New Head Coach

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FellTop said:
I think this is about right. He isnt the only one in our side though, Ekwah is a bad, Roberts too and Adil is poor at shooting from distance as well.

I have watched Neil in particular. I think he is more selective now. IE he doesnt take a shot on which isnt on. He was a bugger for that last year. This is where Adil needs to improve now, decision making. Neil is a bit calmer when shooting, but not enough. I dont actually worry too much about him as I see him as the deeper player still, a Rodri type. If he bags 4 or 5 from that position in a season it would be good enough for me.

As for coaching shooting it is really interesting. I have run loads of finishing practices and watched loads. It nearly always looks awful in training and they cant hit a barn door. Footballers get competitive and they all want to see it bend into the top corner. Drives me mad. I would bring the keeper coach in ask him to explain whete keepers hate shots, which is always the bottom corner. Even in my aged coaching days I could have the ball played to me on the edge of the box and I would hit the bottom corner and score every time. Like someone else said earlier it is like passing to a team mate. I used to say to players just pass it into the bottom corner, and they would for a couple of times then back to doing all sorts of weird techniques to get the ball swerving in the air.

I once watched Stuart Pearce take a training session. He did something about pulling the ball back for a later runner at the edge of the box. These were u21 elite level players and they kept smashing it over. He lost patience and decided to show them. Absolute rocket, right into the corner. I chuckled to myself and thought good luck lads <laugh>
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Great post mate. Love hearing that stuff.
 
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FellTop said:
Cheers mate, good info.

There is definitely a media interest in him, which I dont really believe that much down to his footballing achievements, more down to the route he has taken. I really do respect that too. He jumped into video analyst routes and has kicked down doors to get himself into positions. He has been well trusted by Garcia too. I am just really wary he doesnt have the knowledge or experience, it might all be emporers new clothes with him. There was an interesting piece in the Athletic a little while back, glowing about him, but again when I read I wasnt seeing much substance.

All that said of course everyone has to start without experience and he may well be the next big thing. Plenty of cleverer people than me think he is. My issue isnt so much with Still, it is with the sort of coach I think we need. I think experience is critical. We have the youngest squad, youngest coaches, youngest owner and in reality a pretty inexperienced DOF. Somewhere I feel we need an older head, somebody who has years under their belt dealing with the ups and downs of a football season and 20 odd players with all of their individuality. It is the pivotal role at the club, none more important in my opinion, and having the right mentality, personality, drive, experience and know how is key to a clubs success.
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Agree with this. The next appointment of our first team coach is crucial to our future. If we get it right,the sky's the limit...if we get it wrong,we're going to be languishing in the depths for years with history repeating itself over and over. We are a roller-coaster of a club, with all of the unfulfilled potential in the world, and it's time for that cycle to be broken.
 
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Brainy Dose said:
Agree with this. The next appointment of our first team coach is crucial to our future. If we get it right,the sky's the limit...if we get it wrong,we're going to be languishing in the depths for years with history repeating itself over and over. We are a roller-coaster of a club, with all of the unfulfilled potential in the world, and it's time for that cycle to be broken.
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Yeah spot on for me. Certainly the most important decision of KLDs time at the club. There is a tremendous platform with our academy producing some tremendous young talent. We have a basis of a first team, but with some obvious holes. Likely to bring in serious money, or at least have the option to. The coaching team next season can hopefully start and create a real momentum again, and take us back into the top 6 and challenging again. I am sure the right pick can do that, whoever they may be.
 
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FellTop said:
Cheers mate, good info.

There is definitely a media interest in him, which I dont really believe that much down to his footballing achievements, more down to the route he has taken. I really do respect that too. He jumped into video analyst routes and has kicked down doors to get himself into positions. He has been well trusted by Garcia too. I am just really wary he doesnt have the knowledge or experience, it might all be emporers new clothes with him. There was an interesting piece in the Athletic a little while back, glowing about him, but again when I read I wasnt seeing much substance.

All that said of course everyone has to start without experience and he may well be the next big thing. Plenty of cleverer people than me think he is. My issue isnt so much with Still, it is with the sort of coach I think we need. I think experience is critical. We have the youngest squad, youngest coaches, youngest owner and in reality a pretty inexperienced DOF. Somewhere I feel we need an older head, somebody who has years under their belt dealing with the ups and downs of a football season and 20 odd players with all of their individuality. It is the pivotal role at the club, none more important in my opinion, and having the right mentality, personality, drive, experience and know how is key to a clubs success.
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I'd agree that the coverage is probably more to do with his age and the route he's come to it through than him doing anything particularly groundbreaking.

A couple of people have said that they thought he came across as arrogant. I see what they're getting at but that's not the impression I got. I thought he was very introverted and very intense. Almost anti-social and very academic. It made me think that he treats coaching and tactics as a problem solving issue, in an almost abstract way, if that makes sense. I could well be wrong but that's the vibe I get. I think that's very interesting but I'm also very aware that it probably has its limitations.

I think KLD and Speakman might be enticed by that aspect of him. That could well be a failing on their part as a more well-rounded character is, like you say, probably what's required.

I'm not going to say Still is my first choice but I do think it could be an exciting appointment. There are plenty of other people that have been mentioned that I'd be equally with.
 
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FellTop said:
I think this is about right. He isnt the only one in our side though, Ekwah is a bad, Roberts too and Adil is poor at shooting from distance as well.

I have watched Neil in particular. I think he is more selective now. IE he doesnt take a shot on which isnt on. He was a bugger for that last year. This is where Adil needs to improve now, decision making. Neil is a bit calmer when shooting, but not enough. I dont actually worry too much about him as I see him as the deeper player still, a Rodri type. If he bags 4 or 5 from that position in a season it would be good enough for me.

As for coaching shooting it is really interesting. I have run loads of finishing practices and watched loads. It nearly always looks awful in training and they cant hit a barn door. Footballers get competitive and they all want to see it bend into the top corner. Drives me mad. I would bring the keeper coach in ask him to explain whete keepers hate shots, which is always the bottom corner. Even in my aged coaching days I could have the ball played to me on the edge of the box and I would hit the bottom corner and score every time. Like someone else said earlier it is like passing to a team mate. I used to say to players just pass it into the bottom corner, and they would for a couple of times then back to doing all sorts of weird techniques to get the ball swerving in the air.

I once watched Stuart Pearce take a training session. He did something about pulling the ball back for a later runner at the edge of the box. These were u21 elite level players and they kept smashing it over. He lost patience and decided to show them. Absolute rocket, right into the corner. I chuckled to myself and thought good luck lads <laugh>
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Just in terms of recruitment and data, if I'm looking for a goalscorer I want a player who hits the corners with 20% or more of his shots. Isak for example is running at around 30% this season. Clarke is just over 20% which is pretty exceptional for a winger without much goal scoring prowess before the last 18 months.

It's not a 100% guarantee that the players running at these numbers definitely bring goals but it's definitely a good indicator of a good finisher.
 
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Smug in Boots said:
I have to say I think it's good that there are virtually no leaks directly from the club ...

... apart from Heckingbottom's agent putting rumours out I've seen nothing.

Even the lad on RTG, who seems to know things, hasn't a clue who we're talking to.
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I agree to an extent but I think PR and using the press is a good way of showing vision and commitment, not to mention managing expectations.

The absolute silence makes me think there is some naivity in the administration somewhere.

This isn't KLD bashing. At all. The press officers/Comms/marketing people should be guiding his and I don't feel like they're doing a good job at all at the moment.

Might just be my advertising/comms background speaking but I feel they are missing a big opportunity to get the fanbase on board with what should be seen as a very exciting project.

Edit: this also has absolutely nothing to do with speakman.
 
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Brainy Dose said:
As you say,a rumour. I'd like to think.....and I'm not really sure why.....that they would have identified who they want,after extensive due diligence,and be saying he's our man and going for him.
Conducting interviews from a shortlist doesn't seem to me to indicate we are absolutely sure of our preferred choice.
Of course,I'm not in the know,so I may be out of common sense.
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I think common sense is to interview other candidates. We can have our preferred choice based on a CV and performance, maybe even from some anecdotal knowledge and passing conversations. But it would be negligent not to at least bring in a couple of others to interview and see how our preferred candidate matches up.

If we've got it right, it will confirm what we already suspected and give us more confidence in the appointment.

But outside chance he comes into the interview and blows it, then we're already down the road with other candidates.
 
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The Norton Cat said:
If you look at most clubs in the Premier League, their coaching staff are a mixture of people that were already there and people that have come in with the manager. That includes Villa.
At Spurs, Ange has four assistants. One was in post months before Ange was appointed, one was promoted from within when Ange arrived, two were appointed from other clubs but neither came from Celtic.
At Palace, Glasner has retained Dean Kiely and Paddy McCarthy as well as bringing in his own people.
As Ancelotti is being used as an example, he inherited Duncan Ferguson when he arrived at Everton. In his current Madrid stint, there are some staff that were there when he arrived and others who didn't come as part of a package with him and his son.
While it's true that some managers/head coaches want to bring a large staff with them, it's also not unusual for a variety of coaching staff to stay at one club and work under different managers.
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Moyes was advised to keep Phelan on at Man Utd, he was told he would do all the **** stuff, dealing with the players day to day as that's what they were used to.
Instead he got rid and apparently a lot of the senior players didn't take to him.
Thought he was to hands on and his training very basic
 
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WorkyTicketFTM said:
Obviously they don’t sack every single member of coaching staff within the club down to the u14s lol I don’t think anyone was meaning that... but they bring in their own assistant plus a few others who run their day to day duties. Emery brought in at least 2 assistants and a GK coach
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Speakman has already stated the new bloke can bring in his own assistant(s) and I don't think I'd ever want to change our goalkeeping coach, over the years the ones we've had have been spot on. Other than the championship relegation season but I would blame the coaches for that
 
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Rade Prica said:
https://insidefutbol.com/2024/04/10...and-linked-will-still/641878/#google_vignette

Interesting. Reims apparently lining up a replacement for Will Still in the summer…
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Doesn't seem like a very in depth piece of reporting. I'm going to chalk it up to click bait for now. Would be excited by Still though.

I'm actually at the stage where I don't really have a specific hope for the new manager other than for our more negative fans to get on board with it.

I'd take ****ing warlock if it got people on board.
 
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Disco down under said:
Doesn't seem like a very in depth piece of reporting. I'm going to chalk it up to click bait for now. Would be excited by Still though.

I'm actually at the stage where I don't really have a specific hope for the new manager other than for our more negative fans to get on board with it.

I'd take ****ing warlock if it got people on board.
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Mowbray's popularity and qualities seemed to double once he was sacked tbh.
 
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Smug in Boots said:
Mowbray's popularity and qualities seemed to double once he was sacked tbh.
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I just hope whoever we are going to appoint will happen as soon as they can.
As every coach that gets mentioned is nailed on as the next coach and is a load of **** showing the club have no ambition.
Just last week Nixon reported that it could be heckingbottom some of our fans take this as gospel.
 
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