Yes, I saw it after I posted Bidley. The key part of what he said for me was "knew from the start", the difference between "not good enough" and "not ready" is almost a mute point. And whichever way you see it a fair few will drop out of the main squad (George Williams for instance was pictured with the the U21s today). As I said in the original post Felix seems to have been playing games and it's not a fit and proper way to develop our young talent.
Foreign managers and how they speak English. I honestly cant believe that hd meant they aren't good enough. Without any experienced players around them it would be true. The players who have played so far are good enough and will get better. They haven't reached their full potential by any stretch. Bizarre comment if itvwas an English manager, but a foreign manager can get his words mixed.
I have watched these young players and their development, both in training sessions and matches who were schooled by adapt coaches in encouragement and technical know how. Having watched 3 of their last 4 games the ability is still there but tactically they are on their own, These lads don't somehow become clueless, its no good giving after match reports with excuses and platitudes , so for me I am not at this moment in the ~I love Felix camp, ~ or calling for his head. So prove to me, and the other suffering fans that you are a manager who can with your methods get results. As a previous postee said if we don't finish in the top 6/8 we will see the best cherry picked.
I agree it is sometimes very difficult for foreign managers to get their thoughts across accurately when they are not as fluent in English. I've worked abroad and know from my own experience you get very nervous when having to talk in another language with no preparation and say things wrong. The worry is if Magath also fails to get his tactics and messages, and training methods across to the squad and staff. He does seem to get very agitated and defensive quickly when the reporters ask him a question of why he has done certain things, for eg the training. He seems to have sent out mixed messages, first he says that he is confident that the young side can get us to the top, now he admits he needs more experienced players to help. He says things about Al Fayed's era that he obviously doesn't know about, he has criticised previous managers and players attitude, but doesn't seem to take criticism well himself. I've nickednamed him 'Mad-gath'
Mauricio Pochettino could barley string 10 words of English together when arriving at the Saints,but with good coaching knowledge and an interpreter around he did ok,
Well, not quite. He could speak English when he arrived but preferred using an interpreter for interviews so he couldn't say something in not quite the right way and have it mis-interpreted. A clever move really. I understand that part of the deal in going to Spurs was that they insisted he do interviews in English. Oddly, I have seen him speaking English on Spanish TV a few years ago before he got the Southampton job when he was Espanyol Manager - and not doing very well at all - they were bottom of the league at the time and he was sacked shortly afterwards. He answered a question from an Italian (I think) journo and as they used English as a common language.
I saw a theory on Twitter that Felix used the first few games of the season to show Khan that the youngsters weren't good enough and that further investment was needed. Initially I dismissed this off hand but his comments today kind of back up this theory. It would also explain why he's used so many different youngsters in the first few games.
Could be true. Certainly fits with his actions. If so, someone is going to need to get their finger out over the next 72 hours or so.
For those who missed it, the full unedited a Felix presser can be found on Radio Jackie: http://www.radiojackie.com/redbutton/index.asp?singlepodcast=619 The line of questioning is predictable, as are Felix's tetchy responses. To give him his due, I think he has been saying all along that he needed more experienced players. It's stretching it to say he's been picking teams he knows aren't good enough to get the chairman to spend, but he might well have been using the first few games to work out which of the younger players are ready for 1st team action before deciding where to invest. I'm not a big Magath fan, but regardless of the result today he probably now needs to be given time to get things right with the players he's brought in and whoever else we sign over the next few days. Otherwise it'll be February all over again.
Interesting. I suppose the test of that will be the next 60 hours or so. Let's hope that today's storming win against Cardiff (as ever, I live in hope) won't change the powers-that-be's minds on any late deals.
I'm with Irish. The first games are all about seeing who can cut it. I think the youngsters have done themselves and the club proud. The results havent gone our way but the experience gained has been very useful. Id like it on record that my view on FM hasnt changed since the cup win. We need stability and vision. This year will be the foundations and next really for the next 10 years. I dont see the harm in sacrificing some games to see where the youngsters really are in their game. It makes complete sense to me. I also can understand why FM gets tetchy with the same old questions. The part where the journo drags up criticism from JAR about training. I think he had a right to get cross and remind him about players that benefitted from his training. This is just an example, having seen the context of the question and response about playing younger players is imo about playing purely a team of 11 academy and under 21 players. COYW
It sounds simple but the way Magath can stop the negativity is to win games, especially at home. Failing that he has got to at least prove that his tactics and team selection can compete with the top clubs in this league. Let's hope he starts with Cardiff today.
If you're not on Twitter, or not spotted this, @1966MJG is running a should Magath be sacked, and who should take over survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FTPXXYD Over 1100 responses so far - 90% want him out, and I suspect some of the other 10% support our local rivals. If he went now I'd have no complaints but I'd still give him the next two games.
Like you I give him the next 2 games... Especially failure to win the next 2 home games (Championship and Capital One) should be given his marching orders. Together will Ali Mc.
I don't think it is especially healthy to be sacking another manager so soon, but it feels like tye atmosphere around the club is becoming toxic. It reminds me of the end of Jol's reign. At some point the health of the club overall needs to outweigh anybody's ego. My preference wouldbe for Magath to get the team winning, as that would solve our biggest issue. I'm so sick and tired of losing games and feeling like the team doesn't deserve any better.
Surlyc, I could not agree more. Was really excited to see that dead wood was shipped and re-building starting using the academy. Although Magath was partly responsible for relegation his CV provided some comfort... Alas till I started monitoring the pre-season games and found that we didn't have a team formation, or a plan as a team. Similar to Jol last year. The game against Cardiff gave glimpses of hope with a formation that seemed to work. Some of the subs again were baffling but the overall display was good. Saturday's game cannot provide a clear view but Parker's comments were worrying... Let's see what happens on Wednesday. Another battering, we already have the worse defence, Saturday's home game will be hell for Magath. The youngsters do not deserve this.
With rumours of unrest and whatnot I think it's coming to the point where he has to go - to keep him on in spite of the facts just to maintain 'stability' is ludicrous, although it is very fulhamish - as is a team laden with strikers not being able to score. He doesn't usually hang around for long so let's just end it and start over - there is a mass of players to pick from and in January the new man can shift on the dead wages. I don't see this as a positive experience for the young players - what exactly are they learning from this all? There is no vision here - we've bought players for the hell of it and taken financial risks that just weren't necessary. It's not all on Magath - Khan needs to stop being so reactive and get someone with nous and balls to advise him otherwise he's going to lose a lot of money. I think there is a real danger come January that we will be relying on loyalty and nothing else to stop the more promising youngsters from moving on to teams in the same division.
