Its great (and normal?) for a football club to have ambition. Refreshing to see that the club is seemingly openly targeting a goal of being a sustainable League One club in 3.5 years. What I would say, as others have alluded to, is that we need to see the detail before getting carried away (again) - and this will soon follow.
At the moment its just a statement, which we've had before. On previous occasions it was merely grandstanding/corporate bullshit without any substance. I do think that this time could be different, and know from my previous involvement as a Shrimps Trust Trustee that Charlie and James (who have both been great additions to the board) have been working on the development of a new strategy for the club. Lets hope that its SMART:
Specific (simple, sensible, significant)
Measurable (meaningful, motivating)
Achievable (agreed, attainable)
Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based)
Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive)
I'm more interested about what all this means off the field (the sustainability part), but on it our results have improved dramatically since the appointment of Derek Adams. The board/people who made this decision couldn't have made a better call IMO. For me, the biggest statement of intent would be to sign the manager up for the duration of the project - or at least persuade him to stay for another 2 years. He clearly deserves a new deal, regardless of what happens from now until the end of the season, and it will also safeguard the clubs interests.
There is reference to it on here and elsewhere ("get another striker in propel us to League One now - we don't need 3 years") - but I'm really struggling to understand some of the logic behind this.... what do such statements even mean in reality?
Tactically, we are light on goals vs. what we are expected to score (xG - more Yank/FIFA stat crap infecting the game
) - which means that we are creating opportunities, and can improve. But would the addition of a new striker (presumably to increase our goal output) be a replacement for Stockton who has been central to our success (we are set-up to play with a lone striker that brings midfield runners into play, something Cole does very well as demonstrated on Saturday), or to complement/partner Cole (and therefore abandon the tactics that have proved successful to date)? We have had strikers on the bench throughout, who have not really been utilised because they do not fit into the tactics that have been successful to date. Seems odd/baffling that people are inadvertently questioning Derek's approach, given the current league standings.
Fundamentally, It is difficult to understand the logic/interpretation that leads somebody to take the clubs well meaning statement about achieving sustainable growth and promotion, and conclude that we should've pushed the boat out to bring in another striker (in the middle of a pandemic where there continues to be uncertainty around football finances) to possibly help achieve promotion now.
Finally - you don't pick and choose when you are good enough to be promoted in a sporting competition. This is possibly the worst take I have read all year. Congratulations Neil, a new entry into your top5.
Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2021 12:38 pm
