Following on from my previous posts and others I’ve been reading a couple of articles from the Mail and Curles thoughts about the way his team is performing. It seems to me that the guy knows exactly what the problems are but his instructions are just not being followed. Not just buy a few players but by most of them. What is it about Curle that the players cannot get motivated. The last few days and weeks the manager has quite rightly highlighted the inability to man mark, the inability to spot danger, the inability for players to communicate with each other, the lack of organisation, the inability to hustle and bussle when needed. The inability to be focused for 90
Minutes . The inability to be tight and compact . I thought when we got Peter Hartley we had a leader but he seems just as inept as the others. Curle said in the Mail that he gives his players notes before the game. He tells us that he watches the game afterwards and highlights what went wrong. I believe he knows what’s wrong. Is he not sitting with his defenders etc and watching the game and showing them what went wrong. Good managers would be spending extra time in the training ground to change these bad habits. I remember Dave Challinor interviews (a legend) in that even when Pools played well and won he would be looking at what we didn’t do so well. Come on Curle you know what you should be doing you’re not stupid I can see that . Get on that training field with your team and motivate your team . If it was me I would have the players out there all day until it was drilled in to them. There is no excuse for professional players to be performing so badly. You know what to do . Do it! No more excuses !

Curle knows his job, no doubt about that, however……. is it the inability of the players to understand what he wants of them or are they just a bit thick….?
On the other hand, does his presentation go over over the heads of some his players with long winded presentations and going for too deep in theory into what is a simple game and what is expected of them.
Maybe the players would respond better to a ‘aggressive’ style of manager where you live in fear of the consequences of failure….I suspect the answer lays somewhere mid point between the two styles.
Curle comes over to me as a deep thinker and football theorist with too much of the lecture room and not enough of the basics and possibly two levels up from his players with his expectations of them…a bit like a University academic teaching the infant class, that’s the sort of gulf that appears is between them.
Sadly his choices are a bit bizarre, especially in team selections and I now seriously question if he’s the man to put some fight and belief into our candy floss team, because I have seen no improvement whatsoever, in fact Hartley’s 12 games in charge were identical to Curles first 12 games in charge…the relegation super tanker is blatantly not responding to the helm under Captain Curle it appears.

Short n Sweet.
KC is clueless.
That's why he will be sacked.

I can’t really argue with what you have said Snowy. It’s a strange conundrum . I think we are all in agreement that Curle needs to change his managerial style because his players are not on board with him

I didn’t think Hartley had a clue but Curles stats are not much different. Curle knows what’s wrong but can’t embed his playing style on to the players. Where do we go from here?

[quote="Snowy"]Curle knows his job, no doubt about that, however……. is it the inability of the players to understand what he wants of them or are they just a bit thick….?
On the other hand, does his presentation go over over the heads of some his players with long winded presentations and going for too deep in theory into what is a simple game and what is expected of them.
Maybe the players would respond better to a ‘aggressive’ style of manager where you live in fear of the consequences of failure….
or a case of the players want to do things their way and not curle,s. does he complicate things too much or has no respect from them. problem is when week on week the team picks itself all you need is a few shirkers in the squad who know their place is secure and do not give everything they have on the pitch. its all guess work anyway as in football we know no facts to base theories on just our eyes. know a couple of ex managers who some players just tooked the piss especially a few who were guarenteed starts if available.

Early days for you I know but is there a reason why you don't contribute to other people's threads but always start a new one yourself?

Like the thread started yesterday afternoon by Mr.I - "The Manager." Seems like the perfect place to add your two pennorth above.

No reason for me doing it. I guess just getting used to using the forum. I do read all the threads and will take on board what you have said.

didnt realise his career was so bad

i just remember him from Carlisle and always had them a half decent team - along with having that tough attitude which seems to have gone - more of a clown now than anything else

As harra says above Curle sees what we see, But still cannot see that a Pro Keeper should at the very least command 6 yard box, Anything beyond that is up to him.
I believe he has "deficit hyperactivity disorder". Not joking.

It could be the flock of sheep he’s working with who are either incapable of understanding or just Bolshie.

Don't know where you read that Snowy, but it's not strictly true. Hartley had only 11 competitive games in charge before he was sacked, 2 of them in Mickey Mouse cups. His league record was 4 draw, 5 defeats - 4 points from a possible 27.

Tony Sweeney was in charge for 1 game. Curle's first 12 games also included 2 in cups. His record in the league was 2 wins (Grimsby and Doncaster at home), 2 draws and 6 defeats - 8 points from a possible 30. Still dire, but not as hopeless as Hartley - it was a huge relief at the time to finally see a home win

Trouble is we’re all now thinking ‘dire’….. but not fecking useless is an improvement.
We’ve all been taken for mugs.

You can’t shine a turd, players not good enough is bottom line

Curle is likely an average manager, try’s a little too hard with the philosophy in an interview for me but that likely doesn’t move the needle one way or the other.

Looks like by end of season he’ll have inspired Menayse to play the piano but not Killip to take a cross !

Curle is a bell-end.

We've had some shit mangers over the years, but he is one of the worst ever.

A complete and utter prick, who along with Raj Singh is destroying our beloved football club.

Who The F**k is Alice?

Alright Chubby..

I always appreciate n respect honesty.

Curle’s not the man he rubbishes the players in the Mail including the loanees he sent back. Praise in public reprimand in private should be the first rule of management. What I would give for a Cyril Knowles type manager to come in and inject some discipline and morale into the team.
His (Curle) record is abysmal in the time he has been here, and bringing players isn’t going to make a difference, I would rather see one of the back room staff take over the team for the rest of the season they would probably get more out of this side than we are getting at present.
Why did we bring in a goalkeeper on loan and not use him you can bring in a goalkeeper on an emergency deal at any point but we have used up a loan signing and then not used the keeper. What has that done to Ben’s confidence my guess it won’t have improved it.

I have heard nothing about Tony Sweeney for ages?

Maybe times have changed but the 2 best managers I have ever seen at Pools (Knowles and Cooper) were both more than happy to call the players out if they werent performing to expectations.

Aye remember how he dropped Taff Williams as keeper after his foul up at Peterborough away, never to feature again….Killip wouldn’t have stood a chance.

Watching a podcast about Owen Coyle, comes across very well currently the Manager at Queens Park, top of the Championship in Scotland. He had has experience in England, Burnley, Bolton and Blackburn. I think he would be worth a shout oh and he is tee total never drank alcohol in his life, he said never seen the need to.

I've seen Knowles substitute players after 20 mins if they wern't doing what they were told.
Half of this team wouldn't last 5 minutes with him.

I remember Knowles sacking a young Don Hutchinson for being late for the bus only too have his parents beg for forgiveness, he went on to have a pretty decent career

True about Cyril, He did not mess about.
You either towed the line or you were gone.

if feaths starts tomorrow night we know how clueless this man has become... if anything the lad needs a rest i think... being dragged off 3 games in a row shows something even he is noticing

'Dragged off' in the 97th minute on Saturday

Wonder if the people calling for Featherstone's head even know who they want to take his place in the side now that Sylla has been reinstated
Matty Dolan, the bloke who was likely brought in to Pools to be Featherstone's successor, is the biggest disappointment of all the January signings so far - looks a couple of clem overweight for a start. At the minute I'd start Feaths over him any day of the week.
Who else then? The kid Trusty??? Niang, the poor man's Mo Sylla?

Finney thats who

Nowt against him but he's hardly taken the eye since he joined.

Finney, Kiernan or Trusty in for Featherstone.

All 4 can play football, 3 can run and 1 cant. Pick a player who can run.

Simple.

Featherstone has never been much of a runner - he's always let the ball do the work for him. Best passer of a ball at the club by a street.

300-odd games for Pools, there were clubs in for him this transfer window and yet some fans have never rated him. Apart from NL promotion season with Challinor, the one year he got some respect.

Hes 34 now though and fairly heavy, hes definitely been leaner.

Not a good combination for a player who was slow anyway.

Hes seen better days for sure.
Excellent crab footballer passer short backwards n sidewards.
Never a defense spitting pass to create for our Frontline.
As for helping us out defensely he dosent.
Apart from that i suppose hes brilliant a cult legend.
Then u look at the league table n results.
Not all down to him by the way.
Just a badly run football club.

Featherstone could probably write a very lengthy book about his time at Pools, take overs, managers and players who have come and gone.

He’s definitely in the twilight of his career and one time with two fetchers and carriers alongside him was like Tinkler, not as mobile but an eye for a ball….but it’s well past time for a change, but that’s football.

i always liked himyears ago when i seemed the only one who did. the biggest criticism i could make on him was if the team played well he did but if they were off so was he. as for curle himself i wonder if he overcomplicates things for players and they donot fully understand him. as an ex defender you would have thought he,d have got the defence right even if we were lacking in other areas. do we also fear or respect our opponents too much. know for certain he would not be the first manager who gets the shits because of the opposition. as someone else said its a lot about turds and polish.