The case for Andy Crosby

[Warren]

This week is crucial for Crosby, the squad and the club. For me Crosby was a defender. He seems unable to coach or manage attacking play. He is unable to solve the tactical challenges the opposition present and the outcome is really boring ineffective football going forwards. The solution may be an experienced attacking coach - hope we haven't got one!

[Guitar Ray]

Have to say this topic has made great reading, some very valid points both for and against.

For me the jury was, and still is, out on Crozzer, good, bad or indifferent.  He really needed to come in pick his own squad and staff and show steady progress, even if it was unspectacular.  Football is never that simple so instead we lurch from getting smashed to within touching distance of top spot then back to the current winless run.

The only defence he has is to some degree the recruitment was lacking but primarily injuries have shafted us.  You’d have to also lay a fair bit of blame at the door of the players who in equal measure have missed some absolute sitters and messed up defensively.

For what it’s worth I’d stick with him until we have some players back and have a look at it nearer to Christmas but the majority of fans have clearly had enough so the next 2 or 3 games will be pivotal.  Lose tomorrow and the Burton game will be toxic.

[ian foster]

6 hours ago, smithie said:

In brief, here's my defence case for AC;

1. We are seriously hampered by several injuries. No doubt we should have the squad capacity to cover these but it's rare to have so many at once. If the recruitment (or lack of it)  is done at a level above AC then he can't be held responsible for the squad shortcomings.

2. l think it's fair to say that Saturday v Cheltenham was the first truly poor performance since the 2nd half at Barnsley. Given the number of inexperienced youngsters in the side against a resurgent Cheltenham with a motivated DC leading them, it was never going to be a home banker. I certainly didn't enjoy watching it but I think it's important to remember we gave Posh a decent game less than a week ago. 

3. AC is in his infancy as a gaffer but he's a veteran on the football scene. You only have to listen to him to hear how he analyses and thinks through pretty much everything he and his team does. He's in no way naive nor is he arrogant in the way l often felt Micky Adams could be. It would be highly unusual if he got everything right first time in his first stint as manager and we shouldn't realistically expect him to.

4. There are over 6 months of the season left. That's an awful lot of football to be played and we all know that a stroke of long-overdue luck could come our way and change things quickly. And no, I'm not relying on luck - but our fortunes in the past have hinged on good luck, like the goal that took us up in 2013, the ball sticking in the mud v Stoke in the Cup and the Gibbons/Stone near-disaster at Wembley last year.

5. For what it's worth, Andy Crosby wants to be here. As much as we all appreciate what DC did for us, it seems he was ready to jump ship to Portsmouth once the opportunity presented itself and that must have been a bad influence on the rest of last season. My hunch is that AC probably wouldn't act like that.

That will be all, m'lud! 

Thank God that there are still some good and proper supporters like you Smithie.

Totally agree on all points 

Here's to Crosby turning it around and I hope we are very vocal and unison in our support for him and the team tomorrow at Mansfield 

Up the Vale

[MagicFlask]

2 hours ago, Valiiant said:

 

Someone should lock you up and throw away the key.

Absolutely no need for personal attacks- so you don’t agree? Well put forward some reasons not just personal abuse!! 

[MBE]

1 hour ago, NorthwoodValiant said:

We're currently still in 3 Cups

Also, do you think sacking him today makes us more likely to win the two games this week? i think not

Does keeping Crosby give us a better chance of wining 2 games this week? We don't know is the honest answer but what we do know is sacking a manager tends to illicit a reaction from the players and gives them a bit of a wake up call. We saw that last season after DC left.

 

[Guest]

I don't really have a opinion of the manager he comes across really well .

Up until sat I think results have not matched the performances I think we deserve possibly 12 more points than what we have .

Sat annoyed me greatly tbh but that's the first time ive come away this season from any game I've attended thinking what the hell was that .

So for that no quick fixes

Crosby IN 

[NorthwoodValiant]

6 minutes ago, MBE said:

Does keeping Crosby give us a better chance of wining 2 games this week? We don't know is the honest answer but what we do know is sacking a manager tends to illicit a reaction from the players and gives them a bit of a wake up call. We saw that last season after DC left.

 

I think players play better after a manager has gone when the manager has lost the dressing room and they have downed tools.

That had happened with Clarke

i don't think that has happened with Crosby (Yet) so i don't particularly think getting rid of him would bring an immediate change in performance

[Hot Rat]

2 hours ago, Valiiant said:

 

Someone should lock you up and throw away the key.

This is just one of a number of massive over-reactions to one poor performance. Smithie made some very good points and as another poster has stated, if you have counter arguments they should be presented, not derision.

Would some of the reactions have been so vocal if we had been given the clear penalty and won at Stevenage or had the penalty awarded for Garrety being tripped against Peterborough? Granted opportunities in front of goal haven't been taken and our play needs to be more incisive but performances haven't been that poor just the dire absence of goals. 

[smithie]

6 hours ago, Brian Johnson said:

Do not be so naive enough to think that AC would not move on if given the chance.

Also, why should DC not be interested in a job like Portsmouth. It was not like he was applying to go to a club like a Tranmere, Doncaster Rovers or Grimsby 

Not naive, cheers - but In any case until AC has established himself in management he probably won't get a better gig than with us. And if he's an established gaffer then I'd expect nothing less then him wanting to aim higher. 

I've never said DC shouldn't be interested in the Pompey job either - merely pointed out that he clearly didn't feel the loyalty to Carol that she showed him. 

Hopefully there's still room in the game (and life in general) for decent people like Carol and Andy. 

[Powerline]

Not buying the injuries excuse. We still had a better starting 11 out than Cheltenham. For example, Yates was saying he’d much rather have their forwards. Thought at the time it was total rubbish.

I’ve just looked it up on their respective wikipedias - yesterday they started George Lloyd (we’ve seen first hand how crap he is), Robert Street who’s scored 7 in 76 (1 in 10.9) league games, and Will Goodwin, who’s scored 14 in 79 (1 in 5.6). 

By comparison, Uche has scored 57 in 304 (1 in 5.3), and has played a decent amount of those in the championship. Loft has 32 in 172 (1 in 5.4).

So both of our forwards are firstly vastly more experienced, and secondly have a better goal scoring record than theirs. 

We had Ojo, Devine and Chislett on the pitch, all good players. The back 3 was solid enough, only one who was bad who was smith, who we know is a good player. The wing backs is a weakness but is still enough to beat Cheltenham.

The team is good enough to beat Cheltenham. The manager just doesn’t have a clue whatsoever on how to create chances and score goals. He has to go unless he can figure it out quickly 

[Jacko51]

Would you sack an inexperienced manager who was relegated in his first season?

Would you sack a manager who won no league  games out of 13 getting 4 points out of 39?

Would you sack a manager who went on a run of 17 league games without a win getting  7 points out of 51?

Rudgie did all of those and far from sacking him, we're building a bloody statue to him.  

Patience is a virtue but not, it seems, in this age of social media.  If things continue to decline we may need to make a decision but for heaven's sake, take a chill pill.

[Vale till I die]

44 minutes ago, Jacko51 said:

Would you sack an inexperienced manager who was relegated in his first season?

Would you sack a manager who won no league  games out of 13 getting 4 points out of 39?

Would you sack a manager who went on a run of 17 league games without a win getting  7 points out of 51?

Rudgie did all of those and far from sacking him, we're building a bloody statue to him.  

Patience is a virtue but not, it seems, in this age of social media.  If things continue to decline we may need to make a decision but for heaven's sake, take a chill pill.

Yes I  also remember  that time when Rudgie was our manager . 

[andy jones]

Well said Jean.

Problem is that Rudgie wouldn't survive in this day and age.

[Brian Johnson]

1 hour ago, smithie said:

Not naive, cheers - but In any case until AC has established himself in management he probably won't get a better gig than with us. And if he's an established gaffer then I'd expect nothing less then him wanting to aim higher. 

I've never said DC shouldn't be interested in the Pompey job either - merely pointed out that he clearly didn't feel the loyalty to Carol that she showed him. 

Hopefully there's still room in the game (and life in general) for decent people like Carol and Andy. 

No loyalty in football

If Crosby was offered a job and it paid £20k - £30k more than he is currently getting, he will soon be off

[Brian Johnson]

1 hour ago, Jacko51 said:

Would you sack an inexperienced manager who was relegated in his first season?

Would you sack a manager who won no league  games out of 13 getting 4 points out of 39?

Would you sack a manager who went on a run of 17 league games without a win getting  7 points out of 51?

Rudgie did all of those and far from sacking him, we're building a bloody statue to him.  

Patience is a virtue but not, it seems, in this age of social media.  If things continue to decline we may need to make a decision but for heaven's sake, take a chill pill.

Its a different world and a different game to over 40 years ago