After the Kinnear saga, Higginbotham went on to discuss it, and was asked about Woodward at Saints. Just listened to this... here are the key quotes on Saints: "The lads were obviously in shock at Sir Clive Woodward. For him to come into a football club with Harry Redknapp as manager" "Harry is one of the most experienced football managers. No disrespect, but that was undermining Harry." "I wouldn't say there was too much of a relationship between Redknapp and Woodward." "He was bringing rugby situations into our football training. It was bizarre to listen to, to be honest. Sometimes you listen to things and think, well I got something from that. But we didn't at all." "He was talking to us about throw-ins as if they were line-outs, in terms of getting the ball out and cleared out of play from a throw-in." "For him to come and do that, it was just mind-blowing. You can't compare the two." For those who missed the Kinnear comments, here they are: "Derek Llambezee was director of football, he's now resigned." - He means Derek Llambias, who has only ever been the Managing Director. "I played over 400 times for Spurs" "I brought Krul there." - He didn't "I can give you contact with any manager in world football." "I won manager of the year three times" "Some of them (the NUFC fans) are talking out their backsides. I've got more intelligence than them, I know that." So far he's said these names, they're obvious all incorrect... Derek Llambias - "Derek Llambeezee" Papiss Cisse - "Piss Sissy" Hatem Ben Arfa - "Ben Afri" Yohan Cabaye - "Yohan Kebab" Shola Ameobi - "Shola Amamobi" Kinnear also says he did a good job for Newcastle and that he knows more about football than anyone else associated with Newcastle, past or present. DTLW
We might have been better off clearing our throw ins out of play over the years. They've usually been more dangerous to us than the opposition. Didn't expect Woodward's contribution would be so Rugby centric though.
Simon Clifford never mentioned anything like it when he poured his heart out on twitter as far as I can remember. I don't think anyone else has really spoken about it. Harry said they had a good (if distant) relationship but clearly that's just politics.
Mike Ashley is basically like a fat, rubbish Cortese - making brave decisions, but whereas NC's seem to be intelligent and well thought out, Ashely's just defy explanation. The decision to bring Woodward on board may actually be slightly less insane than this Kinnear one......
Clive Woodward is one of the most respected sporting managers in the world. Harry could have learned a lot from him about fitness and about organising people to get the best from them. Harry being Harry knew it all! This is one thing I know for a fact, Johnny Wilkinson's kicking coach did some work with the academy (or whatever it was called then). Within an 90 minute session he had them shooting harder and more accurately than before. That to me is significant. Another time they set up 7 cameras on players taking penalties, no goalkeeper. They just asked them to kick the ball into the same place a number of times in the same way. The cameras showed that they did it differently every time. With Wilkinson they worked on getting him to do everything the same way all the time. I know I know that in football the ball is mostly moving but its about the technique. Remember his drop goal against Australia? That was years of practice for that one moment. I saw Woodward and Roy Hodgson 'interview' one another on Sky. The contrast was incredible. Woodward seemed to have everything sorted regarding selection, tactics and so on and Hodgson just bumbled an answer when asked about his approach. It doesn't surprise me that footballers and Harry felt they had nothing to learn from Woodward. It is depressing really that they are all so blinkered. I think things are changing but there is still a lot to be learned if only they would allow themselves.
Woodward might have contributed something at Saints, if he had ever turned up half the time. He wasn't known as "Sir Skive" around the club for nothing. Was a total farce that period at Saints. So many wacky stories from those who were there. I may not like some of what goes on at current Saints, but good god, it was a miracle back then we could actually put a team out and it showed most matches. As for Newcastle, will be hilarious if they now pull the rug out from under Kinnear and say he hasn't got the job. The bloke has more than 1 screw loose.
I don't really blame harry for being pissed off- if they didn't think certain aspects of his management were good enough they should have replaced him. As fo doing penalties exactly the same every time, I think a player might get found out if he were to do that. In football we take penalties with a goalkeeper in goal. The keepers movement might give away the direction he is going to dive, the penalty taker has to react to that.
If you have the ability to place the ball consistently in the top corner, no keeper can reach it without committing himself. And if he commits himself, you just put it the other side. Sounds simple, but only a few like Le Tiss can be that good. Lambert has accuracy and power...lethal.
I know what you are saying but you are missing the point on this one. There was no goalkeeper and the players were asked to repeat the same kick exactly and they simply could not. That is because they haven't mastered what is the basic of the game ie. kicking the ball!
It`s all going to end in tears in the NE - I can`t decide who will be first to leave - Kinnear, Pardew or Di Canio.
sounds about right. was adam in the academy when wilkinson's coach was teaching them to kick hard and accurate? we coach the passing game well but there are some black holes in our coaching too. (not that it hurt bale)
Wilkinson's coach was at Staplewood for ONE day. If you listen very carefully, you can still hear the faint echo of the laughter wafting around the Marchwood area from real football coaches.
Pete Sampras used to practice serving by tossing the ball in the air and having his coach call out the type and direction of the serve as late as possible. I've always thought footballers should do something similar for penalties. In theory Clive Woodward could have contributed something to the club but I'd jave thought he'd be more useful as an adviser or consultant to an interested manager in terms of mental approach and possibly some coaching techniques. Rightly or wrongly, Redknapp wasn't ever going to be interested in that so the experiment was always doomed to fail.
the guys with real technique often don't become coaches though do they? How many times have people suggested hopefully that Matty should give our players sessions on just striking the ball? It doesn't happen.
Exactly, and he made a significant difference even in that short time. So the football coaches may have been laughing, more fool them!
Newcastle are very quickly taking QPR's place as the joke club for next season. A ridiculous owner, a manager out of his depth, an idiot as director of football and a whole load of over-rated players from across the English Channel. I'd be very worried as a Newcastle fan, very worried indeed.
