I've said for some time now that despite what a number of people on here say and think, you can't blame the players. (well maybe with the exception of Parker who in all honesty seems to have lost the inspiration to play football full stop)
IMO the players HAVE put in the effort week in week out and that for me is a real positive.
From last seasons team under Shez, we still have Hazell, Whittaker, Smalley, Lomax, Gregan, Taylor, Lee. Add to that Stephens was on the books last season with a view to him being blooded in over a period of time and Alessandra who has been out injured all season. That is the nucleus of a team that a lot of fans thought could win us promotion last season, a team that at times under Shez played some good football. Those same players have not become bad players, but they are playing to a different discipline.
From last seasons squad we have lost, Crossley, Fleming, Liddell, Allott, Stam, Maher, O'Grady, Davies, Eardley and Hughes. Crossley was always going to be his last season at this level, Fleming divided opinion, Lids's legs went, Allott wanted 2 years we only offered 1, so he went to Tranmere and before playing for them dropped down a league to join Chesterfield. Maher never settled and to be honest never really impressed, Stam, I would have kept whilst O'Grady having scored for fun in division 4, never looked like scoring in division 3 and is now on his SEVENTH club., whilst Craig Davies fell out with Shez and never recovered.
That leaves, for me at least, the 2 players we have missed most. Eardley for his consistency (how some supporters could have him as their boo boy really baffled me) and Hughes for his goals. Eardley was always going to go on to bigger and better things and I firmly believe that he will move upwards from Blackpool. Hughes was supposed to be going to the Championship last January with Doncaster and he had to settle for 4th Division Notts County. Why? Money possibly but surely a team in our league could have matched his wages at County say Norwich, Southampton, Leeds, Charlton and 1 or 2 others. Whilst I think we have missed Highes's goals, why hasn't someone in our league taken him?
What have we replaced these players with:
Purdie, who we haven't been able to judge, Holdsworth, Worthington, Brill, Jacobson, Abbott, Furman and :censored: oh yes and Parker. With the 2 exceptions I have mentioned, like for like is that any worse than we let go?
So, if the nucleus of the squad is intact and we have replaced for the most part like for like, the real question is why are we struggling? Sure injuries have not helped. It happened to Shez in his second season and it is a major factor not being to put out the same side week in week out. As a team, we are far more organised defensively than I can remember in nigh on 40 years, even under JR. But has that "organisation" killed creativity in a way that we as fans do not like?