Embarrassing

[jmt23]

I’m not usually one for agreeing with such hyperbole after a defeat, as it’s never usually so clear cut, but that today for me was as bad as it can get,  without we start accept relegation.

Billy, Ben & Owen were ok, the rest ranged from bad to pathetic.

I hate thinking this, never mind saying it, but Moly & McGrath both who apparently had interest from other clubs in the summer,  don’t look like players that want to be here or up for the fight.

I hope it’s nothing like that and they are just very short on confidence, but one thing is very clear they are certainly not good enough at the moment and I did actually find myself feeling embarrassed about both of them:
Lack of pace, lack of ball control, lack of desire, skill, just aimless kicking of the ball, and in Moly’s case whenever he was tackled or lost the ball - throwing a mini tantrum.

Mcann needs to action the words in his post match regarding the trust he had in certain players, he needs players that will dig in and work hard in bad times, not just good.

[StocksArmy]

Sbarra must have won a competition to play for us. Hes complete and utter garbage. Hes played once this season where I’ve recognised he’s on the pitch and that was at Huddersfield and because he missed a sitter. He’s now started 3 on the spin and I can’t for the life of me understand what he’s doing to get anywhere near the squad let alone the starting 11. It’s not only him but he’s the one I looked at on the team sheet and thought wtf is McCann thinking.

[Chris Black come back]

McCann has apologised and said he got everything wrong today. Other than the ref being blind and the players going to sleep at set pieces.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Good that McCann has accepted that he blew it today.

But. The collapse in form of some players is a major worry.

By the way, it's not the reason we lost today but that ref was the worst I've seen in years. Absolute shite, he was.

I listened to the Orient commentary. They were incredulous that we didn't get a penalty when Sharp was pulled. And that we didn't get a free kick when Sharp was manhandled as we broke in the first half. Thst resulted in the booking to McGrath and the Orient pressure leading to their s cond goal, right when we were on top.

The commentators must've said half a dozen times "Doncarrrrrster have every right to be a bit aggreived at some of the decisions today."

[Chris Black come back]

He was poor but we were absolute dog shit.

[grayx]

  There is a lad we released the season before last coming back from Australia in November Max Anderson, not a boy any more worth another look as a striker.
  He has been top scorer for his sides and the divisions in New Zealand and Australia and a couple of weeks trial while over here would cost nothing and we might just turn up a nugget.
  A big lad, fast and a finisher, and puts himself about.

Cant be any worse..

[dickos1]

For mcann and the players that.

Awful line up.
I thought middledon and gotts were guaranteed to start.
Bad day at the office all round.

But Again, the main problem is the atrocious recruitment that is killing us.

Recruitment has been terrible, yet you’re called for two of the new recruits to start today.
Makes sense

[dickos1]

Does Grant pick the names out of a hat to choose is starting XI? He obviously doesn’t but he doesn’t know his best team does he. That’s a slight concern.

When we were winning at the beginning of the season we were making changes each week. It wasn’t an issue then

[dickos1]

Lawlor not the better keeper.
Nixon not the best right back.
Senior not the best left back.
McGrath loss of form & O’R just come backin.
Close & S’Barra nowhere near.
Mols totally off it.
We are desperate for a quality striker.

Some hard truths need addressing and fast!

Who’s the best fit right back if it’s not Nixon?

[Move DRFC]

I don’t love chopping and changing of the centre backs to be honest. Don’t mind it when it’s other positions but I think that’s an area we need to stick with the same two and get them on a run together. McGrath should be nowhere near that two when Grehan is back as well. He’s our 4th best centre back and still can’t believe we rejected half a mil for him.

[Usher wide.]

Ouch!

A club that finished Champions of their division last year come up against a side that missed out on playing Championship football this season via the play offs.

That ‘gulf’ on today’s showing is clearly massive, so let’s forget about being anywhere near the top six, despite the management’s bullish hopes pre-season.

We have a 39 year old (as excellent as he is & was today) as our No.1 striker. THIS area of recruitment (should I say shockingly poor recruitment) will prove to be our ‘downfall’ this season.

Goals win games. Not inch perfect crosses into the box, not glancing headers from corners or free kicks that go a foot wide of the frame of the goal.

Yes Grant bewildering played McGrath instead of Pearson at CB & Sbarra as opposed to…….well anybody, Gibson as opposed to our current best crosser of the ball CONSISTENTLY into the box in Middleton’s BUT, when all is said & done, even when taking Jay’s nightmare of a game & his two errors that resulted in two of their goals (one after 1 minute 15 seconds or close to) we just weren’t good enough.

AND this wasn’t Orient’s ‘best XI’ according to RW with players out injured & on international duty.

And yes, if they aren’t in ‘the mix’ given their owner’s ambitions for the club which includes a new stadium by 2031 & the budget handed to RW for recruitment during the close season (which has clearly been used wisely along with a new position of ‘Head of Recruitment’ the club has never had before) come the end of the season I will be very surprised.

We didn’t witness a gulf today….it was a chasm.

So, we either trust Grant to tinker with the group he has that he consistently tells us he has faith in & ‘see out the season’ or we still look to challenge for a top six this season by finding the ‘next Rob Street’ come January along with a midfielder or two who gives us more than we have at present (please don’t tell me Clifton is the answer to our prayers) & send the ‘young pretenders’ in Ajayi & Crew back to their parent clubs to ‘develop at their own clubs expense’ plus ‘Houston we have a problem’ who wasn’t on the bench today, & recruit better in January if we’re still anywhere near contention.

My expectations for this season were way off the mark. We’ve drawn & lost games at home against mediocre ‘at best’ sides & still have big games against ‘the big boys’ to come.

Let’s at least trust we can make a fist of it come May.

[Avsuptem]

Grant did mention in his interview that if necessary he would be looking for a budget for better players or words to that effect.
 

[roversdude]

Unfortunately as we sit at the start of October the transfer window seems a long long way off.

[dickos1]

We’re sat in 10th position.
Most people predicted a midtable finish, the negative ones who predicted a relegation battle are now the ones complaining about performances and results when we’re sat in 10th.
Performing much better than they predicted yet they’re still moaning.

Doesn’t make sense, need to look at the bigger picture, fact is if we’re going to finish midtable then we’re going to lose a lot of games this season

[Padge_DRFC]

Not sure you can run a club this way. Use a decent budget, 3 months in decide loads not good enough so try again in January. Very very lucky it's not 3-4 years ago.

[Chris Black come back]

We have a huge squad. Adding yet more players is not the answer. We had a relatively settled group of match day players in the first 6 weeks of the season. Get them playing cohesively again. They had proved they can do this. We cannot keep throwing more and more money at the problem, when we have senior players on good money not even making the match day squad.

[TonySoprano]

We have a huge squad. Adding yet more players is not the answer. We had a relatively settled group of match day players in the first 6 weeks of the season. Get them playing cohesively again. They had proved they can do this. We cannot keep throwing more and more money at the problem, when we have senior players on good money not even making the match day squad.

We DO need a number 9 in January

[Barmby Rover]

I read a post from a Cardiff fan the other day saying Orient were the best side he has seen this season, maybe they are starting to prove it. That said we were poor yesterday and there needs to be some serious thinking, Middleton needs to be playing regularly, we are missing Clifton more than we thought we would, and TLT needs to be in goal.

[Draytonian III]

Not sure you can run a club this way. Use a decent budget, 3 months in decide loads not good enough so try again in January. Very very lucky it's not 3-4 years ago.

So I’ve got a few hours spare please outline how to run a football club and how you run the one that you presently do

[dickos1]

Not sure you can run a club this way. Use a decent budget, 3 months in decide loads not good enough so try again in January. Very very lucky it's not 3-4 years ago.

3 months in and we’re 10th in a higher league

You maybe need to address your expectations slightly

[Chris Black come back]

Finishing 10th would be an excellent result for us this season.

[GazLaz]

Not sure you can run a club this way. Use a decent budget, 3 months in decide loads not good enough so try again in January. Very very lucky it's not 3-4 years ago.

3 months in and we’re 10th in a higher league

You maybe need to address your expectations slightly

I agree with you. Grant set the expectations though. He himself said he knows what he needs to challenge for the top 6 and the club gave it him. He set his own budget for that.

[DonnyBazR0ver]

Yesterday's abhorration was very little about recruitment and more about the basic fundamentals of playing football.

Little point talking about the merits of the forward line. Even if we had Harry Kane playing up front, you can't make basic errors like that at any level of football and get away with it.

From maybe the Wimbledon game, we started to see bad signs. Our keeper becoming jittery, our general play becoming sloppy and players dipping far below what they're capable of individually and collectively.

It's clear where McCanns focus needs to be and at least he's taken responsibility to make sure the players wake up. Some, maybe too comfortable thinking they can coast through games thinking they've done enough to show they're league one standard players. Time to think again. Same for McCann reviewing his approach to team selection. Rotation for rotations sake isn't going to do anything to rebuild the team ethic and continuity.

[roversdaft]

These wild line ups started with the big win at Boro.

We put them to the sword with what looked like a team of fringe players.

Since then, Grant has taken the stance that whatever team he starts is as good as the last. Look at that shocking side he put out against Spurs?
Jesus wept, unbelievable.

[Ian Nimmo]

Not sure you can run a club this way. Use a decent budget, 3 months in decide loads not good enough so try again in January. Very very lucky it's not 3-4 years ago.

3 months in and we’re 10th in a higher league

You maybe need to address your expectations slightly

You keep quoting we’re 10th in the league.
Only because most other clubs didn’t play at the weekend.
Our performances are getting worse game by game, so on a downward spiral, with no real chance of our main issue being resolved before January.
We should not have released Joe Ironside, but obviously he was told he would not be in McCanns plans, Hanlan is nowhere near Ironside, so a very poor decision by someone?

[dickos1]

Not sure you can run a club this way. Use a decent budget, 3 months in decide loads not good enough so try again in January. Very very lucky it's not 3-4 years ago.

3 months in and we’re 10th in a higher league

You maybe need to address your expectations slightly

You keep quoting we’re 10th in the league.
Only because most other clubs didn’t play at the weekend.
Our performances are getting worse game by game, so on a downward spiral, with no real chance of our main issue being resolved before January.
We should not have released Joe Ironside, but obviously he was told he would not be in McCanns plans, Hanlan is nowhere near Ironside, so a very poor decision by someone?

Don’t start with the only because nonsense you were saying that all last season and look what happened.
We’re 10th, it’s a fact, don’t need to argue it.

It’s been a good start to the season, another fact

[dickos1]

Not sure you can run a club this way. Use a decent budget, 3 months in decide loads not good enough so try again in January. Very very lucky it's not 3-4 years ago.

3 months in and we’re 10th in a higher league

You maybe need to address your expectations slightly

I agree with you. Grant set the expectations though. He himself said he knows what he needs to challenge for the top 6 and the club gave it him. He set his own budget for that.

He did, but that’s what he does he’s a positive manager. Last season he said we’d win the title before a ball was kicked and all season people were knocking that, saying we’ve no chance.
Even in April folk were saying we’ve no chance.

If he says we are aiming for the top 6 then let’s see where we are in May, not where we are in October. And not poo poo that prediction when we’re only 4 points off it with 30 odd games to go

[BobG]

I'm puzzled. Any team, whether they play well or badly, can be beaten. But a team playing fairly well, like the Rovers were for the first month of the season, shouldn't turn into a collection of strangers the first time they lose a game or two. Yet we did. So the question has to be 'Why?'

I'm sure there are lots of possible answers to that question, but the obvious one, for me at least, is that the squad is no longer united. Squads that are split, that are not focussed on a common, group wide objective, are the sort of squads that collapse like we've recently witnessed. This is is entirely speculative, but for players that knew what they were doing a month ago to not know what they are doing now, has to have been caused by something.

BobG

[ncRover]

The fixture list in November and December looks a lot more difficult on paper.

Barnsley
Lincoln
Stevenage
Posh
Stockport
Cardiff
Plymouth
Blackpool
Stockport

If we’re still 10th after that I will be happily surprised!

[McCammon egg n chips]

Not sure you can run a club this way. Use a decent budget, 3 months in decide loads not good enough so try again in January. Very very lucky it's not 3-4 years ago.

3 months in and we’re 10th in a higher league

You maybe need to address your expectations slightly

I agree with you. Grant set the expectations though. He himself said he knows what he needs to challenge for the top 6 and the club gave it him. He set his own budget for that.

He did, but that’s what he does he’s a positive manager. Last season he said we’d win the title before a ball was kicked and all season people were knocking that, saying we’ve no chance.
Even in April folk were saying we’ve no chance.

If he says we are aiming for the top 6 then let’s see where we are in May, not where we are in October. And not poo poo that prediction when we’re only 4 points off it with 30 odd games to go

Genuinely why come on a forum if it's a case of don't have any opinions until May?