Maybe we should have looked into having Coley & Bell cloned before they went to Rochdale
Seriously though, Coley and Bell were
ALWAYS going to be a very tough act to follow. Like others have said, there were some warning signs of our defensive frailty before Coley & Bell left, but these have only been exaggerated / highlighted by injuries. Add to that, we lost key players in Long & Proctor, so ( for me at least) the current predicament / run of poor results was always on the cards.
I don't for one minute think that the current problems will vanish overnight. It's going to take plenty of hours on the training ground to get things onto an even keel. Looking at the way other results are going and the way the league table is developing, although it's still mathematically possible to get into the play offs, realistically, I think that bird has long since flown the nest..
So for me, it's now all about consolidation ( which I'm sure most would have been happy with before a ball was kicked this season ) I'm sure Cook is rapidly getting an idea of which positions need strengthening and who he needs to bring in. Giving Cook the rest of this season (and the close season) to evaluate and work on our strengths and weaknesses hopefully will result in a strong push for glory next season...
As the saying goes "Rome wasn't built in a day" Malcolm. We've had plenty of good times under Coley & Bell. It's time to take the rough, as we've had plenty of smooth !!!
It's only fair that we get behind Cooky and Leam and give them time to make their mark on the team.