Neil Critchley Appointed New Head Coach

What's not to like, not one of the "usual suspects" of Managers, someone, like Grayson first time round, who will be fresh with new ideas and a chance to prove himself in his own right - I'm more than happy with this appointment and I wish Neil Critchley a big Blackpool welcome and hope he loves his time with us. Let's get behind this fella eh!
 
Happy but like others have said I’am surprised at the appointment considering Mansford didn’t think Evatt was the right man considering his lack of league experience. 🤔

At least he doesn’t come with any baggage/history of being potted so that’s a massive plus. 👍
 
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For me this is a real coup. Liverpool love him and it must be hard to give up being a part of what Liverpool have become. All credit to Simon Sadler and Ben Mansford.

He has none of the baggage associated with some other managers named. (Evo's time will come.) He seems universally respected in the game.

I can see him getting the best out of the players we have and attracting young and hungry new ones.

Welcome Neil Critchley. Let's make him realise that we are as passionate as any red he could have met.
 
This could well prove to be a class appointment. I am happy he is in now for the last 10 games or so to assess what we have and what we will need, then pre season hit the ground running. Very satisfied with Neil's appointment
 
Very happy with this appointment. I’m sure the club will succeed and get players in of value in the future. Onwards and upwards the future is Tangerine. Welcome Neil. Hope he enjoys his first game in charge against the cods
 
This is great appointment, this guy will be keen as mustard to prove himself.
Don't be fooled by the head coach title as he will have a say about players coming in, it just stops grubby deals being done with agents and friends.
I've always said that there's a decent player in Nuttall and now we'll find out for sure😊
 
It's kind of funny isn't it? Football is all about opinions ... and it's only SS and his advisors one that matters in this situation.

Where we have some folk coming up with all kinds of fantastical and frankly hilarious suggestions (Warnock, Fat Sam et al) they seem to have gone for an intelligent and forward looking appointment.

I can see the appeal of Evo for many ... but I don't think it would have been the right move. Let's start afresh. If this fella can't spot and develop young talent (more Ronan than Madine) then no one can.

Very happy. UTP.
 
Have to say I didn't see this one coming but I am delighted by it.
Elite level coaching will at least give us a chance of really getting the best out of the young players and give confidence to potential recruits wanting to use us as a stepping stone to the Prem (until we get back there of course!).

Really hope it works out for him - it's the sort of recruitment I wanted to see and not a rehash of an old lag manager with failure on his CV.
 
Also in this day and age, I want someone else leading the scouting and contract negotiations with agents and the greed squad, not the manager/coach.
A director of football/scouting head should be in place to support the head coach - the game has moved on dramatically.
 
This could be a great appointment the last managers haven't exactly been very good so a change of direction might be the way to go, he can concentrate on the playing side with club getting young and hungry players in to take us forward. The club has changed for the better off the field and now hopefully on the field as it says on the badge 'PROGRESS '
 
I'm genuinely just happy that we haven't appointed someone with links to PNE or Blackburn like we always tend to do.
 
Yeah happy with this. Seems highly regarded by Liverpool and their fans and comes across very well in his interview. Time to crack on now
 
Really excited about this appointment.
When Shankley retired he was replaced by Bob Paisley and then Joe Fagin followed.
They came through the Liverpool ranks and were unheard of outside Merseyside.
What great Managers they turned out to be.
 
Hell of a gamble but an exciting one none the less. The potential upside is massive and I don't see the risk as being particularly any greater than Evatt or most of the other names linked with us. If we can plunder Liverpool's youth ranks and If he applies a similar tactical approach as Klopp to us then we are in for a hell of an entertaining time.

It's an adventurous appointment for sure and I applaud the board for having the balls to do it. Lets hope it pays off.

Good Luck Mr. Critchley!

UTMP
 
The more I think about this, the more I think what's not to like? A young, fresh ambitious manager who has come from working under one of the world's top managers. Of course it's a risk and it might not work out. But surely better than some of the worn out, tired old failures on the circuit?
 
Tangerine Manc said:
i know he is a head coach 🙄
so does this mean then , he has no say in signings , he will coach what he gets given or has
tommy Johnston is head of recruitment , so he buys the players

where mangers control everything
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Pretty much the same at all clubs now the manager says I want a centre back the recruitment team identify a few targets & go back to him with a choice of who they could get.
 
I can honestly say I'm very surprised with by this appointment, given the approaches to Jones, Robinson and Wellens (assuming they actually took place).
I'm certainly not disappointed with the choice, he appears to have a great pedigree, how he will fair with the constraints of League 1, remains to be seen.
He's got a virtual free hit until the end of the season, plenty of time to establish himself and the team for the new campaign, lets see how he goes.
Welcome to the seaside Neil, I hope you absolutely smash it 👍
 
I don’t know enough about Critchley to have an opinion either way, I just hope he lives up to expectations and of course I will support him and the team. However my question is, if as was said by the club a couple of weeks ago, they were looking for a head coach as opposed to a manager. Why the debacle over the last couple of weeks chasing other clubs managers, with a succession of rejections being made to look desperate and after all that appointing a head coach, not a manager. Seems a total waste of time to me.
 
Part of Liverpool statement -
“Neil epitomises the best qualities of a modern coach: leadership skills, intelligence, compassion and a hunger for individual and collective improvement. Blackpool are very fortunate to have him and we wish him well.

Exciting times ahead, great appointmnent
 
And when you read the Academy D
Hazi said:
Part of Liverpool statement -
“Neil epitomises the best qualities of a modern coach: leadership skills, intelligence, compassion and a hunger for individual and collective improvement. Blackpool are very fortunate to have him and we wish him well.

Exciting times ahead, great appointmnent
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and when it continues that the Director of the Academy will ‘work closely with Jurgen Klopp to identify a replacement’ ... it kinda shows the gravitas...
 
Very pleased with this ambitious appointment, and delighted it is not some rehashed manager. Contacts should be great, good people on the other end of a phone if he needs advice (something Klopp sayss he is very keen on)

Come on you Mighty Pool, a real statement of intent
 
Yea i'm happy with this appointment.....as others have said I was dreading us getting one of the usual deadwood run of the mill Managers that have been potted a few times and are just desperate to get back in a job....hope this is a breath of fresh air and positivity that brings us a bright new future.
 
Only time will tell, but it is a risk. We know little about him and how he will adjust to being a first team coach. Seems highly regarded by LFC and by Neil Murphy. I am interested in seeing who he will bring in as assistant, as Murphy says he will need a bad cop character.
.
 
BlackpoolsFinest said:
Can someone provide clarity over "One of only 16 coaches in the country to have gained the highest possible qualification in the game"?

Because if they're talking about the UEFA Pro License, there are considerably more than 16 people who have it.
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Watch Owens bodyguards video clip (breaking news) on this thread.
If you listen very carefully they say he has the ELITE licence.
I think you owe fatboy an apology 👍
 
Makes me laugh, everyone at Liverpool really rates him, yet some people on here are unsure🤔. For me it’s better than giving the job to another journeyman, and he should have lots of good contacts, now let’s start getting ready for next season.
 
Devonshire said:
Makes me laugh, everyone at Liverpool really rates him, yet some people on here are unsure🤔. For me it’s better than giving the job to another journeyman, and he should have lots of good contacts, now let’s start getting ready for next season.
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I must admit, that I probably fit into the unsure camp at the moment, but then it's difficult to know what to expect. Managing a first Team is a completely different role than he has been used to and he will need to pull on a whole range of different skills in order to be succesful. There's no question that he was very well thought of in his roles at Liverpool and hopefully that will stand him in good stead.
 
RUSTY_2_STANDS said:
I agree. If only a little bit of Klopp's influence has rubbed off on him, this could be an good appointment. And if he does adopt the same style of play as Klopp, then it certainly isn't going to be dull.
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We just need to get the same quality of players that Klopp works with. Lol.
 
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