Our manager.

[macfleetwood1]

SC said at the time ,"we have the best manager in the league", I wonder if his opinion is still the same? Our 1st game against Warrington we were good, but was it a false dawn? I think we are looking at a mid table team, our most creative player IMO is Tom Hughes, for some reason a late sub almost every game when we need something different to kicking it anywhere. Is he the best manager? Every home game 1000 plus, we deserve better. Full time? Hardly!   Comments please?   

[Pink]

The NLN is full of teams with really experienced pros who know how to win games at this level ...and naturally many are based up north. Not easy to acquire said players....and they cost. When you look at most of the additions during the Summer they are individuals who show great promise, but are still young and learning the league and learning to play with other. I think they will get stronger as time goes on, but believe we will need additions to be strong play off contenders.

I think it's only natural that AL iand SW are learning too as time goes on... it's a big jump from building a team on a relative shoe string, to running a full time outfit at a new club in a new area woth a new Chairman. The expectation now is promotion and that brings new pressures and questions....looking to win most games rather than not getting beaten.

In all fairness I don't think it's possible to assess AL and SW till the end of the season

[Mallard]

I rate the guy.   It was only SC biging  him up as the top Manager in the League.  We all know the Chairman’s words should always be taken with a pinch of  salt.  I seem to recall Cully, Widdler were at one time the greatest thing since sliced bread, that was until they left.  He even made big claims about Clark and indeed Hughes.

Lakeland has big boots to fill at this level following on from both Cully and Widdler.  If he gets us to the play offs then he’s had a good season.  Mid table, then to my mind he’s done ok.  Anything less, then oh dear !!

What do others think ?

[Blue_and_Gold]

I rate the guy.   It was only SC biging  him as the top Manager in the League.  We all know the Chairman’s words should always be taken with a pinch of assault.  I see to recall Cully, Widdler were at one time the greatest thing since sliced bread, that was until they left.  He even made big claims about Clark and indeed Hughes.

Lakeland has big boots to fill at this level following on from both Cully and Widdler.  If he gets us to the play offs then he’s had a good season.  Mid table, then to my mind he’s done ok.  Anything less, then oh dear !!

What do others think ?

AL has got quite a lot to live up to. Both Cully and TW took the Club on decent Cup runs as well as being successful in the league.

No reason he shouldn't be able to at least match this, or even better it.

[A Well Wisher]

Like him or not but without Adam Lakeland (and Sam Walker) we'd have been relegated last season - no doubt in my mind. Some, both on here and on other platforms, would do well to remember that.

I think at worst, we'll end up comfortably in mid table, at best we'll just about sneak into the play-offs. Plenty of football to be played and as Kidderminster and Boston have shown the previous two seasons you can be doing nothing in mid table and then all of a sudden go on a run, get into the play-offs and win the play-offs.

Let's remember this time last season we had 8 points and had just witnessed a miserable 4-1 defeat against Southport where the squad just looked totally uninterested. The same cannot be said for this current squad this season. We've had a few early bumps in the road but we surely can't judge AL purely on those results. We need to look at the bigger picture as it currently stands. 

[Mallard]

Don’t think any fan could dislike Adam Lakeland.  Comes across as a likeable guy.  As for relegation it would have been a given had the Club stuck with Mark Hughes.  Let’s just remember who employed him and thought we could survive at Step 2 on a very much reduced budget.  Valuable lesson there for the Chairman.

AL has put together his own squad this time and has been given all the advantages that Joe’s money will provide.   Being given the title of the best Manager in this League, raised the bar amongst the fan base.  So to see back to back home defeats doesn’t really fit that narrative.  Especially when one was against local side Sports.

One of the key points for me, is the increase in the numbers coming through the gate.  That says the fans are buying into Lakeland.  Now he has to deliver to keep the faithful onside.

[Blue_and_Gold]

Like him or not but without Adam Lakeland (and Sam Walker) we'd have been relegated last season - no doubt in my mind.

Surely that was more down to Joe's investment coming just in the Nick of time?   

It's a results led business. Simple as that.

If the results are not as expected, you get impatient supporters and more importantly, impatient Chairman (and maybe in our case, an impatient investor).

Nothing new there, except that Managers seem to get replaced far more quickly these days than in years gone by. They rarely get enough time to prove what they can do long term for the Club. And that's down to the demands on them to deliver the goods from day one!

Of course none of us know if Joe is chewing Cleeve's ear off, or if he thinks he's getting value or money or not. We don't know if AL is under any pressure or is being left alone to get on with the job.

I don't know what other Social Media platforms are saying, but I've not seen anything on here that even hints that people don't like Lakeland or Walker or have any real concern about their ability to deliver whats being asked of them. One or two may have an opinion about certain aspects of the games so far, but that's football and not criticism. You get that everywhere and after every game..........Non- league, Football League, Championship or Premiership. Social Media postings is just modern day "terrace talk".

[rod]

Aside from his managerial abilities, Adam's commitment and stamina are beyond question, as according to Mr Cleeve he is up at 4.00 am most mornings to drive down to Ely.

[Blue_and_Gold]

Aside from his managerial abilities, Adam's commitment and stamina are beyond question, as according to Mr Cleeve he is up at 4.00 am most mornings to drive down to Ely.

He's a young man, so will be able to cope with it. Easy enough to do when you are young.

When I was young, I was always up at the crack of Dawn!