Is Danny Searle Under Pressure At Ebbsfleet United? – Opinion

Six games into the National League campaign and Ebbsfleet United are the only side yet to register a victory.

After Danny Searle led the Kent side to safety on the final day of last season with a 0-0 draw at Boreham Wood which relegated the Hertfordshire team instead, the Fleet have certainly found the going as tough so far this term.

Opening the season with the long trip to Gateshead, Searle’s team returned home on the wrong end of a 5-1 scoreline, followed by a 2-1 home defeat to title favourites Barnet.

Two more defeats away at Yeovil and at home to Woking didn’t nothing to lift the gloom before they registered their first point and clean sheet in a 0-0 draw at Braintree Town on Bank Holiday Monday.

However, a fifth defeat last weekend by a single goal to FC Halifax Town has left the Fleet three points adrift and Searle no doubt feeling at least a little bit of pressure so early in the campaign.

It was the appointment of the ex-Aldershot boss in February last season, after a short caretaker spell, that turned around a season that was heading for relegation under Dennis Kutrieb.

An early flurry of good form was the basis for the revival although they escaped by the width of a goalpost in that final game.

With a summer to turn the squad into more of his own side, Searle hasn’t yet seemed to find the right combination to turn losses into wins. Prolific striker Dom Poleon has struggled to find game time so far with Dominic Samuel and Kwame Thomas preferred instead.

The former has now been ruled out by injury prompting a return to the starting line-up for St Lucian international. Currently with the side averaging less than a goal a game, the loss also of Rakish Bingham has hampered the side in the final third of the pitch.

Defensively, no one has conceded more in the same amount of matches although Tamworth have also seen 14 goals scored against them, seven of those however in the same match.

The chance for Tyler Cordner to rebuild his career and the solid signing of Lewis Page from Dagenham & Redbridge have not shown signs yet of any green shoots. Japhet Tanga, who has enjoyed fruitful loan spells in the levels below, is having to learn fast in a division that takes no prisoners from week to week.

The Fleet head to Altrincham this coming weekend and host current top scorers Aldershot Town next Tuesday, the former having not won in their last three games and potentially an ideal time to play the Robins and finally get off the mark.

The longer the wait goes on for their first three points the more the belief will evaporate and supporters will be questioning whether Searle is the man to get the side climbing the table.

While he might have some credit in the bank for completing the relegation escape, supporters can be quick to turn and voice their displeasure if another two defeats are in the loss column after Aldershot have departed the Kuflink Stadium.

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1 thought on “Is Danny Searle Under Pressure At Ebbsfleet United? – Opinion”

  1. I’m afraid the writing was on the wall last season. One point from the last four games. Searle kept the Fleet up but we should have said thanks and moved on.

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