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Post by sammychester on Mar 24, 2024 0:17:54 GMT
Absolutely embarrassing
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Post by Anders on Mar 24, 2024 0:45:17 GMT
What concerns me the most right now is that Cal doesn’t see it, it feels like he’s stubbornly going to dig his heels in and try and prove us all wrong rather than do what’s right. His fighting talk is impressive, you can see the passion, but what he’s actually saying isn’t in the slightest. I’m amazed our crowds are holding up as well as they are, I think most of us can agree that Cal’s style of football leads to quite turgid home efforts most of the time with low entertainment. It’s tolerated when you’re winning, but this is what happens when you don’t. Kevin Roberts said on the radio yesterday that Tamworth are top because they are just the best at doing the basics and he’s right, but we are terrible for that. The amount of set pieces we waste is insane, and for a low scoring side in open play you feel like it should be our strength. I’m sick to death of us winning free kicks only for whoever is over it to touch it still and quickly roll it two yards to the next man to carry on possession. It’s no advantage, we’ve been doing it for years without success and still carrying out the same pointless exercise. Get it forward and put the opposition under pressure, like everyone else does.
God only knows what we're trying to achieve by keeping the big men back at corners now. I've no idea what the plan is there.
The manager is rapidly disconnecting with the fanbase, anywhere else and that spells danger, here, with him, not so. Still, it needs putting right and now quite urgently to salvage anything from this season.
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Post by Anders on Mar 24, 2024 0:49:41 GMT
You have to ask whether Cal feels he has the finances required to build a strong enough squad for promotion. Publicly he has to stick with the team he has. A centre forward like Kurt is like gold dust and we don't have the finances to replace him. However despite the current despondency from fans we have remember we have done well against the top teams and a month back our play off place seemed pretty certain. The next two games are critical. The other managers in this league would love our players.
You offer Craig Mahon at Curzon Tom Peers right now and he'd bite your hand off.
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Post by whitey on Mar 24, 2024 0:49:54 GMT
Most of us have seen these players 20 to 40 games this season, and most of them the same number last season. We think we know what they can and can't do. Every game we see them now just reaffirms our view. Whatever that view is. A limitation of the midfield diamond was always felt to be that it was too narrow. Our determination to control centre midfield shows this. Due to the make up of our squad we've ended up with one striker and an inexperienced back up. No real aerial threat. Two wide men who are pushed up front. A number 10 who appears to unbalance the side, as all the other midfielders have been pushed back but are not defensive players. Centre halves providing the width, but with no one to hit in the box. Then we wonder why we've only scored 47 goals. Unfortunately to a degree Cal’s hand are tied over tactics due to the make up of the squad. It's difficult to suddenly tell the players to ignore everything they've working on all season. Problem now is that the players look devoid of any confidence. Can't fault the effort being put in. The harder they try the worse they're getting. We'll need something happening to change it. Maybe a ball ricochets off someone into the net. Dodgy penalty devision. A world from 25 yards. Otherwise its an assess and change formation / style / recruitment priorities for next season. I would suggest the 'stats' in our recent home games are actually better than those early in the season, when we won a few. We weren't great in a few of those, but scored late winners when we went more direct and put sides under pressure. Got the crowd involved too and that puts the opposition under more pressure. I reckon Cal privately knows where he's gone wrong. Its the first tough period he's encountered in his career. Might make him a better manager in the long term.
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Post by whitey on Mar 24, 2024 0:52:35 GMT
It's Cal's team/squad?
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Post by Blockhead on Mar 24, 2024 2:33:05 GMT
You have to ask whether Cal feels he has the finances required to build a strong enough squad for promotion. Publicly he has to stick with the team he has. A centre forward like Kurt is like gold dust and we don't have the finances to replace him. However despite the current despondency from fans we have remember we have done well against the top teams and a month back our play off place seemed pretty certain. The next two games are critical. The other managers in this league would love our players.
You offer Craig Mahon at Curzon Tom Peers right now and he'd bite your hand off.
Good. Because he can't hit a barn door at Chester. Same as he was when first here.
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Post by arthuro on Mar 24, 2024 7:38:43 GMT
You have to ask whether Cal feels he has the finances required to build a strong enough squad for promotion. Publicly he has to stick with the team he has. A centre forward like Kurt is like gold dust and we don't have the finances to replace him. However despite the current despondency from fans we have remember we have done well against the top teams and a month back our play off place seemed pretty certain. The next two games are critical. Calum has tried Burton, Goodson, Windsor, Norton, Caton, Tollitt, Peers, Thomas and maybe Zack Clarke in the centre forward role this season which show that he has had the finances available to replace Kurt.
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Post by BarntonBen on Mar 24, 2024 7:55:51 GMT
It’s fair enough saying Cal doesn’t have the resources to buy a player that fits into his plans, but surely a good manager would be able to adapt the system to get the best out of his players.
If you’re Man City etc then you can choose a system and then buy the players to play it, we don’t have that luxury.
Therefore, surely Cal needs to assess what he players can and can’t do and then adapt a system to match that.
It’s clear from what I’ve seen that we have fast, nimble footballers who are good with the ball at their feet. Therefore surely we should be playing off the shoulders of defenders, playing through balls into channels etc. So why do we bypass midfield most of the time with lofted balls into small strikers?
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Post by billyw on Mar 24, 2024 7:58:07 GMT
You have to ask whether Cal feels he has the finances required to build a strong enough squad for promotion. Publicly he has to stick with the team he has. A centre forward like Kurt is like gold dust and we don't have the finances to replace him. However despite the current despondency from fans we have remember we have done well against the top teams and a month back our play off place seemed pretty certain. The next two games are critical. Calum has tried Burton, Goodson, Windsor, Norton, Caton, Tollitt, Peers, Thomas and maybe Zack Clarke in the centre forward role this season which show that he has had the finances available to replace Kurt. Lets be honest, apart from Tollitt, his recruitment this season has been dire.
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Post by Harry Lime on Mar 24, 2024 8:00:40 GMT
Yeah. I was making the point that he has created his own problems.
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Post by devadiva on Mar 24, 2024 8:05:11 GMT
I think we all agree to some extent that change is required. My worry is that even if Cal heeds what folk are saying there isn’t enough time to implement that change and get the results from it. And we have two quick games next weekend which makes things worse.
In the interview he said that this calendar year has been poor - but we are almost in April. Why wasn’t change implemented in Jan/Feb when there was enough games left for it to make a difference and it was clear we were in a rut?! In a lot of interviews Cal was saying he wasn’t bothered about league positions. But I wonder if our good league position at the time blinded him/made it harder to make the changes required - you mend your roof when the sun is shining not when it’s lashing down with rain!
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Post by Harry Lime on Mar 24, 2024 8:21:30 GMT
As Arthuro has said we've tried 8 or 9 strikers this season, and they've all disappointed to one extent or another.
I suspect we've overspent our planned budget because of all the changes we've made during the season. Most of the loan signings haven't played much at times either. Not sure I'd be spending more money bringing in even more players this season, unless we could move some out too.
The above posts by Borussia and Anders are a really good summation of where we are at the moment.
In hindsight the Nantwich game in November was an early warning. Then the games over Christmas New Year. We've not played consistently well since.
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Post by jimianto on Mar 24, 2024 8:42:26 GMT
That was tough to take yesterday. After the previous 2 home games we were all hoping for a change of tactics/fortune, or both. For the 3rd game running at the Deva we hit the woodwork at 0-0, so that's bad luck. However, that is no excuse for not doing better. Quite simply the midfield trio of Glendon, Weeks and Whitehouse doesn't work well most of the time. I really feel for Weeks, who started well yesterday, as he proved last season how good he was in the position Glendon has been playing. I suppose we will get to see him there on Friday because of George's injury from that horrible tackle. One of the most puzzling aspects of yesterday was Matty and Woody being left back for set pieces. These 2 are better in the air than say Glendon and Iwan, who could have stayed back. I thought Cal would have thrown caution to the wind by now. If we were 10 points safe in the play off places then fine, but we're now in a position where we need to win at least 3 games from 5. We can do it, starting Friday, but Cal needs a braver approach - attacking at the expense of defence and see how that goes. If we have a go and lose, then at least we will have tried. No good playing the same system and expecting different results, as 5 points from the last 7 matches have shown. We have technically better players than most of the teams we're going to face, so let them go out and take it to the opposition. Take off the handbrake Cal.
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Post by Blockhead on Mar 24, 2024 8:57:09 GMT
You have to ask whether Cal feels he has the finances required to build a strong enough squad for promotion. Publicly he has to stick with the team he has. A centre forward like Kurt is like gold dust and we don't have the finances to replace him. However despite the current despondency from fans we have remember we have done well against the top teams and a month back our play off place seemed pretty certain. The next two games are critical. Calum has tried Burton, Goodson, Windsor, Norton, Caton, Tollitt, Peers, Thomas and maybe Zack Clarke in the centre forward role this season which show that he has had the finances available to replace Kurt. Caton clearly isn't fit. Thomas and Tollitt clearly aren't centre forwards. The rest aren't good enough.
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Post by chesterken on Mar 24, 2024 9:23:26 GMT
As others have said it’s the system that’s wrong not the players .
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Post by oldtimer on Mar 24, 2024 9:34:20 GMT
There are non so blind as those who will not see 8 years at this level is an abject failure
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Post by yoshimitsu on Mar 24, 2024 9:37:56 GMT
There are non so blind as those who will not see 8 years at this level is an abject failure That’s on overly simplistic view.
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Post by arthuro on Mar 24, 2024 9:39:38 GMT
Six of that starting line up yesterday were here before he came in as manager. Peers and Murray had been here before being re-signed by Calum. There’s been a revolving door policy with players this season some of which have clearly not been of the standard required for this league. The squad looks unbalance with four left backs and one fit striker. That causes concern about the recruitment and scouting policy.
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Post by oldtimer on Mar 24, 2024 9:53:20 GMT
There are non so blind as those who will not see 8 years at this level is an abject failure That’s on overly simplistic view. sadly the solution isn't simple the directors need to take a long hard look at themselves as does Callum he was warned about us having to many injury prone players on the books before the season started and proceeded to give Caton a 2 year contract
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Post by agl on Mar 24, 2024 10:11:16 GMT
It's been obvious since day 1 of the season that we have a system that pretty much only works if we don't concede the first goal. As the season has gone on I think it's put increasing pressure on the players and, ultimately, they've lost confidence. The results since Christmas (relegation form) speak for themselves.
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Post by johny9 on Mar 24, 2024 11:10:02 GMT
Wasn’t there yesterday but listened to it on seals live and it sounded like we played better then reading the reaction on here and twitter sounds like it was the same old story .
As mentioned before we play the game at a pace that favours the opposition, still no ball boys/girls who could help speed things up when ball goes out of play and we have alfreton next at home who will look to slow things down at every opportunity. Tollitt is one of if not the best winger / attackers in the league and starts for every other team in this league so don’t understand how he isn’t starting for us when we can’t score ! We have been too narrow all season , didn’t understand the decision to shorten the pitch at the beginning of season and still don’t know now.
Fridays game is the type of game where Calum is good at getting right so wouldn’t be surprised to see us win there which will setup the alfreton game nicely but it’s now or never to let the handbrake off and change tactics at home , go 4-3-3 and go for the jugular ! I could accept it more if we started games the way we do but then he changes it last 20 or so but we dont we just carry on hoping something changes . I’ve never wanted a manger to succeed with us more than I do with cal but it does worry me when he comes across as it’s just down to luck and we create loads of chances as it’s clear to everyone else that we don’t .I hope he see’s it and fixes it and it’s not how managers get just before the end where they become disillusioned & stubborn .
3 wins are needed and we are more than capable of getting them and having a strong end of season onto Buxton COYB
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Post by Jack on Mar 24, 2024 11:21:09 GMT
Baffling that people are having a go at the individual midfielders, saying ‘it needs breaking up’ etc.
The problem is 100% the system we play. I know some on here dream of us having a 6ft 4 clogger in centre midfielder who traps the ball further than he kicks it, but the reality would be the same even worse. If Whitehouse, Weeks, Glendon or Murray got the ball yesterday - what option did they have? No winger to hit, no striker moving into any kind of space, no overlapping fullback (and when they did get there, they’re both centre halves playing out of position). All they can do is go sideways, backwards or hoof it.
Whitehouse, Weeks and Glendon are good footballers. They are being strangled by a negative approach to our home games. Actually thought Weeks was good yesterday, too.
Exactly the same situation with the strikers. Peers has not become a bad player overnight, he just gets no service other than having to fight off 2 defenders on his own.
‘Chance after chance’ apparently. It was poor yesterday and it felt like the same game we’ve seen 100 times. Once again, we need some kind of fresh idea heading into the last few home games or the writing is on the wall.
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Post by 1paulcarden on Mar 24, 2024 13:02:58 GMT
Baffling that people are having a go at the individual midfielders, saying ‘it needs breaking up’ etc. The problem is 100% the system we play. I know some on here dream of us having a 6ft 4 clogger in centre midfielder who traps the ball further than he kicks it, but the reality would be the same even worse. If Whitehouse, Weeks, Glendon or Murray got the ball yesterday - what option did they have? No winger to hit, no striker moving into any kind of space, no overlapping fullback (and when they did get there, they’re both centre halves playing out of position). All they can do is go sideways, backwards or hoof it. Whitehouse, Weeks and Glendon are good footballers. They are being strangled by a negative approach to our home games. Actually thought Weeks was good yesterday, too. Exactly the same situation with the strikers. Peers has not become a bad player overnight, he just gets no service other than having to fight off 2 defenders on his own. ‘Chance after chance’ apparently. It was poor yesterday and it felt like the same game we’ve seen 100 times. Once again, we need some kind of fresh idea heading into the last few home games or the writing is on the wall. Why is there no winger to hit? Why are the strikers isolated? Because he’s overloaded the midfield with three of the same player when 2 would be overkill. There’s a chronic lack of width because he can only pick eleven players. Surely that’s pretty elementary? Alternatively, we can pick that exact midfield again, create and score nothing and finish 11th. It’s what we’ve been doing since January.
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Post by Jack on Mar 24, 2024 13:16:45 GMT
Baffling that people are having a go at the individual midfielders, saying ‘it needs breaking up’ etc. The problem is 100% the system we play. I know some on here dream of us having a 6ft 4 clogger in centre midfielder who traps the ball further than he kicks it, but the reality would be the same even worse. If Whitehouse, Weeks, Glendon or Murray got the ball yesterday - what option did they have? No winger to hit, no striker moving into any kind of space, no overlapping fullback (and when they did get there, they’re both centre halves playing out of position). All they can do is go sideways, backwards or hoof it. Whitehouse, Weeks and Glendon are good footballers. They are being strangled by a negative approach to our home games. Actually thought Weeks was good yesterday, too. Exactly the same situation with the strikers. Peers has not become a bad player overnight, he just gets no service other than having to fight off 2 defenders on his own. ‘Chance after chance’ apparently. It was poor yesterday and it felt like the same game we’ve seen 100 times. Once again, we need some kind of fresh idea heading into the last few home games or the writing is on the wall. Why is there no winger to hit? Why are the strikers isolated? Because he’s overloaded the midfield with three of the same player when 2 would be overkill. There’s a chronic lack of width because he can only pick eleven players. Surely that’s pretty elementary? Alternatively, we can pick that exact midfield again, create and score nothing and finish 11th. It’s what we’ve been doing since January. So your issue is with the manager then? He chooses the system. I agree it’s not working. Replace Glendon, Weeks or Peers with any other player in this division and the problems will persist. But it’s much easier to call them ‘Captain Fantastic’ and scapegoat them all.
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Post by btb on Mar 24, 2024 13:29:07 GMT
Why is there no winger to hit? Why are the strikers isolated? Because he’s overloaded the midfield with three of the same player when 2 would be overkill. There’s a chronic lack of width because he can only pick eleven players. Surely that’s pretty elementary? Alternatively, we can pick that exact midfield again, create and score nothing and finish 11th. It’s what we’ve been doing since January. So your issue is with the manager then? He chooses the system. I agree it’s not working. Replace Glendon, Weeks or Peers with any other player in this division and the problems will persist. But it’s much easier to call them ‘Captain Fantastic’ and scapegoat them all. There’s just a complete lack of balance with the three of them in midfield. All very good players in their own right and all three would arguably walk into most teams in the division. It says it all though when the player we miss most in midfield is Kevin Roberts! It’s all completely on the manager. He has put all his eggs in one basket. The unbalanced midfield. The shortened pitch. And the complete lack of a plan b. He’s a young manager and probably the most popular we’ve had in sometime. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted it to work out for a manager so badly but his stubbornness is probably going to leave us asking some big questions in the summer and the board having a decision to make. For what it’s worth, I’d stick with him. But he needs to have a serious look at himself and his methods.
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Post by leedsutd234 on Mar 24, 2024 13:29:59 GMT
Anyone have a clue why the livewire Burton never got on the pitch. Should have started imo.
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Post by 1paulcarden on Mar 24, 2024 13:35:24 GMT
Why is there no winger to hit? Why are the strikers isolated? Because he’s overloaded the midfield with three of the same player when 2 would be overkill. There’s a chronic lack of width because he can only pick eleven players. Surely that’s pretty elementary? Alternatively, we can pick that exact midfield again, create and score nothing and finish 11th. It’s what we’ve been doing since January. So your issue is with the manager then? He chooses the system. I agree it’s not working. Replace Glendon, Weeks or Peers with any other player in this division and the problems will persist. But it’s much easier to call them ‘Captain Fantastic’ and scapegoat them all. Both are at fault. As others have pointed out, we’ve seen that game yesterday a dozen times and that’s on the manager. Sadly he’s put too much trust in certain players to deliver regularly and they haven’t because they cannot adapt. We go a 1-0 down and it’s game over. That’s on the players and picking the same personnel will not change things. Needs Coates, Burton, Edwards in the back 4, Roberts, Weeks and Burke in midfield and Thomas, Peers and Tolitt up front. Would offer something considerably different to the sideways walking football we’ve seen too many times.
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Post by agl on Mar 24, 2024 13:50:10 GMT
Just to throw in some balance, last year we had Willoughby. This year it's Caton. Looked like a good signing but just hadn't worked out. Stuck with him next season too, I believe.
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Post by 1paulcarden on Mar 24, 2024 13:52:15 GMT
Just to throw in some balance, last year we had Willoughby. This year it's Caton. Looked like a good signing but just hadn't worked out. Stuck with him next season too, I believe. Agree with this. Had a great month but apart from that he’s been made of biscuits and a huge disappointment.
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Post by yossergolf on Mar 24, 2024 13:53:03 GMT
You have to ask whether Cal feels he has the finances required to build a strong enough squad for promotion. Publicly he has to stick with the team he has. A centre forward like Kurt is like gold dust and we don't have the finances to replace him. However despite the current despondency from fans we have remember we have done well against the top teams and a month back our play off place seemed pretty certain. The next two games are critical. Calum has tried Burton, Goodson, Windsor, Norton, Caton, Tollitt, Peers, Thomas and maybe Zack Clarke in the centre forward role this season which show that he has had the finances available to replace Kurt. And Kole Hall.
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