Jacko - the honeymoon period is over!
I just watched the goal on RIW. Do we have any defenders? I have to say that our defence seems totally incapable of clearing the ball any further than to the opposition; whereupon, we are again under pressure! Why, oh, why can't we find our own players in such circumstances? Other teams seem quite capable of doing it! Jacko - the honeymoon period is over! Your comments please...

Maybe the honeymoon period is coming to an end but the longer term relationship is what is important,give and take,whats mine is yours and yours is etc etc. Anyone about would have prefered Brian Little?

I'm struggling to comprehend how Jacko could turn Schofield's terrible team into a half decent unit that comfortably avoided relegation but, when he gets to bring his own people and mould his own team in we've lost three on the bounce. Bizarre innit.

put it down to the under manager that was before he went to leeds

It's certainly true that McDonald was at the club for our best run of the year and once he left things tailed off a little.

I wonder if the 1-1 draw with Grimsby is the turning point. I wasn't at the match so cannot comment on the playing side although Cheshire Imp did text me at half time saying that it was "rubbish. Boys Vs Men!" Could that be right? Remember KA always had a bad start but always finished up in the play offs. I recall that the start of 2003/04 we lost two league games and one cup game before drawing 0-0 with Doncaster (look where they are now!) and then losing again at Bury before recording our first win 3-0 at home to York City, which turned out to be the start of a 12 match undefeated run (which did include an LDV Cup win over Telford). Prior to that York game, we were second bottom with one point from four games and 12 games later, following our Tuesday night 3-2 victory over Macclesfield we were up to 8th with 24 points from 15 games having gained 23 points in those eleven league games. I am not yet in despair!

It was my first game of the season and it was fairly easy to see what we are lacking at the moment. 1. Confidence. Not many players were prepared to take personal responsibility. This will, hopefully, come with a few results and playing together more often. 2. Cleverness. I wasn't too sure whether it was worth us offering Forrester a 2-year deal but, boy, when he is not playing it is really brought home to you how much he contributed to our attacking play. His runs, short passing and finishing were glaringly missed. Frecklington is twice the player with forwards like Forrester and Stallard in the team making his forward runs worthwhile. Gall could learn immensely from watching a video of Forrester. Economy of effort and awareness beats 110% running every day. 3. Pace. Particularly at the back we are woefully short of pace. In fairness to Kovacs he will do what it says on the tin and win 95% of his headers and put the boot in when necessary. Also, Sinclair reads the game well and shows more composure than most. On their own they are fine but together they don't seem to make a good pair as they have the joint deficiency of a lack of pace. 4. Wingers. With 2 attacking wingers the full backs are left a bit exposed. When we got the ball to LJL and DNG they looked dangerous and you can see the tactic working but I do think it mean we need to have a proper defensive midfielder to provide cover. Oakes is not suited to that role. 5. Strikers. Gall is hard working but, on this showing, the work is not done in the danger areas. Too much chasing lost causes and not enough box time. Mullarkey was far more purposeful in 15 minutes than Gall had been for 70. Wright doesn't convince me I'm afraid. He needs to put himself about a little more and he has to make himself available for the short pass and one twos. Having said all that I don't think there should be too much doom and gloom as there are signs that they are beginning to gel as a team and I thought that we looked a threat going forward 2nd half.

The other problem we have at the moment is Frecks. Other than his penalty he was not in the game and didn't look like he wanted to be. I am not the biggest fan of Kerr but when Frecks is like this we need Kerr in for him otherwise we are just playing a 4-3-2, no wonder Oakes looked knackered with 15 minutes to go!

You have to laugh really. As soon as Jackson said "these signings are the envy of league 2, and some clubs maybe wondering how we managed to sign players of this quality blah, blah, blah", not only did every non Lincoln fan burst out laughing, but it was always going to come back to bite him in the knackers. I have to admit, I have being following your results closely since his statement.

He was just saying that to sell season tickets you know? Obviously he must have believed in his signings (within the limits set), but the whole pre-season hype was an attempt to sell as many season tickets as possible. That's all. It obviously generated interest. ;) What's coming back to bite him isn't what he's said to the press, it's the signings, the team selection, the season preparation etc. etc. He could have told the press that his new signings were distinctly mediocre, it wouldn't make him or anyone else feel better (or worse), as the results would be the same. That's all that really matters, not whether his comments were accurate or not. That it gives a few non-Lincoln supporters a little amusement is irrelevant really. No one was expecting them to buy a season ticket.