Re: Away v Workington Town Sunday 17th June 2018 3pm : Mon Jun 18, 2018 9:20 am  

That's all fair comment DM but with respect, has the club actually moved forward from say, the PC days ? or even the TM days for that matter ? I think most of us know the answer......

If not then WHY ?

Re: Away v Workington Town Sunday 17th June 2018 3pm : Mon Jun 18, 2018 11:26 am  

I don't buy into what might be ... only what IS NOW.

When we went to Oldham we HAD a good squad/side and we flopped.
Yes if we had Harris and Miloudi that might kick start us ... but we don't NOR much chance of getting them.
Shaul has a bad heel now to add to the equation.

Our actual form with the actual team at our disposal is at Crusaders cum London level.

We have little confidence and next to no attacking potency.

Two of our senior marquee type players are a big flop.

We can't even set Tali up to score ...

It will continue ...

Re: Away v Workington Town Sunday 17th June 2018 3pm : Mon Jun 18, 2018 11:50 am  

Isn't the objective of any club in any sport to evolve ?
Sometimes change is needed to go forward.
Toulouse for example, with heirarchy much poorer than The Dons have tried to go to the next level.They have a long way to go but the improvements on and off the field over the past few years are very noticeable.

[Wanderer]

Re: Away v Workington Town Sunday 17th June 2018 3pm : Mon Jun 18, 2018 12:02 pm  

A question was posed on Facebook as to if fans thought we were better, worse or the same this season as last ... my response ...

It's becoming increasingly difficult to consider that we are any better this season than last.

There may be some truth in the fact that problems away from our club (i.e Hull's injury situation) have impacted on us but that will only add weight to the arguments presented by those who say DR isn't really working for us.

At the season launch, we were presented with 4 players on season long loans but then quickly told that wasn't actually the case and we would be offered players from Hull based on availability and Richard Horne's requirements.

We have so far used 9 players as part of this agreement with only Jack Sanderson (10) and Jack Downs (8) featuring in more than 5 games. Personally, I'd prefer a more consistent team selection. For the record, 30 different players have been used so far in 16 league and cup fixtures.

Also, at the aforementioned season launch it was announced that we had signed two players on 2 year deals, unfortunately, one of those, our playmaker is now with Hull with no guarantees on availability to us and no replacement having been recruited.

Sadly, by 6pm next Sunday it is probable that the Dons will sit 9th in League One ... no, I don't really consider that we are any better this season than we were last.

Re: Away v Workington Town Sunday 17th June 2018 3pm : Mon Jun 18, 2018 12:58 pm  

It’s a sad state of affairs when fans are having to thank an individual player on Facebook for recognising then and not just walking straight from the field because the majority couldn’t be bothered.
It’s quite worrying how quiet the team were out on the field there seems to be no team spirit at all other than a few leaders shouting at intervals. But not our actual leader.

Re: Away v Workington Town Sunday 17th June 2018 3pm : Mon Jun 18, 2018 1:12 pm  

I've just seen that the kick off at Bradford next Sunday has been put back an hour to 4pm (World Cup -England) Can we kick off at 3 still in an effort to try and get a lead when the Bulls come out at 4.

Re: Away v Workington Town Sunday 17th June 2018 3pm : Mon Jun 18, 2018 1:21 pm  

I salute the few that make the Cumbrian trips ... not so long ago I would consider going up there and often did ...
But I went with an anticipation of us possibly winning and of us certainly having a go.
The few who go nowadays I should think imagine a wasted journey.

We have reverted to beating the lower sides and losing to the upper sides ... especially away.

Re: Away v Workington Town Sunday 17th June 2018 3pm : Mon Jun 18, 2018 1:23 pm  

Moonshine wrote:

I've just seen that the kick off at Bradford next Sunday has been put back an hour to 4pm (World Cup -England) Can we kick off at 3 still in an effort to try and get a lead when the Bulls come out at 4.

We would still lose ...

Re: Away v Workington Town Sunday 17th June 2018 3pm : Mon Jun 18, 2018 4:39 pm  

sanjunien wrote:

That's all fair comment DM but with respect, has the club actually moved forward from say, the PC days ? or even the TM days for that matter ? I think most of us know the answer......

If not then WHY ?

You make some good points. Here are my thoughts...

We made a big mistake when we finished fourth in the Championship under Paul Cooke. That was our opportunity to press on and become a top side in that league. I did say at the time that I thought we were lucky to finish fourth as quite a few close games went our way. We almost certainly weren’t the fourth best team in the league.

We recruited very poorly for the following season and got relegated in quite dramatic fashion. Paul Cooke didn’t become a bad coach. Even when he got sacked he was still well regarded and well respected by the fans. It goes to show that even a very good coach can’t make a poor team win. We then made a mistake that set us back further by recruiting the wrong man for the job in Gary Thornton.

When things go wrong they can’t always be fixed quickly. A ship has to be turned round before it can move forwards, I think we need to give Richard Horne and the coaching staff two full seasons to get this sorted.

The Dons and Hunslet were relegated in 2015. Workington and Whitehaven came down in 2016-17. All four teams have found it hard to get out of this league.

I do share everyone’s concerns about where we seem to be at the moment. Our aim isn’t to peak in June though, it’s got to be to get into the top five and then peak for the play-offs. I don't believe that now is the right time to be deciding whether we've moved forward. That decision is better made at the end of the season.

Re: Away v Workington Town Sunday 17th June 2018 3pm : Tue Jun 19, 2018 6:44 pm  

Fletcher Christison is conspicuous by his absence