Our Manager

[Main Stand SeasonTct]

If we had 2 proper full backs we have the option of a change to a back four if desired

This^^

Junior plus 2 others please. We also need at least 1 mobile centre forward. Telford and Stockton if we keep them cant play together. Bar Newby and Junior theres no one in the squad with genuine out and out pace and alot of the time it shows

For me id make trying to get rid of Telford my no1 priority.

The problem up front imo is that Pete chopped and changed to much and didn’t really settle on a front two for a prolonged period. I can’t help thinking it may have been done to keep everyone happy and onside. He even started with Whitfield. in a front two on occasions when the guys an out and out winger.

[Jim]

Pete Wild, backed by the Board, Ian Wood and all the other coaching and analytical team, have done a fantastic job over the last two seasons. We will all have opinions of things he might have done better, but I am sure he will know that himself. He will be looking to do better next year, although, as I mentioned in another thread, Mansfield showed that progress season by season isn't guaranteed.

It's a lesson for us: Clough was appointed on a 3 year contract in 2020. He got to the playoff final in 2022, but then in 2023 they missed the playoffs, finishing 8th. Possibly, that might have been viewed as failure and his contract not renewed, but Mansfield gave him another one year contract and he rewarded them with promotion.

Wild is two years into a 5 year contract and I believe he will get us promotion - though probably not next season.

[vialli 9]

Wild needs to be a bit braver next season. He has done well in sections of the season but seems to make knee jerk reactions when they are not needed and makes strange decisions when he should just leave it.

The last 7/8 games when he persisted with a 3-5-2 when it clearly wasn't giving us any results was a bit baffling.

We have , on paper, 4 strikers, the manager didn't seem to know which , if any, were his preferred pairing. We clearly didn't score enough goals.

Hopefully the manager will have learned from being so close, it seemed easier to make the play offs than not! My own opinion , which counts for nothing, is that Play offs would have been great , a trip to Wembley awesome and a money spinner for the club, but realistically league 1 may have done us more harm than good at this stage of the development of the club.

Off the field things have come on leaps and bounds, the ground looks great ( in my opinion ) it is what it is. The owners/board have obviously put a lot of money into the club, the support has been very respectable...

Here's to a successful 2024/25 season... enjoy your summer. From the man who sharpies the number 22 on Dominic Rowe's shirt.

[Wintergreen]

Well said Gianluca lad!

[Pedro]

Well we never got going till the second half.
I think some players have other clubs on there mind
Peter Wild has fallen twice at the end .
Next season will be even tougher as I think we will need to replace Campbell and Whitfield who clubs will be after.
In conclusion we have struggled at this end of the season and I would have rather gone out at this stage than prolong the agony.

Plus no delay now going after our targets for next season.

Yes agree.Need to get ahead of the game even though players are still under contract no reason not to have discussions.

[Pedro]

Pete Wild, backed by the Board, Ian Wood and all the other coaching and analytical team, have done a fantastic job over the last two seasons. We will all have opinions of things he might have done better, but I am sure he will know that himself. He will be looking to do better next year, although, as I mentioned in another thread, Mansfield showed that progress season by season isn't guaranteed.

It's a lesson for us: Clough was appointed on a 3 year contract in 2020. He got to the playoff final in 2022, but then in 2023 they missed the playoffs, finishing 8th. Possibly, that might have been viewed as failure and his contract not renewed, but Mansfield gave him another one year contract and he rewarded them with promotion.

Wild is two years into a 5 year contract and I believe he will get us promotion - though probably not next season.

Think next season could be very hard.
PW has two very good seasons can he make it a better one.
I like Clough but he took awhile to get promoted and he has far more experience than PW.

Our Manager comes over as a decent if a bit naive.
The Billy Waters leaving will have hit him.

[Sea Dog Sam]

You can't criticise the wingbacks, it doesn't work because, our back 3 are far too slow, if Wild doesn't either get at least 2 mobile centre backs ,or change the system, we'll never go up because we look disjointed!, yes we got away with it for half a season then team's wised up and sussed us out I.e. press high and then we couldn't get out of our half, which then isolated our forwards, then if we went behind we then put subs on in total desperation and lost our shape completely!

Our back 3 wouldn't look too slow if they were playing against our strikers! Even though we've conceded far too many goals lately we still have conceded 9 goals less than any of the 4 teams in the playoffs. However we have scored 7 goals less than the lowest scorer of the 4 which is Crewe. The main reason we have not made the playoffs is our attack and that is primarily because of a chronic lack of pace. None of Stockton, Telford and Proctor ever put defenders under pressure nor ever have a chance of getting to the ball before their markers. Acquah while certainly not rapid is at least quick enough to cause his marker some discomfort.

Good post!

Forget about wings backs, back three, strategies, tactics, etc, etc, etc
Football is a simple game - you score more goals than the other team - you win games.

Our strike force is impotent - and has been all season. Telford, in particular, looks ineffective. Golden Boot Winner? He's a spent force. A cast off. Crawley must have seen us coming. Get rid. PW should put him out on loan - but please don't bring Garner back! Proctor has to go too. Hang on to Stockton - if we can - and Ben Whitfield. The jury is still out on Acquah. He's inexperienced and still on a learning curve having come from the lower divisions but he has potential. But that miss, yesterday, towards the end, right in front of The Holker End! How did he miss that?

Tony Field, Jimmy Mulvaney, Jim Mulholland, Colin Cowpertwaite, Andy Cook, Byron Harrison, Scott Quigley - all excellent strikers that we've had in the past and now stuck with this lot - last season was the same too. BOD something NEEDS to be done!

Back to the topic of the thread - Pete Wild. I don't think the lad has the ability to inspire or motivate. His recent interviews are testament to that. He seems a nice guy. Too nice. You have to be ruthless in this game! Ian Evett is a prime example. Chasing promotion and no wins in 7 games! Can you imagine the dressing room after 3/4 defeats under HIM?

BOD need to ask themselves two questions:
Do we want to consolidate our league status and avoid relegation next season?
If Yes - keep Pete Wild
Do we want to achieve promotion next season?
If Yes - then the search must start for another manager.

He's done a good job but I think he's inexperienced at this level and doesn't have the ability to inspire or motivate. He seems to crumble when it comes to the crunch, too. It happened at Halifax. Remember he does not have experience of managing a team to promotion. However, if he stays - I do believe we'll stay in this league. Many will be happy with that - myself included. But many won't!

[Jonty]

Our back 3 wouldn't look too slow if they were playing against our strikers! Even though we've conceded far too many goals lately we still have conceded 9 goals less than any of the 4 teams in the playoffs. However we have scored 7 goals less than the lowest scorer of the 4 which is Crewe. The main reason we have not made the playoffs is our attack and that is primarily because of a chronic lack of pace. None of Stockton, Telford and Proctor ever put defenders under pressure nor ever have a chance of getting to the ball before their markers. Acquah while certainly not rapid is at least quick enough to cause his marker some discomfort.

Good post!

Forget about wings backs, back three, strategies, tactics, etc, etc, etc
Football is a simple game - you score more goals than the other team - you win games.

Our strike force is impotent - and has been all season. Telford, in particular, looks ineffective. Golden Boot Winner? He's a spent force. A cast off. Crawley must have seen us coming. Get rid. PW should put him out on loan - but please don't bring Garner back! Proctor has to go too. Hang on to Stockton - if we can - and Ben Whitfield. The jury is still out on Acquah. He's inexperienced and still on a learning curve having come from the lower divisions but he has potential. But that miss, yesterday, towards the end, right in front of The Holker End! How did he miss that?

Tony Field, Jimmy Mulvaney, Jim Mulholland, Colin Cowpertwaite, Andy Cook, Byron Harrison, Scott Quigley - all excellent strikers that we've had in the past and now stuck with this lot - last season was the same too. BOD something NEEDS to be done!

Back to the topic of the thread - Pete Wild. I don't think the lad has the ability to inspire or motivate. His recent interviews are testament to that. He seems a nice guy. Too nice. You have to be ruthless in this game! Ian Evett is a prime example. Chasing promotion and no wins in 7 games! Can you imagine the dressing room after 3/4 defeats under HIM?

BOD need to ask themselves two questions:
Do we want to consolidate our league status and avoid relegation next season?
If Yes - keep Pete Wild
Do we want to achieve promotion next season?
If Yes - then the search must start for another manager.

He's done a good job but I think he's inexperienced at this level and doesn't have the ability to inspire or motivate. He seems to crumble when it comes to the crunch, too. It happened at Halifax. Remember he does not have experience of managing a team to promotion. However, if he stays - I do believe we'll stay in this league. Many will be happy with that - myself included. But many won't!

Let’s have a breather and step back and look at the bigger picture. Are we showing progress as a football club?- Yes. Are we competing in League 2 with PW? Yes. Can PW get us 12 points better off next season? Absolutely- why not. Next season will be season 3 of a 5 year plan.. It makes no sense at all to change the Manager- we are bang on track. We’d have all loved a day out- yes, but over 46 games we just weren’t quite there. If we had been promoted, we’d have spent all summer classing ourselves as underdogs and plotting a survival plan etc, Now it’s a different conversation and we can learn from this season, seen what it’s all about and have a real crack for a top 5 finish next season from the start. Absolutely there are areas to work on, we must find more goals but continuity is everything.

[bluessupporter]

Let’s have a breather and step back and look at the bigger picture. Are we showing progress as a football club?- Yes. Are we competing in League 2 with PW? Yes. Can PW get us 12 points better off next season? Absolutely- why not. Next season will be season 3 of a 5 year plan.. It makes no sense at all to change the Manager- we are bang on track. We’d have all loved a day out- yes, but over 46 games we just weren’t quite there. If we had been promoted, we’d have spent all summer classing ourselves as underdogs and plotting a survival plan etc, Now it’s a different conversation and we can learn from this season, seen what it’s all about and have a real crack for a top 5 finish next season from the start. Absolutely there are areas to work on, we must find more goals but continuity is everything.

Spot on. Let's be realistic.

[olefogey]

Let’s have a breather and step back and look at the bigger picture. Are we showing progress as a football club?- Yes. Are we competing in League 2 with PW? Yes. Can PW get us 12 points better off next season? Absolutely- why not. Next season will be season 3 of a 5 year plan.. It makes no sense at all to change the Manager- we are bang on track. We’d have all loved a day out- yes, but over 46 games we just weren’t quite there. If we had been promoted, we’d have spent all summer classing ourselves as underdogs and plotting a survival plan etc, Now it’s a different conversation and we can learn from this season, seen what it’s all about and have a real crack for a top 5 finish next season from the start. Absolutely there are areas to work on, we must find more goals but continuity is everything.

Spot on. Let's be realistic.

Totally agree. A fair number of people on here are, in my opinion, totally unrealistic about the time it takes to turn relegation candidates into promotion prospects. No one is saying mistakes haven't been made or some players haven't lived up to expectations, but overall progress has been pretty good in a relatively short time. Lets have a bit of faith in the process and enjoy the ride!

[Bigfathoss]

Personally, I think we would be morons to consider changing the organisation at the top. Any of them. Pete, Adam and Iain have us in a position where our expectations are higher than ever, and where there is a feel-good factor around the club that hasn't been there (bar a brief surge under Evatt) for 20 years or more.
To consolidate, and then further improve, under the current regime is a fantastic ambition for our club and it is one that I believe in. Wheels fell off at the end for us this season, but I feel confident for the future if we don't muck about with it.

[blue blue boy]

My worry is that we need to have a plan b way of playing. If we stick to this sit back and hit them on the counter approach then you are always going to be vulnerable and if teams don't then come and have a go then we are a bit lost. What happened to the successful style of play at the start of PWs first season, high pressing lots of energy etc etc.
PW in my opinion seems a good guy and decent manager but very stubborn and also as some have said not particularly 'brave'.
Do I think we should change the manager - no. Do I think the manager needs to change - yes.
Hope that makes sense.

[MikeRenney]

We have had a good season with the club progressing on all fronts and long may this continue. Football lifts you up and lets you down but the team and management we have has certainly lifted me up much more than let me down. I am more than happy for our present set up to continue because I think they can bring even more success. When you can’t buy success it takes a wee bit longer to achieve it as you have to inch your way forward. No guarantee of success if you have money but it certainly helps, it’s no coincidence that Wrexham and Stockport have won promotion.
I know the forum is all about opinions but mine is we are achieving in a solid way, we have become a good Second division team with the promise of greater things to come.
Having lived through the Norman Bodell years the last thing I would want is a new manager and swathes of new players who would not be as good as those we have now.

[Suffolk Blue]

Pete Wild, backed by the Board, Ian Wood and all the other coaching and analytical team, have done a fantastic job over the last two seasons. We will all have opinions of things he might have done better, but I am sure he will know that himself. He will be looking to do better next year, although, as I mentioned in another thread, Mansfield showed that progress season by season isn't guaranteed.

It's a lesson for us: Clough was appointed on a 3 year contract in 2020. He got to the playoff final in 2022, but then in 2023 they missed the playoffs, finishing 8th. Possibly, that might have been viewed as failure and his contract not renewed, but Mansfield gave him another one year contract and he rewarded them with promotion.

Wild is two years into a 5 year contract and I believe he will get us promotion - though probably not next season.

Great post Jim. Mansfield are a great example of a really well run club ( not always the case in the past) who have improved by little amounts each year over the last 5 years. Their budgets are decent but not huge and until this year everybody considered them a nearly team.

Because of the time taken to build I believe their chances of survival in L1 are pretty good. Remember Northampton missing out on promotion at HS a couple of years ago. The extra season in L2 did them no harm at all. Mid table in L1 this season.

[Hadrian]

The "no Plan B" concept amuses me.

Surely, people listen to the manager's pre-match interviews??



Perhaps not.

We are told that the selection of the team and the detail of play for each game is based upon detailed research into the opposition's strengths and weaknesses. It is also evident during games that 'the game's system' is tweaked when necessary. Substitutions aren't necessarily like-for-like replacements.

All this happens within a confident style of play which can absorb pressure without panic when the opponents have the ball and with players who can ignore the (admittedly less-frequent than previously) calls of Get into them or Get it up the field then break into slick, quick-passing attacks.