PH were supposed to be after PH too. I guess he has a good agent! We won’t find a manager to take us up from the minor leagues of Europe.. No idea who McCartney is.
So reading between the lines of what you've said there Doc, PH record with us is equivalent to Don's first few games in charge of us. Whilst I'm no where near saying that our present manager is the new Don, I'm just thankful that neither the internet nor this forum were around in the early 60s, as I can imagine all the posts saying why have we appointed such an inexperienced manager, why didn't we appoint so and so etc, the team is crap and DR doesn't have a clue, were bound to be relegated. When it comes to our club I am a pessimist, and have been since I started supporting them in the early 70s. I always expect us to concede and I never expect us to score, this attitude kept me sane during the early 80s. The problem we have at present is that we keep changing the club's structure with each new owner and thus any positive progress is slow, which unfortunately due to the club having been crap for the past 15 years means that any new owner or manager is immediately jumped on when things go wrong, no-one has any patience, using the excuse that we've been patient for the past xxx years. Well this is how it's going to be with any normal owner, to expect an owner to turn this club around in under 12 months means we need someone who can just throw hundreds of millions of pounds at the club which realistically ain't going to happen. As for Radz I'm in agreement with Ristac, in that I can see him as a further step forward, he's going to to make mistakes which will test our patience, however I also agree with Glory that the priority should have been using whatever funds to improve the first team squad.
Aski I'm also a Radz fan and have said many times that he will be fuming at whats happened. It happened because he doesn't know the football business, and has relied on advice from people like Kenny Dagliesh, Cellino, someone who told him about Orta and of course Kinnear. To admit that he got it wrong twice on the manager is something I cant see him doing. So either he has to stick with PH and get give Orta a new role, or he sticks with him and gets rid of around 8 first team players at a big loss. I want any manager we have to be at the club for years, because thats exactly what this club needs, but this season has been a huge failure. Radz said the aim was to get promotion by the end of next season, with top 6 a must for this season. That part has been blown apart and without radical change in manager or playing staff next seasons gone too. many of these players cannot do what PH wants them to do, so who will go? The one really interesting thing that PH said was a few weeks ago. He said the squad was full of fast attacking players, but no spine for defending. Many players cannot do both so cannot defend........ Orta and Tommy got a certain type of player but that leaves no plan B
Forshaw, Vieira, Phillips, O’Kane I wouldn’t call those fast attacking. We have a lot of choice in that (defence minded) department. PH said he enjoys being on the training ground coaching the players, he doesn’t like the “other side” of things. What I don’t understand is what is he actually doing as most the players look worse. We have had a lot of managers in the past who have brought the best out of average looking players, Doukara being the prime example but under PH I can’t say anyone has actually improved, our set pieces are getting worse and worse, last season we scored a lot from corners, now we just concede from them. I agree it’s a very tricky situation for Rads now, I’d swallow my pride, get shot of PH and Orta, get in a quality guy and give him the end of the season to evaluate what we need and who needs moving on. Give the likes of Pontus and Saiz some hope that things are going to improve and cross my fingers they don’t put in a transfer request.
Ristac my issue with PH is that from a bad to average side he has taken them to a bad to very bad side. Players like Saiz, Pontus, Berardi are struggling and Forshaw battles away on his own. Lassoga not used properly when he plays but now Ekuban looks like he has also gone backwards because he will never score. LDB worse, Pennington worse, Cooper worse, Anita worse, Sacko same, Dallas, Phillips, Viera and O'kane all worse, Roofe worse, Alioski in and out. So no he has done nothing but made a bad situation very bad
I think the problem lies deeper than we've actually realised. PH has candidly made comments that have not really been widely picked up on. He alluded to not being in total control. He mentioned that we are defending set pieces zonally, but he prefers man to man. But we are still defending zonally! So what does that tell you? He actually went on to say that he had no part in set pieces. Now if you were head coach, wouldn't you expect to be in charge & do it your way? If it isn't him that's in charge of the likes of this, who is in charge then? And what else are they in control of? I get the feeling that what he would actually like to say is that Orta (my guess) has appointed the set piece coach, most of the backroom staff, and is calling the shots in the way that we set up & play (hence his signings that fit his style of play). Gawd knows what Eck is left with to do, other than pick up the pieces & look devastated & bemused at every post match press conference. It's about time this subject was explored by a proper journalist to see exactly what our structure is & who does what. It all seems rather murky atm.
Funny enough, I mentioned somewhere else that.... PH plays 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 or a variation of (like diamond) look up forums and articles and you won’t find him being a coach who uses 4-2-3-1 Although I believe we are ideally set for 4-2-3-1 I find it strange that PH has suddenly switched to this style of play I do wonder if someone has had a word in his ear. I also mentioned that we have a two tier system, coaches and staff employed by Orta and some by PH. Take the scouts, all who have worked under Orta before at Boro (interesting Boro never kept any on). PH won’t have access to them, he won’t be the one giving them remits of what’s required, Orta will. I’m with you, I believe Orta is calling more of the shots than just who we sign. It’s Cellino and Evans/Rosler/Hockaday/Darko all over again
Don't we also have the unusual situation that Eck brought in his own Sports Scientist, but we still have the incumbent one still in place? (Might be inaccurate on this one, but I'm sure it was the case at one point).
If my speculation is correct, then it will most certainly become more & more Radz's fault. TBF, he confessed that he was new to football & had to place his trust somewhere to start with. He was sold a dream & it started off well enough. I suspect that he's learned a lot this season, and a key lesson is that he might have misplaced that trust. His comment re. Orta's 'hang on a week' requests when ousting TC were fairly innocuous to most at first, but might eventually be seen as telling remarks.
I sincerely hope so and I honestly think he has 6 weeks to prove that he has learnt a very valuable lesson.
I thought the incumbent was moved on and went to the sister club or to the Middle East group as soon as PH brought his own man in? Could be wrong. Set piece coach is shyte and should have been moved on when PH took over but it would be nice to know what the hell is going on at the club. Sister club doesnt work out well for our players ie Bhoy. Idaguci situation is a fiasco U23s doesnt seem to have a plan as we have 8 CBs and impossible for game time, 7 strikers etc What is the actual set up of the TA Regime, have we an academy director? Remember we lost ours again who went down to Cornwall Then who does what with the first team
Whilst I agree with nearly everything you’ve said, Ekuban couldn’t get in the team before so hasn’t gone backwards and now we know why, he just isn’t a very good goal scorer
