Salford City Tickets [SOLD OUT] + Match Thread

Good post.Your train of thought is probably echoed by lots of our supporters and your words ring true whilst typing my response.

 

Kurtis Guthrie... signed to replace James Vaughan and Eoin Doyle in a team with alleged aspirations of promotion. No further questions your honour....

 

Seriously I think they should all go. Maybe Wood, but I doubt he wants to stay and maybe we will get good offers for him. We have seen over the last 3 seasons keeping players because we have no choice due to contracts; this has had a negative impact on the squad despite new players arriving. It is going to take strong characters at the club to do this, not to mention the financial clout to make sure that McCall can assemble a quality small squad.

 

In that case, mail him back and ask him if hes in any danger of selling up and letting a new owner with real ambition and interest in moving the club forward come in!!!!

 

We can operate a small squad but like you say it requires quality.
For me the absence of a true leader out on that field this season needs to be addressed this summer.
An old head with an abundance of leadership qualities.
Someone who can roll up their sleeves and get stuck in when the going gets tough a player similar to a Gary Jones or Malcolm Shotton.

 

Hopefully but in the past we haven't been exactly blessed with people willing to put money into the club. My guess is that we will end up with someone buying the club and running it along the lines of 'just getting by'. Same old budget, same old pitch.

 

Agree. The lack of drive in this team has been evident many times in recent times. Yesterday. Oldham. Mansfield. Chucking away leading positions. I honestly think that last season still weighs heavily. Many players changed but several remain. Coupled with signings that don’t make a difference in this team that can battle first in order to earn the right to play second.
I see AOC complaining at Novak when Novak points to a ball over the top into space AOC plays it low into feet where Novak was before he made the run he was pointing to. Disjointed and lack of ownership. It’s a someone elses fault culture. Rather than I will show them.

We’re fragile. The last two seasons have lead to this. These players only had a certain amount of credit in the bank from how they started the season. As soon as it starts going wrong the antagonism that still exists towards the wrongs of Rahic tenure and last seasons team of chancers surfaces. Once the fans get on their backs this team folds. Same as last season. If the team put in performances full of fight and determination they would be forgiven a lot more for a lack of ability.
But This team demonstrates little fight and on pitch leadership. We can see it. Mellor yesterday. Started badly and didn’t improve. Looked relieved to be hooked. Major surgery required. McCall has inherited another mess and a change in mentality is as important as ever. I believe we had some ok footballers. But what were lacking are a mixture of battlers and players. Over my dead body characters. Gibson played whilst smoking a metaphorical cigar yesterday. Nobody rattled him. Simple break down of play and playing balls calmly into space. Alternatively in possession We were frantic. Unable to control the ball and continually going sideways and backwards just like under Bowyer.
To be fair Wood keep trying. The goal saving tackle on Rooney was well timed.
It’s make or break time. Time for Action on the pitch not words in the T&A.

 

With the greatest respect when has McCall shown the ability to completely pull apart a team and rebuild it?

When has he demonstrated that he is capable of taking a club on a downward spiral and turn them around?

He is 100% the wrong manager for that type of role.

We need a hard nosed, I don’t care who I upset manager who will get hold of the club and give it a good shake. Someone who couldn’t care less for what Bradford City is but is interested in what they become. Someone who will tell Rhodes and Rupp what he is going to do and if they don’t buy in then will walk not someone who asks if he can.

Unfortunately McCall is 100% not that man.

He is already making excuses, playing to his supporters, and heaping blame on the players no mention of himself as ultimately responsible. Which he is.

He knows he can get away with this because, for him, the honeymoon never ends.

 

The club has no leadership off the pitch whatsoever, no direction or modus operandi to what it does. The January transfer window testament to how badly run this club is. Signings like Novak and Guthrie. Sacking a manager just after the window. No proper procedure to the recruitment of a new manager. Our CEO doesn't want to be here, our owner doesn't really want to own us, the players couldn't care less. You'd think things might have changed since the last time were in this shitpool. They haven't. Still the same lack of ambition, just happy to have a team to support mentality. I'll be honest i'm sick to death of it.

 

McCall is the least of our worries. Look further above for where the real problems lie.

 

The fact that we haven’t won away from home since October and we’re still 4 points off the playoffs highlights just how bad this league is. But strangely, other clubs who are also on a poor run, seem to turn it around when playing against us. Bad players yes, but poor motivational skills from our manager is also to blame.
I didn’t think it could get worse than last season, but sadly it is.

 

There's some absolute dross in this league (us included obviously).
Never has a better opportunity been lost, than this season to get back up.

 

I agree that the problems are greater than just McCall but he is upfront and centre and he is responsible for the product out on the park. On that front, since he arrived, we have gone from challenging for a top 7 finish, but had hit a bit of a bump, to worrying about sliding to mid table.

His appointment has provided zero benefit to this club. Rhodes must be wondering what possessed him.

 

A reality check is needed here. Forget the league positions, I've seen nearly every game this season. That squad was never really challenging the top 7, it's no better than the rest of the teams below them. McCall does have weaknesses, his starting line up yesterday a point in case. But I'm pretty sure no manager would get this current squad in to the playoffs, most of them struggle to control a football. No manager can work with a squad that can't even do the basics.

 

Problem is we're part of the dross. A team that has been battered in games like yesterday, Oldham, Mansfield, beaten by a poor Newport side the other week. This is just recent results against teams woefully out of form. If we hadn't had a good start, I'd say this lot are bottom 4 material.

 

How do you feel about the second goal? Another very good strike?

Probably not a lot an opposition can do about quality play like that either?

 

And rightly Bowyer got sacked, just as Stuart McCall did when he had his "bit of a bump", but as we all now know Stuart's sacking was more to do with Rahic awaiting his first wobble/bump as an excuse to get rid, as he and Rupp didn't have the balls to sack Stuart during the closed season after our Wembley appearance.
After Saturdays win against Plymouth there was no need for wholesale changes, and that has to be down McCall I'm sure he had reasons but once again 1300+ travelling fans had to endure a gutless performance and that has got to be down to the players.

 

Don’t interrupt his anti McCAll agenda!

 

So what you are in fact saying is that Bowyer was a miracle worker in so much as he had this collection of players not only a fixture in the top 7 until Christmas but actually within touching distance of top spot for a good while.

What I have to assume from this is that Bowyers managerial and tactical acumen for that first part of the season allowed him to asses his players and put in place a formation and way if playing that made the most of what players and skill sets the have.

Like or dislike the style of play he had us in the promotion spots for half of the season.

How has McCall improved us? In my opinion we have seen zero improvement since his arrival in fact I would suggest we have gone backwards.