Match Thread vs. Hartlepool United 10.04.21 [NL]

[optipez]

Will the Notts faithful understand the situation and give Burchnall the time required for the needed big overhaul?

I'm sure he'll get this season, pre season and the usual ten games into the following season before serious conclusions start to be drawn but he will be under pressure and should be, as Ardley was and every manager before.

[jacobncfc]

Will the Notts faithful understand the situation and give Burchnall the time required for the needed big overhaul?

I don’t think that matters really - the owners clearly will and there’s no crowds to put any pressure on. Come August everyone will just be excited to be back at a match, it’s not a bad time for an overhaul.

[KCNotts]

I completely agree with all of this. Some people say you can't judge a team in pre-season or after the first game but that pre-season game against York and the loss away to Dover showed our weaknesses and they have blighted us all season and will no doubt continue to do so all the way to the end, and that's regardless of who the manager is and what they do or do not do.

The key to any successful side is the recruitment and we have to be honest and ask ourselves the question is this squad better than last seasons? My answer is no.

It would be extremely harsh to point blame towards Sam and Rodrigues and the club's recruitment of them in my view. They are a small part of the jigsaw and as you say have come to a new country in the middle of a pandemic left their family and friends behind and have not been able to do anything to help them settle here or mix with their teammates. It must have been tough. Season one for them was always going to be a case of them finding their feet regardless of the pandemic.

We have had misfortune of the injury to Cal Roberts, Wes Thomas leaving and Casper Sloth walking in and out. That is three key players out of the equation. Likewise we did not secure a proven goal scorer at this level to replace the goals and assists from Dennis.

Should we finish below 3rd and not get promoted then on the field we will have regressed yet again and finish in our lowest ever position in the pyramid which is sobering but we will finish where we deserve to. Apart from the first half against Barnet where we ripped them to pieces (look where they are in the league now) and Dagenham at home against ten men that is the only time we've looked like a team that could win a title. Those performances have since become the exception rather than the norm.

Regardless of what happens from now until the end of the season I believe that lessons will be learned from this season by the owners, our recruitment team and the head coach. They will all have a clear understanding of what is right and wrong with this squad such that the club is better equipped to do it's best to recruit players in the summer who will give us the best chance of challenging at the very top right from the start of next season.

I hope you are right...but then we go and sign Griffiths who clearly isn't ready and not what we needed.

Whatever recruitment model they have used this season has not worked. Barnett, Sam, Chicksen, Griffiths, Richardson, Golden, Walker, Miller, Effiong, Wolfe...

We have wasted so much money again. Now I'm aware that some of those will be heavily influenced by Abbott and Ardley, but this is not the considered approach that we were led to believe we would be adopting under the Danes.

I hope they start to get it right soon and that these are teething troubles

[laddo]

I'm sure he'll get this season, pre season and the usual ten games into the following season before serious conclusions start to be drawn but he will be under pressure and should be, as Ardley was and every manager before.

This season and 10 games of next before being properly judged? I can go for that. A pre season and a transfer window to prepare for and execute.

I don’t think that matters really - the owners clearly will and there’s no crowds to put any pressure on. Come August everyone will just be excited to be back at a match, it’s not a bad time for an overhaul.

Agree that the timing being very good for an overhaul, it's like the rise in DIY and major home projects at homes up and down the country during lockdown. A good time to get your house (squad) in order and replace that bathroom.

No crowds = next to no pressure which made the timing of the NA sacking all the more interesting. However if crowds go back no matter how delighted they are to back at the Lane if it's not looking good on the pitch there will be the usual very limited grace period from the fans. They will make their feelings known to the manager in a heartbeat.

[queenslandpie]

This season and 10 games of next before being properly judged? I can go for that. A pre season and a transfer window to prepare for and execute.




Agree that the timing being very good for an overhaul, it's like the rise in DIY and major home projects at homes up and down the country during lockdown. A good time to get your house (squad) in order and replace that bathroom.

No crowds = next to no pressure which made the timing of the NA sacking all the more interesting. However if crowds go back no matter how delighted they are to back at the Lane if it's not looking good on the pitch there will be the usual very limited grace period from the fans. They will make their feelings known to the manager in a heartbeat.

He's got a 4 year contract so he's going to be here for ages. I think such a long contract is weird and plain crazy but they have obviously been tracking Burchnall for a fair amount of time. Whilst fans may judge him after 10 games next season I am pretty sure the owners won't with a contract that long. So I hope he is doing well after 10 games! Look how long Ardley was given - far far too long this season I think COVID dug him out a fair bit. He certainly has not left us in a better position on the pitch than he found us in.

[Elite_Pie]

This season and 10 games of next before being properly judged? I can go for that. A pre season and a transfer window to prepare for and execute.

I'm not sure what "properly judged" really means. Is it where we can say keep him or sack him? I've judged him from day one in the sense of forming an opinion, but we would have to be deep in the relegation zone after 10 games for me to want him gone. The owners clearly see it as a long term project, so we have to be patient as long as we see some positive signs. That doesn't make him above criticism, and progress reports are inevitable. Unfortunately, my initial progress report is 'not seen any'. Hopefully the next one will be better.

[Davy500]

He's got a 4 year contract so he's going to be here for ages. I think such a long contract is weird and plain crazy but they have obviously been tracking Burchnall for a fair amount of time. Whilst fans may judge him after 10 games next season I am pretty sure the owners won't with a contract that long. So I hope he is doing well after 10 games! Look how long Ardley was given - far far too long this season I think COVID dug him out a fair bit. He certainly has not left us in a better position on the pitch than he found us in.

Well you got to give him time, next season for sure

This is why i vocally and persistantly, put on here to get rid of Ardley . You reap what you sow, and this is what we have reaped, Ardley was average at best, he wasted 2 seasons at this level, always backed by excuses, and give him more time etc this is where it got us
Well now we are cemented at this level, and the new man has got undo all this

[PedroTheFisherman66]

I'm not sure how you can fairly Judge IB and his progress so far. He has had limited time to coach the team , he has added one player to the squad and in my eyes after the games played so far, we are possibly 2 points better off than we would have been under Ardley. (open to debate I'm sure !)
He seems to have identified areas where we are lacking and given the summer he can try and capture his targets and implement his coaching ideas fully.
The whole point of him coming in when he did was for the exact reasons above. He needed to confirm what dross Ardley had left the club with and if any of these that aren't dross which could be incorporated into the style he wants to play.
Ok we lost to a top two side today , which I believe would of happened under Ardley anyway and there is no way we were going to chase down the top spot so we haven't lost out in respect of automatic promotion.
so please tell me why all this condemnation already ?
There is no doubt we are definitely work in progress and not the finished article

[nw6pie]

Hartlepool are now in their fourth season in the National League and seem to have finally got things right this time around - good manager, decent squad with loan signings contributing on a regular basis. They’re clearly ahead of us in the rebuilding stakes and today’s result came as no surprise, alas.

We need a major rethink this summer and have to address the deficiencies that have been present all season: lack of pace, energy, muscle in key areas.

Signings this season just haven’t been good enough - too many lightweight, average players. My only concern with Burchnall right now is that he thought another lightweight, inexperienced player like Griffiths was the solution to our ongoing midfield problems.

[ThaiPie]

Signings this season just haven’t been good enough - too many lightweights, average players. My only concern with Burchnall right now is that he thought another lightweight, inexperienced player like Griffiths was the solution to our ongoing midfield problems.

Are you sure Mr Burchnall has any influence on signings? There seems to be an assumption that this was his signing. He could have been having his say on the transfer, by making the substutution so early!