Artell deserves credit

Quoted from devs

Huge amount of praise must go to all of those who wanted Artell out after a few games
And are now changing their minds
What a decent group of chaps you are
Well done...

It takes a lot of guts to hide behind social media and slag someone off mercilessly then when things look a bit better to come out in favour...

Just keep commenting hour by hour - game by game - that's the way to build something..

Any fan of any club would have been saying the same after being torched so many times at home . Credit must go to the board for holding a steady nerve , most would have pulled the trigger no doubt .

To paint a narative that Town fans are somehow different in that way though, is at best to be turning a blind eye .

For first hand evidence I would suggest the Notts County forum for a browse at the present time , another one that makes The Fishies and fans opinions on Artell mild in comparison .

Quoted from BrMarin

Don't think the fans got it wrong. The fans booed playing out from the back, the tactics changed and we improved. So the fans were right.

Artell is basically doing what Ben and Shaun would have done. So if he was sacked results would likely have improved anyway. So those who wanted him sacked also weren't wrong.

I agree personal abuse is unacceptable though

A bit puzzled by Shaun and Ben's reincarnation as Clough and Taylor. They held the fort for a few games. 2 against a team 2 tiers below.

Quoted from Hagrid

We were getting absolutely humiliated and he was steadfast point blank telling us things that were simply not true. We conceded 5 goals in 3 of our first 5 games of the year. “Lost 5-1. Lost 6-1. And then came out saying we’d played well. I know you love trying to be right, but its not remotely true to say that the abuse/ judgement he was getting was ridiculous

Think it's doing a disservice to his interviews a bit there and purely focusing one one or two statements out of what is usually what, a ten minute interview. He did say we'd played well at times. And he was right. Until we conceded against Walsall after 35 mins or whatever, we were playing well. In the first half against Donny we played well (admittedly we were already losing), and the Notts match was just a great spectacle all round IMO - poor defending yes but great, exciting play going forward.

BUT - he always said that it wasn't good enough also, always said that it doesn't matter how you play if you don't get the points etc. He had to offer some shade of positivity and light - for the sake of the players, for the sake of his job.

It's not as if he was just blindly proclaiming that we were actually brilliant whilst shipping 5 odd goals.

My comment was partly designed to wind a few up - but it would be good if many held fire until 8-10 games in to see what patterns emerge
I think it's brave of Artell to admit he went too far too fast and has changed to a more practical style
Only have to look at Notts C to see that even if you have possibly the best front six in L2 if your house has crap foundations (defence) then it's impossible to wins games

He's earmarked the warriors, fighters, battlers and moulded a team that gives very little away - apart from the ball... we are still far too wasteful in possession

I'm pretty certain the current midfield is not his idea of how he wants to play but it's 'needs must' and if that means we survive then that's all that matters

Big praise also for his transfer window signings - Obikwu, Thompson, Tharme, Hume are all quality at this level and have made a huge impact; Smith lost his place to a resurgent Mullarkey

He is very proactive with subs - a refreshing change from others (!) - and 80% of his barking on touchline is positive and encouraging; he never bloody stops!

Onwards an upwards...

Quoted from Mappers

I would tbf . If we continued with this system the need for player turnover would be far less aswell .

Probably 5-7 players instead of 15+

I would try seriously  hard for Cartwright & Obikwu back on loan as I feel they will get better and better . Obikwu maybe even has 20 goals in him if he gets a full season at this level he looks very good .

I think the middle of the park must be a priority we still need physicality and ability in there to go alongside Thompson's obvious skillset .

The defence looks less of an issue to me if we continue to play the system that suits the players back there .

When DA talked about developing the Grimsby Way I think he was naively thinking about the best of Buckley years. Perhaps this reflects his lack of in depth experience of clubs other than Crewe.
The structure and finance of the game has changed so much since the best of the Buckley years. I think a successful Grimsby Way needs to be Hurst+ with a bit more flair and ambition in the attacking third. We don’t really do prima donnas in GY and Clee do we, but whilst McAtee was a strutting and arrogant so and so, for most of his time here (maybe not right at the end) he was also a good grafter. For me he is one of PHs best ever signings and he put bums on seats. The dislocation was a massive shame. Hanging onto players like that is so difficult though. Can we go for an end of career approach and find our own version of McGoldrick perhaps?

Quoted from devs

My comment was partly designed to wind a few up - but it would be good if many held fire until 8-10 games in to see what patterns emerge
I think it's brave of Artell to admit he went too far too fast and has changed to a more practical style
Only have to look at Notts C to see that even if you have possibly the best front six in L2 if your house has crap foundations (defence) then it's impossible to wins games

He's earmarked the warriors, fighters, battlers and moulded a team that gives very little away - apart from the ball... we are still far too wasteful in possession

I'm pretty certain the current midfield is not his idea of how he wants to play but it's 'needs must' and if that means we survive then that's all that matters

Big praise also for his transfer window signings - Obikwu, Thompson, Tharme, Hume are all quality at this level and have made a huge impact; Smith lost his place to a resurgent Mullarkey

He is very proactive with subs - a refreshing change from others (!) - and 80% of his barking on touchline is positive and encouraging; he never bloody stops!

Onwards an upwards...

Good points, well made.
He is so short of midfield options
Wood has been disappearing/anonymous and 2 of his better options ( ainley n khouri ) are not fit. I'd love to know how close Ainley is to full fitness, he cant be that far away n imho would make a big difference

Quoted from Limerick Mariner

When DA talked about developing the Grimsby Way I think he was naively thinking about the best of Buckley years. Perhaps this reflects his lack of in depth experience of clubs other than Crewe.
The structure and finance of the game has changed so much since the best of the Buckley years. I think a successful Grimsby Way needs to be Hurst+ with a bit more flair and ambition in the attacking third. We don’t really do prima donnas in GY and Clee do we, but whilst McAtee was a strutting and arrogant so and so, for most of his time here (maybe not right at the end) he was also a good grafter. For me he is one of PHs best ever signings and he put bums on seats. The dislocation was a massive shame. Hanging onto players like that is so difficult though. Can we go for an end of career approach and find our own version of McGoldrick perhaps?

Maybe a mixed model where you have some 'end of career' type players alongside your McAtee / Conteh type players where you accept that you won't get longevity but they will do a job for you when you do have them, and make you some profit. DA seems to know this model, as he did it at Crewe and has spoken about a desire to progress players in their careers.

Quoted from forza ivano

Good points, well made.
He is so short of midfield options
Wood has been disappearing/anonymous and 2 of his better options ( ainley n khouri ) are not fit. I'd love to know how close Ainley is to full fitness, he cant be that far away n imho would make a big difference

He was on the pitch before Sutton doing fitness work with Arthur and looked quite a way off Arthur understandably. I believe he has another course of radiotherapy to go through and then that's it hopefully. I don't think we'll see him again this season personally.

Quoted from forza ivano

Wood has been disappearing/anonymous and 2 of his better options ( ainley n khouri ) are not fit. I'd love to know how close Ainley is to full fitness, he cant be that far away n imho would make a big difference

I thought Wood actually did quite well when he came on last night. Used the ball decently, won the challenge which led to Obikwu being fouled for the penalty that wasn't given and also hit the post with a good shot. Much more like his initial appearance (but for the goal!) than the previous one I saw at BP where he looked like a rabbit in the headlights. Perhaps better as a sub for now, than a starter, but encouraging, all the same.

Think we also have to give credit to Joe Hutchinson. Artell has said that he is the coach only, so Joe must have been front and centre of recruiting players in Jan that have definitely improved the team.