Carlisle United: Mike Williamson must take action to avoid American embarrassment - View | OneFootball

The Blues will have some special guests in attendance this weekend.

Carlisle United and their head coach Mike Williamson are under big pressure to deliver a good performance and result this weekend against Harrogate Town after their embarrassing 4-0 loss to AFC Wimbledon.

One of the worst performances in a long time: that was the view of many Carlisle supporters when the final whistle was blown at the Cherry Red Records Stadium on Saturday. Whether it was in person or on Sky Sports +, the Cumbrian faithful got to watch their team be utterly dismantled in a horrendous fashion by the Wombles.

It was a fury-inducing event to watch for the United fans, leading many of them to make the conclusion that their team's current position at the foot of the EFL is not one that has come about by fluke or a lack of luck, but one that is fully deserved.

A statement like the one at the start of the first paragraph of this piece is not said lightly by a group of supporters that have watched their side lose game after game in poor fashion over the past 15 months.

Patience had been restored a little bit after the decision was made to get rid of Paul Simpson and bring in Williamson from MK Dons, but it's starting to wear thin again with some, leading to pressure being put firmly on the new boss.

The poor form isn't the only reason why a good showing is needed on Saturday against Harrogate, at Brunton Park. There's going to be a certain section of the crowd that the Carlisle owners will want to be impressed by what they see.

American visitors at Brunton Park

The Piatak family, the owners of the Blues, put out a recent statement via their company (Castle Sports Group)'s X account which confirmed that a delegation from Visit Jacksonville and other leaders from their home state of Florida, specifically those from the northern part of the state, would be coming to Carlisle to watch their game on Saturday.

The hope is that this will eventually lead to a partnership developing between the two cities, which will bring: "cultural, economic, and sporting benefits to both our communities."

Another performance like the one they produced against Wimbledon may not scupper all hope of this cross-Atlantic relationship being formed, but it would be another embarrassment for the Piataks if their team failed to perform yet again.

Tickets for the match are on sale for a reduced price in an effort to fully show the Floridians just how good the club and its fanbase can be. In order to get the desired result, against a team that have haunted the Blues ever since their first EFL meeting, the head coach may need to adopt a slight change in approach.

Mike Williamson needs to get the Carlisle United players to nail the basics

One of the concerns when Williamson was appointed was that Carlisle might not have the players to play the possession-heavy style of football that he likes his teams to adopt.

This way of playing is proven to work, even at this level, if you can get the personnel on the pitch to enact it correctly. That hasn't fully happened so far, but the attempts to do so haven't been the cause of the Blues' downfall; silly, avoidable, head-scratching mistakes have been. Ironing these out and getting the basics right needs to be the priority.

So many times this season United have conceded goals that could have so easily been avoided. It's hard to pick many out that the team and the supporters could hold their hands up to and say 'You know what, fair enough. That was down to the opposition's brilliance and not us messing up.'

Becoming the type of team that Williamson wants Carlisle to be should force them in the right direction, but that won't be possible until the simple things are done properly, both on the attacking and defensive sides of the game.

Getting those things right ahead of Saturday should give Williamson a better chance of pleasing the owners and their American VIPs.