Hear you loud and clear. In some ways you've highlighted a fair bit of my point in that Bulut hasn't had a professionally run Championship club to run. It's been firefighting all the way for him thus far. Yes if course we want more from our club and managers and I firmly believe that Bulut has similar ambitions and the nous to succeed. Unfortunately, our "know it all" owner is hindering it all Lots to be said and heard on both sides of the argument.
We'll have to wait for Tan to make his decision - because no one else at the club will. Bulut hasn't convinced me nor I suspect many others, but I dread to think what another Tan "shot in the dark" will bring.
Given the issues we've had in recent years, along with the muddled pre-seasons, perhaps a summer with a full pre-season and a known, if limited manager is the way to go. Better the devil you know? To be fair, while it could be better, it could also be a lot worse. My glass is half empty, but it could be emptier.
Well that's just basic physics innit. I mean while your glass has anything in it at all, it could, physically be emptied more. Which leads to the question as to what's in the glass. If it's rum then get on with it man!
Hopefully we’ll get a new manager who’ll only come if he tells Tan he needs to get rid of this style of play and a host of players guilty by association with such pedestrian football which is just about ok to keep us in the division but not anywhere near good enough for us to challenge for promotion. I’m still wondering how we got over 60 points. Basically apart from a few decent wins early in the season we scraped by on late goals. A full back top scorer on 6 is laughable. Ipswich not unlike before them Brentford, Bournemouth and Brighton got the infrastructure in place, the right people for the important jobs and developed a style which swept teams away. McKenna has said he targeted quick players and harnessed them with one touch passing around pace which is the key. This though is great in theory and proven in practice but not for our club with its amateur, inept and stubborn ownership.
The one thing that's certain is the uncertainty. Who knows how Bulut would have done at a properly run club? If he stays, who knows what he'll be given to play with? I don't know if he's good, bad or indifferent but I know not many would have achieved what he did this season. Stability, a change of attitude from the owner and who knows what can be built?
It's not just today, but I'm leaning more toward the conclusion that Bulut is not the right man to bring success to this club unless you believe success means just staying up. The problem we all see is that the decision making at the top end of the club is holding it back. Notwithstanding the huge financial support our owner has provided over the years, footballing progress has stalled since Warnockball got us into the Premier League. It couldn't keep us there and we've been on a downward spiral since then - I won't list the managers. This season's "safety" is seen as an achievement my many and probably with some justification after last year, but I can't see us challenging for anything better next season with the current management/coaching team in place. The ambition may be there but the tools are lacking. If we could poach someone like Rosenior who has transformed Hull into a very good footballing side, then we'd have a chance. We're trying to climb out of a footballing rut without the tools to do it. Bulut was a shot in the dark who got very lucky with some results this season. As I think Nin said - how the hell did we get over 60 points with those type of negative performances? Didn't travel at all again this season, but some of the stuff I witnessed at the CCS this season left me cold.
I'll repeat what I've said several times during the season. I dont understand Erol's footballing ethos or vision. It's impossible to assess progress as I've no idea what he's trying to acheive. Back to DJ and Colin. You could see the direction and building blocks. Signings were for a purpose. While DJ signed a lot of journeymen to start, they fitted his plan. Every window an upgrade. Similar with Colin. Every manager since, I don't see the plan. Morrison had ideas, certainly about age profile, but I'm not sure about style and fit. He never got the time to demonstrate it. If Erol was signing a type of player, or bringing a type of youngster through there might be a plan, but it seems a scatter gun approach.
Erol in!!!!! I actually DO see him trying to progress and instill a certain style, hence why we've had so many harum scarum moments when we've been trying to play out from the back!!! The squad this year has been bang average after losing our 2 most creative players for pretty much the whole season, yet until a couple of weeks ago we were still in with an outside shot of the play-offs. Can Bulut really be blamed for rank bad finishing by pretty much ALL our forward players? Is Bulut really to blame for some poor goal keeping or sloppy defending? All of these things have had a big bearing on our finishing position, which actually is (just about) top half after 2 years of going backwards at a rate of knots ... Plus, throw in the fact that we've only spent what.... £1.5 million was it on Turnbull??? How does that rate against other teams in/around us in the table??? Then add the fact we missed our number 1 transfer target in January and ended up with Diedhiou instead (ok, some of the blame for that lies with Erol as a better second or third option should have been identified)... Could Moore have helped us up the table a little more?? Probably is my guess.... So, all told I don't think Erol has done too badly given the constraints we've had. With a bit of cash to spend and hopefully more deadwood shifted from the squad, with a proper pre-season I certainly wouldn't bet against us improving on this season.
Ralls is the deadwood BB talks about. The club can’t advance with players like him who’s past it, over the hill and although he can take a good corner, he’s too slow and one footed. Ng is definitely one of the very few of this squad who is of the required standard. Turnbull. Celtic must be rubbing their hands getting £2m or whatever for him.
A few points. Has there been that much rank bad finishes? I dont think so we create very little. We havent spent just 1.5m. This always winds me up. Thats just the transfer fee. A lot of the times free transfers and loans would have cost more than those we paid fees for. Im pretty sure Siopis for example would have cost at least as much as Turnbull. He " bought " himself out of his contract. I hope you arent suggesting Ralls is amongst the deadwood as Ninian Opinion suggests but with promising youngsters emerging then why select the likes of players like Romeo , Diedhou , Meite . Why play Bowler when his loan is ending? A part of the reason we dont create is we are so negative and defensive. For such a defensive side our goals conceded record is appalling. Im actually dreading Bulut being given cash. I dont believe our league position is due to the goalkeeper though Runnarson was a player of Buluts choice. If we didnt have an embargo we could have wasted a fee and have him here now on probably a 3 year deal. Alnwicks dropping was ridiculous. I do think Horvarth is better and his saves were largely responsible for recent wins weve edged. If he stays I hope he accepts his mistakes and with a stronger squad uses young players and at least play an attacking game on the front foot and please at least have some sort of aggressive high press. So many sides play from the back and really arent very good at it. Really if we have any money and ambition we should be going all out for Steve Cooper.
Your dislike of Ralls is laughable. I cant say much because I wanted Mcphail axed from Jones sides who really was slow and one footed. Lets face it we dont roll over have our bellies tickled and have 5 put past us by Rotherham with Ralls on the pitch. We are a far better side with him in it. Hes not the player he was when we were promoted under Warnock but hes still when fit a good Championship player.
He’s not the type of player suited to the way championship football has progressed. Pace and one touch passing is the key not pedestrian plodding. City are so lack lustre when in transition. It’s an opinion.
Digging into this is quite interesting. Ballance is key going forward, not just in age profile, but mentality, set up and ability. It's not easy. If it were, we'd all be managers. Defensive solidity is key. We saw it with Sparky with Wales, or Colin. Start being hard to beat. We're definitely not that. Then comes the attacking side and the buzz word, transition. I like the 4231 formation. I've mentioned it more than once. The 2 in front of the 4 help the defence, but its what they also do in attack is key. In transition, forward looking, not backward. One of the two with a bit of pace to get up with the 3 to support attack. And while mentioning pace, we need a bit more of it. Firstly in the legs but also in thought. And that supports your point on creating chances. We've been terrible in that regard for years. Our strikers have had terrible service and are often isolated. Were not going to buy in world beaters, which is where the manager and coaching staff need to earn their corn. Structure and organisation can make ordinary players half decent. It sometimes looks as if our players don't know their jobs, especially when they get played in different positions. You never felt that was the case with Colin. People knew their jobs and stuck to it, whatever their ability. A couple old heads, a tyro or two and a couple with decent engines with some decent coaching will give us a better side, hopefully more easy on the eye too. We've got the tyros, we've got an old head or two, we could do with a bit of pace though. And an on field organiser. Morison, Gunner, Purse, all held the team together on the pitch. I don't know who our 'organiser' is these days. On the press, spot on. Give players with little ability with decent coaching time and space and they'll look good. Put them under pressure and it's a different story. Most squads in our division have limited playing ability at the back and will make mistakes under pressure. A lot of work to be done off and on the pitch if we're going to equal, let alone better, this seasons finish. A couple key signings needed. Then we need a style and some coaching.
And a fair opinion too. Pace and one touch passing is certainly the way to go but we neither got the players nor it appears the manager to achieve that. In our circumstances and in the absence of Ramsey or someone like him, Ralls is/was an essential part of a machine designed to grind rather than play expansive football. This season we've had the remnants on the transfer embargo squad supplemented by "add ons" brought in by Bulut. There's no question that the two Greeks have beeen a success but the majority of his acquisitions have hardly been one touch players. Bowler needs half a dozen touches to move 5 yards, Meite is like bull at a gate, and the least said about Diedhiou the better. Root and branch systemic changes are needed to compete at the top end of the Championship. This season that top 6 plus Hull have been so superior, the task for City next year looks beyond the current regime. Even if Tan makes considerable funds available (he won't) there needs to be a sea change in tactical approach, but is Bulut willing or even capable?
I personally don't see how we can draw any conclusions. I'm not saying this as a known fact but perhaps he does have a style in mind to develop. Perhaps he wasn't able to give us a clue this season because of the tools at his disposal. I think we need to wait and judge him under more favourable circumstances and in the meantime, give him a medal for keeping the current shower in the championship inspiie if all that's gone on. Having said that, I doubt he'll get a fair crack of the whip from Tan and he'll have a limited say with regard to purchases. I honestly don't think we search for players they get sold to our inept board. Anyway, I'm going to give this topic a rest for a bit. Bloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooobirds
