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Wintle just about to sign a season long loan with BlackpoolOriginally Posted by gazan
Owen Dale will no longer be a Crewe player by end of Tuesday with a host of clubs queuing up to sign him
McDonald no loss a dreadful signing
Knight is a work in progress but not for Crewe in their current position, how Artell can say he is a direct replacement for Kirk Artell is beginning to irritate me with his utter crap coming out of his mouth I would prefer if he just shut up and get on with the job which is a minimum of 8 signings by Tuesday.
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Who do we blame for Crewe’s current plight, is it Artell for his poor handling of the players, is it Artell for his recruitment this time ? Is it the board for what appears to be no enough investment in the first team, why all of a sudden do we have such disarray within the ranks has Artell lost the dressing room ?
Anybody any clue why we are absolutely dreadful with no signs of encouragement on or ff the pitch
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So we have lost a few matches and suddenly DA no longer walks on water. I said at the start of the season I would settle for 5th from the bottom because of second season system and the loss of quality players.
I thought Mandron was supposed to be the one who scores goals? Hopefully he will but this is Crewe and we will struggle but come good again but maybe next season
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Macdonald was quoted by Artell as a Paul Green upgrade. I think Greeny deserves an apology!!
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I don’t think anybody has ever suggested that Artell walks on water, Yes we have lost a few matches but you have to concede it’s the manner in which we have lost them ? Absolutely zero creativity, dreary non league football, poor decision making on and off the pitch. We all acknowledge that we have lost some quality but that is down to the club to replace Knight for Kirk I rest my case !!!
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I'm not sure that Artell ever suggested that Knight would be an equivalent replacement for Kirk, just that he's arrived in his place. The walk on water, I think there was a touch of irony in the comment. I still place my faith in DA/KL, it's just a shock to the system after two and half good years that we are now paying for that success.
As for the old chestnut of downgrading the academy, the difference in outlay would barely cover any extra transfer/wages fee.
I go along with outtolunch in that it is still early days. It is the second season. We've had a golden generation who have mainly peaked at the same time and so have flown the nest at the same time. The trick for the management will be to survive this season and get some of the youngsters bedded in.
Remember, we've got Long and Onyeka to come back; Lundstram is already showing up to be a talent as is Adebisi; Thomas is a definite plus when you compare him to Beccles. Add to this that MacDonald was not going to fit in and was probably put out that his place went to a youngster. Hopefully his departure (if it's true) will lead to a more creative midfielder taking his place (assuming Lowery has banished himself). Maynard MAY (if wanted) turn up. If Wartman is right and there is a host of clubs after Dale (and if he is refusing to play), this can only be a good thing as more clubs will create a bidding war and the Alex will receive something near his worth. So there are positives and we need a period of stability for the team to grow into the task. It has to be remembered that transfers are not made overnight and take planning and research (which will not necessarily tell you what's at the back of a player's mind!). We will probably be £2-3million better off by Wednesday and there will be the chance for further acquisitions later in the season.
So, yes it's going to be a disappointing season and not like we all thought about 5 or 6 weeks ago but I think we have enough skill etc to stave off relegation and to be building better for the future. Having said which, I am probably going to rage and shout like others as we fail to win games but I have hopes and therefore am not inclined to want to sack everybody after just a few games.
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DA has said we had only 19 fit professionals to choose from - trying to work out which these were.
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Well, its hardly a 'golden' age we have just had as nobody has been transferred to the PL and just to mediocre Championship clubs and one from the same league. Where we are not sure they can make it even at that level. Nothing like the old golden days lol.
Now wrt to the 'old chestnut' of the level of the academy. I've always thought myself to be forward thinking about what works and what doesn't. We have had an extremely lean few years where we didn'tg sell anyone and the Cost being roughly £760, 000 pounds PER season as we have had to employ about three or four times as many non playing staff as playing staff and to me that is not sustainable.
You say the savings in cost would be just go on incoming transfers/wages and you have a point that it 'could' but we would be saving at least half of the 760 grand which indeed could go on to bring in 'better' players that we can on the current wage structure.
Now I tell you what the 'old chestnut' really is mate and that is the level of the academy is irrelevant to the quality of the local kids wanting to come and try their luck unless you can point me to some local kids that go to the Cat1 academy at ManU. Liverpool,Everton or even Stoke. The parents would need to have part time jobs and take their kids three or four times a week in traffic jams and cost of travel and they just won't do it and never have even in the golden area and Dean Ashton was Holmes Chapel and most of the others a few miles away. So Cat2 is irrelevant to Cat 1 and indeed how many of the PL academy kids go onto to play in the first teams? Less than 10% the last time I looked.
Then you must ask how many other L1 and L2 clubs can afford a Cat 2 academy? Even those that can don't want them for the reasons above.
I can almost guarantee that if we downgraded tomorrow, no kid would leave to go elsewhere and so the same kids would come through to the first team just as they do now.
I can also guarantee that the club will downgrade it as some stage on affordability grounds. IF we have made 2 or 3 million in fees, then if we get relegated or play as we are doing what then IS the point of the club to the fans that want to see us perform a lot better than we are doing.
I could add that we only got promoted because we were awarded it and not have to go the last match but that is a bit mean spirited...
ATB everyone
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There is another point re DA which may go unnoticed. When we got promoted I recall some fans and other managers saying how great Dave is and that he will be very ambititious to go on to better clubs etc.. Nothing wrong with that but he will and KL also think us being near the bottom of the league or even demoted will affect their own transfer value, although DA may also consider him following in the steps of Dario in his longevity at the club is no bad thing anyway.
As I said earlier having 80 odd non playing staff and hardly enough players makes no sense.
And just to add something else...I remember having a conversation with Dario about the Cat2 academy and he said that the coaches seem to spend most of their days putting stuff on their computers re each academy player than actual coaching...His words, not mine...
But you know coaching is really irrelevant as skill will come through anyway...Or should and why coaching under 12's is nonsense as nobody knows whether these kids have the mental and physical attributes to play at league level in ten years time..
Last edited by MikeSB; 29-08-2021 at 06:26 PM.
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I don't think people actually said DA walks on water but the implication was there. Best manager worried in case he moves on etc. But we lose a few matches and don't score, which is worrying but it is early days and the club has been let down by 2 players leaving having just signed.
I just wish those people who were praising only a few weeks ago would take a step back before moaning.
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