I think this is always a managers biggest challenge and its the biggest test for everyone involved. It carries a lot of variables too.
It was only two weeks ago that bowyer was the man.
If he continues down the field of football management and football coaching ...then it would be the Charlton job where he was 1st learnt his trade.
His 1st job was a high pressure, desperate, under performing, under staffed, wafer thin squad club in league one with countless amounts of off field problems and unrest. It's a particularly tough one. We are at the business end of the season.
We have and had something to play and aim for.
We strung a few results together and we had hope.
The problem here is, that sooner or later we were going to drop points.
It happened sooner rather then later, and what you then have is inexperience....at a time when the game changes and we definitely now need a manager with a past of scars and bruises (not the Russel Slade type of yearly disappointment)
I can't put a name to what we need and I don't think bowyer should go....but after the Wimbledon defeat, I lost faith and I'm sad to say I wasn't very surprised by Saturdays result.
He now has to dig deep and get this side winning games again.
Have we already been worked out under LB? Do we need to play a really sh*t side in order to get some confidence back and scrape a 1-0?
We can still claw our way back into the top 6.
The day before KR left....we were 100% sure the playoffs are out the question.
We have to pull together and show what we are really made of.
Don't give up. 12 points still to play for.
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I'm happy to judge KR based on the squad he assembled and the crap football we played.
Roll on the end of the season. We're not in a fit state for the playoffs.
I remember Chris Powell arriving as manager and winning his first 4 games on the spin.
After that we couldn't win a game for love nor money, culminating in that dreadful gutless defeat at Daggers.
Powell needed the clearout in order to create his team in his image.
And we all know how that turned out!
Maybe, that's how it may unfold also for Lee Bowyer, should he get the chance.
But meanwhile, if he's got some players who are more interested in a move in the summer - then it's not going to happen this season for us or him.
The diamond. It was a breath of fresh air at first after the turgid 4-2-3-1.
For 3 games it served us well and we looked a different team, revitalised. And we won games.
But Bristol Rovers worked us out, blocking our "10" position at the top of the diamond and quickly closing down JFC at the base.
They got in our faces, pressing us high and denying us time and space. We lost our outlet, supply and creativity.
In this system we're set up to play narrow, with both fullbacks using the uncrowded touchlines to provide the width.
But they not as protected as in a flat 4-4-2 and teams see that, and overload them.
Both Wimbledon and Scunny did their homework and also set up to stop the movement in our diamond.
It's not working now - and Bowyer needs to come up with something different.
If he can, that will be the mark that he can see things and adapt quickly, as a good manager should.
You'd have thought its something we'd be used to by now!
A flat 442 is an issue as the only 2 I see working in Cm would be JFC and Kashi possible Dijksteel or Konsa could work also. I don't see Aribo or Reeves working in a 2. So are we going to drop 1 or both of Aribo and Reeves to make this change work? They've been our best 2 players since Bow came in.
Or we could go 352. One of Dijksteel or Konsa being the 3rd CB and the one who brings the ball out from defence. JDS in the left and fosu right with one more defensive wing back and the other with more of an attacking licence. Mag and Ajose up top. This doesn't really make the best of our depth at fullback but it is what I would do for the next game. Something has to change.