Powell deserves a chance

[Grapevine]

He doesn't seem able to win with the supporters.

One week he's accused of having no Plan B and the next of chopping and changing too much.

He starts with the same formation against Luton and Bristol Rovers that we won 4-0 at Bradford and people complain that we are too negative and that the formation was to blame. He changes the formation next game and people complain he changes the formation too much!

Yes we did play 4-4-2 at the end of last season. We also played 4-5-1, 4-3-3 and 4-3-2-1 under Powell last season as we pulled ourselves clear of relegation.

Nobody seemed to complain when the match after beating MK Dons 4-0 with a 4-4-2 we went to Oldham with a 4-2-3-1 and won 3-0.

Plenty were complaining after we lined up in a 4-4-2 for the opening 8 league matches and only won 2 of them as it left us far too open. Plenty were saying how 5-3-2 suited us better whilst we were winning 4 of the next 5 with some version of a 5-3-2.

Plenty are complaining that he should never have let Timlin and Fortune go whilst people complain that it's a season too far for Turner at this level.

Now this isn't always the same people holding contradictory views but it's clear he won't be able to please everybody. My advice to him is don't do what Sturrock did and change who you are to try and win over fans. Be true to yourself and live or die by your own management philosophy.

The moaners are going to moan regardless and sooner or later those saying he only got the job because he was a crowd favourite will be calling for Adam Barrett to get the job instead anyway.

?????? could not have written that better myself and it’s what I’ve been itching to write for weeks!!! ?

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

Do you mean Hart?

We've been conceding goals down our left, not our right.

Agree, now the opposition have 2 easy routes. Wilkes was far too good for either to compete with.

I can't remember a pair of full backs exposed as much since Harris and Stimson in division 1.

 

[Grapevine]

Do you mean Hart?

We've been conceding goals down our left, not our right.

Elvis is a much easier target......?

 

[Maidstone Shrimper]

Does Powell deserve a chance? It seems just like another important thing that is worrying me. Most of us can agree on what is wrong but not on what should be done about it. Back to basics/play the youngsters/4-4-2/drop Elvis, Hart, Turner, White, the whole of the midfield etc etc. My view is that Chris Powell deserves a chance next season regardless of what happens in the rest of this. His squad has been decimated by injuries to key players .... not simply “squad players” .... and a lot of the remainder have been found wanting in terms of form/ability/being lazy and disinterested depending on your point of view. It’s his squad? Yes but recruiting players is a team effort. CP would have noticed weaknesses but getting shot of them would not have been easy. Finding replacements is a matter of identifying targets then handing over to Ron & Co to find the funds to entice them to what is hardly an attractive club. Not just the sad stadium but a history of not paying players, other clubs and HMRC. Most of the January window Ron was scrabbling around trying to raise cash to pay the tax bill which didn’t make Powell’s job any easier. Embargo? Depends on who you listen to.

I don’t know if we’ll be able to maintain our cushion over the drop zone. I believe it will suffer over the next few games. A lot will depend on when Demi and Lennon return and how long it takes them to get back to match fitness. It won’t solve our problems with misfiring wingers and a badly performing midfield but hopefully will give us a sounder defensive base and ease the pressure on the rest of the team.

 

[MK Shrimper]

The only thing he deserves is the sack. Lose a couple more and I think he'll get it.

 

[Wickford Blue]

If we survive this season and he has a fully fit squad for 10 matches and we are still sh*te then that is the time to judge I reckon. Have hated this season but the disruption has been immense and players in and out, changes in formation to try and find something that works and some players don't seem to have responded as we might like. Let us just get a few wins to feel safe and then focus Annett year with a fully fit squad! COYB!!

 

[rigsby]

The only thing he deserves is the sack. Lose a couple more and I think he'll get it.

You hated the last manager and used the same one liners. Any reason ?

 

[GBJ]

The only thing he deserves is the sack. Lose a couple more and I think he'll get it.

On what grounds exactly?

 

[MK Shrimper]

On what grounds exactly?

I think I've made plenty of comments on why. He's not up to the job, simple. Give him a chance and there's a very good chance we'll be in League 2 next year. If you're ok with that because he's a club legend then I would be concerned. He deserves exactly the same scrutiny as anyone else.

 

[Jay_SUFC]

I think at the start of the season he would've had Mcglaughlin and Kighlty nailed on as starters and banking on 10 goals/assists each. Because of that he went for combative rather than creative centre mids. Unfortunately both have been utter gash this season and as a result CP has been forced to shift around his midfield and its looked lopsided and unbalanced and as is often said most games are won in this area. If he can ship both out plus the likes of Turner and White who clearly have seen better days then he might have a better more energetic squad next season.

Why have they been utter gash? Good players (including Mantom and Dieng) were fine at the start of the season, so why have they become bad players?

Webb had a knack of turning average players into good players, but CP seems to be doing the opposite.

I said before, that our squad doesn't seem as fit as previous seasons either, and this must be down to the coaching.

I hope CP does turn it around; but our performances overall this season haven't been good enough.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

...I've seen him do nothing but sulk since October.

This is exactly what I think about you. ?

First post in this thread is spot on.
Injuries have completely killed us.
Some decisions weren’t what I’d have done but Powell knows the exacts of the squads fitness and attitude etc.

 

[Ayrshire Blue]

This is exactly what I think about you. ?

First post in this thread is spot on.
Injuries have completely killed us.
Some decisions weren’t what I’d have done but Powell knows the exacts of the squads fitness and attitude etc.

Yeah it’s me that’s sulking

I’m just a realist and I don’t see Powell as a motivator

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

This is exactly what I think about you. ?

First post in this thread is spot on.
Injuries have completely killed us.
Some decisions weren’t what I’d have done but Powell knows the exacts of the squads fitness and attitude etc.

I don't think he does know the attitude though. Some of the effort put in is appalling. Not closing down, chasing back, bottling challenges. Things that are required from players at any level are not being applied. Powell is the manager he takes responsibility. I manage a team at work, if they F up I shoulder the blame at a higher level and rightly so. He should do too.

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

Yeah it’s me that’s sulking

I’m just a realist and I don’t see Powell as a motivator

Haha I’m winding you up.

I just think it’s unfair to judge a mans ability to motivate a team to win games when the team are so smashed to pieces due to injury, confidence and psychological restrictions relating to both of those things.

I can try and motivate a jacket potato until it believes it’s going to climb everest until I’m blue in the face it’s still a jacket potato.

What I’m trying to get at with the best metaphor you’ll see this year is that it doesn’t matter how much you try and motivate the players if the squad is so shot to bits what can you do. We just arent where we want to be and it’s upsetting. Because it was looking promising. Not only do we have the existing injury pile we’ve also got John White and Hendrie to stick on that list. It’s just ****ing ridiculous.

I just think Powell can’t win. His comment regarding being happy about only losing 3 is self deprecating. If he had come out and said “we were great in the opening 30 minutes” he’d get abuse for that. What’s he meant to say? Is there a combination of words that would please you? What are they if that’s the case.

I don't think he does know the attitude though. Some of the effort put in is appalling. Not closing down, chasing back, bottling challenges. Things that are required from players at any level are not being applied. Powell is the manager he takes responsibility. I manage a team at work, if they F up I shoulder the blame at a higher level and rightly so. He should do too.

If your team was full full of kids with no experience and your main team members were out for a year. I’m not sure how well you’d take the criticism.

 

[LBBlue]

With 32 games gone we have just 6 players who have started more than 20 games - two of those are White and Turner who probably didn’t expect to start 20 games between them.

Hyam appeared 18 times in the Championship for Ipswich from new year onwards last season but has only started 6 for us and Bunn played 41 times last season for Bury but started just 14 for us.

4 ACLs in one season is as many as I can remember in 60 years in total, Plus an Achilles, Dru’s hamstring, Lennon’s two fractures and all the other niggles it’s not surprising we haven’t been able to develop a pattern of play.

We’ve got enough about us to get another 15 points - they might nearly all come away from home though.

 

[ms brush]

Someone said they don't see a plan. That is bollox! There is totally a plan- but that plan was shot to sh** almost from the get-go when key players sufffered season ending injuries almost weekly. So, from having a full squad and a number of promising youngsters, suddenly we are forced into chucking said youngsters into the pond with no lifeline, and relying on some players who quite honestly are past it, or out of form / not interested / whatever. With a full squad you have the ability to ride these issues, and do whatever it takes to sort things out. However, when you have to play whoever is least injured and whoever is still standing for every game - guess what? Yes, inconsistencies, poor performances and more injuries as well as some howlers from young players who are still learning. I don't care what any one says, the tactics aren't the issue here - it's the execution of those tactics by those fit enough to stand up or struggling for form that is the problem! We just don't have the depth or the options to change anything, and when we are relying on a threadbare team, the better sides in the division will find every weakness and expose it - as per last night. I kind of agree that 3-0 wasn't so bad - that could have been a rugby score quite easily! Saying that in public - maybe not the best idea, but as I value honesty, I have to say that it is quite refreshing to hear that!

I also don't think anyone can do their job properly if they don't have the right team around them and the right support.we all know that Coxy can't win a game on his own, just as Bishop can't stop every shot without the help of the defence. Footballers are no different to the rest of us!

Then of course what didn't help was the transfer window being so disastrous as a result of off-the-field issues, such as tax bills and winding up orders etc. Doesn't make the club the most attractive prospect for someone to join, when there is a risk it will be a long slog for the rest of the season and you might not get paid...

So, a plan? Yes - get through the season as best we can, picking up points where we can. It's not a perfect plan, but it is damage limitation time. Yes, we let Theo go, and didn't get a replacement. We also decided to invest in our own young players rather than develop another club's. We don't have a premiership sized budget, and we don't have premiership standard players (unless they are too young to get there / too old to hack it now). I don't think we have any right to expect anything other than we have given the circumstances, and we need to give CP a break! We can't judge until we have a full squad available, and we can rotate, bring the youngsters through in a more managed way, and allow them recovery time. This man is awesome, and I believe he is still the right man for the job.

Bored with all the moaning about how awful we are. If it is that bad, why are you still here??

 

[Grapevine]

Haha I’m winding you up.

I just think it’s unfair to judge a mans ability to motivate a team to win games when the team are so smashed to pieces due to injury, confidence and psychological restrictions relating to both of those things.

I can try and motivate a jacket potato until it believes it’s going to climb everest until I’m blue in the face it’s still a jacket potato.

What I’m trying to get at with the best metaphor you’ll see this year is that it doesn’t matter how much you try and motivate the players if the squad is so shot to bits what can you do. We just arent where we want to be and it’s upsetting. Because it was looking promising. Not only do we have the existing injury pile we’ve also got John White and Hendrie to stick on that list. It’s just ****ing ridiculous.

I just think Powell can’t win. His comment regarding being happy about only losing 3 is self deprecating. If he had come out and said “we were great in the opening 30 minutes” he’d get abuse for that. What’s he meant to say? Is there a combination of words that would please you? What are they if that’s the case.



If your team was full full of kids with no experience and your main team members were out for a year. I’m not sure how well you’d take the criticism.

Agree with your post 100% I genuinely do....however I’m sick of this “team full of kids” rubbish.

Last nights starting 11 only had 1 teenager in it and between them had over 1600 football league appearances chalked up......

If we all agreed that Bishop has been outstanding....Elvis divides opinion but overall I think he’s done ok....it’s really not a valid excuse.

Most teams we play at this level are also young....Herbie Kane is only 19 and was excellent last night and scored....

In fact when you look at it our most experienced and oldest players are Mantom / Dieng / Cox / McLaughlin / Kightly / White / Turner......arguably they were our poorest performers on the night and only Cox coming out with any real credit over the last 15/20 games......

 

[WESTY_SUFC]

If your team was full full of kids with no experience and your main team members were out for a year. I’m not sure how well you’d take the criticism.

It's not about taking the criticism. It's about being able to motivate them.

 

[WestStandBlue]

His had a chance and look what his done. Created a worse squad than last year, who are less fit and unmotivated to perform.

The blaming of injuries for our poor season is about the only consistent thing that has happened under Powell. And rather than be critisced for creating a squad that has so many injuries he gets people defending him. Another example of people being blinded by his short playing career here.

What we should be asking is why are we getting so many injuries? Is it down to Powell and his training methods?

 

[GBJ]

What we should be asking is why are we getting so many injuries? Is it down to Powell and his training methods?

I should have known something was off, the day I saw Powell strolling into training weilding that bat.