Ardley - A Don's View (Gerrit Forward)

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Originally Posted by Bohinen

That's pretty disappointing comprehension from an English teacher. Can't you see the message there in amongst the bending over backwards to be nice about Notts? He's a fecking long ball merchant like Nolan. I just hope Ardley succeeds, because he seems a genuinely decent man but I fear he's another victim of Hardy's flip-flop thought process.

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We should not be bothered or care what kind of style of football Neal Ardley plays as long as it’s winning football. Beggars can’t be choosers and when you are 23rd in league two and have somehow got to get 35 points from 27 games you have to win ugly.

15 points from 19 games is 0.79 points per game. It’s got to improve to 1.3 points a game so basically one win in every three games from now until the end of the season. At the moment we are averaging one win in six!

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Originally Posted by Bohinen

That's pretty disappointing comprehension from an English teacher. Can't you see the message there in amongst the bending over backwards to be nice about Notts? He's a fecking long ball merchant like Nolan. I just hope Ardley succeeds, because he seems a genuinely decent man but I fear he's another victim of Hardy's flip-flop thought process.

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And that's exactly what Notts were succeeding with, until Nolan fell apart in January.

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Originally Posted by apieandpint

And that's exactly what Notts were succeeding with, until Nolan fell apart in January.

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Nowt wrong with long ball, you just need the right players.

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Originally Posted by countygump

Nowt wrong with long ball, you just need the right players.

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Correct

I have zero interest in anyone elses view on the manager. All managers have come here with some kind of credbility and most have been crap. I am interested in one thing only - points.

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Originally Posted by crazyfists

Eh? Two promotions on a shoestring and real experience at our level, if anything I'd say it's the opposite of AH's haphazard approach to appointing managers.

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But he lost 10 out of 12 before parting company? I hope he gets his mojo back!

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Originally Posted by McCullochisGod

But he lost 10 out of 12 before parting company? I hope he gets his mojo back!

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I have seen Ardley's Wimbledon side several times in recent years. A mate is an AFC fan and we see Notts and Wimbledon several times a year. I last saw them get a 0-0 at Barnsley in August.

I can tell you that he plays 4-4-2, expects all players to be physical and competitive and he is tactically astute. I believe that promotion from League 2 and initial stability in League 1 should be considered an over-achievement with the resources he had at his disposal. He lost some of his best players - Lyle Taylor in particular - and did not have the money to replace like-for-like.

Alan Hardy specified that our new manager should have 5 years experience and a promotion on his CV and that, I believe, is eminently sensible. Ardley ticks those boxes and whilst we don't necessarily have the kind of excitement we may have had over Moniz, Kewell etc that the football style was going to convert to the football League 2 version of the Harlem Globetrotters, shall we just wait and see what happens when a decent manager (and a decent man by all accounts) is given a chance to turnaround a club with a ludicrously imbalanced squad of very mixed ability players, a questionable work ethic on the pitch, a 2018 playing record which has descended into the atrocious, a chairman who to his credit has admitted that he is still learning, a club with one of the highest managerial turnover rates ever, a DOF whose influence is yet to be openly seen and fans with high expectations (me included)?

This is an almightly mess that Ardley is walking into. I think that there is a fair chance that Ardley will sort it out so here's hoping that proves to be the case.

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Originally Posted by wiseoldmagpie

I have seen Ardley's Wimbledon side several times in recent years. A mate is an AFC fan and we see Notts and Wimbledon several times a year. I last saw them get a 0-0 at Barnsley in August.

I can tell you that he plays 4-4-2, expects all players to be physical and competitive and he is tactically astute. I believe that promotion from League 2 and initial stability in League 1 should be considered an over-achievement with the resources he had at his disposal. He lost some of his best players - Lyle Taylor in particular - and did not have the money to replace like-for-like.

Alan Hardy specified that our new manager should have 5 years experience and a promotion on his CV and that, I believe, is eminently sensible. Ardley ticks those boxes and whilst we don't necessarily have the kind of excitement we may have had over Moniz, Kewell etc that the football style was going to convert to the football League 2 version of the Harlem Globetrotters, shall we just wait and see what happens when a decent manager (and a decent man by all accounts) is given a chance to turnaround a club with a ludicrously imbalanced squad of very mixed ability players, a questionable work ethic on the pitch, a 2018 playing record which has descended into the atrocious, a chairman who to his credit has admitted that he is still learning, a club with one of the highest managerial turnover rates ever, a DOF whose influence is yet to be openly seen and fans with high expectations (me included)?

This is an almightly mess that Ardley is walking into. I think that there is a fair chance that Ardley will sort it out so here's hoping that proves to be the case.

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I agree that its really the best we can hope for and it is a bloody mess. Hardy now needs to show Paul hart the door as stage one of reducing the wage bill. Just what is the point in him being at Notts?

With Ardley and Cox coming in I really don't see Hart getting anywhere near the first team from a footballing perspective. Hart mentioned in an interview a few weeks ago that he had a lot of work to do around the infrastructure of the club regarding the youth set up, training and medical facilities etc. I think Hardy acknowledged he needed someone to help him with this who had a proven underpinning knowledge of these elements from within the game.

Kewell was taken on as first team coach, Hart was obviously asked to assist Kewell as DoF. It obviously didn't work out as Kewell appeared to not have the strength of character to take on board what Hart was saying in a professional manner. He didn't have to agree with any of it or even implement any of it, just needed to deal with things professionally. From other comments on here and Twitter recently it appears Kewell may have been a bit of a loose cannon?

Ardley will keep Hart at arms length and I think Hart will afford him that. The question is just what will Hart's role actually consist of and can the club afford it?

Back on topic, I thought there was some refreshing comments in the article. I have no problem with playing a direct style, it worked for Warnock. I just want to see some stability back at the club and a manager that will be respected by players and fans alike and I really hope Ardley comes good in that respect.

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Originally Posted by countygump

Nowt wrong with long ball, you just need the right players.

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Yep, long ball played effectively can be quite entertaining. Our version of long ball is a bit different hoofing it within a 20 yard radius of a 5ft 9" striker.