I'm lucky enough to talk to lots of Dons fans who come in the Alex. For that reason I guess I've generally got a fair sense of what the prevailing mood is, in a kind of "Ask a black cab driver whether the government is any good" kind of way. After the defeat on Saturday (our first of the season in fairness) I detected a worry developing amongst some punters that they were getting that "I think I've seen this film before" feeling.
They weren't concerned I should say about how good the squad is. EVERYONE can see that it is much stronger this season than last. Nor are they bothered about individual players, it is as obvious as the hooter on my face that we have better ones than last season. They're not agity about the manager either, he has solid support right now. No, it's the tendancy to give leads up which is making some uneasy. I think we set a record for the most points given up when in front over the last couple of seasons, and obviously it'd be quite nice for everyone if we had a bit of an "off year" in that regard this time.
So is it looking like the same?
Well in my eyes I am firmly of the belief that we are NOT the same, not even similar. We have recruited brilliantly in the Summer, Craig Cope deserves huge credit for that, and the whole squad has an energy about it which is completely different to last season.
If you'll remember in the Summer before last we recruited the likes of Chris Gunther, Alex Pearce, Harry Pell and the like. Johnnie felt the team was lacking in experience (it was) and brought in some much older heads to balance things up. Those three played practically all of the time, and along with the likes of Woody meant that come the last twenty minutes of matches, we were running on the fumes from a rag which cleans the pumps. Not only that, our goalkeeper was less reliable than the one we have now, and the group of players (which weren't anywhere near so good as this group) were devoid of confidence. Are we similar to that? Definitely not in my eyes, no.
And are they right to be worried?
Again, from me it's a no. Although I DO understand the concerns, I DO get it when people say "hang on here, we haven't beaten anyone any good/we've only won two matches/we haven't won at home in our three games" etc. I get that, simply because it's partly true (Colchester are far better than where they are in the league right now). I hear those points, but it still feels mightily different to me than last season. We've picked up points in games we surely would have got beat in last season, not got bullied in situations we would have crumpled in, it IS different.
So is it all rosy and happy clappy then? No, not really no. For my part, I'm obsessed about WINNING football matches. It concerns me that sometimes we are overly concerned with not getting beat. At 1-1 with 15 minutes to go, we should in my opinion be bringing the cavalry on, sticking an extra man up top, going all out for the win. Win one lose one is better than draw two and remain unbeaten. The teams which outperform their potential in League two WIN more matches than it would be realistic to expect of them. We ought to be less fearful of losing in my view, more gung ho in seeking out the three points.
Other slight concerns? Well Josh's goal in Saturday was our first by a striker this season. We don't create huge amounts of chances, and unfortunately for us and him, so far those that we HAVE created Ali has missed. That obviously won't continue as Ali is a brilliant player, but it'd be quite handy if he burst the seal soon. In many ways it's been a saving grace that James Tilley has been so amazing, but it would be unrealistic to expect him to carry on in his current "goal a game" form. We are obviously going to need goals from elsewhere pretty soon.
And my final "Do this and we'll all feel better" request is that we DO hang onto a lead. I'm not counting the two league games in which we've won, simply because when you are two nil up or three nil up you ain't hanging on. Stockport closed out the last half hour on Saturday while 2-1 up. Although we had a right good go, I think Tilleys one in the dying seconds was our only real chance. THAT'S hanging on, if we can do that, get the job done a couple of times, it'll calm everyone down.
Same as last season though? Nah not for me. MY biggest worry is that if we don't WIN against Crewe on Saturday, we'll be on either ten or eleven points after eight games. Both of those totals are a travesty up against how well we've played. We've been FAR better than that, even if we win and have thirteen points even that is barely what we deserve in my eyes.
No, its NOT the same as least season. We are a good team, and really ought to be aiming for top ten. I think we'll get there with a little bit in hand.
COYD
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