What do we need?

voyeur said:
Er, the post I replied to was negative and entirely hypothetical. I just challenged that. But you just can't ** help yourself, pitching in, can you? In your consistently contrary manner.
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i read Chesters post and thought it was perfectly reasonable. Here it is again.

Chesterbfc said:
In all fairness we look "lacking" in all areas of the pitch
Quite willing to give this 'new look teama chance but not many!!
If we play Criitch ball this season it better be smarter and more productive than our efforts last.year.
Without Dembele shining and Rhodes we would be playing Morecambe this season
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Do you not agree we are lacking in all areas of the pitch? I'm sure you've commented on aspects of that. He's said he's willing to give the new look team a chance. Is that not a reasonable comment/standpoint? As well as being smarter and productive than last season. Think that's a more than reasonable comment too!

And without the contributions of Rhodes and Dembele last season, our season could/would hace been considerably worse.

So all in all i think chesters post was reasonable whereas you said it was negative and entirely hypothetical. Doesn't seem like that to me.
 
Well Rhodes' last goal of the season was on 23rd December. We miraculously stayed in the top 8 throughout the second half of the season, and picked up 37 points. We were in the top 6 during the last game of the season. Something mystical happened in his absence.

I think we are missing central defenders, cos we've only one player for the middle of the three. I think we are currently hoping Evans replaces Byers and that Apter replaces Dembele. But none of Rhodes, Dembele or Byers were at the club in July last year, iirc, so we were probably in a worse position at this point 12 months ago than we are now. So we'll have to see how things develop.
 
NewburyOne said:
We lack pace up front and creativity in the middle. Our season seems to be dependant on Rhodes being able to play most weeks. There is plenty of time but there are obvious holes in our squad, that's before we cash in on Gabriel and Grimshaw.
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We haven’t seen Evans yet, hopefully he adds something in midfield,if anything he should keep Norburn out of the side which is a bonus👍
 
S88bfc said:
We haven’t seen Evans yet, hopefully he adds something in midfield,if anything he should keep Norburn out of the side which is a bonus👍
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I ain't pinning my hopes on a 29yr old midfielder that has struggled to play more than 30 games a season throughout his professional career. He doesn't appear to be close to a start during pre season also. I'm sure he's a good player but I have serious concerns about how often that will be. As with Fletcher, it seems like a bit of a gamble to me.
 
NewburyOne said:
I ain't pinning my hopes on a 29yr old midfielder that has struggled to play more than 30 games a season throughout his professional career. He doesn't appear to be close to a start during pre season also. I'm sure he's a good player but I have serious concerns about how often that will be. As with Fletcher, it seems like a bit of a gamble to me.
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No I agree, my point was that the only player who is new is Evans in a part of the team that’s so weak.
 
td53 said:
Perhaps, but Sonny needs pace and movement around him to work. He's never Dembele. He's creative in a totally different way.

Dembele was a cheat code player who could do it himself, Sonny I feel is a player who would grow as the players around him improve. His best game for us was knitting Yates, Bowler, Dale together as a kind of withdrawn 10 a couple of years ago. He was brilliant.
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That's quite enough of that. This board is not the place for considered opinions. All footballers are either good or bad. Formations, tactics, teammates, all that cobblers, has no bearing on it.
 
After our initial signings I was full of optimism but was we edge closer to the start of the season, I feel like we are in for the same as last year, just with less fans due to lack of ST / ticket prices.

I think we will lose a player or two before the start of the season (Suspect Gabriel) and we aint hearing any news on signings that we actually need, CB / creative mid. Maybe I'm just being cynical though before we've even started.
 
Jazzer said:
After our initial signings I was full of optimism but was we edge closer to the start of the season, I feel like we are in for the same as last year, just with less fans due to lack of ST / ticket prices.

I think we will lose a player or two before the start of the season (Suspect Gabriel) and we aint hearing any news on signings that we actually need, CB / creative mid. Maybe I'm just being cynical though before we've even started.
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Precisely how I feel, we need a good couple of weeks in the transfer market to give us and the team a boost. L1 is probably going to tougher this time around. The teams coming up are stronger than those relegated, the teams coming down are spending heavily, the nearly teams are in a good position to challenge again and the likes of Reading and Wigan won't have a hole to dig out from. As it stands I don't see us being any better placed than last season, without Dembele I'd say we are mid-table at best, 3 or 4 good signings could change all that though.
 
NewburyOne said:
Precisely how I feel, we need a good couple of weeks in the transfer market to give us and the team a boost. L1 is probably going to tougher this time around. The teams coming up are stronger than those relegated, the teams coming down are spending heavily, the nearly teams are in a good position to challenge again and the likes of Reading and Wigan won't have a hole to dig out from. As it stands I don't see us being any better placed than last season, without Dembele I'd say we are mid-table at best, 3 or 4 good signings could change all that though.
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yep, agree. The time was right last season to go straight back up in what looked quite a poor division. Looks much harder this season. But too many on here were saying give it time, Critch needs time to get the players he wanted and to bed them into his system. I think those people were massively not realising the opportunity we had and now it's gonna be so much harder. We'll see though.
 
20togo said:
yep, agree. The time was right last season to go straight back up in what looked quite a poor division. Looks much harder this season. But too many on here were saying give it time, Critch needs time to get the players he wanted and to bed them into his system. I think those people were massively not realising the opportunity we had and now it's gonna be so much harder. We'll see though.
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I think people underestimate the uncertainty surrounding Hong Kong. It appears to me that the budget is strictly from football revenue earned this year- no Bowler, Yates or NC cash.

I don't see an improvement on last seasons finish. The opposite- won't go down, but we'll be closer to that end than the play offs.
 
fcblackpool said:
I think people underestimate the uncertainty surrounding Hong Kong. It appears to me that the budget is strictly from football revenue earned this year- no Bowler, Yates or NC cash.

I don't see an improvement on last seasons finish. The opposite- won't go down, but we'll be closer to that end than the play offs.
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you may well be right. Last year was a big missed opportunity.
 
no9 said:
It’s a joke.

We have all backed Sadler even though deep down we knew he’d lost heart 2 years ago.

There’s no buzz around the club, league 1 is where Sadler wants us to stay and that’s why Critchley will continue to uck about with 5 at the back.

No consequences for Critchley staying in league 1.

I really hope I’m wrong.
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I think you are wrong.

He was in Spain with the management and players.
 
voyeur said:
Probably what we need most is for Critch to take the brakes off, and to start trusting some if the younger players more. Well it's what I need, it's tedious seeing the same over rated players trundled out and nauseam. The Hamiltons and the Norburns etc.
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Would agree - if he was watching England the one thing he'll hopefully have learned is that tried and trusted don't always win you games.
 
To go back to the original question.

I think what we need most is a different mindset. Last season felt like it was shaped mostly by Critch's failures at Villa and QPR. A safety first approach to try to re establish himself and rebuild his confidence. The fact we had also been relegated just magnified that situation.

Next season we need to get on the front foot more and get the crowd behind the team. Bring back the vibe. We can get better performances from the players we have got, as we saw on a limited number of occasions last season.

Critch knows the fans didn't like the football last season. Will he seek to play a more enterprising brand of football, do we think? Will we get more football like we saw against Barnsley in the last home game? Will we adapt the way we play away from home? I wonder what he feels is needed?
 
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voyeur said:
To go back to the original question.

I think what we need most is a different mindset. Last season felt like it was shaped mostly by Critch's failures at Villa and QPR. A safety first approach to try to re establish himself and rebuild his confidence. The fact we had also been relegated just magnified that situation.

Next season we need to get on the front foot more and get the crowd behind the team. Bring back the vibe. We can get better performances from the players we have got, as we saw on a limited number of occasions last season.

Critch knows the fans didn't like the football last season. Will he seek to play a more enterprising brand of football, do we think? Will we get more football like we saw against Barnsley in the last home game? Will we adapt the way we play away from home? I wonder what he feels is needed?
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I’m not optimistic, I think his default is caution, let’s hope he’s had an epiphany
 
Matesrates said:
I’m not optimistic, I think his default is caution, let’s hope he’s had an epiphany
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Well hopefully his confidence is coming back for one thing, and also he knows the fans are fed up with the style of football so there is some pressure to improve it. He can't afford to have the fans against him.
 
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voyeur said:
Well hopefully his confidence is clear mng back for one thing, and also he knows hhd fans are fed up with the style of football so there is some pressure to improve it. He can't afford to have the fans against him.
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Hope you’re right, predictive text eh.
 
Matesrates said:
I’m not optimistic, I think his default is caution, let’s hope he’s had an epiphany
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Can't say I feel very much so far - mixed results pre-season, not the number of players in (yet!) that we need and still that slight apathy about the place. August is a crucial month for Mr Critchley.
 
voyeur said:
To go back to the original question.

I think what we need most is a different mindset. Last season felt like it was shaped mostly by Critch's failures at Villa and QPR. A safety first approach to try to re establish himself and rebuild his confidence. The fact we had also been relegated just magnified that situation.

Next season we need to get on the front foot more and get the crowd behind the team. Bring back the vibe. We can get better performances from the players we have got, as we saw on a limited number of occasions last season.

Critch knows the fans didn't like the football last season. Will he seek to play a more enterprising brand of football, do we think? Will we get more football like we saw against Barnsley in the last home game? Will we adapt the way we play away from home? I wonder what he feels is needed?
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Agree with this wholeheartedly, a good amount of people view player performance from year to year as static, but if we approach each game like we did against Barnsley performances from most will improve tremendously.

Not just about getting new bodies in to replace players who weren't up to it last year, individual improvements can and will happen if the mindset is different.
 
AmericanTangerine said:
Agree with this wholeheartedly, a good amount of people view player performance from year to year as static, but if we approach each game like we did against Barnsley performances from most will improve tremendously.

Not just about getting new bodies in to replace players who weren't up to it last year, individual improvements can and will happen if the mindset is different.
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Agree AT - plus the ability to apply plan B or even C if things aren’t working.
 
I thought we defended OK today against a team from a League above, then second half we really should have scored two, if not three.

The goal came about from something that happened all day. For a so called possession based team we couldn't trap a ball up front.
 
Wizaard said:
For a so called possession based team we couldn't trap a ball up front.
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Didn't you think the same was true of England in the Euros and in many ways the problem with possession based football is that it requires players to have the ability to trap a ball and if England struggled playing a similar system, I can't see Blackpool faring much better.
 
Watched the full 90 this evening.

First half we didn't have much of the ball but the back three coped well, and Grimmy. And Norburn helps us defensively but not offensively. There was very little for the attacking players to feed off, so it's hard to judge Rhodes, Fletcher and Apter off that I reckon.

Second half was much better, Evans made the most difference but Finnigan did well too, and CJ and Coulson were able to get into good attacking positions in possession of the ball. We forged a handful of very good chances, that were fluffed. Beesley and Joseph worked hard but the quality was missing.

I can see Norburn and Evans being our 6 and 8, and Critch will see Coulson and CJ as first choice wingbacks (although Gabriel should be in with a shout). Rhodes will start. The places up for grabs are Dembele's position and Rhodes' strike partner. Fletcher, Beesley and Joseph have not excelled so far in preseason from what I've seen, which is three games.

Apter needs time to adapt to the level and the position, but playing 45 minutes against Sunderland in a side that barely had the ball isn't a fair representation of his ability. He's probably competing with Morgan and Carey at present for the third midfield spot. Maybe Finnigan too but he seems to be a 6? He keeps replacing Norburn.

We need CBs. Ashworth looked decent though. We need a striker shuffle. Fletcher might come good but it looks like a project that might take time. Not ideal. I'd be bringing another striker in and loaning one or two out I think.
 
Critch talking about we need....

"You could see after we played two games in a day, there’s certain areas of the pitch where we need to strengthen in- that’s quite obvious,” said Critchley.
“We’re quite thin on the ground in certain positions, and we’re working very hard to do something about it.

“We continue to do our work, speaking to players and agents. We want to improve the squad.

“If you look at the players that left in the summer, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out the positions we need to improve.

“I wouldn’t want to put a number on it because you never know, but if you look at the backline and the midfield, and think about the players that were here last year that aren’t now, then they are the areas we need to strengthen.

“You also have to be ready for ‘what ifs’ in terms of players leaving from within. We always have a succession plan and talk continuously.
 
I’m not overly worried about our forwards, but we do need someone who can make the pass to play them in. Rhodes and Joseph are both intelligent players, so we need someone to link them up with intelligent ball play .
 
Fatboy said:
I’m not overly worried about our forwards, but we do need someone who can make the pass to play them in. Rhodes and Joseph are both intelligent players, so we need someone to link them up with intelligent ball play .
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Evans, Finnigan and Apter are all showing signs of that. The delivery from wide isn't what it should be.
 
voyeur said:
Critch talking about we need....

"You could see after we played two games in a day, there’s certain areas of the pitch where we need to strengthen in- that’s quite obvious,” said Critchley.
“We’re quite thin on the ground in certain positions, and we’re working very hard to do something about it.

“We continue to do our work, speaking to players and agents. We want to improve the squad.

“If you look at the players that left in the summer, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out the positions we need to improve.

“I wouldn’t want to put a number on it because you never know, but if you look at the backline and the midfield, and think about the players that were here last year that aren’t now, then they are the areas we need to strengthen.

“You also have to be ready for ‘what ifs’ in terms of players leaving from within. We always have a succession plan and talk continuously.
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Phew, that's alright then. Pity these positions weren't filled in time for the preseason workout.
 
1966_and_all_that said:
Phew, that's alright then. Pity these positions weren't filled in time for the preseason workout.
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Can't say i agree with Critchleys assesment of the squad if he thinks the forwards are good enough to get us in the top 6.
I'd try and offload Beesley and Kouassi and bring in a better version of Lavery.
What we've got is all sort of the same.
We start with Rhodes and Joseph and then bring on Fletcher and Beesley if it isn't working, is that an exciting proposition?
 
gjr said:
Can't say i agree with Critchleys assesment of the squad if he thinks the forwards are good enough to get us in the top 6.
I'd try and offload Beesley and Kouassi and bring in a better version of Lavery.
What we've got is all sort of the same.
We start with Rhodes and Joseph and then bring on Fletcher and Beesley if it isn't working, is that an exciting proposition?
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I'd keep Bees and start him alongside Rhodes. Kouassi doesn't convince. Fletcher and Joseph could have a good season but we need someone young with a bit of arrogant ability.
 
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