What went...right?

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Hapag Loid
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What went...right?

Post by Hapag Loid » Sun Mar 18, 2018 1:01 am

(No pun intended with the title!)

Can anyone pinpoint why it is exactly that we've turned the corner so dramatically in the last couple of months? As an exile it's hard to tell exactly - seems Wright's kept things simpler formation-wise and brought in decent players, and obviously morale's high now, is there much more to it than that?

Considering the doom and gloom on here and the criticism being heaped on the management, I'd been fully expecting relegation. Don't think I've ever seen such a contrast in performances in 20 odd years of following Darlo!

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Re: What went...right?

Post by Darlo_Pete » Sun Mar 18, 2018 1:42 am

I think it is very hard to pinpoint what changed our fortunes so dramatically. For me I think it was TW's ability to switch on our players and get underperforming players like Thompson, Caton and Gillies to start to consistently perform at a much higher level than before. TW has brought in some great players who have mostly all gelled.

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Re: What went...right?

Post by real_darlo_85 » Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:51 am

In my opinion, it has been his back to basics approach with the defence - none of the 3/5 at the back experimenting that seemed unable to work. Having the faith in the abilities of Heaton and Vaulks to come in and do a job when called upon (the latter really taking his chances), Galbraith as a CB and signing Trotman, O'Hanlon and Pears - the combination has clicked. Being able to build from the back has given our midfield attackers the permission to push on, thus creating more chances for our strikers and indeed singing Styche was a massive coup so we have a real goal threat. I don't think we'd have scored as many with Beck instead of Styche, no disrespect but there are out and out target men, then there are mobile target men like Styche.
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Re: What went...right?

Post by onewayup » Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:58 am

So he is a singer as well, multi talented, striker.

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Re: What went...right?

Post by real_darlo_85 » Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:01 am

onewayup wrote:So he is a singer as well, multi talented, striker.
Absolutely, he has the X-factor! Haha :thumbup:
"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

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Re: What went...right?

Post by Comfortably_numb » Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:10 am

real_darlo_85 wrote:In my opinion, it has been his back to basics approach with the defence - none of the 3/5 at the back experimenting that seemed unable to work.
Think this is it. Didn't injuries also play a part in forcing TW into playing a bog standard 4-4-2? Or at least 4 at the back.

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Re: What went...right?

Post by real_darlo_85 » Sun Mar 18, 2018 9:05 am

Comfortably_numb wrote:
real_darlo_85 wrote:In my opinion, it has been his back to basics approach with the defence - none of the 3/5 at the back experimenting that seemed unable to work.
Think this is it. Didn't injuries also play a part in forcing TW into playing a bog standard 4-4-2? Or at least 4 at the back.

Yes I believe injuries did play apart, around the time Collins and Brown were unavailable.
"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!"

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Re: What went...right?

Post by QUAKERMAN2 » Sun Mar 18, 2018 9:06 am

Tommy is probably the opposite to MG in many ways but changing the style of play to a better passing style from the more aerial, direct style under Gray takes time.The 3 at the back probably was too early and losing 3 key players to York and Harrogate did not help.In addition 5 new players have come in and taking everything into account takes time.I really like Tommy, he engages better with fans much more than Gray ever did and conducts his interviews with Ray really well.Moving forward it would be great if we could have a boost the budget and give Tommy some funds to bring his 3 or 4 players in and add to an already good squad as I cannot imagine it would not be used wisely this time around.

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Re: What went...right?

Post by en passant » Sun Mar 18, 2018 9:21 am

I've just been watching this morning's re-run of Match of the Day and was listening to Roy Hudson's post match interview, where he was putting down the turn about of fortune to games against top of the table teams where they lost but competed and felt they had chances to get something. He reckoned this gave them the belief that they took into the next set of games where they did begin to pick up points. It put me in mind of the games Darlo played against Salford and York, where there was a real feeling of having been the equal of those teams in everything bar the scoreline. Down at Alfreton and home to Chorley you could see the same belief returning to the side, and the turn around at Leamington sealed the deal by producing a hard fought win.

The signing of Styche was also significant. After last season's success with Beck as the focus of our attack that brought the midfield goalscorers into play, we suddenly were hampered by losing that focal point due to injury and, perhaps, other teams marking him out of the game. With Styche's arrival we regained the possession of territory in the last third and this began to restore the belief in the midfield that they could get forward to purpose and support the striker. Thompson was suddenly a threat, and with Syers getting more than sub appearances, we also had someone else to share the burden up front. It seemed clear that once we had a few wins and these players began to score goals that the momentum changed from thinking defensively to forcing our will on other teams and feeling that we had the right to dictate the play.

It has been heartening to see how the self-belief is now returning to others who, earlier in the season, fans were thinking needed to be shipped out. Caton and Gillies were often the subject of some unfair disrespect but who are showing now that they never really went away, but we're just looking for that spark to re-ignite their season. Looking around the side now it is suddenly hard to find anyone who you might feel has come off that field without putting a full shift in. Belief, confidence, motivation. Once it sparks in the few it transfers to the many and individuals turn into a team.

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Re: What went...right?

Post by jjljks » Sun Mar 18, 2018 9:35 am

MG thought he was running his own club and accountable to no one. Tommy has changed the atmosphere from one of fear to express themselves to one where players can react to the opposition and adapt tactics to suit, not just lobbing long diagonal balls up to a static target-man even when it wasn't working. Add in the excellent signings to replace players plundered by Gray and injuries to key players, then we have started keeping clean sheets. Now TW is in the position to give some of the youngsters experience and chance to develop a career, thus providing hope for the future of individuals and our club. Credit must also be given to the new board, supporters club who are working hard to improve BM and the whole fan experience. A new realism is in evidence :clap: :thumbup:

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Re: What went...right?

Post by Spyman » Sun Mar 18, 2018 10:46 am

From afar it looks like signing Heaton and going finding a simpler shape seemed to be the turning point.


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Re: What went...right?

Post by carlodarlo » Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:15 am

One that never gets a mention but can be traced back to the start of this fantastic run is the signing off Ben O'Hanlon. Think he made his debut at leamington and since then we havent looked back. His signing also free'd up Galbraith to drop back into a centre half position and him and Heaton have been exceptional ever since. Really top signing by Tommy Wright.

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Re: What went...right?

Post by m62exile » Sun Mar 18, 2018 11:38 am

I don’t think we should underestimate the tailspin we were in when Gray left. Hard to think it was possible to stabilise the ship much quicker when you have big changes to be squad to make and only have the team in twice a week.

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Re: What went...right?

Post by Hapag Loid » Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:11 pm

Decent replies, cheers!

I reckon a little bit of public humble pie chomping is in order from a few 'elder statesmen' on here who were really laying into Wright and White at the start of their tenure...if they had to carry the can for those poor results, they get full credit for the turnaround!

(Having said all this, expect straight defeats and a last day relegation!)

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Re: What went...right?

Post by Spyman » Sun Mar 18, 2018 12:28 pm

Hapag Loid wrote:Decent replies, cheers!

I reckon a little bit of public humble pie chomping is in order from a few 'elder statesmen' on here who were really laying into Wright and White at the start of their tenure...if they had to carry the can for those poor results, they get full credit for the turnaround!

(Having said all this, expect straight defeats and a last day relegation!)
I'll quite happily say that Wright has turned things around and changed my opinion. The contrast between our fortunes around Xmas and now couldn't be greater, although I stand by my opinion in December that he was not doing a good job!

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On Sunday April 29, 2012 at 10:25 pm, Darlo Cockney wrote:Sadly some people have nothing better to do that invent rumours.

We will be playing at the arena again next season - fact.

Quakerz - if you actually attended games and spoke to people you might actually find our facts, rather than spreading s*** on this board.

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Re: What went...right?

Post by Darlogramps » Sun Mar 18, 2018 1:52 pm

If people are wanting me to say I was wrong for criticising Wright at the time, they're going to be sadly mistaken.

Wright did a shocking job in his first three months in charge. He had no idea of the team he wanted to play, the style he wanted to use or the formation. He was chopping and changing game after game, providing no coherence or vision as to what he wanted from the team.

I called for him to be sacked in January and, based on what had happened up to that point, that opinion was justifiable. Where we are now, top half of the table is the very least this squad is capable of. This is a top 10 squad built with a top 10 budget. The fact we were in the relegation zone speaks volumes for how badly we were doing.

People might disagree with it and some gave me abuse for it, but up until early January, Wright was doing a terrible job.

Interestingly, things have turned around since Wright has settled on a team, a formation and a regular style of play which properly suits the players he has. All of which I said needed to happen. And I've repeatedly given Wright credit for doing so. Am I convinced he's the right person for us long term? Do I think he'll get us into the National League? Not yet - one good run doesn't extinguish all the doubts about his previous record.

But he's more than earned the right to have a full pre-season to make this team his own. The important thing now is for him to make sure this isn't just a flash in the pan, and he actually builds on the success of the last couple of months.
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Re: What went...right?

Post by theoriginalfatcat » Sun Mar 18, 2018 1:59 pm

jjljks wrote: MG thought he was running his own club and accountable to no one.
In a nutshell.


Spyman wrote:
Hapag Loid wrote:Decent replies, cheers!

I reckon a little bit of public humble pie chomping is in order from a few 'elder statesmen' on here who were really laying into Wright and White at the start of their tenure...if they had to carry the can for those poor results, they get full credit for the turnaround!

(Having said all this, expect straight defeats and a last day relegation!)
I'll quite happily say that Wright has turned things around and changed my opinion. The contrast between our fortunes around Xmas and now couldn't be greater, although I stand by my opinion in December that he was not doing a good job!

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Re: What went...right?

Post by richymidd » Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:04 pm

From another exile who hasn't seen any of the dire stuff or the turnaround until Tamworth last week.

I was hugely underwhelmed - can't deny the turnaround, or it's apparent continuation yesterday, albeit against Ferriby but do the differences in personnel at Tamworth reveal anything else about where the success has come from? We had a couple of close range misses but apart from that I thought we looked pretty toothless for most of the game. Pretty solid at the back, Vaulks does look promising, but there just seemed to be a big disjoin, little invention and little threat. Turnbull going sideways most of the time and little penetration from Sayers or Mills. (I read just before the game that we shouldn't judge Mills too harshly as he's had his problems but now he's fit.....bad choice of vowel).

Rambling post, i guess the question is do Heaton and Wheatley make all the difference or was Wednesday just a bit of an off night?

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Re: What went...right?

Post by comeondarlo » Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:14 pm

m62exile wrote:I don’t think we should underestimate the tailspin we were in when Gray left. Hard to think it was possible to stabilise the ship much quicker when you have big changes to be squad to make and only have the team in twice a week.
I absolutely agree with this, again looking from afar I think the signing of Reece Styche (and his goals) was the start of the turnaround.

I think since then it’s been the team spirit and I believe TW has played a huge part in that.
I have been very impressed in how Tommy conducts himself (more recently).

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Re: What went...right?

Post by Vodka_Vic » Sun Mar 18, 2018 2:15 pm

The difference is Wheatley was back yesterday. Without him next to Turnbull then Turnbull is our only attacking midfielder. On Tuesday Mills was a winger playing as centre mid. With Portas still injured we have no cover in this area (not counting Glover who is still learning his trade).

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Re: What went...right?

Post by don'tbuythesun » Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:21 pm

Whatever the reasons it's been a tremendous team effort to see us rise from being in a relegation place to twelve points above them. It shows it was a false picture and I'd had such high hopes after going to Salford. I've just looked again at that horrible game at Chorley and noted only 3 of yesterday's starting 11 started there.
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Re: What went...right?

Post by Maurice_Peddelty » Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:29 pm

richymidd wrote:From another exile who hasn't seen any of the dire stuff or the turnaround until Tamworth last week.

I was hugely underwhelmed - can't deny the turnaround, or it's apparent continuation yesterday, albeit against Ferriby but do the differences in personnel at Tamworth reveal anything else about where the success has come from? We had a couple of close range misses but apart from that I thought we looked pretty toothless for most of the game. Pretty solid at the back, Vaulks does look promising, but there just seemed to be a big disjoin, little invention and little threat. Turnbull going sideways most of the time and little penetration from Sayers or Mills. (I read just before the game that we shouldn't judge Mills too harshly as he's had his problems but now he's fit.....bad choice of vowel).

Rambling post, i guess the question is do Heaton and Wheatley make all the difference or was Wednesday just a bit of an off night?
I'm sure TW has admitted in an interview that the team lacked cohesion against Curzon and Tamworth. Certainly no evidence of that yesterday.

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Re: What went...right?

Post by Quakerz » Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:57 pm

Darlogramps wrote:If people are wanting me to say I was wrong for criticising Wright at the time, they're going to be sadly mistaken.

Wright did a shocking job in his first three months in charge. He had no idea of the team he wanted to play, the style he wanted to use or the formation. He was chopping and changing game after game, providing no coherence or vision as to what he wanted from the team.

I called for him to be sacked in January and, based on what had happened up to that point, that opinion was justifiable. Where we are now, top half of the table is the very least this squad is capable of. This is a top 10 squad built with a top 10 budget. The fact we were in the relegation zone speaks volumes for how badly we were doing.

People might disagree with it and some gave me abuse for it, but up until early January, Wright was doing a terrible job.

Interestingly, things have turned around since Wright has settled on a team, a formation and a regular style of play which properly suits the players he has. All of which I said needed to happen. And I've repeatedly given Wright credit for doing so. Am I convinced he's the right person for us long term? Do I think he'll get us into the National League? Not yet - one good run doesn't extinguish all the doubts about his previous record.

But he's more than earned the right to have a full pre-season to make this team his own. The important thing now is for him to make sure this isn't just a flash in the pan, and he actually builds on the success of the last couple of months.
Yep.

Thought he was out of his depth myself, but am really pleased to see him prove that he can manage, and manage well, at this level.

Last 10 matches are W6 D3 L1, which is a long enough sequence for it not to be a flash in the pan, and we've also beaten some decent sides in those 10 matches.

If we look at his first 9 league matches (W1 D1 L7) the contrast couldn't be greater, although we were starting to play better in the last 2 or 3 matches and really deserved more than narrow defeats v York and Salford.

Signing O'Hanlon has been key, as has being able to play Trotman with regularity. As for Galbraith, well who could have predicted he'd do so well at centre back and to be honest that move was forced on TW due to injuries. Heaton of course, needs no mention.
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Re: What went...right?

Post by Quakerz » Sun Mar 18, 2018 4:58 pm

One other thing though gramps, which does need to be mentioned - TW has came in and the playing budget was cut by 50k from 334k to 284k, that also has to go in his favour when we look at the overall picture.
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Re: What went...right?

Post by Darlogramps » Sun Mar 18, 2018 5:47 pm

Quakerz wrote:One other thing though gramps, which does need to be mentioned - TW has came in and the playing budget was cut by 50k from 334k to 284k, that also has to go in his favour when we look at the overall picture.
Yeah, that's a fair point. He still should have been getting more out of the team in his first few months though, regardless of the budget. The lack of plan or coherence was incredibly worrying.

That said, he appears to have stabilised things now. So long as he keeps building on this, no one can complain (not even me).
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Re: What went...right?

Post by QuakerPete » Sun Mar 18, 2018 5:53 pm

Quakerz wrote:
Darlogramps wrote:If people are wanting me to say I was wrong for criticising Wright at the time, they're going to be sadly mistaken.

Wright did a shocking job in his first three months in charge. He had no idea of the team he wanted to play, the style he wanted to use or the formation. He was chopping and changing game after game, providing no coherence or vision as to what he wanted from the team.

I called for him to be sacked in January and, based on what had happened up to that point, that opinion was justifiable. Where we are now, top half of the table is the very least this squad is capable of. This is a top 10 squad built with a top 10 budget. The fact we were in the relegation zone speaks volumes for how badly we were doing.

People might disagree with it and some gave me abuse for it, but up until early January, Wright was doing a terrible job.

Interestingly, things have turned around since Wright has settled on a team, a formation and a regular style of play which properly suits the players he has. All of which I said needed to happen. And I've repeatedly given Wright credit for doing so. Am I convinced he's the right person for us long term? Do I think he'll get us into the National League? Not yet - one good run doesn't extinguish all the doubts about his previous record.

But he's more than earned the right to have a full pre-season to make this team his own. The important thing now is for him to make sure this isn't just a flash in the pan, and he actually builds on the success of the last couple of months.
Yep.

Thought he was out of his depth myself, but am really pleased to see him prove that he can manage, and manage well, at this level.

Last 10 matches are W6 D3 L1, which is a long enough sequence for it not to be a flash in the pan, and we've also beaten some decent sides in those 10 matches.

If we look at his first 9 league matches (W1 D1 L7) the contrast couldn't be greater, although we were starting to play better in the last 2 or 3 matches and really deserved more than narrow defeats v York and Salford.

Signing O'Hanlon has been key, as has being able to play Trotman with regularity. As for Galbraith, well who could have predicted he'd do so well at centre back and to be honest that move was forced on TW due to injuries. Heaton of course, needs no mention.
To give Gray some credit, he always said Galbraith would end up at centreback


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Re: What went...right?

Post by en passant » Sun Mar 18, 2018 6:27 pm

Quakerz wrote:
Darlogramps wrote:If people are wanting me to say I was wrong for criticising Wright at the time, they're going to be sadly mistaken.

Wright did a shocking job in his first three months in charge. He had no idea of the team he wanted to play, the style he wanted to use or the formation. He was chopping and changing game after game, providing no coherence or vision as to what he wanted from the team.

I called for him to be sacked in January and, based on what had happened up to that point, that opinion was justifiable. Where we are now, top half of the table is the very least this squad is capable of. This is a top 10 squad built with a top 10 budget. The fact we were in the relegation zone speaks volumes for how badly we were doing.

People might disagree with it and some gave me abuse for it, but up until early January, Wright was doing a terrible job.

Interestingly, things have turned around since Wright has settled on a team, a formation and a regular style of play which properly suits the players he has. All of which I said needed to happen. And I've repeatedly given Wright credit for doing so. Am I convinced he's the right person for us long term? Do I think he'll get us into the National League? Not yet - one good run doesn't extinguish all the doubts about his previous record.

But he's more than earned the right to have a full pre-season to make this team his own. The important thing now is for him to make sure this isn't just a flash in the pan, and he actually builds on the success of the last couple of months.
Yep.

Thought he was out of his depth myself, but am really pleased to see him prove that he can manage, and manage well, at this level.

Last 10 matches are W6 D3 L1, which is a long enough sequence for it not to be a flash in the pan, and we've also beaten some decent sides in those 10 matches.

If we look at his first 9 league matches (W1 D1 L7) the contrast couldn't be greater, although we were starting to play better in the last 2 or 3 matches and really deserved more than narrow defeats v York and Salford.

Signing O'Hanlon has been key, as has being able to play Trotman with regularity. As for Galbraith, well who could have predicted he'd do so well at centre back and to be honest that move was forced on TW due to injuries. Heaton of course, needs no mention.
TW's record over those first matches was indeed pretty poor but it is worth remembering that the results in the dozen games before he arrived were also pretty awful. Many of those were with a side and a game plan devised by our long term manager who did not have the excuse of inheriting a side that he didn't know the capabilities of, robbed of some significant players, and down on its luck and confidence. Gray left things in a real mess and whilst we may have hoped for the new broom uplift that some teams experience, I would give Tommy the benefit of the doubt that he took his time to get to know what he had to work with and make signings that would turn things around eventually.

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Re: What went...right?

Post by Darlogramps » Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:16 pm

I think there's an element of that to it, but for me, Tommy did have to take his fair share of the blame as well. You can't blame it all on Gray. We were still playing badly in January- three and a half months after he'd gone.

As I've said, there just didn't appear to be any cohesion, ideas or strategy in those first dozen or so games.

Then it came together, a little bit by circumstance, but nevertheless TW has turned it around and taken us back to a level which better reflects the capability and skill level this squad has.
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Re: What went...right?

Post by Username » Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:38 pm

Turning points in the season...

1) MG leaving
2) TW being appointed manager
3) Signing of Styche
4) Signing of Trotman
5) Sending off of Talbot
6) Signing of Pears/Ohanlon
7) Substitution of Brown at Leamington
8) Moving Syers further forward supporting Styche

I have listed here 8 key points which I believe has enabled this side to show its true capabilities. Ignoring the first 2 points is the signing of Styche who’s goals and all round general play has had a massive impact on us turning the form around. The signing of Trotman an out and out right back who gets forward at every opportunity and he brings a better balance to the team. No disrespect to Marrs but Trotman is far superior. A slightly weird one next was the sending off of Talbot, had he not been sent off we wouldn’t have bought Pears in who for me has been brilliant. I really hope we can secure his services for next season but I know this is highly unlikely. Signing of Ohanlon, like Trotman has bought us more balance in defence, this coincided with Brown being hooked at the Leamington game. We reverted to a 4 at the back and Galbraith has been reinvented at centre half. He and Heaton have been magnificent as a central pair and it has given us a solid foundation to build on going forward. Moving Syers further forward to support Styche has been essential too. I think we saw in the game against Tamworth that Styche was isolated without the support of Syers. Also a mention to Thommo and Turnbull who have both started to produce their best football and look more refreshed compared to the days when MG was around at the start of the season. I’m looking forward to the remaining games. I’m hoping we can somehow finish above York although that is a pipe dream.

m62exile
Posts: 2242
Joined: Sun Jul 12, 2009 2:11 pm
Team Supported: Darlington

Re: What went...right?

Post by m62exile » Sun Mar 18, 2018 8:54 pm

Darlogramps wrote:
As I've said, there just didn't appear to be any cohesion, ideas or strategy in those first dozen or so games. .
Or another way to put it might be that it took him a dozen games to ship out the dead wood, bring in some improvements, slash the wage bill and try and find out the right system to play

We’d have all liked it to have been a bit quicker of course, but there was a decent amount of work to be done.

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