With performances like the other night, this squad, no matter how good it looks on paper, will finish mid table at best.
I felt really sorry for Kiwomya, like you say the position was thrust upon him but I don't necessarily think it was his footballing knowledge that let him down. I got the feeling it was evident during a couple of games that the players didn't really have much respect for him and he didn't appear to have the character to deal with it.
With performances like the other night, this squad, no matter how good it looks on paper, will finish mid table at best.
Assuming the season starts (which may prove unlikely) I would give Ardley until 20 games to prove himself with a 50% win rate (at the very least). I like NA and I believe the players do, but Elite has gone some way to persuading me that tactics are not his strong suit. It would be so good to have a competent gaffer who was also a decent human being.
Kiwomya was the cheap option put in place by clueless owners hoping the players would play for someone they knew.
It's not especially tactics sid, because I'm sure Ardley knows far more than I do about diamonds, 5-3-2 formations etc. My gripe is more about the lack of variation and the lack of attacking intent he always shows. The Harrogate game on Tuesday was a perfect example, specifically the ease with which they saw out the last 15 minutes. They had looked in control from the start, and we offered very little in terms of attacking threat. For those last 15 minutes I would have gambled, because losing 0-1 is no different to losing 0-5 in a cup game. I would have done something like put Rawlinson up front and play with three at the back. Get bodies in their area and pump a few high balls to try and put them under pressure. Ardley just persisted with what had failed for the first 75 minutes, and Harrogate coasted to Wembley with ease.
All those statements are correct LL. You nailed it.
Imagine that the football gods had offered Ardley the toss of a coin in the last minute to decide who gets the next goal. If he calls correctly, it would be 1-1 and if he calls wrong it would be 0-2. Ardley would think about it, then say "keep the coin, I'll stick with 0-1 thanks".