Your preferred manager

There is no chance that Rhodes will sack McCall just before he leaves, he knows he would make himself unpopular with most fans so why would he do it just before he goes. Conversely the new CEO especially if it’s Ryan Sparks will certainly not suggest sacking McCall as it would have loads of fans turning against him before he’d got his feet under the table. McCall will be here most of this season, he won’t quit because this is his last chance in football management. You’ve only got to look at the reaction from fans last two times that he left, McCall is still really popular with loads of supporters.

 

Unless his name is Martin Peters

 

Nothing, but not sure why that is relevant. I am not one of those defending McCall

 

There is nothing wrong with looking as if you have just come from the allotment...

 

Who the hell is this new CEO awaiting in the wings?
Sparks ain't no White Knight that's for sure.
We need a new direction with a tougher regime to take up the reigns.This person must exercise financial clout to take our rudderless club forward, halting this frustrating period in our history before the fanbase melts faster than ice cubes in a pint of magners.

 

I think we’re all going to be disappointed when the new CEO is announced

 

He will be the CEO working with the same owner with the same financial restraints

 

And this I agree with. The same constraints and framework.

The piece of the jigsaw that remains consistent is Rupp.

Rupp out

 

Well if that's the case we've been sold down the swanny well and truly by Rhodes.
Hope it doesn't happen.

 

Am not sure the stuart McCall fan club is as big as you think

 

You mean as big as I fear.

 

I've honestly found it tedious the amount of times we end up going down the wings.

I don't disagree about crosses from deeper positions from Wood and French, but while forwards aren't mobile, nor are they a big aerial threat.

Crosses have been pretty easy to deal with for most of the opposition defences in the games I've seen.

We generally don't mix up play enough. There is no threat on the opponent's goal from range. None whatsoever. There have been a couple of decent through balls or balls over the top, but again, like you say, we lack the pace for this to become a regular weapon. Long balls don't work, as none of our forwards are strong enough to contend with opposition centre backs. Guthrie wins the occasional flick on, but I've never seen it lead to anything. We can't hold it up, so backs to goal is ineffective.

Our midfield is probably the best part of our team, but when most of the time we're playing out from the back (very poorly), our midfield is dropping too deep (inside our own half), and then we're struggling to get out against a decent side. It has worked against sides that failed to pressure us properly, but Harrogate and Newport were having no issue dispossessing us in our own half time and time again - and it wasn't just defenders giving the ball away frequently, it was our midfield.

I don't have a particular preference on formation, and the obsession around having a fixed formation doesn't really do it for me either. One of Parkinson's downfalls was playing 4-4-2 all the time, then constantly losing to anyone playing 4-5-1 and overloading the midfield. What's the point of that, just so fans can say 'but the players know their roles' when they're getting beat?

I think Stuart is right to mix it up per the opposition, and sometimes he'll get it badly wrong (like against Newport), but that's no different to PP getting it badly wrong every time against a Steve Evans side.

But what we DO need to do is figure out how we can threaten opponents more - and for me, that's variety. It can't be just endless, hopeless crosses, it can't be just endless, hopeless long balls, and it REALLY can't be very poor passages of play as we try to play out from the back against an opponent that is in our faces constantly. We're not good enough to do any of that.

Stuart needs to find a way to get the players mixing it up more - shooting more, taking chances from distance, not overly relying on Billy Clarke or the wing backs/wingers, and making it uncomfortable for opponents.

Newport pissed all over us, and all they did was counter attack at pace.

 

Darragh spoke well because he admired the fact that he phoned him up to discuss manager/Chairman relations.

But at Huddersfield, the fans are happier now he's gone - Due to his 'Dark ages football' - negative defensively.

The modern football coach is lightyears ahead on fitness, diet, sports science etc. All the top teams press and put in more effort. We get excuses about being 'leggy', two games in a week etc. Success leaves a trail and we need to adopt the techniques of winning teams.

 

Yet we pour praise on Phil Parkinaon for doing exactly the same thing. Funny that.

 

Stuart has now had multiple attempts at it and h has an enormous advantage over other managers because fans are willing to over

i think as far as attacking is concerned we have midfielders Who rarely get in the box Cooke did it once against Harrogate and then fluffed his shot. Neither do we have ball carrying midfielders who run at defences I thought Sutton did it quite well in his first game but seemed to retreat against Harrogate. We need to get more bodies on the end of crosses as other teams do. On a different subject didn’t Watt produce lots of assists atCarlisle season I would like him to play further up the pitch to try and open teams up

 

Very good observations there Park. Completely agree.

 

Cooke has started the season horribly, but fans blinded by decent performances last season exist on Facebook saying he's been one of the best players.

Regardless, you're definitely right about the midfielders not getting in the box, and that tallies with what I'm saying about us playing out from the back and the midfield thus being far too deep.

How often do we have only one or two forwards in the box when we lump hopeless crosses into the box?

Playing out from the back is a recent fad, Stuart needs to get over it - but if he isn't going to get over it, at least play a 4-3-3 with three or four players busting a gut to get in the box during EVERY attack.

Playing out from the back is an attacking, possession-based philosophy.

We're doing the possession based stuff when we're not panicking and under pressure, but at no point is our TEAM attacking relentlessly every cross or through ball.

As for ball carrying midfielders, I think Stuart pinned every single last hope on DMH - who is utterly incapable.

 

With success, dark age football is tolerated and deemed a means to an end.

 

I agree Jon, he has been one of the biggest disappointments so far for me - partially because I actually had some expectations for him (unlike many of the others).
I think inadvertently Parks comment about the break he made into the box v Harrogate is damning, because its about the only time I can also remember him doing something threatening!
Sadly resigning DMH was at the time, and continues to be, a bizarre decision (I know it was mentioned re quota of homegrown players but surely some of our youngsters fulfil this commitment?)