Is Lowe evolving?

[Liberation]

If anyone knew the answer, we'd have been promoted years ago.
To be completely honest, unless we have a freak season I can't see us being promoted in my lifetime. Depressing!
The Championship is awash wilth bigger, better supported clubs that dip in and out of the Premier League and benefit from the parachute payments that come with it.
That said, Brentford who were out of the top flight almost as long as us made it as have similar sized clubs. The frustrating thing is seeing the Luton Town's of this world getting to the Prem within ten years? of being non League.
Even feckin Blackpool and don't get me started on Bournemouth
Brighton didn't have a ground of their own that very long ago.
😢😢

Everything has to drop into place at the same time...... Right Manager, right backing, a team/squad that compliments each other, forward thinking and a modicum of luck.... In our case it has never really " clicked " and we at best usually only manage two of them.

 

[Wisemen say]

I'll go back to my message about Lowe being a prolific scorer when he was playing. Albeit he had someone next to him providing the bullets. Why the backward focus?

I have know real idea, other than he simply does not have the confidence with the players at his disposal to set the team up in any other way than the defensive formation he continues to prefer and utilise in the vast majority of games ? 🤔

 

[norky84]

Only two more transfer windows until Lowe has everything he wants!

 

[Gordon Bennett]

Only two more transfer windows until Lowe has everything he wants!

A big fat payoff, most likely.

 

[Liberation]

If you break it down to its simplest form, this was before RL came to some extent, but has become patently obvious during RLs tenure, with the odd (very rare) exception:

We get comfortably beaten by top 6 teams
We narrowly lose or draw to upper mid-table teams
We narrowly beat or draw with lower mid-table teams
We comfortably beat bottom 6 teams

That is the epitome of a mid-table team and thats exactly what we are and have been for a number of years

What will change this ?
Will RL be able to 'evolve' and learn to change this ?
If YES how long do we give him ?
Would a new manager be able to change this ?
Could a new manager take us further away from this if the wrong guy is chosen ?
Would further investment change this ?
Is this sustainable ?
Do we want to change this ?

Like I say I've over simplified a bit but when you look into it its surprising how often the above does happen

If anyone knew the answer, we'd have been promoted years ago.
To be completely honest, unless we have a freak season I can't see us being promoted in my lifetime. Depressing!
The Championship is awash wilth bigger, better supported clubs that dip in and out of the Premier League and benefit from the parachute payments that come with it.
That said, Brentford who were out of the top flight almost as long as us made it as have similar sized clubs. The frustrating thing is seeing the Luton Town's of this world getting to the Prem within ten years? of being non League.
Even feckin Blackpool and don't get me started on Bournemouth
Brighton didn't have a ground of their own that very long ago.
😢😢

For what it's worth fellas the last time I saw anything like the recipe we need for promotion and sustainability was under Bryan Gray. 20 years ago? We've had the odd flirt and blown it like under Davies but Gray was the only one that had an overall " plan " for taking us forward... But for whatever reason even that went tits up.

 

[No Danger]

For what it's worth fellas the last time I saw anything like the recipe we need for promotion and sustainability was under Bryan Gray. 20 years ago? We've had the odd flirt and blown it like under Davies but Gray was the only one that had an overall " plan " for taking us forward... But for whatever reason even that went tits up.

Think Bryan Gray left in 2001 after our play off defeat to Bolton.
It was unfortunate that the following season Moyes got poached by Everton at a critical time when it looked like we would reach the playoffs again after a slow start.
From memory Kelham O’Hanlon took temporary charge and gave it his best shot but we fell just short.

 

[SoccerHQ]

Everything has to drop into place at the same time...... Right Manager, right backing, a team/squad that compliments each other, forward thinking and a modicum of luck.... In our case it has never really " clicked " and we at best usually only manage two of them.

I genuinely thought it was going to happen at one stage under AN....had done it at Norwich a few years before and had a squad full of exciting potential. In 2017 DJ, Pearson,Browne, Robbo Maguire and Harrop (pre injury) and Hugill were all 25 or under. Ben Davies was about to be given a serious chance aswell.

What that squad needed was some more been there and done it players but only ones were guys he inherited like Clarke, Hunts and John Welsh.

I'd say Alex Neil is the only manager appointed since Billy Davies that had the profile of someone who could've got this club into the premier league. Grayson did a superb job but he has his limits at this level so not convinced he'd have lifted this club much higher if he'd stayed.

Neil could've, it was there in 19/20 but I'm afraid club let the opportunity slip through their fingers and then we saw the issues of contracts running down and established championship players being sold for very little.

The current 11 isn't a patch on what was being put out 4-5 years ago.

 

[California_PNE]

I genuinely thought it was going to happen at one stage under AN....had done it at Norwich a few years before and had a squad full of exciting potential. In 2017 DJ, Pearson,Browne, Robbo Maguire and Harrop (pre injury) and Hugill were all 25 or under. Ben Davies was about to be given a serious chance aswell.

What that squad needed was some more been there and done it players but only ones were guys he inherited like Clarke, Hunts and John Welsh.

I'd say Alex Neil is the only manager appointed since Billy Davies that had the profile of someone who could've got this club into the premier league. Grayson did a superb job but he has his limits at this level so not convinced he'd have lifted this club much higher if he'd stayed.

Neil could've, it was there in 19/20 but I'm afraid club let the opportunity slip through their fingers and then we saw the issues of contracts running down and established championship players being sold for very little.

The current 11 isn't a patch on what was being put out 4-5 years ago.

👏👏👏

 

[Gordon Bennett]

For what it's worth fellas the last time I saw anything like the recipe we need for promotion and sustainability was under Bryan Gray. 20 years ago? We've had the odd flirt and blown it like under Davies but Gray was the only one that had an overall " plan " for taking us forward... But for whatever reason even that went tits up.

We’ve been sadly lacking any vision as a club since then, our only hope is that the last window was an indication of Craig Hemmings’ intention to take us forwards.

How the hell has over 20 years disappeared that quickly?

 

[Liberation]

I genuinely thought it was going to happen at one stage under AN....had done it at Norwich a few years before and had a squad full of exciting potential. In 2017 DJ, Pearson,Browne, Robbo Maguire and Harrop (pre injury) and Hugill were all 25 or under. Ben Davies was about to be given a serious chance aswell.

What that squad needed was some more been there and done it players but only ones were guys he inherited like Clarke, Hunts and John Welsh.

I'd say Alex Neil is the only manager appointed since Billy Davies that had the profile of someone who could've got this club into the premier league. Grayson did a superb job but he has his limits at this level so not convinced he'd have lifted this club much higher if he'd stayed.

Neil could've, it was there in 19/20 but I'm afraid club let the opportunity slip through their fingers and then we saw the issues of contracts running down and established championship players being sold for very little.

The current 11 isn't a patch on what was being put out 4-5 years ago.

Neil was seriously pissed off about something to change so rapidly but I suppose we'll never know for sure. I still think it was " injurygate " and he was told to curtail the press and protect our assets ( which ironically we sold for 30 bob later )....

I'm still regretting not giving Dreyer a chance ( even though he didn't want it )............. He got the best tune out of a bunch of failures I've ever seen. Only the once of course but it does prove a point.

 

[Duncan Iceglide]

I genuinely thought it was going to happen at one stage under AN....had done it at Norwich a few years before and had a squad full of exciting potential. In 2017 DJ, Pearson,Browne, Robbo Maguire and Harrop (pre injury) and Hugill were all 25 or under. Ben Davies was about to be given a serious chance aswell.

What that squad needed was some more been there and done it players but only ones were guys he inherited like Clarke, Hunts and John Welsh.

I'd say Alex Neil is the only manager appointed since Billy Davies that had the profile of someone who could've got this club into the premier league. Grayson did a superb job but he has his limits at this level so not convinced he'd have lifted this club much higher if he'd stayed.

Neil could've, it was there in 19/20 but I'm afraid club let the opportunity slip through their fingers and then we saw the issues of contracts running down and established championship players being sold for very little.

The current 11 isn't a patch on what was being put out 4-5 years ago.

Yes.

Just watch some of the highlights from that time.

Quality football.

 

[billymac]

So two substations negates our other wins and league position does it Billy?

If it does like you're claiming then it is you who knows fuck all about football.

would you have brought Woodburn and Brady on at Hull while chasing the game???

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Only two more transfer windows until Lowe has everything he wants!

Do you think we would be better with 1-2 quality defenders?

 

[Ron Burgundy]

would you have brought Woodburn and Brady on at Hull while chasing the game???

Never in a million years.

 

[Tugg Speedman]

That's two instances.
Think about all the occasions where we've just basically waited for something to happen.
I think it will far outweigh the number of times we've gone after teams

Hang on, I'm saying Grayson was accused of the same thing that Lowe is being accused of.

Not trying to debate how many games we've gone ahead in.

 

[norky84]

Do you think we would be better with 1-2 quality defenders?

Yes, as well as a new Director of Football and a new Manager/Head Coach.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Yes, as well as a new Director of Football and a new Manager/Head Coach.

Whatever happens, the pressure will definitely be starting to be turned up on Lowe.

It would just be typical of North End to have the best start to a season in over 100 years and then completely capitulate into mid table mediocrity.

Part of me wants Lowe to be given another window or two to improve the defence and wingbacks, but it's not a large part of me.

 

[OB1]

If Cov play like they are tonight we’re getting slapped. Might be a goal down but they’ve been all over WBA and just let down by the final ball

 

[No Danger]

If Cov play like they are tonight we’re getting slapped. Might be a goal down but they’ve been all over WBA and just let down by the final ball

Hopefully the final ball lets them down Saturday

 

[norky84]

If Cov play like they are tonight we’re getting slapped. Might be a goal down but they’ve been all over WBA and just let down by the final ball

They've been a decent watch. Less direct than I thought from a Mark Robins side.