If we were on a flight, six games ago the tannoy would have instructed us to return to our seats and fasten our seatbelts. Fortunately such is the technology on aeroplanes, they can see the turbulence well in advance. Though there'll be plenty of our fans who claim to have seen the impending nosedive in our form long before it happened, they didn't exactly shout about it to me.
Whether we saw it coming or not though, that we are in the middle of a bit of a slump is beyond dispute. In those last six league matches we've won once, drawn twice and lost three times. We have failed to score in half of those games and despite none of the games being against teams in the top three, have amassed the grand total of five points. It's barely better than relegation form, and even over the noise of the superb PSV fans who visited Plough Lane last night, you could hear the rumblings of discontent from the natives.
The good news is that although we are in a nosedive, it isn't yet a tailspin. We don't have to yank the joystick back in order to miss a mountain by a whisker, we just need to get things back under control and all will be good. There's plenty of time. Ten games isn't even inside the last couple of furlongs never mind approaching the last fence. Our destiny is firmly in our own hands and there is absolutely no need, yet, to panic.
In those last ten games, my estimate is that in order to go up automatically we are going to need AT LEAST 20 points. That is totally achievable in this league with this squad, we've just got to get back in the groove and sharpish. We really ought to be opening up with going absolutely ALL OUT for a win at Carlisle on Saturday. We have some tricky games mixed in with these last ten fixtures, we don't have any easier games than this one. It is a DEFINITELY DO NOT LOSE and probably close to a must win now.
Anything else? Well given the results in the last six games (five points remember) there is nobody outside of the goalkeeper and defenders who could have any complaints at all if they are dropped. That applies to the two midfielders, the 10 and the two strikers. NONE of them IMHO are doing enough to make them indespensible, and if I was Johnnie I'd change it up. Callum Maycock ought to play for sure if available, Sam Hutchinson could cover for either of the two central midfielders. Neither of the strikers are currently doing enough to be untouchable, we should look to change there too.
And for Johnnie the time for substitutions in the 82nd minute, when we've just gone behind, has gone. Now is HIS time, it's HIS time to show that he really has grown as a manager. It's HIS time to become the 12th man, to make the difference, to win the tactical battle, to give the team the extra 10%. It's time for boldness, not for pointing out how away grounds are a "difficult place to come". It's not time for any more "good point on the road" interviews, it's time to go in for the kill.
These next few weeks will distill into a bite sized chunk how his three seasons at AFC Wimbledon are judged. He'll either be a hero for taking us up, or a nearly man for not managing it when he had a golden opportunity. I'm backing him to do the business. He HAS the tools, we HAVE the squad depth and the league isn't the strongest. Not only that, but he is an improving young manager.
There is still plenty of time for him and us to come good. Cometh the hour, cometh Johnnie Jackson hopefully.
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