Is Steve Evans league 1's answer to | Vital Football

Is Steve Evans league 1's answer to

B

Brexiteer

Vital Squad Member
Ole Gunnar Solsjear?
He seems to be trotting out the same excuses - players not performing, perhaps I got the tactics wrong, and continually making changes.
Now we have "I have to make changes to the squad".
This does nothing for morale,; i feel sorry for players who he has signed then decides he doesn't rate.
Players need a decent run in the side to find form and match fitness.
I have to say I'm getting disappointed with his rhetoric and continually blaming the players.
He signed them, the buck stops with him.
 
LockdownLife said:
This.

We're not quite good enough to get points off those in and around the playoffs. However we have enough quality and organisation to beat those at the bottom.
Click to expand...
I wish we could play a different game instead of the long ball every time. Surely we have players to be able to play a holding game - it seems every other team is capable of that & control of a match depends on it. I agree with others on here that we can only soak up so much pressure before we crack. There is nothing wrong with a long ball if it is the right ball at the right time, but the predictable hoof is soon mopped up by decent centre backs most of the time. The element of surprise is what we need, plus higher pressing.
 
Bromley_GFC said:
I honestly don't know what better manager Gillingham could attract than Steve Evans, let's be realistic.

I wouldn't say he's doing an amazing job but certainly not too bad either, overall I think he's done fairly well.
Click to expand...
Generally agree with that but a bit less of the hoofball from Saturday's1st half and a bit more of the 2nd half style please.

Agree with a point another poster made about Oliver being up for it and rightly having a pop at Coyle for not trying hard enough. I think Coyle is talented and a good finisher but I remember him appearing not to bother trying to get to the ball on a few occasions in the last couple of matches.
 
I tend to take little notice of what SE says in his press conferences. We can see by his comments on team selections, injuries, how we played etc that’s he’s just talking rubbish for whatever reason.

And I think he lets his players know very early on not to take notice of his public comments. If he’s got an issue he probably bollocks them or otherwise let’s them know privately.
 
valenciagill said:
I rate SE myself , and am not one to criticise for the sake of it. Some of our summer players haven't worked out , and I trust our management team to replace them.
Click to expand...

I keep seeing people on forums remark that “Evans just buys up 20 players a time. Most of them are rubbish and he ships them on and gets another load in”, like that’s gospel.

He rebuilt last season and imho most of those players he got in were very good. Even the few that “didn’t work out” weren’t just useless, and most have done ok at other clubs.

He’s rebuilt again this season (partly Covid induced where we let everyone go, even those we wanted) and again imho most of them have proved to be decent signings.

Who in our current squad would people say is a poor get? And not worth keeping.

I reckon maybe Maghoma? But even then some people saying he’s had good games. Not just useless. Matty Willock just doesn’t seem to be able to stay on the pitch. Eccles is decent but been in and out.

All the rest are at least good enough L1 players. I personally think SE is pretty good at spotting a decent player and enticing them to our club.
 
I watched the Cambridge game and it was a perfect opportunity for some fringe players to stake a claim to a first team spot.

I agree with evans that no one took it.

I dont like the long ball but not sure we can attract a better manager not on our budget.
 
I am happy with the quality of players.

It is clear that the previous injury problems of Graham and Samuel are the only reasons that they are not playing Championship football. IMO Samuel is still not quite up to speed but if he had been injury free, he would not have been released by Blackburn. I remember reading that article by one of their fans actually saying what a pity it would be if they did release him as he was better than some of their other strikers.

Dempsey is class but I think he needs Mellis alongside him to create a passing midfield. Maybe one of the reasons that defenders feel they have to to clear it long and rely on the second ball is that they dont trust the youngsters to be able to keep possession.
 
GillsBluenose said:
I am happy with the quality of players.

It is clear that the previous injury problems of Graham and Samuel are the only reasons that they are not playing Championship football. IMO Samuel is still not quite up to speed but if he had been injury free, he would not have been released by Blackburn. I remember reading that article by one of their fans actually saying what a pity it would be if they did release him as he was better than some of their other strikers.

Dempsey is class but I think he needs Mellis alongside him to create a passing midfield. Maybe one of the reasons that defenders feel they have to to clear it long and rely on the second ball is that they dont trust the youngsters to be able to keep possession.
Click to expand...
It’s because of lack of movement off the ball and no outlet for the defence.
When a CB has the ball, at least one of the midfield must come short to give options.
Ours are generally static.
 
ARFUR CONNELL said:
I wish we could play a different game instead of the long ball every time. Surely we have players to be able to play a holding game - it seems every other team is capable of that & control of a match depends on it. I agree with others on here that we can only soak up so much pressure before we crack. There is nothing wrong with a long ball if it is the right ball at the right time, but the predictable hoof is soon mopped up by decent centre backs most of the time. The element of surprise is what we need, plus higher pressing.
Click to expand...


Agree with your sentiment, Arfur. IMO we are at our best when we play high and press. Thing is, our key players to effect that kind of style have been absent recently. The million dollar question is whether their absence has been due to injury or because SE is now fully committed to the long ball, counter attack with three big guys up front ? A mix of tactics is ideal but we have to have a full and fit compliment to enable that luxury. Like you, I suspect, i`m more pleasingly entertained when we play the ball on the ground and take the game to the opposition. In Graham, Roberston, Eccles, Dempsey and Coyle we definitely have the tools to accomplish that sort of attack. But we`ve hardly seen these guys in recent weeks. Whether it`s all down to injury or whether it`s a tactical decision by SE, in whom I trust, btw, would be an interesting question to have answered !
 
Agree that the ultimate buck stops with SE but you can't question his criticism of the players recently in both the Cambridge game and the first half Saturday. The desire, work rate and basics were missing and the players deserve criticism for that. They're the bare minimum required from a professional footballer

Whether SE has got the tactics right recently is up for debate, our long ball style and going back to front quickly is not the prettiest to watch but if/when we get it right it can be effective, when we don't its absolute toilet to watch.

We have the players offensively to get the ball down and play but defensively as a team we're know here near as organised and hard to play against as we were in the second half of last season which makes being too offensive harder.

As for individual players, think Akinde might be one that SE may look to offload in Jan, just don't think (for a big unit) he doesn't retain possession well enough.

Yes SE has signed a lot of players, with a few not working out, but it's about getting the best out if them individually and collectively, creating a functional, organised team that is good st what it does, whether that be playing attractive tippy tappy football or a front to back more direct approach. Currently I don't think we're doing either, which I'm sure SE will be keen to sort.

As Mark says, I'm not sure given our budget, I don't we'd be better off with anyone else in charge, either in terms of tactics,formations or style and in terms of recruitment.

As a lot of people said when SE signed, it'll be a rollercoaster of a ride whilst he's in charge, so let's try (albeit blips like Saturday being a rarity from now on) and enjoy it.
 
I wasn't advocating replacing Evans, I agree that with our resources and budget we would struggle to find a better replacement.
The point I was making was about his turning on players publicly (Tucker had a bad game for example) and losing faith in players before they have really been given a chance.
I know he sees them in training but as I said, players need 4 to 5 games to cement their place, constantly changing tactics and 11 is not ideal (unless some body really has a off day).
 
Brexiteer said:
I wasn't advocating replacing Evans, I agree that with our resources and budget we would struggle to find a better replacement.
The point I was making was about his turning on players publicly (Tucker had a bad game for example) and losing faith in players before they have really been given a chance.
I know he sees them in training but as I said, players need 4 to 5 games to cement their place, constantly changing tactics and 11 is not ideal (unless some body really has a off day).
Click to expand...

Hear what you say Brexiteer, but perhaps, in the case of Tucker, SE felt that not saying something critical about Jack, who must have known himself that he`d had a couple of poor games, would be treating him differently from other players. In fairness,SE wasn`t OTT critical and only said what Jack knew anyway. Whatever his rationale was, I think that his comments worked. At Donny, though no-one had a particularly good game, young Jack`s 90 minutes were a definite improvement over the previous outings.
 
IF we believe what SE says then who's facing the 'exit' door in January
- surely he must mean Maghoma, Willock, Akinde and MacDonald ; none are loanees so this means Drysdale and Eccles prob go back to Coventry to create room for a couple of new loanees, as he wont get 4/5 permanents in.

But SE is famous for exaggeration; he said all of the above were great signings; he wildly exaggerates our 'small' budget - i.e. he now says we have budget room for 3/4 new players; he overstated injuries to Dempsey, Mellis and even O'Keefe; and he over-egged Tucker and Ogilvie hoping for some 'big' incoming transfer funds and now has to call out their poor performances, possibly seriously harming Tucker's development.

He gives us 30% possession hoofball, and constant sideline aggression and intimidation; We could do a lot better - we long-term supporters will be here long after he's gone
 
Broncos77 said:
and now has to call out their poor performances, possibly seriously harming Tucker's development.
Click to expand...

You joking there Bronco?

A manager having a small dig at a players performance “seriously harms Tucker’s development”. How does that work?

This is the same manager that gave Tucker his chance in league football by making him a regular starter at a very young age, has backed him all the way by constantly picking him and mostly talks him up.

I also think any player, “good” or “bad” that makes it to the professional ranks can take a bit of negative feedback. He wouldn’t be where he is otherwise.

And I reckon in the player psychology stakes, SE knows his stuff as well.
 
Last edited:
At the first fans forum SE promised attacking football, lots of wide play and crosses into the box. Give the fans something to get excited about again. We're not getting that at the moment and I don't enjoy watching us play. If fans were allowed in the ground I can't imagine PS would be too happy as I can't imagine too many would pay to watch us. I know it's down to budget and COVID but we haven't pushed on from last season which is a shame as we finished well. I do think SE is the right man for us, I just want him to get us playing better football
 
It's easy to turn on any manager who doesn't get his team to the top of the league that they are in.Evans has at least proved he can keep a side in league one.We are simply not good enough to beat the better sides without taking risks .Evans unlike some other managers is unwilling to take those risks.Playing the way we are clearly gets results against the bottom half and that will be more than enough to keep him in his job.
With a very limited budget Scally had a choice there are managers whose systems are more attractive to watch .But at this time it really isn't going to make any real difference to the bums on seats or viewing figures. So perhaps we have to see the glass half full because the only likely alternative was ending up lower in the table .When you have a very limited squad and are playing sides who can genuinely ring the changes during games it is difficult. Competition gets the best out of players .In too many areas we just don't have that luxury. If anyone of the players with no real competition gets injured or losses form they have no real replacement.
To name names Evans has no real like for like replacement for Bonham,Jackson,Ogilvie, Tucker?Dempsey?Graham or Samuel.That is half the team we need to get real. Evans is doing a solid job as in my view .As did others or our club with very limited resources.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.