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Post by tangerinedream on May 5, 2022 18:20:41 GMT
The last game of the season at Stevenage and, given the rumour mill, could it be Gary Bowyer's last game in charge as has been suggested? I did hear whispers after the Mansfield game that GB would be bowing out the following weekend and then lo and behold the internet is alive with suggestions that ex Lincoln City boss Colin Appleton was being lined up for the job. GB off course signed a two year contract with the club in May of last year but as we all know that means very little these days, particularly if there was any clause contained regarding him not achieving promotion. I personally would like to see him stay and be given the close season to reassemble the squad with players of his choice given I'm pretty certain that we're going to see quite a number of departures including the loan players, the constantly injured, those of advanced years and those that simply aren't good enough. I always felt this season was going to be a difficult one and Gary Neville seemed to be preparing himself for the same by stating that it's going to be a very tough league to get out of this time around. Coming out of the lockdown was difficult enough but our recruitment this time around was slow to get off the ground, with us relying on bringing in loan signings as well as a keeper literally a couple of weeks before the start of the season. It was felt that there would be a lot of players out of contract with many clubs feeling the pinch financially that would enable us to cherry pick some of the best. Ultimately that didn't happen but I still felt we had enough quality to at least make the play offs. Unfortunately just 6 wins in our opening 20 fixtures saw us in 17th place in the table and while relegation was never seriously considered neither really was the possibility of us even remotely challenging for a top seven place. Some handy loan acquisitions at the start of the new year together with the later arrival of Matt Smith saw a huge change in our fortunes with the next 25 games yielding 13 wins and 7 draws which included an 11 game unbeaten run.
The earlier calls for Gary Bowyer's dismissal had finally abated with that excellent run but our at times frustrating inability to beat any of the top seven sides over a 4 game period in early/mid April crucially ended with single goal defeats at the hands of promotion contenders Port Vale and Bristol Rovers, which coupled with an inexplicable team selection against a relegation threatened Barrow, that saw drop two points ultimately took our destiny out of our own hands. I do support Gary Bowyer though and want him to continue as manager and when one considers the trials and tribulations of this and last season we've only just been a whisker away from making the play offs on both occasions although at times, like Colchester United away in our penultimate game last season. and off course more recently Barrow at home this season, I just wish that he'd been more adventurous in his approach and looking to win the games rather than to not lose them. Other than that I want to see some stability in our management structure which will undoubtedly filter down throughout the club. What guarantees are there with changing managers every five minutes?
I did think that the move to the AJ Bell (now delayed until the season after next) would have coincided with us making a big splash in the market place which would have sent out a big statement. Either way, I do still think that we're going to see a fairly big clear out of players come the next few weeks and off course whether we start next season with a new man in charge will all come down to Gary Neville and whether he thinks that a replacement new broom will be better than the present one with the addition of some new bristles!
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Post by chipbarm on May 5, 2022 18:55:00 GMT
I've seen the rumours and to be honest I'll be very unhappy if GB gets the boot. Constantly changing managers and players surely isn't the way to get stability in the club. Sacking him would mean we would then be onto our 5th manager since October 2020 which is frankly ludicrous.
I think he's done a decent job in his season and a bit, with a good run in his first part season and then a strong set of results since Xmas this season. I definitely think there's something to build on. Granted he can be over cautious but then GA was hardly Klopp either.
His rumoured replacement doesn't have a particularly great win record either. The biggest thing I've seen from fans in support of him coming is he comes from Salford. Well so do I but I don't think I'm in with a shout of the job. Wellens was a bit of a disaster so I'm sceptical that another ex United youth team player from Salford will have any more success.
I agree we'll see a big clear out again this summer but I think with a few key signings and contract extensions and GB still in post we'd be well set for a promotion push ahead of our move to AJB. The loanees will go and I reckon Hunter, Henderson, Elliott, Willock will all leave on contract expiry in June plus the likes of Burgess and Golden. Turnbull, Vassell and Love are out of contract too I believe, not sure if new contracts will be offered but that's a lot of new players to come in and doubtless will take weeks to gel and for the manager to know his best 11.
I think if all that happens it will be yet another Groundhog Day season where we struggle till Christmas, have a good second half of the season and finish 9th. If that's what GN wants good luck to him.
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Post by Chris P. Bacon on May 5, 2022 20:29:38 GMT
The last thing we need is for a new set of players to spend 4 months getting to know each other, but it looks as though that’s exactly what will happen. I’m not sure our owners considered the upheaval with so many contracts up around the same time. But given their constant failure in the players they recruit, perhaps short contracts are a good idea? 😁 I think the policy was that we would get a set of players for one job…promotion and then have wholesale changes for the next job. It worked in non-league, but not when you’re playing with the big boys. The best players we’ve faced this season aren’t the journeymen, the big names, but the young lads with bags of pace and fitness. You would hope our owners see what’s going on around them and take the hint. But I’m just not sure?
The novelty of our famous owners has definitely worn off this season. They have done a lot of good for the club and the community. That’s not in doubt. But they MUST now step back and let the manager do what he’s paid to do. If they want Casper to do his thing, fine. Maybe him working with the manager is a good thing. But ultimately it’s the manager that pays the price for failure, so it has to be his call. But that’s not going to happen. GN absolutely believes in the way they source players here and I don’t see that changing.
If GB is sacked, then I wouldn’t be happy. Partly because I think GB has done as well as he could, given the constraints at Salford. But also because this petulant sacking of managers can’t go on. Yes, he’s made mistakes, but look at the Man City game last night. It happens to the best and it’s how we learn. GN needs to start living his own philosophy and supporting the manager, rather than heaping endless pressure on him. As I said earlier, I won’t go to the games with that much enthusiasm if we carry on down this knee-Jerk, reactionary style. It has to stop and now.
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Post by saleford on May 5, 2022 20:44:35 GMT
I’m not a fan of GB after our poor start to the season, but now I don’t mind him either, as things did improve.
Not really bothered who our ‘manager’ is next season, as he will simply be given GN and the ghosts picks to train and mould into a team. GB took half a season to do that, others may take less or more time. L2 is now just a contract merry-go-round it would seem, so we will no doubt have 6 to 8 new names to make up songs for next season.
If they gel, we get promoted, if not 10th again…
Hey, but if we do get promoted, then guess what? 6 to 8 more new players names to learn… I guess that is just EFL football these days.
Not what we were promised though, is it Gary?
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Post by alanb on May 5, 2022 22:20:18 GMT
Having just read through these posts I found myself slumped in the chair, involuntarily emitting a huge sigh. Anyway... I'm gonna enjoy Stevenage, whatever. And it could just be a great game.
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Post by Chris P. Bacon on May 6, 2022 6:16:15 GMT
The Daily Record is reporting that Hibs want Appleton (he nearly took the job in 2019}, but they face competition from Salford. They say how much Gary Neville will want him without actually talking to Gary Neville. Maybe this is leaking out from the club or it could be just speculation?
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Post by willtm10 on May 6, 2022 20:08:23 GMT
The Daily Record is reporting that Hibs want Appleton (he nearly took the job in 2019}, but they face competition from Salford. They say how much Gary Neville will want him without actually talking to Gary Neville. Maybe this is leaking out from the club or it could be just speculation? Speculation... Last person in the world to trust is Alan Nixon, the guy speculates to accumulate, gets the odd one right and makes a point about it, while deleting anything relating to something else he's said. No leaks, that's not how we work!
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Post by bronco123 on May 7, 2022 19:13:32 GMT
If GB was hoping to save his job with a convincing performance at Stevenage he failed miserably. We were second best in every area of the pitch. Once again we take the lead and fail to kick on, we are unable to control and dominate the opposition. Do we really want more of this? I don't.
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Post by Chris P. Bacon on May 7, 2022 19:57:17 GMT
If GB was hoping to save his job with a convincing performance at Stevenage he failed miserably. We were second best in every area of the pitch. Once again we take the lead and fail to kick on, we are unable to control and dominate the opposition. Do we really want more of this? I don't. So your vote would be for complete upheaval yet again?
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Post by tangerinedream on May 7, 2022 20:43:29 GMT
GB's post match thoughts. I'll come on here tomorrow as I've not been home that long plus I'm tired and had a lot to drink!
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zak
Junior Fan
Posts: 80
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Post by zak on May 7, 2022 20:58:16 GMT
If GB was hoping to save his job with a convincing performance at Stevenage he failed miserably. We were second best in every area of the pitch. Once again we take the lead and fail to kick on, we are unable to control and dominate the opposition. Do we really want more of this? I don't. So your vote would be for complete upheaval yet again? he should have gone along time ago.
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Post by bronco123 on May 7, 2022 21:02:06 GMT
If GB was hoping to save his job with a convincing performance at Stevenage he failed miserably. We were second best in every area of the pitch. Once again we take the lead and fail to kick on, we are unable to control and dominate the opposition. Do we really want more of this? I don't. So your vote would be for complete upheaval yet again? there will be upheaval any way with so many players out of contract, loanees and crocks. I don't think GB is a good fit and just doesn't cut it as a manager to get us to the playoffs. I won't cry if we keep him, he is a good bloke, but he lacks the imagination and positivity to push this team on. I would love to be proved wrong. Anyway it is the owners who decide and my money is on a new manager.
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Post by christoph on May 7, 2022 21:11:31 GMT
Agree 100% Bronco, GB is a great bloke but his team have a soft belly. Need a reset a few inspired signings and a good start to the next season. As things stand there is little to build on.
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Post by chipbarm on May 7, 2022 21:42:53 GMT
No doubt GB will be given the boot next week and Appleton will be installed shortly after that. Then we'll lose around 8 players, bring a load more 30 something journeymen in on short term contracts and we will be all over the place until Xmas. The usual suspects will bleat on about sacking yet another manager and then after New Year our results will pick up and nobody will grumble. Apart from when we lose of course.
It was interesting to read today that Bristol Rovers brought in something like 17 new players in summer and were in a similar situation to us at the end of the year in terms of results but something clicked in the 2nd half of the season and they got good enough results to get promoted. Similar to what we did although we dipped a bit at the end of the season. That said I wouldn't want Barton within a million miles of being our manager.
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Post by Chris P. Bacon on May 8, 2022 7:05:31 GMT
Our owners (by owners I mean our ‘controlling’ owner) don’t have a clue on how to run a football club. They constantly intervene in the squad and undermine the manager by making silly statements to the press that just heaps pressure on the team before they’ve even started. Time after time, underperforming squad members are brought in by the owner and his sporting director. Players who either spend most of their time here injured, or don’t have the pace and skills needed to cut it in this league. Yet we spend an absolute fortune on agent’s fees, when perhaps we should spend it on scouting. But there’s never any sanction on either of the two who brought them in. Well there wouldn’t be would there?
To coin a phrase……Never in the field of football squad picking, have so many been negatively affected, by so few.
Despite the above, we should sack our manager when it goes wrong. Do those who want the manager sacked think this squad was good enough to get promotion? Perhaps that then justifies their call for the sack? Personally, if I review our squad player by player, we are far from being a promotion-ready squad. They lack basic ball control skills, let alone the abilities needed for this league. In fact, I think GB did very well to get them where he did.
I considered reviewing my season ticket if they sack another manager so soon, and revert to pay at the gate. Therefore picking and choosing my games. But I need a seat for my back and I am unlikely to get a seat without a season ticket. Also, there is the point that why should I stop watching the club I supported before the new owners came in? Sacking another manager would tip me over the edge I’m afraid. It goes against everything GN says in his pundit life and the pledge he made when he came to this club. If one day we have a new manager that does get us promoted, then it justifies their decision to continually sack our managers. So all I can do is to make statements like this and sincerely hope that one day they will realise the manager is only (at this club more than any other) just a small part of the problem and until they solve the bigger problems, changing the manager will have very little effect at all.
I’m aching for our pre-Cof92 days at the prospect of another managerial change. 😡😡😡
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