Critch Part 1 V Critch Part 2

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Lankyseasider

Well-known member
Like many I guess I was willing it to work with Critch ,maybe tweaks made from Jan/ Feb to his system and then we kicked on with a surge into the play offs. Not happened and I've now joined the fed up with him and his inflexibility on systems constant tinkering with the team, games no fun to watch etc..

Got me thinking - what went right first time round with regards to performances - whatever you think of the football no mean feat to get promoted to the Championship and stay there after the first season.

Was he more flexible, have better players , got lucky ......
 
First time around he was more adaptable, we spent the first 2 months of 20/21 trying a 4-3-3 like Klopp's Liverpool and it wasn't working for the players so he changed to a 4-4-2 which the players took to and no surprises we looked a lot better.

This time around that adaptability is gone.

3-5-2 or some variation of it every godamned match with no sign of improvement, square pegs into round holes, shoehorning players into the system with no regard for how they are adapting to it.

Arrogant and pretentious, it couldn't be more clear that he doesn't know how to properly coach the system but he persists.

Lincoln hired their manager (Skubala) in November who also plays a 3-5-2 and with a worse squad on paper and less backing in January has them in the Playoffs playing a very attractive style!!!

3-5-2 can be very attacking and brave, but it depends on how it is implemented and it is beyond clear that Critchley has no idea how to implement or coach it!
 
Thanks for the memory jog AT. I thought there was more flexibility first time around. This time he just makes you feel FFS try something different away from home especially.
Some have commented before about being burnt at QPR and therefore he is now risk averse. .....drifts off remembering the spitting image John Major - totally grey and only ate peas !
 
AmericanTangerine said:
First time around he was more adaptable, we spent the first 2 months of 20/21 trying a 4-3-3 like Klopp's Liverpool and it wasn't working for the players so he changed to a 4-4-2 which the players took to and no surprises we looked a lot better.

This time around that adaptability is gone.

3-5-2 or some variation of it every godamned match with no sign of improvement, square pegs into round holes, shoehorning players into the system with no regard for how they are adapting to it.

Arrogant and pretentious, it couldn't be more clear that he doesn't know how to properly coach the system but he persists.

Lincoln hired their manager (Skubala) in November who also plays a 3-5-2 and with a worse squad on paper and less backing in January has them in the Playoffs playing a very attractive style!!!

3-5-2 can be very attacking and brave, but it depends on how it is implemented and it is beyond clear that Critchley has no idea how to implement or coach it!
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Lincoln made some good signings too in January. Can only assume the new manager got players in that suited his system and how he wanted to play. Not a bad idea that.
 
Mk1 had Anderson, Yates and Simms up front, all of them are better than what we have now.

Mk1 had Stewart, Dougall and Ward in midfield, all of them are better than what we have now.

Mk1 wasn't tainted by jumping ship and failure.
 
NewburyOne said:
Mk1 had Anderson, Yates and Simms up front, all of them are better than what we have now.

Mk1 had Stewart, Dougall and Ward in midfield, all of them are better than what we have now.

Mk1 wasn't tainted by jumping ship and failure.
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Let's not re-write history here. Ward is not better than Byers/Morgan or Norburn.

Norburn has Championship and League 1 experience and would mix it easily with the other two. He's being asked to play a certain way.

Anderson/Stewart were sicknotes and people were glad to see them gone. Rhodes/Dembele more than match Anderson and Yates and I'd argue they have better returns actually.

Simms is the difference in all of your list, we are missing that mobile target man for a plan B.

Ultimately, we haven't really ever seen a plan B though.
 
AmericanTangerine said:
3-5-2 can be very attacking and brave
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It can but you need the right attitude from key players and the manager that playing on the front foot will mean mistakes but will over time bring better results. All the personality has been stripped out of the team in favour of Critchleys full functionality and rigid, turgid, repetitive ways.
 
SeasideKurt said:
Simms is the difference in all of your list, we are missing that mobile target man for a plan B.
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Kouassi was our B&M bargains version of Simms who has been injured for large parts of the season and probably not used correctly when he has been fit and in contention.
 
SeasideKurt said:
Let's not re-write history here. Ward is not better than Byers/Morgan or Norburn.

Norburn has Championship and League 1 experience and would mix it easily with the other two. He's being asked to play a certain way.

Anderson/Stewart were sicknotes and people were glad to see them gone. Rhodes/Dembele more than match Anderson and Yates and I'd argue they have better returns actually.

Simms is the difference in all of your list, we are missing that mobile target man for a plan B.

Ultimately, we haven't really ever seen a plan B though.
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I disagree, Ward was head and shoulders better than any of the midfielders we currently have. Stewart was in a different class to Norburn. We clearly miss Dougall who was our best midfielder before he was sold. That's not rewriting history, it's obvious!

Joseph, Beesley and Lavery are all hopeless when it comes to scoring goals, as their stats prove.

If you genuinely think Morgan and Norburn are better than the midfielders who won promotion, I'd probably seek help. 😂
 
clappers said:
It can but you need the right attitude from key players and the manager that playing on the front foot will mean mistakes but will over time bring better results. All the personality has been stripped out of the team in favour of Critchleys full functionality and rigid, turgid, repetitive ways.
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110% no personality is a great way to put it.
 
AmericanTangerine said:
Also helps that Skubala knows how to coach the system.

Not convinced at all that it’s a personnel issue.
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Critchley clearly knows how to coach the system, it's worked at home most of the season, something goes wrong away, which points to both coach and players.

This 'should be up there with this squad' is bollocks, the squad is bang average.
 
NewburyOne said:
I disagree, Ward was head and shoulders better than any of the midfielders we currently have. Stewart was in a different class to Norburn. We clearly miss Dougall who was our best midfielder before he was sold. That's not rewriting history, it's obvious!

Joseph, Beesley and Lavery are all hopeless when it comes to scoring goals, as their stats prove.

If you genuinely think Morgan and Norburn are better than the midfielders who won promotion, I'd probably seek help. 😂
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Utter nonsense, if he was any good he'd actually be starting for Bristol Rovers and not even playing there at all. Oh and he's another sicknote.

Stewart was different class for the 5 games he was available. He can't be better than Norburn when he's not playing.

Like I said to you, Byers/Morgan and Norburn are about on par if not better than Stewart/Dougall and Ward.

Our issues aren't Norburn, Byers and Morgan. It's the system. And Lavery/CJ/Beesley and Kouassi being our attacking options. We have 1 single attacking creative spark and that's Dembele. That season we had Anderson/Embleton/Kaikai/Mitchell and played a far far better system.

Our attacking options were far superior previously when we got promoted.
 
Well that 3 got us promoted, so they can't have been that sick! Fair enough they suffered bad injuries when we got to the Championship but during that promotion season they were the best midfield by a distance.

Norburn was out for a while, Morgan has been out for a while, all our forwards have missed large parts of this season, but injuries aren't really my point, they're part of football.

If both teams played each other, this current crop would get battered, if you think different fine but you're wrong. 😉
 
NewburyOne said:
Well that 3 got us promoted, so they can't have been that sick! Fair enough they suffered bad injuries when we got to the Championship but during that promotion season they were the best midfield by a distance.

Norburn was out for a while, Morgan has been out for a while, all our forwards have missed large parts of this season, but injuries aren't really my point, they're part of football.

If both teams played each other, this current crop would get battered, if you think different fine but you're wrong. 😉
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I never said this team was better? If you want dialog, read what I am saying.

In isolation the midfields are much a muchness to be honest and you are substantially overrating Grant Ward who was absolutely shite. The issues solely lie with our lack of creativity and system.
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
Critchley clearly knows how to coach the system, it's worked at home most of the season, something goes wrong away, which points to both coach and players.

This 'should be up there with this squad' is bollocks, the squad is bang average.
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Hard disagree, it's "worked" at home, because every team typically plays better at home and is more comfortable, even in home matches the players have looked uncomfortable in the system most of the time. Those issues are exacerbated away from home.

Squad isn't bang average at all, on paper it's better than Lincoln's and they're hot as shit right now playing a phenomenal style of play.

Simply refuse to believe that a squad consisting mostly of players who were with us last time around in the two Championship seasons is suddenly bang average for this division.

With a better manager we would be playing better.
 
SeasideKurt said:
I never said this team was better? If you want dialog, read what I am saying.

In isolation the midfields are much a muchness to be honest and you are substantially overrating Grant Ward who was absolutely shite. The issues solely lie with our lack of creativity and system.
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Calling Ward shite gives me all the dialogue I need Kurt, you clearly didn't watch us or him much during that promotion season. If you want educating, watch the Sunderland away game, not one of our current midfielders has produced anything like that level this season. Norburn is an absolute dud, the bloke can't run and if it involves passing forward, he's lost. Morgan was dire for the first few games, then had a bit of a good patch then reverted to dire and picked up an injury. Byers is quality but has only played a few games so difficult to comment too much. The truth is that midfield was considerably better, injuries aside, and a very big reason we won promotion as opposed to being 9th in L1.
 
AmericanTangerine said:
Hard disagree, it's "worked" at home, because every team typically plays better at home and is more comfortable, even in home matches the players have looked uncomfortable in the system most of the time. Those issues are exacerbated away from home.

Squad isn't bang average at all, on paper it's better than Lincoln's and they're hot as shit right now playing a phenomenal style of play.

Simply refuse to believe that a squad consisting mostly of players who were with us last time around in the two Championship seasons is suddenly bang average for this division.

With a better manager we would be playing better.
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Who would get in to any top six side?
 
I personally think that Critchs first year at Blackpool was very different and much more successful. We had great players, Keshi, Yates, Simms, Embleton, to name a few. Critch also had a quality number 2, which is what we haven't had this season. If I was Sadler, I would be doing everything I could to bring back Steve Thompson as number two for next season.
 
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