FAN's View by Steven Battersby

A DEFEAT against high flying Boro, while not unexpected, emphasises the problems that now face Sam Allardyce.

A return of seven points from eight games is relegation form. Expand this statistic to take account of the final 12 games of last season. The total return comes to 19 points from 20 games.

Throughout this period our tactics have remained largely unaltered, with the emphasis on defending in numbers and committing our more attack minded players to the fray often from the cold start position of the substitutes' bench.

Saturday was a prime example, with Ricketts, Farrelly and Okocha contributing to an improved second half performance but one where we were always chasing the game.

Sam constantly preaches the value of clean sheets but our attacking resources are so meagre because of the failure to adequately replace the departed Bobic and Wallace, that I tend to fear the worst in games where we fall even a single goal behind.

With Michael Ricketts now failing to score from open play in the last 24 league fixtures, including missing a gilt-edged chance laid on for him at Boro by the impressive Okocha, the directors will be faced with an agonising decision in January. The club do not have the funds to go chasing that elusive quality striker. However, our prevailing debt mountain means that a return to the cash stricken waters of the Nationwide League would necessitate a considerable asset stripping of the playing staff to stave off financial distress. So expect a spot of horse-trading in January if the team continues to struggle.

Hopefully, before the Spurs match in a fortnight, N'Gotty and Warhurst will have returned to fitness and Sam, in choosing his tactics, will reflect on the second half performance when the emphasis was more on creation than conservation.

Man of the Match: Kevin Nolan

qSteven Battersby saw his first Wanderers game in March, 1964 and watches games at the Reebok from the Lower East Stand.