Survival of the fittest
Hi, hope you are all well
Apart from being a pivotal period in deciding the promotion and relegation issues, Easter is a welcome reminder to players that the season is coming to an end and that they will soon be able to rest their aching bones!
Whoever described English football as a survival of the fittest and strongest almost certainly did so with this hectic period in mind.
A lot of the physical niggles that players are experiencing at this stage of the season tend to be injuries such as tendonitis. You also notice a lot of players struggling with Achilles, knee and lower back problems (I include myself in that final category).
This is an annual occurrence for me, as it is for most players, which I put down to both the match and training pitches beginning to firm up again. Of course, the other explanation could be that my body is just a wreck.
When I look at former players and see the ailments that they are now suffering from following a career in football - the number of those with dodgy knees or hips - I always think: 'Now, there's something for me to look forward to'.
For those players who have played the majority of games this season, it is not so much the fact there are two games in three days, which is the case for most clubs over Easter that is the problem, but the cumulative effect of the 30-odd games before that.
In the current lower league climate, clubs are operating with smaller squads, meaning that the squad rotation - which is prevalent at higher levels of the game - cannot be utilised to the same extent. Mind you, as someone who is currently confined to the bench, I'd welcome a bit of rotation!
I'd be interested to hear what you think about the quality on display during the games over Easter. Is there a noticeable difference in the pace and also the quality of the game in the second of the two matches?
Of course, for teams striving to achieve promotion, or avoid relegation, it could be argued that this is a time of the year when performances are not generally deemed to be as important as results.
I am not referring to the mentalities of just the players and managers - I should imagine that the vast majority of the fans of the teams at the top and bottom will also be more than happy for their sides to pick up the points they need, without being enamoured by the way this is achieved.
We are also at the stage of the season when the nerves begin to jangle.
Part of the reason that we have seen league leaders, Manchester United, Wolves and Leicester City suffer a loss of form in recent weeks could be attributed in some part to nervousness on behalf of the players.
During the course of my own career I have experienced the nerves associated with going for promotion and also trying to stave off relegation. I know which of the two I prefer!
My spell at Hartlepool United included two consecutive seasons where, at this stage of the season we were trying to achieve a play-off position.
I thoroughly enjoyed the supposed pressure that was associated with trying to achieve this goal. It was made slightly easier for us at a relatively small club (no offence intended) such as Hartlepool where the expectation levels were not as great as they are at some clubs.
In comparison, the mood at relegation-threatened teams around the Easter period is one of sheer panic. Time is running out; as a rule you are not in the best of form and you don't really know where your next three points are coming from.
Of the present main promotion contenders in League Two, the ones who have made the biggest impression on me are Exeter, Brentford and Bury. All three deserve immense credit, in that their respective managers have managed to gel teams that are organised, hard to beat and above all consistent.
We at Notts County have the ability to play very well on our day - for example, we have picked up four out of six points in our matches against Exeter - but have struggled to put together the sustained run of good results necessary to get us in the promotion mix.
At the start of the season, one of my strongest tips for automatic promotion were Bradford City. While promotion via the play-offs is still a viable option for the Bantams, I am sure the thousands of City fans who attend their home matches on a regular basis - making them easily the best supported side in the division - will be a bit disappointed with recent results.
I am certain City have missed their injured winger Omar Daley - one of the best players I have come across at this level and certainly one of the quickest. However, they still have a very good squad of players to choose from, and as long as City sort out the defensive lapses they have been prone to in recent weeks, I still believe they have a good chance of going up.
One of the problems for Bradford City is that the atmosphere that their incredible fans create for home and away games can often inspire the opposition, and their followers. A good example was when we beat Bradford 4-1 at home back in February.
I have witnessed both the advantages and disadvantages of teams having a large following. When things are going well for the team there is no better feeling than being cheered on by a big crowd.
Every player wants to get on the ball and show what he can do. The flip side is when things are not going well for the team, fans become frustrated, causing some players to go into their shell.
I have found that this situation is often apparent at "big" clubs who have slipped down the football ladder and are now playing at a lower level.
It can understandably be very frustrating for the fans of such clubs to watch football which might be of an inferior standard to what they saw from their teams in better times.
Personally, I hope that things work out for Bradford City, and especially their manager Stuart McCall. I am a big fan of his.
I'm sure many of us are familiar with the incident involving Stuart when he fell off a car, holding a can of beer after Bradford won promotion to the Premiership. If you are not, try looking it up on the internet, he didn't spill a drop!
He comes across as honest and hard working, just as he did as a player. He also recently stated that he would leave the club if they did not manage to secure a play-off spot, which is another reason why I hope they can be successful.
Hello, I'm Gavin Strachan. I describe myself as a "journeyman" player after 13 years in the game as a professional. I'm currently between clubs, having been released by Notts County. I'm also studying journalism and the aim of my blog is to provide an insight into the life of a footballer.
Here are some 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~26~RS~)
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Gav great blog. You'll be off the bench for sure soon!!
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Great Blog as always Gavin! Will welcome you down to Torquay United next season! (Coz we're going up obviously!...)
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In Man Utd's case, do you think their recent lack of form is due mostly do the amount of games they've already played catching up on them, or nerves?
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Yeah bad time of the season for liverpool tonight!! :-(
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I'm pretty sure you beat Bradford 3-1 not 4-1 :P
But good blog entry anyway. I've noticed a similar situation with the MK Dons (local club) over the last few months. They seemed to realise they were in a good position and suddenly had everything to lose. Nervousness and perhaps a lack of fitness kicked in. This coupled with the form of Peterborough and Millwall seem to have put a nail into the automatic promotion coffin.
Anywho, my dad is a lifelong Notts County fan and hopefully I'll be tagging along to your game against Grimsby. I'm sure it's not offensive to suggest that County were pretty dire against Chester. So, here's hoping for a good game from you lot :)
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Gavin, i've just had a week of none stop football and my lower back is killing me! I'm only 21! What do you suggest I can do to help ease it?
Also, the quality of football at the club I support (Man United) has dropped considerably, playing 2 days after the Villa match I knew we wern't going to be at our best and I was right, it was shocking, can't blame some of the players, but people like Scholes shouldn't have been as bad as he was, his passing was awful and he's had the day off at Villa! Hope we don't blow it, hope you get a run for Notts too, good luck mate.
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Nice blog Gavin as always.
I would like to add Burton Albion into your list of teams who's results are slipping as we go into this period. With them it is undoubetly a mix of nerves and squad depth.
Picking up on your point on the amount of games being played in the business end of the season, although you're right, it doesn't make much sense - especially with the lower leagues (where for example my team Ebbsfleet United are having to catch up on a huge backlog of games and will be playing three games a week until the end of the season as we have been for the last 4 weeks or so).
They say success comes at a price but for the bigger teams (for example Man Utd and Wolves) this cannot be the excuse as the extra revenue created by this success should be enough to buy them depth.
For United the newly classed "wonderkid" Federico Macheda is a great example of this, as it is also a great example for fringe and young players to show their worth.
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If any other BBC employees would like to advertise themselves for a position working for Stuart McCall please paste a current CV below:
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post 5 . My apologies. It was 3-1 against Bradford and we were poor against Chester. Hopefully we can pick up a few points over Easter.
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post 3. I think it could be a bit of both and also injuries and suspensions to key players.
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Post 6 - I too have this problem. Grateful if you could give us a few tips Gav.
Cheers
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post 11 and post 6. apart from pain killers!. I have invested in a back massager for my car . I am also lucky in the sense I can get a back rub from the physio. If you can find somewhere to get one it does make a big difference.The correct insoles in your boots can also help.
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Hello Gav,
Just wanted to say that I was at the QMC on tuesday afternoon to visit a sick friend and I walked past you all in the corridor coming away from a ward. Thought i'd say how good it was to see you all together visiting the unfortunate (certainly better than I felt about the team on saturday afternoon at 2-0 down) especially as many of you live far away and have to travel.
Tell Adam Nowland, i think it was him in a volvo, that the one way system he was ignoring and the car parking space he grabbed were for the on call emergency doctors. But please tell the lads that it was appreciated.
Cheers
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post 13. I will pass it on and I will also point out to Adam Nowland the error of his ways!
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Hi Gav,
Nice work - although I would like to point out that we (Wolves) were actually in a decent run of form after our extended post Xmas blip until the result at Blues on Monday night! Hopefully back to winning ways tomorrow in front of a big Bank Holiday crowd at Molineux.
Good luck for the rest of the season!
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Why the need to look so deeply for reasons, is it now glaringly obvious that United are starting to look tired, afterall haven't they been playing 2 games a week since christmas due to that pointless jaunt to the club world cup and the fact they have been so succesful in all cup comps this season so far. The press claiming they could win all the trophies are now looking foolish as are any united fans who thought the same, that is just not possible. Personally I would be extremely happy to see us go out on away goals in porto with a number of players unable to play due to minor knocks, leaving us with a chance of doing a domestic clean sweep. Premier league every day of the week over the much hyped 'champions league'
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I am so much delighted with the result of the Chelsea match 3-1 against Liverpool, let them keep it up! The Blues supporters worldwide depserately need the trophy and never joke with it.
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Why is it though that teams like Man U, Wolves and Leichester are struggeling where as Burnley are still doing very well, and they've played something like 55 games already this sesson!! And since Eddie Howe's arrival at Bournemouth they've been doing very well playing 2 matches almost every week since he took over and most of his defence being injured.
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would you consider signing for aberdeen?
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Another decent blog gav
Whitley for the Vase!
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Great blog, Burton Albion deserve a mention as well! They certainly seem to be enduring a rather nervous stutter towards the Blue Square Premier finishing line...
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For those lower back sufferers, find a practioner of Meziers. It's a french concept. I have had a disc hernia, groin strain, and hip strain. It took a while to find the right treatment, but a meziers practioner did it. I am back to normal finally
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re 18, the games for the teams at the top are of a far greater intensity
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Burnley are still pushing for the play-offs their games are just as intense as those who are hoping for automatic promotion, and if they do get to the play-offs they'l have to play atleast another 2 games
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Nice one as usual Gav.
So, did you watch the JPT Final on sunday? What an advert for lower league football! Well done Luton! Even managed to win 3-2, to replicate their famous win against Arsenal in 88. As for pressure, tired legs, etc the big clubs have no excuses, their squads are so large they should be able to cope. Try operating a club on a shoestring and probably being relegated from the League, that's pressure!
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blah blah blah again. Gavin, please read Tim Vickerys blog for some tips on writing and content. footbal cliches strung together do not an article make.
No offense, but the sycophantic praise coming your way needed a response.
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26 - hahahahahaha
Thank goodness! I thought I was the only one wondering "Are these people relly reading the same thing as me?!!"
It's about 3 minutes of nothingness every week. I'm sure you're a nice guy Gavin, and as you've said, you're currently learning this trade, but so are many others, and they don't get their own blog on the BBC website!
Also, your shameless offering of your services to Stuart McCall was the lower league version Ronaldo angling for his Madrid move. Contract up in the summer is it?
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post 27. Yep I am but I think they might have bigger transfer targets than me in mind!.I have to thank you for reading every week, as you stated, even though you do not like it. Also I have to thank you for commenting twice this week (and at such varied times of the day!).
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With United, don't forget its the third season in a row they've been competing on 2 or 3 fronts up to more or less the final day. That is a relentless level of consistency for any team to achieve and when you're saturated in sucess its easier to become complacent and harder to maintain the very high standards needed to win these competitions.
This year United have also been away to the World Club championship. While nerves have played their part, especially after the liverpool game, I think a lot of it is fatigue.
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hi gavin
just wandering what your thoughts are on wycombe wanderers. we started so so well but have slipped in recent months, but after tuesdays win i am confident we can secure an automatic promotion spot, what do you think?
p.s if your looking for a new club i would speak to paul lambert as he seems to have a fetish of signing players that are 30+.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Another first class blog - thank you Gavin. However I remain unconvinced with regard to your assertion that footballers play too many games.
If you look at the Arsenal side of 1971 you will see that a few of their players played in all 42 league games and nearly all of them played about 35 league games. Then they had their Cup games, European games and international fixtures. Did they complain? I don't think so. They still looked fresh when they won the Cup at Wembley in May, despite the alleged booze culture and playing 50 to 60 games each.
So what has gone wrong in the last 40 years? Back in the 1970's the big sides like Liverpool, Leeds and Arsenal played virtually the same players week in week out, twice a week. They also only had one substitute. And they thrived. Were they just tougher then? Or did the club merely expect players to be able to play football twice a week without picking up or (dare I say it) fabricating little niggles?
Personally I do not appreciate big squads and squad rotation. A Manager should know his best eleven players and play them. If he doesn't know who is best then he is in the wrong job. Top players now do not play any more games a season than they did back then. The only big difference is that players can now go on playing into their mid 30's rather than not playing for big clubs much beyond their late 20's.
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The reason Bradford supporters have turned on the team a few times this season is because of a distinct lack of effort on the field.
It's difficult not to get angry when you spend time and money travelling to watch your team and they barely show up. If we get beaten by the better team despite trying our upmost, then fair enough, I can handle that. If there's no trying involved it's really disappointing.
Obviously I am just a punter so it might not be as simple as that, and I know how fragile some footballers can be if they hear a bit of abuse, but that's no excuse not to go out there and earn your crust by running your heart out. Am I missing something?
The City players play in front of 12000 every other week and our home record is pretty good so they can't be that precious!
Cheers anyway Gav!
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P.S. You're spot on about missing Omar Daley.
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Hello Gavin.
Another excellent read and one that is looked forward to each week.
Talking of pressure, I was a bit disappointed you didn't mention your old club, Peterborough United.
Here at London Road, the players are thriving in the pressure of putting together what is now a seven-match winning run as we go into the Easter weekend.
During this run Posh have moved into second place and narrowed the gap on leaders Leicester to two points, when at once stage we were 14 points behind them.
Good Friday sees Posh at home to bottom club Cheltenham, while Easter Monday sees us travel to The New Den for a very tough game against promotion rivals Millwall.
Should Posh win these two games then the club will equal the record for a nine-match winning sequence in their promotion-winning season of 1991/92.
The next game is at home to Stockport, which if Peterborough win will create a new record and virtually guarantee promotion for the second year in succession.
So, the point I'm trying to make is that it would appear pressure gets to players who are trying to hold on to top spot, whilst those trying to catch up seem to have no fear and no pressure.
As a player, would you agree it is a fair assumption, or have I got hold of the wrong end of the stick entirely?
Best wishes Gavin, and enjoy your Easter weekend.
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Haha. There r 2 reasons I keep comin back 4 more, and at "varied times of the day" Gavin.
1) I am living in Mexico, so reading all the blogs and news stories, including the ones I don't particularly care for, is the way I keep a little bit of home around me
and 2) due to the time difference I made one comment last night, and one this morning. Don't kid urself that i'm gettin up in the middle of the nite to read ur latest offering ;-) haha
In all seriousness, u come across as a thoroughly nice guy in ur blogs, but it's also clear that u r studying journalism, and not yet qualified, and so I just find a lack of anything "substantial" when I read. Maybe i'm being picky but I wonder how many of ur fellow students would kill 4 the opportunity to blog for the BBC before they're qualified or experienced enough to do so?
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post 36. Fair point, made very constructively. I do agree with you in that I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to write this blog and it is certainly not something that I take for granted.
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Gavin, I think you are being too apologetic to Post 36. Very few footballers are capable of writing their own blogs or columns. In fact I suspect you are one footballer in ten thousand who could realistically do so on a regular basis. The BBC are fortunate to have found an erudite footballer who didn't need a journalist to ghost his blog or column. Carry on the good work.
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31. At 4:44pm on 09 Apr 2009, Whiteoutloud wrote:
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Whiteoutloud what a pity you are unable to contribute to footballing debate without resorting to primary school playground insults. If you find yourself unable to write the name United without these infantile insults then I suggest you stick to the 606 forum where unfortunately they are all too common.
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I feel really nasty now - you're far too nice Gavin!! haha
No, it's right that it's great a footballer is able to write this blog, and that your playing experience in the lower leagues gives a different angle to a Hanson or a Lawrenson.
Trying to be constructive, I do however feel that your writing inexperience shows through, and maybe some would feel the BBC is always considered a place for the very best journalists, rather than those learning their trade...........that said Tim Lovejoy & Spoony areon 606 so what do I know?!!!
Oh, and admit it: I did rumble you didn't I? That was a definite "come and get me" to Stuart McCall wasn't it? ;-).....had no idea he was the lower league Jose Mourinho! haha
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Oh, nearly forgot about Colin Murray too! To be fair i'd rather have u presenting 5Live sport shows Gavin!
...........maybe i've got this all wrong?
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26 and 27, just like anything else in life we all have different preferences for many things, like this blog which I enjoy very much as it is well written and insightful.
The great thing about web pages is that if you don't like what you are reading then you can use the red x and clear off and read something you do like.
Besides, as you must both be able to pen good articles yourself and I presume are experts in the field, you should start a new blog and call it theramblingsofwhinginggits.co.uk or whatcanwemoanabouttoday.co.uk
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Roberto-Mexicano - you really are having a needless pop at Gavin. He makes no secret that journalism is new to him. Give him a break. His column is always well written and very interesting. And he writes it himself!
I note that you compare him to Alan Hanson and Mark Lawrenson. Mark, to me, is rather dreary. As for Alan Hanson, I was at a sports lunch a few years ago where he was supposed to give an entertaining speech. He read from a script in a monotone that suggested that it had been written for him. It was so boring I don't know why I stayed in the room. You will also note that the BBC says at the end of Alan Hanson's column "Alan Hanson was talking to...." So a journalist prompts Alan on a subject and then puts his jumbled thoughts into a readable column. If you make comparisons, then compare like with like. Gavin is way ahead of the other footballers who, almost without exception, need ghost writers to help them formulate something readable.
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Erudite, articulate footballers are uncommon ducks. I can think of only David James as a footballer blogger I'd enjoy reading.
As an ex-semipro player, and a guy who's earned his corn as a writer for what would amount to a lifetime for many posters here, I've followed your blog from day one, Gavin. You're growing into the job with each post, m'son. Your writing grows smoother and more assured. I don't think you've yet found the 'voice' you want, but no sweat... it'll find itself the more you write.
As for critics who perceive lack of substance — define 'substance'. As I understood the purpose of the Blog, it was to be: a) a working player sharing glimpses and insights into life, on and off the field, in the lower Divs; b) a spark for comment/debate on footy-pertinent questions, such as today's; c) a football read that's clearly different from all the usual suspects on BBC (and elsewhere).
Sure, it's a work in progress... but it's still a relative infant. I'd say that a rookie writer has done well by a), b) and c).
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I'm not sure life as a football writer is any better/worse/easier than that of a player - most of the journalists/pundits get abuse from the fans for being lazy or having tendencies towards one team. Poor Gavin!
I agree with Red Toronto above (although you're below my Sounders after the beating they gave you ;-), Gavins blog is different and gives you a bit of an insight. The fact he's commenting on the lower leagues is probably earning lots of plaudits, rather than trotting out the same tired old stuff printed elsewhere!
Having said that, I don't agree with todays subject and do agree with KingDion #32 in that all this is nothing new, footballers in the 60's & 70's played 10 million games a year with nothing but lard, cigarretes, beer and a bad perm!
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Gavin's blog is definitely the best if you judge it from the post debate it always generates. That's what he's there for - to inspire and provoke you lot to express your views and debate the issues. It works every time!
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Excellent blog gavin, Speaking of teams faltering at the top of their division you cannot forget Burton Albion, once with a points lead that looked like they were destined to join the football league, now they are in a battle in the last few games to stay in the top spot. Even though i must agree that i prefer to have my team fighting for promotion then against relegation.
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Gavin
Haven't commented on your blog before because I felt the positive comments that had come through covered my feelings on it - but folowing some negative feedback this week I thought I'd throw my two cents in: Perhaps your blog isn't as eloquent or well-structured as an experienced journalist's might be - but there is no other journalist who gives such a unique and honest take on football from a player's perspective. For whatever reason you touch subjects that no other journalists do - and I'm sure most of the posters will agree this makes it much easier to empathise with you.
I certainly don't agree that your blog is unsubstantial - I feel it's just that you prefer to talk about what you know and don't always aim to write about the most popular topic, and that's the 'substance' that people may be after.
Anyway to sum up, I thoroughly enjoy your blogs (even if some of the stuff about lower-league clubs doesn't ring any bells!) and hope your journalistic career continues. Perhaps later on you'll be writing blogs from a manager's perspective ;)
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Great blog once again Gav, heres hoping we can pick up 6 points from tomorrow and mondays game! you pies!
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Re: post #45
Football in the 70s was a very different game from what is played now. Overall I would say the quality has increased greatly since then, and extreme fitness is far more important today that it was several decades ago. Players in the 70s could live an incredibly unhealthy lifestyle, and nearly all of them did. Were you to attempt that today, you'd get run off the pitch by the players who took care after their diet and fitness levels (whereas back in the day most of the players probably engaged in the enjoyment of lard, cigarettes and beer!). So I think it's understandable that players today would be more affected by game after game, trying to stay at peak performance.
I'm not sure how much of a difference there really is, but it's difficult to contrast the football of 3-4 decades ago with today.
Nice blog Gavin, enjoyed it this week.
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Gavin, this is the only blog I read from any source and I read it because it provides real insight into the life of someone many of us would like to be - (no, not you personally...especially with that hair) a professional footballer.
Keep up the good work :)
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Hello Gavin, interesting read as always. I was wondering if you think there may be more pressure on those clubs going for promotion/championships than those facing relegation? The reason I ask is that, in the current football climate, many players seem to have something of a mercenary streak, and be more obsessed with wages that previous generations. if a player is relegated, he can always sign for a club in the division he has just left, and there will be no undue strain on his wallet. Winning promotion or the league, on the other hand, may lead to increased wages and commercial opportunities? Or am I just being too cynical?
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yet again another fine blog , it doesn't matter whether individuals dont like it , you always manage to stimulate an exchange of views , why did roberto - mexicano even bother to read this weeks blog if you'd bored him so much in the past .... doooh ! spare a thought for the fans at this time of year , I remember easter 1977 , good friday away at hull , easter saturday home to forest , easter monday away at wovles , loads of petrol used , loads of ale consumed , loads of £ spent - went to watch stevenage borough play cambridge utd last tues , they brought 1600 supporters with them which is amazing at most levels outside the top 2 leagues , never mind the blue sq league , and despite the noise they still couldn't overcome a 10 man borough so your theory about end of season blips and big crowds motivating is spot on
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Wow... a columist who actually bothers to reply to comments... reps to u mate.
Good blog aswell. As an Arsenal fan i cant really remember a drop in individual performances around this time of the season but we always have a bigger squad than most so rotation is always a possibility (even if some people try nd claim that our squad isnt big enough... which has a level of truth to it i must admit) but its never been a time of year we thrive on as team, not in recent seasons anyway. Ill keep an eye on the players thou cuz its never really been something i've thought about to be honest.
Hope u get off the bench soon, good luck with the rest of the season, keep up the good work with the blog and keep those responses coming! Seriously hardly ever see people bothering to reply directly to comments on their blog, and never more than one reply to something they either agree with or makes them fume, and im not just talking about this site, but keep it up cuz we'll love u for it :D
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Gavin Strachan blog is a very enjoyable one, I read it since the first one and I absolutely love it. A very good insight of professional football players - specially those who are common persons(not worldwide superstars) just like us. I always wondered of what they drive, what it is to be in a supermarket and find a fan, etc...
On squad rotation, well, I like the idea of small squads, of having a cap of players that can be used, to prevent big clubs from having all the good youngsters(Fabio,Welbeck and Macheda would be welcome in tons of clubs! And barely play for Man Utd), 40-man sized squad(like Man Utd, who using it's reserves won the Carling Cup against the first-team of Tottenham), etc.. Gives the sport a little bit of mobility, like in the american sports(who have salary caps and squad-size limits) or even here on Brazil(squads here are barely the same year after year, making good clubs go down and bad clubs go up, Corinthians got relegated just 2 years after winning the championship)
Keep with the good work Gavin!
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Wolves have suffered a loss of form 'over the past few weeks'? Yes...5 wins in 7 (with only one loss) since the start of March is terrible form...We went through a bad patch before then, but so did every other team in the league which is why we're sitting pretty at the top - exactly where we've been since September.
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Intersting to note than on all the blogs and discussions around Manchester Utd's recent form and in truth their form all season no one has considered the impact of the loss of Carlos Quiroz.
Fergie is the best in the world at motivating men but has proven over time that he is not the worlds greatest tactician. I do not think it coincidence that our form all season just hasnt been up to the standards of last year after Carlos departed for the portugal job.
Also look at the form of the two portugese players in the squad....Ronaldo and Nani. Not up to the same standards as last year. Neither has Anderson.
Interesting to see what others think......Discuss.........
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Interesting Blog Gavin.
One thing i do disagree with though is you saying that "Wolves have lost form". Since the start of March, we have won 5 drew 1 lost 1. If thats a loss of form, i would like to see a team in form. We had our dip post xmas up until the end of feb but since then have vastly improved and secured our spot at the top.
I agree with the other two teams losing form, but not Wolves who have only strengethened their position in recent weeks at the top of the Championship.
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Gavin. As much as I admire your excellent blogs I must echo the sentiments of many above regarding the fact that Wolves have taken 16 points from the last seven games and conceded only three goals in those matches. Not exactly the signs of a team losing form or indeed nervousness. Of course there remains plenty of work still to be done but the Wolves players are certainly showing all the signs of being able to cope with the pressure. At various stages of the season suggestions have come from other teams that perhaps Wolves will "bottle it" but so far it hasn't happened.
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Good blog Gav. I think your point about clubs raising their game against the bigger teams is pertinent to the subject of why team throw it away as well. Around this time everyone knows who are the good teams, who are average and who are poor and psychologically this must have an effect going into the game. If you know that Leicester City are run away leaders you're bound to go into the game knowing that you'll need an extra 10% to beat them.
How much of a part do you think experience plays in maintaining a lead? I know that last season Forest benefitted massively from Carlisle and Doncaster 'bottling' it towards the end of the season and perhaps that was partly down to them not being used to being in the promotion shake up in previous seasons, whereas we knew all too well what it was like to throw away opportunity after opportunity (ahem Yeovil ahem)
PS With regards to your blog I find it very interesting. There are very few blogs on the BBC that I actually enjoy reading, this being one,Chris Charles being another. At least you don't repeat yourself every week a la Mr Vickery (we get it, South Americans are being sent over to Europe too early in their careers, change the record) and you don't spout utter tripe every week a la Mr 'lets create some irrelevant controversey' McNulty. Keep it up!
PPS My Dad's a Grimsby fan and they're my second team, any chance you could tell the boys to go easy on us on Monday, I can't be doing with both of my teams being relegated this season.
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Nice one, Gavin.
What I like about your blog is that is has the "ring of authenticity", by which I mean that not only are you an active player with first-hand knowledge, but that I think you wrote it yourself, using your own words.
...Unlike the syndicated "player-columnists" who often "write" words or phrases that I could never believe them actually using or saying.
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Nice blog Gavin, first time reading it. I think another reason for Leicester's poor run of form lately is mainly down to the tiredness of the players. Most of the players we have are young lads who are on loan from bigger clubs or players who have come through the youth academy and aren't used to playing loads of games all at once.
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@ Posts 32 and 45
Watch any clips of matches from the 1970s and then watch clips of today's football and it is pretty obvious why teams assemble such large squads these days, why players pick up niggles and why there are more complaints about fixture congestion.
Football is much quicker these days and players cover a lot of ground throughout a game, more than they used to.
In the 70s you could get away with the beer and ciggies diet but its impossible now.
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Reply to Post 57.
I can't see how Carlos Queiroz is missed by Manchester United at all.
Man Utd already won the World Club Cup and League Cup this season, they're in the FA Cup semi-final and aren't out of the Champions League yet, they're also top of the league. Man Utd have strong rivals in Liverpool and Chelsea. Do you really believe the media hype, which suggests winning big trophies is easy? I would suggest you are swallowing the hype and becoming anxious about Liverpool chasing.
Since Quieroz took over Portugal they've been dreadful, hardly won a game. It seems to me to be a myth that Quieroz somehow coaxes magical form out of Portuguese-speaking footballers. He hasn't done that with the Portuguese national team so far.
As for Ronaldo, Anderson and Nani's form- Ronaldo scored 42 goals last season and it was going to be a tall order for him to match that this year, particularly as he's now a marked man with all the individual awards he's won and the spotlight constantly on him. Because he's set those standards even a decent season is regarded as below-par so he's attracted criticism even though he's still Man Utd's top scorer.
As for Nani and Anderson: Nani was an inconsistent and frustrating player even last season. He's always been the same with Man Utd. He's not playing regularly so he can't build up any form or confidence. I don't see a big change between this season and last season.
Anderson is incredibly overrated- a player who works hard, can tackle and is a nice passer but can't shoot for toffee. There are a lot of Premiership midfielders as good as him and many better ones, certainly ones that carry more of a goal threat. Again, its the same Anderson we saw last season, but more injury-prone and he's played fewer games and looked very unfit.
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Hi Gavin, nice blog, always a good read.
However, i am supprised that Wycombe haven't made an impression on you like the Bees, Exeter and Bradford have. We had virtually all of our first team wanting to leave in the summer and Peter Taylor has done a remarkable job in getting us within touching distance of League 1 football next year and the League 2 Title after the results yesterday. He had to re-build virtually the whole first team from scratch and has done a brilliant job, especially with our magnificent run at the start of the season.
WANDERING ON UP TO LEAGUE 1 - WE ARE WYCOMBE WANDERERS
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we were awful when you beat us 3-1 (not 4-1 as you said), and i dont know where your optimism for us comes from, we are woeful at the moement and i cant see us getting another win all season.
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why dont the league make the divisions 18 clubs? that would allow them to create another division between League Two and the Conference AND it would reduce the number of games in a season.
not rocket science is it?!
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I think it all comes down to fitness in the lower leagues and the ability to grind out results. At MK Dons we suffered throughout March with a fixture every Tuesday and Friday, suspensions, injuries and having an inexperienced manager.
As a result we won only once (against a struggling for form Oldham), lost twice (against promotion rivals Millwall & Leeds) and drew against teams we should realistically been beating (Swindon, Huddersfield, Yeovil and Crewe).
Now first team players are returning we are re-finding our form winning 3 from 3 in April but our tactics have been some what questionable and whether we can maintain it we will have to wait and see.
Certainly very exciting though!
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Gavin
I think part of it is the success of getting and especially integrating loan players into the squad. Exeter's position is in no small measure due to the defensive rock that is Troy Archibald-Henville on loan from Tottenham and in recent weeks the goals from Stuart Fleetwood from Charlton.
How easy is it to get loan players to "gell" in a promotion-chasing squad? Is it the skills of the manager (Paul Tisdale seems to be good at this) or is it the attitude of the players in welcoming the new faces rather than seeing them as threats?
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Gavin,
Long-time reader, first-time commenter. I've become a regular reader of your blog for the reasons many have already given. You have an insight into the lower leagues that is lacking in the other parts of the BBC blogosphere -- but more than this, your blog is genuinely a blog, a personal reaction to and reflection on matters that are actually affecting you. Which makes it distinctly different to Tim Vickery's or any other blog on this site, which are essentially repurposed columns or articles.
You're learning journalism -- but you already have a valid and valuable point of view, and it is this that makes you different from your fellow students (I would guess).
Keep it up! Polish comes with practice (in writing as in all else).
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