Ruben Lameiras - The Highlights

Portuguese trialist Ruben Lameiras impressed all in attendance during Saturday's friendly draw with Nuneaton at Liberty Way.

Some concerns were raised over what Tony Mowbray called his 'slight' build, and as a result Lameiras will continue to be monitored by Mowbray and the backroom staff. 

In the last hour a video has surfaced online which showcases the 20-year-old's performances for the Tottenham youth sides. 

Good enough for League One? Judge for yourself:

 

Raheem Sterling - A dreem move for all

After witnessing the artistry on show throughout the Wimbledon Men’s final which culminated in a second successive title for the seemingly unstoppable Novak Djokovic, many like myself were contemplating a typical summer Sunday evening without the joys of Premier League football to watch, discuss and enjoy. However, one of League’s most talented youngsters had other ideas. 

That way to Manchester

Just as those on Twitter had finished complementing the impeccable Serb on his victory over Roger Federer, an explosion erupted. Raheem Sterling was the catalyst for an outpouring of opinion, not because of a sublime piece of skill or an astute finish, but the completion a £49 million move from Liverpool to Manchester City - which epitomises the tedious nature of English football’s off-season. 

Social media’s elite had contrasting views on Sterling, Liverpool and Manchester City:

Cleary the move has divided opinion, but for me this is a transfer that benefits all parties, well nearly all of them. For the player at the heart of it all, it marks the end of a testing period in what is an embryonic career. Sterling and his notorious agent Aidy Ward have come in for a formidable amount of criticism, a lot of it warranted. However, the shameless behaviour - which included that awkward interview - is now in the past and they have achieved their desired end result, whether this would have happened without Ward’s antics is a debate that will run and run. 

Away from the monetary issues, Sterling finds himself at a club in which his development should be accelerated. In essence he has swapped the likes of Henderson, Lallana and Coutinho for Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Augero - a staggering difference in standard. We all witnessed the influence a similar world class talent - Luis Suarez - had on Sterling’s game and City have a team of them. The guarantee of Champions League football is another luxury he would have missed out on by remaining at Liverpool.  

It’s far from doom and gloom at Anfield however, as Liverpool fans have been quite quick to point out. For the second season running they’ve acquired a monstrous sum of money for a single player, which should be - or more to the point, needs to be - reinvested in the team. If FSG and Rodgers can avoid a repeat of last summer’s mistakes, they may just be able to strengthen a side that is once again struggling to live up to the fans' expectations. The likes of Firmino, Milner, Ings and Clyne are a creditable start, but additions are required in order to usurp a Champions League place from the current holders. 

"You have it, no you have"

With Manchester City needing at least five homegrown players to meet the necessary quota of eight, Sterling will at the very least fill one of these spots. To suggest that this is the motive behind the move is incredibly harsh on Sterling and somewhat flatters an ageing City side in need of revitalising. City’s squad has severely lacked pace - barring the inconsistent Jesus Navas - in the last couple of seasons, which doesn’t help when the average age of their squad is between 28 and 29. The likes of Toure, Silva, Nasri and Fernandinho are all very one-paced and whilst Sergio Aguero is no slouch, the direct running and pace of Sterling will only benefit City’s creative quartet. David Silva especially, will enjoy linking up with a player willing to gamble on his exquisite through balls. 

England manager Roy Hodgson will no doubt be relieved that one of his key players can return to concentrating on football. Hodgson’s use of Sterling has been an admirable act during an otherwise underwhelming time in charge of the national side and if Hodgson and England are to achieve anything in France next year, they will need Sterling to shine. An injury free season at City is a must for England’s hopes, as well as lots of rest in between games to avoid another bout of tiredness that ‘impeded’ Sterling last October. 

There is one man that the move both benefits and hinders, the uber-confident Brendan Rodgers. Now that the Sterling saga has ended, the spotlight shines solely on Liverpool’s under-fire manager. Many were surprised that Rodgers wasn’t sacked following the humiliating defeat to Stoke on the last day of the season. In an age where managers have a short lifespan, the Liverpool board have to be commended for sticking by their man, however the pressure is now back on. A poor start to the season and Rodgers career - not just as Liverpool manager - could be in serious trouble.  

All things considered this is a move that satisfies the needs of all involved. Despite the ludicrous price tag - which like many transfers these days, is somewhat irrelevant and no longer represents the actually value of a player - Sterling has such a level of potential, that one day he could well be worth it. 

"One last hug for luck Raheem"

Nuneaton Town 0-0 Coventry City - A tactical insight

Following an exciting week in which we witnessed some astute purchases in the transfer market, the culmination of the Reda Johnson contract saga and the much anticipated away kit reveal, we were subjected to 90 minutes of stereo-typical exhibition style football at the less than aesthetically pleasing Liberty Way. 

Something of a pre-season tradition was prematurely ended last July due to an intense wind and rain storm, unfortunately we weren’t afforded that luxury this year. There were brief moments of action - more so in the first than second half - but more fascinating was the emergence of Tony Mowbray’s true tactical philosophy. 

There are many ways to progress out of League One. This was evident last season as Bristol City, MK Dons and Preston were promoted having played three contrasting styles of football. We narrowly avoided going in the opposite direction, deploying a no-nonsense 4-4-2 in the last part of the season. 

It transpired today that Mowbray has returned to a style previously used at Middlesbrough, the modern system of 4-2-3-1. City fans will recall Mark Robins implementing a similar style during his short stint as manager, but it was a slightly rigid 4-2-2-1-1 as it was described at the time.

The defensive midfield pairing of any 4-2-3-1 based side are vital to the potential success of the system. Mowbray hinted after the game that new signing Romain Vincelot would accompany John Fleck in the role, undoubtedly our strongest midfield pairing. 

The duo will be expected to offer protection to the back four, whilst at the same time maintaining possession and beginning attacks. Vincelot’s engine and defensive qualities should complement Fleck’s range of passing, resulting in an effective barrier between attack and defence. 

James Maddison was vocal in his appreciation of Mowbray’s attacking philosophy after the game: “The manager is trying to drill his philosophy into us and how he wants to play. I like the way he sees the game, it's an attacking way and it's how I enjoy playing.” (Courtesy of ccfc.co.uk). 

After admitting that he favoured the number ten role, Maddison - the most naturally gifted player in the squad - must play there this season to generate the central creativity that the system requires. 

With the defensive unit almost sorted - some deliberation may be had on the goalkeeping situation after Reice Charles-Cook’s confident clean-sheet - Mowbray will now turn his attention to fine tuning the offensive side of the squad. Having another look at Ruben Lameiras should be the first port of call, whilst sending Roussel Ngankam back to Botosani is a no-brainer. 

Coventry City - What needs to be done (on the pitch that is)

Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus

With the transfer window now officially open and after witnessing the drivel being spewed from the mouth’s of many an irate City fan as to why messieurs Mowbray and Venus have yet to make a signing, I’ve decided to unveil my ‘sky-blueprints’ for the season ahead. Mowbray has dispensed with the deadwood from last season, some of whom may have flourished had they not spent the majority of their time here under Steven Pressley’s watch - but that is a debate for another day. 

Adam Barton, Simeon Jackson, Frank Nouble, Shaun Miller, Blair Turgott, Danny Pugh, Andrew Webster and Al Bangura have all departed the club this summer, leaving the squad with a fair few spaces to fill. Undoubtedly we possess the basis of a competitive team, but admittedly we do need to strengthen. Rather than identify candidates for the vacant roles, I’ll address the areas that need to be bolstered. 

Specific parallels can be drawn between the form of current first choice keeper Lee Burge and the results of the club last season, namely the inconsistent nature of both. Inconsistency is a formality for keeper’s during the infancy of their careers and with this in mind, I’m not that worried about Burge’s place in the squad. However both Burge and Reice Charles-Cook - a talented player by all accounts - would benefit from an experienced professional between the sticks, as would the club.  

There are a multitude of reasons why we underperformed last season - which I am sure the Coventry Telegraph have had an online poll on, so I won’t go into them. However one of the main reasons was frustratingly down to individual defensive errors, despite this there are two individuals that should be permanent fixtures in the first team going into next season. 

Aaron Phillips endeared himself to the Sky Blues faithful after lashing in the equaliser against Wolves at Molineux back in 2013 and has since gone on to make a number of impressive appearances at right back. Whilst ‘Haynes Mania’ was slowly but surely unravelling, young Aaron was unassumingly going about his business. 

He was replaced towards the end of the season by the more defensively minded Jordan Willis, but Phillips is definitely the way forward. He confidently overcomes his lack of aerial presence through his tenacity, and his level of technical ability allows him to maintain composure when in possession unlike Willis - who in all fairness is more suited to centre half. 

At the age of 27 Reda Johnson is one of three players the team should be built around. There are issues surrounding both his fitness and disciplinary record, but pound for pound he was one of our most impressive performers last year and as he enters what should be the peak years of his career, we need to make the most of his influence. Johnson exudes leadership and confidence, characteristics needed when a high percentage of your squad is young. He is currently out of contract, hopefully this won’t be the case for much longer. 

What he requires is a defensive partner that can match his ability and physicality. In terms of effort, the performances of Aaron Martin cannot be faulted, however he was responsible on more than one occasion for the individual defensive errors that caused us such distress. His resilient performance against Crawley in the final game of the season, highlights the ‘on his day’ manner of the former Southampton man’s game, deeming him sufficient enough for a place on the bench. The same indictment can be levelled at Jordan Willis, with his technical ability leaving a lot to be desired. 

Cast your mind back to the glorious night of the ‘Ricoh Return’, when 27,306 people collectively gasped in amazement at wonder-boy Ryan Haynes running down the wing and floating a ball into the box. For whatever reason, be it loss of confidence, failing to adapt to the physical requirements of first team football or just simply being another overrated academy graduate, Haynes lost his way over the season. 

That’s not to say his Coventry City career has completely flatlined, but yesterday’s signing of Chris Stokes means that Haynes should be on the periphery of the squad this season. I’m not overly enamoured by the Bolton youth academy graduate and ideally another left back should be signed, but realistically this won’t happen. That being said a full professional pre-season will only help Stokes, who performed commendably during last season.

Traditionally Tony Mowbray has been a 4-2-3-1, 4-3-3 or a flexible 4-4-2 man with the basic principle of playing effective passing football. Since his arrival we haven’t seen much evidence of this, with a fixed 4-4-2 system being deployed. I would be very surprised if Mowbray had abandoned his footballing principles in favour of the out-of-date, rigid 4-4-2, moreover it seems that rather than overcomplicate things for the squad he inherited, he saw 4-4-2 as a temporary solution for staving off relegation. 

Basing the midfield selection on the 4-2-3-1 system it is clear that some work needs to be done. The second of the three players the team should be built around is John Fleck, with 139 appearances to his name - the highest of the current squad - he continues to get criticised for his lack of goals, when frankly, goalscoring isn’t his game. 

Fleck is comfortable in possession, he has an astute eye for a pass both long and short and he’s hard in the tackle, meaning he is the dictionary definition of a ‘holding-midfield’ player. He needs to be allowed to sit in front of the defence and dictate the play, rather than being used in a flat midfield two, out wide or behind the striker where he is ineffective due to his lack of pace. 

To accompany Fleck in this defensive role it is imperative that we sign a midfield destroyer, tall, physical, agile, quick, the kind of player that will take a booking for a cynical foul. Simply put,  everything that Conor Thomas and Jack Finch are not. Much has been said about 18-year-old Ivor Lawton, but without ever watching him play - apart from at Primary School - I’ll reserve judgement on him and the rest of the new academy graduates. 

The advanced midfield three will be made up of two wingers and a central attacking midfielder - that’s a number 10 for those of us who aren’t privy to the language of the FIFA generation of football fans. After an impressive debut season, Jim O’Brien is probably the first name on Mowbray’s team sheet for the new season. 

O’Brien’s industrious performances - which combined effective wing-play and the odd long range goal - saw him collect the Player of the Season award. It’s hard to critique Jim, but it is necessary to question both his creativeness and delivery from out wide, which can be a bit haphazard. The need for pace and cleverness is an obvious, yet required request - I’ll just stop all those who are currently screaming: “CARL BAKER” at their computer/tablet/phone screens, get over it, wipe away the tears, he wasn’t that good and he’s long gone. 

James Maddison completes the triumvirate of players the team should be built around. There is no need to overcomplicate the analysis of Maddison, he’s a bloody good player and could well go on to be a bloody great player. For now at least he is ours and we should utilise him effectively. He could be used out wide or as the lone striker, but his ability on the ball means that he is made for the number 10 role. Rather than be in and out of the game on the wing, or overpowered physically as the lone striker, allow him the time and space that a player with his potential requires. Do so and he will surely thrive and subsequently move to the Premier League in the near future.  

The return of Danny Swanson has been met with mixed reactions by City fans, but whatever your personal view it is clear to see that there is a player there, even if we have yet to see it. Intermittently and incorrectly used by Pressley, Swanson will have the number 10 role in his sights and competition for places can only be a positive. O’Brien and Swanson are fantastic options to have, but the need for pace and creativity cannot be stressed enough, the talent is out there and it is for Mowbray and Venus to find it. 

Marcus Tudgay should always be appreciated by City fans for that goal against Crawley which prevented us from sinking to new, horrifying lows. He has duly been granted a new one year deal and will work as an effective impact player off the bench. More forwards are quite evidently needed and rather than taking on the likes of Nouble, Jackson and a array of failed loan forwards - not including Dominic Samuel - we should look at League 2 and Non-League, where ‘gems’ continue to be found. I’m not even talking about the likes of Charlie Austin et al, a player of his quality isn’t needed in a league that is in a continuous decline in terms of quality. 

The basis of the team:

GK: New Player (Replacement: Lee Burge/Reice Charles-Cook)

RB: Aaron Phillips (Replacement: Jordan Willis/Dion Kelly-Evans)

CB: New Player (Replacement: Aaron Martin)

CB: Reda Johnson (Replacement: Jordan Willis/Cian Harries)

LB: Chris Stokes (Replacement: Ryan Haynes)

CDM: New Player (Replacement: Conor Thomas/Jack Finch/Ivor Lawton)

CDM: John Fleck (Replacement: Conor Thomas/Jack Finch/Ivor Lawton)

RW: Jim O’Brien (Replacement: New Player)

CAM: James Maddison (Replacement: Danny Swanson/George Thomas)

LW: New Player (Replacement: Danny Swanson/Kyle Spence/Devon Kelly-Evans)

ST: New Player(s) (Replacement: Marcus Tudgay)

Acquire what is needed and a successful season beckons. Instead of returning to the negative ways that are a depressing theme of our club, be patient and allow Tony Mowbray and his backroom staff to do their jobs. The time to panic about signings or a lack of, is not now. We finally have a man in charge who, if anything, is over qualified for the job. What he and the squad need is your unwavering support as we enter a new season. 

In Mogga we trust

Return of the Mic: A New Trip

One played 179 times for Manchester City, the other failed to make a first team appearance, but both Micah Richards and Kieran Trippier have this week made moves to further their careers. Richards, once deemed a future England starter, had fallen completely off the radar of English football having spent a underwhelming season on loan at Fiorentina. The motive behind the move to Italy was clear - play games in a somewhat rejuvenated Serie A and reignite a career that had sadly stalled. However following an intermittent season, not dissimilar to that of another English fullback, Richards finds himself as one of the first summer recruits by the man many have dubbed Tim 'Shrewdwood'. 

Trippier in a familiar pose.

Having progressed through Manchester City’s academy - captaining the side that won the FA Youth Cup - and appearing for the England youth sides from under 18 to 21 level, Kieran Trippier was not afforded the same chances at first team level as Richards. Rather than sit in the reserves and await a chance that may never arrive, Trippier undertook successful loan moves to both Barnsley and Burnley. It was during these spells that his penchant for crossing and dead ball delivery  became apparent. Having signed permanently for Burnley in 2012 he has accumulated just over 200 first team appearances in what is still a fledgling career. His performances over this period have seen him collect an array of personal awards, including being named in successive PFA Championship Team’s of the Year. With all this in mind, his subsequent move to Spurs has been a long time coming. 

In many ways Richards and Trippier represent many footballers of their generation and the choices faced by players of this and future generations. When confronted with the dilemma of being on the periphery, on the outside looking in, many will choose to stay in the reserves, on the sidelines, collect their wages and be done with it. Clearly it isn’t always as simple as that and in Richards case, injuries and the form of Pablo Zabaleta have significantly hindered his control of the situation. The sentiment still holds though, and the obvious parallels that can be drawn between Richards and Trippier go as far as their strength of character. 

England's defensive saviour?

Both men have had to navigate and overcome periods in which the outlook of their career’s has seemed unclear, but they have proven their commitment to the game they both evidently adore, admittedly through different methods. Trippier by dropping down to the fiercely competitive Championship, in which many a Premier League reject has failed to reinvigorate his career. Richards by joining Aston Villa and thus lowering his short term ambitions in favour of long term gain. One has dropped down to come back up, the other has no doubt been inundated with glamorous offers of plying his trade on the other side of the world, both, refreshingly, remain in the Premier League. Will both be surprise inclusions in Roy Hodgson’s squad for Euro 2016? Watch this space. 

Between a Hock and a hard place

Having awoken from a mid-morning nap, I had to double check that I wasn’t still dreaming whilst checking my Twitter feed, which was awash with the news of Pressley’s departure. The sensation was somewhat reminiscent of the joys of Christmas morning, I’d asked for Pressley to be removed from the club and my present was delivered in the form of a club statement issued at 11:18 yesterday morning. 

Hockaday and Aidy

Rather than regurgitate my previous piece on Pressley’s tenure, I’ve decided to look forward as all City fans must do (Even though the future at this club is a murky and uncertain place). Having spent the majority of yesterday discussing potential replacements, many have already come to the conclusion that the former Forest Green and Leeds United head coach Dave Hockaday will be appointed manager for the foreseeable future (One lunatic did put forward Mr Blobby for the gig, the men in white coats quickly dealt with him).

Hockaday and Neil MacFarlane are currently in temporary control and the former is odds on with the bookies to be appointed on a full time basis. However, whether you call it Mr Blobby esque lunacy or just wishful thinking, I am going to review the potential alternatives. 

John Still 

My favourites have always been Luton’s John Still and Rochdale’s Keith Hill, so I best get them out of the way first. Both have a definite style of play (A fluid passing game), which is a vital component required from any prospective manager at this level of the game (Unfortunately Mr Pressley didn’t have a clear vision). More importantly they have a history of managing previously underachieving  clubs to promotion. 

In two separate spells Hill won promotion to League 1 with Rochdale on a shoestring budget and they are currently engaged in a play-off push. Still is a Non-League legend, leading Dagenham and Redbridge to the Football League for the first time in their history. This feat was arguably matched last season as Still achieved what many had failed to do by winning the Conference Premier title with Luton Town. For me they are ideal candidates for the job, perhaps not realistic. 

Even more unrealistic targets are the various names that were being banded about by some yesterday. The likes of Nigel Adkins, Paulo Di Canio, Uwe Rosler and Darren Ferguson are all of a better standard than our club can currently command. Add to this the fact that they all like to spend a bit of cash on a transfer fee every now and again, which we all know is about as likely to happen here as Mark Robins returning to the club. 

Bring Black back?

There are those managers that seem to be discussed every time we are on the hunt for a new man. I speak of Eric Black, Richard Money and Paul Tisdale, all of whom have their obvious credentials, but I fear that if they didn’t want to move to the club previously then they almost certainly wouldn’t want to do so now. 

I’ve managed to cobble together a few wildcard picks which may intrigue some readers. Firstly a man who is synonymous with South-West football, Gary Johnson. Akin to the successes of Still and Hill, Johnson amazed everyone by taking little old Yeovil to the second tier of English football and his time at Bristol City was just as impressive. Arguably he might not fancy such a tumultuous club as ourselves, after the last two draining seasons at Yeovil which ended earlier this season in his sacking. 

Alan Stubbs

Two that I haven’t seen mentioned as yet are former Cheltenham boss Mark Yates and Hibernian’s Alan Stubbs. Yates was sacked by Cheltenham in November of last year after five years at Whaddon Road. Having led them to the League Two play-offs in 2012 and 2013, they stagnated during the 2013/2014 season. He reminds me of Birmingham City manager Gary Rowett and his credentials are similar, one for consideration. 

Former Everton favourite Stubbs was appointed manager of Hibernian last summer following their humiliating relegation to the Scottish Championship. He has revived a club that was on its knees, playing superb football which sees them sit ahead of Rangers in second place. He was well thought off during his coaching spell with Everton, in which he was interviewed for the first team job following David Moyes’ departure. 

Ian Cathro

How about Ian Cathro? You know, the former Forfar and Brechin City youth player. Now there is no reason why anyone would know who he is, however his reputation is slowly but surely on the rise. He is currently assistant manager of La Liga giants Valencia, having previously worked at Dundee United and Rio Ave. The truly amazing thing about all this is that he is only 28. Of late he has been linked with the Rangers job. Maybe we should take a gamble on him before someone else does.

Perhaps I am deluded, perhaps these are all utterly unrealistic suggestions and we’ll be lucky to get Mr Blobby. I would certainly back the decision to appoint Dave Hockaday as manager until the end of the season, however regardless of whether we stay up or go down I would not like to see him here for longer than that. He has worked under Graham Taylor and Adrian Boothroyd, so it doesn’t exactly take a genius to imagine what the football will be like. He miserably underachieved at Forest Green despite the club having the biggest budget in the Conference (Sound familiar to anyone!). His spell at leeds did nothing positive for his reputation and frankly history suggests that appointing him on a full time basis would be a mistake, which we can ill-afford to make. 

The Managerial Dream Team: Blobby and Edmonds...

Steven Pressley - Return to Sender

Let us for one moment as Coventry City fans, step away from the seemingly endless debates surrounding our infamous owners, instead turning our attentions to matters on the pitch. We are in the midst of our third season in League One since dropping out of the Championship, yet it feels like a lifetime ago. The unadulterated joy and relief that our ‘homecoming’ brought has withered away, being replaced with an undefinable emptiness that only a Coventry City supporter can feel.  Inexcusably relegation is becoming more of a reality as each weekend passes, falling into League   two would be yet another demoralising blow, which frankly, the club wouldn’t bounce back from. 

There is only one man responsible for both the performance and results of the team and that man is Steven Pressley. Some may blame SISU, the Higgs Trust, the Council, Wasps or any number of candidates, and I’m not oblivious to the fact that we as a club are being crippled financially and emotionally by the current ownership. However, the manager cannot hide behind this as an excuse for not producing positive results and performances, he should have known the restraints when he took the job. 

When he arrived at the club in March 2013, he came with a reputation for nurturing youth (Something of a myth) and playing a fluent passing game. A month later I watched in awe as his Falkirk side (under the stewardship of current Norwich Academy manager Gary Holt) systematically took apart SPL side Hibernian with sumptuous passing football, which saw them lead 3-0 at half time in the Scottish Cup semi-final. As I waited for the second half to start, I thought to myself if Pressley could induce these traits into our players, then we had acquired a man with great potential. The game ended 4-3 to Hibernian after extra time, the monumental collapse from Falkirk left me somewhat bemused, but I was never going to prejudge Pressley either way. 

The 2012/2013 season that had promised so much under Mark Robins (Who is currently getting the best out of a poor squad of players at Scunthorpe), petered out to nothing following his departure and Pressley’s inception. With only Mathieu Manset and Andy Webster coming into the first team squad and several players departing, Pressley’s team basically picked itself. Whether intentionally or not, he ditched his supposed philosophy from Falkirk (Passing football played in a 4-2-3-1 system) and went back to basics with a 4-4-2 pressing game. The team was drilled, organised and every player knew their responsibilities on the pitch, with this the 10 point deduction was eaten up and we headed into January with much promise. 

It was at the end of this month that the cracks in Pressley’s managerial armour began to show. Leon Clarke returned home to the ‘delight’ of the Wolves fans, with Nathan Delfouneso signing on loan as a replacement. Clarke was nothing more than a run of the mill League 1 striker who like many over the past few seasons, showed that it doesn’t take much ability to score regularly in this division, replaceable he certainly was. What followed was a pathetic run of 4 wins out of nineteen very winnable games, with Pressley seemingly dumbfounded by how to set up without Clarke. 

His tactical implosion led to many laughable decisions which included Jordan Willis playing at left back, loan signing Anton Robinson being deployed on the wing, constant formation changes from 4-5-1 to 4-1-2-1-2 to 5-3-1-1 and a complete removal of the tactics that had worked so well during the first part of the season. The basis behind those tactics was to implement a pressing game from front to back, not allowing the opposition time to build possession. From an offensive point of view, our aim was to thread balls (Both long and short) into the forwards who would link with the midfield and build attacks from there. What we saw in the last 19 games was a complete lack of direction, organisation and a reluctance to pass the ball. As a fan it was excruciatingly hard to understand what type of football we were trying to play and what on earth was going through Pressley’s head. 

As I left Bramall Lane following a feeble second half capitulation which ended in a 2-1 defeat, it was evident that Pressley had a summer which would define him as a manager. A chance to wipe the slate clean from the previous season, no points deduction, more scope for transfers and a potential Ricoh return on the horizon. Despite losing Murphy, Moussa, Christie and Wilson, all of whom were destined to move up a division regardless of what money the club offered them, a decent selection of signings was made. The likes of Johnson, O’Brien, Pugh, Swanson, Tudgay and Jackson added to the loan signings of Allsop, Coulibaly, McQuoid, Hines and Nouble gave us a squad that at the very least should compete for the play-offs. 

Having started pre-season in the the familiar 4-4-2 which appeared to fit in with the signings that were being made, Pressley (Who revealed in an interview with the Daily Mail that he ‘meticulously studies’ the methods of Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho) decided to change to the flavour of the month system 5-3-2. Many had praised the system following Louis Van Gaal’s inspired use of it throughout the Netherlands successful World Cup campaign (I looked at the pros and cons of the system following our away game with MK Dons in August).

                                                         

http://thefootballwriterblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/5-3-2-is-it-all-that-my-post-game.html

The obvious problems that came with the switch were that we didn’t possess the players to effectively play the system, it is not a system you can just change to overnight, each individual player needs to be aware of the intricacies of their individual role. Pressley’s thought process behind the switch was to sure up our defensive problems, which had plagued us since the start of the 2013/2014 season. Unfortunately rather than playing the system fluently as the likes of Hull, Watford and the two teams at the top of our division Bristol City and Swindon have, we produced performances that tied together a horrifically unbalanced mix of dangerously deep defensive displays and limp, sterile offensive efforts. Even in our first game back at the Ricoh, following Nouble’s opener we were second best for the rest of the game against a distinctly average Gillingham side. It took Pressley 14 league games (Which consisted of three wins, four draws and seven defeats) to realise that the system wasn’t the way forward and in returning to 4-4-2, we defeated play-off hopefuls Peterborough 3-2. 

Despite the change (and additional changes to 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1) and slight upturn in form (Four wins, four draws and four defeats from the last 12 league games), we just aren't producing the type of performances expected from this squad of players in a league of such low quality. Turgid displays that lack creativity and direction, as if there is no specific way in which Pressley instructs the team to play in. We don’t consistently try to pass, press or even hoof the ball, we are lacking in a definite structure which leaves us consistently exposed (As was shown on Sky against Swindon). There is no obvious philosophy that Pressley has, which is evident in the countless formation changes throughout his tenure.  

So he isn’t a tactically aware manager, but perhaps his man-management skills are on point? Unfortunately this isn’t the case, on more than one occasion this season he has told players they aren’t part of his plans only to name them on the bench the following week. His hilarious outburst in the aftermath of the Worcester game was ill-judged and mistimed by several months. We’ve had to endure months of the same post-match drivel spew out of his mouth: “The group were magnificent” and “The attitude and effort of the players today was superb”, the same lifeless sentiments win, lose or draw. In addition to this if you’re one for believing rumours, he has been involved in a couple of misdemeanours with Reda Johnson and Jordan Clarke. 

He doesn’t possess a positive managerial attribute and despite being a nice wee chap, the club have to act soon in removing him from the club. People will argue that he hasn’t been given money to spend or that the best players have been sold, but every manager up and down the land has to deal with these problems, of varying degrees obviously. 

What makes his complete mis-management and current underachievement even more unforgivable is when you take a look at the League One table. Ignoring Bristol City and Swindon who are playing some extremely impressive football at the moment, which highlights what can be achieved on a budget and without one, especially when you have the right man in charge. The likes of Chesterfield, Rochdale, Fleetwood, Bradford, Notts County, Doncaster, Port Vale, Oldham and Walsall all have either a similar or lesser playing budget than ours and yet, they are all competing for the play-offs.

Looking deeper into that group you find teams like Notts County and Port Vale, who had to pick at the scraps left by all the other clubs in terms of signings. Even Walsall, who season in season out sell their best players, are playing attractive passing football under Dean smith, which has seen them make it to a Wembley final for the first time in their history. These team’s squads are no better than ours, some are much worse. The managers of these teams aren’t footballing revolutionaries, but they understand the basic principles of the game. 

Whichever way you look at it Pressley is severely under performing in his role as manager. There are counter arguments that I would expect to be thrown at me, for example: 

“No one in their right mind would come and manage this club”

Yes, yes they would. There will always be managers out there chomping at the bit to get back in, you only have to look at Lee Clark joining Blackpool to realise there is always another man out there. 

“We can’t continue sacking managers, he needs more time”

He’s been with us for almost two years now and its fair to say that as a club we are in a much weaker position on the field than we were prior to his arrival.

“Its not Pressley, its the players” 

As I alluded to earlier this squad is good enough to compete for a play-off place. Look at the squad Mark Robins inherited, with a couple of shrewd loans he transformed a team bereft of confidence into a play-off chaser. 

As a replacement I would love to see either today’s opposition manager Keith Hill or Luton’s John Still come in, having both achieved previously unheard of success with the respective clubs they could do the same here (And play nice football whilst doing so). 

To conclude, I’ll reiterate what I said at the start of this article, that I’m fully aware of the constraints this club is operating under. However having considered everything, you just cannot defend the man, whether you think he’s a naive young manager who has a got a few things wrong or a completely clueless imbecile of a man bereft of managerial nous, the bottom line is he isn’t fit to manage this football club.