The ianevattable sacking

[Mar]

I think it's time for a fresh poll.

When will he leave...

Now, international break and time to save the season. --- he's had several international breaks
Give him 10 more games, least he deserves. --- he's had way more than 10 games
After Duff dies him again - Hudds at home. --- Duff did him (0-4 L), and Evatt had a second chance in the cup (3-1 W).

The only option that hasn't been exhausted...

He’ll turn this around.


I don't think anyone's under that impression anymore.

[GhostoftheBok]

I think he'll stay for a good while.

He's earnt the sack by a mile, but he's going to get January and they will then "wait for the impact" of Jan signings.

No issue being wrong on that, but I think he's here until summer.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I think he'll stay for a good while.

He's earnt the sack by a mile, but he's going to get January and they will then "wait for the impact" of Jan signings.

No issue being wrong on that, but I think he's here until summer.

Welcome back mate. What’s your take on it all? And who would you like to see replace him?

[GhostoftheBok]

Welcome back mate. What’s your take on it all? And who would you like to see replace him?

Evatt's become a caricature of himself and is shackling one of the most talented squads in the division because of it.

I'd probably still have someone like Skubala, but Evatt's staying and will get January to add players - so that's the reality.

Watching Collins, Thommo, etc play that badly is painful. If it was just them you could moan about players, but when every player is below their level it's the manager.

He had to have a big season after Wembley. He's been shite.

If you end the game with 4 fullback/wingback types on the pitch and are still being ripped apart down both flanks then you're just cocking it up royally.

Season's greetings

[officer_dibble]

Letting him waste more money is borderline criminal given where we have come from as a club.

[GhostoftheBok]

Letting him waste more money is borderline criminal given where we have come from as a club.

Our current PPG has been enough to make the play-offs twice in the past decade.

He has a negative goal difference with one of the best striking departments in the league.

Roy of the Rovers stuff if we were to go up.

It's all getting a bit silly.

[Bertie Wooster]

I didn't go yesterday and won't on Sunday - but we really do need a new manager, someone who knows about in game management - someone who can see what's unfolding on the pitch and can change tactics and make substitutions to positively impact the game, Evatt like the players doesn't have solutions, he doesn't how to change things to counter the opposition manager, for someone who at Barrow was so radical and forward thinking, he's now become a football dinosaur stuck with the same ineffective formation & tactics game after game after game.

We all know he won't go as the board have no respect or thought for the fans, it's a put up & shut up scenario - the fans will have to force Evatt out as I don't think that the board have either the foresight or the money to get rid, it's a circus at the moment at BWFC both on the pitch and in the boardroom.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

I didn't go yesterday and won't on Sunday - but we really do need a new manager, someone who knows about in game management - someone who can see what's unfolding on the pitch and can change tactics and make substitutions to positively impact the game, Evatt like the players doesn't have solutions, he doesn't how to change things to counter the opposition manager, for someone who at Barrow was so radical and forward thinking, he's now become a football dinosaur stuck with the same ineffective formation & tactics game after game after game.

We all know he won't go as the board have no respect or thought for the fans, it's a put up & shut up scenario - the fans will have to force Evatt out as I don't think that the board have either the foresight or the money to get rid, it's a circus at the moment at BWFC both on the pitch and in the boardroom.

Interesting, this. I was very excited by that Athletic deep-dive on him that I posted when we were first linked with him; someone who clearly thinks deeply about systems, it's a promising sign.

However, the flipside of that can be dogmatism and rigidity. The central tragedy of Evatt is that he's not a one-idea guy - as I've said, he got Barrow promoted by changing from a back four to a back three, then got us promoted the other way round, then improved our third-tier standing by switching back again - but he appears unable to switch quickly or on the hoof: it all has to be pre-ordained, whether it's the mid-season formational change or the planned substitutions or the "we'll play the 3-4-2-1 against a back four" or whatever. It seems to have to come from him locking himself in a bunker for days for Deep Thought, like Homer Simpson wearing his half-moon glasses.

As you note, Bertie, countering the opposition manager in-game is a huge problem, and probably the reason why we only play well in patches during games - as soon as the oppo clocks and changes, we're knackered.

It's not good enough.

[GhostoftheBok]

Evatt's football understanding seems to match his personal life. Read a self-help book and then copy the author's lifestyle. Look at what other managers do and then do that.

It was successful at first, when he understood he was copying and was open to new ideas. Now he seems to have forgotten he did that and believe he's the guy with the ideas. It's too late now, but there were solutions being demonstrated by better managers higher up and he failed to "borrow" them.

He very clearly now thinks the players are the problem. He keeps asking them to do the same thing and when we don't win they've just not applied his ideas well enough.

A couple of seasons ago we changed how we played based on who we put on the pitch. We kept the same principles, but we looked to hurt teams in different areas. Now it's all the same and teams could set up to beat us weeks in advance.

I can't remember the last time I was surprised by how we attacked a team.

[Abdoulaye's Twin]

He believes his own hype and the problem is something or someone else. He's been found out and instead of learning He's doubling down.

[Worthy4England]

Probably never better evidenced than against Oxford. It took most fans 15 minutes max, to realise there was a pretty large problem that wasn't just likely to resolve itself with the passage of playing time and doubling down on plan A.

He could've tried pretty much any attacking formation out. But the problem was the ball wasn't getting to them with any real consistency or quality. He needed to resolve the fact that the ball was getting stuck between Santos and Sheehan.

[TANGODANCER]

Evatt's football understanding seems to match his personal life. Read a self-help book and then copy the author's lifestyle. Look at what other managers do and then do that.

There is one rather wild option that we haven't touched: Could our errant manager actually be seeking to get himself sacked? Wild it sounds, yes, but what if, and what would the reasons/targets be? Is he looking to move on the strength of his managerial history? Right now the only word that governs his attitude is "stubborn"

[Bertie Wooster]

Everything is robotic under Evatt, his management style, his tactics and his players. We have a team of pre programmed robots with no individuality - most fans know exactly what's going to happen 10-15 mins before it actually happens because they have seen it so often over the past 12 months. Every game is almost the same and follows the same pattern.

[GhostoftheBok]

Probably never better evidenced than against Oxford. It took most fans 15 minutes max, to realise there was a pretty large problem that wasn't just likely to resolve itself with the passage of playing time and doubling down on plan A.

He could've tried pretty much any attacking formation out. But the problem was the ball wasn't getting to them with any real consistency or quality. He needed to resolve the fact that the ball was getting stuck between Santos and Sheehan.

Every time Evatt wants to make small changes he seems to have to go away and study other people's work.

It's like me with computers. I can build PCs and do basic coding, but if something goes badly wrong I have to watch a Youtube video or read posts by people who are genuine experts. If it were my job I'd take the time to learn, but maybe I'd ultimately not "get it" (loathsome humanities guy as I am).

Evatt can't change things during games. Maybe we should start making Tiktok videos about how to do it? He could watch them during the game.

"The one midfield trick Barnsley mangers don't want you to know!"
"The ball is getting stuck with the pivot. See how we solved it with this simple move!"
"Is crossing the ball a secret cheat code?"

The possibilities are endless.

[Worthy4England]

I'm fine with the concept of people learning from mistakes. The "learning" bit is pretty key. That said, the message usually has a large element of reinforcement when you connect the dots yourself. When 486 chipset came to the market there was some shitty underwear coz up until then you didn't need to put a fan/heatsink on top of the chip. You had to work that bit out yourself because they didn't manufacture them with a fan on. So you built it, watched what was happening and eventually worked out it was a cooling problem, because it worked fine for a while before powering off.

If I could see learning, I'd be more ok with it. The current analogy is he just tries to buy a Pentium and wonders why that doesn't work either.

[GhostoftheBok]

If I could see learning, I'd be more ok with it.

You can't learn if you don't think you're the issue.

Evatt seems to think he's doing a good job and is being let down by others.

16 points off the autos at Christmas hasn't taught him introspection, so I suspect it's not happening.

[GhostoftheBok]

Oh, btw, I've voted again as "He'll turn this around"...not because I believe he will, but because it's the only option.

He's seemingly not going anywhere before the summer, so either he turns it around or he doesn't. None of it will impact his longevity.

[Worthy4England]

If I could see learning, I'd be more ok with it.

You can't learn if you don't think you're the issue.

Evatt seems to think he's doing a good job and is being let down by others.

16 points off the autos at Christmas hasn't taught him introspection, so I suspect it's not happening.

A few things strike me as odd. Not all Evatt related. He recently talked about the "Transfer committee" not his direct words. But he was gabbing about getting Markham's Dept, Ludanautics, Board and himself all aligned on transfers. That's not objectionable, but someone needs to be accountable.

I listened to an interview with Markham. He talked a lot about being encouraged to take risk. I'm fine with that too. It drives competitive edge when it's done right. Here again though, I didn't hear much about mitigation nor accountability here either.

It all feels a bit "make it up as we go along." There has to be grown ups somewhere in the chain.

[GhostoftheBok]

Without being in the room we can't really know, but I don't know of any league clubs now who just have one person doing the transfers.

It's normal for a manager to be to say "no", but not for him to say "yes" without others involved in the process.

The external company thing is more unusual at this level (fairly normal higher up and abroad).

I do sympathise with the concern that it could be an echo-chamber of the inept, but Ludo's lot are well-regarded and they have a reputation to protect. Means they're unlikely to just nod along.

Ultimately it has to be Evatt with the final stamp, after the techys have had their say and the board has agreed the money.

[Worthy4England]

Without being in the room we can't really know, but I don't know of any league clubs now who just have one person doing the transfers.

It's normal for a manager to be to say "no", but not for him to say "yes" without others involved in the process.

The external company thing is more unusual at this level (fairly normal higher up and abroad).

I do sympathise with the concern that it could be an echo-chamber of the inept, but Ludo's lot are well-regarded and they have a reputation to protect. Means they're unlikely to just nod along.

Ultimately it has to be Evatt with the final stamp, after the techys have had their say and the board has agreed the money.

I don't expect one person and I certainly expect collaboration. But there's a couple of interviews - one with Evatt/Markham and one with just Markham. I come away from both thinking "If this doesn't work out, it's going to be neither's fault." Tell me the DoF works for Manager and I'm good with it. But for me when the spiel is "It's both of us playing in our best positions" then if one has it wrong, the other one is likely on that side of the list too.