Doncaster Reaction | Neil Critchley

"I’m just amazed by the decisions that we don’t seem to be getting this season" Neil Critchley left 'aghast' and 'bewildered' by the referee's decisions as Blackpool squander a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 to Doncaster Rovers
 
First time I've seen him in a post match interview looking pissed off.
For the first minute and a half anyway.

Neil, Harrogate is not a tough match pal, we've more than enough to beat them.
If your team talks are all about how good or strong the opposition are how must the players be thinking when they get out there.
C'mon #utmp
 
Pretty much sums it up: refereeing decisions cost us, but we shouldn't have put ourselves in the position where a dodgy pen call at the end has us narrowly losing out on a point when we should have seen the game off for 3!

Back to winning ways against Harrogate please Neil!
 
He didn't sound convincing to me. You can't not comment on the way we dithered on the ball in midfield and defence in that second half. Or in the way we lost our shape and went long. Or in the way we allowed them to carve our defence open.
 
For me, blaming the ref is a bit of a cop out tonight. Didn’t look obviously offside but even if it was we didn’t deal with the second ball and Maxwell had no chance.

After that we folded, contrary to Critchs comments there, Donny were all over us possession wise and were the only team that looked like scoring. We allowed them to do this through inactivity on the managements part. No subs until the 81st minute meant the game had already gone away from us. So I believe him when he says he doesn’t know how we let three goals in. The worrying thing is we employ a head coach and assistants to identify in a game where we‘re going to concede and counter it. again I’m back to being baffled by what he sees on the pitch.

Having said all that the ref bottled it with the hand ball. Nailed on.

On to Harrogate, but the real test is the next six league games.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rektseasider said:
For me, blaming the ref is a bit of a cop out tonight. Didn’t look obviously offside but even if it was we didn’t deal with the second ball and Maxwell had no chance.

After that we folded, contrary to Critchs comments there, Donny were all over us possession wise and were the only team that looked like scoring. We allowed them to do this through inactivity on the managements part. No subs until the 81st minute meant the game had already gone away from us. So I believe him when he says he doesn’t know how we let three goals in. The worrying thing is we employ a head coach and assistants to identify in a game where we‘re going to concede and counter it. again I’m back to being baffled by what he sees on the pitch.

Having said all that the ref bottled it with the hand ball. Nailed on.

On to Harrogate, but the real test is the next six league games.
Click to expand...
Spot on, that's how I saw it. Sometimes I think Critch overthinks things. Just get the simple things right. I know he's leaving in January but Ballard should have been it that defence organising and blocking everything. Very disappointing!
 
Critchley looked shell shocked but it's nothing to how he'll look if we come up short in the tough run of league games to come. 3 points off the bottom 4. Will we soon be back in the drop zone?
 
poolseasider said:
Your just loving this aren't you hardly a peep when we are winning lose an away game by one goal and your all over it.
Click to expand...
Loving it, you must be joking. I think a coach and his players can expect flak after last night's capitulation, and when after nearly a third of the season they're staring at the bottom 4. Praise has quite rightly been in short supply this season.
 
62years&counting said:
Loving it, you must be joking. I think a coach and his players can expect flak after last night's capitulation, and when after nearly a third of the season they're staring at the bottom 4. Praise has quite rightly been in short supply this season.
Click to expand...
Been quite a lot of praise heaped on NC and the players recently by many on AVFTT!
 
62years&counting said:
Loving it, you must be joking. I think a coach and his players can expect flak after last night's capitulation, and when after nearly a third of the season they're staring at the bottom 4. Praise has quite rightly been in short supply this season.
Click to expand...
No praise from you even when we where winningl.
Blackpool fans will be hurting today and your just on told you so point scoring exercise.
 
This will be a good test of his fledgling skills. Losing a 2 goal lead with a poor second half performance requires some hair drier bollockings. But the players will also be annoyed and frustrated and they’ll need lifting and focusing on getting back on track.
Whats really annoying is that Saturday should have been a chance to get some game time into the fringe/returning players. That’s now made debatable as there’s also a need to see the preferred first team get back on track.

Also sounds like NC needs to look at his and his back room performance. 4 subs at 81 when the comeback is complete and you’ve been second best all half, sounds off the mark to me.
 
Last edited:
straightatthewall said:
This will be a good year of his fledgling skills. Losing a 2 goal lead with a poor second half performance requires some hair drier bollockings. But the players will also be annoyed and frustrated and they’ll need lifting and focusing on getting back on track.
Whats really annoying is that Saturday should have been a chance to get some game time into the fringe/returning players. That’s now made debatable as there’s also a need to see the preferred first team get back on track.

Also sounds like NC needs to look at his and his back room performance. 4 subs at 81 when the comeback is complete and you’ve been second best all half, sounds off the mark to me.
Click to expand...
In my opinion he was the wrong appointment and isn't up to the demands of the job. The second half was a capitulation.
 
62years&counting said:
...and given results, do they deserve it?
Click to expand...
You‘re one of those uneducated fans who only live & think in the moment. What most of us have been doing, is looking beyond the results, focussing more on progression - are we improving. Now if you can’t see the improvement and exciting promise, that‘s your problem. We have just played 2 good teams and looked way ahead of them in terms of quality.

You were the same with Yates when he wasn’t scoring - in the moment and not seeing his quality and potential. Your understanding of football is embarrassing, and for someone of your age, your behaviour towards fellow fans on this forum is often shameful.
 
62years&counting said:
In my opinion he was the wrong appointment and isn't up to the demands of the job. The second half was a capitulation.
Click to expand...
And you are going to take every opportunity to bang on about your opinion whenever we lose a game and keep stum when we win. That's just the kind of supporter you are, using the word supporter in its loosest term of course.
 
TimperleyTangerine said:
....and there you go, proving my point.
Click to expand...
...and your blind faith does you no favours. Just another fan who can't face facts and
braymarina said:
And you are going to take every opportunity to bang on about your opinion whenever we lose a game and keep stum when we win. That's just the kind of supporter you are, using the word supporter in its loosest term of course.
Click to expand...
Somebody else who I won't take any notice of. I praised them after P'boro but conveniently you'll have missed that.
 
Rektseasider said:
For me, blaming the ref is a bit of a cop out tonight. Didn’t look obviously offside but even if it was we didn’t deal with the second ball and Maxwell had no chance.

After that we folded, contrary to Critchs comments there, Donny were all over us possession wise and were the only team that looked like scoring. We allowed them to do this through inactivity on the managements part. No subs until the 81st minute meant the game had already gone away from us. So I believe him when he says he doesn’t know how we let three goals in. The worrying thing is we employ a head coach and assistants to identify in a game where we‘re going to concede and counter it. again I’m back to being baffled by what he sees on the pitch.

Having said all that the ref bottled it with the hand ball. Nailed on.

On to Harrogate, but the real test is the next six league games.
Click to expand...
"We allowed them to do this through inactivity on the managements part."

I wonder if the outcome of the match would of been different if Calderwood was manager and Critchley number 2
 
Im getting fed up of these negative posts. Win or lose Im for the pool.
We were great in the first half.
As NC says the offside goal brought them back into the game and gave them momentum. As I see it a dubious penalty gave them the lead. Then I thought we dominated but didn't score and were not given a penalty when its an obvious hand ball. Im more frustrated with the ref than the team. With VAR we would have won.
We were the better team by far and Doncaster aren't a bad team especially at home and certainly no pushovers .
You dont always get the luck or refs decisions.
Frustrated by the outcome but not with the tem
UTMP !
 
62years&counting said:
...and your blind faith does you no favours. Just another fan who can't face facts and
Somebody else who I won't take any notice of. I praised them after P'boro but conveniently you'll have missed that.
Click to expand...
You seem to miss the point, that you are generally in a minority of one on this forum. It is though becoming quite amusing, so thanks for continuing to give us a laugh.

As for your praise after Peterborough, the volume of traffic from you after last night (and other losses) demonstrates your hollow nature as a Pool fan.
 
Hard to understand why most of you are happy with 15th place and being just 3 points above the relegation places. 7 defeats in 13 league games. Just one good result at P'boro. If you're enjoying the season so far then you're easily pleased. I seem to be one of the few who are not happy with Critchley and his players. Games coming up against Portsmouth, Fleetwood, Accrington, Hull and Sunderland...sink or swim time?
 
TimperleyTangerine said:
You seem to miss the point, that you are generally in a minority of one on this forum. It is though becoming quite amusing, so thanks for continuing to give us a laugh.

As for your praise after Peterborough, the volume of traffic from you after last night (and other losses) demonstrates your hollow nature as a Pool fan.
Click to expand...
You'll be pleased that I shall continue to both amuse and annoy you and others for the rest of the season.
 
Seasidesupporter said:
I agree with much of what he says but I would add that I think tactically we could have changed second half as they seem to have pushed further up and had a extra man in midfield which caused us problems
Click to expand...
Co-commentator mentioned their extra man in midfield could cause us problems in the first few mins of the game. First half they fannied about and didn't take that advantage, plus we pressed them well. Their sub fixed their problem and we started to tire, especially Dougall. NC waited far to long to make his subs, and why 4 at once?
 
Perceptions gentlemen, it’s all about how we perceive it. That’s what makes football the greatest sport on the globe. Do we really need to be so bothered because someone else sees things differently. Live and let live. We are all united by our support for the Tangerine Wizards. Happy Wednesday to you all 😎
 
GJJW said:
Judging by the last 6 games bar last night , yes. You didnt ask about that though did you? You said praise has been in shorr supply which simply isnt true.
Click to expand...
You're conveniently ignoring the first 7 games and that most of our wins have been against fellow strugglers!
 
Hold on...
Blackpool_Gaz said:
"We allowed them to do this through inactivity on the managements part."

I wonder if the outcome of the match would of been different if Calderwood was manager and Critchley number 2
Click to expand...

Hold on...now Critchley isn't listening to Calderwood enough?! But the past 5 victories have all been down to CC according to many on here?

I've said it before - it's Critchley's fault when we lose, credit to Calderwood when we win! You can't have it both ways.
 
Blackpool_Gaz said:
"We allowed them to do this through inactivity on the managements part."

I wonder if the outcome of the match would of been different if Calderwood was manager and Critchley number 2
Click to expand...
Who knows, but in all honesty Calderwood was on the bench as well last night so he has to take part of the wrap. Unless he did suggest something and was overridden. We ll never know though.
Nigel517 said:
Im getting fed up of these negative posts. Win or lose Im for the pool.
We were great in the first half.
As NC says the offside goal brought them back into the game and gave them momentum. As I see it a dubious penalty gave them the lead. Then I thought we dominated but didn't score and were not given a penalty when its an obvious hand ball. Im more frustrated with the ref than the team. With VAR we would have won.
We were the better team by far and Doncaster aren't a bad team especially at home and certainly no pushovers .
You dont always get the luck or refs decisions.
Frustrated by the outcome but not with the tem
UTMP !
Click to expand...
Football is a fluid game and some of us are making a valid point that we did not react to events in game, this has been a running theme throughout the season.

Donny did last night and won after a brilliant second half display. They changed tactics and were more effective in the middle. They could equally argue how our penalty was a soft one. We’d have been going crazy if that was given against us.
It’s not negative to point out consistent deficiencies in certain areas. That way we can see if there’s improvement or not.
 
Rektseasider said:
For me, blaming the ref is a bit of a cop out tonight. Didn’t look obviously offside but even if it was we didn’t deal with the second ball and Maxwell had no chance.

After that we folded, contrary to Critchs comments there, Donny were all over us possession wise and were the only team that looked like scoring. We allowed them to do this through inactivity on the managements part. No subs until the 81st minute meant the game had already gone away from us. So I believe him when he says he doesn’t know how we let three goals in. The worrying thing is we employ a head coach and assistants to identify in a game where we‘re going to concede and counter it. again I’m back to being baffled by what he sees on the pitch.

Having said all that the ref bottled it with the hand ball. Nailed on.

On to Harrogate, but the real test is the next six league games.
Click to expand...
I don’t think Donny were all over us, apart from the first 10 mins of the second half. Their first goal seemed offside, which gave them the impetus for a while, and then Husband was at fault for the second imho. We then started to get back into the game and created chances. We should have had a penalty at the end!
It was one of those nights when the officials were against us!
 
62years&counting said:
Loving it, you must be joking. I think a coach and his players can expect flak after last night's capitulation, and when after nearly a third of the season they're staring at the bottom 4. Praise has quite rightly been in short supply this season.
Click to expand...
I think you need to take your negative comments and shove it. Offer constructive criticism not just negative shite.
 
Rektseasider said:
Who knows, but in all honesty Calderwood was on the bench as well last night so he has to take part of the wrap. Unless he did suggest something and was overridden. We ll never know though.

Football is a fluid game and some of us are making a valid point that we did not react to events in game, this has been a running theme throughout the season.

Donny did last night and won after a brilliant second half display. They changed tactics and were more effective in the middle. They could equally argue how our penalty was a soft one. We’d have been going crazy if that was given against us.
It’s not negative to point out consistent deficiencies in certain areas. That way we can see if there’s improvement or not.
Click to expand...

Agree with that.
Hard to say if our penalty was a soft one or not really. I definitely thought it was soft at the time, but it’s hard to tell from that angle, and the ref would have had a very different view.
I thought Dougall was less effective last night and looked very tired. The midfield needed changing somehow before the damage was done really, but it probably happened too quickly to make that an easy decision.
 
SomersetSeasider said:
I don’t think Donny were all over us, apart from the first 10 mins of the second half. Their first goal seemed offside, which gave them the impetus for a while, and then Husband was at fault for the second imho. We then started to get back into the game and created chances. We should have had a penalty at the end!
It was one of those nights when the officials were against us!
Click to expand...
Sorry I just didn’t see it that way. We might have had a 5 minute spell where we kept the ball well but when we tried to play it forward we looked impotent again.

My point was that even if their first was off side in the first ten minutes of the second half you could see we were rocking badly. We did absolutely nothing until the 81st minute by which time we’d conceded three goals. That’s what annoyed me and then Critch saying he can’t see it worry’s me.

Granted we should have been awarded a penalty, but it should have never got to a stage where we were desperate for a last minute penalty to salvage a point.
 
glasshalffull said:
Agree with that.
Hard to say if our penalty was a soft one or not really. I definitely thought it was soft at the time, but it’s hard to tell from that angle, and the ref would have had a very different view.
I thought Dougall was less effective last night and looked very tired. The midfield needed changing somehow before the damage was done really, but it probably happened too quickly to make that an easy decision.
Click to expand...
Your last sentence is true, changes would have been hard especially straight after half time when you think Critch would have already had a plan in place.

But to wait until after 80 minutes and just hope that we don’t let any more in. Is unforgivable for me.
 
seasidepaddle said:
Hold on...


Hold on...now Critchley isn't listening to Calderwood enough?! But the past 5 victories have all been down to CC according to many on here?

I've said it before - it's Critchley's fault when we lose, credit to Calderwood when we win! You can't have it both ways.
Click to expand...
My thoughts too reading through the comments since I last read the thread last night.
 
My one criticism of N/C is staying too loyal to the players that win games and I would guess most on here would have had Ballard in from the start last night.
Big Marv's reactions for one goal and the pen were comparable to a turning oil tanker and although he has improved greatly recently I do think he needs resting.
I was screaming for a change after the first goal and N/C made a glaring error not changing things sooner(1st time I have had a go at him btw)and the management team as a whole are culpable as well as the players for that debacle last night.
 
For me it's not a cut and dried issue. 2-0 starting the second half Critchley wouldn't have expected or wanted to concede two early goals. But we did. But that doesn't mean that he should panic straight away into making changes. He has to let the game settle down again which is what he did. Maybe up til they got their third he was happy to take a point. But imo from about the 65th minute he should have been looking at ways to change it, to stop their impetus. So yep, leaving it til the 80th minute was too late. The horse had already bolted.
 
The truth is they fixed their first half problems over half time and we then gave them nothing to think about for most of the second. Having seen the change they made and the strength it brought to midfield, we did nothing to counter it and gave them nothing else to think about. We should have disrupted their second half plan by making our own changes earlier and then seeing what they’d got. With 5 subs available the game plan has so much more variety. We could have shored up for most of the early second half by the right subs and still have room for later changes to kill the game off if needed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top