Salford City Tickets [SOLD OUT] + Match Thread

The thing is you can’t motivate bad attitude players. The only hope you have is to try and motivate the ok players into a performance and hope that it is enough. As I have already said McCall was brought in after the window had shut due to the Board giving up on this season. His job is to sort the wheat from the chaf, and in my view there is a damn sight more chaf than wheat that is for sure!

 

Errrr. Try closing the guy down and attempting to block the shot? Yes he hit it sweetly, but where were the challenges? Where was the desire the block the shot? To say there wasn’t a a lot we could do about it, is a whole new level of rose-tints, even by your standards

 

I have an agenda wherever I see poor appointments and McCall absolutely fits that description.

I didn’t see anyone being accused of having an ‘agenda’ against Bowyer even though from day one many on here were lambasting the appointment. It is an agenda because it is McCall..

I don’t know the man, I have never met him other than speaking engagements and at the ground. He is probably a very nice fellow.

But as manager of Bradford City I could care less about that and I could care even less about his playing career. The focus is on his managerial chops and if we can be honest with ourselves the only club that would remotely consider appointing him and Black is Bradford City.

His time is done. If he really was going to make it as a manager it would have happened by now. He needs to join that long list of ex-players who tried management but are now appearing on Sports Saturday as ‘pundits’. Given his profile, particularly in Scotland, I wouldn’t doubt there would be plenty of offers.

 

In fairness, bowyer could have had a choice of vaughan, doyle or donaldson upfront whereas mccall was left with guthrie and novak, was that deadline day a big fcuk you from bowyer as he knew he was gone? I guess we will never know.

Is there a rift between mccall and donaldson, is he playing only half fit, as stuart has used him sparringly since taking over.

I dont get that selection yesterday, he was lauded for the one against plymouth, using CD as a battering ram with novak in behind and the wingers playing off. He should simply have gone with that again, he took the pressure straight off of salford with the one up top approach.

The fascination of getting devitt/mccarten into the side is beyond me, both are shite anyway, but persisting with trying even though its clear the midfield three cant accomodate a non performing number 10 is staggering.

A startling lack of effort in the middle, i keep going back to it, but since reeves returned to the team in december this side has gone backwards (occasionally sidewards). The results speak for themselves, Pre and post then. We all slagged, the anderson, devine, akpan, cooke combinations but they were get the job done however poor the performance. Bowyer was sacked as despite the results prior january his football was shit now both the results and football are shit.

 

It was actually worse. His first was a simple pass from Gibson and he took a couple of touches and let fly. He second was another pass from Gibson, but in our own half. He was allowed to run more than 55m unchallenged before scoring.

Both goals were good from Hunter’s perspective, but why do we never tackle or attempt to close down?

 

I was derided for this comment I made months ago but Bowyer was lucky to be in the playoffs, performances under him clearly did not warrant it. In his defence. He had inherited the worst squad of players I can remember, most on vastly inflated wages by a previous regime of the clueless Rahic and Abbott. But giving contracts to the likes of Anderson and Devine, then filling the squad with anything others didn't want was the beginning of the end for him. It's a similar situation to McCalls final season where we were actually in the playoffs when he was sacked yet that team was never a playoff contender in a million years, just as BowyerS team wasn't. I hate to be proved right but I usually am, while others on here were clinging to the comfort blanket of being in the playoffs, I knew full well this team would end up out of them just like I did under McCall.

Bowyer left the mess he inherited in pretty much the same way, McCall or anyone coming in could not in any way change that in such a short period of time. The problems are too ingrained.
After yesterday's game I questioned McCalls decision to drop Donaldson to the bench, as it stands if he is fit he has to play and I'd expect any manager to know that. The team isn't capable of basic pass and move, you can't teach this to limited skilset players. And as such, your only target man has to play.

Wether McCall is the right term employment remains to be seen, I remain sceptical due to his known deficiencies when the going gets tough. But anyone who has an ounce of football 'acumen' will know this club is still on the way down. No manager will reverse that in the short term, the damage of Rahic's tenure still playing a deciding role in the clubs decision making.

There's far more to turn around at this club than just a managerial appointment.

 

Is @Onside87 also known as Mark Wright??? Seems to have more defending in him than our whole back line

 

You may actually be right but you need to base it on next season if he is still here. Forget this season, the damage was already done before McCall got here. I'll repeat, no manager could turn this sinking ship around in 15 or so game.

 

Thats is one of the key things that cant be forgotten Rogered and I totally agree - this team was scraping results playing the type of football almost everyone on this board did NOT want to have to watch. The team was weakened further still in January (before SMc came in) so lets just be realistic. SMc is not the messiah and he has many challenges ahead but the real problems at our club are now so deep rooted it is going to take a massive change of heart from Rupp as to what he is prepared to put into the club or a new owner, a new CEO with dynamic leadership qualities, a pitch and training facilities that will actually help in attracting the type of footballers we all want at the club etc etc. I said last week I am pleased Stuart is calling the existing players out for what they are (cant be bothered to list their lack of various qualities yet again) - bringing for eg Nathan Jones (as some called for) into this scenario is not going to make a blind bit of difference until the whole philosophy at the club is transformed - and this is a massive ask

 

Bowyer got stick because he built this mess of a squad. He signed the majority of the under-performing players. Also, can I remind you that McCall has won 2 of his 6 games in charge of this god awful squad, collecting 7pts. Bowyer, with better resources available won 0 from his last 6 games, collecting just 3pts. As bad as our away record is, McCall has still managed to get 233% better return than Bowyer.

I know Fordy didn’t give Bowyer a chance and felt he should have been replaced at the end of last season. But the rest of us wanted to see if he could build a team. He did and it was very poor. McCall now deserves the same opportunity to offload as many as he can and rebuild this worthless squad

 

That's pretty much it. Anyone questioning McCalls appointment at this moment clearly have an agenda that clouds their judgement. I questioned his team selection yesterday, but I aint daft to know that in truth it would have made little difference to the outcome.

The time for questioning McCalls credentials is next season if he's still here.

 

Absolute rubbish. He was appointed because he got within a glove of getting us promoted in his last spell before Rahic made the job intolerable.

 

Spot on

 

"If he's still here" love it
And knowing our club definitely a possiblity.

 

This is bang on the money

 

Can you back this claim up? You suggest McCall was brought back for one reason only. How do you know this? Why is it not possible that Rhodes/Rupp saw what McCall was capable of with his own squad and wanted to give him another chance now that Rahic isn’t here to undermine him?

As for McCall‘s record since replacing Bowyer, I think you’ll find its 233% better. McCall has 7pts from 6 games as opposed to Bowyer’s 3 in his 6.

 

Can't disagree with any of that, i didn't want to come across as McCall apologist, he has frailties in his management and his appointment showed up the CEO for what he really is. I just think anyone expecting any manager to change the fundamental problems of this club in half a dozen games is delusional.

 

The appointment was done because it was the easiest option, no homework or interviews needed to be done, I'll bet Rhodes has McCalls number on speed dial. For the long term future the club should have looked at various candidates aimed at a long term vision but that would have taken work and effort, something it seems the club were reticent/couldn't be bothered to do.

 

Talking to other fans yesterday those were very much the replies most came out with, if Bowyer was on dodgy ground with regards our recent form and performances during his last 7/8 games, why didn't the powers that be sack him and bring McCall in and give him the transfer window, it did not make sense, yes McCall was always going to give many ( yes I include myself) the feel good factor with regards the prodigal son's return and of course hopefully generate more season ticket sales, but that IMO had to go in conjuction with resonable results and performances on the pitch, unfortunatly as fans we haven't see either.