Today was stagnation over improvement

R

Rektseasider

Guest
I think as a fan base we’re letting ourselves down by seeing today as a step in the right direction.

This isn’t a post calling for Critchleys head as I think there’s still time for him to be a success and I can see a pathway for him to achieve it with the players we’ve recruited and the club firing on all cylinders behind the scenes.

However it is, probably more than anything a highlighter over some very worrying signs for me.

Our set up from the get go at Plymouth and beyond has laid a foundation of possession but with that comes a side effect of impotency, the worrying sign here is that Critch must have seen this and hasn’t seemed to act on it.

Back to today’s match, and despite getting a point I feel really underwhelmed.

We had a fantastic opening 10 to 15 minutes. The passing seemed slick and sharp, finding feet with some lovely pass and move combinations, it wasn’t advancing football but away from home it was a solid and exciting start. I felt that buzz again and began to get excited for the game.

Slowly but surely Crewe regained themselves, Artell identified the problem and doubled up on CJ, we failed to see this and stuck to our guns,and really bar Yates deflected shot they completely nullified us. By half time the feel good feeling had gone with the lack of goal threat.

Now credit where it’s due, defensively we have clearly worked hard on the training pitch and have a far better composure and shape.

I think out of all the points I noticed today the most worrying was the twenty minutes after half time. For me here, Artell out coached Critch. He saw we could be over run in the midfield and were exposed in the full back area, there were 5 or 6 time’s in that period where we lost the ball or were over run in the middle, the ball went straight out wide and we became clumsy in the box, we could have been 3 down by 60 minutes. Fortunately it was only one.

This can happen in a game granted, worryingly Critch changed nothing, sticking to his guns when it clearly needed a tweek.

With the players becoming Increasingly more frustrated I think they took it upon them selves to start launching balls forward, which for what it’s worth brought about our equaliser. So for all the hype and outlay on players the kick and rush tactics for the second part of the second half brought us the most joy. Which is incredibly disappointing considering the new dawn we’ve all bought into.

Critch seemed to not be able to identify tactical shifts through the game, I was over the moon to see CJ and Yates swap wings on around 70 minutes which shows just how ridged we usually are.

Crewe were no great shakes today, and it required some tactical nouse today to over come them which was sadly lacking.

I think this now is going above, the managing director, the recruiting staff or the players and their positions. Somethings missing from Critchley, I’m becoming increasingly concerned. But hope I’m eating my words in a few months.
 
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Good summary. I could understand if we had them on the ropes and were hitting the bar every five mins not bringing the subs on but we weren’t. We created nothing all game. The only time you thought something might happen was a lofted ball into the box and hoping Madine might flick it on and it might fall at someone’s feet. Basically route 1 was the only way we were ever going to score.
 
Rekt. I agree with some of your observations but I think overall you are being a bit too negative.
Look at the stats thread.
Maybe I was too subtle but my overall point was that we seemed to dominate possession and generally the game, should have won the game but found a way to be average when we should have found a way to excel.

It is early days still with time for it to come together. Just some basic coaching and tactical points you’d hope someone with NC’s credentials to spot and exploit.
 
It's interesting that you thought we could have been 3 down in that game.

Today shows how you can reduce threats on your goal by retaining possession. But the back four isn't right; Husband isn't a centre-half and Mitchell isn't a good enough full-back at the moment. The guy looks like a walking penalty. Luckily, we have an international centre-half on the bench and natural left-back that can be pushed outside from the centre.

Hamilton and Yates have been swapping wings pretty much every game of the season. Hamilton is exactly as you would imagine; inconsistent but a big enough potential threat to keep the defence occupied. Madine played well and Yates had a bit of an off-day with his first touch.

Williams had his best game today allowing Robson to dictate more of the midfield going forward rather than trying to do everything. Ward was becoming anonymous but took his goal well and had a good last 20.

I'm ok with where we are at the moment. The Radio Stoke guys thought we would be 'up there' at the end of the season and, given the depth in the squad, that seems a reasonable assessment. I think Crictchley has the basic coaching points sorted. It's about the players gaining experience together. I would definitely start with Ballard on Tuesday.
 
Rekt. It's all down to strikers striking, mid-fielders shooting on target from outside the box and defeners scoring from well delivered set pieces. All of which need work on the training pitch.
 
It's interesting that you thought we could have been 3 down in that game.

Today shows how you can reduce threats on your goal by retaining possession. But the back four isn't right; Husband isn't a centre-half and Mitchell isn't a good enough full-back at the moment. The guy looks like a walking penalty. Luckily, we have an international centre-half on the bench and natural left-back that can be pushed outside from the centre.

Hamilton and Yates have been swapping wings pretty much every game of the season. Hamilton is exactly as you would imagine; inconsistent but a big enough potential threat to keep the defence occupied. Madine played well and Yates had a bit of an off-day with his first touch.

Williams had his best game today allowing Robson to dictate more of the midfield going forward rather than trying to do everything. Ward was becoming anonymous but took his goal well and had a good last 20.

I'm ok with where we are at the moment. The Radio Stoke guys thought we would be 'up there' at the end of the season and, given the depth in the squad, that seems a reasonable assessment. I think Crictchley has the basic coaching points sorted. It's about the players gaining experience together. I would definitely start with Ballard on Tuesday.
Fair enough, I saw the game completely differently to most of what you’ve said. I hope I’m wrong and you’re right.

In the period just after half time there was the goal, the ball that was flashed across the 6 yard box and the two Crewe lads couldn’t get on the end of it and one where their striker broke through and I think it was Husband that got back to make a good tackle.

I agree that’s not the back four we need or will continue with, but they did ok today for me.

Agree Williams and Robson did well, but how we’re set up going forward is stifling us leading to Yates and Madine cutting frustrating figures. I’d completely disagree that Yates and Hamilton have been swapping wings in every game. Firstly Yates was playing centrally up until last week. CJ had been playing right wing for all of them getting marked out of the Ipswich game.

Again Critch could turn this all around when the new signings get going, I’m no doom and gloom merchant. Just some very worrying signs.
 
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Rekt. It's all down to strikers striking, mid-fielders shooting on target from outside the box and defeners scoring from well delivered set pieces. All of which need work on the training pitch.
But for me the set up is stifling their ability to do this.

Time will tell, I could be way off but somethings just not right for me at the moment.

More than happy to eat humble pie at the end of the season.
 
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I think as a fan base we’re letting ourselves down by seeing today as a step in the right direction.

This isn’t a post calling for Critchleys head as I think there’s still time for him to be a success and I can see a pathway for him to achieve it with the players we’ve recruited and the club firing on all cylinders behind the scenes.

However it is, probably more than anything a highlighter over some very worrying signs for me.

Our set up from the get go at Plymouth and beyond has laid a foundation of possession but with that comes a side effect of impotency, the worrying sign here is that Critch must have seen this and hasn’t seemed to act on it.

Back to today’s match, and despite getting a point I feel really underwhelmed.

We had a fantastic opening 10 to 15 minutes. The passing seemed slick and sharp, finding feet with some lovely pass and move combinations, it wasn’t advancing football but away from home it was a solid and exciting start. I felt that buzz again and began to get excited for the game.

Slowly but surely Crewe regained themselves, Artell identified the problem and doubled up on CJ, we failed to see this and stuck to our guns,and really bar Yates deflected shot they completely nullified us. By half time the feel good feeling had gone with the lack of goal threat.

Now credit where it’s due, defensively we have clearly worked hard on the training pitch and have a far better composure and shape.

I think out of all the points I noticed today the most worrying was the twenty minutes after half time. For me here, Artell out coached Critch. He saw we could be over run in the midfield and were exposed in the full back area, there were 5 or 6 time’s in that period where we lost the ball or were over run in the middle, the ball went straight out wide and we became clumsy in the box, we could have been 3 down by 60 minutes. Fortunately it was only one.

This can happen in a game granted, worryingly Critch changed nothing, sticking to his guns when it clearly needed a tweek.

With the players becoming Increasingly more frustrated I think they took it upon them selves to start launching balls forward, which for what it’s worth brought about our equaliser. So for all the hype and outlay on players the kick and rush tactics for the second part of the second half brought us the most joy. Which is incredibly disappointing considering the new dawn we’ve all bought into.

Critch seemed to not be able to identify tactical shifts through the game, I was over the moon to see CJ and Yates swap wings on around 70 minutes which shows just how ridged we usually are.

Crewe were no great shakes today, and it required some tactical nouse today to over come them which was sadly lacking.

I think this now is going above, the managing director, the recruiting staff or the players and their positions. Somethings missing from Critchley, I’m becoming increasingly concerned. But hope I’m eating my words in a few months.
You should be on the touch line for the next game pure genius that
 
It's interesting that you thought we could have been 3 down in that game.

Today shows how you can reduce threats on your goal by retaining possession. But the back four isn't right; Husband isn't a centre-half and Mitchell isn't a good enough full-back at the moment. The guy looks like a walking penalty. Luckily, we have an international centre-half on the bench and natural left-back that can be pushed outside from the centre.

Hamilton and Yates have been swapping wings pretty much every game of the season. Hamilton is exactly as you would imagine; inconsistent but a big enough potential threat to keep the defence occupied. Madine played well and Yates had a bit of an off-day with his first touch.

Williams had his best game today allowing Robson to dictate more of the midfield going forward rather than trying to do everything. Ward was becoming anonymous but took his goal well and had a good last 20.

I'm ok with where we are at the moment. The Radio Stoke guys thought we would be 'up there' at the end of the season and, given the depth in the squad, that seems a reasonable assessment. I think Crictchley has the basic coaching points sorted. It's about the players gaining experience together. I would definitely start with Ballard on Tuesday.
Excellent summary that, agree 100%.
 
I think as a fan base we’re letting ourselves down by seeing today as a step in the right direction.

This isn’t a post calling for Critchleys head as I think there’s still time for him to be a success and I can see a pathway for him to achieve it with the players we’ve recruited and the club firing on all cylinders behind the scenes.

However it is, probably more than anything a highlighter over some very worrying signs for me.

Our set up from the get go at Plymouth and beyond has laid a foundation of possession but with that comes a side effect of impotency, the worrying sign here is that Critch must have seen this and hasn’t seemed to act on it.

Back to today’s match, and despite getting a point I feel really underwhelmed.

We had a fantastic opening 10 to 15 minutes. The passing seemed slick and sharp, finding feet with some lovely pass and move combinations, it wasn’t advancing football but away from home it was a solid and exciting start. I felt that buzz again and began to get excited for the game.

Slowly but surely Crewe regained themselves, Artell identified the problem and doubled up on CJ, we failed to see this and stuck to our guns,and really bar Yates deflected shot they completely nullified us. By half time the feel good feeling had gone with the lack of goal threat.

Now credit where it’s due, defensively we have clearly worked hard on the training pitch and have a far better composure and shape.

I think out of all the points I noticed today the most worrying was the twenty minutes after half time. For me here, Artell out coached Critch. He saw we could be over run in the midfield and were exposed in the full back area, there were 5 or 6 time’s in that period where we lost the ball or were over run in the middle, the ball went straight out wide and we became clumsy in the box, we could have been 3 down by 60 minutes. Fortunately it was only one.

This can happen in a game granted, worryingly Critch changed nothing, sticking to his guns when it clearly needed a tweek.

With the players becoming Increasingly more frustrated I think they took it upon them selves to start launching balls forward, which for what it’s worth brought about our equaliser. So for all the hype and outlay on players the kick and rush tactics for the second part of the second half brought us the most joy. Which is incredibly disappointing considering the new dawn we’ve all bought into.

Critch seemed to not be able to identify tactical shifts through the game, I was over the moon to see CJ and Yates swap wings on around 70 minutes which shows just how ridged we usually are.

Crewe were no great shakes today, and it required some tactical nouse today to over come them which was sadly lacking.

I think this now is going above, the managing director, the recruiting staff or the players and their positions. Somethings missing from Critchley, I’m becoming increasingly concerned. But hope I’m eating my words in a few months.
Rubbish

The fact that we got a draw is an improvement
 
Rubbish

The fact that we got a draw is an improvement

we could have been beaten 3-1 today by that logic and call that an improvement.

we had the playing staff today to beat Crewe but couldn’t find a way to do it.

70% possession in your own half is a shiny facade masking a faulty structure.
 
Fair enough, I saw the game completely differently to most of what you’ve said. I hope I’m wrong and you’re right.

In the period just after half time there was the goal, the ball that was flashed across the 6 yard box and the two Crewe lads couldn’t get on the end of it and one where their striker broke through and I think it was Husband that got back to make a good tackle.

I agree that’s not the back four we need or will continue with, but they did ok today for me.

Agree Williams and Robson did well, but how we’re set up going forward is stifling us leading to Yates and Madine cutting frustrating figures. I’d completely disagree that Yates and Hamilton have been swapping wings in every game. Firstly Yates was playing centrally up until last week. CJ had been playing right wing for all of them getting marked out of the Ipswich game.

Again Critch could turn this all around when the new signings get going, I’m no doom and gloom merchant. Just some very worrying sings.
It's still very early days for Critch and this squad. That back four will alter and become stronger , giving us more confidence to push and overload going forward. Dougall should come in to allow the midfield to link better with the attack ,in particular being able to get beyond their backline. Woodburn to be given attacking licence, Kaikai to flourish, the squad to develop as they get to know the system and each other.
I can only see positives over the next 2 seasons. Sadly it requires some patience ,which modern day fans seem to lack. I remain positive and upbeat.

I think as a fan base we’re letting ourselves down by seeing today as a step in the right direction.

This isn’t a post calling for Critchleys head as I think there’s still time for him to be a success and I can see a pathway for him to achieve it with the players we’ve recruited and the club firing on all cylinders behind the scenes.

However it is, probably more than anything a highlighter over some very worrying signs for me.

Our set up from the get go at Plymouth and beyond has laid a foundation of possession but with that comes a side effect of impotency, the worrying sign here is that Critch must have seen this and hasn’t seemed to act on it.

Back to today’s match, and despite getting a point I feel really underwhelmed.

We had a fantastic opening 10 to 15 minutes. The passing seemed slick and sharp, finding feet with some lovely pass and move combinations, it wasn’t advancing football but away from home it was a solid and exciting start. I felt that buzz again and began to get excited for the game.

Slowly but surely Crewe regained themselves, Artell identified the problem and doubled up on CJ, we failed to see this and stuck to our guns,and really bar Yates deflected shot they completely nullified us. By half time the feel good feeling had gone with the lack of goal threat.

Now credit where it’s due, defensively we have clearly worked hard on the training pitch and have a far better composure and shape.

I think out of all the points I noticed today the most worrying was the twenty minutes after half time. For me here, Artell out coached Critch. He saw we could be over run in the midfield and were exposed in the full back area, there were 5 or 6 time’s in that period where we lost the ball or were over run in the middle, the ball went straight out wide and we became clumsy in the box, we could have been 3 down by 60 minutes. Fortunately it was only one.

This can happen in a game granted, worryingly Critch changed nothing, sticking to his guns when it clearly needed a tweek.

With the players becoming Increasingly more frustrated I think they took it upon them selves to start launching balls forward, which for what it’s worth brought about our equaliser. So for all the hype and outlay on players the kick and rush tactics for the second part of the second half brought us the most joy. Which is incredibly disappointing considering the new dawn we’ve all bought into.

Critch seemed to not be able to identify tactical shifts through the game, I was over the moon to see CJ and Yates swap wings on around 70 minutes which shows just how ridged we usually are.

Crewe were no great shakes today, and it required some tactical nouse today to over come them which was sadly lacking.

I think this now is going above, the managing director, the recruiting staff or the players and their positions. Somethings missing from Critchley, I’m becoming increasingly concerned. But hope I’m eating my words in a few months.
[/QUOTE]
 
It's still very early days for Critch and this squad. That back four will alter and become stronger , giving us more confidence to push and overload going forward. Dougall should come in to allow the midfield to link better with the attack ,in particular being able to get beyond their backline. Woodburn to be given attacking licence, Kaikai to flourish, the squad to develop as they get to know the system and each other.
I can only see positives over the next 2 seasons. Sadly it requires some patience ,which modern day fans seem to lack. I remain positive and upbeat.

I think as a fan base we’re letting ourselves down by seeing today as a step in the right direction.

This isn’t a post calling for Critchleys head as I think there’s still time for him to be a success and I can see a pathway for him to achieve it with the players we’ve recruited and the club firing on all cylinders behind the scenes.

However it is, probably more than anything a highlighter over some very worrying signs for me.

Our set up from the get go at Plymouth and beyond has laid a foundation of possession but with that comes a side effect of impotency, the worrying sign here is that Critch must have seen this and hasn’t seemed to act on it.

Back to today’s match, and despite getting a point I feel really underwhelmed.

We had a fantastic opening 10 to 15 minutes. The passing seemed slick and sharp, finding feet with some lovely pass and move combinations, it wasn’t advancing football but away from home it was a solid and exciting start. I felt that buzz again and began to get excited for the game.

Slowly but surely Crewe regained themselves, Artell identified the problem and doubled up on CJ, we failed to see this and stuck to our guns,and really bar Yates deflected shot they completely nullified us. By half time the feel good feeling had gone with the lack of goal threat.

Now credit where it’s due, defensively we have clearly worked hard on the training pitch and have a far better composure and shape.

I think out of all the points I noticed today the most worrying was the twenty minutes after half time. For me here, Artell out coached Critch. He saw we could be over run in the midfield and were exposed in the full back area, there were 5 or 6 time’s in that period where we lost the ball or were over run in the middle, the ball went straight out wide and we became clumsy in the box, we could have been 3 down by 60 minutes. Fortunately it was only one.

This can happen in a game granted, worryingly Critch changed nothing, sticking to his guns when it clearly needed a tweek.

With the players becoming Increasingly more frustrated I think they took it upon them selves to start launching balls forward, which for what it’s worth brought about our equaliser. So for all the hype and outlay on players the kick and rush tactics for the second part of the second half brought us the most joy. Which is incredibly disappointing considering the new dawn we’ve all bought into.

Critch seemed to not be able to identify tactical shifts through the game, I was over the moon to see CJ and Yates swap wings on around 70 minutes which shows just how ridged we usually are.

Crewe were no great shakes today, and it required some tactical nouse today to over come them which was sadly lacking.

I think this now is going above, the managing director, the recruiting staff or the players and their positions. Somethings missing from Critchley, I’m becoming increasingly concerned. But hope I’m eating my words in a few months.
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At the start of my post I said it’s not a call for his head and there’s time and means for him to be a success here. So I’m not sure how that’s a lack of patience.

We’re all hopeful that the new signings with ignite the team, but my point is, if they’re just going to be plug and play in the same position and shape as the ones we have now not much will change.
 
Only the second time using iFollow today so for the first half I didn't realise I could select the Radio Lancs commentary.

Their commentators were raving about Blackpool. They were talking about the quality we have all over the pitch.

I can't remember exactly what they said so I'll paraphrase: "When they work out how to hit the back of the net Blackpool could go on and dominate this division."

What the hell are you expecting? What an entitled bunch some of you are. We are 6 games in. We are probably not going up this year but I'm going to sit back and enjoy this team become what they can become.
 
At the start of my post I said it’s not a call for his head and there’s time and means for him to be a success here. So I’m not sure how that’s a lack of patience.

We’re all hopeful that the new signings with ignite the team, but my point is, if they’re just going to be plug and play in the same position and shape as the ones we have now not much will change.
Read Kip's post. Nearer to the truth in my opinion. Of course things aren't entirely right. The final third isn't good, but you seem to be making out that it means Critch doesn't know how to change it, and won't. We play 433, not some weird self defeating system that is doomed to failure as you seem to suggest? A combination of the right players, practice and time together will make a difference, I'm sure. Players like Woodburn, Sarkic, Kaikai, Garbutt could all make a significant difference, combined with some tactical tweaking that their abilities will make possible.
 
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The team is learning to play under the system that Critchley wants, and the players are making progress. We saw plenty of signs of that today.

Critchley is still learning how to be a manager instead of a just technical coach. He has to learn how to react to what the opposition are doing and adjust his tactics and team composition accordingly. I'm sure he's grappling with this. To give an extreme example of this point, It's no use being a brilliant chess player with the white pieces and not responding to what the black pieces are doing.

I'm optimistic our progress will continue, and we'll be in contention for the play-offs at the end of the season.
 
The team is learning to play under the system that Critchley wants, and the players are making progress. We saw plenty of signs of that today.

Critchley is still learning how to be a manager instead of a just technical coach. He has to learn how to react to what the opposition are doing and adjust his tactics and team composition accordingly. I'm sure he's grappling with this. To give an extreme example of this point, It's no use being a brilliant chess player with the white pieces and not responding to what the black pieces are doing.

I'm optimistic our progress will continue, and we'll be in contention for the play-offs at the end of the season.
You can only be a brilliant player with the white pieces if you are anticipating what the black pieces are going to do rather than react to them. That’s what’s gone wrong IMO...no regard for the opposition and just setting up our own way of doing things. All very good if you’ve a team of world beaters but we are recruiting players from league two. It has to be a bit of both.
 
Read Kip's post. Nearer to the truth in my opinion. Of course things aren't entirely right. The final third isn't good, but you seem to be making out that it means Critch doesn't know how to change it, and won't. We play 433, not some weird self defeating system that is doomed to failure as you seem to suggest? A combination of the right players, practice and time together will make a difference, I'm sure. Players like Woodburn, Sarkic, Kaikai, Garbutt could all make a significant difference, combined with some tactical tweaking that their abilities will make possible.

I did read it and thought it was way off personally. He didn’t engage with any points I made. Just mentioning a handful of players playing well, which I agree with.

Again as I’ve stated the whole way through the thread, I’m happy to be completely wrong on this, the new players could come in and adapt well kicking us on.

But we’ve already tried a selection of players in a variety of the 433 positions. On the whole they’ve all be ineffective.

In fairness we seem to be progressing defensively so I’m probably slightly wrong there we have made some progress in certain areas.

I agree he’s learning how to manage at this level, and we’re all coming to understand that.
 
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I did read it and thought it was way off personally. He didn’t engage with any points I made. Just mentioning a handful of players playing well, which I agree with.

Again as I’ve stated the whole way through the thread, I’m happy to be completely wrong on this, the new players could come in and adapt well kicking us on.

But we’ve already tried a selection of players in a variety of the 433 positions. On the whole they’ve all be ineffective.

In fairness we seem to be progressing defensively so I’m probably slightly wrong there we have made some progress in certain areas.

I agree he’s learning how to manage at this level, and we’re all coming to understand that.
The signings we've made haven't all instantly thrived in L1. We've lacked in midfield, hopefully Dougall and Woodburn will improve that area. Up front, Yates and Lubala haven't made an impact. I think it's a combination of players not being at the level we need, and getting the system working. There's been talk today of the front wide men needing to get closer to Madine, for example. If the midfield becomes Robson, Dougall and Woodburn, and CJ and Madine hold on to their positions, we need to find the right wide left player. There's a plethora of possibilities! Yates, Kaikai, Anderson, Lubala, Garbutt, Mitchell, Sarkic, Kemp.

Then there is the use of full backs getting forward. A work in progress, and a significant problem so far, I think, as the front three should be staying narrow but the lack of width from the full backs is affecting things a lot. We need them to get forward and get crosses in, the forwards to be in shooting positions much more. But the defence hasn't been stable enough. Gabriel and Garbutt/Mitchell also need to prove they can attack and defend and that's looking like a long term project. It might be the key issue.
 
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The signings we've made haven't all instantly thrived in L1. We've lacked in midfield, hopefully Dougall and Woodburn will improve that area. Up front, Yates and Lubala haven't made an impact. I think it's a combination of players not being at the level we need, and getting the system working. There's been talk today of the front wide men needing to get closer to Madine, for example. If the midfield becomes Robson, Dougall and Woodburn, and CJ and Madine hold on to their positions, we need to find the right wide left player. There's a plethora of possibilities! Yates, Kaikai, Anderson, Lubala, Garbutt, Mitchell, Sarkic, Kemp.

Then there is the use of full backs getting forward. A work in progress, and a significant problem so far, I think, as the front three should be staying narrow but the lack of width from the full backs is affecting things a lot. We need them to get forward and get crosses in, the forwards to be in shooting positions much more. But the defence hasn't been stable enough. Gabriel and Garbutt/Mitchell also need to prove they can attack and defend and that's looking like a long term project. It might be the key issue.
Yeh a lot to agree with in there Voy.

A big mitigating factor is the turn over in players. That really does have a big impact on it all. Did we need to have such a big turn over? That’s another question for another day but I think some mistakes have been made pre season.

Playing with a narrow front three is something I’ve been advocating for weeks, if that clicks then we could be the team we’re all hoping for. Getting Yates, CJ, Woodburn or Lubala closer to Madine up top could be devastating. Where I’d disagree slightly is pushing the ball out wide doesn’t seem to be working all too well for us at the moment. I’d like to see us get it on the deck between the 18 yard box’s lines and have an advanced midfielder feeding balls in and picking his shots, Woodburn, Anderson or Sarkic would for this bull for me.

Anyway I think I’m going to leave commenting on our form until after the Burton game. The next 5 games up to Wigan all look really inviting games for us if we are really serious this season. 10 points from those 5 and the worlds rosey again and I was probably proven wrong, 3 points from them and I feel that NCs chair might start getting very hot.
 
I think as a fan base we’re letting ourselves down by seeing today as a step in the right direction.

This isn’t a post calling for Critchleys head as I think there’s still time for him to be a success and I can see a pathway for him to achieve it with the players we’ve recruited and the club firing on all cylinders behind the scenes.

However it is, probably more than anything a highlighter over some very worrying signs for me.

Our set up from the get go at Plymouth and beyond has laid a foundation of possession but with that comes a side effect of impotency, the worrying sign here is that Critch must have seen this and hasn’t seemed to act on it.

Back to today’s match, and despite getting a point I feel really underwhelmed.

We had a fantastic opening 10 to 15 minutes. The passing seemed slick and sharp, finding feet with some lovely pass and move combinations, it wasn’t advancing football but away from home it was a solid and exciting start. I felt that buzz again and began to get excited for the game.

Slowly but surely Crewe regained themselves, Artell identified the problem and doubled up on CJ, we failed to see this and stuck to our guns,and really bar Yates deflected shot they completely nullified us. By half time the feel good feeling had gone with the lack of goal threat.

Now credit where it’s due, defensively we have clearly worked hard on the training pitch and have a far better composure and shape.

I think out of all the points I noticed today the most worrying was the twenty minutes after half time. For me here, Artell out coached Critch. He saw we could be over run in the midfield and were exposed in the full back area, there were 5 or 6 time’s in that period where we lost the ball or were over run in the middle, the ball went straight out wide and we became clumsy in the box, we could have been 3 down by 60 minutes. Fortunately it was only one.

This can happen in a game granted, worryingly Critch changed nothing, sticking to his guns when it clearly needed a tweek.

With the players becoming Increasingly more frustrated I think they took it upon them selves to start launching balls forward, which for what it’s worth brought about our equaliser. So for all the hype and outlay on players the kick and rush tactics for the second part of the second half brought us the most joy. Which is incredibly disappointing considering the new dawn we’ve all bought into.

Critch seemed to not be able to identify tactical shifts through the game, I was over the moon to see CJ and Yates swap wings on around 70 minutes which shows just how ridged we usually are.

Crewe were no great shakes today, and it required some tactical nouse today to over come them which was sadly lacking.

I think this now is going above, the managing director, the recruiting staff or the players and their positions. Somethings missing from Critchley, I’m becoming increasingly concerned. But hope I’m eating my words in a few months.

Absolutely spot on mate.

Really good and well thought out post.

There are SO many posters on here utterly blinded by desperately wanting the team to be amazing that they can't see past the ends of their blinkered noses to see the SAME pattern is played out on the pitch week after week. It's bizarre.

Today was a modicum better. Yes, today we got a point. Great. That is a big positive. But that was a terrible opposition and there is little aspect of the whole performance that we should be creaming over like many of the happy clappers that have tried to run your excellent post down.

In it's current form, this is a bottom 6 team, not a top 6 team. The table is not lying. Factamundo.
 
In the end it`s about scoring more goals than the opposition.Today in 90 minutes despite dominating possession we only managed a mere 2 yes just TWO shots on target.You`re not going to win many games with stats like that and this is not just a one off it`s been happening all season , lots of midfield possession but precious few chances created or shots on target.If this continues it`s not rocket science to work out we won`t win many games.
 
Only the second time using iFollow today so for the first half I didn't realise I could select the Radio Lancs commentary.

Their commentators were raving about Blackpool. They were talking about the quality we have all over the pitch.

I can't remember exactly what they said so I'll paraphrase: "When they work out how to hit the back of the net Blackpool could go on and dominate this division."

What the hell are you expecting? What an entitled bunch some of you are. We are 6 games in. We are probably not going up this year but I'm going to sit back and enjoy this team become what they can become.
When they work out how to hit the back of the net 😂 this time next year Rodney
 
Its clearly going to be scoring goals that's a problem. I'd like the messageboard analysts to tell me how Yates scored his goals at Swindon because we don't seem to be putting him in a position to score for us. But we are still improving. If you plug better players in you will hopefully get better output. It's a shame we havent got a Trophy game next week to try them out.
 
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Our set pieces our awful. I was contemplating making a brew during the game yesterday & decided to wait until we got a corner so I wouldn't miss anything 🙄
Does Egpotato shrink by a foot as he's coming forward for a set piece?
 
Absolutely spot on mate.

Really good and well thought out post.

There are SO many posters on here utterly blinded by desperately wanting the team to be amazing that they can't see past the ends of their blinkered noses to see the SAME pattern is played out on the pitch week after week. It's bizarre.

Today was a modicum better. Yes, today we got a point. Great. That is a big positive. But that was a terrible opposition and there is little aspect of the whole performance that we should be creaming over like many of the happy clappers that have tried to run your excellent post down.

In it's current form, this is a bottom 6 team, not a top 6 team. The table is not lying. Factamundo.
Doesn't even deserve a reply that. Objectionable nonsense.
 
we could have been beaten 3-1 today by that logic and call that an improvement.

we had the playing staff today to beat Crewe but couldn’t find a way to do it.

70% possession in your own half is a shiny facade masking a faulty structure.
"We could have been beaten 3-1 today by that logic and call that an improvement."

But we didn't, and Angel is spot on, we got a draw and it is an improvement.
Heavy defeats by Lincoln and Ipswich and then they go a goal down; imagine what was going through the players minds, especially when they have bossed possession.
The fact they didn't drop their heads and got a draw is credit to them and yes, an improvement.

If we talk "ifs" and "buts" we could have won the match and if we had your post would have been completely different.

Your match analysis is predominantly aimed at NC being tactically inept but a counter argument could be said that he got it spot on. Loads of possession and shots but just lacking the finishing touch, so by anyone's interpretation, an improvement.

You allude to an improvement in defence, but on what evidence?

You cannot compare Crewe to the likes of Ipswich so until we next play a formidable attacking side then we will see if our defence has improved.
 
This is one of the most interesting discussions I've seen on this board for some time, and barring the odd shout of bollocks etc from an occasional poster, deserves to be read by all. The thing that appears to be the main point of agreement is the lack of penetration once near the box, and I have to agree with that sentiment. I like others was wowing at the start of yesterday's game and felt we would eventually overwhelm Crewe with three or more goals, but we were impotent once we arrived at their box ( no sexual innuendos intended) resulting in us squandering many chances of shooting. I feel sure it will come, and patience seems to be one thing that the football dictionary appears to have removed from its vocabulary. Once the Blackpool goal went in it seemed to lift the players, had that happened earlier, I feel that Crewe would have been overwhelmed with our response. Onwards and upwards.
 
"We could have been beaten 3-1 today by that logic and call that an improvement."

But we didn't, and Angel is spot on, we got a draw and it is an improvement.
Heavy defeats by Lincoln and Ipswich and then they go a goal down; imagine what was going through the players minds, especially when they have bossed possession.
The fact they didn't drop their heads and got a draw is credit to them and yes, an improvement.

If we talk "ifs" and "buts" we could have won the match and if we had your post would have been completely different.

Your match analysis is predominantly aimed at NC being tactically inept but a counter argument could be said that he got it spot on. Loads of possession and shots but just lacking the finishing touch, so by anyone's interpretation, an improvement.

You allude to an improvement in defence, but on what evidence?

You cannot compare Crewe to the likes of Ipswich so until we next play a formidable attacking side then we will see if our defence has improved.
Talking in “ifs” and “buts” is all anyone is doing, “if the new players click”. “But we’ve just signed 17 players it takes time”.

Granted we got a draw which is a point, which is obviously an improvement on a drubbing. But for the reasons I outlined I don’t see it as a step in the right direction, I think this is largely centred around our expectations at the start of the season. Maybe I was wrong in what I expected, along with a big portion of our fan base

“You allude to an improvement in defence, but on what evidence?”

In the words of John McEnroe you cannot be serious with that one? Not sure if you’ve seen the games from Plymouth on but we’ve had at least 3 Key Stone Cops moments in all the games bar yesterday, where bar one spell in the second half they all looked assured. As you’re so ready to refer to the last few games in reference to my post not being accurate, I’ll do similar. The last two leagues games we’ve lost 2-3 and 1-4 that’s 7 goals shipped. Yesterday we let in one, that one isn’t too hard to spot is it?

Lastly yes I think NC was lacking yesterday, he set us up in the same manner as he’s done in every other game so far, which in its self isn’t a problem. We dominated the first 20 minutes as you could see the players had worked hard in training and were really pumped for the game. I think at key points in the game Artell noticed how to get the better of us and changed accordingly.

Second half, to me, it looked like the players took matters into their own hands and went direct, playing balls directly into Madine or over the top for CJ to chase. It was our most effective period of the game. I personally don’t think this was NC’s instructions. We finished the game strongly, with out looking too dangerous.

I’ll reiterate, I am happy to be very wrong on this and I’ve said I’ll leave it for the next 5 games or so. If we’re flying with 4 or 5 wins I was obviously wrong and I’ll admit that, fingers crossed I am.
 
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I think as a fan base we’re letting ourselves down by seeing today as a step in the right direction.

This isn’t a post calling for Critchleys head as I think there’s still time for him to be a success and I can see a pathway for him to achieve it with the players we’ve recruited and the club firing on all cylinders behind the scenes.

However it is, probably more than anything a highlighter over some very worrying signs for me.

Our set up from the get go at Plymouth and beyond has laid a foundation of possession but with that comes a side effect of impotency, the worrying sign here is that Critch must have seen this and hasn’t seemed to act on it.

Back to today’s match, and despite getting a point I feel really underwhelmed.

We had a fantastic opening 10 to 15 minutes. The passing seemed slick and sharp, finding feet with some lovely pass and move combinations, it wasn’t advancing football but away from home it was a solid and exciting start. I felt that buzz again and began to get excited for the game.

Slowly but surely Crewe regained themselves, Artell identified the problem and doubled up on CJ, we failed to see this and stuck to our guns,and really bar Yates deflected shot they completely nullified us. By half time the feel good feeling had gone with the lack of goal threat.

Now credit where it’s due, defensively we have clearly worked hard on the training pitch and have a far better composure and shape.

I think out of all the points I noticed today the most worrying was the twenty minutes after half time. For me here, Artell out coached Critch. He saw we could be over run in the midfield and were exposed in the full back area, there were 5 or 6 time’s in that period where we lost the ball or were over run in the middle, the ball went straight out wide and we became clumsy in the box, we could have been 3 down by 60 minutes. Fortunately it was only one.

This can happen in a game granted, worryingly Critch changed nothing, sticking to his guns when it clearly needed a tweek.

With the players becoming Increasingly more frustrated I think they took it upon them selves to start launching balls forward, which for what it’s worth brought about our equaliser. So for all the hype and outlay on players the kick and rush tactics for the second part of the second half brought us the most joy. Which is incredibly disappointing considering the new dawn we’ve all bought into.

Critch seemed to not be able to identify tactical shifts through the game, I was over the moon to see CJ and Yates swap wings on around 70 minutes which shows just how ridged we usually are.

Crewe were no great shakes today, and it required some tactical nouse today to over come them which was sadly lacking.

I think this now is going above, the managing director, the recruiting staff or the players and their positions. Somethings missing from Critchley, I’m becoming increasingly concerned. But hope I’m eating my words in a few months.

So when Crewe has some good moments, you assume it’s their manager who has had that effect. When we started to come back and try something different, you assume it’s our players taking it upon themselves.

It was the right tactic and the press was far better than before, once you have players like Woodburn and Dougall in the midfield, and hopefully (though obviously I don’t know their quality) Ballard and Gretarsson at the back that 1 goal margin of error that has cost us in most games will be overturned by stronger defence and smarter attack.
 
So when Crewe has some good moments, you assume it’s their manager who has had that effect. When we started to come back and try something different, you assume it’s our players taking it upon themselves.

It was the right tactic and the press was far better than before, once you have players like Woodburn and Dougall in the midfield, and hopefully (though obviously I don’t know their quality) Ballard and Gretarsson at the back that 1 goal margin of error that has cost us in most games will be overturned by stronger defence and smarter attack.
Do you think Critchley told them to go long part way through the second half? I don’t.

Crewe’s best period can straight after half time, i.e straight after 15 minutes of instructions, from their manager. Where they hit us in our weakest points. That’s in game management.

Agree with the basis of your second paragraph. I hope you’re correct that if we sure up the back teams will have to come on to us more leaving more space for Yates, CJ, Woodburn and the others to exploit.
 
Do you think Critchley told them to go long part way through the second half? I don’t.

Crewe’s best period can straight after half time, i.e straight after 15 minutes of instructions, from their manager. Where they hit us in our weakest points. That’s in game management.

Agree with the basis of your second paragraph. I hope you’re correct that if we sure up the back teams will have to come on to us more leaving more space for Yates, CJ, Woodburn and the others to exploit.

I think if we are going for the Klopp style, he will have been trying to get it into them from day one that it doesn’t always have to go along the ground, it’s just that when you’re playing fast in tight spaces it’s hard to find the time to look up and see further afield. I was watching yesterday with an Italian friend who is a football coach and tactical rain man, normally he hates watching us but yesterday he said he was really impressed to see how much our players were looking up, thinking fast, picking a pass.
My opinion is the more they learn the system, the greater range of passing you will see.

Do you think it’s more likely that they all telepathically decided to change the way they played at the same time? Or that they have trained for a Plan B in case of conceding, which we did mid way through the second half?
 
I think if we are going for the Klopp style, he will have been trying to get it into them from day one that it doesn’t always have to go along the ground, it’s just that when you’re playing fast in tight spaces it’s hard to find the time to look up and see further afield. I was watching yesterday with an Italian friend who is a football coach and tactical rain man, normally he hates watching us but yesterday he said he was really impressed to see how much our players were looking up, thinking fast, picking a pass.
My opinion is the more they learn the system, the greater range of passing you will see.

Do you think it’s more likely that they all telepathically decided to change the way they played at the same time? Or that they have trained for a Plan B in case of conceding, which we did mid way through the second half?
Well hopefully you’re correct. It will take time to get this way of playing nailed down with the influx of new players.

I don’t think however there’s been a great deal of flexibility on the pitch in any of our games from Stoke onwards, when certain points have been crying out for it.

It doesn’t take much for a team to just start lumping it forward off their own backs during a game, anyone who’s ever played football can tell you this can happen. All it took was Robson and Turton to start going long, which worked by the way and everyone was doing it. If that really was a tactical change why were no substitutes made? To better exploit “plan B”.
 
When you dominate possesion you don't go long because the opposition are playing deep. I actually said during the first half that dominating possesion doesn't allow us to use the space behind the full backs to get CJ in.
In the second half when Crewe did have a bit of possesion they moved up the pitch and a long ball became an option.
Just to repeat what I and others have said where we fall short is crowding the oppostions box, we never seem to get the knockdowns either from our headers or the defenders.
One final point is the delivery from set plays. Ward's corners for me were too wishy washy, lacking in pace. Robson's efforts were not much different. Add to that our lack of height and I can't see us scoring too many headers from crosses but hopefully the new defenders will add a bit more of a threat from free kicks and corners.
It's not all doom and gloom but it might be a few weeks yet before Critchley gets us playing the way he wants. So I will wait until at least Christmas until I get twitchy.
 
Well hopefully you’re correct. It will take time to get this way of playing nailed down with the influx of new players.

I don’t think however there’s been a great deal of flexibility on the pitch in any of our games from Stoke onwards, when certain points have been crying out for it.

It doesn’t take much for a team to just start lumping it forward off their own backs during a game, anyone who’s ever played football can tell you this can happen. All it took was Robson and Turton to start going long, which worked by the way and everyone was doing it. If that really was a tactical change why were no substitutes made? To better exploit “plan B”.

Whether a tactical change or not, no substitutions is equally odd. That was one head scratcher yesterday for me.

My best guess is, as a coach coming from a background of intense and extensive performance analysis (him not me 😂), when he makes a decision or decides on a line up he wants to really see as much of that line up together as possible and as long as we’re not being mullered give them more time on the pitch so he can observe what’s going wrong/right and convert that into data.

I’m an events manager. Sometimes I can set up a music night, a bingo, a party, a pool tournament or whatever and see from the beginning it’s not going to be a success. But my method is to let it run its course for the evening, so I can learn as much as possible why it’s not working, take notes and do the opposite in future. It might mean less revenue on the night, but over two months I can guarantee it means you develop a system of events perfect for the venue and the crowd, and over a financial year you see a much bigger reward.

There may be something to be said about his experience as a youth manager, where perhaps the analysis was more important than the results, but for reasons stated above I’m glad he doesn’t seem to change with the wind and sticks to the plan. I do believe it’s for reasons of data analysis, which is unsurprisingly why some of our fans (particularly on FB) cannot get their heads round it and are now calling for his.

The fact is if every time something doesn’t work you change it quickly, you’ll never learn why it doesn’t work, and you depend on a large amount of luck that the next thing you try will be better. This is why managers like Lee Clark, Billy Davies etc. Often have one or two great seasons because they get that stroke of luck, and then can rarely replicate it again because there was no method and no analysis in the first place.

All in my opinion of course, I don’t think we’ll go up this season but I think we’ll finish with a style and intensity that will have us very excited for the next. I watched Liverpool every week during the boycott, and the parallels are there. The first season their back line was an absolute shambles, no structure whatsoever, and many of the scousers all kept saying ‘this style of football means you always have to score 5 or you won’t get anywhere and we can’t expect to always score 5’ - they were wrong. It just took time (4-5 years in total) and better defenders.
 
When you dominate possesion you don't go long because the opposition are playing deep. I actually said during the first half that dominating possesion doesn't allow us to use the space behind the full backs to get CJ in.
In the second half when Crewe did have a bit of possesion they moved up the pitch and a long ball became an option.
Just to repeat what I and others have said where we fall short is crowding the oppostions box, we never seem to get the knockdowns either from our headers or the defenders.
One final point is the delivery from set plays. Ward's corners for me were too wishy washy, lacking in pace. Robson's efforts were not much different. Add to that our lack of height and I can't see us scoring too many headers from crosses but hopefully the new defenders will add a bit more of a threat from free kicks and corners.
It's not all doom and gloom but it might be a few weeks yet before Critchley gets us playing the way he wants. So I will wait until at least Christmas until I get twitchy.
I think you make fair points, maybe this is all far too early, when in reality next season probably should be the acid test.
Whether a tactical change or not, no substitutions is equally odd. That was one head scratcher yesterday for me.

My best guess is, as a coach coming from a background of intense and extensive performance analysis (him not me 😂), when he makes a decision or decides on a line up he wants to really see as much of that line up together as possible and as long as we’re not being mullered give them more time on the pitch so he can observe what’s going wrong/right and convert that into data.

I’m an events manager. Sometimes I can set up a music night, a bingo, a party, a pool tournament or whatever and see from the beginning it’s not going to be a success. But my method is to let it run its course for the evening, so I can learn as much as possible why it’s not working, take notes and do the opposite in future. It might mean less revenue on the night, but over two months I can guarantee it means you develop a system of events perfect for the venue and the crowd, and over a financial year you see a much bigger reward.

There may be something to be said about his experience as a youth manager, where perhaps the analysis was more important than the results, but for reasons stated above I’m glad he doesn’t seem to change with the wind and sticks to the plan. I do believe it’s for reasons of data analysis, which is unsurprisingly why some of our fans (particularly on FB) cannot get their heads round it and are now calling for his.

The fact is if every time something doesn’t work you change it quickly, you’ll never learn why it doesn’t work, and you depend on a large amount of luck that the next thing you try will be better. This is why managers like Lee Clark, Billy Davies etc. Often have one or two great seasons because they get that stroke of luck, and then can rarely replicate it again because there was no method and no analysis in the first place.

All in my opinion of course, I don’t think we’ll go up this season but I think we’ll finish with a style and intensity that will have us very excited for the next. I watched Liverpool every week during the boycott, and the parallels are there. The first season their back line was an absolute shambles, no structure whatsoever, and many of the scousers all kept saying ‘this style of football means you always have to score 5 or you won’t get anywhere and we can’t expect to always score 5’ - they were wrong. It just took time (4-5 years in total) and better defenders.
Again some very valid points in there for me too. On the Subs question I was just firing back a Counter point but I agree with you Critch is probably trying to see as much from what he’s currently got as possible.

which of course means he’ll have to do the same again with the players we’ve not yet seen.

I think the problem is that a lot of us, me included got a bit carried away thinking we’d be up the top competing, as we’d done the business early and Critch had been with the club since March. (I think). We still might be, but it seems like a hard place to start that from now.

My intention wasn’t to be doom and gloom, far from it. Just some things I hadn’t expected to see from NC. That worried me.

Lastly a quick question for both of you, and this isn’t an intentional needle I’m just genuinely interested. Would you both take “ work in progress” up to Christmas, being frustrated around 15th-17th place. With the hope of finishing strongly down the stretch?
 
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I think you make fair points, maybe this is all far too early, when in reality next season probably should be the acid test.

Again some very valid points in there for me too. On the Subs question I was just firing back a Counter point but I agree with you Critch is probably trying to see as much from what he’s currently got as possible.

which of he is means he’ll have to do the same again with the players we’ve not yet seen.

I think the problem is that a lot of us, me included got a bit carried away thinking we’d be up the top competing, as we’d done the business early and Critch had been with the club since March. (I think). We still might be, but it seems like a hard place to start that from now.

My intention wasn’t to be doom and gloom, far from it. Just some things I hadn’t expected to see from NC. That worried me.
I'm open minded about this season. The key thing is for us to develop. We may climb the table, and I think we will. How far, no idea. I'm happy to observe the development. i think what NC is doing is interesting. It's ambitious, and it's positive. Has he got the players to make us into world beaters? Probably not. But familiarity and practice will enable progress. I think we have largely been better than some teams we've played - Crewe (13th), Swindon (17th), Plymouth (6th). About the same as Lincoln (3rd). Not as good as Ipswich (1st) and Gillingham (8th).

We are only 7 points off the play offs, with 40 games to play.
 
I'm open minded about this season. The key thing is for us to develop. We may climb the table, and I think we will. How far, no idea. I'm happy to observe the development. i think what NC is doing is interesting. It's ambitious, and it's positive. Has he got the players to make us into world beaters? Probably not. But familiarity and practice will enable progress. I think we have largely been better than some teams we've played - Crewe (13th), Swindon (17th), Plymouth (6th). About the same as Lincoln (3rd). Not as good as Ipswich (1st) and Gillingham (8th).

We are only 7 points off the play offs, with 40 games to play.
The last point should be taken by myself, which it definitely is, figures crossed I can post a write up saying how wrong I was.

I’d only say I think teams like Plymouth Crewe and Ipswich figured us out far to easily in games and we didn’t counter it. This worry is compounded by NC’s credentials and my belief he should have know what to do in these situations.

Perhaps it does need 6 months to work out only time will tell.
 
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