Expectations of McCall this season?

With the way we're playing atm it will be a fluke to get in. that's all I'm basing it on. If we turn a corner and put in better performances and get better results then fair enough. But at the minute yes.

 

Did you think we flunked last nights result ?.

 

I think we were lucky to still be in the game at half time. We then came out and improved against an extremely poor team. However if we play like that for the rest of the season we won't be getting into the playoffs and if we did it would mean a massive dip in form of the other teams in and around us.

 

Go to the Wedding and watch the game live on tv keep all happy.

 

Can't stand watching us on telly. I'm too anxious and need to vent when I'm at the game. I would love to see Stuart lift the playoff trophy would be gutted to miss it as he deserved it last time with the team he put together and the job he did. Literally go to 80% of the games and would be a real kick in the nuts to miss this one if we got there.

 

If you cannot accommodate both events due to timing,and as far as I know kick off at Wembley will be 3 O’ clock. Then I would attend your sisters wedding, those type events don’t come round all the time.

 

Neither does a playoff win at Wembley.

 

I thought the game was the week after as all 3 are normally played over the same weekend so didn't even realise it was the week before. No point worrying about it now. Let's wait until May.

 

not read the whole thread back through but from the title of the thread I'll give it a whirl.

I don't think McCall is a poor manager, but I think he is a better coach than a manager. I think his history shows, even taking the rahic era out of his record, that once he starts to get into a decline with a team he often struggles to turn that around but hopefully he had learnt from those experiences in the past.

I do think that this appointment has been a bit of an appeasement appointment to take a bit of pressure off the board and it was an easy decision to make. I think the board should of at least allowed other managers to at least apply for the role and put their vision forward - from a business perspective then it was the right decision, from a footballing perspective.. well, time will tell on that front. the 'feelgood factor' will only last so long. take last night for example, yes we were dire in the first half, truly awful but people were booing at half time and the old frustrations came back very, very quickly.

he has a tough job on his hands.. to truly meet and excel expectations he needs to change the style of football quickly from what we've seen lately whilst also getting positive results and moving the club up the league(s). something not easy to do. with almost 1/3rd of the season left we can't just right this season off, play-offs and promotion should still be the aim but if not this season then he comes under even more pressure next season when he will have had a full summer to plan, build a squad he wants and be in control of all transfers in and out 10O%.

will he get some leeway from supporters? of course he will, simply due to who he is and his history with the club.should he? not really, he should be judged on this spell as history doesn't really effect the now but whatever happens during this era at the time, there can't be any excuses made for him this time.

 

I think the difficulty here @How is that nobody else was even allowed to apply for the job and put their vision forward.

McCall and Rhodes have both said that the club wanted him to start Thursday AM. we sacked Bowyer Monday AM - we could have put out a press release that we wanted an appointment quickly and those interested must apply within 24 hours. Tues PM we shortlist 3-4, interview Weds and new manager starts Thursday AM as the club wanted.

a quick turn around yes but the way the club did it meant they didn't even have to make a decision. who knows if managers with a better track record; Jones, Tisdale or even Warnock wanted the job when the club didn't even give them a chance.

 

I did mention these stats the other day; Bowyer actually has a better loss ratio than both of them. if you took all three's win, loss and draw ratio and looked at it over a 46 game season they would all average 64 points. they'd just go about it in different ways.

 

We play most of the top and form teams in the run-in, so even reaching the playoffs is a big ask. If we do, then we may have a chance because we have such a big squad and so many players who have really only played a half-season or less. Personally, I think that the main aim is to build a better side for next season.

 

Disagree, there is an assumption here that Stevenage are far worse than other League Two sides but that's simply not the case.

All the teams have looked pretty poor this season, and there isn't a lot to choose among them.

Let's face it, no team in League Two is going to come to VP and put the game to bed in 45 minutes. Those sides don't exist.

 

Bowyers loss record being good doesn't surprise me. He had a very short bad patch relatively speaking.

But what is the guys draw percentage? Because it's playing for draws and defending against poor sides that cost him his job - not defeats.

 

Agree 100%

 

We needed a quick appointment and a pick me up type one too. It’s worked for me so far. More goals and 4 points which could quite easily have been 6 from 2 games. Still well within reach of play offs and now the real test begins with away games and Plymouth to come.

 

Arguments about different stats to demonstrate their various points of view is pointless in my view. We all want success for the club and no doubt we all have different ideas on how to get there.

Parky had his way of getting success, we all put up with his style of football because it was gaining results. Bowyer wasn’t successful for us and his style of play was just awful and you just cannot hope to defend your way out of this league.

Stuart comes for an enormous amount of stick for not getting us promoted but unlike the two above he was constrained by the owners. We can argue till the cows come home on that one. Those that disagree with his appointment at the expense of exploring other alternatives fail to recognise the importance of maintaining the fan base and increasing it if possible. Did they appoint Stuart on emotional grounds? Absolutely not! did they exploit the genuine fans emotion absolutely! For me it was a business decision. However, not entirely he did very well last time to get us to Wembley, yes we didn’t make the final hurdle but he is the only one has got us anywhere near.

I think those that throw criticism at him because of the fans emotional attachment to him are overlooking what he did achieve.

I am really pleased to see him back because I want to see what he can do with the full support of the board. However, that is not my only reason. I went to see a friendly against Guiseley on his return to City last time. It was just brilliant to watch a passing game of football which I hadn’t seen for a very long time by players in the claret and amber. Parky brought us success, and Stuart nearly did.

I really want to see him succeed and hopefully this season but he gets the following season for me as well. If we haven’t achieved success in that time, then we will change manager.

 

Agree. Went to the Burnley friendly pre-season after he had been in place for about 4 weeks. He had completely transformed the style of play in that period and we were out passing and out playing Burnley. The sight of Rory passing out from the back rather than going for the long diagonal will live long in the memory!!