Going a season with the same manager is somewhat of a luxury for football clubs these days. Only 48 of the 92 EPL and EFL Managers have been in their job for 12 months or more and you can guarantee that will drop to below 40 by the end of the year. Cricthley had ridden to the heady heights of the 43rd longest serving manager on that list with a season and 89 days under his belt. However, those 454 days were anything but plain sailing. What every new manager needs is that 'bounce'. Fans excited by the appointment, anticipation of what sort of manager they will be and the intrigue as to how they will play their side. Critchley didn't get any of that. In fact last August was a damp squib month where we felt like Bobby Ewing coming out of the shower, we'd all been here before and the previous 12 months had just been a nightmare (apologies to anyone under the age of 40 who will struggle with that reference!).
There has been a lot of talk about Critchley's much disliked formation. The 3-5-2. I've never liked it, don't think players really get it, means your wing backs have twice the amount of work to do and often leaves a midfielder wondering what his job is. It worked for Critchley the first time but then he had the personnel to make it work. We had some real quality when he was last here. Jerry Yates, Ellis Simms, Kenny Dougall, Dan Ballard, Kevin Stewart to name but a few. One of the things that Critchley hasn't had this time round is that touch of quality. He inherited a rag bag side of misfits when he arrived and his signings never really added to that. In fact his judgement second time round was strange, sticking with his favourites and yet letting the likes of Owen Dale and Rob Apter go. Ironic on that final day if we'd had those two players in the side at Reading and we'd picked up 3 points that the Play Offs would have awaited us and who knows where we'd be now.
Critchley didn't seem to get anything right the second time. His formation, his signings, his team selections, his decision on players and even his assistants. Whereas in the past he'd had the ear of Calderwood and McCall, now he had the iPad and cone duo of Garrity and Brunskill. Last season was as flat as I can remember and I was here for the Worthington, Hendry and Clark years. The Blackpool fanbase has often been lauded as being one of the best in the country, even on Saturday a Vlogger commented on our noise, and yet it felt like we were cheering the team on through gritted teeth. Compare that to the Southend homecoming game which was one of sheer joy, emotion and love for this club. Off the field, those in charge at Bloomfield Road have got so much wrong it's been embarrassing. Their plans are now in place and there is little they can do other than incentivise the walk ons on a match day with vastly reduced ticket prices. However, at times on Saturday it was a reminder of how important our fanbase is, maybe it was most pertinent when the majority walked out when the second goal was conceded - maybe that was Simon's cue to take action.
So why didn't Critchley work? I genuinely don't think it was ever going to. It would have taken results, signings, formations and a style of play which we've not seen since the Ollie era to achieve that and Critchley was no Holloway. Whoever comes in won't have the baggage of a previous time in charge, a suspicious fan base or a season under their belts which was hugely underwhelming. I do believe however they take over a group of players who have enough ability to be in the top half of this league and who knows if we get sorted early enough a knock on the Play Off door. Over to you Simon and a decision I really don't envy.
There has been a lot of talk about Critchley's much disliked formation. The 3-5-2. I've never liked it, don't think players really get it, means your wing backs have twice the amount of work to do and often leaves a midfielder wondering what his job is. It worked for Critchley the first time but then he had the personnel to make it work. We had some real quality when he was last here. Jerry Yates, Ellis Simms, Kenny Dougall, Dan Ballard, Kevin Stewart to name but a few. One of the things that Critchley hasn't had this time round is that touch of quality. He inherited a rag bag side of misfits when he arrived and his signings never really added to that. In fact his judgement second time round was strange, sticking with his favourites and yet letting the likes of Owen Dale and Rob Apter go. Ironic on that final day if we'd had those two players in the side at Reading and we'd picked up 3 points that the Play Offs would have awaited us and who knows where we'd be now.
Critchley didn't seem to get anything right the second time. His formation, his signings, his team selections, his decision on players and even his assistants. Whereas in the past he'd had the ear of Calderwood and McCall, now he had the iPad and cone duo of Garrity and Brunskill. Last season was as flat as I can remember and I was here for the Worthington, Hendry and Clark years. The Blackpool fanbase has often been lauded as being one of the best in the country, even on Saturday a Vlogger commented on our noise, and yet it felt like we were cheering the team on through gritted teeth. Compare that to the Southend homecoming game which was one of sheer joy, emotion and love for this club. Off the field, those in charge at Bloomfield Road have got so much wrong it's been embarrassing. Their plans are now in place and there is little they can do other than incentivise the walk ons on a match day with vastly reduced ticket prices. However, at times on Saturday it was a reminder of how important our fanbase is, maybe it was most pertinent when the majority walked out when the second goal was conceded - maybe that was Simon's cue to take action.
So why didn't Critchley work? I genuinely don't think it was ever going to. It would have taken results, signings, formations and a style of play which we've not seen since the Ollie era to achieve that and Critchley was no Holloway. Whoever comes in won't have the baggage of a previous time in charge, a suspicious fan base or a season under their belts which was hugely underwhelming. I do believe however they take over a group of players who have enough ability to be in the top half of this league and who knows if we get sorted early enough a knock on the Play Off door. Over to you Simon and a decision I really don't envy.
