Caldwell out?

[BigBanker]

The problem with this analysis is that it removes any agency from the players. We were doing badly - it was Caldwell's fault. We are doing better - that's to Caldwell's credit. All a bit binary for my taste

He's the manager. I would like to give him credit for getting the best out of his players when things go well (like on Saturday) and maintain the right for him to be accountable when they're not playing well.

Feels harsh not to give the manager credit when the team play well.

 

[arthur]

Perhaps Caldwell is our Ferguson

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That did occur to me, but I didn't think I could endure the ridicule if I said it

 

[Boyo]

As Jon's friend and colleague Dan pointed out on The Big Bank Theory, the excellent performance on Saturday wasn't with a new striker, or a host of new signings. It was with the broadly the same squad of players which Caldwell failed to get a song out of for months. It's great news for all of us if he's improving as a manager (and not unlikely, if the best way of learning is through failure).

Three big factors for me...

Cox is a different player compared to September.

Our inability to have two genuine wingbacks, due to injuries, through the bad period, massively inhibited are effectiveness as an attacking threat. At times we were forced to have Jules on the left and Kite on the right!

Diabate is better than Aimson.

 

[Grecian Max]

The problem with this analysis is that it removes any agency from the players. We were doing badly - it was Caldwell's fault. We are doing better - that's to Caldwell's credit. All a bit binary for my taste

This is true, although it looked very much to me that the players were being "over coached" if that's a term - they weren't playing with any freedom

Lots of over thinking leading to not a lot of fluency

I didn't see much change in effort from the players, they've always tried hard

I mentioned a few months back that I worried that GC wants to play a level of passing and tactical football beyond our League 1 players comprehension... perhaps it is now clicking

At least from where I was sitting

 

[arthur]

I mentioned a few months back that I worried that GC wants to play a level of passing and tactical football beyond our League 1 players comprehension...

That was exactly the issue with McNab (league 2 in his case) which led to his successor saying "we're playing 4 4 2 for the rest of the season, a system players understand ".

There was always the fear, even among Inners like me, that Caldwell was in danger of going down the same path. All a matter of whether or not to keep faith I suppose, and I wouldn't blame anyone for not doing...

 

[Antony Moxey]

That was exactly the issue with McNab (league 2 in his case) which led to his successor saying "we're playing 4 4 2 for the rest of the season, a system players understand ".

Mike Bassett took over from McNob??

 

[scottus86]

I was skeptical of the Caldwell appointment and held reservations until we were top of league one at the start of this season.

Then I gave him my backing and we went on that terrible run, therefore, even though I am happy with the recent upturn in form and what I consider to be two good signings yesterday, I'll stay in the out camp until we're mathematically safe from relegation.

This league one is awful outside of the top 8 and there's no excuse for relegation.

 

[Grecianman135]

Perhaps Caldwell is our Ferguson

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Tara Fergie sounds like an Onlyfans girls name....

If your into that sort of thing of course...

 

[Larry Wilkie]

A lot of comments about how poor league 1 is this year, but is it really that different to last year? Arguably the three that came down weakened it slightly in that they aren’t as good as Ipswich, Sheffield Wednesday and the other side that went up, but then a couple of the sides that came up are stronger than the sides that were relegated so maybe slightly weaker overall, but is it really as bad are some are suggesting? You may be right of course. As always, all a matter of opinion, and many will have seen more games than me due to my work rotas and travel from Wales.

 

[Exehausted]

This is true, although it looked very much to me that the players were being "over coached" if that's a term - they weren't playing with any freedom

Lots of over thinking leading to not a lot of fluency

I didn't see much change in effort from the players, they've always tried hard

I mentioned a few months back that I worried that GC wants to play a level of passing and tactical football beyond our League 1 players comprehension... perhaps it is now clicking

At least from where I was sitting

A big part of being a successful coach in any sport is the ability to match the tactics to the strengths and weaknesses of the players that they have, not the other way around. Then with good coaching over a period of time you can hopefully improve the quality of the players to fit the system you want to play. The problem is that takes time and patience, something few clubs give managers. Most managers take over after a period of failure so they need to shake things up immediately to get instant results. It was different with Gary because he followed a successful manager. He probably felt he had to make changes quickly just for the sake of being the new boss. He is now matching the style of play that he wants to the new players he's bringing in. If it works and we stay up, which I hope we do, next season, with the players that we know are already here and the new ones coming, we will be able to establish ourselves as a solid League One team. Very few clubs can cope with losing the players that we did and rebuild back stronger unless they spend huge sums of money. Gary made this clear to the Board and said that we needed more players signed for next season before this one ends. Nick Hawker said they agreed with this and that the club would provide "unprecedented" funds. They have done this it would seem, so lets get behind the players and club and roar them onto a mid table finish......hopefully!