PeteG

I'm not going over the points made by many for Unsworth out, I think 99.9% of the fanbase can see he's not the man to take us forward. However, I think there are some big issues that need addressing when they do eventually get rid. We must have the biggest backroom staff in the league, I get it was put in place as part of a long term plan but are these all Unsworth's men? It could get very expensive having to get rid of the lot. It's clearly not working, recruitment as i've said before seems very scatter gun, (the subs bench yesterday showed that) Mick Rathbone was brought in to improve fitness and psychology apparently but have we seen any real improvement in that area? We were going to have a B team but that's been shelved. I realise Jeffers has gone but Nicky Adams seems to have replaced him to a certain extent, we've got all these stats experts but there is one stat staring them in the face. There has clearly been a big investment in the infrastructure but is it all necessary at this level and was it put together at the request of Unsworth? A new manager will want his own people in place but I do believe it would be beneficial to scrap the whole process, get rid of the majority of them and go back to basics with a manager and his own small team. I admire the thought process but it just seems over the top for the level we are at and there could be an accusation that the players have been somewhat spoilt and started to believe they were on a far higher level than they actually are which may have resulted in complacency on the pitch which is where it ultimately matters.

I'm very much in the Unsworth out camp, however, I thought that was a much improved performance. Much more on the front foot, he brought Hobson back in (who was MOM for us) and actually played him in his proper position after wanting to sign him for the past 6 months or more. Can't really point the finger at Unsworth for us not winning that game but with 1 win in 7 he's surely on borrowed time. The worrying thing is Frank's speech before the game, he admits he knows nothing about football but he's going to stick with Unsworth because he loves the club and it hurts him when we don't win! We know the Royles won't pull the trigger so we look stuck with him. I just can't see him ever getting us promoted.

2 hours ago, Bobledgersheart said:

 

Yes it's a shame we've now got a decent owner and Board and a poor manager which is in direct contrast to our previous regime.

What have the previous regime got to with this, or Corney or Blitz or any other regime. We are talking about the here and now.

I'm not going over old ground but if Unsworth had any respect for the Royles and the Rothwells, he'd resign tonight. However, I very much doubt he will.

1 hour ago, yarddog73 said:

Hartlepool currently top and disproving the myth that you can't be competitive when you come down, Altrincham also 5th - how is that even possible, we've played one decent game in five yet the apologists will be along soon to defend the chump and his latest masterclass today Zzzzzzzzzzzz.......

But you need to have been down here a few years to get used to it. Difference is they appointed a manager in Askey who knows what he's doing in this division. There are a whole host of decent managers out there we could attract if they had only gone about the recruitment process properly in the first place. Don't compound the error now by holding on too long to get rid!

Absolutely shocking so far from both sides 

1 hour ago, Frankly Mr Shankly said:

 

This is how we'd have looked had the Rothwells not bought the club in July 'Pete'. And we'd have been readying to play Spennymoor town this weekend too.

Any evidence of that?

54 minutes ago, basilrobbie said:

Interesting listen. I'm sure if he had his time again Matt would do it a bit differently. But that doesn't mean he's wrong.

 

I think the world is full of people who feel that life owes them something and the way they "support" their football club reflects that - wild mood swings, black and white, triumph and disaster, all in the same week. Asking them to be measured and take a long term view is about as futile as asking them to fart on  Saturn. 

 

Nevertheless you can have standards and you can try not to trash something you've worked hard for, and when he sees people who seem not to believe that I think that is where Matt gets frustrated. Especially as he was one of the people doing the heavy lifting throughout that period.

 

Fans of other clubs are no different. Coventry warned us about it, and yet we have just the same element at our club, people who will brook nothing short of absolute success and scream blue murder until they get it. It's part of the price you pay for going through a period when your fan base gets radicalised, or politicised, or both. Which is why, for example, reading this thread, even an outsider like me can spot the two or three posters who have  axes to grind.

All due respect to you but people aren't demanding absolute success today, we are asking for the manager to take the handbrake off, have a go at the opposition and look to win games from the outset rather than have a must not lose mentality. Given the size of our club, budget and the improvements we have made in the squad plus the division we are playing in, I don't think it's a lot to ask for. If Blackpool were playing Wealdstone this weekend, i'm certain you'd be miffed if you set up as defensively as we have been doing.

23 minutes ago, latics22 said:

You didn’t answer my question would you prefer the previous owner or the current one?

Obvious really, the current one as he was able to buy the ground and get rid of Blitz.

Going back about 10 years Craig Davies was on £14k a week in League 1 at Wigan and not even part of the matchday squad at the time. I think Barnsley would have been paying Norwood around the £6k - £8k a week that's been mentioned and we would have had to at least match that. As @yarddog73 says though, it could very well be money well spent, if he gets us up, I think he's a top top player at this level. Brings us back to the point though, that getting up asap is important because we won't be able to spend like that for years if we stagnate in this division. I don't understand the mentality that it might take 5 years or so and we are ok with that. The division is really poor.

22 minutes ago, Lags said:

 

It is for some. Or the fact the Royle's gave him the job due to being mates.

 

I've repeatedly stated, most managers fail so if I predict every manager to fail I'll ultimately be proved a clever clogs more than not.

 

Regarding DU, I think he will always sway to being defensive in style so for him, he must win more to keep the punters happy. No one likes being proved wrong so the vocal outer's views will always be negative now. He will have to live with it.

 

One week DU blue and white army, the next we want DU out. I just hope after all these years of decline we manage to get up, then stay up.

I think this is a valid point and the fact it seemed to be a little underhand on how they went about it under Shez's nose. I think most would have wanted a proper recruitment process with a proven manager installed however, if Unsworth was playing decent, attacking football it would have been overlooked. The fact is, his football is defensive, dull and atm not even that successful in terms of results. If we (Unsworth out camp) thought the team was inferior to the vast majority of opposition we could accept that, it's the fact that in the main, we feel the team is better than most and if he just allowed the players to go out and express themselves, get on the front foot, results would be better and it would also be a much better product to go and watch. He can still prove us wrong and i'd be more than happy to eat humble pie. But, the clock is ticking.

8 minutes ago, Lags said:

 

No cigar. Yes we stayed up,  that's not success it's avoiding failure.  Big difference. 

I disagree, it was a great success unfortunately he only delayed the inevitable as the club had been in serious decline for many years. I'll ask you this, was Eddie Howe successful last season? 

Just now, Lags said:

 

Well none of them succeeded. Dowie had us excited on a good budget. Alas no cigar. Currently the DU story is unfinished. 

So when Shez took over from Robinson and kept us up wasn't a success? Give over, we were absolutely nailed on to go down under Robinson that season.

19 minutes ago, Lags said:

 

You might just be on to something here. 

 

Remind me how many successful managers we've had.  Then take your time naming all those that failed.  I wonder what odds you'd get on the next and the next latics manager failing. 

Depends what you consider failure? Did Dino fail? Did Bunn fail? Did Kewell fail? Did Johnson fail? Did Shez fail? Did Dowie fail? Could go on and on but make no mistake about it, any manager given the league we are in the budget given, not have a real crack at winning the title or getting promoted would be a fail.

4 minutes ago, whittles left foot said:

Yes it does seem odd that as a little bit of controversy about how poorly the club is doing according to a section of the fan base you @PeteG have been increasing your posts in both frequency and length over the past 2 weeks.

 

I am sure it is just a coincidence really. But then again. 

No I explained this a few weeks ago, not that I have to explain, I don't bother during the close season. I was as positive as anyone when we won 5-1 the other week. I hope i'm proved wrong about Unsworth, i really do, i'm just not convinced i will be. The last time I was as negative about a manager was during Warnocks time with us.

1 minute ago, mcfluff1985 said:

Whats your point?

Pretty obvious really, a club looks like Southend do when it's on the brink of going out of business, winding up orders, points deductions etc. And still they have another 42 days!

2 minutes ago, mcfluff1985 said:

Course you are

Yes, i am, I've been watching us home and away since 1978, watched us at over 100 grounds so don't talk shite.

The reason i suspect the club would spin finishing 7th as a success is because they moved the goalposts last season, from getting in the play-offs when Unsworth was appointed to keeping us up. Shez would easily have kept us up (I'm not saying he was the long term answer) but was sacked early in the season with Unsworth attending games beforehand. Unsworth was always going to be the manager once the takeover was completed, i'm not even sure why they didn't just appoint him straight away. It's now a question of whether Unsworth can deliver to which the jury is very much out and if not, how far are they prepared to go in order to back him. It does feel at the moment they are prepared to follow him over a cliff and no doubt had a word with the likes of Matt Dean to use his platform to ramp up the support for him because it does seem rather odd and a bit over the top how vocal they have become in their support for Unsworth in the last 2 weeks.

Tbh, I think anyone of us on here could have this squad in and around the play-offs and do I expect Unsworth to get us into the play-offs as a minimum (should they keep him that long). Whether finishing 7th is seen as a success, I don't know but i'd expect the club to spin it as a success even if we lost in the play-offs in order to keep him for another season at least. My opinion is, we should  have a proper challenge for the title and if we fell short and ultimately got beat in the play-offs i'd accept that. I don't really buy into the argument he must be given time regardless and it's not the end of the world if we don't go up yet. The longer you stay down in this league, the harder it gets. The teams that come down next year and every year after will have an advantage over us in terms of solidarity payments and then there are always sides on the up throwing money at it (think Forest Green, Fleetwood, Salford, Harrogate etc.) It won't be that long before Macclesfield and Bury will be back at this level so the task will get harder with every passing year. We need to make the most of what we have now, the crowds won't stay at 7,000 plus if we stagnate, we saw that, staying in league 1 for over 20 years. I've said it numerous times but for me if we are not top 5 come October he should be shown the door although i'd happily see him gone tonight.

45 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

Fair play if that's true, after what they've paid for everything that's some outlay. Let's hope they get rewarded on the pitch, I'd say they are expecting a top 2 or 3 finish minimum given what they've parted with. 

Not saying the £5 million was definitely for that, i'm just guessing in all honesty but there is a debenture for £5.1 million against the club owed to Grocco. Surely, some if not most of this, is the budget to get us back to the EFL or until we are self sustainable? That must be the long term plan, i'm just worried that Unsworth blows it and we are stuck down here once that money has gone.

8 minutes ago, Littlemoor Lad said:

Way to go Frank 

Steady on, emphasis on the borrowed. It's currently a debt on the club.

Didn't the club borrow £5.1 million from the Rothwell's company? I'd have thought this is what was felt required to get us back into the EFL and then look to repay that loan. Could be way off the mark but would make sense. The problem is, if we squander that £5 million and are stuck in this league. Will more be made available or is that your lot? Makes getting a manager in who can actually get us out of this league even more imperative.

This is how a club looks when it's on the brink of going out of business!!

2 minutes ago, yarddog73 said:

I really wouldn't say he did, going out of your way to abuse the fans you sit amongst wouldn't be my way of bringing attention to yourself but hey ho, why does he think it's okay to dish it out but takes umbrage when others have a different point of view, most of the fans who have opinions on Unsworth will stand by them too, Matt Dean calling for patience is about as irrelevant as me calling for Unsworth head on here, nobody really gives a fuck but I don't think getting personal is the way to go, people dont feel triggered they just think he's talking shite and stuck up his own arse and if anything I feel it will prove to be more divisive. As for his role as a director on the Trust or whatever it is called these days the communication sent out last week with regards to their Social Media policy makes interesting reading.

My bet is that communication was a ticking box exercise, i'd be very surprised if his mates do anything about it.

7 minutes ago, Lee Sinnott said:

He went on the radio and said the fans were deliberately trying to kill the club. No wonder the fans didn't respect him...

Wasn't that after the Brentford game?