I was really pleased with our early signings and expected us to add two or three quality signings in key positions, like a centre half, capable of marshalling the defence, a midfield general and a striker. Then came the bombshell of us being imposed with a player and salary cap, and we were at our League One limit. The pre-season matches, however, renewed my confidence in my belief that we would get automatic promotion. Looking at the fixture list, I thought we would be a few points clear at the top before the tougher fixtures came up.
It was a shock to see a naive team and manager, losing a good few early season games, whilst rigidly sticking to playing 4-3-3. Calderwood came to help NC and we changed to 4-4-2, when we looked a more balanced team and had a few good wins, punctuated by the Doncaster match. For me, the first half was the best we have played in the league this season, but the second half was disastrous simply because we never matched them up in midfield after their halftime substitutions.
When Accrington, Bristol Rovers, and Shrewsbury came up, I confidently expected 7 or 9 points, and we got one. It was back to 4-3-3. It's always nice to have a good FA Cup run, but never for it to put gloss on a mediocre league campaign.
The Hull match yesterday, back to 4-4-2, was far better. We seemed to be playing 11 plus the referee, and our defending was last ditch at times, but I thought we deserved a win. The next three games are winnable, and we MUST get at least 7 points from if we have any thoughts at all of a promotion push, so please, NC, pick our best 11 for each of them, in a 4-4-2, and send us up that table, PLEASE!!