Hi everyone, Lincoln supporter here; regular reader of Charlton Life, especially considering the Lincoln connections at Charlton right now.
I thought I would offer a few comments about Michael Appleton to begin with. The lengthy thread following his appointment was interesting for a number of reasons, so here are a few facts from our perspective.
Firstly, many supporters cite his early experiences at Blackpool, Blackburn and Portsmouth as examples of what a poor manager he is, but take a look at the state of each one of those clubs at the time he joined them: Oystons at Blackpool, Venkys at Blackburn, and pretty much no one at Portsmouth because of the crippling debts they had at the time. So why take a job with a basket case club? Appleton actually took jobs with not only one basket case, but three of them. He explains this as being too eager to make his mark as a manager, so he took anything that was going. He tells the story of receiving a telephone call from a certain Sir Alex Ferguson (his ex-manager at Manchester United) who asked him what the hell he thought he was doing accepting such jobs. Interesting! Perhaps we should discount them and start again with his appointment by Oxford, which was a much more sensible option.
Oxford supporters speak very highly of him for what he achieved there - a promotion followed by establishing the club in League One. Not only that, but he did it by playing good football and developing young players for sale. That is interesting too, and a real tick in the box.
When Lincoln appointed him, they wanted to change their business model from the buying club they had been under the Cowleys to a player development/selling club as per his achievements at Oxford. Having established himself at the club in the abandoned 2019-20 season and built his own squad, he took Lincoln to the League One play-off final in 2020-21, ironically losing to Blackpool. However, the same pattern emerged: many Lincoln fans say it was the best football they had witnessed from a Lincoln team in 40 years and saw the development of some very good young players (Brennan Johnson and Morgan Rogers, for example). They only failed to win automatic promotion that season due to a chronic injury crisis, symptomatic of a small squad built on a small budget. Let's have a look at Appleton's factual achievements at Lincoln:
** Club record for goals scored in cup matches in a season
(30) in 2020-21
** Club record away win in the League Cup (5-0 v Bradford
City, 15/9/2020); it also equals the club record win in the League Cup home or
away
** Joint club record for league wins from the start of a
season (4 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record win in the Football League Trophy (4-0
v Accrington Stanley, 12/1/2021)
** Joint club record for away league
wins in a season (13 in 2020-21)
** Club record for away wins in a Football
League season (13 in 2020-21)
** Club record for successive away league wins in one
season (6 in 2020-21)
** Club record for points away
from home in a season (45 in 2020-21)
** Club record for points away
from home in a Football League season (45 in 2020-21)
** Highest league placing for 39
years (5th in the third tier)
** Best away record in League One
in 2020-21 (P23 W13 D6 L4 F34 A20 Pts45)
** Remained in the top six in
League One for the entire 2020-21 season on a bottom ten budget
** First ever appearance in the play-offs in the third tier
(2020-21)
** First ever appearance in the play-off final in the third
tier (2020-21)
** 100 goals in a season in all
competitions for the 11th time in the club’s history (103 in
2020-21)
** Club record for away goals in
all competitions in a season (52 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record for the
number of games played in a season (61 in 2020-21)
I may be biased, but that is quietly impressive.
Things went catastrophically wrong at this point. Shortly after the play-off final in May 2021, Appleton was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was away from the club following an operation and recuperation. Unfortunately, recruitment that summer was poor in his absence and performances and results fell off a cliff in 2021-22. Shortly before the end of that season, it was mutually decided that MA and Lincoln City should go their separate ways. A sad end to a partnership that had promised so much.
Appleton then ended up back at Blackpool. Why did he go there? Because he felt he had unfinished business, but he inherited a poor squad and a budget to match, and things ended in disarray again.
And now Charlton. I was surprised to see Appleton get the job, partly because Jim Rodwell is a Lincoln man with a high opinion of the Cowleys. However, it is interesting that Tayo Edun and Conor McGrandles are at The Valley - they were two of the outstanding performers in Appleton's Lincoln team and I am sure he will see them as cornerstones of whatever he has planned. If those two can replicate their Lincoln form, Charlton will be dangerous.
Try to give him time and some respect. In my opinion, Appleton has had three real managerial jobs in his career and the supporters of two of those clubs say he played the best football they had seen for years. Provided stability has finally returned to SE7, things could get interesting.
Hi everyone, Lincoln supporter here; regular reader of Charlton Life, especially considering the Lincoln connections at Charlton right now.
I thought I would offer a few comments about Michael Appleton to begin with. The lengthy thread following his appointment was interesting for a number of reasons, so here are a few facts from our perspective.
Firstly, many supporters cite his early experiences at Blackpool, Blackburn and Portsmouth as examples of what a poor manager he is, but take a look at the state of each one of those clubs at the time he joined them: Oystons at Blackpool, Venkys at Blackburn, and pretty much no one at Portsmouth because of the crippling debts they had at the time. So why take a job with a basket case club? Appleton actually took jobs with not only one basket case, but three of them. He explains this as being too eager to make his mark as a manager, so he took anything that was going. He tells the story of receiving a telephone call from a certain Sir Alex Ferguson (his ex-manager at Manchester United) who asked him what the hell he thought he was doing accepting such jobs. Interesting! Perhaps we should discount them and start again with his appointment by Oxford, which was a much more sensible option.
Oxford supporters speak very highly of him for what he achieved there - a promotion followed by establishing the club in League One. Not only that, but he did it by playing good football and developing young players for sale. That is interesting too, and a real tick in the box.
When Lincoln appointed him, they wanted to change their business model from the buying club they had been under the Cowleys to a player development/selling club as per his achievements at Oxford. Having established himself at the club in the abandoned 2019-20 season and built his own squad, he took Lincoln to the League One play-off final in 2020-21, ironically losing to Blackpool. However, the same pattern emerged: many Lincoln fans say it was the best football they had witnessed from a Lincoln team in 40 years and saw the development of some very good young players (Brennan Johnson and Morgan Rogers, for example). They only failed to win automatic promotion that season due to a chronic injury crisis, symptomatic of a small squad built on a small budget. Let's have a look at Appleton's factual achievements at Lincoln:
** Club record for goals scored in cup matches in a season
(30) in 2020-21
** Club record away win in the League Cup (5-0 v Bradford
City, 15/9/2020); it also equals the club record win in the League Cup home or
away
** Joint club record for league wins from the start of a
season (4 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record win in the Football League Trophy (4-0
v Accrington Stanley, 12/1/2021)
** Joint club record for away league
wins in a season (13 in 2020-21)
** Club record for away wins in a Football
League season (13 in 2020-21)
** Club record for successive away league wins in one
season (6 in 2020-21)
** Club record for points away
from home in a season (45 in 2020-21)
** Club record for points away
from home in a Football League season (45 in 2020-21)
** Highest league placing for 39
years (5th in the third tier)
** Best away record in League One
in 2020-21 (P23 W13 D6 L4 F34 A20 Pts45)
** Remained in the top six in
League One for the entire 2020-21 season on a bottom ten budget
** First ever appearance in the play-offs in the third tier
(2020-21)
** First ever appearance in the play-off final in the third
tier (2020-21)
** 100 goals in a season in all
competitions for the 11th time in the club’s history (103 in
2020-21)
** Club record for away goals in
all competitions in a season (52 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record for the
number of games played in a season (61 in 2020-21)
I may be biased, but that is quietly impressive.
Things went catastrophically wrong at this point. Shortly after the play-off final in May 2021, Appleton was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was away from the club following an operation and recuperation. Unfortunately, recruitment that summer was poor in his absence and performances and results fell off a cliff in 2021-22. Shortly before the end of that season, it was mutually decided that MA and Lincoln City should go their separate ways. A sad end to a partnership that had promised so much.
Appleton then ended up back at Blackpool. Why did he go there? Because he felt he had unfinished business, but he inherited a poor squad and a budget to match, and things ended in disarray again.
And now Charlton. I was surprised to see Appleton get the job, partly because Jim Rodwell is a Lincoln man with a high opinion of the Cowleys. However, it is interesting that Tayo Edun and Conor McGrandles are at The Valley - they were two of the outstanding performers in Appleton's Lincoln team and I am sure he will see them as cornerstones of whatever he has planned. If those two can replicate their Lincoln form, Charlton will be dangerous.
Try to give him time and some respect. In my opinion, Appleton has had three real managerial jobs in his career and the supporters of two of those clubs say he played the best football they had seen for years. Provided stability has finally returned to SE7, things could get interesting.
Hi everyone, Lincoln supporter here; regular reader of Charlton Life, especially considering the Lincoln connections at Charlton right now.
I thought I would offer a few comments about Michael Appleton to begin with. The lengthy thread following his appointment was interesting for a number of reasons, so here are a few facts from our perspective.
Firstly, many supporters cite his early experiences at Blackpool, Blackburn and Portsmouth as examples of what a poor manager he is, but take a look at the state of each one of those clubs at the time he joined them: Oystons at Blackpool, Venkys at Blackburn, and pretty much no one at Portsmouth because of the crippling debts they had at the time. So why take a job with a basket case club? Appleton actually took jobs with not only one basket case, but three of them. He explains this as being too eager to make his mark as a manager, so he took anything that was going. He tells the story of receiving a telephone call from a certain Sir Alex Ferguson (his ex-manager at Manchester United) who asked him what the hell he thought he was doing accepting such jobs. Interesting! Perhaps we should discount them and start again with his appointment by Oxford, which was a much more sensible option.
Oxford supporters speak very highly of him for what he achieved there - a promotion followed by establishing the club in League One. Not only that, but he did it by playing good football and developing young players for sale. That is interesting too, and a real tick in the box.
When Lincoln appointed him, they wanted to change their business model from the buying club they had been under the Cowleys to a player development/selling club as per his achievements at Oxford. Having established himself at the club in the abandoned 2019-20 season and built his own squad, he took Lincoln to the League One play-off final in 2020-21, ironically losing to Blackpool. However, the same pattern emerged: many Lincoln fans say it was the best football they had witnessed from a Lincoln team in 40 years and saw the development of some very good young players (Brennan Johnson and Morgan Rogers, for example). They only failed to win automatic promotion that season due to a chronic injury crisis, symptomatic of a small squad built on a small budget. Let's have a look at Appleton's factual achievements at Lincoln:
** Club record for goals scored in cup matches in a season
(30) in 2020-21
** Club record away win in the League Cup (5-0 v Bradford
City, 15/9/2020); it also equals the club record win in the League Cup home or
away
** Joint club record for league wins from the start of a
season (4 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record win in the Football League Trophy (4-0
v Accrington Stanley, 12/1/2021)
** Joint club record for away league
wins in a season (13 in 2020-21)
** Club record for away wins in a Football
League season (13 in 2020-21)
** Club record for successive away league wins in one
season (6 in 2020-21)
** Club record for points away
from home in a season (45 in 2020-21)
** Club record for points away
from home in a Football League season (45 in 2020-21)
** Highest league placing for 39
years (5th in the third tier)
** Best away record in League One
in 2020-21 (P23 W13 D6 L4 F34 A20 Pts45)
** Remained in the top six in
League One for the entire 2020-21 season on a bottom ten budget
** First ever appearance in the play-offs in the third tier
(2020-21)
** First ever appearance in the play-off final in the third
tier (2020-21)
** 100 goals in a season in all
competitions for the 11th time in the club’s history (103 in
2020-21)
** Club record for away goals in
all competitions in a season (52 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record for the
number of games played in a season (61 in 2020-21)
I may be biased, but that is quietly impressive.
Things went catastrophically wrong at this point. Shortly after the play-off final in May 2021, Appleton was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was away from the club following an operation and recuperation. Unfortunately, recruitment that summer was poor in his absence and performances and results fell off a cliff in 2021-22. Shortly before the end of that season, it was mutually decided that MA and Lincoln City should go their separate ways. A sad end to a partnership that had promised so much.
Appleton then ended up back at Blackpool. Why did he go there? Because he felt he had unfinished business, but he inherited a poor squad and a budget to match, and things ended in disarray again.
And now Charlton. I was surprised to see Appleton get the job, partly because Jim Rodwell is a Lincoln man with a high opinion of the Cowleys. However, it is interesting that Tayo Edun and Conor McGrandles are at The Valley - they were two of the outstanding performers in Appleton's Lincoln team and I am sure he will see them as cornerstones of whatever he has planned. If those two can replicate their Lincoln form, Charlton will be dangerous.
Try to give him time and some respect. In my opinion, Appleton has had three real managerial jobs in his career and the supporters of two of those clubs say he played the best football they had seen for years. Provided stability has finally returned to SE7, things could get interesting.
All the best.
Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. Let’s hope he gets it right here.
What a great post, thanks @NorthernLights . You apologise for perhaps being “biased” but you’ve crammed more solid facts into your one post than we all collectively managed about MA for about two weeks after he’d arrived. Mainly built around a 3 year running meme gag.
The one thing most people would baulk at in your post is re McGrandalls. Somehow he hasn’t performed for us at all. He apparently did very well for Cambridge on loan last season, yet didn’t impress in pre-season and MA has not even had him on the bench so far. It’s an odd one.
Can I ask you something else? Do you guys believe you get a lot of injuries. We think our injury rate is terrible , and a lot seem to happen on the training ground (Edun is the latest) but we don’t have any benchmarks from other clubs.
Hi everyone, Lincoln supporter here; regular reader of Charlton Life, especially considering the Lincoln connections at Charlton right now.
I thought I would offer a few comments about Michael Appleton to begin with. The lengthy thread following his appointment was interesting for a number of reasons, so here are a few facts from our perspective.
Firstly, many supporters cite his early experiences at Blackpool, Blackburn and Portsmouth as examples of what a poor manager he is, but take a look at the state of each one of those clubs at the time he joined them: Oystons at Blackpool, Venkys at Blackburn, and pretty much no one at Portsmouth because of the crippling debts they had at the time. So why take a job with a basket case club? Appleton actually took jobs with not only one basket case, but three of them. He explains this as being too eager to make his mark as a manager, so he took anything that was going. He tells the story of receiving a telephone call from a certain Sir Alex Ferguson (his ex-manager at Manchester United) who asked him what the hell he thought he was doing accepting such jobs. Interesting! Perhaps we should discount them and start again with his appointment by Oxford, which was a much more sensible option.
Oxford supporters speak very highly of him for what he achieved there - a promotion followed by establishing the club in League One. Not only that, but he did it by playing good football and developing young players for sale. That is interesting too, and a real tick in the box.
When Lincoln appointed him, they wanted to change their business model from the buying club they had been under the Cowleys to a player development/selling club as per his achievements at Oxford. Having established himself at the club in the abandoned 2019-20 season and built his own squad, he took Lincoln to the League One play-off final in 2020-21, ironically losing to Blackpool. However, the same pattern emerged: many Lincoln fans say it was the best football they had witnessed from a Lincoln team in 40 years and saw the development of some very good young players (Brennan Johnson and Morgan Rogers, for example). They only failed to win automatic promotion that season due to a chronic injury crisis, symptomatic of a small squad built on a small budget. Let's have a look at Appleton's factual achievements at Lincoln:
** Club record for goals scored in cup matches in a season
(30) in 2020-21
** Club record away win in the League Cup (5-0 v Bradford
City, 15/9/2020); it also equals the club record win in the League Cup home or
away
** Joint club record for league wins from the start of a
season (4 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record win in the Football League Trophy (4-0
v Accrington Stanley, 12/1/2021)
** Joint club record for away league
wins in a season (13 in 2020-21)
** Club record for away wins in a Football
League season (13 in 2020-21)
** Club record for successive away league wins in one
season (6 in 2020-21)
** Club record for points away
from home in a season (45 in 2020-21)
** Club record for points away
from home in a Football League season (45 in 2020-21)
** Highest league placing for 39
years (5th in the third tier)
** Best away record in League One
in 2020-21 (P23 W13 D6 L4 F34 A20 Pts45)
** Remained in the top six in
League One for the entire 2020-21 season on a bottom ten budget
** First ever appearance in the play-offs in the third tier
(2020-21)
** First ever appearance in the play-off final in the third
tier (2020-21)
** 100 goals in a season in all
competitions for the 11th time in the club’s history (103 in
2020-21)
** Club record for away goals in
all competitions in a season (52 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record for the
number of games played in a season (61 in 2020-21)
I may be biased, but that is quietly impressive.
Things went catastrophically wrong at this point. Shortly after the play-off final in May 2021, Appleton was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was away from the club following an operation and recuperation. Unfortunately, recruitment that summer was poor in his absence and performances and results fell off a cliff in 2021-22. Shortly before the end of that season, it was mutually decided that MA and Lincoln City should go their separate ways. A sad end to a partnership that had promised so much.
Appleton then ended up back at Blackpool. Why did he go there? Because he felt he had unfinished business, but he inherited a poor squad and a budget to match, and things ended in disarray again.
And now Charlton. I was surprised to see Appleton get the job, partly because Jim Rodwell is a Lincoln man with a high opinion of the Cowleys. However, it is interesting that Tayo Edun and Conor McGrandles are at The Valley - they were two of the outstanding performers in Appleton's Lincoln team and I am sure he will see them as cornerstones of whatever he has planned. If those two can replicate their Lincoln form, Charlton will be dangerous.
Try to give him time and some respect. In my opinion, Appleton has had three real managerial jobs in his career and the supporters of two of those clubs say he played the best football they had seen for years. Provided stability has finally returned to SE7, things could get interesting.
All the best.
Yeah but he is shit, boring, uninspiring and a cheap yes man, because a load of lazy uninformed people on the Internet said so!
I even saw someone slagging him off for winning the Denzil Haroun trophy as a player without having a clue what it was.
Fantastic post and the point of only having 3 proper jobs is one is such a good one. He did a really good job at Lincoln and Oxford.
I think if he is properly backed and given time he will do a good job here.
I’m certainly getting won over right now with the MA appointment & all the stuff in the background from AS & JR…I know it’s words at this time but I do think in time they will get this right…it has got to happen sometime & I for one will be giving them that time to take us where we need to be…
I’m certainly getting won over right now with the MA appointment & all the stuff in the background from AS & JR…I know it’s words at this time but I do think in time they will get this right…it has got to happen sometime & I for one will be giving them that time to take us where we need to be…
Cmon U Addicks,Onwards & Upwards…🤞🏻
There's certainly a lot more common-sense football people at the club than when Martin Sandgaard was running the show.
Can I ask you something else? Do you guys believe you get a lot of injuries. We think our injury rate is terrible , and a lot seem to happen on the training ground (Edun is the latest) but we don’t have any benchmarks from other clubs.
cheers!
Yes, we do feel we get a lot of injuries - interestingly, many do seem to come from the training ground. We are currently missing both main strikers on a long-term basis (Ben House and Tyler Walker) and the likes of vice captain Adam Jackson and the excellent Danny Mandroiu are also missing regularly. But here's the thing: we had similar problems under Appleton. I maintain we would have gone up automatically in 2020-21 had it not been for that injury crisis - for example, Liam Bridcutt was an outstanding player for League One but was never fit, and central defender Joe Walsh similarly. Top scorer Anthony Scully, now at Portsmouth, also had problems.
So, is it something to do with the quality of the pitches nowadays? Or their construction, perhaps? Is the modern hybrid grass a problem? Lincoln have the same pitches at their training ground as they have at Sincil Bank, and it does make me wonder whether there may be something in that.
I think nowadays many footballers have to be fitter to the point where they are closer to the edge of fitness/injuries. A lot of the better League One players have fitness issues which is why they are in League One. In days gone by, players could play more within the constraints of their bodies to a greater extent. So whilst there was always the danger of impact injuries, there was a lesser risk of muscle injuries and pulls. That's what it feels like anyway.
Why can’t he get a team playing well until the 60th minute then?
Unless he tells the players to play utter shite during the first half of every game there is little sign that they are listening to him just yet.
He made the point that you can be set up wrong, which was the case on Saturday with two defensive mids and a big gap to the front four, and when that happens it is his fault. Let us see if he learns from that tomorrow.
I think there’s an element of trying to win games from the bench. We have two big direct attacking options to come on and if pace doesn’t hurt them then we can change it up. The biggest thing is that it looks like we are much more reliable defensively.
I’m not sure he’s actually fixed any of our problems yet, but he does appear to at least understand what they are. I don’t expect him to have fixed anything yet either, it’s still early days. I do hope we’re going to start seeing performances improve though. A controlled performance at home tomorrow against a decent team, one where we play well and consistently over the whole 90 minutes, would be a great start.
@ValleyGary that we look more reliable defensively either. I think Jones has been improving individually but we’re still giving ip too many good chances per match. I’m sure it will get better though as the back 4 settles and plays more matches together.
I’m not sure he’s actually fixed any of our problems yet, but he does appear to at least understand what they are. I don’t expect him to have fixed anything yet either, it’s still early days. I do hope we’re going to start seeing performances improve though. A controlled performance at home tomorrow against a decent team, one where we play well and consistently over the whole 90 minutes, would be a great start.
@ValleyGary that we look more reliable defensively either. I think Jones has been improving individually but we’re still giving ip too many good chances per match. I’m sure it will get better though as the back 4 settles and plays more matches together.
Yeah it will take time but I take confidence from the improvement of Jones, Isted and realising Watson is our best RB option. I think we’ve cut out more mistakes by just being actual defenders. The main encouragement as I said, has been the change off the bench. So far he’s got it majority spot on which has been a massive problem with previous.
Comments
I thought I would offer a few comments about Michael Appleton to begin with. The lengthy thread following his appointment was interesting for a number of reasons, so here are a few facts from our perspective.
Firstly, many supporters cite his early experiences at Blackpool, Blackburn and Portsmouth as examples of what a poor manager he is, but take a look at the state of each one of those clubs at the time he joined them: Oystons at Blackpool, Venkys at Blackburn, and pretty much no one at Portsmouth because of the crippling debts they had at the time. So why take a job with a basket case club? Appleton actually took jobs with not only one basket case, but three of them. He explains this as being too eager to make his mark as a manager, so he took anything that was going. He tells the story of receiving a telephone call from a certain Sir Alex Ferguson (his ex-manager at Manchester United) who asked him what the hell he thought he was doing accepting such jobs. Interesting! Perhaps we should discount them and start again with his appointment by Oxford, which was a much more sensible option.
Oxford supporters speak very highly of him for what he achieved there - a promotion followed by establishing the club in League One. Not only that, but he did it by playing good football and developing young players for sale. That is interesting too, and a real tick in the box.
When Lincoln appointed him, they wanted to change their business model from the buying club they had been under the Cowleys to a player development/selling club as per his achievements at Oxford. Having established himself at the club in the abandoned 2019-20 season and built his own squad, he took Lincoln to the League One play-off final in 2020-21, ironically losing to Blackpool. However, the same pattern emerged: many Lincoln fans say it was the best football they had witnessed from a Lincoln team in 40 years and saw the development of some very good young players (Brennan Johnson and Morgan Rogers, for example). They only failed to win automatic promotion that season due to a chronic injury crisis, symptomatic of a small squad built on a small budget. Let's have a look at Appleton's factual achievements at Lincoln:
** Club record for goals scored in cup matches in a season (30) in 2020-21
** Club record away win in the League Cup (5-0 v Bradford City, 15/9/2020); it also equals the club record win in the League Cup home or away
** Joint club record for league wins from the start of a season (4 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record win in the Football League Trophy (4-0 v Accrington Stanley, 12/1/2021)
** Joint club record for away league wins in a season (13 in 2020-21)
** Club record for away wins in a Football League season (13 in 2020-21)
** Club record for successive away league wins in one season (6 in 2020-21)
** Club record for points away from home in a season (45 in 2020-21)
** Club record for points away from home in a Football League season (45 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record for fewest away defeats in a Football League season (4 in 2020-21)
** Highest league placing for 39 years (5th in the third tier)
** Best away record in League One in 2020-21 (P23 W13 D6 L4 F34 A20 Pts45)
** Remained in the top six in League One for the entire 2020-21 season on a bottom ten budget
** First ever appearance in the play-offs in the third tier (2020-21)
** First ever appearance in the play-off final in the third tier (2020-21)
** 100 goals in a season in all competitions for the 11th time in the club’s history (103 in 2020-21)
** Club record for away goals in all competitions in a season (52 in 2020-21)
** Joint club record for the number of games played in a season (61 in 2020-21)
I may be biased, but that is quietly impressive.Things went catastrophically wrong at this point. Shortly after the play-off final in May 2021, Appleton was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was away from the club following an operation and recuperation. Unfortunately, recruitment that summer was poor in his absence and performances and results fell off a cliff in 2021-22. Shortly before the end of that season, it was mutually decided that MA and Lincoln City should go their separate ways. A sad end to a partnership that had promised so much.
Appleton then ended up back at Blackpool. Why did he go there? Because he felt he had unfinished business, but he inherited a poor squad and a budget to match, and things ended in disarray again.
And now Charlton. I was surprised to see Appleton get the job, partly because Jim Rodwell is a Lincoln man with a high opinion of the Cowleys. However, it is interesting that Tayo Edun and Conor McGrandles are at The Valley - they were two of the outstanding performers in Appleton's Lincoln team and I am sure he will see them as cornerstones of whatever he has planned. If those two can replicate their Lincoln form, Charlton will be dangerous.
Try to give him time and some respect. In my opinion, Appleton has had three real managerial jobs in his career and the supporters of two of those clubs say he played the best football they had seen for years. Provided stability has finally returned to SE7, things could get interesting.
All the best.
The one thing most people would baulk at in your post is re McGrandalls. Somehow he hasn’t performed for us at all. He apparently did very well for Cambridge on loan last season, yet didn’t impress in pre-season and MA has not even had him on the bench so far. It’s an odd one.
cheers!
I even saw someone slagging him off for winning the Denzil Haroun trophy as a player without having a clue what it was.
Fantastic post and the point of only having 3 proper jobs is one is such a good one. He did a really good job at Lincoln and Oxford.
I think if he is properly backed and given time he will do a good job here.
So, is it something to do with the quality of the pitches nowadays? Or their construction, perhaps? Is the modern hybrid grass a problem? Lincoln have the same pitches at their training ground as they have at Sincil Bank, and it does make me wonder whether there may be something in that.
What do you all think?
Unless he tells the players to play utter shite during the first half of every game there is little sign that they are listening to him just yet.