McCall IN/OUT (with new Poll)

Stuart McCall might have 40 years experience in the game but I've got over 40 years of watching football at all levels. I know when an assembled squad of players are simply not good enough to mount a serious promotion challenge even this early in the season.

 

You know it all taxi drivers!

 

Those 15 year old kids who play on fifa too..

 

He can in the shape of draws

 

I can see flaws in McCalls approach. But we can't really call for his head; you sack managers when they fail to deliver to their target. Firstly, its very early in the season and secondly, we've no idea what target he was set by the club. For all the PR noises, its very possible that behind the scenes the intention was simply to survive this season, to keep costs low and prepare the club for more of a clearout and rebuild next summer. Rhodes even alludes to this in his recent interview. So in that sense, a midtable finish with a low cost base would be par for the course and no reason to remove him from the role. He's not really been backed to recruit a side that demonstrates any more ambition than that. Its not for a second where I want us to be or how I think we should have approached this season - but if that's his directive, you can't sack him for delivering to it.

 

Tranmere with the mighty irreplacable Vaughan
Bolton with the mighty irreplacable Doyle
Mansfield with the Excellent Maynard apparently

All below us and played a game more.
All playing badly as well.
Us on the other hand
So unlucky not to beat Forest Green
excellent at the weekend
Deserved to beat Stevenage
Unlucky at times last night but battled well
Excellent away at Bolton in the cup

Only 1 poor performance against Harrogate and a cup drubbing
That to me says we play well and look the better team 75% of the time.
Ive enjoyed watching us this season so far.
I can see we have a style of play and we work hard and create chances
I hated every game under Bowyer.
It was slow and turgid
some people have very short memories

 

Nowhere near McCall out levels, but he needs to stick to a style of play and quickly. Best thing about 2017 spell McCall was we had a brand of football and a formation that didn't really shift, bar the game against Sheff U away when he played Dieng over an attacker and we looked hopeless.

So far this season we've played 532, 442, 433 and a diamond. Started playing it on the deck for a few, then resorted to a long ball game. Back to playing it on the deck for a couple then last night back to the good old hoof ball. This team seems to lack an identity in it's play and the manager being consistently inconsistent with his lineups and tactic isn't helping matters.

 

Agree with so much of this - we have one or two players who on what we have seen from them so far are simply not up to it (not going to call out players but virtually everyone knows who they are) but we have not had a bad start to the season and there are signs of some decent football to come.
Have to raise it again though - what a massive disappointment that after all the time we took, the striker we brought in to improve our options was not even deemed viable to come of the bench and give us something a little different, let alone start the game

 

I agree. If he was any good he would have been on with 20 left last night.
Can we send him back??

 

I do think we have to lower our expectations, this season is about being in the league come next season, some wont be so lucky

 

Well no.

The government has said no club will go under and the PL have issued supported.

The key aim for the club has to be getting out into league 1 for next season.

 

Lower our expectations

 

No idea what Vaughan, Doyle and Maynard have to do with how we're performing but we've won 3 games out of 10, and just 2 out of 6 in the league. That's not screaming to me that we're the better side 75% of the time.

 

Have to say I agree with Fordy on this one - if you lower your expectations (even in difficult times) then you potentially become less driven, motivated and there is the danger a '2nd best will suffice' attitude prevails. We still have to aim as high as we can, whatever the circumstances

 

Where did HMG say no football club will go under Fordy? I missed that announcement.

 

“No EFL club will go bust,” Dowden said. “I have received reassurances that that will not be allowed to happen

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news/project-big-picture-premier-league-efl-clubs-go-bust-government-oliver-dowden-b1035915.html

 

Ah well, if the Government has said it, it must be true. They've been spot on with everything about COVID so far.

 

I wouldn't believe this government but I don't want to give Bradford City any excuses either.

 

The sooner we get our football branding (?!) sorted the sooner we can get back to our 'people have worked us out' and 'where's our plan B' threads. We've missed them.

 

But that’s not the Government saying no clubs will go bust, that’s Dowden saying he’s been told no clubs would bust.