McCarthy- A truly dreadful appointment

Shiggy

Shiggy

Well-known member
Seems like a good guy and I understand the appeal of going for someone with experience at this time.

But wow it looks like an awful decision now.

It’s a tough job. Half of our players have been out of form all season. The ones that have something about them seem to get injured. I wasn’t expecting an instant turnaround in form. We had some tough fixtures.

But the way he’s going about it is so demoralising. I am convinced this team IS good enough for this level, despite a lot on here saying otherwise. The problem is, as it has been all season, we’ve gone into a shell as a club.

Last season we had the attitude that we could compete with anyone in this league. Fuck the premier league money. Fuck sky who never put us on tv. Fuck all the spoilt fans of semi-large club who think they should be beating us. We’re Blackpool, we’ve got a new owner, and we’re going places. That was the attitude.

This season we’ve appointed two blokes who don’t believe any of that at all.

Appleton talked the squad down from the moment he stepped in the door, but rapidly lowering expectations. I wanted him gone the moment he said at Sunderland ‘we’ve got to remember who we are a bit’. Fuck that.

McCarthy has the personality and talks the talk in interviews but his tactics are appalling. We have talented players going forward that either can’t get a start or are just being wasted due to his negative approach.

What the club desperately needed was someone who was gonna come in and make these players believe again, remember who they are, and why they’re playing in this division. Most of them came up from league 1 with us and 100% deserve to be at this level.

But instead, we hired a dinosaur who has applied the opposite approach of what was needed, and now we’re going down with a pathetic whimper.

It’s rage inducing
 
Shiggy said:
Seems like a good guy and I understand the appeal of going for someone with experience at this time.

But wow it looks like an awful decision now.

It’s a tough job. Half of our players have been out of form all season. The ones that have something about them seem to get injured. I wasn’t expecting an instant turnaround in form. We had some tough fixtures.

But the way he’s going about it is so demoralising. I am convinced this team IS good enough for this level, despite a lot on here saying otherwise. The problem is, as it has been all season, we’ve gone into a shell as a club.

Last season we had the attitude that we could compete with anyone in this league. Fuck the premier league money. Fuck sky who never put us on tv. Fuck all the spoilt fans of semi-large club who think they should be beating us. We’re Blackpool, we’ve got a new owner, and we’re going places. That was the attitude.

This season we’ve appointed two blokes who don’t believe any of that at all.

Appleton talked the squad down from the moment he stepped in the door, but rapidly lowering expectations. I wanted him gone the moment he said at Sunderland ‘we’ve got to remember who we are a bit’. Fuck that.

McCarthy has the personality and talks the talk in interviews but his tactics are appalling. We have talented players going forward that either can’t get a start or are just being wasted due to his negative approach.

What the club desperately needed was someone who was gonna come in and make these players believe again, remember who they are, and why they’re playing in this division. Most of them came up from league 1 with us and 100% deserve to be at this level.

But instead, we hired a dinosaur who has applied the opposite approach of what was needed, and now we’re going down with a pathetic whimper.

It’s rage inducing
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Every game is like he has never seen us play before and then it's like he is just guessing his team selection.
It's truly bizarre why he won't pick the best players.
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
Have to agree with that assessment
We haven't the time to mess about with the team - it's not pre-season
Tonight with Fiorini unavailable we should have put Connolly in midfield with Dougall and brought Judd back and then either Lyons or Husband left back and played Poveda off Jerry with Bowler and Rodgers either side
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Said this a few times.

So obvious it’s almost painful isn’t it.

I’ve no idea how Carey continues to warrant a place in the side.
 
1966_and_all_that said:
Shiggy, I honestly don't mean to piss on your chips but what I saw tonight wasn't Championship standard.
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I don’t blame you for thinking that. It’s a valid opinion. I just disagree on the basis that I’ve seen most of that squad put in very good performances at this level yet they now all look a shadow of themselves.

You think that’s because they’re not good enough, I think it’s because they’ve had the belief drained out of them by two awful coaches.
 
O/P is spot on.
All the things we said - proved correct.
Although by the time Bullshît acts it will be too late (again).
 
Shiggy said:
I don’t blame you for thinking that. It’s a valid opinion. I just disagree on the basis that I’ve seen most of that squad put in very good performances at this level yet they now all look a shadow of themselves.

You think that’s because they’re not good enough, I think it’s because they’ve had the belief drained out of them by two awful coaches.
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I get where you’re coming from Shiggy but we are a squad of L1 players trying to compete in the Championship and are rock bottom in confidence, consequently we can’t string 2 passes together. This hasn’t just started this season it was becoming very evident in the final 10 games of last season but has never been resolved due to some terrible decisions taken at the top.
 
We've tried multiple combinations of players this season under two different managers, and I'm not sure how many more we can try before we realise that the players aren't up to championship standard.
The bad appointment was in the summer, and was followed up with a total lack of improving the team in key areas while selling our best player. None of this is on McCarthy. The players, particularly the midfield we've been left with due to the boards failure, lack the basic requirements of championship standard football. If absolutely nothing else, their ability to pass a football a few yards to a teammate when under no pressure is painfully bad. They just aren't good enough for the league they're playing in.
 
Embarrassing. All these games under MM were there to be won and we’ve not gone for it. Will let him off Boro away.
Not saying we should win every game, of course not. But we’re not setting up to try and win games.
 
Yeah but he waved his thanks to me as we both pulled over to let each other pass in st Anne’s yesterday on the way to the game. A proper gent. Btw he’s car sharing with Carey and Patino which may explain team selections. Fucked if I can think of another reason.
 
Shiggy said:
I don’t blame you for thinking that. It’s a valid opinion. I just disagree on the basis that I’ve seen most of that squad put in very good performances at this level yet they now all look a shadow of themselves.

You think that’s because they’re not good enough, I think it’s because they’ve had the belief drained out of them by two awful coaches.
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Actually, I have posted several times about seeing them perform well at this level. I probably agree with your assessment as to why we are now so poor.
 
Looks like you’re worse off now than with Appleton .

Guess you’ll all be rooting for a favour from PNE this weekend .

Wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see a Wigan win .
 
todayistheday said:
Fan pressure caused the board to get rid of Appleton, they know who they are.
Never should have got the job though.
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No win since October got rid of Appleton, he was lucky he lasted as long as he did, in fact he was lucky to get the job, not that he ever rated it of course.

He's an average lower league manager with little success on his CV, in over his head in the Championship and had no idea what his best side was, no idea what his best tactics were, sucked the joy out of the place and the players and was usually out thought by the opposition manager while telling us all that a club our size shouldn't really be in this league.

He is, without doubt, the worst manager we've had in modern times.
 
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Lytham_fy8 said:
No win since October got rid of Appleton, he was lucky he lasted as long as he did, in fact he was lucky to get the job, not that he ever rated it of course.

He's an average lower league manager with little success on his CV, in over his head in the Championship and had no idea what his best side was, no idea what his best tactics were, sucked the joy out of the place and the players and was usually out thought by the opposition manager while telling us all that a club our size shouldn't really be in this league.

He is, without doubt, the worst manager we've had in modern times.
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McCarthy is well on his way to becoming the worst Manager in our history. Crap football, poor performances and predictable results. I am not extolling the virtues of Appleton but with the current Blackpool squad I still think Appleton would have done better than McCarthy but I still hope to be proven wrong.
 
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Shiggy said:
Seems like a good guy and I understand the appeal of going for someone with experience at this time.

But wow it looks like an awful decision now.

It’s a tough job. Half of our players have been out of form all season. The ones that have something about them seem to get injured. I wasn’t expecting an instant turnaround in form. We had some tough fixtures.

But the way he’s going about it is so demoralising. I am convinced this team IS good enough for this level, despite a lot on here saying otherwise. The problem is, as it has been all season, we’ve gone into a shell as a club.

Last season we had the attitude that we could compete with anyone in this league. Fuck the premier league money. Fuck sky who never put us on tv. Fuck all the spoilt fans of semi-large club who think they should be beating us. We’re Blackpool, we’ve got a new owner, and we’re going places. That was the attitude.

This season we’ve appointed two blokes who don’t believe any of that at all.

Appleton talked the squad down from the moment he stepped in the door, but rapidly lowering expectations. I wanted him gone the moment he said at Sunderland ‘we’ve got to remember who we are a bit’. Fuck that.

McCarthy has the personality and talks the talk in interviews but his tactics are appalling. We have talented players going forward that either can’t get a start or are just being wasted due to his negative approach.

What the club desperately needed was someone who was gonna come in and make these players believe again, remember who they are, and why they’re playing in this division. Most of them came up from league 1 with us and 100% deserve to be at this level.

But instead, we hired a dinosaur who has applied the opposite approach of what was needed, and now we’re going down with a pathetic whimper.

It’s rage inducing
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What else could we expect from McCarthy. Never should have been appointed in the first place.
Not only are we losing, but we are abysmal to watch.
220 miles/4 and a half hours roundtrip to a home game for 90 minutes of shit and disappointment... No thanks!
 
BFC_53 said:
We've tried multiple combinations of players this season under two different managers, and I'm not sure how many more we can try before we realise that the players aren't up to championship standard.
The bad appointment was in the summer, and was followed up with a total lack of improving the team in key areas while selling our best player. None of this is on McCarthy. The players, particularly the midfield we've been left with due to the boards failure, lack the basic requirements of championship standard football. If absolutely nothing else, their ability to pass a football a few yards to a teammate when under no pressure is painfully bad. They just aren't good enough for the league they're playing in.
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A good post.
As MM said after last nights game: "We weren't managing it properly (the ball), we miscontrolled lots of balls, we missed lots of tackles, didn't win enough second balls and when we did get any opportunities to play we didn't show enough quality and that's let us down."
These are the basic skills of being a professional footballer playing in the championship & most of our players fail far to often.
 
Off Duty Trip said:
Looks like you’re worse off now than with Appleton .

Guess you’ll all be rooting for a favour from PNE this weekend .

Wouldn’t surprise me one bit to see a Wigan win .
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It would be nice of you, but seriously don't bother ... it won't change the end result :)
 
Southend tangerine said:
Sacking Appleton was the right decision it’s who we have brought in to replace him that’s the problem. McCarthy favours a totally different style that we simply don’t have the players to implement. We needed a manager that could get more out of the players we have.
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The BFC Board knew what they were getting when they appointed McCarthy and he has delivered exactly what I expected. Sacking Appleton was the right decision, it was the timing of that decision that concerned me. Should have been done in Nov or mid Dec at the latest and if not the end of Feb if Appleton’s results didn’t significantly improve following the recruitment in the Jan transfer window. Appleton had 6 new players at his disposal from mid Jan plus Gabriel & Fiorini coming back from long term injuries. I still believe that Appleton would have got a lot more out of creative players like Bowler, Poveda, Patino and Rogers who can win us games than anything I have seen from McCarthy so far.
 
585 = never give up said:
A good post.
As MM said after last nights game: "We weren't managing it properly (the ball), we miscontrolled lots of balls, we missed lots of tackles, didn't win enough second balls and when we did get any opportunities to play we didn't show enough quality and that's let us down."
These are the basic skills of being a professional footballer playing in the championship & most of our players fail far to often.
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Yet he still keeps picking Carey and CJ.
 
Ball on Fire said:
I think M

McCarthy is well on his way to becoming the worst Manager in our history. Crap football, poor performances and predictable results. I am not extolling the virtues of Appleton but with the current Blackpool squad I still think Appleton would have done better than McCarthy but I still hope to be proven wrong.
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He's never a viable long term option though, has literally just been brought in to try and keep us up.
 
I can completely understand the logic in bringing in an experienced, old head to make us organised and harder to play against. The issue under Appleton was his insistence on playing one number 6 and being far too easy to play against, especially being overrun in midfield. However, MM is another level and taking us down. He clearly didn't know much about our team or players when he came. His tactics are woeful and the style of football does not suit our squad. By all means have a solid back six (back 4 and two central midfielders). However, you can then have a front four who pass it on the ground with good pass and move football (Bowler and Rogers out wide, Poveda as a number 10 behind Jerry....assuming he's fit). He's far too direct and cautious. We need to try and win games, not just contain the opposition and try and snatch a goal.
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
He's never a viable long term option though, has literally just been brought in to try and keep us up.
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McCarthy has a contract to the end of the season but is that still a viable option after what we have seen in his 7 games so far, would you keep McCarthy until the end of the season or try something different?
 
Ball on Fire said:
Was that a message to me or Mick McCarthy, if it was to me, you can’t Sweep this situation under the table Sooty, what would you do apart from sit back, keep going back into the past whilst accepting the current situation?
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It wasn't aimed at you 😂 more so the thought of Appleton returning. As for McCarthy he's here until the end of the season like it or not.
 
TangerineandWhitePod said:
You can’t compete if you can’t control midfield. We don’t have a single Championship standard central midfielder at the club.
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Correct and we haven’t had a settled defence like last season from the start

Most of our failure this season is down to Critchley and then injuries — what is the wage bill of the hamstring sick bay

Tbf to MM, he‘s got what is just squad players to work with and he‘s of an age like some of our buys this season where it doesn’t matter what he does at Blackpool

The rot set in the Moment Critchley left and there were signs players etc were ‘easing off‘ before the end of last season - P/boro was a horror show

L1 is a tough place to start and an easier league to slip down from than get up from

We need to get as many injured players fit as possible for the last hurrah this season and at least finish it off better than last
 
Ball on Fire said:
McCarthy has a contract to the end of the season but is that still a viable option after what we have seen in his 7 games so far, would you keep McCarthy until the end of the season or try something different?
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Is there any other option? Who'd come in now?

Appleton was looking likely to be sacked long before he actually was, we should have been scoping out long term replacements, if we stayed up great, if we went down at least we'd have a consistent plan in place for League One.

Parachuting Mccarthy in for a few months was never a good idea, no more chance of keeping us up then a long term replacement and leaves us a little bit fucked if we go down.

Mansford doesn't appear to have any strategy in place whatsoever, have we got a plan for next season at all?

At the next structured dialogue meeting thing someone needs to ask him what it is he actually does for his salary.
 
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Lytham_fy8 said:
Is there any other option? Who'd come in now?

Appleton was looking likely to be sacked long before he actually was, we should have been scoping out long term replacements, if we stayed up great, if we went down at least we'd have a consistent plan in place for League One.

Parachuting Mccarthy in for a few months was never a good idea, no more chance of keeping us up then a long term replacement and leaves us a little bit fucked if we go down.

Mansford doesn't appear to have any strategy in place whatsoever, have we got a plan for next season at all?

At the next structured dialogue meeting thing someone needs to ask him what it is he actually does for his salary.
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I know you wouldn’t consider Appleton, but how about any of these as a short term replacement for McCarthy — Critch, Calderwood, Charlie Adam, Ollie, Barry Ferguson, Keith Southern, Stephen Crainey, Steve Thompson, Sam Allardyce, Paul Hart. What I’m really worried about is having McCarthy for the rest of this season and his impact on next season’s season ticket sales and lots of disillusioned Blackpool supporters voting with their feet when it comes to Div 1 football. The Board surely have to find a way to end this season on a high, even if it means relegation, we need to get the feel good factor and some optimism back.
 
Ball on Fire said:
I know you wouldn’t consider Appleton, but how about any of these as a short term replacement for McCarthy — Critch, Calderwood, Charlie Adam, Ollie, Barry Ferguson, Keith Southern, Stephen Crainey, Steve Thompson, Sam Allardyce, Paul Hart. What I’m really worried about is having McCarthy for the rest of this season and his impact on next season’s season ticket sales and lots of disillusioned Blackpool supporters voting with their feet when it comes to Div 1 football. The Board surely have to find a way to end this season on a high, even if it means relegation, we need to get the feel good factor and some optimism back.
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I honestly think the horse has bolted, I know that's defeatist but I'm not sure anyone could get this lot playing for the points we need, we're not going to move Mccarthy on after a handful of games anyway.

The one name on there if we did lose the manager would be Thommo, or ask Dobbie to have a crack, it's a moot point anyway.
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
I honestly think the horse has bolted, I know that's defeatist but I'm not sure anyone could get this lot playing for the points we need, we're not going to move Mccarthy on after a handful of games anyway.

The one name on there if we did lose the manager would be Thommo, or ask Dobbie to have a crack, it's a moot point anyway.
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Very depressing, sounds to me that you have completely given up with 13 (unlucky for some) games still to play, we can still stay up with 16 points from these 13 games.

Ex Pool Rob Edwards & Ritchie Kyle are doing very well at Luton Town and have also changed the playing style. They were out of work and appointed at Luton on 19th Nov and could have been an option if the Board had moved quicker regarding the sacking of Appleton. We now face three tough games — Reading & Bristol City away and Burnley at home, if we were to lose all 3 of these games and get cut adrift at the bottom of the table I think the Board will bring somebody else in for the last 10 games of the season. I really hope McCarthy turns this situation around but I have seen nothing in any of the games under McCarthy so far that convinces me we are on an upward curve. If anything the situation is getting worse and injuries are likely to increase because the physical nature of McCarthy’s playing strategy.
 
Ball on Fire said:
McCarthy has a contract to the end of the season but is that still a viable option after what we have seen in his 7 games so far, would you keep McCarthy until the end of the season or try something different?
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I think that the finances might rule that out.
It would mean yet another contract, which SS definitely won't want as he would then have to pay MM off also.
 
Ball on Fire said:
Very depressing, sounds to me that you have completely given up with 13 (unlucky for some) games still to play, we can still stay up with 16 points from these 13 games.

Ex Pool Rob Edwards & Ritchie Kyle are doing very well at Luton Town and have also changed the playing style. They were out of work and appointed at Luton on 19th Nov and could have been an option if the Board had moved quicker regarding the sacking of Appleton. We now face three tough games — Reading & Bristol City away and Burnley at home, if we were to lose all 3 of these games and get cut adrift at the bottom of the table I think the Board will bring somebody else in for the last 10 games of the season. I really hope McCarthy turns this situation around but I have seen nothing in any of the games under McCarthy so far that convinces me we are on an upward curve. If anything the situation is getting worse and injuries are likely to increase because the physical nature of McCarthy’s playing strategy.
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Fair point, I should cheer up really :)
 
Every major strategic decision has been a disaster. As for the detail, Carey and Patino are not the players to dig us out of this one, but it's not their fault. In a proper championship squad both would be out on loan in division 1 or 2 to develop their experience.
 
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