Patience, a past value?

By Bob Ellis
August 22 2022

This isn't how it as meant to be. Not much exciting attacking football, new signings failing to have an impact, Tranmere at the wrong end of the table. Already there is a rumour that Mellon only has a short time to turn this around. Supporters are like drug addicts, the only fix that matters is three points, anything less and we crave, rant, see it all in catastrophic terms. The team has not started well, the obvious excuse is it's all down to our manager. 

Let's start at the back. Turnbull is one of the few signings who has made a real impact. Cultured, measured and calm. A real contrast to Clarke who was hot headed and bad tempered. The absence of Tom Davies is causing problems. Turnbull and Davies would be formidable. At the moment we haven't found a pairing that works at the centre of defence. Jameson had a nightmare in his opening game and against Newport. It seems he can't cope with physical teams. That's worrying but in keeping with the intelligence that was out there prior to his signing. Bairstow seems to be going backwards too. This could simply be a sign that the players around him lack confidence. He did well against Gillingham and Accrington, but didn't make an impact against Newport. Frustrating when Declan Drysdale, ex Rovers, was on the pitch hinting at what could have been.

Midfield is also in a ragged state of disarray. Morris is a long term absence and won't be back until October. Chris Merrie got subbed on Saturday and our manager seems not to like him, we might not expect him to start a game for a little while. Apparently Paul Lewis came back to the club at his own request, his family were unsettled in Northampton. We have yet to see him make anything other than an average contribution. Josh Hawkes, a player who showed great promise when he was on loan, is now reduced to a cameo role as a substitute. He scored a great goal against Accrington, but other than that doesn't seemed to have settled since his permanent move locally. Lee O'Connor too seems out of sorts. He's capable of good games, but this season he hasn't shown enough to convince. 

Up from Kane Hemmings seems steady but unspectacular. His work rate is good, and he's contributed well in matches. However, there a sense that supporters respect him rather than love him. By comparison Eliot Nevitt seems to be adored by our fan base, but isn't scoring enough goals. I have heard some suggest that he may never develop beyond where he is. I personally wouldn't give up on him just yet. Our two other current forwards are injured. Mumbomgo is out for the next few games and Charlie Jolley is a long term absence. From what I have seen Mumbongo is far from the finished article, albeit it's hard to assess this when he has only had a few sub appearances. 

How much of this is the manager's responsibility is open to debate. If management is about maximising the resources at your disposal Micky Mellon isn't operating with a full kit bag. Yet the truth is that supporters appear impatient. We need to see improvements. Palios has shown loyalty thus far, a quality that is in short supply in the modern game. Mellon will need to start repaying some of that loyalty in the coming months in order to confirm Palios' judgement. We are in for a challenging season, but not necessarily a season where we challenge.