The ianevattable sacking

[BWFC_Insane]

Burning pitchforks and banners for Saturday then.

[nicholaldo]

Oh dear me.

[BWFC_Insane]

Evatt told us over the summer that the root and branch review identified they didn’t have enough coaching staff.

Now they claim they had too many.

He and Sharon literally don’t know what they are doing and it’s clear as day.

[Mar]

https://t.co/TwlJ6mAmY3 - iles

Ok, well that’s a fecking disgrace Sharon.

Will it change the day to day for the players, yes. Will that be enough? Looks very unlikely.

This decision may just be a case of 'lets wait till we find an actual manager to bring in'.

[Worthy4England]

Burning pitchforks and banners for Saturday then.

You do know we win on Saturday, yeah?

I think it's the wrong call, btw - just with maybe a bit less hyperbole.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sheets-Wrinkle ... 06493&th=1

[DJBlu]

The rumour is true.

Staying and backroom shift.

I'm going to put my management hat on, we can't have a go at Evatt for shifting his staff on if he's been told to change it by his manager, who haven't done that themselves.

Captaincy. If true, Santos needs to be absolutely bullet proof from now on as all eyes will be on his performances. GT. Has passion and loves this club, he might be nieve however what he does do is listen. He will give more than 100% and leave it all out on the pitch.

I really wish we could all get back to enjoying football.

Answer me this. If the results change and we get into the top 2. Are we happy about this decision?

[The_Gun]

No idea what Craddock’s role was, and I suppose there’s a minute possibility that he was culpable for our current form, but this decision certainly looks like a blame-shifter, and doesn’t sit at all well with me.

[Worthy4England]

No idea what Craddock’s role was, and I suppose there’s a minute possibility that he was culpable for our current form, but this decision certainly looks like a blame-shifter, and doesn’t sit at all well with me.

First Team Coach...

[dave the minion]

Burning pitchforks and banners for Saturday then.

You do know we win on Saturday, yeah?

I think it's the wrong call, btw - just with maybe a bit less hyperbole.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sheets-Wrinkle ... 06493&th=1

I'd go for the white king size, and don't forget the pair of pillow cases.......

[BWFC_Insane]

Burning pitchforks and banners for Saturday then.

You do know we win on Saturday, yeah?

I think it's the wrong call, btw - just with maybe a bit less hyperbole.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sheets-Wrinkle ... 06493&th=1

Oh absolutely. Win a few. Finish about 8th. Just short. The usual suspects say give Evatt another season. Sharon won’t make a decision. And the cycle of purgatory continues.

[The_Gun]

No idea what Craddock’s role was, and I suppose there’s a minute possibility that he was culpable for our current form, but this decision certainly looks like a blame-shifter, and doesn’t sit at all well with me.

First Team Coach...

Sorry, I should’ve said that I have no idea what Craddock was actually doing.

[Harry Genshaw]

A surprising and imo, poor decision but I can't get too worked up about it. Thing is, even if we go on and win our next 10 league games (we won't by the way) there'll still be the sound of rattling pitchforks when we lose the 11th. Evatts lost the crowd and I can't see him winning them back now.

[BWFC_Insane]

Craddock would be a better manager than Evatt I’m sure. Probably one who saw the nonsense called it out and paid the price.

JusticeforMatt.

[Jeux sans frontiéres]

This might be controversial, but f*ck it. I'm entitled to an opinion too. (And of course whilst I'm writing we make our decision. Typical.)

TL/DR: I'd keep Evatt over any of the potential replacements currently being talked about. He has done nothing to deserve the level of vitriol being thrown at him. Talk of him merely 'stabilising' the club is so far short of the mark that it's frankly laughable.

Evatt - Not perfect. But bloody hell have we had some good times under his watch. We've had no coherent, enjoyable strategy since 2007. Sammy Lee - abysmal. Gary Megson - say no more. Owen Coyle - clap harder and it'll be reet. Freedman - seemed to positively want us to play like we're currently playing. Lennon - gung NO. Parkinson - steady but nothing electric or systemic. Hill - no idea. Evatt's 50% win ratio is more than double three of the above list. And over a longer period of time. But most importantly, not only has he been able to win, but he's done it whilst putting in place sustainable structures that have benefitted the whole club and given it a footballing identity that has not only been enjoyable to watch (for most of the past four years) but also scales well if/when we continue up the league and manage to recruit better players. His ability to identify and recruit talent has been incredible. Dapo. Morais. Sheehan. Rico, Doyle, Amaechi, Bradley, Trafford. Mostly employed when we were still a League Two outfit, and able to continue to improve as we've grown into League One. Got all of those players to buy into a philosophy. Took decisions to get rid of those that no longer worked in the system, even if they were fan favourites. Replaced key loan players well.

Nobody before that Wembley final who was singing "We've got super Ian Evatt" was anything other than 100% committed to that message. That feeling.

What's gone wrong - We lost a football match at Wembley. One that we all expected to win. And for all the talk about, "we've got two plans for next season depending on which league we're in" - noone was seriously planning for another League One campaign. So I imagine we threw away 90% of our recruitment plans at that point. And then some clubs came down that ripped up the script for what a good playing budget looked like. And Oxford and Portsmouth needed players. So our realistic targets suddenly had other options that looked more attractive.
But more than that. We've been licking our wounds for too long. We give the players stick for losing their heads and not showing fight. I can't say I've seen much of that from the fans either. We give the manager stick because the players couldn't execute his gameplan, which was 100% irrefutable concrete evidence that it was definitely the system's fault because everyone has us figured out and we're easy to play against. Which is just rubbish. Every team that plays a system has a way they can be beaten. What matters in the in-game decision-making and technical ability of the player. And we've proven over three years that on most occasions the outcome ends up in our favour. All of that has been forgotten in no time at all. And worse - we've started to create our own revisionist history that somehow we're a terrible team with the worst players. Not fit to wear the shirt.

Alternatives - Schumacher - not going to happen. Has proven himself capable at Championship level. Will get another job at that level. Ryan Lowe - the same Ryan Lowe who stepped down because 2 years at a club is too long and who has a worse win ratio than Evatt in every season. Alex Neil - Here's an assessment by a Sunderland fan, "In terms of our style so far, well, it has been turgid and more of a chore to watch than it has been for a long time. It’s dour, and lacking any kind of pop or pace to proceedings whilst also being void of any kind of flare. The general patterns of play have been very simplistic and one dimensional, with most our games centering around launching it long to Ross Stewart." I could go on. But the message is, be careful what you wish for.

So sod it. I don't want to replace the optimism of sacking him with the realisation that we don't like what we've got instead. I don't want to wake up tomorrow to hear that we've got another version of Keith Hill in charge because we definitely need a "no nonsense approach".

And most of all - I think Ian has deserved our respect. And has enough talent to turn it around. We just have to recognise that a mindset shift is needed after Wembley and it'll take some time (no matter who is here) and the fan base isn't helping.

The End.

[Worthy4England]

No idea what Craddock’s role was, and I suppose there’s a minute possibility that he was culpable for our current form, but this decision certainly looks like a blame-shifter, and doesn’t sit at all well with me.

First Team Coach...

Sorry, I should’ve said that I have no idea what Craddock was actually doing.

Apparently - you're not on your own, there...

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

No idea what Craddock’s role was, and I suppose there’s a minute possibility that he was culpable for our current form, but this decision certainly looks like a blame-shifter, and doesn’t sit at all well with me.

As Worthy says, he was the first-team coach. He was promoted from the Bs when Sam Hird left – first as caretaker during an interview process, then made permanent. Whatever that means in football.

Since then, Stephen Crainey has arrived as a(nother) assistant manager, alongside Atherton and under only Evatt.

Although set-ups differ from club to club, generally the "first team coach" is the one sometimes derided as the 'BBC man' - Balls, Bibs and Cones - expected to translate the manager's theoretical plans into on-the-grass practice. He may or may not have a voice at the table when said plans are being hatched.

The assistant manager - or in our case assistant managers plural - is/are there to offer the gaffer a soundboard, sage advice, another pair of eyes etc; I believe Atherton also functioned as first team coach until Hird arrived after our promotion from the Fourth.

To zoom out, then: the only way a first-team coach can be blamed is if he has systematically failed to adequately explain and implement the managerial plans. Given Evatt was out there "on the grass" with him, presumably along with Atherton and Crainey, this is somewhat akin to resolving a train crash by firing the ticket collector.

[HMX]

This might be controversial, but f*ck it. I'm entitled to an opinion too.

TL/DR: I'd keep Evatt over any of the potential replacements currently being talked about. He has done nothing to deserve the level of vitriol being thrown at him. Talk of him merely 'stabilising' the club is so far short of the mark that it's frankly laughable.

Evatt - Not perfect. But bloody hell have we had some good times under his watch. We've had no coherent, enjoyable strategy since 2007. Sammy Lee - abysmal. Gary Megson - say no more. Owen Coyle - clap harder and it'll be reet. Freedman - seemed to positively want us to play like we're currently playing. Lennon - gung NO. Parkinson - steady but nothing electric or systemic. Hill - no idea. Evatt's 50% win ratio is more than double three of the above list. And over a longer period of time. But most importantly, not only has he been able to win, but he's done it whilst putting in place sustainable structures that have benefitted the whole club and given it a footballing identity that has not only been enjoyable to watch (for most of the past four years) but also scales well if/when we continue up the league and manage to recruit better players. His ability to identify and recruit talent has been incredible. Dapo. Morais. Sheehan. Rico, Doyle, Amaechi, Bradley, Trafford. Mostly employed when we were still a League Two outfit, and able to continue to improve as we've grown into League One. Got all of those players to buy into a philosophy. Took decisions to get rid of those that no longer worked in the system, even if they were fan favourites. Replaced key loan players well.

Nobody before that Wembley final who was singing "We've got super Ian Evatt" was anything other than 100% committed to that message. That feeling.

What's gone wrong - We lost a football match at Wembley. One that we all expected to win. And for all the talk about, "we've got two plans for next season depending on which league we're in" - noone was seriously planning for another League One campaign. So I imagine we threw away 90% of our recruitment plans at that point. And then some clubs came down that ripped up the script for what a good playing budget looked like. And Oxford and Portsmouth needed players. So our realistic targets suddenly had other options that looked more attractive.
But more than that. We've been licking our wounds for too long. We give the players stick for losing their heads and not showing fight. I can't say I've seen much of that from the fans either. We give the manager stick because the players couldn't execute his gameplan, which was 100% irrefutable concrete evidence that it was definitely the system's fault because everyone has us figured out and we're easy to play against. Which is just rubbish. Every team that plays a system has a way they can be beaten. What matters in the in-game decision-making and technical ability of the player. And we've proven over three years that on most occasions the outcome ends up in our favour. All of that has been forgotten in no time at all. And worse - we've started to create our own revisionist history that somehow we're a terrible team with the worst players. Not fit to wear the shirt.

Alternatives - Schumacher - not going to happen. Has proven himself capable at Championship level. Will get another job at that level. Ryan Lowe - the same Ryan Lowe who stepped down because 2 years at a club is too long and who has a worse win ratio than Evatt in every season. Alex Neil - Here's an assessment by a Sunderland fan, "In terms of our style so far, well, it has been turgid and more of a chore to watch than it has been for a long time. It’s dour, and lacking any kind of pop or pace to proceedings whilst also being void of any kind of flare. The general patterns of play have been very simplistic and one dimensional, with most our games centering around launching it long to Ross Stewart." I could go on. But the message is, be careful what you wish for.

So sod it. I don't want to replace the optimism of sacking him with the realisation that we don't like what we've got instead. I don't want to wake up tomorrow to hear that we've got another version of Keith Hill in charge because we definitely need a "no nonsense approach".

And most of all - I think Ian has deserved our respect. And has enough talent to turn it around. We just have to recognise that a mindset shift is needed after Wembley and it'll take some time (no matter who is here) and the fan base isn't helping.

The End.

You on your break at the training ground?

[BWFC_Insane]

^^most of those managers would have a high win percent if they had Bolton in the lower leagues with the budget Evatt has.

Parky who is vastly superior to Evatt in every way has a 60 odd percent win record at Wrexham. When he was here he had no money and had to sell our best players yet still took us up.

Evatt is a total charlatan, emperors new clothes.

[Mar]

This might be controversial, but f*ck it. I'm entitled to an opinion too.

TL/DR: I'd keep Evatt over any of the potential replacements currently being talked about. He has done nothing to deserve the level of vitriol being thrown at him. Talk of him merely 'stabilising' the club is so far short of the mark that it's frankly laughable.

Evatt - Not perfect. But bloody hell have we had some good times under his watch. We've had no coherent, enjoyable strategy since 2007. Sammy Lee - abysmal. Gary Megson - say no more. Owen Coyle - clap harder and it'll be reet. Freedman - seemed to positively want us to play like we're currently playing. Lennon - gung NO. Parkinson - steady but nothing electric or systemic. Hill - no idea. Evatt's 50% win ratio is more than double three of the above list. And over a longer period of time. But most importantly, not only has he been able to win, but he's done it whilst putting in place sustainable structures that have benefitted the whole club and given it a footballing identity that has not only been enjoyable to watch (for most of the past four years) but also scales well if/when we continue up the league and manage to recruit better players. His ability to identify and recruit talent has been incredible. Dapo. Morais. Sheehan. Rico, Doyle, Amaechi, Bradley, Trafford. Mostly employed when we were still a League Two outfit, and able to continue to improve as we've grown into League One. Got all of those players to buy into a philosophy. Took decisions to get rid of those that no longer worked in the system, even if they were fan favourites. Replaced key loan players well.

Nobody before that Wembley final who was singing "We've got super Ian Evatt" was anything other than 100% committed to that message. That feeling.

What's gone wrong - We lost a football match at Wembley. One that we all expected to win. And for all the talk about, "we've got two plans for next season depending on which league we're in" - noone was seriously planning for another League One campaign. So I imagine we threw away 90% of our recruitment plans at that point. And then some clubs came down that ripped up the script for what a good playing budget looked like. And Oxford and Portsmouth needed players. So our realistic targets suddenly had other options that looked more attractive.
But more than that. We've been licking our wounds for too long. We give the players stick for losing their heads and not showing fight. I can't say I've seen much of that from the fans either. We give the manager stick because the players couldn't execute his gameplan, which was 100% irrefutable concrete evidence that it was definitely the system's fault because everyone has us figured out and we're easy to play against. Which is just rubbish. Every team that plays a system has a way they can be beaten. What matters in the in-game decision-making and technical ability of the player. And we've proven over three years that on most occasions the outcome ends up in our favour. All of that has been forgotten in no time at all. And worse - we've started to create our own revisionist history that somehow we're a terrible team with the worst players. Not fit to wear the shirt.

Alternatives - Schumacher - not going to happen. Has proven himself capable at Championship level. Will get another job at that level. Ryan Lowe - the same Ryan Lowe who stepped down because 2 years at a club is too long and who has a worse win ratio than Evatt in every season. Alex Neil - Here's an assessment by a Sunderland fan, "In terms of our style so far, well, it has been turgid and more of a chore to watch than it has been for a long time. It’s dour, and lacking any kind of pop or pace to proceedings whilst also being void of any kind of flare. The general patterns of play have been very simplistic and one dimensional, with most our games centering around launching it long to Ross Stewart." I could go on. But the message is, be careful what you wish for.

So sod it. I don't want to replace the optimism of sacking him with the realisation that we don't like what we've got instead. I don't want to wake up tomorrow to hear that we've got another version of Keith Hill in charge because we definitely need a "no nonsense approach".

And most of all - I think Ian has deserved our respect. And has enough talent to turn it around. We just have to recognise that a mindset shift is needed after Wembley and it'll take some time (no matter who is here) and the fan base isn't helping.

The End.

Lovely read, but misses a few points.

It wasn't just one game at Wembley, we'd recruited badly, failed to take our chances and failed to get promotion several times last season, despite spending a considerable sum of money on the likes of N'lundulu and Collins.

The quality of the opposition last season was such that we should have been promoted.

Sure we'd failed at Wembley, but the reaction afterwards (or lack thereof) and the fact that we were less than 2 ppg means that we were in slide, despite increasing expenditure. It wasn't just the loss, it was the manner of the defeat and the fact that the vast majority of the Bolton fans could see it coming.

So it's not just one failure, its many. But in spite of all the failures, there is more positives in what Evatt has done than to simply throw it away. There is no credible alternative being thrown around, certainly not one with the win record that Evatt has. Grass isn't always greener.

Evatt needs help, maybe him being honest by saying he doesn't know what to do will help him get there. Fresh ideas are required, outside help definitely.

A team scoring 100+ goals in a calendar year doesn't become crap overnight, apparently it takes the summer. But I think it'll be a much quicker turn around if we've got someone who knows how to get back to what was working rather than someone who needs a season or two of recruitment.

[Worthy4England]

What's gone wrong - We lost a football match at Wembley.

Yes but, no but. We've not been great since Jan.

P22 W9 D9 L4 - then we did the play-offs P3 W1 L2. Now we've done P5 W1 D1 L3...

That's P30, W11, D10, L9. That would translate to 1.43 points per game.