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Trafford 0-4

Additionally, that team were supported today up until the dreadful third goal went in, at that point it was game over. We are often criticised as fans for not “backing the team” but at full time today, despite myself and several others standing awaiting to see the team off, only Tom Fagan properly came over to address the fans.
That says everything about this team, squad and club currently. Change is needed. From the very top to the very bottom.
Respect to Tom however, who was man enough to front it up and admit it was not good enough.
 
10 points adrift of safety and no sign of even winning a game. This has been coming for a long time. In hindsight action should have been taken at the end of last season, after this dreadful run started mid way through last season.

I’m not sure Damien is the man to take us forward, but equally he was dealt a disastrous hand by Goodison and Bowyer.

It might be time to prepare for the Midlands league. It could be a blessing ending up there, the level definitely seems lower than the NWC, so we can be hopeful of a quick bounce back up.
 
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Andy said:
10 points adrift of safety and no sign of even winning a game. This has been coming for a long time. In hindsight action should have been taken at the end of last season, after this dreadful run started mid way through last season.

I’m not sure Damien is the man to take us forward, but equally he was dealt a disastrous hand by Goodison and Bowyer.

It might be time to prepare for the Midlands league. It could be a blessing ending up there, the level definitely seems lower than the NWC, so we can be hopeful of a quick bounce back up.
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I wouldn’t be so sure about the Midlands being an easier option. I would say teams have spirit and fight and work for each other. Look at the degree to which NVFC have struggled - they’ve got a strong squad too.
I don’t know why Damian got the job, and because few of us were present at his interview or saw his application, it’s hard to criticise the board that the appointment, in hindsight, hasn’t paid off. We are not going to save ourselves from relegation, so strategically the club needs to start planning now and getting in the best position it can to start in a lower league. Knowing we are relegated so early gives us one advantage - time to plan.
 
Another point, our decline seemed to coincide with buying in the video analysis system (can’t remember what it’s called), and the managers seemed to become a bit reliant on this rather than what we were all seeing with our eyes. We’d also surely be better off using the cost of this in the playing budget?
 
Kit said:
I wouldn’t be so sure about the Midlands being an easier option. I would say teams have spirit and fight and work for each other. Look at the degree to which NVFC have struggled - they’ve got a strong squad too.
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Exactly. We would likely require a complete rebuild with players based around Stoke and a manager that knows the league. Easier said than done.

Vics finished right up the top of the counties league last season and as you say are really struggling this year and were still good enough to beat us.

The task of getting back will be far from easy. Hopefully we can model ourselves on both Congleton and Hanley who both have done well when moved. Preparing now gives us the best chance of being strong hopefully.
 
I said weeks ago that this wasn't the right appointment. I've interviewed people for jobs, who come across ambitious and positive, however the reality is, they haven't got what it takes. I don't blame Damien, he clearly wanted to give it a go and cut his teeth in management, however you can't do that with a club on a scale like ours, with the challenge he was faced with. I'm not convinced the players are bought into him, he comes across nervous with no idea where we are going wrong, what chance of the players got? Some of the team selections are baffling and scream desperation. You don't have to be a football genius to work out that when you are in a hole, needs must. It may not be pretty, it may not be long term, but pick the right man with the right skill set to suit the situation you are in. Look at how many times Sam Allardyce was brought in by clubs who were in a 'Situation'! Fans of those clubs weren't happy, but they knew it wasn't long term, the football wasn't pretty, they usually changed formation, but it worked. Now, we may not have the budge for SA, however we needed a strong character, somebody who is streetwise, experienced at this level, knows what it takes to fight and build a team (A Neil Baker perhaps🫢). I'm sorry, but Damien wasn't our man from the start, doomed to fail. He picked up a very poor squad, low in confidence, he doesn't have the experience and character to put his arm around the squad and get that bit extra out of players. We need a strong, experienced leader, someone not afraid to change the formation and style of play. A manager with a recruitment network to attract players, encourage some who may be skeptical about being in a relegation dog fight. We have a great board, passionate about this club, people I respect and trust that the club is in good hands, unfortunately on this occasion, they have made the wrong decision by gambling with this appointment.
 
Kit said:
Another point, our decline seemed to coincide with buying in the video analysis system (can’t remember what it’s called), and the managers seemed to become a bit reliant on this rather than what we were all seeing with our eyes. We’d also surely be better off using the cost of this in the playing budget?
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Didn't we get promoted and win a cup when we started using it?
Pretty sure there's a subscription for highlights that goes towards paying for it as well.
Video analysis is a very important part of the game now.
It can also be used to appeal red cards!
 
Well that was awful yesterday and I honestly don't see how we were even set up to win that game, Woolley at 9 is completely ridiculous and in no way did it need to happen as we had a number of other options such as Joel on the bench or we could have gone with either McFadyen or Chakwana up front as we had two wingers on the bench (Noble and Costa) and I actually feel that we were significantly better once Issac and Joel came on and McFadyen moved more Central though obviously the game was gone by that point, feel for Johny Sodhi as well who didn't get much game time when he came to the club and is just been thrown in at 10 because we now have a lack of options, I think that the new CB from Salford looks decent but again the issue there is that it's yet again another new CB partnership and he and Jonah need to get used to each other (badly missing Matty Fenton), it's almost certain that we're probably going down now and whilst I do get the anger and disappointment I do also think that we should try and look at it as a new adventure and experience for us as a club with some new teams and grounds to visit next season, I'm confident that we'll be able to rebuild and will be in a position to come back up again maybe not immediately but in the very near future
 
wasn’t at the game yesterday, but have heard it was as bad as it’s been. Maybe DC isn’t the right man for the job, but the players he’s brought in are better individually than what we had initially when he came in. I don’t understand the persistence on sticking with the same formation that wasn’t working when the previous management were in charge. The board may be passionate about the club, but they must take some culpability for the position the club is in right now. Any other club the previous management wouldn’t have seen the end of last season let alone be given a summer to recruit and then able to leave of their own choosing after the results we were getting. The board had the power to get a manager in over the summer and give them a full pre-season to build a squad instead of having to scramble around like DC has, he was left a poor squad, bereft of confidence and has had to try and rebuild mid season. Ultimately the state of the club falls with people at the top. The players need to also stand up and take accountability. Right now they might be bereft of confidence, but that doesn’t stop them playing with passion.
 
The truth of the matter is this team is where it is for a reason bottom of the league
It can not defend or score goals, it lacks passion.
The fact for last 18 months a nil - nil draw was a decent result speaks volumes!!
Relegation is one thing and not the end of the world
What’s important that the club doesn’t go into free fall!!

Playing in the Midlands league will come with its own challenges but the club needs to start to look a head and plan for this and accept it.

Not just on the field but off it too.
 
Would agree but when I said this the other day I was a troll…..

The appointment hasn’t worked, sometimes it just doesn’t. We need to plan for next season now and give a new man the chance to build something ready for the Midlands league.

The board need to take some advice from people within football, perhaps Goodie / Bow or even Street on the next man.

Giving the job to an inexperienced manager no matter what potential contacts he has was always going to be a big ask and it hasn’t worked. I wish DC well but think we have to prepare now for what’s next.
 
MarkDavies89 said:
Didn't we get promoted and win a cup when we started using it?
Pretty sure there's a subscription for highlights that goes towards paying for it as well.
Video analysis is a very important part of the game now.
It can also be used to appeal red cards!
Click to expand...
Whilst I agree that it does have it's advantages I think that the point being made was more about over reliance at looking at the data and not really using your own eyes to judge what you see which I think the previous managers were guilty of tbh
 
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josh89 said:
Whilst I agree that it does have it's advantages I think that the point being made was more about over reliance at looking at the data and not really using your own eyes to judge what you see which I think the previous managers were guilty of tbh
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Surely being able to rewatch matches and pinpoint certain areas and things that happen is better than only seeing it once from the position of the dugout? Especially if you're focusing on the game itself and not planning for future matches at the time.
 
I do think the appointment of Damian hasn’t worked out but in no way do I think I and others who called for the previous managers to go were wrong. A change needed to be made and unfortunately the right person wasn’t chosen.

The change should also have been made at the back end of last season or at least when the league campaign had been finished. A lot of us could see this coming for more than a year but nothing was done to address it, so it isn’t a surprise to see us struggling now.
 
I'm not sure Damian has had enough time yet tbh
It's probably taken 4 games to actually look at the players that were here from previous managers and then another 2-3 weeks to get players in to try and improve the positions he felt needed it and then these players have to gel and learn how to play as a team.
Don't get me wrong, the team were miles off yesterday,but I also think that as a team they've only had 2 weeks training and playing together.
Players have left and come in and it's all been disruptive.
I feel he's still trying to find his best formation/line up but he's trying to stay in games whilst doing this.

Looking at Trafford yesterday I think they've been in this position as their manager was appointed in October and are probably just starting to gel. They will probably kick on and pick up more points and finish mid table.

Quite a few games left and alot of points to play for.
 
Talking to one of their fans yesterday, Trafford seem to be well ahead of us. New manager has changed the team and the style of play and it's obvious from their run of results they are difficult to break down. One defeat in the last 12, but a lot of draws. Prior to the game they had only won 4 in the league like us. I thought the first 30 minutes yesterday there was nothing in it. The killer goal was probably the 2nd right on the stroke of half time.
 
Jono said:
I'm not sure Damian has had enough time yet tbh
It's probably taken 4 games to actually look at the players that were here from previous managers and then another 2-3 weeks to get players in to try and improve the positions he felt needed it and then these players have to gel and learn how to play as a team.
Don't get me wrong, the team were miles off yesterday,but I also think that as a team they've only had 2 weeks training and playing together.
Players have left and come in and it's all been disruptive.
I feel he's still trying to find his best formation/line up but he's trying to stay in games whilst doing this.

Looking at Trafford yesterday I think they've been in this position as their manager was appointed in October and are probably just starting to gel. They will probably kick on and pick up more points and finish mid table.

Quite a few games left and alot of points to play for.
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Footballs all opinions. He isn’t the man to keep us up in my opinion and/or take us forward next year. If we want to bounce back it has to be the thought process now. I’d give him his dignity and allow him to make the decision as seems a nice genuine chap, just out of his depth at present.
 
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I thought we'd have gone for it yesterday tbf.
Gone really attacking and tried to get them on the back foot from the off. we were a bit cautious and again let them grow into the game and score a couple of scrappy goals, uphill battle from then on in.
 
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