How long will MA need to access his needs?

M

Middxile

Well-known member
He has seen most of them first hand at Wembley, and will know that generally, his new charges will be of a higher standard. He has had a week at the helm, and I’d guess he’ll another two in order to pick out areas that he feels need improvement.
 
Good question. Don't think hell be making any knee jerk purchases. It's one thing knowing how the squad plays, how they were set up under NC etc. (and he'll probably have gone through all last season's games on TTV to help him in that). But it will take a while to know them as personalities and how to get the best out of them in a match situation. And he won't know yet how they'll adapt to whatever system he wants to play. A lot of that is down to intelligence and receptiveness. It's a big job when you think about it, but at least he'll have the scouting and recruitment team to bounce ideas off. It's easy to see the wisdom of bringing in the coaching team he's worked with and knows well. He might draft in a couple of players he already knows well, at first anyway. I'd say he may well be more active in the January window when things have settled down more.
 
I've said it elsewhere, but if the club's being run properly, Appleton should have very little input into moves in this transfer window.

The club has a full season of training reports, match reports and feedback from Critchley, they know what's needed already, they're not going to ditch that in favour of a handful of training sessions in early pre-season.
 
Any football manager out of work will be spending a lot of time watching games, highlights, and basicallly scouting players and teams wherever and whenever. Appleton would have know his next destination was likely an EFL club and would have been routinely keeping an eye on all games / teams as a result.

The minute the Blackpool vacancy came along he would have built a dossier on each and every player and the club overall as well developed plan and tactics and list of possible transfer targets to suit his plan. It’s all a pretty standard part of the coaches job interviews now.

Theres databases full of scout reports and coaches reports (not dissimilar to Football Manager games) he would have utilised. The club would have provided up to date scout and coaching reports from the staff most recently at the club (a bit like school reports essentially) and he would have spoke in depth with the coaches, analysts, physios etc. He’ll have used every contact he has to build a picture of the players currently at the club but he will need time watching the players on the training ground.

He’ll know pretty quickly where some players are needed (such as lack of depth at RB) and the staff at the club will tell him what the opinions were of Critchley, thus giving him a little nudge in terms of where priorities may lie - but I would imagine he’ll need a few weeks to make his mind up in terms of the players at the club and whether replacements / improvements are needed. He will of course have players in mind he wants in regardless and they’ll likely be players he knows well or has been tracking at previous clubs.

I don’t think the job of fully assessing the squad will be done for months yet, as competitive games are essential, but I do think we’ll see arrivals soon.
 
We'll see how it all pans out. As you say the RB position may already have unanimous agreement including MA and there may be one or two other positions in the same category. Players like Scully though might take longer as these would be MA proposals, and unlikely to have been considered previously by the Club.
 
1966_and_all_that said:
Some of the activity might have to be reactive if Bowler and Marv move on.
Click to expand...
That's right of course and the Club will have several targets in place to replace every player in the squad to cover all eventualities. There's no guarantee you'll get your first, second or even third choice.
All this is budget driven and Appy may well have added and taken away from the lists given to him.
 
No player will come into the club unless MA wants them.
He knows the players he wants before he even came to us so hopefully we get some of them over the line, he’s got a good track record with bringing in players.
I’m expecting a different style of play, a bit more frustrating opposition when not in possession, and stopping attacks much quicker and then when we turn over possession I expect the ball to be played in channels to fast runners quicker.
 
Appleton IMO will have a big say in all new signings in this transfer window and so he should. Appleton will be held fully accountable by the BFC board not only for results but also for the style of play and entertainment value and it is inconceivable that he wouldn’t be consulted on all comings and outgoings in this transfer window. Critch left Blackpool almost 4 weeks ago, if we were recruiting only off Critch’s list of targets something would have happened by now or there would be strong rumours of signing but there has been nothing. Appleton brought in 2 new coaches within 24 hours of starting the job which reinforces my opinion that he will also have the final say on any new players who come in. I am sure John Stephenson et all will be actively working on Appleton’s target list and new signings will soon follow.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top