Hughes SACKED

You're absolutley right on the latter point about the potential for the atmosphere to become unbearably toxic should we go behind. Given the current poor form and the general rubbish - with the exception being last season - the fans have had to put up with, then expressing our frustration and disappointment as fans is our right.

My frustration with the club therefoee was the opportunity they missed to come out and communicate with fans and acknowledge and accept our disapproval, but be absolutely clear on their position with Mark Hughes.

If it were me I would have accepted the upset from fans, the club needs to take it squarely on the chin, but reassured them that the club, manager and players are determined to put it right. We would therefore be supporting Mark and team through the tough patch with a determination to turning the form completely around. Essentially, it is our (the clubs) mission to put smiles back on everyone's faces and turn the jeers to cheers.

That kind of messaging, would have had to be carefuly timed - clearly left it too late to have done this say after Tranmere - but at least provided clarity to everyone on where the club stood on Hughes. Although it wouldn't have killed the unrest in its entirety, I'm sure it would have bought more time before the real toxicity set in.

Still, it's too late now and we move on.

 

Just my opinion of course but what I would currently do in January.

Lewis - keep, hopefully form improves, if not go back to Barnsley cap in hand or bring in a decent challenger for his shirt.
Doyle - keep as coach but a solid back up required.
Richardson - 3rd keeper and loan out if another comes in.

Halliday - keep
Oyegoke - send back if doesn't improve and get Halliday competition
Rowe - keep around squad for emergencies
Richards - keep
Ridehalgh - listen to offers

Stubbs - keep
Platt - listen to offers
Tomkinson - no idea, jury out
Kelly - ok as back up
Taylor - get rid
Odusina - recall as back up or get rid

Gilliead - keep and use as utility man until next summer
McDonald - keep
Smallwood - maybe we will see the Smallwood we expected, if not listen to offers
Pattison - keep
East - keep out on loan or recall and get rid
Osadebe - get rid
Walker - keep
Pointon - keep
Oduor - keep
Wilson - keep or loan out if not playing
Chapman - keep

Cook - keep
Young - call back
Tulloch - jury out, send back if not playing/improved
Oliver - listen to offers/loan if have too
Afoka - terminate
Derbyshire - pay off and release
Youmbi - keep as back up

 

Meredith? He was a left back and also a terrible crosser of a ball.

 

It doesn’t need to be 4-4-2 but if we are playing Cook as a lone striker we need crosses into the box and he will score just like at Newport and Tranmere.

 

I'm not overly sure about that Dennis. To me it looked like Hughes brought players in that didn't suit hire he wanted to play anyway. Matty Platt being a prime example.

I think the squad is suited to a more direct style and we've enough in there to switch it up, short term at least.

 

Meredith was a great player for us but could cross a ball to save his life

 

yep, if that lad knew how to cross a ball he would have played championship longer maybe even premier league

 

He might even have gone to a World Cup.

 

Correct he was a left back, but he often ran down the wing and crossed it. No fear from him, he wanted to cross it. He wasn’t always successful, but I liked his style of play, and his ability to get past the opposition. What we wouldn’t give for one just like him today.

 

Of all the managers we have had recently, Hughes was the one that I really wanted to become a legend, and had high hopes of him doing so. On that front I feel quite sad that he has failed and believe that he has let himself down with his inflexibility.

Up until the second leg of the play off I had high hopes that he could take us somewhere, honestly believing we could get a draw at Carlisle to the extent that I booked hotels in London.

What did it for me with him was that substitution taking off Banks so soon after we had got back into the game. At that point Carlisle should have been run at and made to panic. Get a second and they wouldn't have recovered, but he messed up.

Since then, the recruitment this summer, Pattison excepted and Cook signing a new contract, left me totally cold and I think the Harrogate game was the real turning point. I can take the point v Grimsby as they are a tough team when they up their game, but Harrogate were on such a poor run that they were there to be taken. Win that and I believe we would have beaten both Walsall and Tranmere and would be sat second in the league.

He has only himself to blame.

Onwards & upwards. With a few tweaks in January (reduce the squad size and improve central defence, central midfield and get Oliver firing) we have a squad that can challenge. The great thing is that the top of league two is so tight, at this point last year the top two were a few points better off so we aren't totally out of touch.

 

Yeh recruitment is a mixed bag. I am still hopeful of a few as early days.

Taylor - looks shite
Afoka - looks shite
Oyegoke - looks shite/average/ok
Tomkinson - no opinion
McDonald - slow start but hopeful
Tulloch - hopeful as early days
Wilson - hopeful as early days
Richards - showed glimpses/ok
Oduor - showed glimpses/ok
Pattison - decent

 

He did - in 2018. Didnt see the grass though.

 

I know, It was my attempt at a bit of humour.
He wasn't a bad player considering he couldn't cross a ball.

 

Out of your list, only Pattison in my opinion meets the correct level of what we needed to improve the team from last season.
All the others are a downgrade and whoever is responsible for scouting / bringing those players to the club should be fired immediately because I doubt it was Hughes off his own bat that brought them here.

 

Pattison is a good recruit and if we had recruited a suitable replacement for Critchlow & Banks, decent back up for Cook, competition for Lewis and a new left back, then I think our recruitment would have improved the squad. Quality over quantity.

Instead we got a total scatter gun approach, trying to fix bits of the team that weren't the slightest bit broken.

 

Richards looks an improvement imo and I think he'll also keep getting better with more experience.

 

At this stage last season we were probably saying the same about Wright and Banks tbf. I dont remember either pulling up trees at the start, Wright got better and in Nov/Dec was superb. Banks didn't really kick on until the last 3rd of the season!

Plenty of time for Tulloch, Richards and Wilson to show exactly how good they are. I wouldnt say any are a disaster at this stage.

 

Richards has looked v. good IMO. He could nail the LB position over then next few seasons.

 

Maybe…he’s probably an upgrade on Ridehalgh to be fair but only as a full back not a wing back