Walsall changing manager in February is a bit of a tradition.
I had more hopes on Matt Taylor, but somehow it didn’t work out the way we had hoped.
Maybe the reason it didn’t go the way we hoped was the stubbornness to keep to a tactic that didn’t suit the players.
A more experienced manager might have reverted to a simple approach and match-plan to try and get something from matches.
Taylors approach was to play a 4-2-3-1 but, it didn’t work and, we all saw it didn’t work. Taylor might have asked too much from his players. Maybe they were forced to play in a way that was on a level too high for their football knowledge? Since most players were brought in with specifications set by Taylor, they should have matched his philosophy in a better way.
Utilise our strengths
I hope Michael Flynn take a different approach. We have to utilise and use the players in their best roles. If he does that, he will build a hard-working unit, which will be near impossible to break down for the opposition.
To get this season to turn around, he has to find a way to get our strikers to start producing goals again. We have lost so many points this season when we’ve been on top in matches. We will climb that table rapidly if we can kill off games early and not give the opposition a chance. A playoff position might be too much to ask, but a top 10 should be possible and then rebuild in the summer and hunt a promotion position next season.
We have 16 matches and 48 points to fight for, which is plenty to end up in a better position than 18.
Reduce individual mistakes
Another thing Flynn should address is the number of individual mistakes that have caused many goals to concede. The mistakes weren’t that frequent in the match against Tranmere Rovers. Maybe the way Taylor wanted the team to play also caused them to make more individual errors? McDonald had a less tactically demanding approach which didn’t cause as many mistakes.
Patience is needed
If we give Flynn time and patience to build up the confidence and not expect instant results, I think we will end this season in a good way.
Our fans are sometimes too quick to judge and, one bad result is often enough for some to get on the manager and players back.
I urge our fans for once to have patience and not get on our new managers back if the results aren’t coming straight away.
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