Too many players have failed to fulfil even modest potential under so many of our managers. There's a fundemental lack of assimilating players through to the first team that is a scandalous embarrassment for a club of our size. Despite the tweetings and bleatings of TF that youth will be given a chance and building from a youth set-up very little has actually been achieved and our youth team is still along way off producing the type of players who will become Championship-quality players. Don't be fooled by one spectacular debut of a player who was not even 1st choice in the youth set-up most of the time he's been with us, we are a long way from having players that will either fit in or be given a fair chance, all the players just mentioned on this thread won't be regulars in the next two seasons unless we're relegated and even then I'd be surprised if it's more than a couple of them. On the subject of Ollie, Burton will be a real test and if we lose it may be that TF will once again panic and the knee-jerk will see the same old same old as the previous two seasons. As for a replacement Warburton is available but perhaps we should look at a manager who has taken a side from the bottom of League One to the promotion places in less than a year on a shoestring and yesterday gave West Ham a run for their money playing some decent football, Paul Hurst has transformed Shrewsbury and his knowledge of lower league players would also be an advantage. He is the sort of manager we should be looking at with a track record of improving teams rather than some of the ill-thought out appointments we seem so good at making...
Seems to me Ollie is giving games to more young players than his predecessors. Who? Chair, Smyth, Oteh and Eze (recalled from loan) in just the last few weeks, and they weren't just dropped. Smyth and Oteh played when Washington and Sylla were fit I understand , Sylla given leave to visit his sick daughter. Chair was preferred to Manning who got a number of games under Ollie, but both these 2 are competing against the 3 regulars in midfield who until recently at least were widely seen as the best functioning part of the team. Ollie doesn't use backs and this makes it difficult for Furlong, who has been injured as well I believe. Hard to know if more deserve a chance when I never see them in action. But from what we see of the kids who play they do OK, but I see why they haven't been used such a lot yet at this level - hopefully 1 or 2 will do so well they stay in and around the 1st team. Smyth certainly made a great start.
Agree, nice well-balanced post Sooper. Some think I just want to sack the manager if they lose 3 games in a row, that is not the case, I would have loved it to work for JFH/Benny/Hollow but sadly there was always something missing. On Hollow, I think he is on borrowed time. If we lose to Burton as we did under JFH(?) even the hardest of the Holloway fan club must question his future. We are simply not improving under Ollie. Some say he brings passion to the club but he also brings a crap record. Posters keep saying this is a good team and we have a great midfield? in that case, why do they then say "who would want to come to us"? Plenty of managers out there that would take up the challenge. Probably agree that maybe sacking Hollow now is a bad move, unless of course results become worse.
Reminds me of an old u18 manager I played under. Knew **** all but could motivate. He didn't last long either
I could do that......shout and swear a bit, shout ‘come on, we can do this’, get everyone in a huddle.....but I haven’t got a clue about tactics.....but then again, neither has Ian
That was from 2004 and a lot has happened since then. For me, I would prefer a calm educated tactician than a rambling carrot cruncher.
I think it’s down to lack of decent strikers and truly creative players, wrong formation and tactics. Players can’t be accused of not trying. We are not creating enough chances and we can’t score when we do. Rather depressing.
