get three of those back in the team plus Simons we will be fine.

COYB!

I don’t think the impact of the replacement of Ravizzoli with a ‘keeper who is not comfortable on the ball should be underestimated. Subtle changes in approach are inevitable when a new head coach comes in but the welcome decision to opt for continuity of personnel was completely undermined by the failure of the slick passing approach to survive beyond the first half hour or so.

To be fair, we had already started to be more direct soon after Matt Bloomfield’s departure but Crawley’s unexpectedly robust approach (arguably in response to a noticeably more physical approach from our own boys) led to a scrappy foul-ridden and singularly unedifying encounter.

You probably needed to be there or to have watched a live broadcast to understand how disappointing that performance was.

Fortunately these are early days but the mysterious absence of involvement of most of last month’s new signings only serves to reinforce the disconcerting feeling that our steady march towards automatic promotion may be stumbling. Such a contrast with last year’s signings. So much is new and strange.

But it's way too early to talk about "ifs" for a scenario that is a tier down from where we sit.

None of the teams below us would swap for our position as we stand.

It really is all to play for still.

Start Simons (and hopefully get the gasroom realising there's no second M or even a D in there), get a right back back and hopefully Kone isn't this year's Sido from the Southend season...already ruled out for the season but no-one's told us yet!

Perhaps the more relevant statistic regarding our league form without Aaron Morley is the one which applies to the full season.

P11 W3 D5 L3 F12 A13 GD -1 PTS 14 Win percentage: 27%

With 16 league games left to play this season, it suggests we might struggle to repeat the 83 points we earned to finish in 6th place in the 2021/22 season.

They signed Randel fir a reported 1.2m, it's not a shock they would want in excess of 1.5 from a title chasing team.

Shimmering ape is an all time classic.

Back in the days where incredible scenes was the hip expression. Before it was watered down to mere "scenes".

Before that evolved to "limbs".

Not sure what the kids say now. Probably something even shorter if the dynamic continues.

Wasn't Angela Rayner just spitting facts?

And back in the mists of time when shimmering apes roamed the Gasroom.