League Two Rovers (0) v Wrexham (1)

[Ian]

Wrexham's physicality was certainly a significant factor in their control of the game, but shouldn't have come as a surprise. Rovers were pinned back in our own half for most of the first 45 and there seemed to be a reluctance to carry the ball forward until Sam Taylor came on.

According to Dawes they had done their homework and knew Wrexham were a physical side, so it certainly didn't come as any surprise. I thought Taylor was excellent when he came on. The only player with some genuine pace and was the only player capable of stretching their defence. We have a serious lack of pace in the side too. I know he hasn't had the best rub yet but Dennis looked almost pedestrian out there.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

It is impossible to judge Dennis yet, because he has been played out of position in every game (although he did go up front in the second half yesterday).

If you told John Aldridge to play on the wing and spend the afternoon chasing a wing back, you would not be impressed by him.

 

[bigmart]

According to Dawes they had done their homework and knew Wrexham were a physical side, so it certainly didn't come as any surprise. I thought Taylor was excellent when he came on. The only player with some genuine pace and was the only player capable of stretching their defence. We have a serious lack of pace in the side too. I know he hasn't had the best rub yet but Dennis looked almost pedestrian out there.

Dennis doesn't look fully fit yet to me. Only Taylor and when fit Saunders have decent pace in our squad. The difference in the movement between the 2 teams was very noticeable, their movement off the ball was very good ours poor.

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

Unlike Jackson, Dawes was not even a successful number two.

Indeed. More akin to Edwards than Jacko. And surely senior members of the squad - including players who’ve succeeded at this level and know what it takes - have started to suss him. It’s very hard to see how he can turn this around.

Totally agree with RLC on the management situation. Adkins appears like a figurehead with minimal impact on how the team is set up and plays. Danns is hard to fathom, but starting to believe he couldn't do any worse than the current incumbent.

Nor should he be, that’s firmly the manager‘s domain, albeit apparently buying into the ‘club identity’, including style of play, that Palios often says we’re striving for.

Adkins‘ role, according to the club, is to “oversee the key football processes within the Club (recruitment, development and management) as well as acting as a mentor and advisor to manager Ian Dawes”. Same as most other technical directors. And, like most other technical directors, nobody ever knows exactly what it means!

But he definitely shouldn’t be telling Dawes what to do, or getting involved in the management of the team. Mentoring is all about influencing people’s thought processes rather than the thoughts themselves, as well as being a sounding board whenever called upon. Any failures in Dawes’ decisions are solely down to him, not Adkins; the technical director isn’t, or shouldn’t be, a shadow manager.

The two key questions for me about Adkins are (1) how much of the authority and decision-making over “recruitment, development and management“ has Palios actually delegated to Adkins, and (2) how much of a say does Adkins have in hiring and firing a manager. They’ll tell us something about whether he’s just a figurehead or something more.

Fwiw I think we’ve already seen a change and improvement in, for example, recruitment, which might go some small way to answering (1). I also suspect we might find out the answer to (2) sooner rather than later!

Incidentally, Adkins has been doing his motivational clips on Twitter for years, I don’t think it’s part of the job description! Always felt they might be a bit too positive for the majority of our fan base!

As for Danns, I just think his profile as assistant is deliberately kept low (and especially during this difficult spell), seeing as his footballing CV and standing in the game way outstrips his gaffer’s.

 

[Sparky]

I think Dennis is fit, he’s just not used to having to do all the running he’s having to do for us. Yes he’s not as athletic looking as some players but for years he’s been a fox in the box. He’s 33 now and still capable of scoring but needs to be in the box reacting to crosses coming in. It’s daft to sign that sort of player and not play to their strengths. As I’ve said previously would we have ever payed greenacre, Aldo, muir out wide or as a number 10?

As much as Palios deserves criticism for appointing Dawes, he will have had a back up plan if it didn’t work. My guess is that will be Danns with perhaps Atkins as an assistant. I’d be surprised if Nigel fancies being the number one.

 

[Ian]

Whatever the structure, it's clearly not working. Changes need to be made.

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

From technical director to assistant manager would be one hell of a demotion!

 

[Ian]

If you told John Aldridge to play on the wing and spend the afternoon chasing a wing back, you would not be impressed by him

Agreed. Even more reason to ditch this 433 and play some kind of traditional 442 where we actually have a fox in the box 'in the box' being fed crosses out wide.

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

A structure of technical director, manager/head coach, assistant manager, first team coach and goalie coach is quite common. But any structure will only be as good as the people in it. I think Palios will change personnel before contemplating change to his (new) structure.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

I think the structure was drafted on the back of a fag packet when we failed to recruit a manager with any credentials.

If Palios wants to keep us in the Football League, he will probably have to ditch the structure and give an experienced manager the autonomy to bring in his own people.

 

[bigmart]

I think the structure was drafted on the back of a fag packet when we failed to recruit a manager with any credentials.

If Palios wants to keep us in the Football League, he will probably have to ditch the structure and give an experienced manager the autonomy to bring in his own people.

That's the problem I don't see Palios agreeing to a new manager bringing his own staff in and said as much.

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

I think the structure was drafted on the back of a fag packet when we failed to recruit a manager with any credentials.

The structure is hardly revolutionary, even if it‘s something of a novelty to the Wirral. It was no great surprise that MP was keen to recruit an aspiring young coach, and it’s not illogical that that would include a technical director if someone suitable was available.

The big surprise/disappointment was that Dawes, rather than say the next Duff or Edwards (FGR, not TRFC, version!), got the gig. And the big question is how much say the technical director had in his appointment, seeing as he himself wasn’t officially announced in his role until a few days later.

That's the problem I don't see Palios agreeing to a new manager bringing his own staff in and said as much.

That’ll also give us a clue about how much influence Adkins wields. I agree the club shouldn’t be dictating the composition of the backroom team to the manager, whoever it may be, but I can understand why they want to have processes (as opposed to personnel) in place that will withstand the departure of any manager and his backroom staff. It’s getting that balance between personnel and process right.

Adkins, with all his managerial experience, will surely know far better than Palios what getting that balance right looks like. So, for me, it’ll be a question of whether he can get Palios on the same page.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

The structure is hardly revolutionary, even if it‘s something of a novelty to the Wirral. It was no great surprise that MP was keen to recruit an aspiring young coach, and it’s not illogical that that would include a technical director if someone suitable was available.

The big surprise/disappointment was that Dawes, rather than say the next Duff or Edwards (FGR, not TRFC, version!), got the gig. And the big question is how much say the technical director had in his appointment, seeing as he himself wasn’t officially announced in his role until a few days later.

I do not believe the Technical Director role would have been created if Barry-Murphy / A.N. Other had not turned the job down.

I think Palios created the role and recruited Adkins to make the appointment of Dawes more palatable to the fanbase.

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

I do not believe the Technical Director role would have been created if Barry-Murphy / A.N. Other had not turned the job down.

I think Palios created the role and recruited Adkins to make the appointment of Dawes more palatable to the fanbase.

Yes, I believe you’ve said so previously. Fact is we just don’t know. And saying who turned down the job is just pie in the sky - nobody knows if anyone turned it down or, if they did, why.

Even if there are some grains of truth in any of that, the notion that someone of Palios’ background would make such a fundamental strategic decision on the hoof to that extent really does seem implausible.

But, for me, what MP has now created is what makes the next managerial change, and what the club‘s structure and personnel will look like after it, so fascinating. I certainly don’t believe it’s essential for him to rip up the structure in order to keep our FL place, but he certainly needs to get (or allow Adkins to get) a competent manager/head coach into that structure - as a minimum (since I too would want the manager to choose his own backroom) - if it’s to work.

 

[Ian]

MP has a great track record of rescuing business and I'm sure is a very good accountant etc etc but running a football club is a different beast. Some of his decisions over recent years have been poor. We are currently heading back to where we were when he took over. There have been developments in that time but I'm talking purely about the football and the results. That sadly is not progress. I just hope he doesn't leave it too late to make changes.

 

[Rockford's Love Child]

Yes, I believe you’ve said so previously. Fact is we just don’t know. And saying who turned down the job is just pie in the sky - nobody knows if anyone turned it down or, if they did, why.

Even if there are some grains of truth in any of that, the notion that someone of Palios’ background would make such a fundamental strategic decision on the hoof to that extent really does seem implausible.

I find it highly unlikely that Dawes was the only person in consideration for the role, particularly given that it took two months to appoint him. Which logically means other people turned the job down, or were turned down by Palios.

If Adkins is simply a figurehead rather than performing any significant strategic role, it is perfectly possible the decision to appoint him was made 'on the hoof'.

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

MP has a great track record of rescuing business and I'm sure is a very good accountant etc etc but running a football club is a different beast. Some of his decisions over recent years have been poor. We are currently heading back to where we were when he took over. There have been developments in that time but I'm talking purely about the football and the results. That sadly is not progress. I just hope he doesn't leave it too late to make changes.

It’s one thing to make poor decisions, but making poor strategic decisions on the fundamentals on the hoof is in a different league altogether. You don’t get a CV like Palios‘ doing that. And that’s a behaviour/skill that cuts across any industry.

 

[Ian]

No wonder Adkins is always smiling in those annoying early morning motivational videos. Only kidding, I'm sure he's making a big difference

 

[O4anotherplayoff]

Of course Dawes wouldn’t have been the only name to have been considered. That doesn’t mean others turned it down or were even offered it.

I believed, and still do, that ditching MM was the wrong decision, but did, and still do, accept that it was possible that a change in direction from MM could potentially improve us. So for MP to (1) not have MM’s successor lined up already and (2) ultimately choose Dawes was doubly disappointing.

Adkins role has already been described (in sorts). It’s not a strategic role - although any technical director should be able to feed into the owners’ strategic thinking - and we’ll get a better idea if he’s more than a figurehead when the time comes to replace Dawes.

 

[Ian]

I believed, and still do, that ditching MM was the wrong decision, but did, and still do, accept that it was possible that a change in direction from MM could potentially improve us. So for MP to (1) not have MM’s successor lined up already and (2) ultimately choose Dawes was doubly disappointing.

Indeed. Lets hope that doesn't make the CV!