It feels very much like majority of those seasons at the minute, you can just see it’s not going to work.
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Updates…
Firstly this won’t be need updating for a while.
Longest winless league runs since team selection wasn’t decided by committee (1969).
13 - 2003/04 - Tony Adams - D9 L4
12 - 1998/99 - Neil Smillie - D3 L9
12 - 2018/19 - Gareth Ainsworth - D3 L9
12 - 1987/88 - Peter Suddaby - D4 L8
12 - 2023/24 - Matt Bloomfield - D6 L6
11 - 2024/25 & 2025/26 - Mike Dodds - D3 L8
11 - 2006/07 - Paul Lambert - D5 L6
10 - 1995/96 & 1996/97 - Alan Smith - D4 L6
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Worst starts to a season since team selection wasn’t decided by committee (1969).
1998/99 – P12 W0 D3 L9 PTS 3 - Neil Smillie
1996/97 – P9 W0 L4 L5 PTS 4 - Alan Smith*
2020/21 – P9 W1 D1 L7 PTS 4 - Gareth Ainsworth
2025/26 – P7 W1 D2 L4 PTS 5 - Mike Dodds
2012/13 – P9 W1 D2 L6 PTS 6 – Gary Waddock*
2003/04 – P14 W1 D4 L9 PTS 7 – Lawrie Sanchez*
2009/10 – P16 W1 D5 L10 PTS 8 – Peter Taylor*
2011/12 – P11 W2 D2 L7 PTS 8 – Gary Waddock
*sacked
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Comparison between the results from the opening 26 league matches under the last three managers / head coaches.
Mike Dodds P26 W8 D7 L11 F22 A25 / 31%
Matt Bloomfield P26 W9 D6 L11 F34 A41 / 35%
Gareth Ainsworth P26 W11 D5 L10 F32 A35 / 42%
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So the only thing that separates Blooms record from Dodds is Leahy’s fluke winner against Mansfield last season.
That wasn’t in Bloomy’s first 26 games?
2 Likes
Updates…
Worst starts to a season since team selection wasn’t decided by committee (1969).
1998/99 – P12 W0 D3 L9 PTS 3 - Neil Smillie
1996/97 – P9 W0 L4 L5 PTS 4 - Alan Smith *
2020/21 – P9 W1 D1 L7 PTS 4 - Gareth Ainsworth
2025/26 – P8 W1 D2 L5 PTS 5 - Mike Dodds
2012/13 – P9 W1 D2 L6 PTS 6 – Gary Waddock *
2003/04 – P14 W1 D4 L9 PTS 7 – Lawrie Sanchez *
2009/10 – P16 W1 D5 L10 PTS 8 – Peter Taylor *
2011/12 – P11 W2 D2 L7 PTS 8 – Gary Waddock
*sacked
2 Likes
Comparison between the results from the opening 27 league matches under the last three managers / head coaches.
Mike Dodds P27 W8 D7 L12 F23 A27 / 30%
Matt Bloomfield P27 W9 D7 L11 F36 A43 / 33%
Gareth Ainsworth P27 W12 D5 L10 F34 A36 / 44%
3 Likes
It’s worth noting what a gentle set of opening fixtures we’ve had this season too. Peterborough, who are one point below us and comfortably beat us, have already had to play Luton, Cardiff, Wigan and Barnsley.
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Looking at the stats from glasshalfempty…Dodds with less than a goal a game would not win an argument.
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Possession is more important than goals under Doddsball.
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23 goals scored in 27 league games is absolutely atrocious.
It’s not a small sample size, and no team is ever going to get promoted with a strike rate like that.
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I mean… Dodds has significantly better defensive record than either Gaz or Blooms though.
1 Goal per game against vs 1.6 for Blooms and 1.3 for Gaz.
From a certain point of view, thats significantly better foundation to build from
Across all competitions Bloomfield managed a goals conceded per game of 1.16, goals scored 1.51 (107 matches).
Dodds is on 0.97 conceded and 0.84 scored (31 matches).
Easy to spot where the issue is. 
This is all my own stats analysis. I’ve only got Ainsworth from start to summer 2020 so far.
1.29 for and 1.21 against (first 384 matches).
So arguably we have improved in defense
Midfield we are a basket case without someone controlling it.
2 Likes
the problem was obvious, everyone knew that we needed a number 6 but we have tried to shoehorn Leahy into that role, he is no where near the level needed amd not good enough full stop the recruitment team have failed
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For context, here are the 27 league games immediately before and after Dodds took over.
In Bloomfield’s final 27 league games we scored 51 goals and conceded 24.
In Dodds’ 27 league games we have scored 23 goals and conceded 27.
So our defensive record has actually got worse.
…and there certainly has been a cataclysmic change to the goals scored.
10 Likes
It was tongue in cheek
For those interested, here’s a comparison with all of our former managers (Football League era).
Tony Adams P27 W4 D12 L11 F29 A42 / 15%
Gary Waddock P27 W5 D11 L11 F31 A48 / 19%
Neil Smillie P27 W7 D9 L11 F24 A28 / 26%
Mike Dodds P27 W8 D7 L12 F23 A27 / 30%
Alan Smith P27 W9 D12 L6 F35 A29 / 33%
Matt Bloomfield P27 W9 D7 L11 F36 A43 / 33%
John Gorman P27 W10 D8 L9 F39 A33 / 37%
John Gregory P27 W10 D5 L12 F26 A29 / 37%
Lawrie Sanchez P27 W11 D8 L8 F37 A30 / 41%
Gareth Ainsworth P27 W12 D5 L10 F34 A36 / 44%
Martin O’Neill P27 W12 D8 L7 40 A25 / 44%
Paul Lambert P27 W13 D7 L7 F30 A23 / 48%
Peter Taylor P27 W13 D11 L3 F33 A18 / 48%
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No results do not matter, just the joy of playing in the National League South!
Better to be a big fish in a little pond.
1 Like