An Honest Appraisal On Today

[ncRover]

Of course he’s doing his best, he’s not losing games on purpose.
It’s what he believes in and maybe we don’t have the players to carry out what he believes in,

A decent, knowledgeable & experienced manager though would assess what he's got and devise a system that suits the players at his disposal. Then when he gets his players in who he knows can play his preferred style that's when he plays it.
I said on another thread was DS not asked in his interview how he would use the players at his disposal until such time he had his own players in. He appears to be shooting himself in the foot by insisting on sticking to his style of play and not adapting to suit the players at his disposal.

Even if he had his realistic ideal players that the club could afford, we would not get top 3.

How many of the 20 teams that have been promoted from L2 in the last 5 years have played 3-4-3 playing it out from the back?

How many top teams are even playing this formation now, just Spurs? Christ. It is horrific. That is why the stadium is half empty.

It would maybe be slightly more palatable if the coaching and playing staff were passionate and likeable on the whole. I’ve watched Rovers for 20 years and I’ve never celebrated a goal less than our first vs Wimbledon a fortnight ago.

Recruitment is based on style of play. Let’s identify tried and tested player roles that compliment each other and recruit some men (not boys) to fill them. Back to basics and restore some balance.

People saying Northampton aren’t that good. No, you don’t have to be to get promoted from this league. But I would swap the vast majority of our first choice players for their’s in a heartbeat.

I think ticket sales in the next week will force the club’s hand. Hopefully that will ignite some serious introspection as to what has gone wrong. And also not only go how we go forwards, but how we provide some basic sense of entertainment and pride for us supporters. That’s the most important “fundamental” right now for this club.

[Canadian Rover]

Are you sure you were watching yesterdays game CR not a replay of the away fixture?
Yesterday was absolute pants

Agreed but it was better than most of our games under DS still.

[i_ateallthepies]

Must admit I thought it was a better performance than the previous two games despite how poor it still was.

[Bessie Red]

Of course he’s doing his best, he’s not losing games on purpose.
It’s what he believes in and maybe we don’t have the players to carry out what he believes in,

A decent, knowledgeable & experienced manager though would assess what he's got and devise a system that suits the players at his disposal. Then when he gets his players in who he knows can play his preferred style that's when he plays it.
I said on another thread was DS not asked in his interview how he would use the players at his disposal until such time he had his own players in. He appears to be shooting himself in the foot by insisting on sticking to his style of play and not adapting to suit the players at his disposal.

Even if he had his realistic ideal players that the club could afford, we would not get top 3.

How many of the 20 teams that have been promoted from L2 in the last 5 years have played 3-4-3 playing it out from the back?

How many top teams are even playing this formation now, just Spurs? Christ. It is horrific. That is why the stadium is half empty.

It would maybe be slightly more palatable if the coaching and playing staff were passionate and likeable on the whole. I’ve watched Rovers for 20 years and I’ve never celebrated a goal less than our first vs Wimbledon a fortnight ago.

Recruitment is based on style of play. Let’s identify tried and tested player roles that compliment each other and recruit some men (not boys) to fill them. Back to basics and restore some balance.

People saying Northampton aren’t that good. No, you don’t have to be to get promoted from this league. But I would swap the vast majority of our first choice players for their’s in a heartbeat.

I think ticket sales in the next week will force the club’s hand. Hopefully that will ignite some serious introspection as to what has gone wrong. And also not only go how we go forwards, but how we provide some basic sense of entertainment and pride for us supporters. That’s the most important “fundamental” right now for this club.

Don't get me wrong I agree we shouldn't be trying to play out from the back in lge 2. Best way to get out of this lge is to get the ball in the oppos box as quickly & as often as you can and let the defenders make the inevitable mistakes and pounce when they do.

[sedwardsdrfc]

Of course he’s doing his best, he’s not losing games on purpose.
It’s what he believes in and maybe we don’t have the players to carry out what he believes in,

Yes but sometimes you can believe in stupid things. And that can make you an idiot. Not a horrible person or anything like that. Just not smart. Would be harmless if he weren’t managing drfc

[ncRover]

I tried to look at the game today not in this season's terms because that's gone now but in a manner that pointed to a better future .

You haven't got poor players by any means it's just that they are struggling with the way the HC wants them to play .

The game they are asked to play needn't be as complicated as the HC is making it for them .

Lower league players need the game to be as easy for them to negotiate as it can be because they have limitations .

PL players are more flexible with tactics and formations because they have a greater skill set and so have more depth to their game .

What I find surprising is that lower league players have a natural appetite for hard work , commitment and desire probably far greater than a PL player who probably thinks his enhanced ability is enough .

So why DS doesn't use that natural attribute his group of players have to better effect is pretty mystifying in my opinion .

I'm not saying the Rovers squad is lazy and uninterested or anything like that because that's not what I saw today .

It's just it's seems they are kept on a leash with that incessant tippy tappy football that inevitably leads them down blind alleys once they eventually get the ball in the final third .

It frustrated me so God's knows how you lads feel .

100% correct Tyke.
The man’s a deluded idiot. He seriously is because anyone worth his salt would see what we can all see.

I find all this personal name calling of schofield absolutely ridiculous.
The bloke is doing his best whether you think that’s good enough or not there’s no reason to start calling him a deluded idiot

A smart person would be flexible and at least try to adapt. If he has the ability to do that but isn’t, then he isn’t trying his best.

If he doesn’t have that ability, then he isn’t intelligent enough for the job.

Both are deserving of losing the job. Which one is it Dicko?

[Campsall rover]

Dickos.

Now you have been posting quite a lot of sensible, level headed comments over the season.
There is is no way you can defend DS and his absolute dire football he is presiding over as the Head Coach.
His lack of tactical acumen, complete refusal to be flexible in the way the team sets up and his refusal to admit even to himself that we are going backwards as a team & the players are losing confidence, does unfortunately make him a deluded idiot.

This is nothing personal against him. He is probably a very decent person.
But in terms of him as a football coach, his stubbornness and inflexibility and his refusal to admit to himself to what’s blatantly obvious to everyone except himself, then that makes him an idiot.

[DD]

Is it solely DS’s fault?
I think responsibility lies equally with Coppinger - the style we are attempting to play (if it is a style at all) is coppinger through & through - lightweight, tippy tappy, based on allegedly skilful players. The work it out from the back style reminiscent of SOD has now been found out with the high press - but that is what they are trying to implement - woeful. The only direction we are going in is down - and out!!!

[Canadian Rover]

I don't think that's fair at all. And as for the tippy tappy stuff keeping possession is good if with purpose. Can you not remember the long pass that Mills used to regularly make and the wingers we had in JJ and Mark Mcamon? Full of physicality, height and energy. We had fullbacks that ran forward with the ball and a defensive line that didn't sit too deep unlike todays.

A lack of confidence breeds that.

5 at the back now just doesn't suffice we play 5 at the back as deep as they can be...if they are too deep the coaching staff should be bollocking the players to move up.

We are awful to watch but I believe with the right coaching we should be a LOT better even with the current crop of players.

[DD]

Apologies - replace tippy tappy then with sideways & backwards. There is no purpose to what we are attempting to do. So little movement. So little work in closing opposition down, so little strength so that we lose even 80:20 balls.
Powderpuff, lightweight, spineless

[dickos1]

Up until a month ago, people including you campsall were pretty happy with schofield.
Now we’ve had a month of poor performances, he’s not got a clue what he’s doing.
We’ve had some good performances under him, he’s trying to change the whole philosophy of how we play and he’s doing that with players that aren’t his or players that we’re rattling around not playing for clubs.
The last month has been dreadful but I’m still of the opinion we need to give him the summer to sign a squad of players he believes can play this way and then assess where we are.
When sod first joined fans we’re going mad at the lack of passion, the lack of chances, the lack of excitement,
It took him well over a year before it clicked and if he’d took over when schofield did he would’ve done exactly the same and tried to change the whole philosophy he wouldn’t have just started playing differently because we were struggling, he’d have continued in his beliefs as Danny is doing and we’d be struggling the same, as we don’t have the players currently.

[ncRover]

That’s fair enough Dickos, but we can’t see in to the future. And on paper continuing with an unproven manager trying to play an unproven formation and system in this division is a big big risk. The decline needs to be halted by going back to basics or we will be non-league again. The empty red seats do not lie.

If the injured players were laughing at the second goal on Saturday then he doesn’t have them on his side either.

[ncRover]

To stand a chance of this process even remotely working, we would need the absolute best technical players available at this level to join an declining average club with an average budget and empty stadium. Does anyone think that is realistic?

[MachoMadness]

Up until a month ago, people including you campsall were pretty happy with schofield.
Now we’ve had a month of poor performances, he’s not got a clue what he’s doing.
We’ve had some good performances under him, he’s trying to change the whole philosophy of how we play and he’s doing that with players that aren’t his or players that we’re rattling around not playing for clubs.
The last month has been dreadful but I’m still of the opinion we need to give him the summer to sign a squad of players he believes can play this way and then assess where we are.
When sod first joined fans we’re going mad at the lack of passion, the lack of chances, the lack of excitement,
It took him well over a year before it clicked and if he’d took over when schofield did he would’ve done exactly the same and tried to change the whole philosophy he wouldn’t have just started playing differently because we were struggling, he’d have continued in his beliefs as Danny is doing and we’d be struggling the same, as we don’t have the players currently.

This is dead on for me.

He's got players who aren't very good, who weren't signed with any kind of recruitment strategy in mind. Of the squad he does have, half of them are injured. He wasn't backed at all in the transfer window, presumably to make the rebuild easier in the summer. We've a weaker squad now than we started the season with.

Those asking for "a change of system" should be careful what they wish for with this bunch of misfits, 6/10 squad players, and half-fit journeymen. As bad as it is now, it could get a lot worse.

Impossible to judge any manager or coach in this situation. Sacking him and expecting a proven L1 manager to fall out of the sky and whip this lot into shape in the last third of the season is just not going to happen.

[EasyforDennis]

What DS is trying to do with these players simply will not work. It's a bit like putting a jockey on a donkey and expecting it to win the Derby.

[ncRover]

Up until a month ago, people including you campsall were pretty happy with schofield.
Now we’ve had a month of poor performances, he’s not got a clue what he’s doing.
We’ve had some good performances under him, he’s trying to change the whole philosophy of how we play and he’s doing that with players that aren’t his or players that we’re rattling around not playing for clubs.
The last month has been dreadful but I’m still of the opinion we need to give him the summer to sign a squad of players he believes can play this way and then assess where we are.
When sod first joined fans we’re going mad at the lack of passion, the lack of chances, the lack of excitement,
It took him well over a year before it clicked and if he’d took over when schofield did he would’ve done exactly the same and tried to change the whole philosophy he wouldn’t have just started playing differently because we were struggling, he’d have continued in his beliefs as Danny is doing and we’d be struggling the same, as we don’t have the players currently.

This is dead on for me.

He's got players who aren't very good, who weren't signed with any kind of recruitment strategy in mind. Of the squad he does have, half of them are injured. He wasn't backed at all in the transfer window, presumably to make the rebuild easier in the summer. We've a weaker squad now than we started the season with.

Those asking for "a change of system" should be careful what they wish for with this bunch of misfits, 6/10 squad players, and half-fit journeymen. As bad as it is now, it could get a lot worse.

Impossible to judge any manager or coach in this situation. Sacking him and expecting a proven L1 manager to fall out of the sky and whip this lot into shape in the last third of the season is just not going to happen.

Just a proven L2 manager would be fine.

In terms of the rest of this season, I wouldn’t expect anyone to do anything much at all. But a few can be useful next season if used properly E.g. Miller with a hold up striker and Anderson expected to play his natural game. Schofield will not do these things.

But I’d be much more confident of recruitment based on an experienced manager’s sound idea of football at this level than Schofield’s dreamland one.

Rovers dude said it earlier. He’s so tactically inflexible that it just gets figured out. Hence why we looked much better at the start of his reign and not now. Every team gets injuries.

Where are we going to find the players for his system at this level from with our budget? And if there are some, is there evidence otherwise that DS will make them less effective players like has happened to Hurst and Brown?

[Retdon1]

Up until a month ago, people including you campsall were pretty happy with schofield.
Now we’ve had a month of poor performances, he’s not got a clue what he’s doing.
We’ve had some good performances under him, he’s trying to change the whole philosophy of how we play and he’s doing that with players that aren’t his or players that we’re rattling around not playing for clubs.
The last month has been dreadful but I’m still of the opinion we need to give him the summer to sign a squad of players he believes can play this way and then assess where we are.
When sod first joined fans we’re going mad at the lack of passion, the lack of chances, the lack of excitement,
It took him well over a year before it clicked and if he’d took over when schofield did he would’ve done exactly the same and tried to change the whole philosophy he wouldn’t have just started playing differently because we were struggling, he’d have continued in his beliefs as Danny is doing and we’d be struggling the same, as we don’t have the players currently.

Even if our recruitment team knew what they was doing, it’s impossible to get players good enough to play his style with the budget we have available

[Campsall rover]

Dickos my friend.
Do you think he will be signing players of the calibre of Stock, O’Connor, Roberts, Hayter and others any time soon.
They were some of SoD’s first signings weren’t they. Was JoC signed by Dave Penny before SoD arrived. I think he was.
Also SoD inherited a much better team than this one is and it was in a division higher.

To try and put a team together to play Scofield ball and be successful  would cost a fortune.
What we need is a team & style of football capable of getting out of this league. Schofield will take us out the wrong end of this league if he is allowed to continue on his flawed “process”

[dickos1]

Up until a month ago, people including you campsall were pretty happy with schofield.
Now we’ve had a month of poor performances, he’s not got a clue what he’s doing.
We’ve had some good performances under him, he’s trying to change the whole philosophy of how we play and he’s doing that with players that aren’t his or players that we’re rattling around not playing for clubs.
The last month has been dreadful but I’m still of the opinion we need to give him the summer to sign a squad of players he believes can play this way and then assess where we are.
When sod first joined fans we’re going mad at the lack of passion, the lack of chances, the lack of excitement,
It took him well over a year before it clicked and if he’d took over when schofield did he would’ve done exactly the same and tried to change the whole philosophy he wouldn’t have just started playing differently because we were struggling, he’d have continued in his beliefs as Danny is doing and we’d be struggling the same, as we don’t have the players currently.

Even if our recruitment team knew what they was doing, it’s impossible to get players good enough to play his style with the budget we have available

Orient are top of the league playing this style of football.

[dickos1]

Dickos my friend.
Do you think he will be signing players of the calibre of Stock, O’Connor, Roberts, Hayter and others any time soon.
They were some of SoD’s first signings weren’t they. Was JoC signed by Dave Penny before SoD arrived. I think he was.
Also SoD inherited a much better team than this one is and it was in a division higher.

To try and put a team together to play Scofield ball and be successful  would cost a fortune.
What we need is a team & style of football capable of getting out of this league. Schofield will take us out the wrong end of this league if he is allowed to continue on his flawed “process”

Of course not,
But if you’re appointing a manager to play a certain way you’ve got to give him the chance to sign players who can play that way.
To keep sacking managers is just going to make things worse.
He needs to build his own side and then he can be judged.

[Campsall rover]

Up until a month ago, people including you campsall were pretty happy with schofield.
Now we’ve had a month of poor performances, he’s not got a clue what he’s doing.
We’ve had some good performances under him, he’s trying to change the whole philosophy of how we play and he’s doing that with players that aren’t his or players that we’re rattling around not playing for clubs.
The last month has been dreadful but I’m still of the opinion we need to give him the summer to sign a squad of players he believes can play this way and then assess where we are.
When sod first joined fans we’re going mad at the lack of passion, the lack of chances, the lack of excitement,
It took him well over a year before it clicked and if he’d took over when schofield did he would’ve done exactly the same and tried to change the whole philosophy he wouldn’t have just started playing differently because we were struggling, he’d have continued in his beliefs as Danny is doing and we’d be struggling the same, as we don’t have the players currently.

Even if our recruitment team knew what they was doing, it’s impossible to get players good enough to play his style with the budget we have available

Orient are top of the league playing this style of football.

Believe me Leyton Orient don’t play anything like our team does. That’s why they are 23 points above us and in all probability are going to win the league and we will finish between 12th and 16th
They have some steel in their team as well as good football players.
Not noticed a player like Darren Pratley in our midfield dickos. They have both pace and power across their team. We don’t.
So you trust DS with this summers recruitment then and you think he can put a promotion team together next season? 
Seriously, based on his inflexibility and lack of tactical nous we have seen from him this season you have an awful lot more faith in him than i do and it would seem than a huge majority of our supporters do.

[dickos1]

Up until a month ago, people including you campsall were pretty happy with schofield.
Now we’ve had a month of poor performances, he’s not got a clue what he’s doing.
We’ve had some good performances under him, he’s trying to change the whole philosophy of how we play and he’s doing that with players that aren’t his or players that we’re rattling around not playing for clubs.
The last month has been dreadful but I’m still of the opinion we need to give him the summer to sign a squad of players he believes can play this way and then assess where we are.
When sod first joined fans we’re going mad at the lack of passion, the lack of chances, the lack of excitement,
It took him well over a year before it clicked and if he’d took over when schofield did he would’ve done exactly the same and tried to change the whole philosophy he wouldn’t have just started playing differently because we were struggling, he’d have continued in his beliefs as Danny is doing and we’d be struggling the same, as we don’t have the players currently.

Even if our recruitment team knew what they was doing, it’s impossible to get players good enough to play his style with the budget we have available

Orient are top of the league playing this style of football.

Believe me Leyton Orient don’t play anything like our team does. That’s why they are 23 points above us and in all probability are going to win the league and we will finish between 12th and 16th
They have some steel in their team as well as good football players.
Not noticed a player like Darren Pratley in our midfield dickos. They have both pace and power across their team. We don’t.
So you trust DS with this summers recruitment then and you think he can put a promotion team together next season? 
Seriously, based on his inflexibility and lack of tactical nous we have seen from him this season you have an awful lot more faith in him than i do and it would seem than a huge majority of our supporters do.

Exactly, orient have the players they need to play the way they do.
Correct we don’t have a pratley in midfield but that’s down to recruitment before schofield arrived. What you’re saying is exactly the point I’m making, we don’t have pace and power or a pratley so let the manager sign these players that he needs.

[Filo]

Dickos my friend.
Do you think he will be signing players of the calibre of Stock, O’Connor, Roberts, Hayter and others any time soon.
They were some of SoD’s first signings weren’t they. Was JoC signed by Dave Penny before SoD arrived. I think he was.
Also SoD inherited a much better team than this one is and it was in a division higher.

To try and put a team together to play Scofield ball and be successful  would cost a fortune.
What we need is a team & style of football capable of getting out of this league. Schofield will take us out the wrong end of this league if he is allowed to continue on his flawed “process”

Of course not,
But if you’re appointing a manager to play a certain way you’ve got to give him the chance to sign players who can play that way.
To keep sacking managers is just going to make things worse.
He needs to build his own side and then he can be judged.

Thats all well and good, as I’ve said before on another thread, to change the style of play it needs to be an evolution process, not a sudden change, you have to use the attributes you’ve got and gradually change, he’s not doing that and insisting we carry on committing suicide hin his blind quest

[ncRover]

To add to Camps’ post.

Leyton Orient play a normal football formation in 4-3-3.

They have also built on solid foundations with the best defence and goalkeeper in the league.

They also have players who suit the style they want to play so they can execute it. And a firm manager who can make sure the players maintain high enough standards to do so. This breeds consistency.

The remaining top of the table sides like Orient are tougher than us, but can mix it up / play direct more effectively. Orient are the exception.

You don’t have to keep sacking managers if you get the right one.

[dickos1]

We had that one and sacked him,

If we sack schofield he’ll rock up somewhere else and do well, sacking manager after manager isn’t the answer

[ncRover]

There’s more to what makes a manager the right one at the right time for the right club than just being like “oh look Wellens is doing well now, told you so”.

Nobody is saying it’s all the manager’s fault, we can believe more than one thing at the same time.

[dickos1]

I agree
But if you’re never giving them long enough to at least build their own squad then what’s the point

[ncRover]

I agree
But if you’re never giving them long enough to at least build their own squad then what’s the point

I speak for myself and I think many supporters on here who feel that giving Schofield more time to do that in the club’s current state would be far too risky.

I’d actually say we play most similarly to Swindon. They have a bigger budget and are level on points with us.

[i_ateallthepies]

But any competent manager would understand that until he can build a squad to play his chosen way he needs to be pragmatic and play to the capabilities of the players he has at any given time.  Schofield has gone all in on Schofball from the off and is refusing to acknowledge that it isn't working.

[dickos1]

That’s because everyone is looking at how we are now, not long ago we were playing well and creating many more chances.
Grimsby away, Carlisle home, Swindon away, even Mansfield away were all good performances.
The last month has been dreadful but that’s coincided with big injuries and our squad can’t cope