yeah really good, got fit for it this time and enjoyed it all the better for it? My last say on it is this.. I'm sad it didn't work out here for Derek Mcinnes, he instigated some badly needed changes in the club and seemed to be a good man who undoubtedly saved us from relegation last season. I dont know why the players decided to not pull their weight for him, but rumours of just 1 hours training a day and the fact he lost the fans and the players made the boards decision inevitable. People have forgotten that player after player, (some current favourites) stated consistently how impressed they were with DM as a man and how it influenced their decision to come here (Steve Davies and Greg Cunningham to name 2) He's gone now and quite frankly I am fed up of reading certain posters on here crowing all the time about "how they were right all along" because all I will remember of you is you stopped supporting the club when they needed you most! Something ROD I can thankfully say you could not be accused of! and quite a few others too. As far as SOD is concerned I'm impressed, he hasn't done a lot wrong and his record with this bunch of players is remarkable really. long live the king! I'm hoping we can manage to stay up but I still think this could go either way, there weren't many on here only 2 months ago would have fancied going to Wolves to get a win in a relegation 6 pointer, Shiny only a few weeks ago described Wolves as too big to go down. Saturday is a very big game... Wolves is not a happy hunting ground for us....
McInnes did seem to be fairly good in the transfer market, though his failing (or lack of backing?) to sign a defender or two cost him. However, as important as it is to spend wisely, it's arguably more important to get the most out of what you've already got. Obviously SOD hasn't been here long, but he deserves credit for organising the team so well and getting the same pool of players that had the worst defensive record in the entire football league to suddenly look solid and record three consecutive clean sheets. I'm not sure how 'tactically inept' McInnes was, but I think his search for a free-flowing attacking style came before defensive stability, which is the wrong way to go about things. People may have accused Fontaine of looking lost at sea before, but if he wasn't given a suitable game plan then perhaps he was unsure about how he was meant to function in the team. Though things turned sour, I wouldn't consider McInnes to be our worst manager in years (though you can't help but wonder where we might be now had SOD been given the job then), that mantle surely belongs to Brian Tinnion who was completely out of his depth (not counting Steve Coppell). GJ was a good motivator, but once he lost the dressing room he had nothing else to offer. Millen was a fine caretaker, and it was understandable that he thought he had to take the chance of being manager when it was presented, but he wasn't suited for the top job full time - perhaps not quite savvy enough and too much of a nice guy. I think SOD was the perfect appointment for here and now and I remain open to seeing what he can do long term. Going back to basics is absolutely the right way to go to steady the ship, but the players and fans will get bored is that becomes the norm. I'd like to think he showed his potential at Forest before his bizarre sacking, but I'm also very aware of false dawns...
I still stand by that comment. On paper they have a top 6 team. Granted theyre stuggling but no doubt they will pull through.
That wasn't a dig at you shiny! just an observation of what would have been many peoples opinion at that time!
If you look back at his Bournemouth and Doncaster days his teams regularly played good football and this in the main with players that nobody else wanted or failed to see the potential in, the only thing you have to ask is how good was his scouting network then and how good is ours? our scouts have been remarkably inept over the past 5 or 6 years Albert Adomah probably the most skillful player at the Gate was recomended to us apparently not noticed by any of our scouts but then I have no idea who our scouts are so If I saw a player who might be of the right stuff who would you inform?
I hope there not because I believe they are one of very few teams we can finish above.. I think I Saw you at the gate last Tues, on the Natch Wall opposite the newsagent on Ashton Rd?
If we win on Saturday Wolves will be really in the mire they could even be bottom of the table. No team is ever too big to be relegated.
I've read with great interest all your posts. I put up the thread because I was seeing lots of references across other threads that told me that we as a group of supporters needed to get it all off our chests about the events of the last 16 or so months. I agree with much of what you've posted, don't agree with some but I'll finish of my part in this thread, as I'm going on holiday to Madeira for 10 days, by saying that I still find it incredible that professional footballers at a Championship club earning shed loads of money, need anyone to tell them how to be a central defender or that it's necessary for a midfielder to track back when their opposite number is making a break for our goalmouth. I expect 8 and 10 year olds to understand that let alone seasoned pros in the Championship. A friend who supports Crystal Palace sent me an email today, not knowing anything about my involvement with Not606 and I'll leave you with his words; " I don't take a lot of notice of managers, I think their role is over-rated and the real teamwork is done by the backroom staff and the guys on the pitch. Besides, Palace have had so many, I can't keep up with them all." COYREDS!!!!!!!! 3 points at Molineux please.
Whilst I don't want to open up old wounds and upset our happy little ship, I am absolutely going to answer the condescending sneers (from some). Absolutely right cider, couldn't agree more. As for GJ, he was great for City until it got to the point when it became clear that we needed better quality players to progress. At this point, his megolomania took over and he refused to bring in anyone who would dare to disrupt his little group by actually having some degree of ability and not having to be motivated and "work hard", any who disobeyed his word were shown the door pretty quick. Quite right you might say except, NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE CLUB. He was great with a bunch of ordinary players but couldn't handle those with ability or who spoke out on certain subjects (you can name your own examples). Regards Millen, the players took no notice of anything he said whatsoever and did what they wanted which was play like a bag of ****e for most of the season and then just do enough to dig us out of the mire at the end - probably the ultimate insult they could have paid him... When DM first arrived, the players were self motivated and showed the new manager what they were really capable of by taking 14 points from 18 until something changed and they decided that they were not able to punch the skin off a rice pudding again until lo and behold, an 8 game unbeaten run at the end of the season was enough to save their NPC skins (and more importantly wages) ONCE AGAIN Sneer all you like but its as plain as the nose on the end of your faces - now, we have a manager who actually bothers to ask the players what they want to achieve and makes it public which is a very clever and subtle ploy as it effectively means that if they fail, they can't sit back and let the manager take the fall this time as it will be THEIR FAULT - I might add that I am excluding this seasons additions as they weren't part of the ingrained culture at this club... However, this bit is accademic as I think that actually do want to well under this manager...
What happened regarding the players under McUseless is deep engrained in your mind and is of your opinion prem, nothing more. It may also be that they found it impossible to play using his ways of management, poor decision making, bad tactics, bad formations and no consistancy with the teams he picked. Way out of his depth at this level will be my prefered belief.
Thats what you do drills for, set up in training 4- 6 thay type of thing. You also decide what type of defensive team you want be. Against cardiff city sat far too deep v Brighton a similar shape sat fifteen metres up the pitch and pushed Brighton back. Saturday a midfielder who seems incapable of tracking back when their opposite number is making a break scored. Same player cost a goal v Barnsley by not tracking a runner. Mcinnes kept picking that and others who did silmilar and took no obvious action to us fans to install a team shape into them. O'driscoll came in and it was his priority number one to get them organised. Now the side has a chance of staying up.
It probably got quite hard to run around like a bastard [old skool managers speak = graft] for ninety minutes when you think running around like a bastard [old skool managers speak = graft] actually is not going to work anyway. Running around like a bastard [old skool managers speak = graft] can go a long way when you agree it will work e.g Wimbledon. If it was all about effort and commitment less us pick an XI from the Avon Valley runners.
A man who is that quick to publicly turn on his previous manager is never bang on. Not publicly. You NEVER criticise your superiors, because that stuff will come out and will eventually bite you on the ass. When McInnes started we were all saying that about his teams. Give SOD a year before we start licking his ass and calling him the messiah.
Not all Banksy....!! You don't need a year Banksy only about 90 minutes to see SOD is far more clued up than McUseless. Well some of us can!
Carey was bang on. It was an observation on something fans saw very quickly. O'driscoll clearly concentrates on organisation. Hardly a broadside that from Carey. They weren't then, they are now. Picked my side there, easy for me to get it. When McInnes started we were all saying that about his teams ... Not at all. Don't remember Mcinnes teams being this cohesive, not ever close. Mcinnes 4-5-1 was taking City down last season. Fans even started singing about formations one game!!! 4-4-2, 4-4-2 it went. Eventually the penny dropped in came Cisse, Stead, Carey alongside Amongu. 4-4-2 and it felt like Mcinnes fell on that formation. Been impressed by O'driscoll, guarded about where it will go, I think long term and my thoughts on Mcinnes was very quickly "this bloke ain't nearly up to it!"
'though his failing (or lack of backing?) to sign a defender or two cost him' Exactly how many central defenders has SOD signed ? The massive difference between SOD and McInnes is knowledge, communication and organisational skills. And of course experience.
Wouldn't disagree too much with that McInnis just couldn't see that Fontaine at RCB was like a fish out of water totally useless whereas at LCB he's capable and sometimes good why didn't McInnis ask the players what they thought was wrong? was he afraid of the answers?
