Neal Ardley's Black & White Armband

[nw6pie]

I have just read this on another thread. I think it proves Ardleys lost it and the team and we are in deep trouble in my opinion. We are well beyond needing to get a new captain One more loss like the last game and I think it will really fall apart. Shades of Mike Ashley with the owners - Its my club and I will do what I want.


https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport...eeting-5137834

Why has Ardley lost it? He suggested the players meet up and talk privately, and they did. What matters now is that they show some desire to get out of this slump.

Rodrigues has had a bad month since the Dagenham game. He’s a potential match winner when he gets on the ball in the centre in the opposition’s half, but a liability when he has it in our own half. The onus is on him to put the work in to be fit enough for English football, though I’m surprised the second tier of Dutch football is so pedestrian that he still can’t last 90 minutes at this low level.

As for Doyle, being able to jog around the pitch isn’t what we need. How many sprints does he make, how many tackles is he winning, how many assists is he creating? He should be coming off the bench to shore things up for us, not playing every single minute of the season - but it’s up to the manager to make those calls, and he doesn’t seem willing to do that.

[BigFatPie]

Why has Ardley lost it? He suggested the players meet up and talk privately, and they did. What matters now is that they show some desire to get out of this slump.

Rodrigues has had a bad month since the Dagenham game. He’s a potential match winner when he gets on the ball in the centre in the opposition’s half, but a liability when he has it in our own half. The onus is on him to put the work in to be fit enough for English football, though I’m surprised the second tier of Dutch football is so pedestrian that he still can’t last 90 minutes at this low level.

As for Doyle, being able to jog around the pitch isn’t what we need. How many sprints does he make, how many tackles is he winning, how many assists is he creating? He should be coming off the bench to shore things up for us, not playing every single minute of the season - but it’s up to the manager to make those calls, and he doesn’t seem willing to do that.

Doyle doesn’t seem like a person people want to fall out with, certainly local journalists seem very reluctant to describe what’s in front of their eyes. Leigh Curtis thought that the big problem in midfield the other night was Ruben Rodrigues.

I’ve joked on here that Doyle is the real manager, and he seems much more like an ‘alpha male’ than Ardley. The big question is has Ardley got the cajones to drop him, now that (as far as the fans are concerned) his job is on the line?

[bouncingoffthewalls]

Doyle doesn’t seem like a person people want to fall out with, certainly local journalists seem very reluctant to describe what’s in front of their eyes. Leigh Curtis thought that the big problem in midfield the other night was Ruben Rodrigues.

I’ve joked on here that Doyle is the real manager, and he seems much more like an ‘alpha male’ than Ardley. The big question is has Ardley got the cajones to drop him, now that (as far as the fans are concerned) his job is on the line?

I was pleased at Slater getting a bit annoyed at Ardley dancing around the question about changing the two CMs, but not suprised about Curtis, he loves Doyle & won't say a word against him.

Interesting story about Doyle (which you putting about him being Alpha Male reminded me about) was mentioned on a youtube video I watched a few weeks back about his time at Coventry. Hopefully the link works...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWu822sBeU4

It's about 55 mins in.

[laddo]

Earlier in the season the manager got criticised for not letting Rodders play for 90 mins, when he physically couldn't.

The manager doesn't have to be Alpha male, can certainly help but not essential.

A long ago stopped being fed up with Radio Nottingham and NEP refusing to hold managers to account, and asking the questions the fans want asking.

Weak from the local media.

[queenslandpie]

Sorry this is a copy of a post I did a few days ago on another thread but I think it indicates we share the same opinion


The posts on match/player performance focus on either the players themselves or the set up/tactics. What I don't seem to have seen much if any is criticism or comment of Ardley's motivational abilities, surely perhaps the most important aspect of any managers job. Everyone agrees that he is a nice respected person but is that the problem? How many times has he sat in the dressing room after an unacceptable performance given the team an absolute rocket and told one or two players “another performance like that and you are on your bike” and told they were dropped for the next game or two. My guess is virtually never.

On the other hand has he said to players I know x seems to be a permanent fixture in the team but you show me that you can play in a certain way and I will put you in because I need to change tactics and style of play for certain opponents and mean it. Again never happens?

My guess is that poor performances by the newcomers are due in part to the doubts about current tactics and style rubbing off from existing players and confusion over what they are trying to achieve on the pitch. My guess is you have a manager and squad who do not have the right relationship and I would guess do not see eye to eye tactically with a manager not strong enough to impart his own will on the squad.

Finally did anyone else notice in his interview after going in goal Doyle said “ I didn’t even realise we didn’t have a goalkeeper on the bench” That does not sound like an engaged captain on board with the managers tactics and game plan.

I think there is ample evidence the manager has lost the confidence of the players

I think our owners are forgetting, like so many other club owners, that although they “own” the club its long term future is really in the hand of the fans and when things go wrong as they surely have at Notts they need to set their ideals and perhaps misplaced loyalties aside and respond to the real owners of the club.

7th in the National League is not good enough we need a change. New managers are always a risk but if they are honest with themselves it is a move the owners know they need to make.

Good post. To be fair I have been banging on about his motivational abilities or apparent lack thereof for years. He doesn't have any. Has he ever motivated you? Nah. Has he ever motivated the team? Nah. All that rubbish about a players crisis meeting - without the manager there. Awful stuff. Not much togetherness in this squad and his limp wristed approach encourages that. They need a good old fashioned kick up the arse and a few of them dropped.

[Biker9999]

Absolutly right. Couldn't agree more

[BigFatPie]

I was pleased at Slater getting a bit annoyed at Ardley dancing around the question about changing the two CMs, but not suprised about Curtis, he loves Doyle & won't say a word against him.

Interesting story about Doyle (which you putting about him being Alpha Male reminded me about) was mentioned on a youtube video I watched a few weeks back about his time at Coventry. Hopefully the link works...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWu822sBeU4

It's about 55 mins in.

Hahaha thanks for the link, and that story doesn’t surprise me at all. I can well imagine there’s no equivalent of Robert Page at Notts, and he pretty much gets to do and say what he likes.

[Elite_Pie]

All that rubbish about a players crisis meeting - without the manager there. Awful stuff. Not much togetherness in this squad and his limp wristed approach encourages that. They need a good old fashioned kick up the arse and a few of them dropped.

I suppose there are two ways to look at this. One way is that it's good that the players have realised that their performances have been unacceptable, and decided to have a meeting to sort out why. The other way is to ask why do the players have to sort it? Surely that's the main reason we have a manager? I don't remember any 'player crisis meetings' under the likes of Sirrel, Allardyce and Warnock. They would have probably hit the roof at the thought of it.

It's ironic that only the other day I suggested that if the players were told "just go out there and do what you're best at", we wouldn't see anything as bad as we suffered against King's Lynn and Halifax.

[laddo]

You won't remember under the likes of Sirrel, Allardyce and Warnock as they are our 3 most successful managers of the past 40 odd years lol.

Being serious i'd be shocked if there hasn't been a player only crisis meeting under one or more of our less successful managers in the past.

[Elite_Pie]

You won't remember under the likes of Sirrel, Allardyce and Warnock as they are our 3 most successful managers of the past 40 odd years lol.

Being serious i'd be shocked if there hasn't been a player only crisis meeting under one or more of our less successful managers in the past.

That was the main point of my post, which you obviously missed. Crisis meetings by players don't happen under good managers, they only happen under poor managers. But thanks for reinforcing it.

Before you go into your usual tedious "but how many good managers have we had?" response, we know that the answer is not many. That still doesn't mean we should sit back and accept mediocrity, even more so because of the level we are at.