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+----- Thread: Trump's "Mad Dog" walked and was subbed (/showthread.php?tid=7947)
Trump's "Mad Dog" walked and was subbed - Devongone - 26-12-2018
General "Mad Dog" Mattis announced he was ditching Trump come February. Trump trumped him by announcing his replacement would start with the New Year.
Isn't 0-4 at home to Solihull, nailed on for another relegation, desperate for new signings he can't have till some suckers fall in love with the old ones enough reason to walk, nay run flat out from the club? I know it's not Syria, but we've already pulled our troops out of the Proact.
I don't know who we need. All I can do is askey the question. But would he or anyone say yes? And would a new man or woman get even the small amount of financial support necessary.
I always hated Christmas!
RE: Trump's "Mad Dog" walked and was subbed - spireitematt - 27-12-2018
John Askey did a good job at Macclesfield and I found it odd they got rid of him but hey ho that's football isn't it one day you're the cock of the walk, the next a feather duster. The problem isn't just the manager, there's more to it than that and fans can see that but they are powerless unless they can get £10 million and afford to pay overheads and wages every month.
If/when (delete as applicable) we get relegated then I can't see the club competing in the National League North. I think the club will fold and AFC Chesterfield (or another name) will be set up and probably end up playing in the Northern East Counties League and playing games at Staveley or Matlock and the ground will probably become a white elephant unless it is modified into a dog track/casino or Tesco might put a bid in to create some more car parking spaces who knows.
Christmas is great Dev, It's meant to the most wonderful time of the year in the words of Andy Williams but at the moment no time of the year is wonderful if you support the Spireites.
RE: Trump's "Mad Dog" walked and was subbed - Dancingwilldoit - 27-12-2018
It was men vs boys. I think the shortest player in their team was the keeper and they were bloody fast. Every time they gate the ball, big boot- players running on at speed and we couldnt handle it. We actually looked good in patches but its clear to see why we are one of the lowest scoring teams in the league.
Their finishing was clinical, ours was left on the side of the plate after Christmas dinner.
I knew we were in trouble when I saw Nelsons name on the team sheet. In the first 10 mins or so they were all over us. We didnt have a clue.
Taking Nelson off after 10 mins finished his career in football let alone with us. It did steady the ship though and even at 0-2 we were still playing football and looking like we might just nick something.
Then it went tits up. Goal 3, cue pointless stupid pitch invasion by about 30 pricks who will have cost us a hefty fine - thank you very much. No money for team building now. Oh yeah they really sent a massage to somebody - but who exactly?
Martin Allen sounded a beaten man in his interview afterwards.
RE: Trump's "Mad Dog" walked and was subbed - Devongone - 27-12-2018
Solihull nipped in and signed Nathan Blissett when he became available at Macclesfield - that's not far away, it isn't the moon. It took him twenty nine minutes to score two goals. We COULD have got him. He helped Bristol Rovers win this league and Macclesfield - but in the EFL he's a nearly man.
Askey ditched Macclesfield not the other way round. He knew not only couldn't they invest, but also that his squad was going to be weakened. They were on the edge of bankruptcy throughout their promotion season. He got a much better job at Shrewsbury butwas on the road to failing when he was sacked.
If I were Martin Allen I'd walk. That team from Boxing Day didn't even look like it could play on paper. Solihull were a big team before they got Blissett - everyone knew that. They were a big team when Barrow stopped them scoring a few days ago.
We need a regular keeper OF OUR OWN to build the defence around. We need a big centre back of our own too, eventually to pair with Maguire. We need a more inventive player in the middle of the park AND we need a forward who can both play a bit and get a few of the things known as goals. It's lot to ask. We won't do it by origami, unless someone unfolds a few notes and ditches some of the restrictions imposed upon recruitment. We could recruit cheaply and improve our team hugely ...... but cheap isn't free. Even if the player costs next to nothing you have to pay him.
Clearly a lot is going wrong behind the scenes. A year ago Nelson was leading Barnet's defence which very nearly clean-sheeted them out of trouble. Now he isn't worth ten minutes at a lower level. That isn't just the ageing process unless this is an episode of Dr Who.
Yes, like Matt, I can see the club going out of existence, but if it does and the stadium becomes a white elephant, how does that benefit Mr Allen in his mid-seventies? Aren't we dragging him down as much as he is dragging us? We're leaking money as fast as we're leaking goals.
RE: Trump's "Mad Dog" walked and was subbed - SaltergateBorn - 27-12-2018
It`s ironic, really. All that time I was bemoaning our lack of a midfield, then on Tuesday it was the only part of the team that really functioned at all. We defended like schoolboys (and not very good ones at that) a lot of the time and up front it was the same old same old. MA reckoned that we created a load of chances but I`m afraid I didn`t see `em.
Funnily enough, within the above parameters I though we played some decent stuff at times and, like you Dancing, I thought we were still in it at 2-0. Unfortunately, at 3-0 the dickheads came out to play and we can only guess what effect that had on the morale of the players – who, to their eternal credit, hadn`t given up and kept on trying right to the end.
On that point, I have an apology to make it and would like to make it now. When that bollockbrain decided to make what I`m sure he thought in his own mind (or what passes for it) was a very grand and noble gesture by sitting on the centre-spot, the immediate thought that went through my mind was “Oh, for God`s sake, somebody grab him by the f**king nuts and drag `im off!” Unfortunately, it seems the words not only went through my mind but came out of my mouth as well. There was a woman and her son sitting in the seats next to me and, if she happens to read this thread, I hope that she and her lad weren`t offended and that she will accept my unreserved apologies. I`m not overly proud of myself on that one. Sorry.
The only good thing to come out of the episode for me was that everybody within hearing range of where I was sitting was, without exception, of the same mind and that it`s only a very small minority (although to be fair, Dancing, I thought it was a few more than 30) with sub-zero IQs. I got the impression that 99% of the crowd were as disgusted as we were and don`t need the club`s reminder about encroaching on the pitch. Sadly, the ones that do need to be reminded probably won`t grasp the idea because there were too many words of more than one syllable in what was said.
Anyway, back to the match. I agree 100% with what Dancing has said about the difference between the two teams, although I think we`ve got to remember how many first-choices were out through injury. We`ll never know whether it would have made a material difference but I think it proved without question that young Levi cannot be used as a lone target-man up front. He looked completely lost and I felt so, so sorry for him.
What happens now is anybody`s guess. The club`s statement was very ambiguous; I still can`t work out whether MA jumped or was pushed. I suppose it does make a difference as to whether the club has to make any severance payments. Personally I`m not as pessimistic as you, Matt. We`re not so far adrift that relegation is a certainty and, as said, we have a few key players to come back from injury who may well make a difference. I`m sad to see MA go, but sometimes a new manager can have a positive impact; on balance, I still reckon that we will stay up.
RE: Trump's "Mad Dog" walked and was subbed - spireitematt - 27-12-2018
(27-12-2018, 19:35)SaltergateBorn Wrote: Personally I`m not as pessimistic as you, Matt. We`re not so far adrift that relegation is a certainty and, as said, we have a few key players to come back from injury who may well make a difference. I`m sad to see MA go, but sometimes a new manager can have a positive impact; on balance, I still reckon that we will stay up.
I'm not being pessimistic, I'm trying to be a realist. We're in the 5th league of English football, down in the relegation zone, we are about £10 million in debt and lost £1 million last year. We are currently looking for our 6th/7th manager in 3 years. If we got relegated to National League North do you really think the club can keep going with £10 million hanging over it's head? Even if we stay in the National League the budget will be more than likely cut for next season as we will be paying off another manager.
We've got to hope a Chesterfield fan wins that £102 million tomorrow on the Euro Millions.
RE: Trump's "Mad Dog" walked and was subbed - SaltergateBorn - 27-12-2018
Fair enough, Matt; I`m not saying for a minute that anything of what you say is unreasonable or unrealistic if we end up in the National League North next year. Personally, I`m inclined to think that would indeed be the end of the road for CFC (even though Stockport County and York City are still going, so that`s not entirely a gimme). It`s just that you seem to think that this is a no-brainer certainty and I don`t think it is - yet.
Are we paying off another manager? Did MA jump or was he pushed? I`ve just watched his interview on SD and - I may be wrong (again) - I do wonder whether he`d decided himself he`d had enough and it was time to walk. In that case, no severance payments would be due. As I say, the club`s statement is very ambiguous on that one; perhaps intentionally.
If we stay up, on the other hand, let`s look at the facts. We`re still, even in our current position, one of the best-supported clubs in the National League. Yes, I know, we`ve a massive debt and operating deficit; but we`re certainly not unique amongst National League clubs in that respect. A lot of other clubs are having to cut their budgets as well as us. The fact that we can still generate turnover from our attendances means that we could theoretically still compete financially at this level. I hear a lot of moans every time I go to the Proact about not renewing season-tickets next year, not coming any more, etc etc etc, but I`ve been hearing those very same moans, off and on, for the last 60 bloody years. I said myself a few weeks ago that I was doubting whether I wanted to keep trekking up there, but I was there again on Tuesday, I`ll be there again on Saturday (I`ll tell you why in a minute) and I`ll be at Solihull on Tuesday. I suspect that a lot of the moaning and whining will evaporate if we can win a few games, just like it always has before. Nobody expected attendances to hold up this year the way they have and I`ve a feeling the same may just happen again next year.
As ever, it depends entirely on the whim of DA. If he decides to pull the plug for whatever reason, then that`s it; game over. However, as long as he feels that there`s a prospect of his getting back his investment by keeping us going, he`ll do precisely that. Simple as that. Or perhaps I`m just a natural optimist.
(The reason I know I`ll be there on Saturday is that my elder son has seen fit to buy me as a Christmas present a VIP hospitality package for the game. What a bastard! At least he`s had the decency to come along with me, so he can suffer as well.)
RE: Trump's "Mad Dog" walked and was subbed - Devongone - 28-12-2018
Chesterfield and DA is a danse macabre. He'd love to be rid of us, we need to be rid of him, but we can't manage without him either.
He has the power of life or death over us.
Our team has got injuries, but the truth is we haven't really got much of a team even if Carter, Wedgbury and Maguire were available. It's great that young Levi gets a chance, but it is too much to say to him carry our attack up against blokes like Ekpiteta and Gudger, possibly the best two centre backs in the league. A new manager has to strengthen us in a lot of areas doesn't he and whether he can depends on the remaining Mr Allen.
To me, spending a bit more money to keep us at the level we are and alive as a football club seems like a sensible option, compared to letting us go down and becoming a nothing with a new stadium in a town which will soon lose its ability to care. But Mr Allen is both more astute than me, and almost certainly more bitter. He may have entirely different priorities. He may have ways to extract value from the Proact that I probably wouldn't even understand.
One thing I'd like to ask Martin Allen if I could would be - considering we have a 6' 7" centre forward and several other big lads and the bloke with possibly the longest throw-in in pro' football in this country, how can we not have made a goal out of it, or even looked like doing so? And if you weren't going to cause trouble off it, why on earth did you waste a contract on poor old Muggleton?