Genuine question

Realistically, 12-15 points would be a decent take from the opening 10 games in my view and would be mid/top end of mid table form. Certainly anything less than double figures leaves us in desperate trouble. Therefore, we are looking at another 10-13 points from 8 games. 58 points was mid table last season at an average of around 1.2 points per game. Interestingly, York got 12 points from their opening 10 games last season and were eventually relegated.

10-15 points. Anything below 10 would be unacceptable.

If we get 15 points from our first 10 games, I will come on here and admit that I was wrong about McCarthy - it ain't going to happen. Looking at the fixtures, and if we play like we did against Fax and second half against Fylde,  I can't see us getting into double figures. We have Sutton, Macclesfield and Ebbsfleet at home  and Hartlepool, Aldershot,Ebbsfleet, Gateshead and Dover away. Unless McCarthy changes his tactics at home,  where  are we going to pick up another 10 -13 points? 

I agree with you Billy, I can't see it happening either. With the games we have got coming up, you would have to say 3 points in home games against teams such as Halifax and Fylde would have been vital in meeting average points targets. You've got to be winning those games as the acceptance is that it's going to be tough to get points from half the league this year and the next 8 games are tough to say the least. 

Although 10 games is only a proportion of the season, recent history shows that a poor start becomes irretrievable over the course of a season. Halifax got 5 points from their first 10 games the season before York went down - I would hope that with 2 points on the board at this point that we would be well beyond that in 8 games time.

We may not have been beaten as yet, but I think many people can see the fact that we haven't picked up points in the games where we could reasonably expect 3 points, so that puts pressure on us to win games against sides that we wouldn't expect to be beating. If Macca can achieve results against those teams then he will silence the critics on here, including me, as that's the task he is creating for himself through his negative tactical approach so far. We will see what the next 8 games brings, starting tomorrow night against a Hartlepool side that have struggled so far.

I don't even know why it's being debated when in reality we probably can't afford to sack him after 2, 10, 20 or 40 games. We are stuck with each other.
Personally I found the conduct of some of our supporters embarrassing on Saturday. Granted it was only a minority behaving that way. The worrying thing is that the majority aren't happy and the manager really has to start looking to win home games. He's probably the only manager in the country who has been afforded an abysmal home record like we've currently got.
The positives for me are we have recruited well and look to have a good spine to the team. There is now competition for the forward positions and defensively we look solid.
The negatives being we just seem to hoof the ball aimlessly. The manager is a self confessed statto and he'll come out and say statistics prove something or other but I don't care for stats, I care for what I see and I see a team giving the ball away time after time and then having to bust a gut to win it back.
I have little faith in this manager now but he will get my support because we have no other choice.

I see a lot of this 'we should reasonably expect to beat teams like Fylde/Halifax' shouted about. I do agree with it too, but what makes us think we should be beating a bankrolled Fylde team?

The truth is, those two teams were probably delighted to be playing us and 'reasonably expecting' to win the game against us from their perspectives. Especially given the home form in 2017 as pointed out numerous times...

I think we need to give it more time before making incredibly large financial decisions that would impact us more than you'd imagine as a club, ie. Sacking the manager after two games, not of which we have lost. After 10 games, we will be able to see clearly where we are as a club, and there can be no excuse by that point that the players haven't gelled yet given how many signings we have made. It was always going to take a few games for players to build understandings, not just a couple of half-hearted pre-season games.

10 games - Minimum of 13 points needed. That is mid table form based on last season and that is where i think we should be as a club at the moment.

You are probably right saying we can't afford to sack McCarthy but equally can we afford to keep him when fans are turning their backs on the club in droves.

We must have lost 2 or 3 hundred off the gate because of the crap being served up and not winning at home since before Christmas. At a conservative estimate that must relate to a shortfall of £60k or thereabouts in a season. The problem is that even with a new manager those missing supporters may not return and that's the dilemma facing the club.

For comparison, the average attendances over the past four seasons are as follows;

2016-2017: 1,976
2015-2016: 2,199
2014-2015: 2,189
2013-2014: 2,366

I thought it was over 2000, in fact fairly convinced it was. Around 2050ish i though. ANYWAY it's still a drop which is never great. Average so far from two matches this season is 2152, more like where we should be at. Needs some entertainment to go with it to maintain those figures.

As others have said, I think it's irrelevant because we've not got the money to pay him off.

I really want it to work out for JM, but I feel as if the dye has been cast to an extent. He's not got a good relationship with the crowd, the home form is obviously largely to blame for that but then there's also his ramblings in the press too.

With regards to this season, I think our result at Hartlepool will tell us a lot. If we get a win, then 5 out of 9 is looking solid. If we lose, then it's been a poor start.

No, they won't be saying that at all - they will be saying 'it's at home where we need to be performing, to stop the gates falling further'

Completely agree, it's at home where you need to put on a performance and get a few results, 2000 people turn up every week and the since Christmas I think I have only enjoyed about two games in that period.