Kevin Stewart signs 18 month deal

Seainsea said:
You can coach players to become better players - that is a definition of what a coach does. Maxwell, Gabriel, Thorniley, Ward, Dougall, Madine, Garbutt and now Stewart have all played at Championship level. We have two young players, Ballard and Simms on loan from top level Premier League clubs. In Ekpiteta and CJ we have two players of genuine potential with ambition to play at a higher level. I would agree that Turton, Virtue, Husband and possibly Yates are at the right level talent wise.
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I agree you can coach them to become better, but you can’t, as I said, coach them above their capabilities. I could employ someone, the best someone, to make me a better darts player. He could never make me good enough to give Phil Taylor competition. There is a limit to the level anyone can reach. Most of our mid 20s signings from league 2 have been at that level for a reason, I said most because I know there are always exceptions.
 
clappers said:
There’s a difference between being fit and being match sharp. He’d have to be pretty amazing to be able to come in and dominate from the off, but it’s not like we don’t have enough players in his position to rotate and get him up to speed. But rotation so far under Critchley hasn’t really worked.

it’s not easy this head coaching malarkey.
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It's not easy but he makes it difficult for himself more often than not.
 
Never heard of the new defensive midfielder but I’d never heard of David Vaughn either. Let’s hope he adds some bite (when match fit)
 
TANGERINETOWERPOWER said:
I think Kai Kai will get one more chance in the midfield and that will be it for him if it fails(again). I would be very disappointed if MJ Williams and Virtue were in our first 11 next season. That is also how I see Turton and Husband.

I think Mitchell is a good player but unless he can get in as wing back its not going to work out here but he will be a decent signing for someone.

The recruitment has definitely improved and the players we are bringing in now look a cut above what we have. I dont think robson is woking out too well but he made a good start and may yet get back on track. I dont see much game time for Lubala but he is one for the future. I think Garrity has been a bit unlucky and there is a player in there but he maybe isnt as good as what we have. Antwi is one for the future and should be on loan in div 2.

Sarkic looks a duckegg and I just cant see how he gets in. Howe looks as though he will be moved on but Thorniley has been harshly treated and had a good game yesterday. He will do well wherever he lands. Anderson is long term injured but may struggle to find a position. I am sure Madine will go so we need a fast mobile striker to replace him.

That leaves a core squad next season of

Maxwell (we need cover as neither Sims or Foto look good enough in the short term)
Marv (first pick)
Iceman (first pick)
Garbutt (first pick if we can sign him)
Virtue (can go for me)
robson (needs to improve)
Dougall (first pick)
Stewart (first pick)
Keshi (injured)
Ward (gonna have to fight for place)
Antwi (loan out)
CJ (first pick)
Yates(first pick)
Kai Kai(lot to prove)
Lubala (one for the future)

We can sign Turton as cover at right back but we need better in that position (Gabriel must have won the shirt for now)
I would let Husband, Williams, Madine (because of the wages) , Sarkic and Howe go. I would try and find a place for Mitchell but I think he will go
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Agree with all that mate pretty much word for word.

I just wonder how much for a financial hit the clubs going to take shipping out some fairly expensive acquisitions from the last 12 months.
 
62years&counting said:
Would I be correct in assuming Stewart hasn't played a league game in the past 6 months? I assume he's kept himself reasonably fit but won't be anywhere near match fit? Given he's a defensive midfield player his signing wouldn't appear to solve the lack of creativity in our midfield, leaving Madine, Yates and Simms continuing to live on scraps!
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Match fit and general fitness are two completely different things, look at Ward as an example, took him a while to get properly match fit and up to speed. I don't expect much from him the rest of this season, but will look a different player once he's had a pre season with us.
 
BFC_Aspie said:
Match fit and general fitness are two completely different things, look at Ward as an example, took him a while to get properly match fit and up to speed. I don't expect much from him the rest of this season, but will look a different player once he's had a pre season with us.
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The point I was alluding to and it's good to know that there are some on here who know their stuff. If he can return to his pre injury form then he should be an asset next season in shielding the defence.
 
td53 said:
Larry seemed to have completely lost the plot and not be able to get any sort of tune out of them for about 8 weeks. Critch has served up some good stuff even if there's also been some disappointing stuff.. He's also been dealt a bum deal with covid/injuries in last few weeks and y'know, Marvin vs Ryan Edwards and so on, player for player, we've got a bit more potential, a bit more youth and all of that. We had a lot of players who were sort of winding down in their careers and a lot of key players who were loans. Fonz, Feeney, Spearing. I might not have let them go as quickly, but lets be honest, we weren't getting that much longer out of them in any case.

In some senses, we have progressed against last year. I think perhaps the truth is Critch has three or four plans and doesn't quite know which one to go for as *the plan*

If Larry over simplified it then Critch possibly over complicates it. We need Neil Grayson! (christ, we really don't!)

All in all, I'm intrigued whereas by now, I was really (and I was very much against hounding Larry out) giving up on last year. This year, I'm kind of doing the same but.... I think it's probably good that Critch has shown he's been not the rigid ideologue of the first 6 weeks of the season even if the tinkering is frustrating in it's own way. Not given up on us hitting the right formula by any means. One piece of creativity could transform us...
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It’s an interesting post this one.

After the same amount of games last season we had 30 goals, 9 better than this year. 24 goals against exactly the same as now and a total of 33 points. Which is 5 better than now.

I understand and largely agree with your post that I was really uninspired by Grayson , even though i thought he as most managers needed more time to show us what he could do. (Just like NC now).

However when you compare things like Critch needing to bed in a New squad, didn’t Grayson need the same after bringing in people like Thorniley who seem to be an upgrade on people like Edward’s at the time. And isn’t it the case that we’ve all been uninspired by large stretch’s of this season similarly to Grayson’s tenure?

I think my main question, and one I don’t have the answer for, is, why are we higher on Critch than we were Grayson when Grayson had the capital behind him, the stats are in his favour up to now and the situation was fairly similar i.e. club in transition and new signings needing to bed in.

Maybe all this would have happened with Grayson given time?
 
Cos Critchleys is an ever so likeable fella and he’s come from a big club and is in his first job at the sharp end. The end results so far where it matters...points, results, league position are not advanced for all the money spent. He’s got time but it can’t be party time at Sadler Towers I’m sure.
 
BFC_Aspie said:
Match fit and general fitness are two completely different things, look at Ward as an example, took him a while to get properly match fit and up to speed. I don't expect much from him the rest of this season, but will look a different player once he's had a pre season with us.
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He has been in full training with Brentford so lacking match fitness but Dougell was the same and it took him a couple of weeks to get in the first team and play a full 90 minutes. "Don't expect much from him this season"!! We are only half way through, I would expect him to be playing pretty quickly.
 
Rektseasider said:
It’s an interesting post this one.

After the same amount of games last season we had 30 goals, 9 better than this year. 24 goals against exactly the same as now and a total of 33 points. Which is 5 better than now.

I understand and largely agree with your post that I was really uninspired by Grayson , even though i thought he as most managers needed more time to show us what he could do. (Just like NC now).

However when you compare things like Critch needing to bed in a New squad, didn’t Grayson need the same after bringing in people like Thorniley who seem to be an upgrade on people like Edward’s at the time. And isn’t it the case that we’ve all been uninspired by large stretch’s of this season similarly to Grayson’s tenure?

I think my main question, and one I don’t have the answer for, is, why are we higher on Critch than we were Grayson when Grayson had the capital behind him, the stats are in his favour up to now and the situation was fairly similar i.e. club in transition and new signings needing to bed in.

Maybe all this would have happened with Grayson given time?
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I wouldn’t have got rid of Larry so quickly personally, but few on here seem to agree 🙄
 
Sooty59 said:
I wouldn’t have got rid of Larry so quickly personally, but few on here seem to agree 🙄
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At the time I didn’t see what benefit it would bring us, not that I shed a tear when he went as the football was turgid.

Not sure we’ve improved on his departure, but he’s gone now we need to get behind Critch fully and see what he can do, because just like Grayson potting him now or at any point this season won’t benefit us.
 
clappers said:
Cos Critchleys is an ever so likeable fella and he’s come from a big club and is in his first job at the sharp end. The end results so far where it matters...points, results, league position are not advanced for all the money spent. He’s got time but it can’t be party time at Sadler Towers I’m sure.
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I just don’t really understand it.

Grayson’s stats slightly shave it.
He’d previously got us and 3 other teams out of the division
And had less money to spend and ‘worse’ players to work with.

People generally wanted Grayson gone as soon as and generally want Critch to be given a lot more time than Grayson received.

Is that really what it is? He came from Liverpool? Because I really don’t know.
 
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Rektseasider said:
I just don’t really understand it.

Grayson’s stats slightly shave it.
He’d previously got us and 3 other teams out of the division
And had less money to spend and ‘worse’ players to work with.

People generally wanted Grayson gone as soon as and generally want Critch to be given a lot more time that Grayson received.

Is that really what it is? He came from Liverpool? Because I really don’t know.
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I think most of us recognise that Critch does not have the same level of experience and are reasonable enough to allow him time to find his feet. He's new to league 1 football and whilst not being ideal, is learning on the job.
The big difference with Grayson being he is vastly experienced but managed to serve up awful, dull, negative and predictable displays.
 
Udo_onwere said:
I think most of us recognise that Critch does not have the same level of experience and are reasonable enough to allow him time to find his feet. He's new to league 1 football and whilst not being ideal, is learning on the job.
The big difference with Grayson being he is vastly experienced but managed to serve up awful, dull, negative and predictable displays.
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And that’s a fair point really.

but it raises the next question of how long do we give Critch to learn?

If it’s like this half way through next season with a similar summer spend what then?
 
Critchley will be afforded more time not necessarily because of his inexperience, but due to the strategy to developing young players. That takes time.
I don't think Grayson was a good fit for what Sadler is trying to do. His appointment was a waste of a year and it baffles me why we did it instead of going for Critchley in the first place. Critchley may not turn out to be a good manager, but at least you can connect the strategy to the appointment.
 
BFC_53 said:
Critchley will be afforded more time not necessarily because of his inexperience, but due to the strategy to developing young players. That takes time.
I don't think Grayson was a good fit for what Sadler is trying to do. His appointment was a waste of a year and it baffles me why we did it instead of going for Critchley in the first place. Critchley may not turn out to be a good manager, but at least you can connect the strategy to the appointment.
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But just to play devil’s advocate, Grayson had a proven record of promotion out of League One which is Sadler’s main aim.

and Critch currently doesn’t seem that keen on developing the youth which is his area of expertise.

I am just being facetious but I think both have pros and cons and Grayson cons were exacerbated while Critchs pros are highlighted. I think we’re all just praying he comes good at this point or it could be another two years down the Swany.
 
Aside from some nice looking training ground vids, the Critchley positives are thin on the ground. I’m struggling to think of any game where his subs were tactical and changed the game for the better. We aren’t playing threatening looking football. And no one is allowed to say it because the emperor still has his new clothes on and that kind of talk is disloyal.

I want him to succeed but he needs to start showing what he has quickly for me.
 
Rektseasider said:
But just to play devil’s advocate, Grayson had a proven record of promotion out of League One which is Sadler’s main aim.

and Critch currently doesn’t seem that keen on developing the youth which is his area of expertise.

I am just being facetious but I think both have pros and cons and Grayson cons were exacerbated while Critchs pros are highlighted. I think we’re all just praying he comes good at this point or it could be another two years down the Swany.
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You say Critch doesn't seem that keen on developing youth, but that takes time. We're either patient and let him demonstrate that he can do the thing he's meant to be an expert at, or we can criticise him for not delivering instant results. I don't think we can criticise him for not delivering instant results and not being keen on developing youth. Youth players rarely yield instant success. Just my opinion.
I think Critchley's been hit and miss so far. But crucially I can see a long term vision/strategy with the club in appointing Critchley. I couldn't with Grayson. They basically gambled on him being an instant success and he wasn't.
 
I think Critch is being afforded more time because this has been sold as a longer term, sustainable project where players will improve on the training ground and lead to success on the pitch, hence hiring someone super qualified (in terms of his coaching badges and work at Liverpool).
Whether this project will ultimately be successful remains to be seen, but the very nature of the plan requires time and patience to allow it to come to fruition. An inexperienced coach working with younger players will encounter problems and see ups and down, but there has to be some sort of improvement over time. We clearly got that when we went on that run, but since then we've struggled and it has been a bit of a disappointment ever since.
With Grayson, who I thought was potted a little too quickly but could understand the reasoning why, it seemed to be the plan to try and get out of the division by making a few signings after hiring arguably the most experienced manager available to achieve promotion from League One.
The football was turgid, and whilst the goals/points tally may be in Grayson's favour, I would imagine most of his points were picked up earlier on in the season whilst we were doing ok, before it tailed off in to an uninspiring mess which led to some of our wonderful fans having seen enough and calling for his head/abusing the players

We have to start getting back to winning games, which will only come through creating and taking chances. Half of the season has now passed, we need to be seeing more than 75 minutes of possession with sod all to show for it except 1 goal if we're lucky, a raft of substitions that have zero impact, and then 15 minutes of huffing and puffing. Every game recently has followed that same design.
 
BFC_53 said:
You say Critch doesn't seem that keen on developing youth, but that takes time. We're either patient and let him demonstrate that he can do the thing he's meant to be an expert at, or we can criticise him for not delivering instant results. I don't think we can criticise him for not delivering instant results and not being keen on developing youth. Youth players rarely yield instant success. Just my opinion.
I think Critchley's been hit and miss so far. But crucially I can see a long term vision/strategy with the club in appointing Critchley. I couldn't with Grayson. They basically gambled on him being an instant success and he wasn't.
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That’s a fair post, and I agree there’s more of a potential future under him than Grayson. I guess I was just a little bit miffed at Shaw not getting a chance after showing promise, as well as Antwi’s weird loan, coupled with Bez and Mitchell. Now both of those look like young players that have something but need a lot of coaching and game time. Critch at some point realised he needed to win now or he won’t have a job to develop these players in a year.
BlackpoolsFinest said:
I think Critch is being afforded more time because this has been sold as a longer term, sustainable project where players will improve on the training ground and lead to success on the pitch, hence hiring someone super qualified (in terms of his coaching badges and work at Liverpool).
Whether this project will ultimately be successful remains to be seen, but the very nature of the plan requires time and patience to allow it to come to fruition. An inexperienced coach working with younger players will encounter problems and see ups and down, but there has to be some sort of improvement over time. We clearly got that when we went on that run, but since then we've struggled and it has been a bit of a disappointment ever since.
With Grayson, who I thought was potted a little too quickly but could understand the reasoning why, it seemed to be the plan to try and get out of the division by making a few signings after hiring arguably the most experienced manager available to achieve promotion from League One.
The football was turgid, and whilst the goals/points tally may be in Grayson's favour, I would imagine most of his points were picked up earlier on in the season whilst we were doing ok, before it tailed off in to an uninspiring mess which led to some of our wonderful fans having seen enough and calling for his head/abusing the players

We have to start getting back to winning games, which will only come through creating and taking chances. Half of the season has now passed, we need to be seeing more than 75 minutes of possession with sod all to show for it except 1 goal if we're lucky, a raft of substitions that have zero impact, and then 15 minutes of huffing and puffing. Every game recently has followed that same design.
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Again I agree with a lot of this.

I think signing people like Stewart now is an acknowledgment form Critch or maybe higher up, that we need to also win right now to enable us to develop players for the Big Win in the years to come in what ever form that takes be it a big transfer fee or promotion to the big time.
 
clappers said:
Aside from some nice looking training ground vids, the Critchley positives are thin on the ground. I’m struggling to think of any game where his subs were tactical and changed the game for the better. We aren’t playing threatening looking football. And no one is allowed to say it because the emperor still has his new clothes on and that kind of talk is disloyal.

I want him to succeed but he needs to start showing what he has quickly for me.
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Totally agree.
 
Rektseasider said:
That’s a fair post, and I agree there’s more of a potential future under him than Grayson. I guess I was just a little bit miffed at Shaw not getting a chance after showing promise, as well as Antwi’s weird loan, coupled with Bez and Mitchell. Now both of those look like young players that have something but need a lot of coaching and game time. Critch at some point realised he needed to win now or he won’t have a job to develop these players in a year.

Again I agree with a lot of this.

I think signing people like Stewart now is an acknowledgment form Critch or maybe higher up, that we need to also win right now to enable us to develop players for the Big Win in the years to come in what ever form that takes be it a big transfer fee or promotion to the big time.
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Yeah I agree, it may well be that now he knows the lay of the land in League One, he realises he needs more proven quality whilst the potential is put on the back burner and nurtured over time. Someone posted on here today that Stewart has been training with Brentford to stay in shape which makes me feel a bit better about the signing. But 6 months is still a long time to be without a club.
He must be better than Williams, and you would hope he will be able to contribute far more than what Virtue and Robson have so far. But what now happens with Ward? He's probably been one of the most improved players this season whilst still not being good enough to change games.
Will we now see Dougall, Ward & Stewart and go back to 433? I still don't see where the creativity is coming from.
 
Rektseasider said:
That’s a fair post, and I agree there’s more of a potential future under him than Grayson. I guess I was just a little bit miffed at Shaw not getting a chance after showing promise, as well as Antwi’s weird loan, coupled with Bez and Mitchell. Now both of those look like young players that have something but need a lot of coaching and game time. Critch at some point realised he needed to win now or he won’t have a job to develop these players in a year.

Again I agree with a lot of this.

I think signing people like Stewart now is an acknowledgment form Critch or maybe higher up, that we need to also win right now to enable us to develop players for the Big Win in the years to come in what ever form that takes be it a big transfer fee or promotion to the big time.
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Yes completely agree. I think he realised after the first few games that though we want to develop young players long term, the board and fans are unlikely to accept getting relegated while we attempt it. Hence why we've brought in Dougall, Stewart, and Madine was brought back in. I do think we have a very solid side, but it's also predictable and uninspiring. We need a bit more focus now on the business end of the pitch - I'd be very disappointed if we signed any more defensive players. The spine of the side is strong, it just needs a bit of flair.
 
BlackpoolsFinest said:
Yeah I agree, it may well be that now he knows the lay of the land in League One, he realises he needs more proven quality whilst the potential is put on the back burner and nurtured over time. Someone posted on here today that Stewart has been training with Brentford to stay in shape which makes me feel a bit better about the signing. But 6 months is still a long time to be without a club.
He must be better than Williams, and you would hope he will be able to contribute far more than what Virtue and Robson have so far. But what now happens with Ward? He's probably been one of the most improved players this season whilst still not being good enough to change games.
Will we now see Dougall, Ward & Stewart and go back to 433? I still don't see where the creativity is coming from.
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Yeh that’s a point I’ve made on a few threads. We need at least one central creative player, a Callum Camps type.

In a 20 man squad you can’t have that creative player, Kai Kai, Sarkic, Ward, Williams, Virtue, Robson, Anderson, Dougall and Stewart. That would make up 50% of the maximum, with probably 2 strikers needed, a left back, right back, at least one central defender and a goalkeeper. We’re getting there but we’ve some tough transfers out because of previous poor windows.

The easiest to move on are Kai Kai, Williams and unfortunately Ward. But we’d still need to move another two or three on I would suspect.
 
BFC_53 said:
Yes completely agree. I think he realised after the first few games that though we want to develop young players long term, the board and fans are unlikely to accept getting relegated while we attempt it. Hence why we've brought in Dougall, Stewart, and Madine was brought back in. I do think we have a very solid side, but it's also predictable and uninspiring. We need a bit more focus now on the business end of the pitch - I'd be very disappointed if we signed any more defensive players. The spine of the side is strong, it just needs a bit of flair.
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Yes we all noticed the spine was absent in the summer.

Looks like it’s just taken longer than expected to get it formed. I can accepted that due to the position the clubs been in the last few years and Covid.

Again like I say the next challenge is to reduce the bloat of midfielders who are identical and ineffective. That’s going to be hard due to contracts given out.
 
Rektseasider said:
Yeh that’s a point I’ve made on a few threads. We need at least one central creative player, a Callum Camps type.

In a 20 man squad you can’t have that creative player, Kai Kai, Sarkic, Ward, Williams, Virtue, Robson, Anderson, Dougall and Stewart. That would make up 50% of the maximum, with probably 2 strikers needed, a left back, right back, at least one central defender and a goalkeeper. We’re getting there but we’ve some tough transfers out because of previous poor windows.

The easiest to move on are Kai Kai, Williams and unfortunately Ward. But we’d still need to move another two or three on I would suspect.
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There's a week left, we'll probably start to see a bit of movement shortly, maybe in the form of loaning them out and paying part of their wages.
SS must be very understanding, rich, or both.
 
BlackpoolsFinest said:
There's a week left, we'll probably start to see a bit of movement shortly, maybe in the form of loaning them out and paying part of their wages.
SS must be very understanding, rich, or both.
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Yes I think there will be but some of these boys have a couple of years on their contracts and there won’t be a seat for all of them when the music stops.

On the evidence of the few times I’ve met him 😏😎 name drop. I’d say he’s both.
 
Rektseasider said:
Yes I think there will be but some of these boys have a couple of years on their contracts and there won’t be a seat for all of them when the music stops.

On the evidence of the few times I’ve met him 😏😎 name drop. I’d say he’s both.
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Hopefully they'll go somewhere & perform well enough for a team to be interested in signing them permanently in the summer. They should all be more than good enough to get deals somewhere. Obviously the wages we're currently paying them under contract will be a sticking point, but I'm sure we'll work something out.
 
Assuming we don't move anyone out, does anyone know how many free squad spaces we still have for permanent signings? I've lost track.
 
Ward can play as a winger or on the right of a 3/4 man midfield. I don’t necessarily think Stewart has been brought in to replace him. The fact Stewart has been training with Brentford suggests he’s technically very good and may have the all important footballing brain which allows him to see a pass. You don’t play for Tottenham and Liverpool and earn a £4 Million pound move to what were then a top Championship side without being at least a little special. Also just because he’s described as a defensive midfielder that doesn’t mean he can’t be a play maker - essentially like a quarter back.
Dougall and Stewart in central midfield are potentially very very energetic, very comfortable on the ball and also very capable of winning it back. That could give Ward the freedom to play in a more offensive role.
I still think we need a goalscoring midfielder but it is an impressive signing. If we’d signed him 6 months ago we’d be absolutely raving about it... but the fact is he wouldn’t have joined a league 1 team 6 months ago.
 
LA1 Seasider said:
Ward can play as a winger or on the right of a 3/4 man midfield. I don’t necessarily think Stewart has been brought in to replace him. The fact Stewart has been training with Brentford suggests he’s technically very good and may have the all important footballing brain which allows him to see a pass. You don’t play for Tottenham and Liverpool and earn a £4 Million pound move to what were then a top Championship side without being at least a little special. Also just because he’s described as a defensive midfielder that doesn’t mean he can’t be a play maker - essentially like a quarter back.
Dougall and Stewart in central midfield are potentially very very energetic, very comfortable on the ball and also very capable of winning it back. That could give Ward the freedom to play in a more offensive role.
I still think we need a goalscoring midfielder but it is an impressive signing. If we’d signed him 6 months ago we’d be absolutely raving about it... but the fact is he wouldn’t have joined a league 1 team 6 months ago.
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We may not see the best of Stewart immediately as he's not played league football for 6 months. Hopefully his injury is behind him and he will get back to his best.
 
Sooty59 said:
I wouldn’t have got rid of Larry so quickly personally, but few on here seem to agree 🙄
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I have supported us through thick and thin since the 1971/72 season (- NAPM) and I was ready to walk away with Grayson's turgid football<------ if you could call it that.
It was mind-numbing and I was in the opinion of we are going absolutely nowhere, but he actually thought everything was fine and blamed everyone for our woes but himself.
 
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Simonized said:
I have supported us through thick and thin since 1972(- NAPM) and I was ready to walk away with Grayson's turgid football<------ if you could call it that.
It was mind-numbing and I was in the opinion of we are going absolutely nowhere, but he actually thought everything was fine and blamed everyone for our woes but himself.
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I agree but would never walk away from a bad manager.
It was only the Oystons that forced me to walk away from Bloomfield Rd.
 
Insider said:
I agree but would never walk away from a bad manager.
It was only the Oystons that forced me to walk away from Bloomfield Rd.
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I had enough problems in my life Insider(still have a couple) at the time and going to a game should have been a relief.
But I was getting angry and even upset.
So Grayson almost gave me another forced absence from watching us.😐
 
Simonized said:
I had enough problems in my life Insider(still have a couple) at the time and going to a game should have been a relief.
But I was getting angry and even upset.
So Grayson almost gave me another forced absence from watching us.😐
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He frustrated the life out of me as well.
 
62years&counting said:
We may not see the best of Stewart immediately as he's not played league football for 6 months. Hopefully his injury is behind him and he will get back to his best.
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I thought as much when we brought Dougall in and he hit the ground running straight away. I suppose it depends on the individual and the mentality they have. Hopefully as a central midfielder known for high energy and having been training at a club like Brentford with top notch facilities and coaches he will be in decent shape. Nothing like first team football though.
 
Rektseasider said:
It’s an interesting post this one.

After the same amount of games last season we had 30 goals, 9 better than this year. 24 goals against exactly the same as now and a total of 33 points. Which is 5 better than now.

I understand and largely agree with your post that I was really uninspired by Grayson , even though i thought he as most managers needed more time to show us what he could do. (Just like NC now).

However when you compare things like Critch needing to bed in a New squad, didn’t Grayson need the same after bringing in people like Thorniley who seem to be an upgrade on people like Edward’s at the time. And isn’t it the case that we’ve all been uninspired by large stretch’s of this season similarly to Grayson’s tenure?

I think my main question, and one I don’t have the answer for, is, why are we higher on Critch than we were Grayson when Grayson had the capital behind him, the stats are in his favour up to now and the situation was fairly similar i.e. club in transition and new signings needing to bed in.

Maybe all this would have happened with Grayson given time?
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I think many think there was something dodgy with the Nuttall signing, Looking after mates/his own interests rather than the interests of the club.
 
Has he been injured ? If not and he's been training all the time he shouldn't be too far away from playing, albeit only part of a match to start with.
 
tangysider said:
I think many think there was something dodgy with the Nuttall signing, Looking after mates/his own interests rather than the interests of the club.
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There was a lot wrong with that transfer. SS wasn’t best pleased.

You’re right to scratch it up in the negatives for Grayson and in a way that alone was a sackable offence. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of the clubs money on an insider deal. Terrible.
 
A quick look at his stats shows he was injured from the very end of November 2019 but returned mid Feb 2020.
After football resumed in March it looks like he played every game for them until the end of the season.

It may well be that he was just very badly advised by his agent, and this is an example of an extreme case that shows a poor decision/gamble can bite you on the arse. Let's hope it ultimately works in our favour.
 
The football under Grayson was awful to watch and it just kept getting worse. it's alright comparing stats up to January but Grayson then had a shocking run of results so compare like for like when Grayson's tenure ended.

He had a team of rag tag and bobtails but some decent loan players. We have practically a completely new squad now and you can see we have some really good players and better than what Grayson put together. I have enjoyed the football this season, it was awful to watch under Grayson.
 
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