Should he stay or should he go?

[upthemaggies]

If Ardley isn't to blame for last season's relegation then he shouldn't be taking any credit for this season's success either. So long as players are getting paid and you can do some business, the manager has more influence on performances and results than anybody else. Having good owners obviously helps, it's a team effort, but Warnock made Pavis look like a genius, Murphy the complete opposite.

[MancMagpie]

Whether we win or lose on Sunday....keep Ardley. He 'll get us back up next season if we fail this time round.

[Davy500]

Sack the manager after 2 months?? Blimey we were a big enough laughing stock at the time without turning us into a complete joke.

We were a laughing stock, a complete joke that NA could not do better than macclesfield who had a budget a quater of ours, who,s players were not paid for 2 months, and were 8 points behind us when NA arrived

[upthemaggies]

We were a laughing stock, a complete joke that NA could not do better than macclesfield who had a budget a quater of ours, who,s players were not paid for 2 months, and were 8 points behind us when NA arrived

Win Sunday and none of that will matter. No long term harm done. Clean slate.

Let's hope the EFL don't screw us over and give us Mansfield and Bolton as our first two home games which will have to be BCD.

[countygump]

Win Sunday and none of that will matter. No long term harm done. Clean slate.

Agreed, IMHAHO Ardley was mainly responsible for breaking it, so if he fixes it, all is forgiven/forgotten, we move on.

[Davy500]

It wouldn't surprise me, the police would want them games without supporters

Anyway lets get past Harrogate first, i am a little concerned about John Stead being a nuisance

[Elite_Pie]

There were threads like this and multiple polls asking the same question throughout the season. It was daft then, and laughably ridiculous now.

At least thread is a clearly wind up attempt , the earlier ones sadly weren't

A bit of a reality check needed here. The way laddo talks you would think we were challenging for promotion to the Championship! As I type, the only factual thing Neal Ardley has achieved so far has been to get us relegated into non-league. Because we appear to be on an upward curve at the moment, a lot of people seem to be happy to airbrush last season's debacle into oblivion. I suppose there are two ways to look at this:

1. The positive view - Nothing Ardley could have done to save us last season and he's done a great job to get us to the position we are now in.

2. The negative view - Ardley failed dismally last season, and given that he has arguably the best squad in the division finishing third in the truncated table and being one game from promotion is what we should expect as a minimum.

The realistic view is probably somewhere between the two. I really hope that option 1 turns out to be true, but I agree with those who think that Ardley needs to get us back to the level when he was appointed to move into the credit column. I've never known a manager we would generally describe as 'good' taking us lower. I also agree however that posts suggesting we get rid of him if we lose to Harrogate are pointless, because I don't think the owners work that way. They haven't got a lot wrong so far, so I hope sticking with Ardley continues their good run.

[laddo]

We were a laughing stock, a complete joke that NA could not do better than macclesfield who had a budget a quater of ours, who,s players were not paid for 2 months, and were 8 points behind us when NA arrived

You are right, 4 maybe 5 managers that season. That would have done it. That would guaranteed safety.

[Elite_Pie]

You are right, 4 maybe 5 managers that season. That would have done it. That would guaranteed safety.

You have ridiculed the possibility of appointing 4 or 5 managers that season guaranteeing safety.

How did sticking with Ardley turn out? The first option is pure conjecture, the second is fact.

[Old_pie]

A bit of a reality check needed here. The way laddo talks you would think we were challenging for promotion to the Championship! As I type, the only factual thing Neal Ardley has achieved so far has been to get us relegated into non-league. Because we appear to be on an upward curve at the moment, a lot of people seem to be happy to airbrush last season's debacle into oblivion. I suppose there are two ways to look at this:

1. The positive view - Nothing Ardley could have done to save us last season and he's done a great job to get us to the position we are now in.

2. The negative view - Ardley failed dismally last season, and given that he has arguably the best squad in the division finishing third in the truncated table and being one game from promotion is what we should expect as a minimum.

The realistic view is probably somewhere between the two. I really hope that option 1 turns out to be true, but I agree with those who think that Ardley needs to get us back to the level when he was appointed to move into the credit column. I've never known a manager we would generally describe as 'good' taking us lower. I also agree however that posts suggesting we get rid of him if we lose to Harrogate are pointless, because I don't think the owners work that way. They haven't got a lot wrong so far, so I hope sticking with Ardley continues their good run.

A third way is to consider that his modus operandi is one based on solid foundations and not unsustainable "flash in the pan" management. Wrong man to keep us up, right man for the long term future. We won't know for 3-4 years and it hard to image a more unfortunate period for a manager and new owners.