Match Thread vs. Hartlepool United 10.04.21 [NL]

[Elite_Pie]

I would give the manager some degree of credit today as he showed boldness to make changes to shape and personnel from after the first half an hour.

Credit for trying to change things, or criticism for getting it wrong in the first place?

[MAD_MAGPIE]

Credit for trying to change things, or criticism for getting it wrong in the first place?

It depends how people view it. For me starting the game with the 3-5-2 made sense as we had won two games previously playing with this formation and the players had two games under their belt playing to the style and should have had confidence built up. I also felt the starting 11 was predictable and settled and should be after winning two games in a row. Our top goal scorer returned to the starting eleven so that for me was a positive. We were also going toe to toe with Hartlepool with the same formation as them.

What the problem was for me is that we were too passive to start with and slow lacking energy and intensity and that allowed Hartlepool to get a foothold in the game dominate possession and then they pushed us and pressed us into an inadvertent 5-3-2 at times. We should have been confident coming on the back of two wins but were not showing that mentality. Some may say that might have been the manager telling them to play like that and absorb the pressure but this new manager seems to be more attack focused. We could not get a foothold on the game in midfield and Griffiths was being passed by. Likewise Enzio and Barnett were deep but were not stopping the crosses so the manager must have saw where this was going and decided to change tactics.

So rightly or wrongly I put it more down to lack of consistency in player performances, lack of energy and intensity in the first half an hour playing 3-5-2 rather than managerial error from the start.

[Elite_Pie]

I love that he tried to change it when he saw it wasn't working.

But why did he have to change it, and why wasn't it working? I can only think it was down to his original team selection and tactics.

I don't want to crucify the bloke this early, but I can only comment on what I see, and so far under him it's been pretty poor.

[SwalePie]

It wasn't very very bad! We defended pretty well and restricted them to very little in the second half. A terrible performance would have seen us turned over 5-0. We were poor in the final third and gave it away too much. That shouldn't be a surprise though, we've done that all season.

People need to be a little more patient and cut the new boss some slack.

I love that he tried to change it when he saw it wasn't working and I love that he has done away with ticka tacka.

Agreed

[ivansneck]

Lay that mess squarely at Burchinall’s door.

Who’s Burchinall?

[laddo]

We're certainly no better, but it's still too early to call him a muppet.

He's definitely had a very uninspiring start though.

In some people's eyes he was a muppet for two games when he'd just walked through the door, then he wasn't for two he showed promise , now he's a muppet again! It really is big swings on a game by game basis.Classic internet overreaction my mate Stall and me can't take seriously

You can count the number of IB games on one hand still, yet NCM muppets have already formed an definitive opinion. It makes you wonder if they even understand football it wouldn't surprise me if we see a Burchnall Out thread .....

Thankfully it's great to still see plenty of supporters on here who clearly understand the situation, the weaknesses, the imbalance and above all the IB timescale involved to date.

[Elite_Pie]

In some people's eyes he was a muppet for two games when he'd just walked through the door, then he wasn't for two he showed promise , now he's a muppet again! It really is big swings on a game by game basis.Classic internet overreaction my mate Stall and me can't take seriously

You can count the number of IB games on one hand still, yet NCM muppets have already formed an definitive opinion. It makes you wonder if they even understand football it wouldn't surprise me if we see a Burchnall Out thread .....

Thankfully it's great to still see plenty of supporters on here who clearly understand the situation, the weaknesses, the imbalance and above all the IB timescale involved to date.

Burchnall is here for a while I hope but we have to judge him on what we see. It's not knee-jerk unless anyone is calling for him to go, it's just saying what we see. What I've seen has been poor so far, but it's very early days and that viewpoint shouldn't confused with anything other than an honest and considered opinion what he's offered so far.

[KCNotts]

And Ruben cant even get on....

I wonder if Laddo still thinks we will sell Ruben and Kelly Evans on for thousands?

[jacobncfc]

Absolutely agree. They were better than us at many things overall particularly in the first half that I've mentioned already.

I would give the manager some degree of credit today as he showed boldness to make changes to shape and personnel from after the first half an hour. The goal right before half time knocked us, but we were much better second half and he made positive substitutions.

The loss of Cal Roberts was a big big blow to him as an individual and the club, especially at a point when it looked like things were turning in the game for us. After then it was always going to be an uphill battle particularly with ten men.

Indeed. The inquest should be about why a club with a much smaller squad and presumably budget has a much better team. I think the owners have already made their mind up there and that’s why we now have a head coach rather than a manager.

[KCNotts]

We’re no better because we’re about where we should be with the squad we have. If anything, we’re a bit above to be honest. The reason we’ve changed manager (and to a head coach at that) is because the squad we have is unbalanced, too old and too slow - there’s not much point judging anything before mid-way through next season.

I'd agree. We have assembled a very average side for the budget we have. Knight looked very raw today and is not going to rescue our season like Roberts did last year.

We need a clear out, starting with the remnants of the relegation season. We need to rebuild the midfield and sign a proper partner for Wootton. We also need a new set of wing backs as Enzio playing back they makes me wince. McCrory is finished and the jury is out on Chicksen. Barnett can't pass and DKE is the most overrated player we've had for years.