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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 09:29 - Apr 9 with 2734 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 08:39 - Apr 9 by Cedar_Room
I don’t think this is at all about recruitment. The problem is McNulty himself. From when he first took over as caretaker you could hear him making excuses for the players in the post match interviews. There was no anger at the position the club were in and no suggestion that they were prepared to fight like hell to give themselves the chance to survive. He, McNulty, lacks the grit, character and determination required to fight our way out of this league. It is passed on to his players. You see it every time they are too scared to take a player on or try something different but instead make the easy boring predictable SAFE decision to pass the ball sideways/backwards five yards. You see it in every game we fail to go for the kill and concede late on. How many points dropped because of the lack of grit? How many opportunities wasted because we don’t have it in us to fight? He constantly wilts under pressure and has a million excuses at the ready after another pitiful display rather than taking some accountability. Maybe he is best suited, like BBM, to youth team coaching where the players are only every encouraged and they can be complimented and reassured after every game on their lovely passing and keeping of possession. But it’s not suited to getting us back into the football league regardless of which players get recruited. After two years of watching him in this job the verdict is in. He needs to go.
I have to agree to a certain extent, McNulty is the problem, this can be seen by both Dale and opposition fans, what did the Woking fan say, 'Rochdale are a playoff team, but will not win promotion under McNulty', because he is basically not up to the job.
He has basically one style of play, which is pedestrian, boring and without any urgency. Look at Saturday, in the first half, we played in triangles, without going forward, like it was a training session and this type of performance as become the norm under McNulty. Even we worse, we also seem to sit back and seek to defend more in a lot of games.
Like a fool, I listen and it is the same rubbish, 'We are disappointed, we are tired, the squad is thread bare, etc', the same excuses. Yes we have injuries, with East, Burger, McBride and Bird missing, but our bench was still strong last night and hopefully we can get Bird back soon, I am unsure on East time frame on any return. We have recalled Armstrong and could recall Senior if we are that desperate, but it is how you use the squad. Sadly when you use Mitchell, who seemly lacks the ability to head the ball, control it, hold it up and seems to jog everywhere, rather then run, rather than Rodney who can do all the above as your target man, then questions must be asked.
I had a bad feeling towards the end of the game, because the tendency of the team to concede within the closing periods of games. I would be interested to know how many goals we have conceded in the last five minutes of games this season. Thankfully the playoffs are still in our hands, thanks to other teams dropping points, but can we trust Jim to keep us in the playoffs?
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 09:29 - Apr 9 with 2741 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 08:59 - Apr 9 by dawlishdale
Splendid post. I just don't think Jim knows what he's doing wrong, and therefore he doesn't have the ability to fix it. The other real elephant in the room is that there is a lack of anyone at the club who sees what is wrong. The boardroom has very little football experience both on and off the pitch.
Jim and the board won't know what's hit them when we lose a large number of season ticket holders in summer .
Well then, they need telling
And since we've got a fans rep in the boardroom..
...oh wait
CAB is about non-footballing issues, but there has to be some means of conveying the gathering strength of feeling
Trouble is, it will be attributed to natural disappointment (and we're still.in the playoffs, don't you know?) rather than the cumulation of something that's been growing under the surface like a weed that's now popping it's head above ground in Spring and strangling the life out of everything around it
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 09:29 - Apr 9 by D_Alien
Well then, they need telling
And since we've got a fans rep in the boardroom..
...oh wait
CAB is about non-footballing issues, but there has to be some means of conveying the gathering strength of feeling
Trouble is, it will be attributed to natural disappointment (and we're still.in the playoffs, don't you know?) rather than the cumulation of something that's been growing under the surface like a weed that's now popping it's head above ground in Spring and strangling the life out of everything around it
Reminds me of the film, Day of the Triffids. Rather than strangling, the plants blinded everybody they came into contact with. That's what we have here with Jim and those in the Boardroom i think.
[Post edited 9 Apr 9:52]
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 09:54 - Apr 9 with 2578 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 09:54 - Apr 9 by James1980
Cook Parkinson Gannon Gray Evatt Edinburgh Askey Cowley Hurst Allen Still Last eleven managers to win automatic promotion from National League.
Seeing as you like a list James, do one for the managers who won promotion via the play offs please, alongside those managers. You don't need to win the league to win promotion. Thanks.
[Post edited 9 Apr 10:00]
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 10:45 - Apr 9 with 2375 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 06:54 - Apr 9 by TalkingSutty
Correct. Nearly every time we win a free kick the first instinct of every player is to look to pass it back, or short to a player standing next to them, eventually they funnel it back to the keeper. It's safe, posession is retained. It never crosses their mind to load the opposition penalty box and put the ball in, its a option they very rarely consider. It's what you see on the training ground, keep the ball moving, little triangles in areas of the pitch that offer no threat. Passing for passing sake, no threat whatsoever and then we lose the ball or hit a long aimless ball while under pressure..rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. Boring, negative football.
McNulty was given a contract to instill his footballing philosophy on the club, he sold those in the Boardroom a vision and it involved rough diamonds, polishing and selling them on for a profit. Look at us now, the football in general is awful, nobody likes watching it and season ticket sales will now drop rather than increase. Gordon has improved, nobody else. I'd suggest Beckwith and Allarakhia have gone backwards. We have been in relegation form since the New Year and have a manager that constantly looks for excuses, he mentioned the budget again last night.
The Chairman and Directors see all the games, surely they can see that this isn't good enough and it can't carry on? We have six games to save the season, they need to act i think. Mc Nultys gone, we've seen all he's got to offer, last night was a normal display from his team. In his interview he's clutching at straws, trying to pick out 30 seconds and one minute passages of play to justify the displays and results. It's desperate just to listen to him. The money saved by paying him out of his contract will be recouped in season ticket sales, it might cost the club 30k/60k/90k. If he stays as manager he will blow the increased budget, we know his style of football isn't going to change and we know that very few fans like watching it.
This is the National League and we can't let our club be used as a canvas for young coaches to try to implement a footballing philosophy on the club that is now being questioned even at the top level. Ask the Man City fans, they are bored of watching Peps football, nobody likes it.
So six games left, Steve Evans is unemployed, what's the harm in inviting him up to the club to see what he can do with a view to giving him the job? Not everybody's cup of tea i know but he's a serial winner at this level and produces teams that nobody wants to play. He won't have a long term vision, he just wants to win football matches. We need to get out of this league by hook or by crook and if we're going to do it in the next two seasons then we need a manager who knows what's needed to do it. We haven't got time for philosophy's,we need to play fast attacking football, get some physicality in the team and see winning football matches as the be all and end all. It's arse roads around anyway with all this footballing philosophy talk, the priority is to get out of this league as quickly as possible, they don't give you extra points for style. Talk about philosophy's once you've got your Academy up and running again. Give Evans the right backing and there's nobody better qualified to get us promotion, it might not be cheap but it could prove very cost effective. He will also galvanise the Rochdale public and drum up plenty of interest in the club. We'll sell extra season tickets for a start and attract sponsorship.
To conclude,It's not going to work with Jim, i think we all know that now don't we? We can't increase attendances with his football never mind win enough football matches. Bring another manager in and give him the remaining games to analyse the squad in preparation for next season.
[Post edited 9 Apr 7:32]
I share the current frustrations but it doesn't feel as cut and dried as some posts on this thread suggest.
Yes, for us brought up on earlier playing styles today's 'tippy tappy' can feel pedestrian and unlikely to attract new fans but McNulty can hardly be blamed for following a style which has proved world dominating for the past decade. I share Fitz's view that it's what happens in the final third that matters, less how we get there.
True the squad seems overfilled with lightweight wide midfielders, lacks a No 9, holding midfielder and permanent keeper but none of us know whether that is by plan or what was available at our wage budget.
On balance I feel the squad is full of very pleasant young men with lots of ability but lacks the ruthlessness needed for any success in sport - that is down to McNulty.
Certainly there seems a lack of tactical nouse in not trying other formations - like 3 in midfield, 2 up top and many would question some selections (Beckwith's continual place despite his form drop off) but at the end of the day the team currently sits in the play-offs and got to the semi-final of a cup - that for me earns McNulty some more time, at least to the end of the season and arguably into the close season as Fitz proposed.
Then again, where is this available and affordable guaranteed successful lower league manager - fair enough the Boardroom lacks football expertise but Dunphy etc made some far from glorious appointments; I'm happy having my two pennyworth but glad I don't have to make that decision.
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 10:45 - Apr 9 by tony_roch975
I share the current frustrations but it doesn't feel as cut and dried as some posts on this thread suggest.
Yes, for us brought up on earlier playing styles today's 'tippy tappy' can feel pedestrian and unlikely to attract new fans but McNulty can hardly be blamed for following a style which has proved world dominating for the past decade. I share Fitz's view that it's what happens in the final third that matters, less how we get there.
True the squad seems overfilled with lightweight wide midfielders, lacks a No 9, holding midfielder and permanent keeper but none of us know whether that is by plan or what was available at our wage budget.
On balance I feel the squad is full of very pleasant young men with lots of ability but lacks the ruthlessness needed for any success in sport - that is down to McNulty.
Certainly there seems a lack of tactical nouse in not trying other formations - like 3 in midfield, 2 up top and many would question some selections (Beckwith's continual place despite his form drop off) but at the end of the day the team currently sits in the play-offs and got to the semi-final of a cup - that for me earns McNulty some more time, at least to the end of the season and arguably into the close season as Fitz proposed.
Then again, where is this available and affordable guaranteed successful lower league manager - fair enough the Boardroom lacks football expertise but Dunphy etc made some far from glorious appointments; I'm happy having my two pennyworth but glad I don't have to make that decision.
You make some valid points. There has never been any guarantees when it comes to appointing managers so no point in looking for one. A managers track record gives you a decent indication but of course they've all experienced the sack or moved clubs for other reasons. That's part of the job and every manager knows that. McNultys tenure probably currently exceeds most managers in the the top five leagues.
We've seen what happens when we support a failing manager for too long and contrary to what others think, i do think McNulty is failing. I accept the league table tells a different story but we all know that as the seasons progressed we have seen regression, since the start of the New Year we've seen that and the FA Trophy run glossed over that didn't it? We managed to plot a way to the semi final but then blew it with a typical McNulty performance. Relegation form since the start of the year (22 points from 57 available) and no league away wins in 2025. The league table doesn't mention that.
Has McNulty recruited well since the summer? Well he's accumulated a lot of players in that time so he must have been backed with a decent budget. Every club has injuries, I'd suggest poor use of the budget has exposed the shortcomings we are now seeing in three different areas of the pitch...goalkeeper, midfield, forwards. That's got to be down to the manager hasn't it?
Then we have player development, who amongst the many players Jim has recruited can we say has improved? I'd suggest Gordon and probably nobody else. Some players who came with great reviews have gone backwards, Beckwith and Allarakhia are two good examples but you could also include Mitchell in that.
So when i suggest that McNulty needs replacing its not just down to the performances we see on the pitch, it's every aspect of his management as I've just tried to explain. It's not personal, it's not knee jerk reaction. I just don't see how he is improving us. The league table looks decent but it should do, hes working with a much healthier budget than he did last season. The crowds haven't increased, they've been leaving in droves well before the final whistle recently. Keep him in place and give him another increased budget again but I'd love to hear the justification why, having looked at all the evidence from this season. It's down to hope isn't it, thats the only explanation for keeping him? They hope he will change and things will improve, thats the plan.
[Post edited 9 Apr 11:46]
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 11:24 - Apr 9 with 2199 views
By my reckoning i think weve only mustered one goal away from home in the second half of games this year.
To me that shows how little impact in-game management is having on the performances.
And again last night there is no attempt to make the opposition think with a change in tactics. Subs just fill in the same positions. Sutton were there for the taking but we were happy to seemingly meander through the second half letting things drift and take the draw inevitably resulting in us finding a way of losing it. So so predictable.
Which means the 3 other teams will be desperate to break their run of poor form and we will continue to pass the ball neatly, score 1 or 0 goals and fall to either a late winner or a late equaliser... more points lost, and our place in the playoffs taken up by Alty or Southend...
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 13:12 - Apr 9 with 1875 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 12:32 - Apr 9 by 49thseason
Which means the 3 other teams will be desperate to break their run of poor form and we will continue to pass the ball neatly, score 1 or 0 goals and fall to either a late winner or a late equaliser... more points lost, and our place in the playoffs taken up by Alty or Southend...
But on a more serious note, is it time for the board to issue the dreaded vote of confidence in the head coach?
Also at work so not been able to look up the playoff winning managers yet.
[Post edited 9 Apr 13:17]
'Only happy when you've got it often makes you miss the journey'
The team must be mentally shredded after the experiences of the last few days, and unfortunately the management appear to also be to scarred to pick them up. On Saturday I was looking at the bigger picture of what’s important in life and I’m in the same place today. Which suggests to me I’ve been to invested in the Dale recently. Can I step back a little, I think so. For those who still have resilience under the bonnet and have the stomach to fight for whatever your stance is I applaud you. These buggers will probably win their next 3 and draw me straight back in.
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:23 - Apr 9 with 1679 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 13:45 - Apr 9 by Dale_4_Life
The miss by Mitchell first half when 1v1 with the keeper is horrendous.
Keeper on the floor committed and Kairo just rolls the ball into his legs… along the floor no attempt to lift the ball over him.
Under zero defensive pressure it’s moments like this that frustrate fans…
Some of the shooting by other players on the pitch was atrocious also, no excuse for professional footballers to be so feeble. The decision making was ridiculous at times also, several great positions to put a dangerous cross into the box but instead the ball is blasted out of the stadium or the cross refused in order to faff about and recycle the ball backwards. If McNulty and the players think thats acceptable then we need to get rid of the lot of them.That description of how we played can be applied to most away games this season. Does McNulty and his assistant take the players to task, put them through the mill on the training ground, rip a strip off them after these insipid displays? They obviously perfect the art of passing in triangular patterns on the training ground and then take it into matchdays. The problem is, nobody's impressed with it and it's not very effective. We play pretty patterns and our opponents just play through us and win all the second balls. We didn't win a header upfront last night, a easy game for their central defenders. Talented footballers but weak as kittens, both mentally and physically. The same applies to the manager who should be coaching kids in an non winning environment instead of ruining everybody's Saturdays, because that's what he's doing.
[Post edited 9 Apr 14:28]
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:27 - Apr 9 with 1663 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 12:32 - Apr 9 by 49thseason
Which means the 3 other teams will be desperate to break their run of poor form and we will continue to pass the ball neatly, score 1 or 0 goals and fall to either a late winner or a late equaliser... more points lost, and our place in the playoffs taken up by Alty or Southend...
This would be my concern, that one of the teams below us go on a bit of a run and take our place in the top 7. It feels like we are only still in the play off places because of how poor everyone else is. There have been so many teams dropping points that have meant we’ve managed to cling on despite a poor run of results. But that’s unlikely to last for the rest of the season and usually someone makes a late surge. In theory - we could still get promoted this season. It wouldn’t take much for us to get in the play offs ourselves and then win a few more games. But does anyone at all think this is going to happen? I’ve never heard McNulty once talk about it. Does he mention in his interviews that we’re on course to get promoted? That that’s the aim? Thats where this club should be? Or do we just get references to budgets and injuries and pitches. Coming into the business end of the season and we have zero momentum. I don’t see how anyone is pinning the blame anywhere except on McNulty.
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:31 - Apr 9 with 1632 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:27 - Apr 9 by Cedar_Room
This would be my concern, that one of the teams below us go on a bit of a run and take our place in the top 7. It feels like we are only still in the play off places because of how poor everyone else is. There have been so many teams dropping points that have meant we’ve managed to cling on despite a poor run of results. But that’s unlikely to last for the rest of the season and usually someone makes a late surge. In theory - we could still get promoted this season. It wouldn’t take much for us to get in the play offs ourselves and then win a few more games. But does anyone at all think this is going to happen? I’ve never heard McNulty once talk about it. Does he mention in his interviews that we’re on course to get promoted? That that’s the aim? Thats where this club should be? Or do we just get references to budgets and injuries and pitches. Coming into the business end of the season and we have zero momentum. I don’t see how anyone is pinning the blame anywhere except on McNulty.
McNulty complained when it was mentioned that the budget afforded him was one that gave us a chance of the play offs. He doesnt like expectations from the fans.
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:43 - Apr 9 with 1588 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:31 - Apr 9 by TalkingSutty
McNulty complained when it was mentioned that the budget afforded him was one that gave us a chance of the play offs. He doesnt like expectations from the fans.
He doesn’t like pressure. Will do anything to avoid putting pressure on the players which is reflected in how readily he’ll defend poor performances. Can’t cope with it when it’s applied to himself as evidenced by us capitulating in every game that means something.
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 15:24 - Apr 9 with 1451 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 14:27 - Apr 9 by Cedar_Room
This would be my concern, that one of the teams below us go on a bit of a run and take our place in the top 7. It feels like we are only still in the play off places because of how poor everyone else is. There have been so many teams dropping points that have meant we’ve managed to cling on despite a poor run of results. But that’s unlikely to last for the rest of the season and usually someone makes a late surge. In theory - we could still get promoted this season. It wouldn’t take much for us to get in the play offs ourselves and then win a few more games. But does anyone at all think this is going to happen? I’ve never heard McNulty once talk about it. Does he mention in his interviews that we’re on course to get promoted? That that’s the aim? Thats where this club should be? Or do we just get references to budgets and injuries and pitches. Coming into the business end of the season and we have zero momentum. I don’t see how anyone is pinning the blame anywhere except on McNulty.
"Zero momentum"
We started a cup semi-final with zero momentum
We're in the throes of the playoffs in a poor division... with zero momentum
How is this even possible? Sport is about building and sustaining momentum. If it's not happening, it's anti-sport
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 13:45 - Apr 9 by Dale_4_Life
The miss by Mitchell first half when 1v1 with the keeper is horrendous.
Keeper on the floor committed and Kairo just rolls the ball into his legs… along the floor no attempt to lift the ball over him.
Under zero defensive pressure it’s moments like this that frustrate fans…
It was a good save according to Dale commentary! Never a bad miss - they cant say that. Also a great chance early in the 2nd half for Gordon and he ballooned it over. Then Rodney somehow got himself offside when looking right across the back line and he actually finished it into the far corner. We are just so wasteful, be it chances created or poor setpieces. Never mind Jim moaning about late goals - we had enough chances Tuesday/Saturday/Tuesday to win all 3 games comfortably.
Its a BRILLIANT goal to cap a BRILLIANT start by Rochdale - Don Goodman 26/08/10
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 16:05 - Apr 9 by dingdangblue
It was a good save according to Dale commentary! Never a bad miss - they cant say that. Also a great chance early in the 2nd half for Gordon and he ballooned it over. Then Rodney somehow got himself offside when looking right across the back line and he actually finished it into the far corner. We are just so wasteful, be it chances created or poor setpieces. Never mind Jim moaning about late goals - we had enough chances Tuesday/Saturday/Tuesday to win all 3 games comfortably.
It's only a "good save" if the player gives the keeper an opportunity to save it, decent strikers just take the chance with the keeper nowhere near
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 16:46 - Apr 9 with 1163 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 13:45 - Apr 9 by Dale_4_Life
The miss by Mitchell first half when 1v1 with the keeper is horrendous.
Keeper on the floor committed and Kairo just rolls the ball into his legs… along the floor no attempt to lift the ball over him.
Under zero defensive pressure it’s moments like this that frustrate fans…
I'm primarily responding to your "Mitchell first half when 1v1 with the keeper is horrendous" Dale 4 Life - It must be very disappointing for players when they experience what I can best describe as a dip in form, I don't wish to kick a man when he's down but we are talking relatively highly paid professional footballers here, I watch Dog and Duck Sunday league football, these lads work (and play) hard all week and pay for the privilege of playing, I realise that there's a massive gulf between professional and amateur football however, in the same situation there are 2 - 3 lads in the Sunday team which I support would have put Mitchell's "horrendous miss" away with ease, I see them do it every week! I totally agree, I'm most of all frustrated with Mitchell's more recent performances, I've said it previously he can't head the ball, he can't trap the ball, he can't hold up the ball, pass nor shoot, tap in's from not so hard crosses were his forte in the not to distant past , even the crosses which he solely relied seem to have dried up, with out the required service he'd struggle to be selected for the Dog and Duck starting eleven at the moment !
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Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 17:06 - Apr 9 with 1069 views
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 16:46 - Apr 9 by James1980
Would that be the same Mitchell who has not exactly been encouraged by sections of our fanbase lately?
Last 5 NL PO winning managers Woodman Williams Hurst Challinor Weaver
[Post edited 9 Apr 16:52]
James, that's as bad as the poster who said the fans would be responsible for any sub-standard display in the semi-final
Does it even have to be spelled out how misconceived that turned out to be? You yourself said it was painful to watch how we started, yet you persist with trying to offset the negative football and lacklustre attempts to score as somehow being the fans fault?
There can be no complaints about fan support at games. Even during the worst displays, it hasn’t become particularly negative. Can’t comment much about away games as only seen the local ones and respect those who attend will be able to give a better reflection from the matches they travel to.
Refwatch - Sutton United v Rochdale on 17:06 - Apr 9 by D_Alien
James, that's as bad as the poster who said the fans would be responsible for any sub-standard display in the semi-final
Does it even have to be spelled out how misconceived that turned out to be? You yourself said it was painful to watch how we started, yet you persist with trying to offset the negative football and lacklustre attempts to score as somehow being the fans fault?
Do you think hearing the name of a striker who is on the bench and the biggest applause he hears linked to his name is when he was substituted is going to encourage him though.
'Only happy when you've got it often makes you miss the journey'
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