Re: Rochdale home thread
 

"Stop the cross", "win the header", "get tight and don't let him turn". It's not John Motson or David Coleman, but that's the commentary that was going thru my head in the lead up to the goal.

3 opportunities to prevent it, one of the worst i've seen us concede this year (and there have been many to choose from). We can all say Rochdale are this and that, but they've beaten us twice this year, what does that tell us re our game management.

Looking at other clubs fixtures this morning, they all seem to be playing each other. Not sure if that's a good thing in that a win for one is a loss for the other, or a draw is a small progression for both.

Will Walsall have a "new manager" bounce, let's hope not.

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

Your right there Lord love Rocket, Harsh to blame Hughes but that’s 3 goals in three games Donacien(Don**) been at fault and he’s not even our player anymore.

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

It's an accepted fact that over a game lasting 90 minutes, the best team usually wins.
Perhaps last night was the exception that proved the rule but, deserved or not, we were beaten by a team tipped for relegation.
In any event, resorting to 'lady luck' deserting you as an excuse for defeat is a lame excuse.
Multiply those 90 minutes over a 45+ game season & you end up where you deserve to be. Time for a reality check.
Had we been able to keep our League 2 Champions team intact, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
As it is, we lost too many of the gems we polished last season & with them, the winning momentum that team possessed.
The mixed bag of replacements, mainly loanees & free agents have proved largely ineffective at League 1 level.
Likewise the general standard of coaching & organisation of teams in L1 is at another level compared to L2.
When I questioned our right to be in L1 after our defeat by Rochdale last night, it was with a heavy heart because, like everyone on here, I love Stanley.
However, I can only say this. The present team would be lucky to reach mid-table obscurity in L2 based on current form.
I hope & pray we can survive this season.
If we do, lets hope the board & management wake up to some hard realities about what's needed to survive at this level

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

I can't disagree with your summing up of the season, although it doesn't explain why we did so well in getting points prior to Christmas?

As for your last comment about the board and management, as Andy has said on numerous occasions since buying the club. He has no intention of using the family silver to bolster the playing budget. He see's his roll as owner of Accrington as creating a sustainable community club with reasonable fan facilities. Therefore, whether we can survive in League 1 is not something that he see's as important, only that we survive as a club. If you expect an injection of cash and the arrival of better players next season you will I am afraid to say be disappointed......

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

I would imagine cos by christmas teams had sussed out the way we play? thats when yeh would expect a "PLAN.B" but i sure aint seen it yet,:rolleyes: that could easily cause us to drop, not rocket science.

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

I'm always in a state of psychological stability.

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

Whilst I get it I don't understand it.
Where has the stand money come from ? The sale of two players.
Zero investment in playing staff = no funds from sale of players.
No funds from sale of players = no money to make the facilities better or even confirm survival.
Chicken or the egg ?
How on earth does the club expect to attract new fans when the message is we don't care if we go down ?

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

Re 28's last point, do we know if our average attendance has improved on league 2 (and we can't count Sunderland twice !)
The biggest risk to going down is the inability to gain traction in League 2. Just ask bigger clubs such as Tranmere, Chesterfield, Orient, Wrexham, even NOTTS COUNTY. They'll tell you there's another trap door if you continue to get it wrong.

I recall our "CFO" saying that the biggest plus to promotion was the extra years breathing space it gave us on our first priority of staying up each year when in League 2.

We are in danger of throwing that away by not addressing a number of the points raised above.

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

I'd think that losing Anderton, Ihiekwe and Ripley after Christmas must have had a major impact too.

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

Last seasons average crowd was around the 1800 mark. This season was average around that in home fans alone. How much of that is league 1 and its opponents, and how much of that is a couple of years worth of positive Google Page Ranking such as shirt giveaways, winners hours/hsppy hours, bands etc?

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

I should imagine everyone at the club is aware of this scenario but one big change at the club is the ongoing facilities being improved as before what ever level we would have been at would frankly have been embarrassing and couldn't have continued we lost countless returning fans because of this and awful ticketing arrangements has said before these improvements will be finished soon and will last for years along with a club that hopefully will be self sustainable and playing at a reasonable level I for one think we will just stay up and hopefully improve next year and beyond.

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

Hope yer right andy we got some real tough fixtures left.:eek:

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

In the first 17 games, we scored in all but two. In the 34 since we've had 14 blanks, including 6 in a row. That's the most significant difference. Going off the stats, we still seem to be making chances but we've stopped converting them.

The start of the season was dreamland, including a 10 game unbeaten run and 5 wins out of 6 in one spell, but, looking back, the wins were almost all by the odd goal. But, again with hindsight, that raised expectations to crazy heights. The correction was probably inevitable, but I can understand Coley sticking to what worked at the start. A radically different "Plan B" would require radically different ingredients which I'm not sure are available.

Similarly, I'm with Andy in putting financial security ahead of chasing further daydreams by risking bankruptcy.

Whatever, having failed to see off the Wombles and the Dale, we are probably perverse enough to now lose to Walsall and Plymouth, but secure safety by beating Luton, Doncaster and Portsmouth. Oh it's exciting following Stanley …..

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

Couldn't agree more TM ¡

Re: Rochdale home thread
 

it didn't help defo. but yeh still need a plan B, unless yer dense.