Never in this mess again

I’m relatively relaxed about DA as things stand. There have been 3 distinct chunks to his time here so far; the first 6 league games (where things were generally ok), the next 6 (which were nothing short of abject), and the last 11 (which have been pretty good, all things considered). Here’s how they stack up:

First 6 - W2 D2 L2 - 1.33 PPG
Next 6 - W0 D2 L4 - 0.33 PPG
Last 11 - W4 D4 L3 - 1.45 PPG

Form over his first 6 is roughly mid-table, the next 6 was of course relegation form (and then some), while our form over the last 11 gets you close to the play-offs over 46 games.

Don’t get me wrong, I wanted Artell gone after the Donny game. We had been absolutely atrocious for weeks and I didn’t see the turnaround coming. But credit where it’s due, he’s recognised where it was going wrong (namely then predictably playing out from the back and a moronically executed press) and done something about it.

He’s also shown a certain amount of resilience to get the players and fans back onside. The players deserve their own credit for the turnaround, but it wouldn’t have happened under a manager they didn’t want to play for.

His challenge now is a different one. Not quite a blank canvas, but as close as you’re likely to get in football, and a summer to try and implement some more of his ideas more successfully.

Who knows where things go from here? I’ve given up attempting to guess. But I do think that whilst we’ve (hopefully) seen the worst of David Artell this season, I am hopeful we have yet to see his best work. For now, I’m looking forward to a few football free weekends ahead of the Euros. This season has been an exhausting one.

Quoted from forza ivano

Think you make a good point Roast Em, dont care who he signs, if he tries to revert back to his ideals we will be inexactly the same position, coz the players just wont be good enough or intelligent enough to do it.
I pray that he is humble enough to realise that the approach he had to be persuaded to take at least gives him the base to work from.its obviously effective ( just off play off form, Golly!) The players have improved under it, and they seem a lot more comfortable and confident.  
I do believe that if he sticks with this system ( with tweaks) hes not going to need quite the overhaul we all think.
For a start just replacing the inconsistent, misfiring, ageing Gav with a fully fit Ainley ( a man who has played 200 games at the top end of div 2 and above would improve us immensely). A really good commanding , experienced keeper ( say the ex orient keeper who is at Burnley n we were rumoured to be interested in) would do summat sumilar

It's all about levels though and if you get players in who do the basics well and decide to go pass and move it should work fine.DA inherited players who don't do the basics well.In over 40 years watching Town I've never seen such poor passing and control collectively? Vernam on Saturday brought a ball down whilst running full pelt I was gobsmacked but in Buckley era it was standard. Slade went for the fast physical types I didn't like what I saw but it was effective. DA after a pre season and a long transfer window will start assembling what he wants and he does have a reasonable base to build from. I'm optimistic about next Season but I want a huge midfield rebuild in my eyes that's the key .Midfield protects the defence and links to the attack and should create chances our attack and defence have been short changed this season. Added to that the midfield have hardly chipped in with goals Eisa apart.

I would rather see a 'thank you very much for your hard work in the time you have been here but your not the man to take us in to next season'

If DA is here next season I would support him but I would like a new manager for next season.

Quoted from TAGG

I would rather see a 'thank you very much for your hard work in the time you have been here but your not the man to take us in to next season'

If DA is here next season I would support him but I would like a new manager for next season.

If he wasn’t sacked after the Donny game, there’s no way he’s going to be sacked between now and the start of the season.

Quoted from Poojah

If he wasn’t sacked after the Donny game, there’s no way he’s going to be sacked between now and the start of the season.

Yes I know.
It was just a wish

Quoted from TAGG

I would rather see a 'thank you very much for your hard work in the time you have been here but your not the man to take us in to next season'

If DA is here next season I would support him but I would like a new manager for next season.

It’s all about opinions, but I think that’s mad. He’ll be good for us, he needs the whole of next season and I think the majority will be able to see that he’s a positive appointment.

Quoted from TAGG

Yes I know.
It was just a wish

For what it’s worth, despite not being particularly keen on him as a candidate in the outset, and less so following our series of drubbing incidents, I think Artell deserves to be given a crack at next season.

We saw some initial improvements in our performances and results when he first came in, and whilst that undoubtedly all went to shít shortly after, he’s had both the humility and presence of mind to make some arguably difficult decisions and do something about it, even if the brand of football has been a little more “pragmatic” than first advertised.

He’s also had some awful tragedies, both for the club and himself personally, to contend with this side of the New Year. The death of young Cameron Walsh and his dad, the loss of Peter Handyside at the age of 49, and the death of his own farther in the past couple of weeks. We’ve seen the human side of him, and I think he’s come across very well in that respect.

I’ve no idea what next season holds in store for us, be it good, bad or ugly as fúck, but I have no problem with DA being in the dugout for game #1. I genuinely couldn’t imagine having written that just a few weeks ago, and that in itself tells its own story.

Quoted from TAGG

I would rather see a 'thank you very much for your hard work in the time you have been here but your not the man to take us in to next season'

If DA is here next season I would support him but I would like a new manager for next season.

Losing 2 in 12 against teams in 3rd and 5th isn't good enough? I've warmed to DA massively, think we've seen how much the bloke cares for the club already. That spell we went through was nothing short of disasturous but the bloke has been through more at the club off the field than most people will go through in there whole career... He came with a style and a philosophy and probably over estimated the ability of the squad but showed trust in them to get them out of it. Doncaster happened and we've not looked back since despite near enough every single fan writing us off, even in the midst of that run. You could go back to after the Barrow game and people still think we was going down.. furthermore to add to that, every single player he signed in Jan has improved us. Tharme and Thompson are two mainstays in the side, Thompson looks like the midfielder we've been crying out for years and Tharme looks like a re-incarnation of Luke Waterfall. Obikwu splits opinion but has scored some big goals and provided big moments for us. Smith has come back into the side recently and is getting better with every game that goes by, Hume looked like a solid acquisition but has gone off the boil recently. Harry Wood is the only one that hasn't really got going but still scored a very good equaliser against County and has shown glimpses of ability. Pair that with the improvement on players that many of us wrote off, Mullarkey has moved ten yards inside and looks like a completely new player, we all knew going forward he was okay but defensively he was so suspect and now he looks a very very good defender for the level. Next season has to improve but there's much more to be positive about than there is potential negatives.

It’s easy to underestimate just how difficult it is to turn around a team on a downward spiral mid season. Hurst couldn’t do it in 2021.

As others have said, he has brought in some very good players that we can build a team around. And let’s not forget that the recent run of games post Doncaster includes victories against teams currently in 4th and 5th, and away points against three teams in the top ten at the time. That is pretty good going.

So it’s been quite a turnaround. It will be interesting to see how it goes over the summer but I think current indications are positive.

As long as we stay up which is nearly certain now.

I will be more than happy to finish10th --12th  winning more games than we lose and scoring more goals than we concede.

A few high scoring wins at home  for a change would be nice as well.