My last words on the McInnes era

There are lots of posts on various threads at present still criticising Derek McInnes and of course praising Sean O'Driscoll.

I am so pleased about the turn about in fortunes and results since SO'D arrived. What I still find hard to understand is that seasoned professional footballers who three months ago would not have been chosen for their children's school under 7's have suddenly recovered their desire to win and their performance levels are a wonder to behold at Championship level compared with the last three months of 2012.

While a Head Coach or Manager is a big influence on how a team does, I really do find it hard to believe that many of the City squad were apparently not giving of their best for the club during much of 2012, apart from a few well remembered weeks at the end of last season and the beginning of this one. In my opinion that shows that they had a complete lack of pride in their own performances and a lack of respect for those who make a significant contribution to their large salaries - the supporters.

McInnes will not be remembered as one of the great City managers. But his work with the Academy and 95% of his signings that he made make me believe that he was much better than some give him credit for.

It remains to be seen how we will regard Sean O'Driscoll in a year or two down the road. Currently he is rapidly gaining "superstar" status, but will this last? I, as a lifelong City fan, of course hope that it will.

Other posters on here apparently still have their doubts about what occurred during the McInnes era and my last question on the subject is;

What was it that happened within the dressing room around the end of August 2012 that caused the greater proportion of our squad to stop giving 100% for their employer Bristol City FC and the supporters? If there are any flies from the dressing room wall still alive, will they please enlighten us.

 

Cidered, there are many people that can pick a bunch of, what would be concidered to be good players and say "that would make a good side". But there are very few that can take a bunch of players and make them play as a team. A decent managers job is to identify strong points and weaknesses, play players that he knows will play in a correct position, identify players that are able to adapt in different positions and one that arn't able to.
The decent manager will also understand and take in to account the opposition, what players will suit and what players are playing with confidence. (good example, Sir Alex, leaving out Rooney v Real Madrid). Most (not all) footballers need guideance.
McUseless may have had an eye for decent players but had no idea how to set out a team.....for me that was there for all to see quite early in is reign. Something you could get away with in the Scottish leagues but was found out in the more competative Championship..
You can see that SOD knows how to play the simple game, square pegs etc. I have said many times on here and I stand by it. we would NOT find ourselves in our current position had we had a decent manager from the start of the season, even with the players we had.

 

Mcinnes was the worst manager I have seen at Bristol City in thirty plus years. The psychology of it is not hard to understand. When you have little confidence in he who selects the team, tactics and oversees it will follow?

I posted formerly that the squad was easily good enough to stay in this division, that it was not individual errors at fault, but it the way they were being coached. The side lacked cohesion, organisation, continuity and team selection appeared to be based on throwing beans in the air.

The changes McInnes made last season using a 4-4-2, utilising Carey, Cisse, Stead could have been made sooner by a Sunday league manager.


The bloke at this point in his career was out of his depth. I have little faith in him at the start of the season. Anybody, or most who saw the away game at Barnsley could see what was coming, confidence in the manager on and off the pitch collapsed not so long after.

Now I could still not tell you what Mcinnes team was, high or low defensive lines, pressing, 4-4-2, passing, attacking, defensive that sketch, and with O'driscoll you can already.

 

Basically all S O'D did at the start{in his own words)was talk to the players and see what they thought the problem was apparently they said they were going into matches with no plan or organisation. So he decided the first thing he had to do was rectify that but he also asked the defenders in particular why they were so pourous and they said that 1) There was little support from midfield players tracking back and 2) Fontaine apparently said that he was extremely uncomfortable on the right side(if you read between the lines of Fontaines interviews since S O'D arrived ie how much happied he now is with his form and performances. I had been confused as to why there was an almost siesmic shift in form of the defence until I noticed one thing Fontaine had gone back to the left side playing with either Carey or Nyatanga on the right add to that a pair of fullbacks who know what they are doing and suddenly you have a defence Square Pegs Square Holes.
Also some of the players seem to think S'OD's training routines are somewhat boring but they want them to stay like that because itseems to bring out the best of the team on the pitch. Just from memory didn't Matt Busby and Bill Shankley once say their training sessions were boring and often without a ball so the players would want the ball more on matchdays? Seemed to work for them.
Organise your team give them a plan to follow but say if you see a chance to do something unexpected go for it that is what S O'D is all about. Simples really

 

Hopefully McInnes will learn from the mistakes he made at Ashton Gate and may prove to be a good manager - most of the top managers have failed somewhere, it's all part of the learning process.

He's a decent enough guy, so let's hope so

 

Simple words, shocking manager,tactically inept, changed the team and formation every single game, shocking football.. In hindsight a terrible decision by the board..

 

Sorry wiz, You say "the real mess that the plumb millen got us into" Yet McInnes copied Millen, Millen saved us one season then made us **** the next, McInnes did exactly the same and he even had a ****ter record that Keef. IMO he was no better then Millen, The football wasn't better, The results certainly wasn't better and how he left us wasn't better. Overall both have Left us worse than when they came. The only thing McInnes had going for him was a few players he purchased but also remember Keef got us Bolasie, Pitman and Stead.....

 

The OP is completely correct. Millen saved our ass and was **** the next season. McInnes was our saviour and then our harbinger of doom. Now, SOD may pull off the great escape and against all odds keep us up this season, but I'd put good money on next season being a struggle, regardless of what league we're in.

What does this mean? It means that our players lack direction, and that ultimately our players are the reason for our current position.

The biggest indicator of this was how quickly Louis Carey, supposedly the clubs biggest inspiration and one of our all-time best players, was quick to brush off McInnes and say that he had learned more from SOD than he had from a full season with McInnes. Even if I had swapped my manager for Bill Gates there's no ****ing way I would ever say such a thing, so for a professional player to do so is shocking. I also think there was a lot more to the decision by McInnes to keep Carey on for another season, but that's something we'll probably never know for sure.

McInnes was a head coach as well, with GJ being our last "out-and-out" manager, so I think the board and other staff have made a lot of the back-room decisions regarding the team. This leaves our head coach and the players, and I firmly believe that the players have forced out both Millen and McInnes. Given a few months, I think they'll do the same to SOD.

If I were the board, I'd "promote" SOD to manager and task him with the complete overhaul of the playing squad. Gauge the market and sell all the players that have been here for a while and start fresh with players we feel are Championship quality. Finally, if players don't pull their weight the manager should be given full backing to remove them from the team and to put them on the transfer list.

 

Mcinnes got lucky once. He was taking City down with a whimper with his 4-5-1 formation. Pompey gave the season imputus due to their points docking. Weird thing was Mcinnes originally appeared to stick stubbornly to formation and eventually made changes a blind man would have and the likes of Carey, Cisse, Bikey and Stead got City out of the ****. For this some saw McInnes as a tactician.

That tactician this season lost it big style. Dressing room and many fans went. Away support was down right at the start, doubts everywhere about him. Changes for changes sake. Fans and players must have been guessing line up's and formations. O'driscoll looks like he clearly knows what he is doing, McInnes!!!!

 

Carey was bang on. It didn't affect Careys preformances but others fell off a cliff due to Mcinnes. City were not organised fans could see it and its is professional to point that out . Pro teams should be organised, City were a train crash and could not do what non league teams and even pub teams could. It is the clear picture that has emerged City are now organised and performing as a team. Carey was a major reason City stayed up and earned a contract on a reduced wage v the likes of ex players from St Johnstone.

 

I also hope he goes on to make a success elsewhere if he learns from his mistakes on the playing side coupled with his desire to build a decent youth team he should do OK.

 

Have to admit the Jody Morris scenario surprised me why buy him then not play him? could never quite work that one out surely that was one player he should have known everything about.

 

I also don't buy that Del saved us last season....yes he came in when we were rock bottom under the dreadful Millen and seemed to spark a bit into the players and we went on a bit of a run..
I remember a presenter on"Talk Sport" (can't remember who now) saying we maybe an outside bet for playoffs. And then Del got his feet under the table and it all went belly up, IMO was very very lucky to scrap us out of the **** from relegation.....now some would say he saved us, I would say a decent manager could have done what he'd done and more...lets just remember, it would have been hard for anyone to come in after Millen and make it worse!!
I still maintain, even with the players we had, a decent manager such as SOD over the last two seasons would have given us mid-table or playoff status...

 

Think I said something like this before that DM seemed to concentrate all of his attention on restructuring the club to the extent he took his mind off of the real job he was employed for to get results on the pitch that is what he has to learn not to get so wrapped in one part of the job to the exclusion of the other bits.

 

Just waiting now for Mciness's biggest fan now.. The one who blamed Gary Johnson for our demise and not Derek

 

Who's that then?

 

Premorbust

 

Prem I would imagine

 

You thought they were talking about you then didn't you, I could see you getting mad and smashing your keyboard over someone's head

Good skiing mate?