The pre season optimism is draining out of everyone at Darlington, even FanZoner Daniel List
Pressure mounting on manager Todd
The pre season optimism is draining out of everyone at Darlington, even FanZoner Daniel List
If I was to say things aren't going entirely to plan at the Darlington Arena it would be just a bit of an understatement.
Eight league games, one solitary point, out of one cup in the first round at the hands of Leeds, about to be out of another in the second round at the hands of Leeds, a manager on borrowed time and fans arguing amongst themselves. It has been a long six weeks to be a Quaker.
I have always aimed to maintain a degree of optimism in these blogs throughout the start of this torrid season but I think the defeat against Bournemouth on Saturday is one defeat too far for any lingering optimism to survive.
Worrying
Now there is no disgrace at all in losing to the league leaders because many teams have done so already this season.
There is also no disgrace in being outclassed by a better side. What I do believe is a disgrace though is Colin Todd coming out and saying, 'We matched them in every department and we should take a lot of confidence from that game'.
For a start we didn't match Bournemouth in any department and rarely looked like scoring and secondly who in the right mind would take confidence from a 2-0 home defeat?
I have never really advocated shouting for a manager's head during a game as I don't think it gets anyone anywhere and only ever results in fans arguing amongst themselves but I can certainly understand the frustration.
We didn't expect promotion, play-offs or top half but we certainly expected to be putting up a fight and here we are eight games in and five points adrift of Macclesfield.
Questions
The problem I have more than any other with Todd is that he has good players in his squad that he isn't getting the best from.
Steve Foster and Ian Miller are a centre half pairing that last season would have walked into two thirds of League Two squads and yet this season they have looked like Blue Square North fodder.
Gary Smith has played at a much higher level than Darlo fans are seeing from him. Nathan Porritt came with huge hype from Middlesbrough fans but Todd couldn't handle him and he has come and gone in a month.
Good players don't become bad players overnight and when you know your players are capable of so much more and consistently underperform then I am sorry but the manager must take responsibility.
Fans might not like other fans calling for the manager to be sacked during a game and that is thoroughly understandable but if you take yourself out of the heat of the moment and reflect on what we have been watching this season then you must surely share my opinion.
Without change we are going down and we are going down without a whimper. It is not so much Todd's signings but the performances he gets from them that is the big worry.
We don't look like scoring and we look devoid of any degree of creativity and the only way that will improve is with change. It is a risk to sack the manager so early but we need to give ourselves the best possibility of survival.
Expectations might well be at an all time low at the Darlington Arena but we still expect better than what he is serving us up Mr Singh.
Is time up on Todd's reign already? Why is he unable to get the best out of good players? Let us know by filling in the feedback form below...
