Match Thread Away v Harrogate Sat 5 Feb @ 1.00pm

Yeah I suspect he’s always carried a bit of timber but over Christmas in one of the shots he looked particularly plump. We need Elliott to step up now but even he was subbed for a rest yesterday!

 

This is a massive dilemma for Sparks and one where I think he'll give Adams until at least the end of the season. If results continue as they are, will he allow Adams to bring in a while host of new players on contracts only to sack him in the autumn. Or will he allow a new man to come in with a relatively clean slate to work from?

 

I thought Elliot did well, especially his flick ons. Delfonso on the other hand looked way off the pace. Despite him barking orders and telling others where he wanted the ball, he got caught in possession quite a few times. Robbo had more energy when he came on than Delf.

 

Presuming we dish out a load of 2 year deals, get it wrong in the summer and we're stuffed for a couple of seasons.
The recruitment this summer has got to be spot on. We're going to need 17 new players.

 

Do it now. Write this season off and give the new manager time to settle in and know the club and players he wants to shift on. If Sparks did this, it would give him some credibility.

 

Lots of sense in here. However, just don't agree about previous records though. Of course his record elsewhere is relevant and indicative of his likely longer term record here. You don't become that ineffective overnight and the level we are talking about is not that different to his previous clubs.

The results will regress to his mean given time.

Agree he just doesn't do himself any favours in public and that could well be his downfall.

I really do fear we might spiral further if we rely on Sparks to recruit again from a pool of managers who will be looking at us and thinking no thankyou I'd rather be in a job for longer than 9 months.

 

You were the one who asked about potential investors not me Kev, I was simply answering your question. You never answered my comments regarding how many people would you consider a great loss btw, simply changed the subject which I obliged and answered you.

 

We CAN afford to sack Adams but we CANNOT afford to keep him

Sparks made the Rookie mistake of not advertising the position regarding on his own or others judgement only which was a real mistake only a learner would make

 

Cook did have a hernia op back in December i think,
so i doubt he can hit the weights/strength and conditioning hard at this moment (unless he wants to spend more time on the sidelines).

Without him the poverty of City's ambitions lie bare, non-goalscoring forwards and an armada of number 10's who cannot find the back of the net.

Not that i am Cook's greatest fan, he scores some and misses plenty but pretty much what you expect at this level.

 

Make no mistake he has a vice like grip on Mr Sparks I wouldn't be surprised if he told him to "disappear" from social media either Mr Sparks has no option but to get rid we need a clear out from the top Mr Rupp ain't going to sell for what he wants with the team in the bottom half of league 2 so it's got to start somewhere and that is by presenting a team on the up
Mr Adams isn't capable of turning the team around never mind the club
The clock is ticking with regards restoring the fans faith in the club and there is little doubt season ticket sales will suffer
Can anyone remember if Mr Adams has ever said how he is going to get the team playing as a balanced unit has he ever said he recognises the problems and has a plan to rectify them he has failed in the January window we are weaker in the 2 most important positions strikers and center backs if that's the best his scouts can do then they need to go with him
We need to start somewhere and getting rid of Mr Adams is the only place to begin
If we were as promised top 3 (failure not an option/mediocrity not acceptable) would there really be all this focus on Mr Rupp and Mr Sparks
He has to go sooner rather than later

 

I didn’t answer because I don’t have an hypothetical answer. If you are worried about crowd size. Harrogate pulled I just over TWO THOUSAND home fans yesterday in a local derby. The crowd size doesn’t do a lot for me Wilsden. Harrogate near the top , “ playing well” pulling in 2k , playing BCAFC with 14k season tickets with players blowing out of their arse!

See what I mean, one doesn’t follow the other and they certainly do not go hand in hand. Results matter, cheap season ticket sale numbers ?

 

No he requires shipping out. No pace, and immobile tbh.

We now need to be harsh for sure ?

 

I don’t know much about Harrogates financial state, but imagine their owner subsidises the club where as ours doesn’t so a reduction in season tickets means a reduction in budget. Other clubs are irrelevant unless they have a sustainable budget as us.

 

Agreed

 

Sparks needs to get rid, bring in a DoF and let him run the recruitment process.

 

Sorry you are missing the point I believe.

Is crowd size relevant to the manager/ team performance?

 

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/sep/03/father-and-son-irving-weaver-simon-weaver-harrogate-efl-journey

Property Magnate worth £145 million, Rupp £130m

Accuracy needs confirming , but I think Rupp is much higher tbh.

 

No it isn’t as many teams who more or less play in villages yet I’ve over taken us have proven, a well run club will get you much further than how many you get through the door. But them clubs, Fleetwood as an example are subsidised by their owner. We aren’t therefore, ticket sales are important to us. Unless Rupp changes tac and opens his cheque book, which was my original point. I’m not sure what I’ve missed? Are you saying losing season ticket sales doesn’t matter? I think Sparks, Rupp and many on here would disagree.

 

Informative, although I was wondering if their owner subsidised their budget not his net worth. Rupp could be a billionaire but it’s irrelevant to us as he doesn’t put a penny in.

 

I’d also add that I don’t recall Adams referring to the collective ‘we’ as in fans, players, coaches, admin all pulling together to get the club moving. It’s always been him and his past successes and Bradford. Might be a small point but he’s fractured the very thing Sparks has been trying to rectify since he took over. A feeling of our club all rowing in the same direction. It’s broken again and I don’t know if he’s got the experience to do it a second time.

I do feel for Sparks, either way he doesn’t come out of this very well unless Adams comes good.