Steve Cotterill is one of three men interviewed for the Forest job! http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15256295.stm
Has Cotterill really lost the faith of the whole of the Fratton faithful or just the 20 or so grumpy old gits on the snooze site? But the real question is - if he goes who will replace him? And even worse, if Cotts gets another job will he raid our team for players?
If rumours are to be believed Forest have about as much spare cash as Pompey! Admittedly, they are a significant club, with a better history (and certainly stadium) than us. Given that a significant number of fickle Pompey fans want Steve Cotterill to be sacked, it would be understandable if he decided to jump the good ship Pompey before he is forced to walk the plank! I happen to like Steve Cotterill and reckon that he is doing a good job taking into account the limited financial and other resources available. He seems to have bought well in the summer, and I still believe that a play-off spot is not impossible. Admittedly, I live in Merseyside and don't get to see Pompey live too often! Remembering where we have been over the last few seasons - nearly going out of existence - I do not see the sense in losing a reasonable manager at this stage. Better the devil you know... It is time to build slowly, not to panic and return to turmoil once more.
Being an ex-Notts County manager could be a two-edged sword. On the one hand, he may feel more comfortable moving to that part of the country. On the other hand there's always the stigma of being an ex-manager of your team's neighbours/rivals
Only my Opinion Good Manager who has done a reasonable job in your current circumstances. As fans you would be foolish to want to see him go But when did fans ever get a say.
I think it's that old nugget "Instant Gratification" - some fans got too used to being in a higher league and despite what they say, mid-table mediocrity in the championship is not what they really expect. Obviously some of us think that, but to be fair, a lot of the criticism is about the type of football played and SCs tactics. They want to see 442, SC plays 451/433 and the complaint is that they are not to seeing the pretty football, like we used to play. Oh, and they don't like his interviews either.
I think it's that old nugget "Instant Gratification" - some fans got too used to being in a higher league and despite what they say, mid-table mediocrity in the championship is not what they really expect. Being an old school Pompey fan, mid-table mediocrity in (what is in reality) Division 2 is exactly what I expect!!
You wouldn,t really blame him for going would you? He,s done the best he can with what is available & I suspect many promises made to him have not materialised. It,s also obvious that the new owners do not have substantial monies that all Pompey fans were hoping for & the rest of the season is probably about survival as much as anything else. However, it must be said his image is absolutely awful & his interviewing technique is non existent. I think this downside rubs off on the fans. I have friends who are Pompey fans & they think he should never be allowed near a TV interview. However, with the current position it is difficult to see any successful manager itching to take over.
I disagree saintsalive. I enjoy his interviews. Reminds me of Gordon Strachan! Nigel Adkins may well give brilliant interview. I don't know. I have never seen any. I also disagree that SC has been made false promises by the new owners. The previous ones definitely, but not the new ones. One reason why McLaren left Forest though was because he WAS promised funds by their board which didn't materialise! So that would be one reason for SC NOT to leave if given the choice.
There are man reasons as to why I want Sc out of the door 1. His refusal to play Rocha. He is our best defender and one of the best in the div, yet he would rather play mokoena. I can understand that at the start of last season he wans't fully fit, but by October he would have been. Its is no coincidence that our best ever clean sheets run came when he was at Cb. Everyone involved with Pompey can see that except SC. 2. His excuses. Under Sc we have seen every excuse under the sun. He said our loss to Leeds was because we played 2 games in a week. Leeds played 3 including being ran all over the park by Man U. 3. His negative tactics. I've got no problem with losing, its part of football. But under Sc, we don't even have a go. 4. His inability to learn. Surely after watching how well we played against Reading, you would think we would play the same up at Bristol. Nope. Same against West ham. Even though we lost we played fantastic football. You would think we would carry on to Hull way. Nope. 5. His attitude. He is a very confrontational person, apparently offering a few fans in the south stand to a fight because they disagreed with him. 6. He has no passion. Under previous managers (Grant, Bally etc), they showed passion for the club and the fans. They connected with us a vice-versa. But SC doesn't. I couldn't give a **** when we went down with AG, not cos we were in the final (we were relagated way before then) but because it felt like he was one of us. 7. The fact that he has now got a very good team in the championship which with the right directions could push for the play offs, but SC doesn't know how to use them. Surely by now he should know that hoof doesn't suit us, playing defensive 4 5 1 doesn't suit us. We have players that can do stuff with the ball at there feet, uyet he insists on tellign our players to hoof it up to Benjani without anyone getting in support. In referance to what Saintsalive said, he has not done all he can do with this squad. This squad consists of several full internationals and premier league ex's, and ye he still can't get the players to the standard they should be. I also disagree with what you said with broken promises. Our new owners havem't made any rash promises but they have given us the funds to buy several players, (Greg Halford, Jason Pearce, Erik the Viking, Luke Varney).
To be honest guys with what he has had to work with he has done exceptionally well. It really doesn't matter it would seem according to some fans that he hasn't been able to get a bigger squad. He has done extremely well with what he has got I don't think anyone could have done anything better. Quite frankly because of what he has done and with what he has had to work with would I would have thought made him odds on for somewhere like forest. I feel for you guys if he does go as I am not sure there is anyone who could do the same if not better out there. Nigel Worthington has been banded about, I really don't think he is as good as SC. As for tactics isn't it true that you are making judgements based on hindsight. If he had done this rather than that, if he had played this way rather than that.......not always that easy guys. If he does go though I truly hope you get a good replacement.
hermanator, you are probably right & I am wrong - you have the advantage of watching Pompey each week & I do not. However, a couple of points I would make. A couple of weeks before the season started he was having to tear around for players just to ensure you could put 11 players on the park to start the season. Not the best prep for any manager! I do agree that he cannot strike any rappore with the fans & one can only wonder what kind of thinking he can communicate to players. I would repeat what I have said on previous threads: to keep changing your manager is a recipe for disaster - we at Southampton know this better than most & why we slipped down the leagues. You must have some kind of continuity at the helm, otherwise it all falls apart. I think SC probably is well aware that he has lost the fans & why he may go. If he does, I fear a period of more drama at Portsmouth.
I like SC as a person, and agree he has worked wonders with what little he has been given by successive owners. CSI, I believe, are like a breath of fresh air though, and as the saying goes "Rome wasn't built in a day" ! However, I also agree with other peoples comments regarding his strange footballing tactics. Timing and choice of substitutions are a wee bit strange much of the time, to put it mildly. Playing Mokoeana ahead of Rocha is another weird decision ! He can't be blamed for all our woes, the senior players such as Dave Kitson & Liam Lawrence must carry part of the blame for lack of activity on the pitch. I personally hope he stays, but have my doubts that he will.
The bottom line is that we fans are very fickle. I really want SC to succeed and this club really needs the stability that an established management and playing staff with a long term strategy can bring. I know he can get a team playing good attractive football - away to Bristol City last year we played superb one-touch, fast moving football and were by far the better team (no really, that night we were), but we lost. That ended the excellent run of wins and no goals conceded and we went back to playing more negatively - a rut we cannot seem to get out of. As I have written elsewhere, people will put up with mediocre football if you are winning, for a while. They will put up with not winning too many games if the football is entertaining and exciting, for a while. In the end though, the fickle fan wants the promised land of entertainment and relative success and will only put up with boring wins or entertaining defeats for so long. Being bored rigid and not winning will very soon turn people against you and the problem is that watching Pompey at the moment is like watching paint dry and we are perilously close to the relegation zone.
I predict - if he stays we are going to go on a winning run, starting Saturday ('cos my record of never having endured a loss at FP has to remain intact). If he leaves ................ will a new manager come in and turn things round in a week? Will we get a new manager within a week?
