Good to see no panic from the board. Lets see if Harris can get a few out through the door and pick up some quality loans maybe. Clear out now and use the next 2 windows to rebuild. Its not going to be easy but no point replacing the man who got us to the play offs. Time for the board to hold their nerve and build his squad.
He had the chance after last season to improve the squad. He patently has failed to do so. The chances of him doing so in the next windows aren’t promising. I can only surmise the reason he’s still in his job is Tan’s lack of appetite to spend money, which is understandable but it’ll mean the club will just tread water for the remainder of this season.
He hasnt had the chance to rebuild though. Thats the point. Hes not been given the funds. Hes brought in what he can with limited resources been unlucky with injuries and left with players some who would struggle in L1. The board are sticking and rightly so.
If he wasn't given money before then he won't be now unless he can sell some but I can't see who we dould get more than a few bob for amongst those we wouldn't mind see going. E.g. Murphy, Whyte, Day, Cunningham. However the squad is thin now so any sold would have to replaced as the youngsters we have are not ready. I'm sure there are players in Div. 1 who would welcome the chance to step up but do we have the scouting system and contacts to get them? Previous history says no. The other option is more loans from Prem clubs. Could work but we have seen so many duds in the past it is no guarantee.
He can't seem to organise and motivate what he's got let alone add more to it. So far (that's over year now) he hasn't shown the ability to build a cohesive side from the building blocks he was left and those he's added since. Injuries are a fact of life in the game and every team suffers along the way, but it's what you do about it that matters. We can't comment on his pre-match training/tactical set up preparations, but we can bear witness to it's inneffectiveness on the pitch. Especially during the games when he seems totally lost as to what to do when it's clearly not right. His failure to make early changes and utilise the 5 substitute allowance to the full is another clear indication of his lack of awareness if even to rest players in this hectic schedule. No amount of "re-building" will put right what is obviously inherent managerial weakness at this level and certainly above. If I were Tan, I wouldn't let him carry on with my exisiting investment let alone give him more money in the hope that it might suddenly transform his effectiveness. If we want to stay in this division and battle, then OK keep him - if we want to achieve more than that, change him.
Give him no money for new players keep him till end of season sack him and bring In a young manager if there are any out there with modern ideas.at the end of the season the new manager can bring in players that will play for him,and lets get rid of all the dead wood in our club and replace them with players who will give 100% and hopefully with some skill.just saying.Thats my new years list done. I MUST GET A LIFE happy new year to all city fans and Masky.sprouts for sale.
A big factor in all this is those who appointed Harris in the first place. I don't have the confidence in the current City decision makers at the top to get it right. In my opinion, Dalman in particular is fundamentally lazy in his role as top dog because of the multi business interests he has elsewhere - it dulls his cutting edge at the helm of the club. I like Ken Choo who appears a very efficient company financial man, but I bet most posters on here know more about football than him. That leaves Vince Tan who probably knows less again than him - and Steve Borley who seems to have been marginalised these past few years regarding running the club. It all boils down to the need for a true "director of football" type to guide footballing decision making, plus the fact that whoever he might be needs the full backing of Tan to get it right. Financial constraints will always come into it, but poor decision making like buying Madine, Murphy, Glatzel and Vassell shouldn't be allowed to happen again.
OK, last word on the subject of Harris until after the Rotherham game - that's of course unless someone argues with me...... Of course it's down to the manager!! Just a few weeks back when we'd thrashed Barnsley at the CCS, it was suggested on here that Barnsley were absolute crap and they were. They'd just taken on a new manager Valerien Ismael and it was one of his first games in charge and to be fair we beat them well. Just looked back to see what's happened since the guy was appointed. They were in 21st place when he arrived and were indeed crap and well below us in the table. They're now up to 8th spot well above us. He's using exactly the same playing squad but with a new man in charge calling the shots making the difference. Don't tell me City's troubles are just down to poor playing staff and injuries. This is down to tactical ability and motivation from the management as much as anything else. It's not all his fault, but Harris has had a go and come up well short.
sparkey. I've read through the posts on this thread and you keep hitting the nail perfectly on the head. To be honest, can we actually be sure that our playing squad is as terrible as it appears. Your point about Barnsley demonstrates the the situation perfectly. I think Harris has insisted on us playing a certain way without considering individual strengths, weaknesses and how to blend the team into an effective unit. I'm not saying for one moment that our players are any better than what we see, but we can't be certain about it until a different approach is taken. Harry Wilson is a good thermometer as he could never be accused of being a poor player. Yet even his game and morale have suffered playing for us. I genuinely believe that we need to change things now so that a new manager can see what we've got and have time to plan for any radical changes that are needed in the summer. I wish Harris no bad feeling in this. He seems a nice enough bloke but I think his level is two below where he is now.
Clingo - strangely enough they were at Rotherham and beating them on Tuesday evening at the same time we were caving in at Wycombe - can we go to Rotherham and do the same thing on Saturday? Real test of faith for the decison makers should we lose.
Light the blue touch paper and retire. Roy Keane as director of football and verbal abuse? Graeme Souness as mediator?
