Danny Salman Column

Danny Salman: Your table position is a reflection of your quality


I PLAYED more than 500 matches in my football career and an important fact I have learned is that you get what you deserve out of the game.
Yes, there were times when I cursed our collective luck, knowing fine well that we deserved more from the match but didn't get it.
Then on the flip-side there were games in which I knew the team came away with a point or win they didn't deserve.
Overall, though, I came to realise the truism of the old football adage, that the table doesn't lie and where you are in the standings is an accurate reflection of your quality.
So, for Plymouth Argyle manager Carl Fletcher to state that his club aren't getting the rub of the green, while also insisting he is not going to make excuses for their poor run of form is not only contradictory but also simply unrealistic.
Argyle are now in the fifth year of battling away at the wrong end of whichever league they happen to have found themselves in.
During that period we've gone from the giddy heights of the Championship to the verge of financial extinction and the dreadful prospect of non-league football.
Big thanks, naturally, to owner James Brent for rescuing Argyle from administration just over a year ago. Without his efforts, I shudder to think where the club would be now.
On the pitch, though, we're still at the wrong end of the League Two table and on a run of one point from a possible 21.
It's not exactly a shining example of success, is it?
And now I read in The Herald that Mr Brent and his board are set to appoint a director of football to help Fletcher and his coaching staff turn around Argyle's fortunes.
That's a workable plan if you're in the Premier League and dealing with multi-million pound deals, but in League Two, I don't think so.
The role would be a waste of valuable resources in my view.
I'm sorry, as we all want Carl and the team to progress and do well: we're all in this together.
But the fact of the matter is – Argyle, like a broken record, are stuck pretty much in the place they were this time last year.
Like Groundhog Day, the same deficiencies, mistakes, call them what you will, which cost us points in 2011/12, are being repeated this season.
Argyle are leaking far too many goals, while not scoring either and you don't have to be a football expert to reason that scenario is not a good recipe for success.
Far from it.
So, will a director of football help arrest that situation? I'm doubtful. Argyle have three coaches now – Fletcher, Romain Larrieu and Kevin Nancekivell – all trying their hardest to put the club back on a winning run.
That must come first, not a re-building programme.
I'm a firm believer that building a successful football team is more of a necessity than re-developing the grandstand and surrounding area.
First and foremost, football fans wherever they live aren't going to turn up in big numbers and watch a team that is unsuccessful.
That is the reality at Home Park – the performances and results have not been good enough – not bad luck


[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Danny the Manny.

Daniel the Maniel.

Dan the Man.

Old school but totally correct, Brent is winging it

Are we SURE he's not one of us??

Is he mental? They need to get him to a fanfest and quick, what about the Muriel's, the football firsts that the likes of Southend can only dream of? The modern match day/ family experience encompasses much more than just football.

"The performances and results have not been good enough - not bad luck" I think Danny is stating the obvious but true, "rub of the green" as Fletcher says - "my arse it is". FLETCHER OUT!

To be fair, at least someone from that useless rag is saying it.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Well said that man

No shit sherlock.

Danny Salman is not beloved by one of our clubs superfan and if I remember correctly Simon Walton

Salman comes across as a fan echoing the comments of the majority. Its clear to anyone attending HP recently that Fletcher has not got a clue what he's doing and has no back up plan once we concede.

If we have such bad luck, why haven't we kept a clean sheet since the beginning of September? That's not bad luck its dire management and coaching.

I see some (on pasoti) are slating Danny as a player, but I remember him as a solid tough tackling RB. I bet he'd be a decent defensive coach too.

i danny

Chemical Ali wrote:

Salman comes across as a fan echoing the comments of the majority. Its clear to anyone attending HP recently that Fletcher has not got a clue what he's doing and has no back up plan once we concede.

If we have such bad luck, why haven't we kept a clean sheet since the beginning of September? That's not bad luck its dire management and coaching.

I see some (on pasoti) are slating Danny as a player, but I remember him as a solid tough tackling RB. I bet he'd be a decent defensive coach too.

I noticed the idiot referring to him as a 4th division something or other. He was a damned fine player who gave his all, what we would give for him in our team now. It might be what most of us think if people call that stating the obvious but it's good to see it stated in the local paper rather than just on internet boards as it will reach a wider audience.

Its refreshing t see a columnist go against the grain and gives his own opinion and not the pre approved club friendly one.