What were the board thinking

AngelBFC said:
Ian Evatt the only other realistic candidate at the time.

No managerial experience in the football league

1 year experience in coaching non league players

NC a decade of coaching players at the highest level

Fans were clamouring for the appointment of Evatt and he is struggling.

Point is that the appointment of NC was a sound one. It remains to be seen whether it will work out.
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I wasn't clamouring around for Evatt at all
 
It's all well and good having plenty of possession and putting 20 neat passes together, but these often involve the keeper twice. By the time we move forward, all their defence are in position, and there is very little cutting edge action around their box. It's no wonder stamina levels drop in the second half when we make things hard for ourselves running round aimlessly instead of letting the ball do the work. I fear the worst when we lose the ball and watch the opposition come rampaging forward, especially when they put long balls over a retreating defence. The keeper must be alert and come out of his area to clear these.
My other bugbear is bringing the Ipswich match forward when we had just signed a couple of new players that hadn't been trained up in our new system. That very poor decision reminded me of watching our second string 11 lose 3-2 at Villa, when they were there for the taking under Ian Holloway.
 
Phil_bfc deux said:
I do agree with a lot of that

I don't want NC to be sacked as it would mean another massive overhaul

Just don't know how we can reverse this form
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Yep, that last comment is the concern isn't it. And where we either trust the owner and manager or we don't. Your thoughts on formation and fit of players makes lots of sense to me, re the front line particularly.

I don't think anyone can deny that Critchley and Sadler have created a perfect storm of a virtually entire new side, a new system and the managers transition from u23 to 'real' management. Owner and manager have to be able to see those challenges in an honest way and have a plan how to work through them. And be realistic about how much time they are willing to give it. I'd put money on Sadler having a plan, and I expect Critchley does too. I bloody hope so!

In their shoes Christmas would be the obvious milestone to review progress given the degree of change involved. That doesn't mean between now and then we can't call out poor performance or decisions as we might see them of course! Even if venting on here is a poor substitute for shouting from the stands.
 
Phil_bfc deux said:
You don't win games by passing it around in your own half
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No, you don't. You have to be creative and efficient with the ball you have. Rochdale did it to us at their place last year. Passed it around nicely but bar Henderson they had nothing.

We need to find a way of winning.
 
clappers said:
The problem is nearly everything iscgoing wrong. And fixing nearly everything with the form we are in is some tall order. You could also see that player heads have dropped so belief trust and confidence in Coach Critchley will also have dropped.

Unless we go back to basics for a couple of games 532 or 442 which we won’t as Critch won’t be brave enough and is too wedded to his system and method, I fear this could be a terminal decline.
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I agree, hes a little too rigid in his approach, I think we need to go with three CB to give Maxwell a bit more protection and push the wide men a bit more narrow. We need a point minimum on Saturday and a clean sheet. If anything just to get a little confidence back into the players. They look beat at the moment.
 
I don't like the clamour for any
manager to be sacked after a string of bad results, and I hope that when all our new players are up and running, Neil Critchley will be able to have us winning many games with the attacking football I was expecting from the start of this season.
 
AngelBFC said:
Ian Evatt the only other realistic candidate at the time.

No managerial experience in the football league

1 year experience in coaching non league players

NC a decade of coaching players at the highest level

Fans were clamouring for the appointment of Evatt and he is struggling.

Point is that the appointment of NC was a sound one. It remains to be seen whether it will work out.
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Evatt would have given better quotes, this one after the 3-3 afaginast Barrow:
“But I am proud of them, I have to say. For the first time this season we have shown fight, we have shown desire, we have shown a set of testicles and you need to sometimes.” 😆
 
He should have appointed someone like Brabin as his number two, not his mate from Liverpool. Brabin has experience of both playing and coaching in the leagues, would have sorted out the players and would have told NC if his tactics weren't working
 
There is definitely a lack of controlled aggression in the team.

There has been a bit of uncontrolled though (husband and Robson to name two offenders in that department). Both would be policed by a hard man number two or a real footballing captain. It’s all a bit too nice nice reserve team/under 21ey for my liking.
 
AngelBFC said:
So who would have appointed Phil?
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I like Karl Robinson for this league

I also think people like Michael Flynn in league 2 has been doing a great job with little or no money

Barry - Murphy at Rochdale is another one who does a great job

Or have look at somebody like Andy Morrison who did a remarkable job winning his league
 
Phil_bfc deux said:
Correct i would have kept Grayson to let him build his squad, i think he deserved another 6 months or so

He didn't really have a proper summer transfer window did he?
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I imagine Grayson is sat there chuckling to himself that it ain’t quite so easy and it’s just desserts. I was surprised he didn’t get a bit longer but wasn’t unhappy to see him relieved of duty.
 
clappers said:
I imagine Grayson is sat there chuckling to himself that it ain’t quite so easy and it’s just desserts. I was surprised he didn’t get a bit longer but wasn’t unhappy to see him relieved of duty.
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I'd have kept Terry McP and give me the rest of that season and seen what he could do. Sacking him one day, but not telling him whilst he was trying to make signings the next was not good.
 
SeasideKurt said:
No, you don't. You have to be creative and efficient with the ball you have. Rochdale did it to us at their place last year. Passed it around nicely but bar Henderson they had nothing.

We need to find a way of winning.
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That's spot on. We look exactly like they did. Great point that. The Crewe game in particular we were a mirror image of them.
 
TimperleyTangerine said:
That’s something I do with my u16 team. We have a parent with a clicker, counting shots and those on target. Other times we’ll focus on passes completed. We use the information to develop individuals and the team as a collective. It works.

Possession is generally pointless without positivity and an end product. I want to see the sort of football that NC surely wants to play, but he’s had plenty of time on the training pitch and in matches, and we are not progressing. I personally think he’s got enough talent in the squad to make that happen, but can he carry them with him?

Forgetting the individual players for a moment, I don’t see a cohesive unit.

I see gaps, gaping holes at times that the opposition can easily exploit.

I don’t see players knowing or understanding their role.

I don’t see every player winning their individual battles, particularly important when things aren’t going well and we have to grind out a result.

I don’t see a team that can provide cover when individual mistakes are made.

I see a team that is easy to play against, where our one main threat is marked out of the game. If you only give the opposition one player to worry about, you’ve got problems.

I see panic, from the coach, because he’s put aside all his coaching experience and brought in Madine, so we can just pump it long. No criticism of Madine, but if you play that way, you have to organise the team, the wide players and midfield, to get close to him. It’s embarrassing to see hopeful flick-ons, Sunday park stuff.

I want to give him a few more games, but he quickly needs to identify his best 11 and make sure they understand how he wants them to play.
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Pretty much spot on, all that 👍
 
TimperleyTangerine said:
That’s something I do with my u16 team. We have a parent with a clicker, counting shots and those on target. Other times we’ll focus on passes completed. We use the information to develop individuals and the team as a collective. It works.

Possession is generally pointless without positivity and an end product. I want to see the sort of football that NC surely wants to play, but he’s had plenty of time on the training pitch and in matches, and we are not progressing. I personally think he’s got enough talent in the squad to make that happen, but can he carry them with him?

Forgetting the individual players for a moment, I don’t see a cohesive unit.

I see gaps, gaping holes at times that the opposition can easily exploit.

I don’t see players knowing or understanding their role.

I don’t see every player winning their individual battles, particularly important when things aren’t going well and we have to grind out a result.

I don’t see a team that can provide cover when individual mistakes are made.

I see a team that is easy to play against, where our one main threat is marked out of the game. If you only give the opposition one player to worry about, you’ve got problems.

I see panic, from the coach, because he’s put aside all his coaching experience and brought in Madine, so we can just pump it long. No criticism of Madine, but if you play that way, you have to organise the team, the wide players and midfield, to get close to him. It’s embarrassing to see hopeful flick-ons, Sunday park stuff.

I want to give him a few more games, but he quickly needs to identify his best 11 and make sure they understand how he wants them to play.
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Some great points in this post and in my opinion it will take a change of formation to address those points. As I said in another thread if he sticks stubbornly to the formation that isnt working and gets beaten again he is in real trouble. We are NOT learning from mistakes.
 
TANGERINETOWERPOWER said:
Some great points in this post and in my opinion it will take a change of formation to address those points. As I said in another thread if he sticks stubbornly to the formation that isnt working and gets beaten again he is in real trouble. We are NOT learning from mistakes.
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Yep i agree mate

We aren't changing anything just the personal

I would go 4231

Kaikai in the hole behind Madine

CJ on the left, Woodburn on the right (both swapping regularly)
 
Phil_bfc deux said:
Yep i agree mate

We aren't changing anything just the personal

I would go 4231

Kaikai in the hole behind Madine

CJ on the left, Woodburn on the right (both swapping regularly)
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The point is he simply has to change something...your team is much more balanced than what he has offered up recently. I am pretty sure he wont play Kai Kai from the off as he is coming back from a long lay off but it may work long term.

Personally I would go with Viking (Thorniley if hes not grassed up yet) Ballard and Marv at the back to stem the flow of goals against (a clean sheet would be a start)and build from there. I would go Mitchell and Gabriel coming forward though Garbutt Husband and Turton will all be pressing for those positions which is good. I would stick with Williams for now but hope he is improved with Dougall eventually. Robson must play and take your pick with Ward Keshi Antwi Virtue or even Sarkic in the 3 for now. Woodburn on the left and Hamilton and Madine more central. That leaves Yates Sarkic Kai Kai Kemp and Lubala all fighting it out to get in.

Its a mess but it needs stabilising. He really needs to change something.
 
TANGERINETOWERPOWER said:
The point is he simply has to change something...your team is much more balanced than what he has offered up recently. I am pretty sure he wont play Kai Kai from the off as he is coming back from a long lay off but it may work long term.

Personally I would go with Viking (Thorniley if hes not grassed up yet) Ballard and Marv at the back to stem the flow of goals against (a clean sheet would be a start)and build from there. I would go Mitchell and Gabriel coming forward though Garbutt Husband and Turton will all be pressing for those positions which is good. I would stick with Williams for now but hope he is improved with Dougall eventually. Robson must play and take your pick with Ward Keshi Antwi Virtue or even Sarkic in the 3 for now. Woodburn on the left and Hamilton and Madine more central. That leaves Yates Sarkic Kai Kai Kemp and Lubala all fighting it out to get in.

Its a mess but it needs stabilising. He really needs to change something.
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Yeah I think he's showing a bit of arrogance not changing the system

Its not working, its clear for all to see
 
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