Most liked posts in thread: McCall IN/OUT (with new Poll)

Our worry when McCall came back was his achilles heel of constantly worrying about the opposition thus tinkering with team formation and he hasn't let us down in that respect. Parkys success was built on a system and players brought in to fit that. It might not have been pretty but it was effective.

 

After hearing his post match interview I'm not sure he can, twice now he has commented we lost the game because of his planning, I'm with you keep it simple they are league two players play the same system as and when possible picking the players he thinks are best for the system/formation.

I will support our manager no matter who that may be but Bolton is a big game another defeat with an inept performance and questions have to be asked.

I believe most can accept a defeat it's the way we've lost that has to be questioned.

 

No thanks

 

I wish I could share your optimism.

 

Really?

Reconsider: we've reduced the wage bill by inadequately replacing Vaughan and Doyle, the window is shut so no fears there, Bowyer is unpopular and we've got season tickets to sell - arise Sir Stuart.

That doesn't remotely smack of a Rhodes decision to you?

 

In the immediate term, I've lost interest in our games/results. Simply because I see how bad we are and it can't be fixed through a couple of players coming back from injury or even a quick change of manager.

The only thing that consumes my thoughts now is: who's replacing Rhodes and how seriously will he or she be backed to rebuild this club? Its a huge job and it needs someone with real skill, ambition and capability. Get it right, provide the backing and we could rebuild impressively. But the time is now. We can't get it wrong. I'm hanging by a thread in terms of the trust, confidence and interest I now have in the club. I think I'm far from alone. If we go with Sparks; we'll be done. And so will I. It would genuinely be the final straw in respect of my support of this club. I see it the next few weeks as that profound. Arguably the most important in this clubs history.

 

I'd say the standard of league 2 is worse now than it was then due to various reasons. The one big positive we have at the moment is a few young players who look like they could develop to a better level than they are currently at. Watt has potential to be a championship player, i saw it in Cullen, Burke and O'Brien and this lad has it. I'd say he has the potential to play further forward as well. Wood also could hold a place in league 1 and we have the likes of Staunton, Sutton and French who have also shown glimpses of promises. That said, the rest of the sqaud still suffers from years of a poor transfer policy and one win over poor opposition doesn't suddenly change that.

 

Whenever hes been talked about for the job there's lots of people who are always keen to tell us how good he is, how much heart his teams show, how good the football is that he plays.

Please lets never hear that garbage again and I don't really care that he once finished 6 points ahead of Inverness.

 

The McCall out calls are clearly ridiculous, in such a situation whoever is in charge needs to be given at least until the end of next season. Chopping and changing in the current climate just makes no sense whatsoever and now is a time more than ever before for stability.

I can also agree with the "equal to or better" no problem but that wasn't the posters original point. I also believe, like you, we'll be competitive and if we can somehow find a striker and a decent wide player I think we've got the makings of a realistic promotion push.

 

it seems the biggest thing that has been forgotten by the club and management staff is that there's never been a better chance to get out of league two than this season..

clubs (unfortunately) going to the wall, lack of investment by many, no stand out team who you think will run away with it like in previous seasons. with a little more forthright and planning we could have had a real good go of it this season; the off-season was the longest in post war history and gave us ample time to get our house in order.. but it seems like as soon as last season was halted, this season was given up on too (pretty much confirmed in Rhodes' interview last week). good clubs are ruthless and pounce when others are weaker - we just accepted a season of nothing.

 

I voted no. This is a treading water season for me. We wont go down or be involved in a relegation battle, nor do I think will we be troubling the play offs.

I believe McCall is out of contract next summer, along with quite a lot of the players.

I think a new CEO will come in and assess everything on and off the pitch, and unless McCall has managed to get us promoted, will install a new manager in the summer.

I just do not see the point in sacking him this season, unless we do hover dangerously near the drop zone

 

I admire the way your passion and loyalty always shines through Nick. However, I have to pick you up on one of your points that we are a good team. We really are not Nick. The squad looks woefully inadequate and the summer has been poor in terms of addressing our options up front, in fact we have weakened that area even more by allowing Vaughan to leave and replacing him with a young kid from Wolves who so far looks out of his depth.

We have not addressed the chronic lack of wide attacking options, nor have we brought in the midfield enforcer that most fans identified as a must, leaving us too weak in that area.

We will see whether McCall can improve matters in the coming weeks, but put me down as one of the pessimists on that score.

Back to passion and loyalty, we are all passionate and loyal to this football club, but some of us have different opinions on our prospects with the current set up

 

It was another abject display, but it was also predictable. Stuart and several players have been speaking in the media this week, citing the need for ‘consistency’. Consistency isn’t a problem - it’s quality that’s the issue. Our performances have been consistently poor since the season kicked off. We continue to give away cheap goals, we defend and attack set pieces poorly, the same lack of bite in midfield pervades, we lack in pace and we lack in creativity and quality up front. It’s the same every game.

The club clearly approached this season on the basis of survival; its disappointing, if not surprising that we limited our thinking to such an extent. But even so, the club needs to examine whether its assumption that enough has been done to build a ‘safe squad’, is valid. Because we look every inch a relegation side. Not just in terms of quality, but also in the lack of character and leadership on display, the lack of fight and the soft underbelly that means as soon as we go behind, things fall apart. We’re completely lacking in resilience.

 

Out of interest IF SM went who would get a tune out of this group of misfits? 352 442 any formation going would not improve the bang average quality of this squad. No creativity, poor defending, no leader, weak captain, need I go on. It's a recipe for disaster.
Any half decent side are beating us with relative ease. We are a soft touch and yesterday proved it. When they scored I did not see 1 player show any real emotion.
We are sleepwalking towards oblivion.

Whoever the new CEO is they MUST be brought in ASAP.

JR needs to move aside and let the new CEO set out a plan moving forwards. Right now there is only 1 way I can see the team going.
Christ its bad enough with having a lockdown but to witness a display like that , even with 10 men, is hard to stomach.
Where has my Bradford City gone?

 

So, they're only making plans for Nigel?

 

This is the unfortunate truth about McCall as a manager, the three good seasons he has had were on the back of inheriting decent teams, and maybe more importantly good cultures, when taking over from Craig Brown at Motherwell and Parkinson at City, neither who had been sacked and were "poached" by other clubs because of that good work.

I'm not one for chopping a changing managers, but there is no point sticking with a manager who does not have the required qualities, and McCall does not have them for the situation we are in. You've got to have a good eye for recruitment and contacts to open doors, unfortunately his recruitment is lazy and unimaginative. You have to be able to develop players individually, the only example that ever gets quoted for him here is Mark Marshall - one player in years, and to be honest his improvement was probably just as much because we played a more suitable style than anything else - he still left on a free at the end of that season. Most importantly of all you have to have the right character and culture, as I said above McCall has done OK when he has inherited that, but he's never been able to instil it - he and his teams have a track record of folding like a pack of cards when the chips are down.

There's no point making a change with a new CEO allegedly on the way, and that's another reason why the CEO appointment is so important, but it fills me with dread that Rhodes has been responsible for it. Baldwin and Mason both did well at City working with/under Rhodes - but I believe they both approached the club rather than the other way round? The only other people brought in on Rhodes' watch for this kind of role were Peter Etherington and Archie Christie, both of which were shambolic.

 

When Jamie Raynor first asked him what he would do to turn this around, McCall very defensively batted the question back to Jamie and asked him what he would do, fair play to Jamie he asked him again and didnt get drawn in.

Sorry, but that sums McCall up at the moment, he genuinely doesn't know what to do, does he.

 

I really fail to see the point at this stage of the season.