The only worrying issue is we seem to sit down and accept our fate against 'big' clubs away. See consistent batterings against Sunderland and Peterborough.
I don’t think that’s right. I can’t see many people on here calling for GA’s head immediately, rather expressing concern at playing style and the management team’s capacity to influence the outcome of a game through tactical decisions.
GA has delivered some great moments for Wycombe, but ultimately no one is bigger than the football club.
This is a results business and GA is ultimately accountable for everything on the pitch (as stated by Rob C at the latest fans forum). IMHO, the season so far, from the GK debacle to the results themselves, are not yet meeting the mark I (and Id like think our owners) would expect.
I would be most happy for us to go and stuff SW on Sat and be made to look completely stupid, but having been to most games this season I just can’t see that happening.
I would most certainly give GA until end of November bare minimum before meaningfully reassessing. I can’t imagine we’ll be deep in the bottom half by then.
I’m not sure your worry is well founded. Last season we drew at Sheffield Wednesday, Wigan, Rotherham & Portsmouth and won at Plymouth, Charlton & Bolton. This season we have won at Barnsley.
I don't think GA should be laid off for any reason at all. And most of our issues are not his fault, such as the GK debacle (I still lay that at Man United's door more than anyone) and bad luck with injuries. The only two issues I have with GA is how he handles subs, which most here agree on, I think (and that is a minor issue compared to others), and then the issue of coughing up leads, which again may not be totally his fault but seems to be at least in part tied to the sitting back strategy. Considering this is the same manager who used to have a team who did not know when they were beaten (and did not lose if they took a lead), there is every chance we can somehow get back to that mentality, especially if it is actually acknowledged as an issue.
GA has been the foundation upon which our club has achieved significant progress and stability. Not only that, but our best chance of ever remaining sustainable in L1 and pushing for the second tier is the development squad and identifying talent, which he has such a huge hand in. If we ever remove him and replace him with "Recycled L1 Manager X", so much of what makes us different would leave with him.
We are only even in this division, with these opportunities, because GA took a club with next to no resources, got them promoted, and then kept them up. I agree no man is bigger than the club, but a club can also cut off it's nose to spite it's face with ungrateful treatment of a legend.
Ah yes, thanks for reminding me of watching that dreadful 3-0 defeat at Dagenham on my birthday. I think Gareth has at least partially made amends for that dispiriting afternoon in the intervening 10 years...
I hope though that the Couhigs are encouraging him to try a more entertaining and less negative brand of football.
This needs to be done without otherwise interfering too much in team selection, recruitment and general management decisions... which is a difficult balance to strike!
Completely agree GA is a club legend and will always be grateful for the success he has brought to the club and I hope it continues. We must however, be careful not to be too wedded to past achievements to the extent it blunts our vision to move forward, alas the owners’ view is to be a sustainable Champ club and not L1. I hope we don’t find ourselves in a position where we seriously ponder the Q of a Wycombe with a management change, but we should not hesitate to ask it out because of past achievements.
Please forgive us @Raminpeace for the use of irony on our own form. Mehmessi is potential Premier League standard and the less people that know about it the better.
Oxford are absolutely awful, I've seen them a few times this season (apologies for this admission) So long as Gareth isn't as negative as you we'll get 3 points and 3 points from equally woeful MK.
I was thinking similar regarding Oxford and MK (based on reports and brief highlights, nothing more). We shouldn't be going into those games thinking a point would be a decent result on current form/player availability. That said, Oxford will potentially have a few back from injury by the time we play them. Peterborough are also on a shocking run of form, and have been poor on their travels all season. These are games we should be confident of winning with the correct approach. Take a couple of points from Wednesday and Plymouth, then kick on.
As for Saturday, like many I found it incredibly frustrating. We were so comfortably the better team until we scored, and I don't buy the narrative that we were then "forced back" by Derby's wonderful attacking play. To me, the second half was a clear attempt at playing the low block that we have employed before. However, it invited far too much pressure, particularly knowing that they have one of the cleanest strikers of the ball from 20+ yards in the EFL for the last 10 years. Wing has been singled out by some, but I think Freeman was equally ineffective once we were on the back foot. Of course we massively missed Scowen, but that's all the more reason to try and keep playing and pushing them back. Derby were decent and obviously have some very good players for the level, but we were more than capable of carrying on competing at both ends of the pitch. I won't even get onto the passive approach to substitutions...
By no means am I calling for GA's head, he's a fantastic manager and the longer we have him is much more the better.
We do well in the occasional 'big game', and always have Plymouth on a plate (I say touching wood because of the next home game) but I do feel that sometimes we come up against a big team, even at home in these we tend to sit back and break away for the win like Wednesday at home, and think we're a bit too scared to impose ourselves. You take it when we get the win, like that Wednesday game I mentioned, but with a side as strong as we've got, I'd like us to go and play a bit more. Even against a despairing Crewe side away last season, we only figured we could win the game in the last 20 mins.
Sat on it for 2 days but still really disappointed in how we played on Saturday, it was like waiting for the inevitable to happen.
If everyone was fit we have a competitive L1 squad but having the likes of Hanlan, Thompson, Wheeler, Scowen (plus McCleary) all out is a big miss. I wonder how much the absences can be put down to bad luck and how much the medical department might need to face up to some scrutiny. You also need to factor in that Vokes, McCarthy and Kaikai have been out for a period of time, the injuries are never ending.
My bigger concern though is that excuse masks our tactics and style of play which is pretty poor and only palatable for so long if it gets results.
I'm really not sure why we extended Horgan's contract and although Stryjek has looked good the goalkeeper situation was a serious cock up and IMO cost us points.
I don't think we have a divine right to be above bigger sides than us such as Derby, Ipswich, Pompey, Charlton, Bolton, Sheff W etc but something isn't adding up when GA says he is happy with his squad, Couhig talks up our promotion ambitions yet the results don't follow.
I'm reasonably content with a mid table season of consolidation but when the Couhig talks up our promotion ambitions you start to wonder if your eyes are lying to you and what is really going on.
The ray of light is Mehmeti who has been outstanding but we need more from others if we really have the ambitions that the owner states and the manager has also rallied behind.
Would a mid table season risk losing the likes of Scowen, Mawson, Tafazolli to higher placed clubs next season? Not sure that would be something to be content with.
Have to admit, we were lucky to keep Taff this season and I'm sure Mawson was given a sales pitch with a vision of promotion.
I think Scowen is less of a worry. He's played at a higher level and it hasn't worked for whatever reason. Clubs will be less willing to gamble on that and I think he has a bond with Wycombe.
We have been very unlucky with injuries, we can't deny that.
- Hanlan is a big player for us. We have missed him.
- Horgan started well but has faded off.
-Kaikai is really frustrating me because he looked a good acquisition on paper.
- Thompson is a big miss
- JJ hasn't produced yet. He was a threat of goals/assists for us. I don't see that anymore unfortunately.
- Obita hasn't hit top form.
- Wing looks fairly anonymous.
- silly red cards like GMac's do not help at all.
- Wheeler is a decent replacement for anyone and he is out
- Vokes has been out/lacking fitness and we rely heavily on him
- GMac hasn't hit peak form
You'd have to say the only players that have performed so far are Mehmeti, Scowen, Grimmer and perhaps Gape. Could be fitness, form, management or all of the above why so many have underperformed. We don't seem to have the hunger of MK in the playoffs, Plymouth away, Plymouth and Sheff Wed at home.
I think it's a multitude of circumstances that have transpired against us. Let's not forget we had our fair share of luck last season too.
I don't believe the levels of negativity. One would hope that Couhig would look further than the end of his nose. You lost last weekend having bossed the game for the best part of 30 minutes. We then clicked for the first time this season and might have had half a dozen. That doesn't make you a bad side. Your performance for the opening 25 to 30 was as good as anybody has been against us this season and better than most. Your next 4 games are very difficult. Couhig would be wrong to wield the axe even if you lost all 4. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
Comments
With Vokes back fit there is every chance of us going to Wembley again. Hilarious some people talking about relegation
'You know what you are'
The only worrying issue is we seem to sit down and accept our fate against 'big' clubs away. See consistent batterings against Sunderland and Peterborough.
The only worrying issue is people suggesting Ainsworth will be sacked.
By people who haven't the first clue about football
I miss @ReturnToSenda 🥺
Fortunately the Couhigs aren't stupid and will make sure Ainsworth is our manager for decades to come
Speaking of GA, 'Ainsworth Day' is coming up in 5 days, when he will have been at the helm 10 years. Incredible stuff!
And he shall reign forever and evermore
I don’t think that’s right. I can’t see many people on here calling for GA’s head immediately, rather expressing concern at playing style and the management team’s capacity to influence the outcome of a game through tactical decisions.
GA has delivered some great moments for Wycombe, but ultimately no one is bigger than the football club.
This is a results business and GA is ultimately accountable for everything on the pitch (as stated by Rob C at the latest fans forum). IMHO, the season so far, from the GK debacle to the results themselves, are not yet meeting the mark I (and Id like think our owners) would expect.
I would be most happy for us to go and stuff SW on Sat and be made to look completely stupid, but having been to most games this season I just can’t see that happening.
I would most certainly give GA until end of November bare minimum before meaningfully reassessing. I can’t imagine we’ll be deep in the bottom half by then.
I’m not sure your worry is well founded. Last season we drew at Sheffield Wednesday, Wigan, Rotherham & Portsmouth and won at Plymouth, Charlton & Bolton. This season we have won at Barnsley.
We were battered at Wigan though, lucky to get a point.
We aren’t going to be near relegation this year.
I don't think GA should be laid off for any reason at all. And most of our issues are not his fault, such as the GK debacle (I still lay that at Man United's door more than anyone) and bad luck with injuries. The only two issues I have with GA is how he handles subs, which most here agree on, I think (and that is a minor issue compared to others), and then the issue of coughing up leads, which again may not be totally his fault but seems to be at least in part tied to the sitting back strategy. Considering this is the same manager who used to have a team who did not know when they were beaten (and did not lose if they took a lead), there is every chance we can somehow get back to that mentality, especially if it is actually acknowledged as an issue.
GA has been the foundation upon which our club has achieved significant progress and stability. Not only that, but our best chance of ever remaining sustainable in L1 and pushing for the second tier is the development squad and identifying talent, which he has such a huge hand in. If we ever remove him and replace him with "Recycled L1 Manager X", so much of what makes us different would leave with him.
We are only even in this division, with these opportunities, because GA took a club with next to no resources, got them promoted, and then kept them up. I agree no man is bigger than the club, but a club can also cut off it's nose to spite it's face with ungrateful treatment of a legend.
Well said Shev, brilliant post.
Ah yes, thanks for reminding me of watching that dreadful 3-0 defeat at Dagenham on my birthday. I think Gareth has at least partially made amends for that dispiriting afternoon in the intervening 10 years...
We are truly blessed to have GA as manager. Martin O'Neil and Garreth Ainsworth. Football eh? Bloody hell!
Ainsworth is the greatest manager in world football. He will be our manager for years to come. Perhaps forever. We are so lucky to have him
Maybe we should start a personal insults thread and then you could all spend your life on them and leave us to discuss the real topics of the threads.
Madness to seriously suggest binning Ainsworth.
I hope though that the Couhigs are encouraging him to try a more entertaining and less negative brand of football.
This needs to be done without otherwise interfering too much in team selection, recruitment and general management decisions... which is a difficult balance to strike!
I thought so, very well balanced!
Completely agree GA is a club legend and will always be grateful for the success he has brought to the club and I hope it continues. We must however, be careful not to be too wedded to past achievements to the extent it blunts our vision to move forward, alas the owners’ view is to be a sustainable Champ club and not L1. I hope we don’t find ourselves in a position where we seriously ponder the Q of a Wycombe with a management change, but we should not hesitate to ask it out because of past achievements.
Please forgive us @Raminpeace for the use of irony on our own form. Mehmessi is potential Premier League standard and the less people that know about it the better.
Oxford are absolutely awful, I've seen them a few times this season (apologies for this admission) So long as Gareth isn't as negative as you we'll get 3 points and 3 points from equally woeful MK.
Sounds like 2 scoreless draws then.
I was thinking similar regarding Oxford and MK (based on reports and brief highlights, nothing more). We shouldn't be going into those games thinking a point would be a decent result on current form/player availability. That said, Oxford will potentially have a few back from injury by the time we play them. Peterborough are also on a shocking run of form, and have been poor on their travels all season. These are games we should be confident of winning with the correct approach. Take a couple of points from Wednesday and Plymouth, then kick on.
As for Saturday, like many I found it incredibly frustrating. We were so comfortably the better team until we scored, and I don't buy the narrative that we were then "forced back" by Derby's wonderful attacking play. To me, the second half was a clear attempt at playing the low block that we have employed before. However, it invited far too much pressure, particularly knowing that they have one of the cleanest strikers of the ball from 20+ yards in the EFL for the last 10 years. Wing has been singled out by some, but I think Freeman was equally ineffective once we were on the back foot. Of course we massively missed Scowen, but that's all the more reason to try and keep playing and pushing them back. Derby were decent and obviously have some very good players for the level, but we were more than capable of carrying on competing at both ends of the pitch. I won't even get onto the passive approach to substitutions...
There is every chance that Oxford and MK will be saying the same about us.
By no means am I calling for GA's head, he's a fantastic manager and the longer we have him is much more the better.
We do well in the occasional 'big game', and always have Plymouth on a plate (I say touching wood because of the next home game) but I do feel that sometimes we come up against a big team, even at home in these we tend to sit back and break away for the win like Wednesday at home, and think we're a bit too scared to impose ourselves. You take it when we get the win, like that Wednesday game I mentioned, but with a side as strong as we've got, I'd like us to go and play a bit more. Even against a despairing Crewe side away last season, we only figured we could win the game in the last 20 mins.
Sat on it for 2 days but still really disappointed in how we played on Saturday, it was like waiting for the inevitable to happen.
If everyone was fit we have a competitive L1 squad but having the likes of Hanlan, Thompson, Wheeler, Scowen (plus McCleary) all out is a big miss. I wonder how much the absences can be put down to bad luck and how much the medical department might need to face up to some scrutiny. You also need to factor in that Vokes, McCarthy and Kaikai have been out for a period of time, the injuries are never ending.
My bigger concern though is that excuse masks our tactics and style of play which is pretty poor and only palatable for so long if it gets results.
I'm really not sure why we extended Horgan's contract and although Stryjek has looked good the goalkeeper situation was a serious cock up and IMO cost us points.
I don't think we have a divine right to be above bigger sides than us such as Derby, Ipswich, Pompey, Charlton, Bolton, Sheff W etc but something isn't adding up when GA says he is happy with his squad, Couhig talks up our promotion ambitions yet the results don't follow.
I'm reasonably content with a mid table season of consolidation but when the Couhig talks up our promotion ambitions you start to wonder if your eyes are lying to you and what is really going on.
The ray of light is Mehmeti who has been outstanding but we need more from others if we really have the ambitions that the owner states and the manager has also rallied behind.
Would a mid table season risk losing the likes of Scowen, Mawson, Tafazolli to higher placed clubs next season? Not sure that would be something to be content with.
Have to admit, we were lucky to keep Taff this season and I'm sure Mawson was given a sales pitch with a vision of promotion.
I think Scowen is less of a worry. He's played at a higher level and it hasn't worked for whatever reason. Clubs will be less willing to gamble on that and I think he has a bond with Wycombe.
We have been very unlucky with injuries, we can't deny that.
- Hanlan is a big player for us. We have missed him.
- Horgan started well but has faded off.
-Kaikai is really frustrating me because he looked a good acquisition on paper.
- Thompson is a big miss
- JJ hasn't produced yet. He was a threat of goals/assists for us. I don't see that anymore unfortunately.
- Obita hasn't hit top form.
- Wing looks fairly anonymous.
- silly red cards like GMac's do not help at all.
- Wheeler is a decent replacement for anyone and he is out
- Vokes has been out/lacking fitness and we rely heavily on him
- GMac hasn't hit peak form
You'd have to say the only players that have performed so far are Mehmeti, Scowen, Grimmer and perhaps Gape. Could be fitness, form, management or all of the above why so many have underperformed. We don't seem to have the hunger of MK in the playoffs, Plymouth away, Plymouth and Sheff Wed at home.
I think it's a multitude of circumstances that have transpired against us. Let's not forget we had our fair share of luck last season too.
I don't believe the levels of negativity. One would hope that Couhig would look further than the end of his nose. You lost last weekend having bossed the game for the best part of 30 minutes. We then clicked for the first time this season and might have had half a dozen. That doesn't make you a bad side. Your performance for the opening 25 to 30 was as good as anybody has been against us this season and better than most. Your next 4 games are very difficult. Couhig would be wrong to wield the axe even if you lost all 4. It's a marathon, not a sprint.