This Half A Season Malarkey

T

Theoneandonly

Well-known member
If Sadler has learned nothing from this waste of a season then Critchley will be the manager next season. If he is unless we are bottom third at Christmas then Critchley is going nowhere. Even if bottom third Sadler might still be thinking “he did it before.”

For me this was the worst season ever because we didn’t try. We just repeated the same errors over and over again. I don’t expect Critchley to learn new skills over the summer so next season may well be another five million pound waste of time. I hope not for all our sakes.
 
From the pre season friendlies, the mickey mouse cup comps, the FA Cup and the 46 league games the players never looked comfortable in Critchleys 3-5-2 set up. Consequently, we had too many players underperforming and with the exception of a handful of these games the football played was pretty dire and not very entertaining. If this carries on next season we will be in trouble both on and off the pitch!
 
Atalanta are a smaller club that in theory are over achieving, they play with 3 at the back and have stuck with the coach for 8 years.
This tells me that 3 at the back can be effective and it often pays off to show some patience.
Also tells me that we lacked a ball playing centre back, another left sided centreback, the wing backs should be playing on their natural side, our centre forwards weren’t good enough, and we also needed more quality in centre midfield.
That said we only just missed out on the playoffs by the narrowest of margins, if Critchley is backed by the owner to bring top 6 league 1 quality in to the squad it might pay to keep him.
I know the view wont be popular and many people like up and at 'em gung ho football but a few million spent wisely might actually bring huge dividends without us installing a revolving door for a new coach every season.
 
gjr said:
Atalanta are a smaller club that in theory are over achieving, they play with 3 at the back and have stuck with the coach for 8 years.
This tells me that 3 at the back can be effective and it often pays off to show some patience.
Also tells me that we lacked a ball playing centre back, another left sided centreback, the wing backs should be playing on their natural side, our centre forwards weren’t good enough, and we also needed more quality in centre midfield.
That said we only just missed out on the playoffs by the narrowest of margins, if Critchley is backed by the owner to bring top 6 league 1 quality in to the squad it might pay to keep him.
I know the view wont be popular and many people like up and at 'em gung ho football but a few million spent wisely might actually bring huge dividends without us installing a revolving door for a new coach every season.
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That wasn’t the point, the point was we haven’t got the players to make that system work, Marv would better with a centre back partner, husband as a LB in a 4 and JG like wise as as a RB.
 
Spoonerfudj said:
Mistakes may have been made, on and off the pitch, but I don't believe the players didn't try.
Just weren't good enough
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The mistake was the players weren’t good enough to fit the Critchley system and he failed to get the best out of the players from start to finish, everyone else saw this problem apart from him and that’s why other teams found a way to beat us away from home due to his stubbornness to change the system.
 
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Micky Walsh said:
That wasn’t the point, the point was we haven’t got the players to make that system work, Marv would better with a centre back partner, husband as a LB in a 4 and JG like wise as as a RB.
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I dont disagree with that but if Sadler wants Critchley he has to back him to make his system work.
Unfortunately as clever as he is i fear that Sadler is not a football genius, he brought us Mick Mccarthy to manage a squad completely unsuited to Mccarthy!
Is Sadler surrounded by yes men? Do they give sound advice and he ignores it? Do they give terrible advice and he does listen? Is Sadler competent when it comes to the basics of player strengths and formations?

Sacking Critchley is easy but its just another gamble if a new man comes in and isnt given the time and money to make things work.
 
gjr said:
Atalanta are a smaller club that in theory are over achieving, they play with 3 at the back and have stuck with the coach for 8 years.
This tells me that 3 at the back can be effective and it often pays off to show some patience.
Also tells me that we lacked a ball playing centre back, another left sided centreback, the wing backs should be playing on their natural side, our centre forwards weren’t good enough, and we also needed more quality in centre midfield.
That said we only just missed out on the playoffs by the narrowest of margins, if Critchley is backed by the owner to bring top 6 league 1 quality in to the squad it might pay to keep him.
I know the view wont be popular and many people like up and at 'em gung ho football but a few million spent wisely might actually bring huge dividends without us installing a revolving door for a new coach every season.
Click to expand...
Let’s go on your example: 8x5 = 40 million pounds at least in costs. You then breakdown why our team was lacking, if you can see that why couldn’t Critchley, Sadler and bill and Ben the iPad men not see it. Why persist if your playing staff is so lacking? Last we only just missed the playoffs? We were not in a playoff position all season.
 
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gjr said:
Atalanta are a smaller club that in theory are over achieving, they play with 3 at the back and have stuck with the coach for 8 years.
This tells me that 3 at the back can be effective and it often pays off to show some patience.
Also tells me that we lacked a ball playing centre back, another left sided centreback, the wing backs should be playing on their natural side, our centre forwards weren’t good enough, and we also needed more quality in centre midfield.
That said we only just missed out on the playoffs by the narrowest of margins, if Critchley is backed by the owner to bring top 6 league 1 quality in to the squad it might pay to keep him.
I know the view wont be popular and many people like up and at 'em gung ho football but a few million spent wisely might actually bring huge dividends without us installing a revolving door for a new coach every season.
Click to expand...
Derby, Bolton and Lincoln all play 3 at the back but when you've a load of strikers who rarely score an average midfield and overeliant on a young kid your doomed for failure.

Give me Stewart/Dougall + 2 from Simms/Yates/Madine 2021 over our current squad all day long.
 
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Theoneandonly said:
Let’s go on your example: 8x5 = 40 million dollars at least in costs. You then breakdown why our team was lacking, if you can see that why couldn’t Critchley, Sadler and bill and Ben the iPad men not see it. Why persist if your playing staff is so lacking? Last we only just missed the playoffs? We were not in a playoff position all season.
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Again i dont disagree, i always think a good coach at Blackpool looks at what he already has, looks at his budget and who he can get then makes it work.
No point having an idea on how to play but not having or being able to afford the players to make it work.
This is where i come back to my point that if Sadler is determined to stick with Critchley then he has to back him financially to make his vision work.
If he doesn't want to spend big then he goes for a tried and tested effective league 1 manager such as Duff who will probably get a tune out of what weve got for less money.
 
gjr said:
Again i dont disagree, i always think a good coach at Blackpool looks at what he already has, looks at his budget and who he can get then makes it work.
No point having an idea on how to play but not having or being able to afford the players to make it work.
This is where i come back to my point that if Sadler is determined to stick with Critchley then he has to back him financially to make his vision work.
If he doesn't want to spend big then he goes for a tried and tested effective league 1 manager such as Duff who will probably get a tune out of what weve got for less money.
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Critchley wasn’t not backed. He’s on record as saying Sadler supports him. He just wasn’t capable of putting his ego aside and doing his job. Primarily pinpointing the requirements of the division, utilizing the players he’s got to the best of their abilities and having a plan b for match day. He also lacked coaching abilities as players still lacking skills and making same team mistakes. Nothing was achieved this season. We didn’t compete away from home.
 
Theoneandonly said:
Critchley wasn’t not backed. He’s on record as saying Sadler supports him. He just wasn’t capable of putting his ego aside and doing his job. Primarily pinpointing the requirements of the division, utilizing the players he’s got to the best of their abilities and having a plan b for match day. He also lacked coaching abilities as players still lacking skills and making same team mistakes. Nothing was achieved this season. We didn’t compete away from home.
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If hes incapable of doing his job then he has to go but i dont think this is a black and white issue. Home form really good. Points total almost achieved top 6. Performances that entertained are in single fingers over the whole season. Away form abysmal.
I wont be sad if he goes but i can also see some reasons for persisting with him.
Whatever happens Sadler will need to dig deep financially by our standards to give us a good season next time.
 
Theoneandonly said:
Critchley wasn’t not backed. He’s on record as saying Sadler supports him. He just wasn’t capable of putting his ego aside and doing his job. Primarily pinpointing the requirements of the division, utilizing the players he’s got to the best of their abilities and having a plan b for match day. He also lacked coaching abilities as players still lacking skills and making same team mistakes. Nothing was achieved this season. We didn’t compete away from home.
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Shit manager obviously, but makes a cracking cup of PG Tips though!
 
gjr said:
If hes incapable of doing his job then he has to go but i dont think this is a black and white issue. Home form really good. Points total almost achieved top 6. Performances that entertained are in single fingers over the whole season. Away form abysmal.
I wont be sad if he goes but i can also see some reasons for persisting with him.
Whatever happens Sadler will need to dig deep financially by our standards to give us a good season next time.
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He needs to have a measurable progress report which not making the playoffs or ever being in a playoff position is hard to find. He needs to listen to Critchley and be convinced he can do better. If not just throwing good money after bad.
 
For me, Critchley thought he was behind the wheel of a Rolls Royce when in fact he was driving a Robin Reliant.
 
poolseasider said:
Derby, Bolton and Lincoln all play 3 at the back but when you've a load of strikers who rarely score an average midfield and overeliant on a young kid your doomed for failure.

Give me Stewart/Dougall + 2 from Simms/Yates/Madine 2021 over our current squad all day long.
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This.

Lavery, Beesley, Kouassi and Joseph failed to score enough goals. They had the chances, but no composure.
 
Wizaard said:
This.

Lavery, Beesley, Kouassi and Joseph failed to score enough goals. They had the chances, but no composure.
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So over the course of the entire season did you see any improvements in any of them? If not, why not as that is the manager and coaches job? I said at the start of the season that shipping off our goals was a dumb move.
 
Theoneandonly said:
So over the course of the entire season did you see any improvements in any of them? If not, why not as that is the manager and coaches job? I said at the start of the season that shipping off our goals was a dumb move.
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Beesley isn't as bad as some make out, and Kouassi has time on his side, but I've been saying for a while that they're not good enough.

As my old Grandma said, you can't polish a turd.
 
Wizaard said:
Beesley isn't as bad as some make out, and Kouassi has time on his side, but I've been saying for a while that they're not good enough.

As my old Grandma said, you can't polish a turd.
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Incredible you didn’t answer any of the things I asked of you.
 
Theoneandonly said:
Incredible you didn’t answer any of the things I asked of you.
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I've said Beesley did OK and Kouassi has potential. He'll be better next season, and yes, that will be brought on by coaching.

Lavery hasn't been the same since he did his hamstring. That's nothing to do with coaching.

Joseph's touch is terrible. Not sure you can coach that beyond the basics.
 
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