Stendal is not infallible

Long time lurker, season ticket holder, and very very occasional poster.

I've slept on it, and I still think Preston was the final straw for me. Although Dan did a superb job last year, I can't ignore the naive and frankly stubborn way we are playing so far this season. I'll accept that our recruitment was below the expected standard, and the loss of two very decent centre halves and our top scorer was a terrible blow, but I do not think that entirely explains the utter capitulation I have witnessed against Birmingham, Forest, Brentford, Derby (until the lucky equaliser) and now Preston. The recruitment issue is another post entirely but I want to focus on playing matters here.

Regardless of which defenders are picked we concede poor goals arising out of total lack of communication, zero organisation and weak set pieces. I've lost track of the number of times our defence leaves opposition forwards unmarked in dangerous areas, or when full backs get stuck in no man's land as play passes them by. This is basic stuff that comes down to coaching and drills on the training pitch. The fact this seems to get worse through the weeks is even more damming of the coaching staff. Frankly I feel our defence was better organised under Morais, as horrific as that era was.

Our style of play in possession is equally flawed, we concede the ball easily while trying to build from the back against far more experienced, physically strong and technically proficient opposition. Again we continue to do this every week despite the fact it is clearly not working.

Attacking play, when it comes, operates entirely through short, quick tempo paases. Dynamite last season but would never outfox a decent Championship team. Bahre is obviously played as the key creative force, which is absolutely laughable to any neutral observer yet persists as if by Stendal's blind faith in his limited ability. We rarely see mowatt attempt the sort of through balls and direct play he is capable of, instead the manager prefers to keep him as a sort of midfield enforcer, an absolute waste of his considerable talent. This leads to Woodrow coming deep for the ball as Bahre simply cannot provide him with service. Wingers are so poorly used as inside forwards we could frankly, have them both sent off and see marginal difference.

These, for me are the facts: the manager was let down by recruitment, but ultimately he is unable to set the team up to make even an attempt at competing in a tough division in which he has neither managed nor played. His continued blind faith in his crock of sh*t captain is, in my opinion indicative of a wider blind spot in terms of his chosen system, and whether it is appropriate to our current predicament.

The manager is obviously a decent guy, who is genuinely earnest to succeed for the town and the club. But he isn't infallible, and he is trying to compete in a very hard league with quite limited experience. He is far out of his comfort zone and this might explain why he doubles down on what he knows. I've made this post because I've seen a lot of fantastical ideas posted latterly concerning 'getting rid of the board', and spending money we can't generate in income. This is supplemented, in some quarters, blind faith in the head coach that I can't get behind or let go unchallenged.

Tldr: Gaffer isn't god and should be sacked if results continue.

 

Hes not infallible no but it would be a knee jerk reaction to sack him. If the whole club is set up to play his style of football we need to stick with it. I agree he needs to tweak things and I don't think he is too stubborn to try.i do agree that he lacks experience he is gaining that.

 

If the gaffer carries the can for the debacle created by those in charge, then some of us will not easily forgive or forget. As I said in a previous post, he’d have to be capable of turning water into wine to make anything of the situation he’s been put in.

 

Board responsible for the recruitment strategy. Left this manager high and dry with a youth squad and happy to swap points for pounds in letting key players go. Daniel not to blame. Happy to stick with him through thick and thin this season.

 

If he could turn water into wine, they'd have him in the fan zone.

"Nothing crazy Daniel, just house red and white -see how it goes and we'll consider a loaves and fishes stall"

 

He isn't to blame but some of his decisions are odd such as thinking either Williams should be in before Cavare or Pinnilos. I would rather put Sibbick to full back. He will not give Schmidt aka New Knasmullner a start even though we need more goals. He always brings on the same predictable subs instead of trying guys like Green. It is him giving the order to play it out from the back, which instantly puts our suspect at best defence under immediate pressure.

 

The board want a team that presses high and is offensive in nature ie a city or a Liverpool.

They’ve signed based on their research the third best manager for the job.

What they’ve failed to do îs to provide the players to do this.

 

I agree we look unorganised but I also think that’s what happens when you pluck together a back 4 made up of different nationalities who are all young lads with little / no championship experience. The defence under Morais did look more organised because they’d had 5 months at championship level together by that point when he took over. I’ll guarantee you that regardless of whether it’s Stendel or me or you in charge in January the defence will look more organised than it does now just through game time & familiarity.

I fully agree that the style of play at times makes us look daft but then I weigh up the alternatives & I ask what can we do differently? I’ve seen us try to build steadily & pass the ball through team & we simply don’t have the players to do so. There’s only Mowatt & Dougall in the whole squad good enough to keep the ball & Dougall’s not been fit to play. We tried to play out from the back at Hillsborough & 30+ year old Steven Fletcher’s press was enough for us to continually play ourselves into trouble. We tried to play football at Birmingham & created nothing.

We could go long but we’ve not got a single forward who can win headers or play with his back to goal so it’d be pretty ineffective.

Whilst the ‘press’ has at times made us look daft it’s also been the reason we did well at times against Leeds & were good in the first half’s against Brentford & Fulham. It’s the only way we’ve created anything.

I agree Bahre shouldn’t be captain but I also don’t think it really matters who the captain is, years ago we made Jacob Butterfield captain in what I believe was an attempt to keep him at the club, it didn’t matter as we’d got two captains in Hassell & Foster & various other experienced players like Steele & Perkins who led by example. The problem is we haven’t got any of them types so whilst I’d prefer Mowatt to have the armband it’s pretty irrelevant who has it as we don’t have a leader in the squad.

As for whether Bahre should be starting, I don’t know. I wouldn’t have started him yesterday but I can’t make a strong case for any of Thiam, Wilks or Thomas starting ahead of him. In fact if you go through all our attacking midfield / wide players, Bahre, Brown, Thomas, Wilks, Thiam & Chaplin, none of them have really earned a shirt have they? Chaplin got a goal against Charlton & Thomas scores against Fulham when the defender slipped but that’s about it. I don’t think any of them have created much at all. I can’t get passionate about any of them starting over the others.

I don’t really know what the answer is, I think the only way we’ll improve is by playing games & the players gelling, there’s no quick fix. I’d like to think we can just tighten up but I’m not sure it’s possible & if we do drop deeper & don’t press sides I’m not sure how we’ll even create a chance.

 

The tactics are crap. They really are. Not if you have the personnel to deliver but we simply haven't.

You play to the strengths of what you have. Not only are we not doing that, we're actually exposing our weaknesses in the most obvious manner.

But, if you've been recruited because your teams play a particular way, if your paymasters want the team to play a particular way and have signed players on that basis, how do you go about changing?

We'd struggle however we played, recruitment and player sales left us way short, but the way the team is set up and the selection of that team is not helping.

There's fault, but not blame, that lies elsewhere.

 

Playing such a defensive high line with such a slow defence allowing any ball over the top to give the opposition a free run at goal, as happened again and again and again against both Brentford and Preston is surely something the coach can do something about.

 

2006/07 We had 15 points from 18 games when "nice guy" Richie who got us up got the sack. Similarities?

 

I'm quite happy to acknowledge I back Daniel Stendel 100% and have no intention of apologising for doing so. However, do I think he's infallible? Of course not. He makes mistakes, like everyone else does irrespective of their field of work. Can his team selections and formations be questioned? Of course they can. Eveyone can question the actions of someone else. It'd be somewhat hypercritical of me to say otherwise. As an example, for the last 10 months, or so, of his tenure as manager, I'd regularly post a tirade against Simon Davey. If I could do that, why shouldn't someone be allowed to do exactly the same with Daniel Stendel?
I still back our Head Coach. I'm not telling anyone else what to do and/or think, nor claiming I'm right and they're wrong.

 

Even 9 points from the next seven games looks extremely optimistic to me. Requires us beating both Huddersfield, at the point they may be turning it around, and Stoke for sure. If he can do that however I'll accept I've been too hasty perhaps.

 

He definitely could but all our chances seem to have come from pressing teams high so if we give that up to make us tighter at the back how are we going to create anything?

I’m not saying he’s right to persist with his current tactics but I’m not convinced the alternative would make us any better overall. Might make us harder to beat but I think it would also make it harder for us to win games

 

At this moment I'd definitely take harder to beat.

 

Agreed on his decisions, suggests he is to blame tactically though surely?

 

A plan b would be a starting point

 

It sounds like Hecky all over again. Of course he will make mistakes, could try other things ect.
The players do not have the ability to be competitive at this level. A more pragmatic approach may make us a little harder to score against. Over the season i think it would have little Impact on our points total.

 

Bahre could be a tidy winger, although I would take Wilks, Brown and Thomas over him for pace. My big issue is how he is being utilised as the key creative player with a free role across the forward line. In my view it would be worth trying Mowatt in a that positive play-maker role, but the coach sticks with Bahre game after game. He seems to be the focus of our midfield and that simply is not working.