Boylen Backs Buckley

By: Dave Boylen
Date: 11/09/2007

THE most important thing that Grimsby Town fans must not do is panic and start screaming for everybody's head, including the manager Alan Buckley.

Alan is too experienced at this level of football to panic, although of course the result at Accrington was dire and believe you me Alan will be wanting to know from his players the reason why we were so bad.

I have to be honest I thought the days of Town letting four goals in had gone, it just shows you what a funny game football can be. The performance only the other week against Burnley in the cup game was outstanding. Although we were beaten in the eventual penalty shoot out the supporters clapped the lads off the field, something that never happened in the Russell Slade era. We were all hoping that at last maybe the tide was turning in Grimsby Town's direction and all we needed was a proven striker to finish off the good approach play that the Mariners were producing.

I do think that the disappointment that we never got a striker before the deadline was apparent on Saturday, but I can tell you this: I would not liked to have been in that dressing room at the end of the game, talk about the hairdryer touch, there is nobody more passionate about football than Alan Buckley when his team have not performed. He also thinks besides letting the fans down the buck stops with him because he picks the team and the style of play he wants his team to exhibit.

Alan has been criticised for playing 4-5-1. Well it's not very pretty I agree, I would rather see a 4-4-2, formation with your two outside players in the middle four breaking at every opportunity to support the front two. that is when you will score more goals.

The truth of the matter is that we are struggling to convert the chances that we have been creating. Every game this season especially at Blundell Park has been filled with chances that we have failed to finish.

Although Alan may have the chance still to get some players in on loan (I think it is still allowed) I would not discard the young players like Bore, North, and also Andy Taylor who is another for the not too distance future. I feel we need to have an experienced striker up front. say like Gary Jones and not just for one game but tell him he is in the team for at least the next five games and it is up to him to stay in the side longer on merit.

That is when you could bring on the young players to bolster Jones with the spirit that all young players have inside themselves. Rankin is stopping and starting and to be honest has been a disappointment up to now with Town. The release of Crofty to my mind was a huge surprise to me as I thought he had at least another season in him at this level. All in all in my opinion.

This team is still in a transitional period and the missing link is the fact that we have not got a proven striker who will get you at least twenty five goals a year. The problem is how long can we go on with not getting a result. Town are now lying second from the bottom with just three points alongside Wrexham from five games, not very good indeed.

This was supposed to be the season where we could at least get to the play-offs, but personally I have every confidence in Alan Buckley and I believe that we will be in for a much needed lift against Stockport County on Saturday with a resounding win, which I hope will kickstart our season into gear just like it did when we reached our low last season at Boston.

See Dave's other articles

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